KIF's star ratings(May contain spoilers)

[Kiffy Lube]

WWE SmackDown 11/13:
IC Title Match: Sami Zayn(c) v.s Apollo Crews Smart
Dolph Ziggler v.s Otis Not quite Vader
No Holds Barred: Seth Rollins v.s Rey Mysterio ***1/4
Survivor Series Qualifer: Liv Morgan v. Tamina v.s Natalya v.s Chelsea Green *
Unsanctioned Match: Drew McIntyre v.s Jey Uso **1/2

Sorry, that there is no write up or anythin'. I'll do sumthin' for Raw even if it's half ass.

 

[Chris]

Not quite Vader

 

[Kiffy Lube]

As stated in the shoutbox, I don't have ratings for Raw and SD from last week. Orton/McIntyre was a lot of fun though.

Survivor Series 2020:
Men's Survivor Series Match **1/4
Champions v.s Champions: New Day v.s Street Profits ***1/2
Champion v.s Champion: Sami Zayn v.s Bobby Lashley *3/4
Champion v.s Champion: Sasha Banks v.s Asuka ****
Women's Survivor Series Match Peyton Royce
Champion v.s Champion: Drew McIntyre v.s Roman Reigns ****1/2

Got home from Thanksgivin' dinner in town decided it was time to watch Undertaker's Farewell and open up a bottle of Jack for the occasion.

Opener was fine at times but ultimately was just used to push The Brotherhood stuff. Also what does this mis-match team on Raw get out of all of this? Oh wow, they actually worked together. Is that it? A couple folks will probably feud with each other while others move on. It doesn't do much for anythin'. I don't really like havin' outside storylines affect my ratings but in this match's case it kind of has to happen. Also, I don't want to see another Jey superkick ever again... oh yeah, we'll get to that.

New Day/Street Profits was a great back and forth match between two teams. I think it could have escalated further. I think they tried to rush things for time. The attempt of usin' each other's finishers did add some intrigue. I could see some great matches from this two teams against each other in the future. There just wasn't much heat between two over baby face teams like this.

Zayn/Lashley was just of the mill shit. This didn't belong on this card. I am glad Lashley won, I guess Zayn has an out that he tripped his own self over MVP's leg. It was funny but this is just filler nonsense.

In what I thought was gonna be the match of the night at the time, Sasha/Asuka wrestled one of their more cleaner matches and considerin' how match trade off of pin attempts they were doin' it surprised me. I know they can have great matches but sometimes it just fails to deliver with a lot of sloppiness. I did love the approach both took to try to simply out wrestle each other even the bigger spots were intertwined into that objective. Sasha winnin' the way she did was great and doesn't hurt either wrestler. Well booked but... if this wanted to get even a higher ratin' some tempers should have started flarin' to take this up to another notch. However, it was just a fantastic match regardless.

I don't wanna talk about Lana.

Now, this god damn fuckin' McIntyre/Reigns encounter was off the fuckin' charts. The slow and stallin' start to the brutality it went to was done very fuckin' well. The spot where Reigns hits the Samoan Drop twice on the announcer's table before it broke and then speared McIntyre into the barricade was tremendous. Of course, it happened outside the ring so Scottish Superman kicked out. Fair enough. Another spear couldn't put him away either. Okay, fair enough. However, why my rating isn't slightly higher is the endin'. Hear me out though, I am cool with the ref bump from the Claymore. We just didn't need Jey to come out and superkick Drew. You already buried that trash move earlier in the night. Roman could easily found a way to get depleted McIntyre to fall to the Gullotine without that. However, this match was a lot of damn fun, it just didn't need Jey and his half ass superkick. Roman could have just dealt with Jey a different way on SD to get Jey's heat back.

Undertaker's Farewell(for now) was done very well. I like how they have a group of wrestlers who worked with Taker over the years from early days until now show up to watch his tribute package. I am also glad they didn't speak or had any interaction with Taker. Mark is doin' well handilin' kayfabe outside the WWE circle right now, we don't need to tarnish it that with a sappy long farewell. It was a long segment but it was required. Just glad it was more fittin' to the Deadman. Anyone that says this shouldn't have ended the show, must be a new fan because this was 30 years in the makin'. Whether or not Taker stands by his restin' in peace or not is his choice but he damn well earned endin' this show.

So yeah, this show was a pretty fuckin' mixed bag. The Survivor Series matches themselves need a fuckin' overhaul if they are gonna continue bookin' them. Zayn/Lashley probably shouldn't have happened either. Everythin' else was some quality stuff.

 

[Kiffy Lube]

WWE Raw 11/23:
Tag Team Titles Match: Hurt Business v.s New Day(c) ***3/4
Triple Threat Qualifier: Matt Riddle v.s Sheamus ***1/2
Women’s Title Match: Lana v.s Asuka(c) Why?
Lana & Asuka v.s Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler *3/4
Triple Threat Qualifier: Keith Lee v.s Bobby Lashley **1/2
Nikki Cross v.s Alexa Bliss *3/4
Triple Threat Qualifier: Randy Orton v.s AJ Styles **3/4

WWE SmackDown 11/27:
Dolph Ziggler & Bobby Roode v.s Street Profits **1/2
Sami Zayn v.s Daniel Bryan ***1/4
Natalya v.s Bianca Belair *
Murphy v.s King Corbin Fraud
Kevin Owens v.s Jey Uso **

 

[Chris]

Negative stars for Murphy/Corbin tbh

 

[Kiffy Lube]

I'd rather make up a ratin' if it's that bad. I stand by fraud.

 

[Kiffy Lube]

Impact Wrestlin’ Turnin’ Point 2020:
Eddie Edwards v.s Daivari **
Emma & Jordynne Grace v.s Rosemary & Taya **1/2
Brian Myers v.s ‘Swoggle Hallucination
Triple XXXL v.s Chris Sabin & James Storm ***
Open Challenge for the X-Division Title: Rohit Raju(c) v.s Cousin Jake **1/2
TNA World Heavyweight Title Match: Moose(c) v.s Willie Mack **1/2
Impact Tag Team Title Match: Good Brothers v.s The North(c) **3/4
No DQ Match for the Knockout’s Title: Deonna Purrazzo v.s Su Yung(c) Wally World
Impact Title Match: Sami Callahan v.s Rich Swan(c) ***3/4


That was a pretty flat opener. Just a pretty basic match. Daivari’s arm work was fine, Eddie’s comeback was house show quality. The talent is there for a more compellin’ match but they just didn’t really try to do anythin’. Still, it’s average and doesn’t feel like a strong way for Impact Wrestlin’ to start a PPV/Special.

It’s Kaleb with a K. Is this Conley?

That wasn’t a bad women’s tag match to hype up the tournament. I still have very little interested in the tournament for the Knockout’s Tag Team Titles. However for anyone that is, this was a good teaser. The match was slightly overshadowed by this egomaniac gimmick that Emma has here. Grace and Taya’s strikes really kept me into the match and Rosemary worked well with her partner. More fun than the opener for sure.

There’s a Johnny Swinger and The Deaners feud? I must have fell through a time warp and an alternate reality portal at the same time.

Wow, Curt Hawkins v.s Hornswoggle. Someone get me out of this dimension I ended up in. This is actually bein’ booked fairly competitively. Hawkins sure deserved to be a jobber. Of course Hawkins gets a beat down period that lasts way too long for this type of a feud. ‘Swoggle hits a german suplex on Hawkins… Where the fuck am I? Myers finally wins but this was just not a believable match. No wonder this show is free so far.

Interestin’ tag team match here. I really ended up diggin’ this match. Sabin/Storm as a team will clearly work. They also had a fun spot here where they did the Beer Money suplex followed by them shoutin’ Beer Guns, nice stuff. Yeah, this was just a fun match, the meshin’ of styles made for this to feel like a fight at times against a much bigger team. Easily the best match so far.

Raju is makin’ for a fine X-Division champion. This match wasn’t too bad either if like most of this tonight feels entirely thrown together though. Cousin Jake’s power v.s Raju’s quick counters lead to quite a few cool spots and nearfalls. After some of the the huge moves Jake hit, Raju was able to hit a few quick knees for the win. Raju pretty much survives a pretty brutal beatdown. Solid outin’ for the reignin’ champ.

Damn, EY has Joe Doering by his side now. Pretty smart choice. Let’s hope this goes well. Joe deserves a chance.

That Mack/Moose match was pretty damn brutal. It was mostly all Moose except with a few glimmers of hope from Willie. It’s just when they were tradin’ big moves later in the match it had a fun pace to it. If they could have just had a more event match this could have been fire. Oh well, this is all about Moose. Moose. Moose. Josh Matthews at one point said Moose is like Brock Lesnar.

North/Good Brothers was a solid tag team match. It really didn’t go to another level though. It was mostly just The North beatin’ down the Good Brothers until the Good Brothers found a way to comeback late. The Good Brothers still look as lazy as they were in WWE. Still, this was a good match. It’s just after a year long reign and the Good Brothers already gettin’ a run with these belts this should have been much more.

It takes Deonna way too long to find these weapons and the match just started. This paint canvas spot better be good. A terrible lookin’ Pedigree on the entrance stage. The canvas spot wasn’t worth takin’ that long for. It was a good idea though with the blocked mist and the visual of Yung’s head through it. Then we get some sort of chicken wing submission where the chair is bein’ used except it’s not. it’s just on top of Yung’s head, it’s not addin’ any pressure. It just looks stupid as fuck. This was a disaster. Not only from the awful start but to the flow and pace of whatever this was. Some atrocious lookin’ moves. This just wasn’t as good as they two are actually capable of.

The main event was quite enjoyable. It was some back and forth clinic stuff with stiff shots thrown in. These two clearly know each other very well and I would like to see them continue to feud. There is a lot of meat left on the bone here for even more dangerous matches between the two. A great hard finish between two former friends. The heat is alive and well in this one. Shamrock followed by Eddie Edwards to stop any interference from happenin’. It really isn’t very noteworthy though, they were quickly gone.

Overall, I must say this was a pretty mediocre show with a couple highlights thrown in. That’s about all I have. I don’t even know what I bothered doin’ a write up for this, no wonder this show was free, nobody in their right mind would pay for this.

 

[Chris]

Kaleb with a K is, in fact, Caleb Konley

 

[Kiffy Lube]

WWE Raw 11/30:
Symphony of Destruction Match: Jeff Hardy v.s Elias **3/4
Ricochet v.s Slapjack *
Asuka & Lana v.s Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler **
Xavier Woods v.s Cedric Alexander ***
Sudden Death Triple Threat: Keith Lee v.s AJ Styles v.s Matt Riddle ***1/4
Dana Brooke v.s Reckoning 1/2*
Drew McIntyre & Sheamus v.s Miz & Morrison **-**1/4


Not a bad openin’ promo, Orton/Fiend right now could find some gold. Fiend needs a good feud and Orton needs to be takin’ out of the title scene for the time bein’. Solid upper midcard feud between two people that know each other very well. Maybe, the match quality will be better this time around.

Nice little fun way to get this match started. Both Elias and Hardy layin’ out these jobbers so they can get back to beatin’ the hell out of each other. I quite liked that. Fuckin’ guitar picks. And that did turn into quite the fight. Good midcard stuff with some good build up of spots until Hardy almost killed himself again. I thought you had pin in the ring like a street fight with this gimmick though but that was probably the best end to this considerin’ who we had.

Matt Riddle wants Drew McIntyre to say I’m sexy.

Why does this new Ali gimmick need these goons? He could actually be a fine US Title contender without these dumbass lackeys.

Ricochet/Slapjack wasn’t anythin’ special. Ricochet couldn’t even win this one. Slapjack does have a wicked finisher though. Too be fair it wasn’t too bad of a progression match due to the action to keep the show and rivalry flowin’ so can’t be too upset.

Enjoyed this MizTV. It was great to see Sheamus get an entire segment on this Raw. He earned it even if he did get beatdown for his efforts. However, I’m still not really lookin’ forward to Miz/Morrison v.s McIntyre/Sheamus encounter after how McIntyre already made them look like complete fools.

Watchin’ Nia Jax destroy Lana in this match was a thing of beauty. That match played out pretty damn well. Lana did take a great beatdown from Nia and Shayna. It’s about the best you can expect in this Lana saga.

That is right, Xavier is apart of G4TV now, whatever that entails I still have no idea but there Thanksgivin’ Reunion special where Xavier shows up later was a lot of fun.

Woods and Cedric put on a great match to continue that feud nicely. Terrific progression until the sudden finish that shocks the New Day. Those titles are comin’ ever so close to the Hurt Business. And wait does this mean next week we get Benjamin/Kingston? I am fuckin’ up for that.

Matt Riddle also thinks AJ Styles is cute.

This triple threat was great at times and rather slow when Lee was in control. It kind of stifled a lot of the flow from this gettin’ to another level that it was capable of doin’ with the time it was permitted. Certainly not a classic but a very good way to decide a new #1 contender.

Seconds into this match between Brooke and this lackey, the lackey loses their dumbass mask. Useless shit. Yeah, the entire match was useless shit. The shit after the match might matter if Retribution itself wasn’t already a failure. I do find it funny that Ricochet lost earlier but Brooke is able to win later. Keep buryin’ that overrated flop bucket.

The main event was an okay tag match. It was mostly Sheamus gettin’ his ass kicked before McIntyre finally destroyed Miz and Morrison again. AJ gets involved since why not, tries to scheme Miz into usin’ the briefcase. I do hope AJ/Drew delivers because this kind of bookin’ of gettin’ Miz to fuck up his cash in for the next couple weeks could be pretty damn fun.

I quite enjoyed this Raw, nuthin’ mind blowin’. Just a fairly solid Raw to continue whatever it is they are attemptin’ to do.

 

[Kiffy Lube]

NWA 70:, 10/21/2018:
Winner advances in National Title tournament: Colt Cabana v.s Sammy Guevara v.s Scorpio Sky v.s Samuel Shaw **1/4
Laredo Kid v.s Barrett Brown **1/2
Winner advances in National Title tournament: Ricky Starks v.s Mike Parrow v.s Jay Bradley v.s Willie Mack **3/4
Grudge Match: Peter Avalon v.s Tim Storm **
NWA Women’s Title Match: Jazz(c) v.s Penelope Ford *3/4
National Title Match: Samuel Shaw v.s Willie Mack **
War Kings(Crimson & Jax Dane) v.s Kingdom of Jocephus(Shannon Moore & Crazzzy Steve) *
2 out 3 Falls, NWA Title Match: Nick Aldis v.s Cody Rhodes(c) ****-****1/4

 

[Chris]

That semi-main tag match sounds like they probably had to work hard for that 1 star

 

[Kiffy Lube]

AEW Dynamite Winter is Comin’:
Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal: MJF & Orange Cassidy
Kazarian v.s Chris Jericho **-**1/4
Darby Allin & Cody Rhodes v.s Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs **1/4
AEW Title Match: Kenny Omega v.s Jon Moxley(c) ****

Pretty average battle royal, nuthin’ too special. It’s nice to see them continue this yearly battle royal for this ring though. I’m just glad they didn’t abandon it. I am fine with MJF defendin’ and Cassidy had a great year so it’s a fairly logical outcome. Too bad the match itself is probably gonna suck ass.

Kaz and Jericho told a decent story intertwined with whatever is goin’ one with the Inner Circle currently. It was just slow most of the match with a quick bursts. It just really wasn’t that great for most of it. Some interestin’ back and forth at times seein’ these two veterans do battle like this but ultimately it was just an okay affair.

Didn’t watch whatever that Britt Baker match was.

I don’t mind Will Hobbs joinin’ Tazz’ group. I really thought he was gonna be fodder to feed to heels until they had nuthin’ else for him. I am glad that isn’t the case since he’s been pretty impressive the few times I have seen him. Nice to see him get a more prominent role within AEW.

Cody and Brodie Lee fightin’ over the TNT title made it feel like a proper upper midcard title and they were able to ease it’s way into the hands of someone like Darby Allin that’ll open up the division quite nicely. It’ll be interestin’ where the belt goes from here. I’ll probably never been an Allin fan but he isn’t that bad of a champion to have for the time bein’.

That tag match was alright it was just the abrupt flow that felt like they wanted more time but once Cody got tagged in it was virtually over. It just killed the pace they had established for a rushed finish. It just needed more time to marinate after Allin’s beatdown and comeback if they wanted to keep both teams strong. Cody was just fresh late and looked like he could beat both Hobbs and Starks by himself. That doesn’t make a match feel very even. It’s like watchin’ a DX tag match from like 2006 where yeah the heels are gettin’ a ton of heat beatin’ down Shawn only for once he makes the tag, it’s pretty much over. No comeback that feels warranted to the beatdown that just occurred. I got those kind of vibes from Cody here, maybe it was the time this match was permitted but that isn’t the best look for a guy tryin’ to distance himself from matches like that. Overall though the match had some decent action and drove this story further ahead.

Yeah, old ass Sting is the solution to Team Tazz. I think Sting does belong apart of the AEW Family though. I just don't want to see him wrestle. People already bitch too much that Seth ended his career for not only the turnbuckle powerbomb but for workin’ a faster pace which I never understood because this is a PPV title match and Seth was/is in his prime. You gotta go all out. Sting just shouldn’t have been there. The time has passed.

Well that was a hell of a fight between Moxley/Omega. I kind of expected a bit more, well less nonsense. Omega needed help to win the AEW Title? That kind of hurts things but it could be a fun run regardless. Not near my favorite AEW matches of the year though. They need a follow up for the belt where everythin’ goes and I think we can get to a whole new level. Great stuff, that makes up for the rest of the show bein’ rather weak for a huge Dynamite. I guess you also got Sting if you think that makes a big deal in 2020.

 

[Chris]

You gonna watch Impact on Tuesday now tho right?

 

[Kiffy Lube]

I gotta watch Impact? God damn it.

 

[Chris]

Did you not hear what Don Callis said at the end of the show