Rey Mysterio is out first. Rey talks about how crazy the year has been and Dominik of course interrupts him which leads to Rey challenging Dominik to a rematch, but Dominik said he does not want to fight his own father, but this guy will and Finn Balor’s music hits.
Rey Mysterio VS. Finn Balor
Rey was in control of the match until Dominik interfered by hitting Rey with a fist with a chain wrapped around it and Finn hit a Coup de Grace for the win.
Winner: Finn Balor
Cathy Kelly interviewed the Alpha Academy when Maxine Dupri came in and then we heard screaming and we saw Raquel and Liv kneeling beside Lita who was attacked, and they screamed for Adam Pearce.
Review of last Monday Night.
Becky Lynch is interviewed by Byron Saxton talking about Lita and Lita has been taken to the hospital and Adam is going to let Trish Stratus replace Lita in the tag team title match.
Becky Lynch & Trish Stratus VS. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez for the Women’s Tag Team Championship
Liv hit Oblivion but Becky rolls through Manhandle Slam and Raquel was able to reach in and pull Becky off Liv. Becky reverses and gets away from Raquel on the outside, gets back in the ring and tags Trish. Becky then takes Raquel out on the outside. Trish goes for the chick kick but Liv ducks and rolls Trish up for the win.
Winners and New WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions: Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan
After the match Becky raises Trish’s arm and they hug and talk a minute, Trish then attacks Becky and hits a chick kick.
Paul Heyman is interviewed in the back, and he says he can answer the Brock Lesnar question but turned to Kevin Owens and the fact that Sami Zayn is not here, and neither is Matt Riddle.
Byron tried to talk to Trish, but she just walked past him with a blank stare.
Bayley said she was trying to get Damage Control a Tag Team championship match but only got offered a six-man tag match. Iyo wants a match and Bayley said she will see if it will be OK for one of them to take her place tonight.
Bobby Lashley VS. Bronson Reed
Lashley struggled at one point in the match to apply the Hurt Lock due to the size of Bronson. Bronson and Lashley started battling on the outside to a double count out. Then a fight between the two ensued.
Winner: Double count out
Cody Rhodes is out next and says he always had something to talk about since he came back but now it’s a bit foggy. Yes, he would be crazy not to be scared of Brock Lesnar, but he still wants to fight Brock Lesnar.
The Usos VS. Alpha Academy
The Usos pick up another victory with the One D on Gable after a really good match from the Alpha Academy.
Winners: The Usos
Iyo Sky VS. Piper Niven VS. Mia Yim
The winner becomes #1 Contender for the Raw Women’s Championship. With Mia lying on Niven, Iyo hits the moonsault on both and pins Mia.
Winner: Iyo Sky
Kevin Owens is interviewed by Byron Saxton and he says he has to go beat the hell out of Solo and he has no backup, but he never backs down and just keeps fighting.
Solo Sikoa VS. Kevin Owens
The Usos were at ringside to support their brother and Kevin fought hard, but his knee kept buckling, Jey hit a superkick and Solo hit the Samoan Spike and wins the match.
Winner: Solo Sikoa
After the match all three brothers continue to beat up Owens and in the back Riddle and Zayn are seen running and get to the ring to help Owens. Owens was able to get back to his feet to deliver a Stunner on Jey.
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Monday Night Raw underwent a big rewrite last night but this time it wasn’t due to Vince McMahon.
Many of the WWE Superstars who were scheduled to be participating did not make it to the show due to travel issues according to several insiders and the problem was acknowledged at the start of Raw when Corey Graves said that Superstars are still rolling in to Seattle.
The script was altered to accommodate those who were actually in the arena at the time and many planned angles and matches were scrapped, causing a big headache to the writers and producers.
Some of the talent did arrive very late and were somewhat figured into the show but not in the original plans.
In an interview with Uproxx, Dax Harwood of FTR said he would like to be in a dream, marquee match for the AEW All In show at London’s Wembley stadium.
His dream match has one person who still hasn’t returned to the company though: CM Punk.
“CM Punk and FTR versus the Elite. That’s gotta be it, right?” Harwood said. “If you want to sell 50,000 tickets and take this company to the next level, that’s it, that’s me dreaming. That’s the dream match. That six-man tag in Wembley Stadium could help launch AEW to the next level.”
His tag team partner, Cash Wheeler, said that Wembley Stadium doesn’t have to be full to the brim for this to be a successful event for AEW and 50, 60, or 70,000 is huge for the company that’s only a few years into its existence.
FTR confirmed also in the interview that they signed new AEW deals and are staying put. A major reason why that happened was because they think Tony Khan “get” FTR better than Vince McMahon ever did.
“Vince has a business track record that proves that he is obviously very intelligent to the business, but I think he thinks he knows what the Revival was better than we did,” Harwood said. “That’s why he came up with all those cartoon costumes he gave us. In contrast, Tony understands that no one knows who we are better than us, and no one can display our characters or show our characteristics better than we can.”
While admitting that they had a good relationship with both McMahon and Triple H, they said that dealing with Tony Khan is different and they feel they can have open and honest discussions with him more.
It was inevitable, but now it’s official: Logan Paul has renewed his contract with WWE.
The news was announced by Paul himself in a tweet, adding a photo posing with WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque, his WWE contract, and a Prime bottle at WWE HQ.
What’s funny is that it’s the same photo of last year where he posed with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon but it was photoshopped to remove Stephanie and change his jacket and Prime bottle from blue to yellow.
“I feel incredibly blessed to have found something that I’m good at, at 28 years old,” Paul told ESPN. “And the fact that the organization believes I’m good enough to continue hopefully building this WWE legacy is mind-blowing. And I’m incredibly grateful and incredibly blessed. And as long as I can keep putting on good shows, man, I’m gonna keep doing this sport.”
ESPN said that Paul signed a multi-year deal although he said in an interview during Mania weekend that he’d like to have a yearly contract with the company, one which includes multiple events. His first deal with WWE ended with WrestleMania and his loss to Seth Rollins.
Paul had an outstanding year in WWE with a couple of high-profile matches where he delivered big time in terms of in-ring performance.
“Logan has just been a game changer. I mean, he’s probably the most natural guy I have ever seen. It’s almost like he was made for this business,” said Triple H. “Just being natural as far as talking and being on camera…he’s so good at that. And then his athleticism is just next level.”
Kenny Omega, who has so far had an easy way in terms of defending the IWGP United States title, will know who his next opponent will be in two months time.
A tournament was announced by NJPW featuring Will Ospreay, Juice Robinson, Lance Archer, and Hiroshi Tanahashi and the final will be held at the Dominion show on June 4 in Osaka.
The two semi final matches – Archer vs Robinson and Tanahashi vs Ospreay – will take place at Collision in Philadelphia on April 16 and Resurgence in Long Beach on May 21 respectively.
While no date for the title match has been announced, it’s likely to happen at the upcoming AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door pay-per-view on June 25.
Omega had his first title defense since winning it on Dynamite last month against Jeff Cobb.
Skye Blue has signed a deal with All Elite Wrestling, with AEW President Tony Khan making the announcement on social media.
“Some great news for Easter Weekend: One of @AEW’s rising homegrown stars @Skyebyee is officially All Elite,” he wrote, along with the usual “All Elite” graphic.
Blue, who is 23 years old, made her AEW debut in 2021 during an episode of Dark and has been a regular part of the promotion ever since. Her last televised match was on the March 22 episode of Dynamite losing to Toni Storm.
“All. Elite. Haven’t stopped tearing up. Thank you and I can’t wait to make everyone proud,” she wrote reacting to the announcement.
The pre-sale registration for the All In show at London’s Wembley Stadium have surpassed the 30,000 mark this weekend.
The event currently dominates the WembleyStadium.com website where registrations are being accepted. Hospitality packages will also be offered by Club Wembley.
WWE had over 100,000 pre-registrations for Clash at the Castle but very expensive tickets kept thousands of people away from daring to travel to Cardiff for the show. WWE eventually settled with just over 62,000 in attendance.
London is obviously a better location than Cardiff so traveling to the capital should be fairly easy and
Wembley Stadium can seat over 90,000 fans.
Tickets for the August 27 All In go on sale on Friday, May 5 at Ticketmaster.co.uk.
Surprise! Former WWE Diva Kelly Kelly, real name Barbie Blank, revealed an even better news on social media, she’s not only pregnant with one…but with two!
“Plot Twist…We’re Having twins,” she wrote.
Blank was at WrestleMania with her husband and proudly showed off her bump to her former co-workers and fans.
She announced that she was pregnant on March 28 in an exclusive interview with ET and is expected to give birth in late September.
“I am feeling amazing,” she told ET . “I’ve been dreaming about this journey to motherhood for so long and starting a family with my incredibly supportive husband, Joe. Now that it’s here, it’s just been such a great experience.”
In a long post on social media, Cody Rhodes said that last Sunday was not the result he hoped for and he knows there are a lot of fans who are disappointed with the result.
“I make no excuses. I lost. I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you how much I enjoyed the ride…until Sunday night, and furthermore Monday night,” he wrote.
He thanked his wife Brandi, WWE, the City of Los Angeles, Triple H, the McMahon Family, Kevin Dunn, Bruce Prichard, Conrad Thompson, John Cena, and many more for his amazing WrestleMania week as well as Nick Khan for taking care of his family during all the madness.
Rhodes had a special thanks to Make-A-Wish Foundation as well for allowing him the honor to induct 15 wishes into the Circle Of Champions, a role typically assigned to John Cena when he is around.
“Lastly, the almost 200k fans who attended the weekend overall…unwavering and motivating. I want to be your champion,” Cody continued. “This Monday I hope to speak about my future with WWE and what may be next for me.”
Mercedes Mone successfully defended her IWGP Women’s title in a three-way match earlier today at the New Japan Pro-Wrestling Sakura Genesis event which took place at the Ryogoku Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
Mone was challenged by STARDOM’s AZM and Hazuki and the ending came when Mone hit her new finisher the Money Maker on AZM, landing her on Hazuki for the pin.
Immediately following the match, her new number one contender came forward. Mayu Iwatani challenged Mone at the STARDOM All Star Grand Queendom pay-per-view set for later this month on April 23 in Yokohama, Japan. Mone accepted the challenge by slapping Iwatani hard.
“I’ll see you on April 23,” Mone wrote on Twitter, retweeting the official announcement of the match and the photo of the slap.
WWE got in some hot water for using an image of Auschwitz in the promo video for Rey vs Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania when they were showing Dom doing “hard times.”
The Auschwitz Memorial and Museum called out WWE publicly on Twitter for their choice of image.
“The fact that Auschwitz image was used to promote a WWE match is hard to call ‘an editing mistake,'” the official Twitter account of the memorial said. “Exploiting the site that became a symbol of enormous human tragedy is shameless and insults the memory of all victims of Auschwitz.”
After learning of their silly mistake, WWE quickly replaced that image with a different one of barbed wire in the replay.
In a statement to The Washington Post, a WWE spokesman apologized, calling the footage an error.
“We had no knowledge of what was depicted,” the statement said. “As soon as we learned, it was removed immediately.”
Zelina Vega has announced that she is returning to Twitch in what could be a change of policy at WWE.
“It’s official!!!! We are BACK!! Where is my #AtoZ Twitch fam?” Vega wrote. “I can’t wait to be able to stream with all of you again!”
WWE had banned all of their Superstars from doing any kind of business on Twitch, Cameo, OnlyFans, and other third-party websites using either their trademarked WWE name or even their real name.
“Now, not only can you see every EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT on SMACKDOWN.. but a #Twitch screen coming soon,” she continued.
The blanket ban caused a major issue among the wrestlers who were earning some extra money on the side while they were not on official business with WWE.
Vega was unceremoniously fired in November 2020 for breach of contract for not discontinuing her Twitch streaming. The firing caused some waves and prompted SAG-AFTRA, a union representing over 160,000 entertainers, to enter in a conversation with Vega.
WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H was on Smackdown to announce that the WWE Draft will return in a few weeks. He did not disclose a date but said this will “truly change the game” and every WWE Superstar is eligible for the draft.
WWE did not hold a draft last year and the last one which took place was in late 2021 where a few top stars switched brands and another couple were called up from NXT.
There were rumors that the titles will be split again once the Draft happens but that remains to be seen. WWE unified their main titles at last year’s WrestleMania.
This was Triple H’s second appearance on TV in a week after he opened last Monday’s Raw with a passionate promo telling everyone that WWE is going nowhere following the news of merger with Endeavor.
UFC President Dana White believes that Endeavor will take WWE to new heights when the acquisition is complete.
Appearing on the Pat McAfee Show yesterday, White said that Ari Emanuel is a great partner and great to work with.
“He came in and he bought the UFC. They asked me to stay. And Ari’s one of those guys that lets you run your business…he lets you do what you do,” White said.
During an interview on CNBC this past Monday, Emanuel said that Endeavor would not be getting in the creative process at WWE and will let Vince run his company while Endeavor will strengthen the business.
“They’re valued at $9 billion. Watch and see what they are in five years,” White continued.
The UFC President also revealed that he met the McMahons last time he was in New York and they asked him what it was like to work with Ari and Endeavor.
“I couldn’t say anything but incredible, positive things about it,” White added.
This week’s episode of Impact on AXS TV drew 117,000 viewers. There’s no number for last week for comparison yet as the show did not chart for the March 30 episode but this is so far the most-watched episode 2023. Impact drew a 0.02 in the 18-49 demo and was #133 on the top 150 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Arena: Moda Center at Rose Quarter
City: Portland, OR
Smackdown opens with a graphic in memory of Bushwhacker Butch.
A video package of WrestleMania follows.
The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Butch & Ridge Holland) VS. Imperium
With all the other competitors lying at ringside, Sheamus hits Vinci with a Brogue Kick for the win.
Winners: The Brawling Brutes
A recap of Monday Night Raw was shown.
Kayla Braxton interviews Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa. Kayla asks Paul why Brock Lesnar did what he did to Cody Rhodes on Monday night. Paul begins to divert the question by talking about Roman Reigns and Jey Uso walks in and asks about Jimmy and Paul says he is not here this evening so Jey can take out Sami Zayn tonight on his own. Jey walks away and Paul tells Solo you solve the Sami Zayn problem tonight or you solve our problem tonight.
Ricochet VS. Ivar
Ricochet was able to hit the shooting star press for the win.
Winner: Ricochet
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are in the locker room talking about how great it is being the new tag team champions, but Sami says something feels off and feels he needs to talk to Jey Uso and the Bloodline is crumbling but Kevin says it’s a bad idea to try and talk to him. Sami tells Kevin he is right but goes to talk to Jey anyway and says it will be OK.
Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan VS. Natalya & Shotzi
As Shotzi held Liv and Natalya was running for the clothesline to do the Hart Foundation’s famous move, Raquel comes in and throws a shoulder block onto Natalya which knocks Natalya out of the ring. Liv, with the assistance of Raquel, hits a DDT on Shotzi then gives Shotzi her Oblivion finishing move and Liv pins Shotzi.
Winners: Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan
In the back, Madcap Moss and Xavier Woods playing the WWE video game when L.A. Knight comes in and complains about them playing games and he was not featured at WrestleMania. Xavier then challenged him to a match.
Triple H is then shown walking in the back and Michael Cole says, “Triple H is here and there is a lot to talk about.”
Triple H is out in the ring and announces in a few weeks there will be the next WWE draft and every Superstar is eligible and this year’s is going to be bigger than ever. He then announces the new Smackdown Women’s champion Rhea Ripley who comes out with the Judgement Day.
Rey Mysterio & Santos Escobar VS. Damian Priest & Dominik Mysterio
Rey goes for 619 on Dominik but Rhea moves Dominik. Zelina then goes after Rhea then Rhea chases off Zelina. Rey then hits 619 on Dominik and Santos picks him up but Priest is legal and hits Santos then slammed him for the win.
Winners: Dominik Mysterio & Damian Priest
Sami Zayn is shown walking in the back looking for Jey Uso.
Sami finds Jey and tells Jey he only has one thing to say before they go out there tonight. Sami says the Bloodline is crumbling and if he can’t see that he will beat it into him. A loud noise is heard, Sami goes running and finds Kevin Owens trapped under a trunk and Solo standing over him.
Kayla interviews Sami and says Kevin was right, the Bloodline is more dangerous now and Kevin is being seen by the trainer.
Jey Uso VS. Sami Zayn
While Jey has the referee distracted, Solo hits Sami with a Samoan Spike and Jey then hits Sami with a kick for the win.
Winner: Jey Uso
After the match Solo comes in and beats down Sami. As Solo was about to deliver another Samoan Spike to Sami, Jey stops him then Jey hits Sami and tells Solo to go get a chair. Solo gets a chair and Matt Riddle comes in for the save and chases the brothers out of the ring.
In a post on Instagram, Finn Balor revealed that he suffered a grade 2 calf tear just a few weeks before WrestleMania.
The injury occurred during the March 10 episode of Smackdown where Judgment Day took on Legado Del Fantasma.
“Normal recovery time is estimated at 6-8 weeks. Hold my beer,” Balor wrote, detailing his injury.
“With just 3 weeks & 2 days to WrestleMania WWE medical team ‘threw the kitchen sink at it’ & with some careful planning, long days of rehab and a lot of swear words we made it back in time with a day or two spare,” he continued.
Balor was in a high-profile match at WrestleMania, taking on Edge in a Hell In A Cell match. Balor suffered a long cut to his head during the match and got stapled at ringside by medical personnel while the match was temporarily paused to stop the bleeding.
Balor gave extra thanks to someone named CJ for not taking a day off for three weeks to help him rehab as well as Jeff Cavaliere and David Holmes.
AEW Rampage tonight comes to us from the Ryan Center on Rhode Island, NY. After last week drawing 340,000 & a 0.10 in the 18-49 demo.
Against a lot of competition, that’s the lowest audience ever in the regular timeslot and ties the lowest demo. Tonight’s show doesn’t suggest much improvement in these areas but who knows…
*****
Hook vs Ethan Page, FTW Rules, FTW Title
Backstory: A rematch from Weds when Hook beat Page quickly after Hardy hit Page with the belt
This is anything goes per Page’s request.
Ethan jumped Hook early but was easily fought off as Hook grabbed a table. Shots to the gut followed, the youngster pursuing Page into the crowd, the two brawling up the stairs.
Matt Hardy & Isiah Kassidy were shown watching backstage.
The brawl continued for several minutes, this crowd already showing more energy than Wednesday’s did all night.
Still among the crowd, holding Page by the hair, Hook fired crossface shots, the fans counting along enthusiastically with every one; Hook seeming like a big star.
Break.
Just about back to ringside with Page well on top, the Canadian had time for an exchange with a front row fan. Really like this about Page, he often jaws with the fans at ringside, getting them involved.
The pause resulting in a T-Bone on the outside, Hook pulling more toys from beneath the ring. Page fired back, hoisting the youngster up for an Ego’s Edge through the table at ringside, Hook managed to slip out and drop Page via clothesline.
Page too saved himself from being tabled before hoisting Hook up atop his shoulders and giving the youngster wood via powerslam. The first pin of the match buying Page a two count.
Finally back in the ring, after propping another table against the buckle, Page hit a chairshot to the gut. But another backfired, Hook ducking and Page knocking himself loopy after the chair rebounded off the top rope. That’s just spectacular heel work.
Wobbling into a Twist of Fate onto the chair, allowing Hook a two count. But firing back with a pump kick, looking for the Ego’s Edge again, Hook clambering round into the Redrum to bag the win.
But he wasn’t done, pointing to the still-propped table and sending Page through it via T-Bone.
A fun opener very much made by a great crowd. Page was an excellent heel here, the beers should be on Hook tonight.
Winner: Hook
It’s time. Deep breath.
QT Marshall bought Hobbs a car because Wardlow’s too stupid to freeze his credit card. They then talked about the Lucha Bros, making fun of their style and ‘that flippy crap’.
Harley told them to ‘break a leg’. Marshall responded with ‘Who am I, Dante Martin?’
At least Dante doesn’t have to watch this garbage. It’s the mental scars that stay with us folks.
The Acclaimed & 2.0 vs the Infantry, Bobby Orlando & LSG
Backstory: 2.0 ignored the Acclaimed turning them down on Weds, is that because they’re dumb or do they have a plan?
An ‘interesting’ match was up next, per Excalibur. 2.0 got a full entrance and promo time on a show where few get either.
‘I don’t even know why we’re a team’ was Caster’s verdict in his rap.
This crowd is so much better than Wednesday’s. There’s actually energy and atmosphere.
A very quick Scissor Me Timbers looked set to lead to 4-way scissoring but the Acclaimed left 2.0 hanging. The Arrival & Mic Drop got the win.
Post-match, Hager took out Gunn & 2.0 clocked the Acclaimed. One of these teams was going to look dumb tonight, shame it was the babyfaces: the bottom-card heels getting the better of one of the hottest acts in the company.
Winner: The Acclaimed & 2.0
Swerve Strickland with a PSA. Mogul Affiliates has merged with someone, have to watch later to find out who. This better be good because Strickland’s too talented to be used this infrequently.
Darby Allin vs Lee Moriarty
Backstory: None
JR made fun of the name ‘Big Bill’ as the big man accompanied Moriarty. Then informed us Allin got run over by a car yesterday. Seriously. And is entering with an injured back.
Might not want to admit you’re letting him wrestle given the recent CM Punk revelation about working hurt.
Beginning with mat-work as Jungle Boy & Sammy were shown watching backstage, Moriarty bridged out of a choke before Darby bagged an early two via roll-up.
Fans very into Darby.
Re-setting, they locked up once more, Moriarty’s height and strength bringing the advantage until stomping-in Allin’s chest. Then sending him outside, going to work on the injured back until missing a running boot and colliding with the barricade.
After hurling Moriarty back inside, Allin was nailed by a Sizeable William big boot behind the ref’s back as the latter checked on Moriarty. For once, the interference was timed perfectly so as not to make the ref look a moron.
Break.
Blasting Moriarty with a shotgun dropkick, Allin stumbled to the top, being caught half-way and dragged back down after further distraction from BB prevented a Coffin Drop. Continuing to assault the back, Moriarty locked in a full nelson, transitioning into a release German then launching shots to the face.
Before dropping Darby gut-first across the ropes then booting him in the head. A superplex followed, Allin got a couple quick twos with flash pins but was snatched into an abdominal stretch, the two jostled in and out of holds, Allin got a backslide for two, code red, best tope in the biz to BB, to the top, Coffin Drop, victory.
Very nice finishing sequence as all four Pillars keep winning. Crowd here loved Darby.
*****
Following up on his promise, Swerve’s music hit with Darby on the ramp, distracting Allin long enough for Brian Cage to blast him with an F5 on the ramp. Prince Nana followed, shaking hands with Swerve. Don’t know why he has to be involved frankly. Like the idea of Cage as Strickland’s muscle and he as Cage’s mouthpiece.
A big – literally and figuratively – improvement on Trench & Wannabee Brock anyway.
Winner: Darby Allin
RJ City annoyingly recapped the Jade/Taya situation while sitting between the pair. Showing presence and charisma, Taya talked really well about legends using Jaded for years; Jade said bitch. Then stormed off. Taya said she’d be watching her match on BotB.
That’s one viewer anyway…
AEW must stop dressing up these glorified squabbles as ‘sit-downs’. They inevitably contain one question, then bickering, then they end.
*****
They played a video package highlighting the main event as if it were months in making.
After missing the first part due to technical issues (drink at home), Julia was really good here. Anna repeated what she said last week about having a ‘fat ass & a bad attitude’, calling Hart a ‘spooky bitch’ and threatening to choke people out.
Anna Jay vs Julia Hart
Backstory: Anna doesn’t like Julia for some reason, it wasn’t clear what that reason is
Julia also has one of the better entrances in AEW: her look, the music and lighting work perfectly to create a nice aura.
Anna attacked from behind before the bell so presumably she’s the heel here. It didn’t work – Hart beat her around ringside, introducing Jay to the barricade.
Jay threw an elbow strike then ran away, catching Julia re-entering. Hart quickly shook this off, hitting punches in the corner until being dropped neck-first across the top rope then dragged outside. The favor returned as Anna flung her into the barricade, bringing the break.
Back on top as we returned, Hart smashed Jay’s head into every turnbuckle, thrust kick to the knee, another to the face, then a sledgehammer buying a count of two. Standing moonsault for another.
But Anna caught her out of a handspring, up into the Queenslayer. Freeing herself by backing Anna to the buckle, Julia hit a handspring then a back elbow in the corner, setting Jay atop the buckle.
Jay fought back, leaving Hart upside down in a tree of woe position. From which she performed a sit-up to drag Anna off and hit a moonsault from the top for nearly three, screaming in frustration.
The two then looked for finishing holds: Julia for Hartless, Jay the Queenslayer, both blocking the other, ending when Hart ‘ran’ (slow motion would be too fast) them both out through the ropes as they spilled to the floor.
Hart threw a chair in, the ref stooping to remove it as she spat the black mist at Anna. An inside cradle followed for the win. Eerily, she sang along to her theme and smiled.
The right woman won here.
If I’ve seen Julia wrestle before, I don’t remember it. But considering her age she’s very impressive – athletic with a nice presence. The affiliation with the HOB and the entrance all helps. She just needs more seasoning in the ring, particularly where character’s concerned: as she wrestles like any other wrestler despite an unhinged, almost supernatural character in everything else she does.
Before she was finished celebrating, Orange Cassidy’s music hit to begin Battle of the Belts. Hart looked daggers at Cassidy: nice way to continue the feud with House of Black.
PWInsider.com is reporting that WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon is not in Portland for tonight’s Friday Night Smackdown on FOX.
The report states that McMahon made very minor changes to the original proposed script while reviewing it remotely and nothing major was changed unlike this past Monday on Raw.
PWInsider adds that there is a “wait and see” scenario backstage to see if Vince will resume being at television tapings while there are others who feel that he was only at Raw this past Monday because he was already in town.
Monday Night Raw was universally panned by fans for being one of the worst, if not the worst, Raw After Mania episodes ever.
McMahon has said that he will remain involved creatively only at a higher level, that is for the major storyline decisions, and won’t interfere in the rest.
