The injury occurred during a match where he, Shelton Benjamin, and Cedric Alexander faced the Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado) and Riddle. Dave Meltzer reported on.Wrestling Observer Radio this morning that MVP needed getting help to the back while the cameras were off . He appeared on Raw Talk later that night in crutches. Additionally, PWInsider reported this morning that MVP had traveled to Brimingham, Alabama.
Riddle scored the win for his team in the match, pinning MVP with a knee strike and a floating bro. After the match, Riddle was laid out by Bobby Lashley. Riddle is scheduled to face Lashley for the United States title at Elimination Chamber this Sunday in a triple threat match that also includes Keith Lee.
After returning to WWE last year, MVP aligned himself with Lashley. His association with Lashley would later turn into managing his own stable, adding Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin to the mix.
Bobby Lashley is the new WWE United States champion.
Lashley defeated Apollo tonight in a back and forth match where he won the title by submission, latching on the full nelson.
This marks Lashley’s second reign as champion, his first in over a decade. He first won the title back on the May 23, 2006 edition of SmackDown, defeating John Bradshaw Layfield.
Apollo has been feuding with MVP, Bobby Lashley, and Shelton Benjamin, collectively known as The Hurt Business, in recent months. He was originally supposed to face MVP at Extreme Rules for the United States title, but was unable to due to what announcers described as an injury.
Last Sunday at SummerSlam, Apollo defeated MVP in a United States title match. A match was then made between him and Lashley for the title the following day on Raw.
Apollo Crews had held the championship for 97 days, defeating Andrade on the May 25th edition of Raw.
WWE has announced which of tonight’s matches will be taking place on the SummerSlam pre-show.
Apollo Crews’ United States Championship defense against MVP will be tonight’s SummerSlam pre-show match. The pre-show begins at 6 p.m. Eastern time, with the main card then starting at 7 p.m. Eastern.
Crews defeated MVP on Raw three weeks ago to become the unquestioned US Champion. MVP had been calling himself the rightful champion after Crews wasn’t able to compete in their match that was scheduled for Extreme Rules last month.
After losing to Crews, MVP cut a promo blaming the technical issues caused by RETRIBUTION and challenged Crews to a rematch.
As a stipulation of Crews defeating Shelton Benjamin on Raw last Monday, MVP’s Hurt Business stablemates Bobby Lashley and Benjamin will be banned from ringside for tonight’s match.
Here’s the list of announced matches for SummerSlam:
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre defending against Randy Orton
Universal Champion Braun Strowman defending against “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt in a falls count anywhere match
Raw Women’s Champion Sasha Banks defending against Asuka
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley defending against Asuka
Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits defending against Andrade & Angel Garza
Dominik Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins in a street fight
Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville in a no DQ, loser leaves WWE match
United States Champion Apollo Crews defending against MVP (pre-show)
After returning to the promotion earlier this year, MVP has signed a multi-year contract with WWE.
MVP announced the deal via a post on his Instagram account last night: “Tonight, I’m drinking ‘the good stuff’. Yamazaki 18 from @suntorywhisky is the spirit of choice. I have come to terms with @wwe on a multi year deal. MVP is in #thehurtbusiness for the foreseeable future! Kampai! NOW… it’s official!”
MVP made his return to WWE as a surprise entrant in the men’s Royal Rumble match this January. He joined the company as a producer but has been heavily featured as an on-screen performer both as a manager and wrestler. He’s aligned with Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin as The Hurt Business on Raw.
At SummerSlam on August 23, MVP will challenge Apollo Crews for the United States Championship. Crews defeated MVP on Raw this week to retain the US title. MVP had been calling himself the rightful champion after their scheduled match at Extreme Rules last month didn’t happen.
On the Gorilla Position podcast last month, MVP discussed returning to WWE and said he and the company were in negotiations for a long-term deal:
It went so well that I was invited to San Antonio the night next for Monday Night Raw and I was given an opportunity to wrestle Rey Mysterio who’s my son’s favorite wrestler and then I was offered a job as a producer which I accepted because I had the intention of retiring anyway, and I was working as a producer and then I was asked to do an on-screen VIP Lounge and then I was asked to do a short match and another on-screen segment and another and another and another and before I knew it, my producer — my responsibilities as a producer became less and less as I was asked to do more and more as talent, and now I can say that the WWE and myself are in negotiations for a long-term deal.
Though Apollo Crews defeated MVP on Raw tonight to become the unquestioned United States Champion, a rematch between the two is already set.
WWE has confirmed that Crews will defend his United States title against MVP at SummerSlam. The pay-per-view is taking place on Sunday, August 23.
Crews vs. MVP for the US title was supposed to take place at Extreme Rules last month but didn’t happen due to Crews testing positive for COVID-19. MVP has been calling himself the rightful United States Champion since then. Crews defeated MVP to retain the title on Raw tonight, getting the win by hitting his toss powerbomb.
After winning tonight’s match, Crews received the old US title belt and the new title belt that was introduced by MVP. Crews said in a post-match interview that he was going to display the old title belt in his kids’ bedroom because he wants them to have the first championship he won in WWE.
MVP got on the microphone after losing and said WWE and Crews should be ashamed of themselves. As part of a show-long storyline ahead of a new faction arriving on Raw tonight, lights were going on and off during Crews and MVP’s match. MVP blamed the unsafe working environment for his loss and challenged Crews to a rematch at SummerSlam.
It was announced later on Raw that Crews has accepted MVP’s challenge.
This is the third match that’s been made official for SummerSlam. Here’s the updated card for the PPV:
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre defending against Randy Orton
Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits defending against Andrade & Angel Garza
United States Champion Apollo Crews defending against MVP
A United States title match originally set for Extreme Rules will take place on Raw.
WWE confirmed this afternoon that Apollo Crews will defend the United States title against MVP on Raw. The WWE.com article noted that the match will start the show.
Crews was originally set to defend the title against MVP at Extreme Rules. However, WWE said at the time that he wasn’t cleared to compete as a result of an attack by Bobby Lashley. Apollo was last seen on the June 27 edition of Raw, losing a match to MVP. Lashley assaulted Apollo after the match, leading to an in-storyline injury.
In the weeks since Extreme Rules, MVP has continued to declare himself champion despite Apollo still being recognized by WWE as champion, going as far as showcasing a new United States championship belt.
Shelton Benjamin has since joined forces with MVP and Bobby Lashley. Together, they have formed the faction known as The Hurt Business.
The scheduled match between Apollo Crews and MVP at tonight’s Extreme Rules event did not take place.
At the start of the segment, the announcers said that Apollo had failed a pre-match physical and was not cleared to compete at tonight’s show. They aired footage of Crews being laid out by Lashley with a full nelson submission, explaining that Apollo suffered a bulging disc as a result of the attack.
MVP and Lashley then came out. MVP told Lashley jokingly not to use the full nelson so much that it hurts his career. He then took the new United States title and left, declaring himself the new champion by forfeit. The announcers insisted that he wasn’t.
Apollo hasn’t been seen on television in recent weeks, most recently appearing on the June 29th episode of Raw where he was pinned by MVP. MVP has since introduced a new United States title design and has declared himself champion, even though the title was not on the line for their match.
A new match for Extreme Rules, along with a new United States title design, were revealed tonight on Raw.
Announcers confirmed during the show that Apollo Crews would defend the United States championship against MVP at Extreme Rules, which takes place on July 19.
MVP and Bobby Lashley then came out to discuss what happened the previous week, when MVP defeated Apollo Crews in a match. Although it was not for the championship, MVP declared himself the new United States champion anyway, revealing a new United States championship design.
Lashley agreed, handing the championship to MVP. Ricochet and Cedric Alexander interrupted the ceremony, which eventually led to a tag team match. Lashley won the match for his team, pinning Alexander with a spear.
The United States championship, save for a few modifications, had retained the same design since being reintroduced in 2003. The title’s lineage dates back to 1975, with Harley Race being recognized by WWE as the first champion.
WWE has announced three matches and a segment that will be airing on tonight’s episode of Raw.
United States Champion Apollo Crews vs. MVP in a non-title match, The Viking Raiders vs. Andrade & Angel Garza, and Akira Tozawa defending the 24/7 Championship against R-Truth are set for the episode.
WWE has also announced that Big Show and Ric Flair will appear on tonight’s Raw. Big Show confronted Randy Orton and Flair last week during the segment where Flair was anointing Orton as the greatest wrestler ever.
Crews defeated Shelton Benjamin in non-title matches on Raw each of the past two weeks. MVP has been trying to recruit Crews and there was a VIP Lounge segment with the two of them last week. MVP mentioned his previous 343-day reign as United States Champion and said that — whether Crews likes it or not — the US title is coming back home to him where it belongs.
A distraction by MVP allowed Benjamin to attack Crews before their match last week. After the match, Bobby Lashley put Crews in a full nelson.
Tozawa won the 24/7 title from R-Truth last week after MVP and Lashley took out Tozawa’s ninjas and Lashley put Truth in the full nelson.
The Street Profits retained their Raw Tag Team titles against The Viking Raiders on last Monday’s show. Andrade & Garza attacked The Street Profits after until The Viking Raiders made the save.
Tonight’s Raw was supposed to be taped last Friday, but the tapings for the show were pushed back to Saturday. It was confirmed last week that multiple people in WWE have tested positive for COVID-19.
Tonight’s show will feature a double contract signing for Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler for the WWE Championship and Asuka vs. Sasha Banks for the Raw Women’s Championship at Extreme Rules. The contract signing will be hosted by Samoa Joe and will feature all of the participants in the ring at the same time. The feud between Seth Rollins and Rey Mysterio will also continue tonight.
Tonight’s episode of Raw will include an appearance by Ric Flair.
WWE.com wrote about Flair’s appearance ahead of tonight’s show: “Woo! Don’t miss Ric Flair live tonight on Raw! After an unforgettable WWE Backlash, what will ‘The Nature Boy’ have to say after his former protege Randy Orton prevailed over Edge in The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever — just as Flair predicted? Be sure to tune in tonight to see the 16-time World Champion!”
WWE has also announced that Drew McIntyre & R-Truth will team against Bobby Lashley & MVP on Raw tonight. The match comes after McIntyre retained his WWE Championship against Lashley at Backlash.
McIntyre hit the Claymore to get the win at Backlash after Lashley was distracted by Lana — who Lashley had told to stay backstage during his matches — coming out to ringside. After McIntyre gave him a headbutt, Lashley accidentally knocked Lana off the apron and onto MVP.
Randy Orton will kick off tonight’s Raw after defeating Edge at Backlash last night. Asuka will defend her Raw Women’s Championship against Nia Jax in a Backlash rematch, and Dominik Mysterio has accepted Seth Rollins’ invitation to appear on the show.
A VIP Lounge segment will be part of the final build to Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley’s WWE Championship match at Backlash.
WWE has announced that a VIP Lounge segment with MVP and Bobby Lashley will air on tomorrow’s episode of Raw. It will reveal what happened after last week’s Raw went off the air.
After McIntyre defeated MVP in last Monday’s main event, Lashley put McIntyre in a full nelson as the show ended.
McIntyre has been WWE Champion since winning the title from Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36. He’s had two title defenses since then, retaining against Big Show and Seth Rollins.
WWE has also announced that Rey Mysterio will appear on tomorrow’s Raw. Last week, Mysterio appeared via video for the first time since the angle where Seth Rollins attacked his eye on the May 11 episode of the show. Mysterio said he wasn’t sure when or if he’ll be able to return. He said he’s a man of forgiveness, but he’ll never forgive Rollins for what he did to him and his family.
Dominik Mysterio appeared with his father last week and warned Rollins that it will be an eye for an eye.
Christian will also host a Peep Show segment with Edge on tomorrow’s go-home episode of Raw, which comes in advance of Edge facing Randy Orton at Backlash. Plus, The Street Profits and The Viking Raiders will compete in a decathlon on the episode.
WWE has confirmed that 24/7 Champion Rob Gronkowski will appear on Raw tonight: “BREAKING: The longest-reigning #247Champion and @Buccaneers Tight End @RobGronkowski will appear on #WWERaw TONIGHT!”
A promo from Gronkowski aired last week, with him responding to R-Truth and telling him to bring it on after R-Truth said he was coming after the 24/7 title.
**********
Prior to defending his WWE Championship against Bobby Lashley at Backlash, Drew McIntyre is set to face off with MVP in non-title action.
In an email sent out promoting the show, WWE announced that McIntyre vs. MVP (w/ Lashley) will air on tonight’s episode of Raw. MVP recently aligned with Lashley and became his manager.
McIntyre appeared on a VIP Lounge segment with MVP on Raw last week, which led to him laying out MVP with a Claymore when Lashley tried to come out to the ring. The show also ended with a brawl between McIntyre and Lashley after Lashley & MVP got disqualified against The Street Profits in the main event.
Backlash is taking place on Sunday, June 14. WWE has also announced that Randy Orton will respond to Edge tonight ahead of their match at the pay-per-view.
Raw Women’s Champion Asuka vs. NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair in a non-title champion vs. champion match, Apollo Crews defending the United States Championship against an opponent of his choosing, Seth Rollins vs. Aleister Black, and Rollins hosting a “retirement ceremony” for Rey Mysterio have also been announced for tonight’s Raw.
Mysterio hasn’t appeared on Raw since the angle where his eye was attacked by Rollins three weeks ago.
Rollins will appear on Raw Talk with Charly Caruso and Samoa Joe on the WWE Network following tonight’s show. WWE announced the return of the weekly post-show today as part of the free tier of the WWE Network.
MVP was most recently in action when he lost a Money in the Bank qualifying match last month. On Raw the past two weeks, he’s hosted VIP Lounge segments with the brand’s men’s and women’s MITB ladder match participants.
MVP has also aligned with Shane Thorne & Brendan Vink, who defeated Ricochet & Cedric Alexander on Raw this Monday.
R-Truth lost the WWE 24/7 Championship to Mojo Rawley at WrestleMania 36 night one, with Rawley then losing the title to Rob Gronkowski on night two.
After weeks of videos documenting his rise, fall, redemption, and comeback, Hardy was back on SmackDown last night. WWE has been building up a feud between Hardy and Sheamus, and Hardy fought off Sheamus on last night’s show.
Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura & Baron Corbin defeated Daniel Bryan, Drew Gulak & Otis in the main event of SmackDown last night. Corbin, Bryan, and Otis are participants in this year’s men’s Money in the Bank ladder match.
Here’s the updated card for Money in the Bank (both MITB ladder matches happening simultaneously at WWE headquarters):
Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match (Shayna Baszler, Asuka, Nia Jax, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, and Carmella)
Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match (Aleister Black, Rey Mysterio, AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, Baron Corbin, and Otis)
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre defending against Seth Rollins
Universal Champion Braun Strowman defending against Bray Wyatt
SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley defending against Tamina
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day defending against The Forgotten Sons, The Lucha House Party, and The Miz & John Morrison in a fatal four-way match
Asuka defeated Catalina Garcia (now just ‘Catalina’) in a by-the-numbers opener that went too long before Shelton Benjamin and Humberto Carrillo battled for the third time on Main Event.
MVP was a welcome addition to the announce table, providing some insight and experience.
Show Recap:
MVP was in the booth this week with Tom Phillips for the first time, preferable to the usual pairing of Byron Saxton and Mickie James. With MVP providing the color commentary, they have someone with nearly 20 years experience in the business and it really showed.
Asuka defeated Catalina (9:03)
Asuka worked Main Event last month, defeating a newcomer to the show in Kayden Carter. Under normal circumstances, the fact that she is even on this show would be a serious cause for concern, but all bets are off here in April 2020.
Back in October, Catalina Garcia made her Raw debut, coming out with Sin Cara. Six months later, how things have changed. Now sans ‘Garcia’, Catalina made her Main Event debut here in what was a very visually vibrant match.
This was certainly given generous timing. Matches over the seven minute mark are pretty rare on Main Event and the fact they did so here is good for the new talent they are continuing to give a chance to on the show each week.
Unfortunately, what they did with the time wasn’t really much to write home about. It was largely holds and mat work with Asuka dominating Catalina, who either doesn’t have much in her armory or wasn’t given the chance to show it.
Asuka got a near fall after a running bulldog followed by Catalina attempting a 360 splash off the middle rope. However, Asuka had it scouted and rolled out of the way, finishing Catalina with the Asuka Lock for the win.
Humberto Carrillo defeated Shelton Benjamin (7:08)
I wrote last week that having Benjamin and Carrillo work together on this show each week would be fine by me and after this week, I stand by that.
MVP noted that Benjamin has “missed a step”, but conceded that “power is always the last thing to go.” This also led to lots of inevitable Money in the Bank ladder match discussion and reflection on Benjamin’s highlight reel in that regard.
They worked extremely well together again here and used the full ring and the barriers outside, going through a commercial break. Benjamin looked in his element early on as he beat down and suplexed Carrillo, grinning widely as he seemed to be enjoying himself.
It was only a small package that defeated Benjamin in the end with Carrillo rolling out of the ring quickly after the bell and backing up the ramp with his arm aloft. This takes Carrillo to 3-0 over Benjamin, but I would happily watch them do it over next week.
Final Thoughts:
Main Event was another interesting show this week with debuts and some much needed experience, both in the ring and in the announce booth. Again, there’s little to hate about the show these days as it glides along at a good pace for 45 minutes of wrestling and a Raw recap.
Date: April 20, 2020 Location: WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL
The Big Takeaway —
As expected, Aleister Black, Rey Mysterio and Apollo Crews qualified for the men’s MITB ladder match.
Drew McIntyre (the champion) challenged Seth Rollins to a title match at MITB and Rollins accepted. McIntyre went on to beat Angel Garza in the main event and continued to terrorize Zelina Vega’s stable.
For the second straight week, Kevin Owens was not on the show.
Show Recap —
Drew McIntyre entered to start the show. He said Raw was the highlight of his week and welcomed us to the show. He talked about being jumped last week but wasn’t at all surprised. The title meant history, prestige and fame but it also painted a bullseye on his back. McIntyre was once told that it was lonely at the top but that was a lie — it’s crowded as hell at the top.
McIntyre said Rollins wasn’t all that complex. McIntyre was the champion and Rollins wanted to be the champion. McIntyre noted that people didn’t think Rollins deserved a shot but admitted that he was one of the most decorated wrestlers of all-time. McIntyre wanted to continue to beat the best so he challenged Rollins for a title match at Money in the Bank.
McIntyre was about to give Rollins a message but was interrupted by Zelina Vega, Angel Garza and Austin Theory. Vega said he was too focused on MITB and was looking past Garza. At that moment, Andrade attacked McIntyre from behind. McIntyre quickly responded with a Claymore Kick.
Vega urged Theory and Garza to go after him but they didn’t budge. McIntyre Claymore kicked Andrade out of the ring. McIntyre looked into the camera and encouraged the audience to put their kids to bed because he was going to slaughter Garza later tonight.
Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips and Jerry Lawler are tonight’s announcers. They spoke about the gimmick for this year’s MITB ladder match.
Aleister Black defeated Austin Theory to qualify for the MITB ladder match (11:51)
Vega joined commentary, so there were once again four people sitting side-by-side-by-side at the announce desk. They’re not acknowledging that Vega and Black are married, which is silly.
Black dropkicked Theory out of the ring so Vega left commentary to yell at him for not fighting fairly. Theory then chucked Black into the barricade and they went to break. Theory was in control until Black applied a triangle choke but Theory countered into a deadlift powerbomb. Black came back later with strikes and springboard moonsault for two.
Theory went on offense briefly until Black caught him with a knee, German suplex and Black Mass for the pinfall win. This match was fine.
Saxton asked Black about his strategy for the corporate ladder match. Black said he didn’t know much about corporate life and guessed he would have to cover up his tattoos. Black promised his opponents that each floor of the building would turn into their own personal hell.
Shayna Baszler defeated Indi Hartwell (1:00)
Before Baszler entered, Charly Caruso asked her if she took it too far against Sarah Logan last week. Baszler responded, “Did I break any rules? Nah, I just broke Sarah Logan’s arm.” They showed a replay.
Baszler tried the arm-break spot again but Hartwell avoided it and applied a schoolgirl for two. Baszler used a forearm, slam, knee strike and then stomped the arm as she did to Logan. The referee immediately called for the bell and they announced Baszler as the winner. Baszler marched off.
As officials checked on Hartwell, Baszler brought a ladder to ringside. She swung Hartwell into the barricade and the ladder. The ref yelled at her to stop and Lawler said they should probably try to do more than just ask her to stop. Baszler trapped Hartwell’s arm in between the ladder and kicked it in. Saxton said Baszler was evil.
There’s some sort of Ricochet feature airing on the Network after Raw. Thorne and Vink very briefly got some offense, but this was really a showcase for Ricochet and Alexander. They won quickly after Ricochet gave Thorne a Recoil and Alexander followed with a Lumbar Check for the pin. Lawler seemed amused by those move names.
Caruso interviewed Kairi Sane and Asuka. Caruso wondered how Sane thought she would fare in her rematch against Nia Jax. Asuka said Sane was ready. They danced and sang their way out of frame.
Bobby Lashley was at the gym inside the PC. Lana joined him. Lashley wanted to show how easy it was to flip a giant tractor tire. Lana stroked his muscles. They left, so I guess this is happening later (Lashley needed to warm up first).
[Second hour]
For the second time in less than an hour, they plugged the Triple H anniversary show on SmackDown this Friday.
Nia Jax defeated Kairi Sane (4:07)
The announcers said Sane asked for this rematch. Like last week, Asuka watched from the back for some reason.
Jax tossed Sane into the turnbuckles and she took an ugly bump. Jax missed a charge and began selling her leg so Sane kicked away at it. Sane hammered away on Jax, hit a spinning back fist and sliding forearm. Jax avoided an Insane Elbow and hit a Samoan drop for the pinfall win. Jax lightly smacked Sane in the face after the match.
They aired a Rollins promo which appeared to be from a remote location. Rollins noted how much he and McIntyre had in common and that they both beat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania for the title.
Rollins accepted his challenge but not out of respect or even disdain. This wasn’t personal. It was necessary. Rollins said the WWE universe needed a leader, but as much as they had in common, he was a proven leader and McIntyre was not. Rollins would be the light in the darkness. He would take the title, not because he wants to, but because he has to.
They aired a tape of the Viking Raiders driving around doing their own version of carpool karaoke. They wore t-shirts and jeans to go along with their Viking headgear. Ivar chomped down on a drumstick as Erik drove. They were in a much more gleeful mood than usual. This seemed designed to give them some personality.
Apollo Crews defeated MVP to qualify for the MITB ladder match (8:09)
Crews interrupted MVP’s pre-match promo. They went to break 45 seconds into the match. MVP was in control until Crews countered his finisher into a spinebuster. Crews followed with a Stinger splash, fists, superkick, clothesline and powerslam for two. MVP got his knees up on a frog splash attempt and hit the Playmaker for a nearfall.
Crews came back with an enziguri, press slam, standing moonsault, standing shooting star and a spin-out powerbomb for the pinfall win. Not much of a match but Crews’ finishing sequence was impressive. Phillips yelled that this was the biggest win of Crews’ career.
Caruso interviewed Ruby Riott about the Riott Squad and her match against Liv Morgan tonight. Riott said there never really was a squad. She had double shoulder surgery because she had to carry Logan and Morgan on her back. She made them look threatening. Now Logan has a broken arm and Morgan might leave here with broken arms. Riott said Morgan thinks she’s all grown up but she would learn how small and lonely and weak she was without her.
Liv Morgan defeated Ruby Riott (3:19)
They went back-and-forth until Morgan caught Riott with a Flatliner off the ropes for the pinfall win. The announcers intimated that Morgan was now done with Riott. (I like Riott a lot but Morgan did pick up a win on the Mania pre-show, so this makes sense.)
Back at the gym, Lashley was all warmed up. Lana said he wasn’t warm, he was hot. Lashley flipped the tractor tire. He admitted that any world-class athlete could flip that tire but questioned if they could flip a much bigger one. They had one that seemed twice the size.
They aired a tribute graphic for Howard Finkel. RIP.
Rey Mysterio defeated Murphy to qualify for the MITB ladder match (15:03)
Mysterio wore Under Armour gloves with the Batman logo on it. He appeared to injure his finger and went outside to regroup so Murphy went after him and pushed him into the barricade. Murphy tried working over his hand but Mysterio fought him off until Murphy stomped his hand on the steel edge of the ramp.
Murphy continued to target the hand after the break. He stomped it against the top of the ring post, then Mysterio shoved him to the outside and used a leg scissors takedown against the ramp. Murphy tried countering a 619 but Mysterio turned that into a tilt-a-whirl DDT for two. Mysterio then drove Murphy into the barricade with another leg scissors takedown.
Mysterio appeared to try popping his finger back in place. Back in the ring, Murphy rolled through a high cross attempt and hit a fireman’s carry neckbreaker, knee strike and brainbuster for two. Mysterio blocked a sunset flip powerbomb and hit a Canadian Destroyer, 619 and frog splash for the pinfall win. Good match.
McIntyre vs. Rollins for the title was made official for MITB.
Caruso tried interviewing Vega but she continuously mocked her. Vega intimated that her plan was going just fine and suggested McIntyre may not make it to MITB after tonight. Garza invited Caruso to ask him how it feels to beat a champion after his match tonight. She smiled and responded, “I could do that.”
NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair defeated Kayden Carter in a non-title match (2:45)
Charlotte stretched using the ropes as the bell rang to start the match then caught Carter off guard with a big boot. She said you should always do your homework, which is fine advice. Carter fought back and used a crucifix driver.
Charlotte fought out of an octopus hold and hit a spear. She applied the Figure Four, slapped Carter in the face while holding the move, then transitioned into the Figure Eight and Carter tapped out. Charlotte mockingly clapped for Carter after the match.
Back in the gym, Lashley admitted he wasn’t sure he could move the 450-lbs tire, but if anyone could do it, it was him. Lashley attempted it a couple of times but it barely budged. Saxton, an idiot, called this embarrassing. Lashley then flipped it over without much problem. Lana was very impressed. (Lawler said it was a monster truck tire and it would have weighed well over 500-lbs.)
(There was a piece of exercise equipment in the background with the NXT logo on it. It appears they tried to cover up the NXT logo with black tape but the tape peeled off.)
US Champion Andrade (w/Zelina Vega) defeated Akira Tozawa in a non-title match (4:56)
Tozawa was all over Andrade early on and hit the same running flip dive to the outside that he did last week. No, Lawler did not make the same remark as last time. Tozawa followed with a flying front dropkick for two. Tozawa tried going after him on the outside but Vega momentarily got in his way which allowed Andrade to attack.
Tozawa managed to apply an octopus hold anyway but Andrade got a rope break. Andrade hit a back elbow but Tozawa then psyched him out and punched him in the face. Andrade came back with a dropkick but Tozawa countered a vertical suplex into a small package for two, followed by two more rollups for two.
Tozawa hit a superkick and went to the top but Andrade knocked him down and hit an elevated hammerlock DDT for the pinfall win. This was short but quite fun.
As Vega and Andrade exited, the Street Profits entered and they danced on the announce table, so five people were in close proximity to each other. In fact, Vega and Andrade walked past them to leave so there were really seven people quite close to each other for a moment.
Back from break, the Street Profits were still on the announce table and they introduced Bianca Belair. Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins joined commentary for the match.
Bianca Belair defeated Santana Garrett (4:11)
Ford and Dawkins were very excited on commentary and Saxton joined them in their excitement until Phillips told him to shut up. Ford and Dawkins went crazy for a shoulder tackle, which was kind of funny. Garrett hit a high cross but Belair kicked out at one.
Belair followed soon after with KOD for the pinfall win. The Street Profits went absolutely crazy for the win. I assume a lot of people would have found them annoying, but I thought this was pretty amusing.
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre defeated Angel Garza (w/Zelina Vega, US Champion Andrade & Austin Theory) (5:03)
Like last week, the main event started with only about 7-8 minutes left in the show.
McIntyre chopped the hell out of Garza. Andrade tried to distract him as Garza went for a dive, but McIntyre caught him and hit a headbutt. Theory also tried to attack but McIntyre fended him off. Garza finally managed to take advantage and rammed him twice into the post. Garza followed with a missile dropkick for a one count.
McIntyre fought out of a single leg crab and hit a clothesline and boot. McIntyre hit a double axe handle and went for a Claymore kick but Garza tried to escape the ring. As he did, McIntyre ripped his pants off. McIntyre then hit an Undertaker dive onto all three men.
McIntyre sent Andrade over the barricade and Claymore kicked Theory. He tried giving Garza a reverse Alabama Slam but Garza rolled into a cover for two. McIntyre followed immediately with a Claymore kick for the pinfall win.
After the match, McIntyre let the announce team know he was going to hit another kick. So, in fact, McIntyre went to the ring and gave Garza another Claymore kick. He told Vega to keep lining them up. Theory got in the ring for some reason so he also ate a Claymore kick.
Andrade went up the ramp and got too close to the WWE title, so McIntyre chased after and Andrade bailed to the back. McIntyre did a baseball slide to pick up his belt and posed with it. McIntyre couldn’t help but chuckle. He seems to be having the time of his life right now.
I enjoyed this show more than most of the recent empty arena shows.
