NEWS

Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over twelve years now and have reviewed over 6,000 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?
Monday Night Raw
Date: August 6, 2007
Location: HSBC Arena, Buffalo, New York
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler
We have less than a month to go before Summerslam and that means we need to keep going towards John Cena vs. Randy Orton. Other than that, we might be seeing more of King Booker vs. Jerry Lawler, which actually didn’t wrap up after one week. Maybe we get something else set up this week, which might be a good idea. Let’s get to it.
Vince McMahon returned earlier today and wants the roster out in the a..

It’s a way to go. Mainstream athletes have a long history in wrestling and that shouldn’t be a surprise. They are able to bring a different dimension into the wrestling world because fans will want to see what happens when those worlds collide. There have been some instances of stars from other sports coming into wrestling and having quite the success and that might be the case again soon.
This week on SmackDown, Happy Corbin was defeated by Madcap Moss in a Last Laugh match, seemingly ending their feud. Following their match, Corbin yelled at broadcaster Pat McAfee over jokes that McAfee had made at his expense. McAfee then led the fans in a chorus of laughter at Corbin, who walked away without getting physical. Corbin and McAfee have a history together, as they were roommates during their time in the NFL.
Opinion: I could go for more of this, as McAfee has a history of doing well when he gets in a WWE ring. He hasn’t had that many matches, but putting him in there against someone l..

There’s a comeback. AEW has built up its roster with a mixture of veterans and up and coming stars, which allows them to have quite the mixture of wrestlers and matches. As a result, the fans continue to react strongly to almost anything that they do, meaning that a big moment can get quite the reception. That was the case again this week, as a special return took place.
Sting made his return to AEW television this week ok Rampage, helping Darby Allin after Allin’s match against Bobby Fish. Allin won the match but was attacked by Fish and Kyle O’Reilly until Sting returned and made the save. This let Sting and Allin Pillmanize O’Reilly’s leg in a repeat of the same attack that put Sting on the shelf during the May 18 edition of Dynamite.
Welcome back. Check out the big return to end the show:
[This post contains video, click to play]

Opinion: This is the kind of thing that makes AEW feel special. They know how to time this kind of return to maximize the impact, as Sting has been g..

That’s a different one. Next weekend, AEW and New Japan will be presenting its first ever Forbidden Door pay per view. The event will include a series of matches between the two promotions with one dream match after another. The card has already taken shape but there are still some matches that need to be filled in. AEW took care of part of that this week, as another promotion is getting in on the act (kind of).
A new match was added to Forbidden Door this week on AEW Rampage. Announced for the show was a triple threat tag team match between Ring Of Honor Tag Team Champions FTR, IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions the United Empire (Great O’Khan/Jeff Cobb) and Roppongi Vice with both sets of titles on the line. Forbidden Door is set to take place from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Opinion: That is the kind of stacked match that can make for a great addition to the pay per view card. I’m not sure how the companies are going to handle one of their titles changing hands but it..

Keep filling up those spots. We are coming up on WWE’s annual Money In The Bank event, which will be headlined by the show’s namesake matches. These matches are among the biggest that WWE presents all year with some of the more prominent names in the company competing for a guaranteed on-demand shot at the World Title. Now we know some more names who will be getting their shot.
This week’s SmackDown saw three more names added to the Money In The Bank ladder match fields. First, both Sheamus and Drew McIntyre were added to the men’s match. This is the result of a decision by WWE management after last week’s qualifying match ended in a double disqualification. Later in the show, Raquel Rodriguez defeated Shayna Baszler to qualify for the women’s match. This means the men’s match now has three entrants (Sheamus, McIntyre, Seth Rollins) and the women’s match has four (Lacey Evans, Alexa Bliss, Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez) out of eight spots per match.
Opinion: This is the kind of night ..

He didn’t have much to say. The biggest wrestling story of the week has been the issue of an investigation into an alleged affair with McMahon paying $3 million to buy the woman’s silence. As a result, McMahon has stepped back from his role as WWE CEO and Chairman of the Board, but that is just on the business side of things. There was also a storyline issue to deal with, and WWE did that…kind of.
McMahon opened this week’s edition of SmackDown in an appearance that had announced before the show went on the air. During his appearance, McMahon talked about how great it was to be in Minneapolis for the show before talking about how the WWE motto is “Then, Now, Forever, Together.” McMahon then welcomed us to SmackDown without saying anything else. He did not appear again for the rest of the night.
The Boss speaks. Check out what McMahon had to say:
[This post contains video, click to play]

Opinion: Well ok then. McMahon had almost nothing to say here, and that makes me wonder how lon..

The next step. Roman Reigns has ruled over WWE for the better part of two years now and it is hard to fathom that changing. Having defeated just about anyone who could give him a realistic threat, Reigns is almost out of viable challenges. That does not leave WWE many options, but it seems that their best bet is to go back to the well, which is exactly what they are doing here.
This week’s SmackDown featured a main event of Reigns defeating Riddle to retain the title. Following the win, Brock Lesnar made his return and laid out Reigns with an F5 to end the show. After the show was over, WWE announced that Reigns will defend the Undisputed WWE Universal Title against Lesnar at Summerslam in a Last Man Standing match. This will be a rematch from WrestleMania 38, where Reigns defeated Lesnar to unify the company’s two World Titles.
Opinion: This is just what WWE does with Reigns these days, as you can almost feel the Lesnar match coming in no matter what. That gets more than a little ti..

Smackdown
Date: June 17, 2022
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee
Say it with me: and then everything changed. Vince McMahon has stepped back as WWE CEO and Chairman of the Board due to his affair but he is still going to show up this week for…something. I have no idea what that means but we also have Riddle challenging Roman Reigns for the Universal Title. Let’s get to it.
Here is Vince McMahon to open things up. He is glad to be here in Minnesota and talks about the Then, Now, Forever and Together WWE signature. Welcome to Smackdown. Then he leaves.
Opening sequence.
Here is Riddle to talk about his history with Roman Reigns. We get a highlight package on RKBro vs. the Bloodline and Riddle talks about how much he misses Randy Orton. Riddle dedicates the match to Orton and wants him back, even playing Voices.
Happy Corbin vs. Madcap Moss This is the Last Laugh match, which doesn’t seem to be a stipulation. Corbin knocks him into ..

Add it to the list. We are less than a month away from WWE’s next pay per view with Money in the Bank. The show will be built around the show’s namesake matches and those will take up a bunch of time. There are other matches that need to be covered though and that includes some title matches. One of those has been added to the card and it should be a pretty big showdown.
WWE has announced that there will be a Tag Team Title match featuring the Street Profits challenging the Usos at Money in the Bank. This is the result of the Usos losing a Champions Contenders match on Monday Night Raw, earning them a title match at some point in the future. The match will be for both the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Titles, both of which the Profits have held before.
Opinion: You knew this match was coming at some point and it is the kind of thing that makes sense. There are not many teams ready to challenge the Usos but the Profits certainly fit the mold. Let the two teams get in there and do their t..

There’s the fallout. There is no one as powerful in the wrestling world as Vince McMahon. He has run the largest wrestling promotion in the world for about forty years now and no one is close to his level of influence. However, there are some things that can slow McMahon down and now we are one of the biggest imaginable, as McMahon has lost quite a bit of power.
Earlier this week, WWE announced that McMahon was under an internal investigation for an alleged affair with a WWE employee. The affair saw McMahon pay the woman $3 million to keep the story quiet, along with possibly doubling her salary once the affair began. On Friday, WWE announced that McMahon will be stepping away from his duties as CEO and Chairman of the Board, with his daughter Stephanie taking over until the end of the investigation. Vince will still maintain his creative duties with WWE.
Opinion: That’s about as big of a bombshell as you could get, as the idea of Vince not being in charge is one of the most hard to ..

NXT UK
Date: June 16, 2022
Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd
It’s a fallout show, as the big story is finding out what is up with Treat Seven walking out on Tyler Bate and Moustache Mountain. That should be a heck of a promo as we get closer to what could be a heck of a showdown. Hopefully the rest of the show can live up to the hype so let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Tiger Turan vs. Josh Morrell Turan takes him down with a hammerlock to start and grabs a wristlock. Morrell can’t flip out so Turan puts on an armbar to keep Morrell in trouble. That’s reversed into a wristlock but Turan flips him right back for a standoff. There’s a suplex to send Morrell down and a high crossbody gives Turan two….but Morrell is hurt and we’re going to stop it at 3:04.
Result: Tiger Turan b. Josh Morrell via referee stoppage (3:04)
Blair Davenport is coming back from injury.
Myla Grace vs. Lash Legend Grace hammers away to start and Legend..

Welcome back. Impact Wrestling has been around for a very long time, though unfortunately for it, a good bit of the history is not the most well received. There are several ideas and concepts through the company’s history that have been popular though. Now, one of those more popular ideas is back for a televised reunion, or at least in the short term.
This week on Impact Wrestling, Aces & Eights made a return to help D’Lo Brown fight off Honor No More. Garrett Bischoff and Wes Brisco appeared for the team in a lowing effort before helping Brown clear the ring. Aces & Eights was active in Impact Wrestling, from 2012-2013 and had several members, including their leader Bully Ray, who wound up winning the World Heavyweight Title on two occasions. There is nothing to suggest that this is any more than a one off appearance.
Opinion: I know Impact Wrestling is one of the most mocked promotions in the world, but they have done some great things over the last twenty years. The company has an..