Our latest installment of the Raw and Smackdown Live Quick Hit Recapatory is presented to you by Snickers. Actually, this review doesn’t have any sponsor, but we would welcome any local sponsorship to help promote this column. Along with my co-editors, Mark Blake and Brandi Wagner, we will try to make this week’s edition somewhat easier to digest, not unlike a promo between Batista and Triple H. Here is the WWE Raw and Smackdown Live Quick Hits Recapatory for 3/24/19.
Readers will hopefully GET WHAT THEY WANT and be enticed to want to read more. This week’s edition addresses the main event, a headlining performer for the event, an impending women’s tag team championship match, and the continued dominance of Ronda Rousey, among other things. Here is the WWE Raw and Smackdown Live Quick Hits Recapatory for 3/24/19.
Opening segment – Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman make their way to the ring. The belief was that he and Seth Rollins would have had a one-on-one segment. Heyman introduces himself and his client to a chorus of boos from the Chicago faithful. He says that Rollins forced him to come out, due to Rollins’ claims that he is a tough matchup for Brock because of his different style. Drew McIntyre comes out and addresses what he did to Ambrose and Reigns the previous week. Rollins then comes out and strikes McIntyre no less than 13 times with a chair, then tries to go face-to-face with Brock, but the champion leaves the ring before his arrival.
WWE Raw and Smackdown Live Quick Hits Recapatory for 3/20/19
Balor/Strowman/Rush and Lashley – Balor first comes out to address his losing the Intercontinental title the previous week. What follows is a tag team match where Balor was advertised to have a mystery partner join him against Lashley and Rush. The mystery partner turns out to be none other than Braun Strowman. After a match that sees Lashley abandon his partner, after Rush is brutalized throughout. The winners of the match are Strowman and Balor.
A moment of Bliss – Alexa welcomes Elias, who announces that he will be the headlining musical performer at Wrestlemania. The performance will likely have a ton of interruptions, but ultimately the result will be either Elias getting the better of those interrupting him, or vice versa. No Way Jose’s conga line comes out and Elias is then jumped by Jose. The end result is a match between Elias and No Way Jose. After a drift-away by Elias, he has his hand raised while Jose…drifts away.
WWE Raw and Smackdown Live Quick Hits Recapatory for 3/20/19
Kurt Angle Announcement and match against Chad Gable– Kurt comes out and announces that he will be facing Baron Corbin as his opponent in his farewell match at Wrestlemania. The decision is met with disappointment from fans in attendance, who presumably would prefer Angle face someone that represents more of a ‘dream match.’
From John Cena to Drew McIntyre, Angle’s choices were plentiful, but he ultimately settled on facing the former interim general manager of Raw. Angle then faces Chad Gable in a fairly competitive and compelling battle between two former Olympic and amateur athletes. Gable ultimately taps to Angle’s anklelock. Corbin then comes out and says he will humble Angle in his last match.
The McIntyre attack on Roman Reigns highlights – They showed Reigns being beaten down and ‘concussed’ facing Drew. They then showed Dean Ambrose wanting retribution facing McIntyre in a falls count anywhere match. The result was a dominant Scottish Psychopath laying waste to Ambrose. It was once again noted that Rollins would face McIntyre later in the evening.
Boss and Hug Connection – Charly Caruso interviews the tag team champions, who say they will appear on Smackdown Live this coming week. They are then interrupted by Natalya and Beth Phoenix who come to the ring to address the champions. Phoenix is highly complementary to the champions, says she was awoken by the champions’ victory, the fire inside her rekindled, and that she and Natalya would like to challenge them for the tag team championships at Wrestlemania.
We then got a pushing and shoving match among the four women as they go to commercial. When they return it turns into a one-on-one match between Natalya and Sasha Banks. Eventually, Nia Jax walks out in the middle of the match, distracting the competitors, following which Tamina jumps the unsuspecting Natalya and Sasha from behind.
Mojo angry & Ricochet is next to compete – Rawley continues to talk to himself in the mirror. It seems as though he needs to figure it out. This is followed by Ricochet and Jinder Mahal facing one another. Ricochet has not had a singles matches since he’s been on Raw and Smackdown Live. The commentary team discusses how there may be jealousy among the rest of the roster that Black and Ricochet were ‘given’ these opportunities rather than earning them. Ricochet ends up defeating the former WWE champion.
Rousey comes out to face Dana Brooke – …or is it as Seth Rollins, as he is shown on the big screen after the commercial sporting the colors of the Chicago Bears and talking about what he will do to Drew McIntyre. However, then back to Rousey. It seemed a little strange, but the match was quick, with Rousey squashing Brooke. An interesting element here is the use of Rousey’s husband Travis Brown, who is sitting at ringside and assists her in attacking security. He is described as ‘the only man that can control Ronda.’
Crews face Baron Corbin – it is interesting to note that the commentary team mentions that the WWE Universe is disappointed that Corbin was the chosen Wrestlemania opponent for Angle. In fact, much of the focus for the team during this match is that decision. It is a fairly competitive match against both Corbin and Crews getting the better of one another at different times. Just when it appears as though Corbin is going to hit the ‘End of Days,’ Crews counters with a roll up small package for the win. Angle comes out and congratulates Crews at the top of the rampway.
Batista’s side of the story – after the commercial break they show the exchange from the previous week between Hunter and Batista as this exchange; that exchange seemed a little awkward since we weren’t clear on what it was Batista wanted at first. After Batista is asked why is he so angry, his response is that he just doesn’t like Triple H. The idea is that Batista is upset that Triple H used him in the past and held him down, even at the height of his career in 2010. When Cole attempts to say that Triple H is fair, Batista says that Triple H is jealous, a control freak and that one-day Vince will fire him.
Strowman first entrant in Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal – Charly Caruso interviews Strowman, who says that Saturday Night Live’s Colin Jost and Michael Che have got him so mad he is entering the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at Wrestlemania so every other participant can get these hands. His Mixed Match Challenge partner Alexa Bliss arrives and says she plans to intervene in the dispute between Strowman and the SNL cast members since she is the Wrestlemania host and the comedians have invited guests for the event. Strowman gives her a week to do so.
McIntyre and Rollins is the main event – Drew looks like he’s trying to make this personal as he challenges Roman Reigns to a ‘fight’ at Wrestlemania. He further suggests that he is bigger than leukemia, and this is something Roman won’t beat. Rollins then charges to the ring. They cut to commercial, after which fans see McIntyre with the upper hand on Rollins.
If the plan is to have McIntyre in a prominent role after Wrestlemania, this is clearly a step in that direction as the Scottish Psychopath is nothing short of dominant. McIntyre works on Rollins in hopes of sending a message to Roman Reigns. Rollins makes a comeback. Both men start hitting one another with their best shots, but this was when Brock’s music hit, causing Rollins to be distracted only to fall victim to a claymore kick and a pinfall.
Smackdown Live
Opening segment – The Miz comes out and addresses Shane McMahon. He refers to the events of the previous week. Miz said how he has taken short cuts in the past, but the partnership he had with Shane McMahon meant more and was done so his father would be proud of him. He voices how outraged he was that Shane put his hands-on his 68-year-old father and that Shane is no different than his dad, Vince. Shane, he says, wasn’t born the best in the world, but the worst.
He says the McMahons don’t own him, and they don’t own Kofi. Miz shares his struggles and how he has worked to get where he is on his own; hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard enough. Miz’s impassioned a promo shows how far he has come, as the crowd starts chanting that he deserves it! Miz said that Shane deserves an ass-whooping from him at Wrestlemania. During this 10 minute segment, Miz gave a promo that knocked it right out of the park.
Women’s tag team champions arrive – They face the IIconics who make a jab at the enrollment scandal in the United States, which is funny. It’s strange to see Bayley and Banks on Smackdown Live. The match gets even stranger as Lacey Evans makes an appearance as well. After being beaten down, Bayley makes the hot tag to Sasha Banks. After assistance from Billie Kay, Peyton Royce gets the pin on Sasha Banks. Will this mean a future tag team championship match opportunity for them?
Rey Mysterio makes an announcement with his son Dominick at his side: he will face Samoa Joe for the United States championship at Wrestlemania. We also learn that clearly, Dominick gets his height from his mother’s side of the family.
The All-NEW KO Show – Owens returns with his new and improved KO Show. He brings on both Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, but they do little talking while Owens runs down everything that their upcoming match is supposed to be about. He ends it by encouraging that the slogan for the night should be both Fight Becky Fight and Fight Charlotte Fight. The end result is Owens climbing out of the ring while both challengers go after each other with reckless abandon.
Gauntlet Match – Kofi Kingston begins his gauntlet match by facing Sheamus. Graves states categorically that Kingston has no chance in this match. The odds are stacked against Kingston, as he essentially faces a handicap situation since Cesaro is on the outside and gets involved in the matchup. After returning from a commercial break, we see Kingston making a comeback. Sheamus at one point locks in the cloverleaf which takes a great deal out of his opponent. However, Kingston hits the ‘Trouble in Paradise’ to defeat his first challenger.
Cesaro climbs in the ring and attempts to pick the bones, as Kingston is clearly weakened. For every move Kingston attempts, the ‘Swiss Cyborg’ has a counter for it. After a commercial break, the Smackdown Live locker room is shown cheering on Kingston as he battles against the odds. Cesaro hits his big swing and then transitions into a sharpshooter on Kingston. Kingston eventually hits the S.O.S. for the three count win.
Rowan is up next as Kingston tries to tie his shoe before the match starts. As soon as the bell rings, Kingston tries to get the jump on the big redwood, and it works initially. However, then his opponent starts to beat him down, eventually using a chair which gets him disqualified. He proceeds to put Kingston through the announce table as a final touch.
Samoa Joe comes out next, but they go to a commercial. Readers should take note that the New Day is barred from ringside, but does that mean everyone else is as well? It’s a little surprising that no one has made an effort to get involved on Kingston’s behalf; perhaps someone will at this point. After the commercial, Kingston is in peril, but we have no idea how that happened.
Clearly, he was given enough time to recover before the bell rang. He eventually makes a comeback but is cut off. Kofi swings wildly, only to get caught by a clothesline from the Samoan submission machine. Joe continues to work on Kingston, who is nearly at the 35-minute mark in this match. In the end, he reverses a muscle buster into a roll up and gets the three count win. Joe isn’t finished, though, locking Kingston in the coquina clutch.
With a nearly unconscious Kingston lying in the ring, Randy Orton’s music hits and ‘The Viper’ walks to the ring, just as they go to commercial once again. When they return, the Apex Predator is beating down his opponent until Kingston reverses a whip into the steel steps. The Legend Killer recovers and continues to work on Kingston, wearing him down. He uses several rest holds to drain the energy from his exhausted adversary. There are 15 minutes left in the show, and Orton is the last one between Kofi and a Wrestlemania match against Daniel Bryan.
Kingston hits a ‘Trouble in Paradise,’ but Orton rolls out of the ring avoiding a pin. Once he goes back between the ropes he resumes his attack. The commentary team mentions the history between these two, going back in 2009. Orton attempts to set up the RKO as Kingston struggles to his feet, only for Kingston to roll him up for the three count. One would think this means that Kingston is officially going to Wrestlemania to face Daniel Bryan, and the ring announcer declares just that. However, then Vince McMahon came out to say congratulations, but he has to beat one last opponent, Daniel Bryan. In the end, Bryan came out and defeated the spent Kingston.
We are likely to get more matches set for Wrestlemania. With the Women’s Battle Royal yet to officially be announced, one has to wonder if it is still being planned in order to include talent. Also, the dance that is the Kofi Mania booking leads us to wonder what will he have to do in order to get his opportunity? What role will the likes of Kevin Owens and Dean Ambrose play at Wrestlemania? For as many answers we are getting, there appear to be just as many questions. Check back in next week as Mark Blake will run down the week that was as we close in Wrestlemania.
