Month: May 2021

205 Live
Date: May 14, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Nigel McGuinness
Last week was quite the change of pace as we had some fresh blood around here and they actually got some big wins. It was nice to see that for a change, though odds are it does not last. There is a good chance those things are knocked right back down to normal this week, though you never can tell. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Ariya Daivari vs. Asher Hale Hale is better known as Anthony Henry. Daivari gets shoved out of the corner to start and Hale slaps on a headlock. Hale does it a second time to prove whatever point he’s going for but Daivari puts him on the middle rope instead. That means a diving headlock takeover so Daivari goes with a knee to the ribs this time instead. Back up and Hale hammers away, setting up a one footed dropkick for two. Daivari bails so Hale is right there with a running knee off the apron.
They head back inside with Dai..

Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over ten years now and have reviewed over 5,000 shows. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting a new review here on Wrestlingrumors.net. It could be anything from modern WWE to old school to indies to anything in between. Note that I rate using letters instead of stars and I don’t rate matches under three minutes as really, how good or bad can something that short be?
Evolve 125
Date: April 4, 2019
Location: La Boom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Lenny Leonard, Rob Niemi
This is another one of the shows that I was hoping to see last year but for one reason or another it never happened. That’s where a free month of Club WWN (plus the company putting the show up for free on YouTube) can be handy and that’s why I’m here today. This show seemed to be pretty well received so hopefully it holds up. Let’s get to it.
As usual, I have no idea what is coming or what is going on her..

It does make sense. WWE runs a lot of pay per view events and it can be difficult to find something to headline each of them. It can help to have matches from both Monday Night Raw and SmackDown on the same cards, but one of the easiest ways to make things work is with a special gimmick pay per view. That is what WWE is doing in June, and now we might have an idea of the main event.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the likely Monday Night Raw main event for the June 20 Hell In A Cell will see WWE Champion Bobby Lashley defending his title against Drew McIntyre inside the Cell. The match has yet to be announced on WWE television, though the two of them interacted this week on Monday Night Raw, with McIntyre costing Lashley a match against Kofi Kingston.
McIntyre and Lashley have been feuding for several months now, with Lashley attacking McIntyre at Elimination Chamber, allowing Miz to cash in his Money in the Bank contract. Lashley would then go on to win the champions..

There is more to it than that. Every now and then you hear about someone in wrestling who has quite a bit of baggage with them. This could be anything from legal issues to personal issues to just not being liked backstage for one reason or another. One such wrestler was leg go from WWE earlier this week and now we know a bit more about what happened.
Velveteen Dream was released from his NXT contract earlier this week, following a period of inactivity, as well as several sexual misconduct allegations. Since he was released, some stories have come out about his time in the company. According to Wrestling Observer Live, Dream had behavioral issues during his time in NXT, but due to Dream having friends higher up in NXT management, several wrestlers were worried about reporting them. It is likely that Dream was released for these issues, as Triple H said that investigations into the allegations turned up nothing. Dream had not appeared in NXT since December 2020.
This does not exactly m..

That’s a good reason…I think. One of the bigger stories this year has been WWE releasing various names both from the main roster as well as NXT. This was the case last year as well and every time, more than one interesting name has come up. That is true with the most recent edition as well, and now we know a bit more about one of the bigger names being let go.
In an interview with Sport1 (translation courtesy of Wrestlinginc.com), recently released NXT star Alexander Wolfe revealed that he was not fired, but rather that WWE told him his contract was not being renewed. Wolfe was also told that the decision was made due to the Coronavirus causing restrictions on events and budget cuts being made as a result. In response (not to WWE), Wolfe said that WWE makes so much money that they should not have to fire anyone, but he accepted it. Wolfe’s current contract expires on June 15 and he will be a free agent after.
Wolfe did have a nice run in WWE. Check out his time with the company:
[Th..

It’s a long time coming. There have been a lot of great tag teams in wrestling over the years and some of the best ever have been brothers. A pair of brothers are going to have a connection that others are never going to be able to replicate because they have known each other since before they started wrestling. One of those teams will be returning to the ring next week.
This week on SmackDown, Jimmy Uso requested a tag match with his brother Jey against the Street Profits for next week’s show. Sonya Deville made the match and it was officially announced later in the show. However, Jey disapproved of Jimmy asking for the match, saying that he should have asked first. The match will be the Usos’ first match in over a year due to Jimmy’s knee injury.
The Usos made their WWE debuts in 2010 and have teamed together since, save for a few missed stretches due to injuries. During their time together, the team has held six WWE Tag Team Titles and won two Slammy Awards for Tag Team of the Yea..

Strike up the band! NXT is a weird place as you see some of the newest coming stars getting their chance to showcase themselves. That it exactly the point of a developmental television show and NXT does it as well as almost anyone else in the world today. One of the cool moments is getting to see the NXT star make their main roster debut, which was the case this week.
Rick Boogs, former knock as Eric Bugenhagen in NXT, made his main roster debut this week on SmackDown. Boogs appeared before Shinsuke Nakamura’s match against King Corbin, playing Nakamura to the ring on his guitar. Late in the match, Boogs began playing his guitar again, this time to distract Corbin so Nakamura could steal the pin. There is no word on if this will be a permanent promotion or partnership between the two. Boogs also portrayed Joe Average in a series of Old Spice ads during WWE television earlier this year.
This was pretty awesome. Check out Boogs’ debut, the match, and Boogs’ time in NXT:
[This post con..

Welcome back. There are a lot of ways to bring a wrestler back to television and some of them are more effective than others. One of the many options available is to build them back up with a series of vignettes or promos and then have them come back when the time is right. That is what WWE did this week and it wound up working out rather well all things considered.
Aleister Black made his return this week on SmackDown, interfering in the show’s main event. Black ran in on the fatal four way Intercontinental Title match and hit Black Mass on Big E., allowing Apollo Crews to retain his title. There is nothing to suggest that this is the start of an alliance between Black and Crews. Black had appeared earlier in the night in a vignette.
This was Black’s first appearance in the arena since his last match on WWE television in October. Black was drafted to SmackDown in the 2020 WWE Draft but never appeared on the show. He began appearing in a series of vignettes starting just after Wrestl..

Nice to see you again. There are so many wrestlers on the WWE roster that the company has divided its wrestlers in two. Monday Night Raw and SmackDown have had their own rosters on and off over nineteen years now and it has been rather helpful in a lot of ways. Above all else, it allows for some interesting moments when someone shows up on the other show. That was the case this week.
This week on SmackDown, Monday Night Raw’s Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax made surprise appearances, attacking Bianca Belair as she confronted Bayley. Women’s Tag Team Champions Natalya and Tamina made the save, setting up a six woman tag team match. Baszler made Natalya tap out to the Kirifuda Clutch, setting up a title match next week on Monday Night Raw.
Baszler and Jax were allowed to appear on the show due to the Brand To Brand Invitational concept. The idea allows a Monday Night Raw or SmackDown wrestler to appear on the other show once every quarter of the year. This is one of the only ways that a wre..

Smackdown
Date: May 21, 2021
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
We’re done with Wrestlemania Backlash and it is time to start getting ready for the Cell next month. I’m not sure what is next up for some of the people on this show, but the ending to Backlash would suggest more of Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins. Other than that, we have a four way for the Intercontinental Title this week. Let’s get to it.
All of the champions, sans Roman Reigns, are on the stage and here is Sonya Deville in the ring. As you might have heard, WWE is going back on the road in front of the fans in July, starting with Smackdown on July 16. Deville introduces all of the champions on stage, with Apollo Crews promising to destroy everyone tonight to retain his title. With that out of the way, Sonya introduces Reigns, to his old music.
Instead she gets Paul Heyman, who says this isn’t a parade of champions, because it’s just a parade of title holders. Later tonight, at ..

They’re back! The Coronavirus has changed the way wrestling works and it has not been a pleasant experience so far. The biggest change for the industry has been the lack of fans in attendance, but that seems all but done as the sporting world opens up again. AEW has already announced a return date for fans, and now WWE is going to be right behind them in a big way.
WWE has announced that they will begin a return to live events beginning on July 16 in Houston, Texas. The event will be the start of a twenty five city tour and will begin with SmackDown, followed by Money In The Bank two nights later and Monday Night Raw the next day. No other dates have been announced as of yet and it is not clear which states will be hosting shows.
* Friday, July 16: Smackdown – Toyota Center in Houston
* Sunday, July 18: Money in the Bank – Dickies Arena in Fort Worth
* Monday, July 19: RAW – American Airlines Center in Dallas
WWE has not held a live event at full capacity since March 2020. Since the..

NXT UK
Date: May 20, 2021
Location: BT Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd
It’s time for a title match as we have A-Kid defending the Heritage Cup against Tyler Bate in their rubber match. That alone should be enough to carry the show but we should be getting some other good stuff around here to make the rest of the show work. If it is like their recent efforts, everything should be fine. Let’s get to it.
We open with a video on A-Kid vs. Bate, with Bate becoming a huge star and A-Kid needing to become his own man. Bate needs to win something to get back on top and it’s time for a showdown.
Opening sequence.
Rampage Brown vs. Wolfgang They trade cravates to start as we hear about their various European championships. Brown hits a dropkick but gets whipped hard into the corner to put him down as well. It’s already time to go outside for the slugout with Wolfgang sending him into the post. A backbreaker gives Wolfgang two back inside and we hit the ..