[continued from previous message]

Neville isn’t down enough that he can’t crotch Swann on top. He also can’t
hit the superplex but settles for a hard superkick to stagger the champ. Rich’s spinning kick to the head gets two as Neville gets his foot on the ropes. Swann again takes too long to get up top, allowing Neville to
superplex him into the Rings of Saturn for the tap to make Neville champion
at 13:29.
Rating: B-. They were beating the heck out of each other in a better than average match. Instead of having Neville squash him in relatively short
order, Swann got in some offense, only to eventually not be good enough to overcome the King of the Cruiserweights. This was entertaining, but Neville
is going to need some better challengers.
We recap AJ Styles vs. John Cena. Styles defeated Cena twice in a row last year, including with one clean pinfall. Then Cena said he wanted to
challenge the champion at the Rumble and since he’s John Cena and one title shy of tying Ric Flair’s record, the match was made.
Smackdown World Title: AJ Styles vs. John Cena
Cena is challenging and has the black shorts on here so you know it’s a big night. AJ scores with a kick to the leg so Cena clotheslines him to the
apron. Cena gets in a few right hands but charges into a boot in the corner
to let AJ take over. Back to back knee drops have Cena in trouble but AJ
stops to yell at the crowd. A third knee, this time with a You Can’t See
Me, misses and Cena is right back with a backdrop.
AJ sticks the landing on an AA though and there’s an enziguri to put Cena down again. There’s a hurricanrana and Cena doesn’t seem to know what to do with Styles. The running seated forearm gives AJ two more but Cena punches
him in the face. The Shuffle is broken up though and AJ grabs a wheelbarrow facebuster to put Cena down again. AJ hits the Phenomenal Blitz, only to
have Cena hit that hard running clothesline for a breather that he uses
when he needs a breather.
Now the Shuffle connects but it’s way too early for the AA. AJ grabs a torture rack into a spinning powerbomb for two more and we get a bit of a pause. They’re doing a good job here of going with the slower pace to build things up here, which is exactly what they should be doing.
The Phenomenal Forearm misses and it’s an AA for two. Another hard running clothesline gives Cena two more but he charges into a Pele to the shoulder.
Now the Forearm connects for two more as they’re even in the near falls off the finishers. AJ starts firing off the hard kicks to the chest and Cena doesn’t seem like he’s breathing very well. One too many kicks earns him an electric chair into a faceplant though and Cena is right back into it.
They slug it out with JBL describing AJ as blocking every punch with his
face. Apparently that’s fine enough to reverse a right hand into the Calf Crusher but of course Cena reverses into the STF to a nice round of
applause. At least they respect some wrestling abilities. Somehow AJ
reverses that into an STF of his own but Cena powers to his feet. Instead
of an AA though, it’s off to a Figure Four on the champ (because we must praise Flair, though it’s appropriate here).
AJ pulls himself up though and tries a cross armbreaker, which of course is countered into a powerbomb for two. Cena goes up top for the Fameasser but
gets powerbombed out of the air. Now the Styles Clash is good for two as
the fans are feeling the near falls (as they should with the match picking
WAY up in a hurry). Code Red gives Cena two more, followed by AJ’s fireman’s carry backbreaker for the same.
Something like a swinging Big Ending (called a cutter by Mauro) gives Cena
two more so it’s time for the big guns. Cena busts out the super AA…….for two. You can see the look of disbelief on Cena’s face and now the fans aren’t sure what to think. The Styles Clash gives AJ his own near fall but Cena counters the Phenomenal Forearm into back to back AA’s for the pin and the title at 24:01.
Rating: A. This took its time to build up and it’s one of the best matches
of 2017. Cena using raw power to start but eventually learning what AJ was going to throw at him and adapting made for a great story. He couldn’t win with the mega power move either, eventually having to counter AJ to beat
him. That builds on their previous matches and it’s a classic match as a result.
Cena celebrates. JBL: “Man that was good!” Yeah pretty much. Cena heads into the crowd and hands the title to a Make-A-Wish kid because he’s that awesome.
Try not to smile at this:
[This post contains video, click to play]
We look at Seth Rollins invading Takeover: San Antonio to call out HHH, who cost him his spot in the Rumble. HHH said Rollins needs to be careful what
he wished for. Worry not though as STEPHANIE will be on Raw tomorrow night
to deal with Rollins. I’d be terrified too.
Jerry Lawler comes out for commentary on the Rumble.
Back to the Rumble by the Numbers.
15. Only 16 of the 30 possible numbers have won
14. 7 winners are from 1-10
13. 4 have been from 11-20
12. 19 have been from 21-40
11. 27 is the lucky number
10. 1 and 2 have produced 4 winners
9. 1 and 2 have been the final two entrants twice (1995 and 1999)
8. Only one person has won from the same number twice (Batista at #28)
7. Kane has entered the most Royal Rumbles
6. Kane has the most career eliminations
5. Roman Reigns has the most eliminations in one match
4. The World Title has been on the line twice
3. Three men have been runner up twice (Cena, Big Show, HHH)
2. Five men have won twice (Cena, HHH, Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Batista)
1. Only Steve Austin has won three Rumbles
Royal Rumble
Two minutes intervals and it’s Big Cass in at #1, meaning Enzo Amore gets
to do the full entrance. We’re just that lucky I guess but the fans are
still eating it up at this point. Since everything is bigger in Texas, it
would make sense for Big Cass to win here tonight. We hear about some of
the bigger names but Cass is going to toss all of them out because Cass is
like HBK in 1995. Chris Jericho is in at #2 as his bad luck in the Rumble
draws continue (this is his third time as #2).
Cass tosses him down with a fall away slam but an early Empire Elbow
misses. The Walls are broken up and it’s Kalisto in at #3 after only ninety seconds. A springboard dropkick staggers Cass and a regular one drops
Jericho. Cass can’t powerslam Kalisto and it’s some kicks to cut Cass down again. Mojo Rawley is in at #4 as we’re not even three minutes and fifteen seconds in yet. Corey: “Smackdown Live’s resident blithering idiot.” Lawler: “That’s an insult to blithering idiots”.
Cass takes Rawley into the corner while the other two are down on the
apron. Jericho breaks four hours in the Rumble to give him the all time
record as Jack Gallagher is in at #5. The length of the aisle really
becomes an issue here as Jack takes forever to get to the ring. Once there though he cleans house with the umbrella, including a low blow to a posing Jericho. One heck of a toss sends Kalisto to the mat and it’s Mark Henry in at #6.
Everyone is down when his music hits but Gallagher has enough time to get
up and stomp on Jericho by the time he gets there. Gallagher’s headbutt
just annoys Mark so he tosses Jack through the ropes (not an elimination).
Jack does his Mary Poppins dive with the umbrella and is promptly
eliminated. Braun Strowman is in at #7, taking twenty five seconds from the start of his music to get to the ring. Jericho hides on the floor (Jericho: “HE’S HUGE!”) as Strowman gets rid of Mojo, Cass, Kalisto and Henry, the latter after a battle of the giants.
Sami Zayn is in at #8 and is stupid enough to charge into the ring and slug away as fast as he can. Sami stops a charge with a boot but tries a suplex
for some reason. Strowman misses a charge into the post but comes right
back with a running splash in the corner as Big Show is #9 (to a VERY
strong reaction, oddly enough).
We get the big, long walk to the ring where Sami is down in the corner and Jericho is still on the floor. Strowman clotheslines Show down without much effort but a chokeslam cuts him down. Jericho picks now to come back in and
is promptly punched down, leaving the giants to lift each other up for
failed slam attempts. Strowman manages to muscle Show out though and is the only one standing. The debuting Tye Dillinger is #10 (in the perfect (ten) entrance), giving us Jericho, Strowman, Zayn and Dillinger. Tye goes
straight at Strowman with forearms and left hands as Sami gets up to help
him slug away at the giant.
Now thats quite the coincidence:
[This post contains video, click to play]
They get suplexed down without much effort though and it’s James Ellsworth
in at #11. He and Carmella run to the ring (in a relationship that was
never explained) but don’t get in, allowing Tye and Sami to pull Strowman
to the apron. Dean Ambrose is in at #12 and tricks Ellsworth into charging
in on his own where Strowman eliminates him in all of ten seconds. That’s better than I was expecting. Dean gets in but can’t do much with Strowman (well duh) but Tye and Sami get back up to help Dean out. That earns them
all running clotheslines in the corner and it’s Baron Corbin in at #13.
That means four on one on Strowman, who shrugs them all away. Strowman
dumps Tye but Sami grabs him by the beard for a breather. A Helluva Kick
rocks Strowman and Corbin gets rid of the monster after a star making performance. Dean hits a quick Dirty Deeds on Corbin but doesn’t try to eliminate him. Dean never was the smartest guy in the world.
Kofi Kingston is in at #14 and the countdown is on to the cool save. Kofi
gets knocked into the ropes and Corbin does his slide underneath the ropes
into a clothesline on Dean. The Miz is in at #15 (thankfully with Maryse), giving us Jericho (STILL on the floor), Sami, Ambrose, Corbin and Miz at
the moment.
A Skull Crushing Finale drops Dean but Miz doesn’t go for the elimination. Deep Six cuts Miz off as the crowd oddly dies for a bit. For no logical
reason, Kofi climbs to the top of the post but gets knocked down onto his chest. He still manages to hang on though and scores with Trouble in
Paradise on Corbin. Sheamus is in at #16 and it’s time for some powerslams. Miz backs away from Sheamus but gets caught in the ten forearms to the
chest. Jericho gets back up and is promptly Brogue Kicked down.
Big E. is in at #17 and it’s a quick abdominal stretch on Miz, allowing for some spanking. If that’s what he’s into I guess. The ring is getting too full and Rusev (with a broken nose) makes it even worse at #18. Right hands have Dean in trouble but no one is seriously close to being eliminated.
Sheamus gets in a hard knee on Miz and it’s Cesaro in at #19. It’s an early Swing to Miz and a second to Sami. Jerry: “Use him as a weapon!” Ambrose and Kofi are swung as well, followed by Big E. and Corbin but Rusev saves Sheamus from the same fate for some reason. You might notice a lot of names being swung and that’s because there are WAY too many people in the ring. Xavier Woods is in at #20, giving us Jericho, Zayn, Ambrose, Corbin,
Kingston, Miz, Sheamus, Big E. Rusev, Cesaro and Woods. We’re two thirds of the way into the match and over half of the people are still in. New Day
beats Sheamus up and Woods has to save Kofi from an elimination at Miz’s hands. A pair of boots rock Miz but he’s not going anywhere yet. Bray
Wyatt, with the lights going out, is in at #21 and the Fireflies coming out during the match is a cool visual.
Miz gets the release Rock Bottom and house is cleaned until Woods stares
Wyatt down in a call back to Woods being terrified of Bray. Woods is sent
to the apron and Kofi is put there next to him. Big E. saves his buddies
from Cesaro and Sheamus as Apollo Crews is in at #22. Crews’ standing moonsault hits Miz as this is looking like a regular battle royal rather
than the Rumble. Big E. pulls Woods and Kofi back inside but Sheamus and
Cesaro get rid of all three of them at once to let the ring breathe a bit. Sheamus tries to dump Cesaro but Jericho runs in to get rid of both of
them. Well the ring is certainly emptier in a hurry.
Randy Orton (of the Wyatt Family because reasons) is in at #23 with a quick
RKO to Corbin and Rusev. Sami goes up top for some reason and dives right
into another RKO. Dolph Ziggler is in at #24 and superkicks abound. The
fans are begging for Goldberg to come in and get rid of some of these
people but have to settle for Luke Harper at #25. We have five spots left
and Goldberg, Undertaker and Brock Lesnar still to go. Harper gets rid of
Crews but stops for a staredown with Orton. Wyatt has to play peacekeeper
until Harper clotheslines Bray down. Orton breaks up Sister Abigail on Bray with an RKO as the ring is too full again.
Brock Lesnar is in at #26 and now we can get rid of some people. Ziggler
and Ambrose are tossed with ease and it’s Suplex/F5 City. Everyone is down and the fans want Goldberg at #27. Instead it’s Enzo Amore in at #27 and I’ll let you figure out what happens. Graves: “THIS MAY BE THE GREATEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE!!!” Brock throws some suplexes until Goldberg is in at
#28 for the big showdown. A spear and a clothesline get rid of Lesnar in
all of fifteen seconds, stunning both the crowd and commentary at once.
Sami eats a Jackhammer and Orton/Wyatt take a double spear.
Goldberg is the only man standing and it’s Undertaker in at #29 to a ROAR. Thankfully he appears in the ring instead of doing the ridiculously long
walk down the ramp. Cole: “THIS IS A MOMENT!” Well those are what matter more than anything else. Corbin and Rusev break up the showdown and are promptly eliminated. A spear takes Undertaker down but Goldberg turns his attention to eliminate Harper, allowing Undertaker to dump him. Undertaker chokeslams a few people and it’s Roman Reigns at #30 (imagine the booing)
to give us Jericho, Sami, Miz, Wyatt, Orton, Undertaker and Reigns.
Oh I think this might work:
[This post contains video, click to play]
That means another staredown and Reigns wins the slugout. The fans are
LIVID and call this BS until Undertaker stops the Superman Punch with a chokeslam. Undertaker dumps Miz and Zayn like they’re nothing but takes too long calling for a Tombstone, allowing Reigns to dump him. That earns
Reigns a glare to set up the Wrestlemania main event.
Jericho is dead so Reigns tosses him without much effort, giving Jericho
the most meaningless hour run in Rumble history. Reigns is left alone with Orton and Wyatt with the double teaming starting in short order. The
hanging DDT plants Reigns but Superman Punches get Roman out of trouble.
Wyatt is eliminated but it’s an RKO and a clothesline to send Orton to Wrestlemania at 1:02:08.
Rating: D. And that’s being pretty generous. There are tons of problems
here, but we’ll start with all the midcarders who were around forever and
did nothing. Here are some of the people who weren’t going to win but were
in the match for at least twenty minutes each:
Sami Zayn (47:12)
Dean Ambrose (26:55)
Baron Corbin (32:39)
Miz (32:44)
Rusev (22:31)
Those five names combined for one elimination. That’s a crazy amount of
time to basically do nothing. If they’re not going to be factors (and none
of them were as they were almost all glorified cannon fodder), don’t leave them out there go clog up the ring. It doesn’t do Sami any good to be out there for forty five minutes and do nothing, just like it doesn’t help Miz
to be there for half an hour so people can beat on him. Jericho was a
potential winner and stayed in there over an hour (spending a lot of it on
the floor) but what good is an hour stay if he’s tossed out like he’s nothing after a mere two eliminations?
That brings us to the second problem: the three big names. This match was
built around Goldberg, Brock Lesnar and Undertaker (the three of them and
Cena are dead center on the post) and they combined to get rid of TEN
people (over a third of the eliminations) despite being in the match for
less time combined than any of the five names mentioned above. None of them made the final four but they cleared the way for the grouping. That’s some really bad planning and a lack of drama, especially when it makes everyone
left look life afterthoughts. Let one of them be there as a dragon for the winner to slay at the very least.
Throw in a lack of meaningful surprises (Reigns was the only name of value
not announced in advance) and no nostalgia to be seen (but we needed Apollo Crews and Dolph Ziggler to combine for ten minutes in the ring and not get
rid of anyone) and there was very little to care about for the biggest part
of the Rumble. Strowman stuff was fun, but after him there was a FIFTEEN
MINUTE stretch with no eliminations. This was a terribly planned out Rumble
and managed to turn one of the most entertaining matches of the year into something incredibly boring.
Overall Rating: C+. It says a lot when the Royal Rumble is the only bad
thing on the show. Other than that, the worst match is…..I guess the women’s match? This show was rather awesome but the Rumble itself was such
a mess that it brings the rest of the show way down. This was a good show
that cold have been great and I have no idea how they thought that was the right idea with the Rumble. That should usually be the most important thing
on the show but it felt like something they threw together here, which
really misses the point. Fix the Rumble and it’s a classic. As it is, it’s just good.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his Amazon author page with 28
wrestling books. His latest book is the History Of In Your House.

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The post REVIEW: Royal Rumble 2017: When Undertaker Met Goldberg appeared
first on WrestlingRumors.net.


///////////////////////////////////////////
KBs Review: Reviewing The Review - Double Or Nothing

Posted: 05 Jun 2019 09:05 PM PDT https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-reviewing-review-double-nothing/


Last month, AEW FINALLY debuted with their Double Or Nothing event, a show
over eight months in the making. There was no doubt that it was going to be something with a lot of hype behind it and everyone on the show working
hard, but the question was how good could it actually be. With everyone involved there was a strong chance of something special and that certainly seems to have been the reaction.

Reviews for the show have been rather positive, with mine being one of
them. The show definitely came off well, but how much of that was the hype
the fans had from waiting to see it for so long? Maybe things weren’t quite as good as they seemed to be, which is why I’m taking another look at the show. While I won’t be watching it again just yet, it could be worth going back over what happened and going over a few things that might not have
been so clear the first time around. That has been the case before and
maybe it’s the case with the new talent. Let’s get to it.
Pre-Show: Casino Battle Royal

We’ll get one of the bigger problems out of the way first as the more I
think about this one, the less I care for it. The problem here is one of
the major themes that we’re going to get to over the night: the show was catering to the fans who already knew these wrestlers rather than the
masses. It’s something that has been done before and it’s going to be one of the biggest problems throughout the show.

Back in 1997, ECW debuted on pay per view (and the national stage) with
Barely Legal. In a way it was similar to Double Or Nothing as fans were surprised that they managed to get to this point. The show was
entertaining, but there was one thing that always sat wrong with me. The co-main event (if not the real main event) was a huge grudge match between
Taz and Sabu, which was a grudge match over a year in the making. It was
billed as the Grudge Match of the Century, which is a pretty high standard. There was just one problem: no one ever said why they hated each other.

That’s kind of an important detail to leave out. It was just assumed that
the majority of the fans who were watching the show would already know the backstory, but that’s not the best line of thinking. The problem is this is your big debut and there is nothing that tells you the main reason you
should be caring about this match. Sure the fans know what’s going on, bu there’s a potentially much bigger audience than the people who are already
in the tent.

That brings us back to Double Or Nothing. Who are so many of these people?
Why should we care about them? Commentary mentioned a handful of them, but
what is this person all about? Tell me a little something about them. What makes them stand out? What would make them a potentially strong choice to challenge for the World Title? I’m sure fans know some of them, but you should never assume that your audience knows everyone, especially on a show like this.

The other problem was this is the first match in the history of AEW. The
format with the groups was a little more complicated than it needed to be (though it’s not like it was impossible to understand) and having a bunch
of people thrown out there for the first time ever on the national stage didn’t do them many favors. It felt like a parade of people getting their
big spots in but without any explanation or support from commentary. It’s
not a good choice for an opener and it wasn’t executed all that well. Adam Page winning was 100% right though and Maxwell Jacob Friedman was pure
gold, so it could have been worse.

This was one of the best things about the Pre-Show:
[This post contains video, click to play]
Pre-Show: Kip Sabian vs. Sammy Guevara

This should have opened the show as it’s a lot more traditional, though
still something that would have opened some eyes. They went with the pretty standard indy formula for this one and that’s something that is going to work, just to fire the crowd up if nothing else. Good enough match with
some nice high flying here, but it’s also the first match I would have cut
if I wanted to trim the show’s run time down a bit. This was fine, though nothing that hasn’t been done better several times before.

Before we get to the main show, there were some backstage segments with the
two Librarians, one of the Young Bucks running into Michael Nakazawa from
the battle royal and the Young Bucks superkicking a guy trying to give them credentials. None of these things were really funny, and if WWE had done
them, the same fans probably would have booed them out of Nevada. These
really didn’t need to be here and I’m hoping they don’t continue to happen
going forward. Once in awhile is fine, but stop doing these unfunny
backstage segments.

Then the main core group came out to welcome us to the show….and they ran
out of time and got cut off. The perils of going live for your first time.
It doesn’t look good, but it’s far from the worst thing in the world. Strong Hearts vs. So Cal Uncensored

Now we get to the good part, with a rather fun opening match between two
very good trios. So Cal Uncensored knows exactly how to get a crowd going
and their matches more than back it up. The Oriental Wrestling
Entertainment guys looked great and I could go for more of them. This was exactly what they should have used for the opener and everyone looked
awesome. Good choice here and now we’re getting onto the right foot.

They certainly know what theyre doing:
[This post contains video, click to play]
Britt Baker vs. Kylie Rae vs. Nyla Rose vs. Awesome Kong

This is where things took a bit of a hit as they tried to do a little bit
too much. It’s very clear that Baker and Rae are two of the women that they want to build the division around and that’s fine. Both are young, talented and entertaining workers, but there was a lot going on to distract me from those two. Kong was a late addition to the match to make it a four way with Brandi Rhodes entering her as a surprise after a nice fake out.

The problem with that is Rose was presented as the monster of the match and then you have one of the all time female monsters in there as well. It
negates what Rose has while putting the focus on Kong, which defeats the purpose of the match entirely. I liked the Rae vs. Baker parts and Baker
won, as she (or Rae) should have, but this would have been much better with Baker vs. Rae and Kong coming out after as the surprise.

Seriously how can you not love her:
[This post contains video, click to play]
Best Friends vs. Angelico/Jack Evans

Then there’s this one, which was the match I wasn’t looking forward to. I don’t care for the Best Friends as I don’t usually care for their matches and I find their comedy to be somewhere between unfunny and just annoying.
They had a decent enough match here though and with the tag division being
a focal point of the promotion, it makes a lot of sense to push an
experienced team like them. Not really my thing, but it makes sense given
the long term goals of the company.

What didn’t make sense (or at least wasn’t well executed) when the Super Smash Bros debuted after the match and destroyed both teams. The fans in
the arena weren’t sure who they were, I wasn’t sure who they were and the announcers weren’t sure who they were. Obviously they’re going to need a name change, but shouldn’t that name have been known before they appeared here? It wasn’t well executed and it’s not like they’re that famous of a team in the first place.
Aja Kong/Yuka Sakazaki/Emi Sakura vs. Hikaru Shida/Riho/Ryo Mizunami

This is another case where your individual tastes are going to determine everything. I’m a story guy in wrestling and there wasn’t one present here. Now that being said, that wasn’t exactly the point of this one. The idea
here was to showcase these six women and make them an attraction in the
vein of the rotating cast of cruiserweights from the Monday Nitro formula.
In that regard, this worked very well, but I prefer a little more than
that. It was solid action and I’d watch it again, but I need a reason to
care about these people or at least something that sets them apart other
than “that’s not Aja Kong” or “they’re on Kong’s team”.
Dustin Rhodes vs. Cody

Now we get to the match that matters more than anything else on the show as this match went from what should have been a nice match to what people
remember more than anything else. I’m still not sure I get why these two wanted to hurt each other but it’s a story that tells itself well enough.

Before we get to the match though, there’s the stuff with Cody and the
Triple H inspired throne. It didn’t need to be there, it didn’t need to take place, and it didn’t really do anything other than make me roll my
eyes. I’m sure the anti-WWE fans loved it but this was little more than a
way to get some attention. I was more worried about this opening the
floodgates of a bunch of anti-WWE stuff but it never came, which was quite
the relief.

So anyway, the match was indeed great and probably the best thing either of them have done (on their own at least, as Rhodes had some incredible
tag/team matches in WCW/WWF). It was violent, it was bloody and it was emotional, which is more than you see in almost any match these days. The
blood was excessive (to put it mildly) and they beat the fire out of each other, which put this further up than anything else on the show. Great
match, better story, and incredible emotion.

Oh and then they went with the Dusty Rhodes promo from 1994 with Cody
saying that he needed a brother instead of a partner, which was about as
good as it was going to get. This was outstanding stuff all around and completely above and beyond anything else that you could have asked from
from this match.

Then it was time for a segment, which the show has thankfully been light on
so far. Bret Hart (originally planned to be Ric Flair until health got in
the way) brought out the World Title. But hang on because Friedman
interrupted and got in the great line of “LOOK OUT BRET! IT’S A FAN!”. Page, Jungle Boy and Jimmy Havoc took care of him though and Hart held up
the title, which looked fine enough. This was really necessary after the previous match to give the fans a breather, plus Hart was a very cool
surprise.
AAA Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. Young Bucks(c)

I don’t know what else there is to say about this one. They did a bunch of crazy spots, they kicked out of a ridiculous amount of moves and the Bucks
won in the end. This was all about being the big high spot match on the
show and it actually felt like a dream match. Well done in that regard,
even if I’ve seen both teams have better matches before.
Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho

This was the main event and a rematch of their Wrestle Kingdom classic,
which isn’t the worst idea in the world. Jericho might be older, but he’s still by far the biggest name in the company and someone that the fans are going to recognize more than anyone else. The match….well it was good.

The problem is it came after the two other great to very good matches and
that made it feel like a letdown. Jericho can still go, but he’s going to
be 49 this year and it’s starting to become clear. The Judas Effect isn’t a great finisher and it came out of nowhere, but it could have been a lot
worse. I get why it’s the main event, though it’s nowhere near the best match on the show.

Then we got to the big surprise ending to the show with Jon Moxley debuting
and laying out both guys. This was EXACTLY the right call to end the show
as Moxley is a legitimate major star and someone who just left WWE, making
his appearance feel that much more important. It was a cool moment and
Moxley looked great, so this went about as well as it could have gone.

And this is how you end a show:

[This post contains video, click to play]
Overall, Double Or Nothing was a very, very strong show and as good of a
debut as they could have hoped for, either realistically or
unrealistically. The wrestling was mostly good (the last three matches
ranged from great to quite good) and the presentation looked awesome. There
are a few things that they need to tighten up (dropping Alex Marvez from commentary would help as you don’t need a three man booth) but for what the show could have been and what it wound up being, it’s an outstanding night and I’m excited for where they go from here.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen
over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since
2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his Amazon author page with 28
wrestling books. His latest book is the History Of In Your House.

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The post KBs Review: Reviewing The Review Double Or Nothing appeared first
on WrestlingRumors.net.



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