Csonka’s WWE MITB 2019 Review

Csonka’s WWE MITB 2019 Review

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Non-Title Match: The Usos defeated Champions Daniel Bryan & Rowan @ 11:15 via pin [***]
– Women’s MITB Match: Bayley won @ 14:00 [***¾]
– US Title Match: Rey Mysterio defeated US Champion Samoa Joe @ 1:40 via pin [NR]
– Cage Match: : Shane McMahon defeated The Miz @ 13:20 via pin [**½]
– Cruiserweight Title Match: Champion Tony Nese defeated Ariya Daivari @ 9:20 via pin [**½]
– Raw Women’s Title Match: Champion Becky Lynch defeated Lacey Evans @ 8:42 via submission [**]
– Smackdown Women’s Title Match: Charlotte defeated Champion Becky Lynch @ 6:25 via pin [**]
– Smackdown Women’s Title Match: Bayley defeated Champion Charlotte @ 0:20 via pin [NR]
– Roman Reigns defeated Elias @ 0:10 via pin [NR]
– Universal Title Match: Champion Seth Rollins defeated AJ Styles @ 19:55 via pin [****½]
– WWE Title Match: Champion Kofi Kingston defeated Kevin Owens @ 15:00 via pin [***]
– Men’s MITB Match: Brock Lesnar won @ 19:55 [***¾]

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Smackdown Tag Team Champions Daniel Bryan & Rowan vs. The Usos: Bryan takes early control, but Jimmy fires back with chops. Jey tags in, grounding the action, and covers for 2. Rowan tags in and mows him over with ease. The champions isolate Jey, Rowan rips his shirt off and follows with a slam and splash for 2. Bryan tags back in and lays in chops. Jey fires back but Bryan cuts him off and tags in Rowan. He works the cranium crunch, grounding things again. Bryan tags in and stomps away at the knees of Jey. The corner dropkick follows and another. Jey cuts off the third with a Samoan drop. Rowan in and gets posted and Jimmy tags in and fires away with a superkick. Whisper in the wind follows and that gets 2. Enziguri by Jimmy, but Rowan catches the high cross and hits a slam for 2. Rowan then superplexes both Usos. Bryan tags in and lays in kicks. Jey cuts him off with an enziguri and superkick. He heads up top and flies into a LeBelle lock. Jimmy makes the save, dumps Rowan and they lay in superkicks on him. They then wipe him out with dives. They cut of Bryan, head up top and the double Uce finishes it. The Usos defeated Champions Daniel Bryan & Rowan @ 11:15 via pin [***] This was a good match as the Usos are great and Bryan & Rowan make a good team. With the lack of viable teams on Smackdown, they should have just kept the Usos there, especially with Reigns being shifted to Smackdown.

– In memory of Ashley Massaro.

pic.twitter.com/fyksG0zcbS

— WWE (@WWE) May 19, 2019

Women’s MITB Match: Natalya vs. Naomi vs. Dana Brooke vs. Nikki Cross vs. Carmella vs. Ember Moon vs. Mandy Rose vs. Bayley: Sonya is at ringside. They start off with the big brawl, pairing off and Nikki runs wild early with the Terry Funk ladder spot. Dana cuts her off and Moon then cuts her off, only for Nikki to attack Moon. It breaks down as Mandy hits a run up knee strike on the leaned over ladder. Carmella gets sent into the ladder by Natalya, and Naomi follows with a disaster kick. Mandy cuts her off, but Bayley attacks, takes her out and Carmella superkicks Bayley. Carmella is either selling well or she hurt her knee as she shoves Mandy away and powders to the floor. Natalya cuts off Naomi but Bayley slams her into a ladder. They take Carmella to the back as Dana puts Moon in a ladder tree of WHOA and hits the back handspring elbow. Bayley cuts her off and looks to climb. Mandy & Natalya stop her and crush her in the ladder. Naomi hits a split legged moonsault on Bayley. Nikki spears Natalya as Naomi climbs but Moon stops her but Nikki cuts her off with the purge. Dana slams the ladder into Nikki’s head and she and Mandy climb. Dana hangs from the case, and then brawls with Mandy and Bayley & Naomi join in on the climb. Nikki scrambles up but Natalya topples over the ladder and they all come crashing down. Moon flies in with the eclipse on Natalya, but Mandy hits the implant buster onto the ladder, taking out Moon. She looks to climb, but Carmella comes limping back out and takes out Mandy. She looks to climb, but Sonya attacks to stop hr. The spear follows and Sonya rolls Mandy back in. Sonya picks her up and climbs the adder with he on her shoulders. She boots Mandy up and Bayley cuts her off and knocks them off and wins. Bayley won @ 14:00 [***¾] This was laid out really well, even with some awkward spots, but everyone got time to shine, there were good teases of possible winners and the crowd was invested the entire time. Overall this was a hell of an effort from the ladies.

– Sami meets with Triple H, looking for Shane. Sami says they have a big problem in Braun, and fears he will hurt him before MITB tonight. Triple H calms him down and says Braun has been banned from the building. Sami wants protection, but Triple H dismisses him. Call the APA Sami.

US Champion Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio: Dominic watches on from backstage. Rey attacks right away, but Joe lays in leg kicks and takes Rey down. Rey fires back, picks up the pace and follows with a RANA. The enziguri follows and then the seated senton. Joe then stops him with knee strikes and chops. Rey counters a powerbomb with a RANA and pins Joe! Joe’s eye and nose and bloodied up. Rey Mysterio defeated US Champion Samoa Joe @ 1:40 via pin [NR] Rey gets revenge with the quick win, but Joe’s shoulder was clearly up, leaving us open to a rematch in an overall well done segment.

– Joe attacks and lays out Rey post match as Dominic looks on.

– Braun is actually here, destroying the backstage area.

Cage Match: Shane McMahon vs. The Miz: This is pin, submission, or escape to win. Shane tries to climb right away, but Miz stops him but Shane keeps trying to escape. Miz lays in kicks, taking control as he lights up Shane. Shane then cuts him off and powerbombs him to the cage. He follows with strikes, and then slams Miz to the cage. Shane follows with knee strikes and slams Miz to the cage a few times. The Argentine cutter follows for 2. Shane lays the boots to Miz in the corner, and looks to go coast to coast… but Miz cuts him off and locks in the figure four. Shane makes the ropes, and then tries to climb out the door, but Miz stops him. Shane pulls in a chair and Miz kicks it into his face in a sloppy spot. Miz follows with chair shots, for what feels like forever. Miz looks for the skull-crushing finale, and hits it onto the chair and Shane makes the ropes, contradicting the previous no rope break rules they talked about. Miz takes Shane up top to chants of bullshit and Shane fights him off and slams him to the mat. Shane starts climbing out, but Miz cuts him off with chair shots. He follows him up and they fight on top of the cage. Miz slams Shane to the cage and dumps him back in. A rough looking top rope splash follows for 2. Shane then locks on a triangle variation, but Miz escapes. Shane looks to gout the door, Miz stops him and catapults him to the cage, but Shane climbs and Miz stops him and looks for a superplex, but Shane slips out and Miz pulls his shirt off as Shane falls to the floor and wins again. Shane McMahon defeated The Miz @ 13:20 via pin [**½] Shane, for some reason, wins again and this feud likely continues as Miz snatched victory from the jaw of victory again. The match was solid and told a solid if unwanted story.

– Mick Foley will be on Raw tomorrow to announce a new title.

– Backstage, we see Sami hanging upside down.

Cruiserweight Champion Tony Nese vs. Ariya Daivari: No only does Daivari get a main card PPV match, but also gets a fancy car entrance. They lock up and Daivari then attacks with strikes. Nese quickly battles back and stuns Daivari off the ropes. Daivari avoids the moonsault and drags Nese back in. Daivari lays in strikes again, taking Nese down. Things slow and get a bit awkward as Daivari falls down looking for the Billy goat’s curse. Nese counters out, follows with a series of kicks, and then an enziguri and springboard moonsault for 2. Daivari cuts him off, but Nese fires back with strikes until Daivari hits a knee strike. Daivari counters the pump handle driver, takes Nese up top and Nese fights off iconoclasm but Daivari kicks him to the floor. Nese battles back, rolls him back in and Daivari hits iconoclasm for 2. Nese dumps him and follows with a Sasuke special. Back in and the 450 gets 2. Daivari hits the desperation superkick and frog splash. The hammerlock lariat connects and he coves for 2. Nese follows with a RANA off the top, and the running Nese finishes it. Champion Tony Nese defeated Ariya Daivari @ 9:20 via pin [**½] This was solid, with Nese working hard and delivering, but Daivari had a bad night and just didn’t look good or like a convincing challenger.

– Triple H meets with Braun and says he isn’t replacing Sami tonight. Braun denies the attack and Triple H asks him politely to leave.

– Sami Zayn has been taken to the local medical facility.

Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans: Becky attacks with a dropkick, and lays the boot to Evans. The basement dropkick follows, and Evans powders. The baseball slide dropkick connects for Becky and she then tosses Evans to the barricade and then the apron. Back in and Evans finally cuts her off, attacking the arm and grounding things. She follows with strikes, trips Becky up and the slingshot elbow follows for 2. Evans keeps things grounded, maintaining control. Becky escapes, but Evans follows with a neck breaker for 2. Evans wipes her sweat on Becky, which fires Becky up and allows her to fight back and hit the flying clothesline. She follows with dropkicks, and an XPLODER. Becky heads up top and hits the missile dropkick and Evans rolls to the floor. Becky follows, rolls her back in and covers for 2. Evans hits a shitty sliced bread and follows with a knee strike for 2. Becky cradles her for 2, but Evans gets the ropes and then chop blocks Becky, but Becky gets the disarmher after being cradled for like a 7 count, and Evans taps. Champion Becky Lynch defeated Lacey Evans @ 8:42 via submission [**] This was ok, Evans showed promise, but the ending stretch was really sloppy and almost fell apart completely. The refs have either just been bad tonight or are being booked to look incompetent.

Smackdown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte: Charlotte attacks right away, but Becky fires back and misses a flying clothesline. Charlotte follows with a big boot, heads up top and Becky press slams her to the mat. Charlotte fights back with chops, and ten counters a dropkick into a crab. Becky fights and makes the ropes. They trade strikes, Charlotte takes out the knee and slaps Becky. That fires Becky up and she cuts Charlotte off. They trade strike again, and Charlotte drops her with a forearm. Becky counters natural selection and Charlotte crashes to the floor. Lacey lays out Becky with the women’s right and but Becky cradles Charlotte for 3, she doesn’t kick out, and then just pins Becky. Good work ref. Charlotte defeated Champion Becky Lynch @ 6:25 via pin [**] This was an ok match with another shit finish due to the ref.

– Becky attacks Lacey, but Charlotte makes the save and they beat down Becky. Bayley makes the save, takes out Lacey but Charlotte attacks. Bayley cuts her off and cashes in.

Bayley vs. Champion Charlotte: Bayley hits the top rope elbow drop and pins Charlotte. Bayley defeated Champion Charlotte @ 0:20 via pin [NR] When WWE wants to, they can reheat someone up in one night.

– Elias lays out Reigns backstage with a guitar shot. Elias heads to the ring and performs, running down Hartford. Reigns then arrives and superman punches him.

Roman Reigns vs. Elias: Spear, cover, 1…2…3. Roman Reigns defeated Elias @ 0:10 via pin [NR] This being short was for the best. I guess he wanted to watch Game of Thrones.

Universal Champion Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles: They lockup and work to the ropes. Styles breaks clean, they lock up again and Rollins pie faces Styles. They work into counters, locking up again and Rollins works the arm. Styles counters out with an arm drag, but Rollins follows with a clothesline. He lays in chops and whips Styles to the buckles. The knee drop follows for 2. They trade and Styles cuts him off with a dropkick. He follows with kicks and a side back breaker. Rollins fires back with chops, they trade, and Rollins grounds things with strikes. The flatliner to the buckles follows. They work to the apron and Styles teases the clash, but Rollins escapes and then eats a sliding knee strike. Styles stuns him off the ropes, but Rollins rebounds with a suicide dive, Back in and Rollins dumps him and hits another suicide dive. Back in and they trade strikes, and Rollins follows with sling blade. The springboard clothesline follows for 2. Rollins follows with Kawada kicks, but Styles cut him off with an ushigoroshi. He looks for the clash, but Rollins counters out and they then trade pin attempts and Rollins hits the buckle bomb; the high fly flow follows for 2. Rollins follows with rights, takes Styles up top, follows him up but Styles fights him off and slips out and hits a German, but Rollins counters into a cradle for 2. Styles then hits the rack bomb and that gets 2. Styles to the apron, but Rollins cuts off the springboard, tripping up Styles. Rollins follows him up and hits the reverse superplex and transitions into another suplex for 2. Rollins sets for blackout, hits the superkick but Styles then counters into the calf crusher. Styles cranks back on the hold, but Rollins escapes and both men are down. Styles follows with the Asai DDT and that gets 2. Rollins hits a desperation superkick, and Styles crumbles to the mat. They trade strikes, Styles lays in leg kicks, Styles follows with a flurry and misses the PELE. Superkick by Rollins, but Styles counters blackout into the clash for a great near fall! Styles looks for the springboard forearm, but Rollins counters and hits the ripcord knee, superkick and the blackout connects and that’s that. Champion Seth Rollins defeated AJ Styles @ 19:55 via pin [****½] This was excellent and the best thing on the show to this point with ease. The layout was strong, with good drama and the crowd was invested; it also had that sense of urgency & intensity that the card had really been lacking. This was a really great effort for their first meeting that left a lot on the bone, and hopefully we get more to see if they can improve on it. With the win, Rollins gets his run off to a strong start.

– Post match, a disappointed Styles offers a handshake and Rollins accepts.

– Lucha House Party arrives and Lars Sullivan promptly kills them. Lars gets busted open here, likely pissing him of even more.

WWE Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Kevin Owens: They brawl at the bell, Kofi fires back and they brawl to the floor. Back in and Kofi lays in kicks, and Owens powders. Kofi follows and gets slammed to the apron, but he then slams Owens to the barricade. Kofi then follows with a run up double axe handle. Back in and Owens cuts Kofi off with a superkick to take control. Owens then whips him to the buckles, and mockingly claps for Kofi. The senton follows and that gets 2. Owens then dumps Kofi to the floor. The apron frog splash follows. Back in and Owens covers for 2. Owens then follows with chops, and then knee drops to the back. Kofi counters a catapult, and backdrops Owens to the buckles. Kofi follows with chops, the dropkick and the clothesline connects. Owens counters the boom drop and locks on the crab. Kofi fights and makes the ropes. They work to the apron, trading strikes, and Kofi hits the running double stomp. Owens spills to the floor, Kofi heads up top and flies off and into a superkick. Back in and Owens covers for 2. Kofi counters the pop up powerbomb, and SOS gets 2. Owens counters trouble in paradise into another crab. Kofi fights, looking for the ropes and makes it. Kofi counters the superkick and lays in ground and pound. Owens fights back and the pop up powerbomb gets 2. Kofi fights off the stunner, and hits trouble in paradise and Owens rolls to the floor. Kofi rolls him back in and Owens hits the stunner for 2. Owens rips off Kofi’s shoes and heads up top. And the swanton eats knees. Trouble in paradise by Kofi finishes it. Champion Kofi Kingston defeated Kevin Owens @ 15:00 via pin [***] This was a good match overall, with an odd finish, and it really lacked in drama & intensity. It wasn’t bad in any way, I just never got into it or bought Owens possibly wining. They have a much better match in them, but also, the placement did it no favors having to follow Styles & Rollins.

– Commentary hypes WWE Sweet Saudi Money III: Suck it Tony Khan, We’re Allah In on June 7th.

Men’s MITB Match: Ricochet vs. Baron Corbin vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Ali vs. Andrade vs. Randy Orton vs. Finn Balor vs… Brock Lesnar: No replacement for Sami as they brawl at the bell. Orton slams Ali off of the announce table, and Ricochet follows with a dive as Orton slams Balor off of the announce table. One for Ricochet follows. Orton slides in a ladder, and looks to climb. Andrade springboards in and dropkicks the ladder and cuts off Orton. Corbin & Drew are in with ladders, working together but Ali & Ricochet return and cut them off. Andrade gets dumped and Ricochet climbs, but Ali stops him. They battle to climb, both head up and get cut off by Drew & Corbin. Drew starts tossing fools into ladders, but Orton cuts him off and hits the draping DDT on Corbin. He looks for an RKO, but Drew hits the claymore. Balor enziguris Corbin and follows with sling blade. He then double stomps a ladder onto Corbin. Balor then attacks Drew with the ladder and climbs. Andrade cuts him off with ladder shots and makes a ladder bridge. He then dumps Ricochet to the floor. Andrade climbs, Balor follows and they trade strikes and Andrade hits the sunset bomb onto the ladder bridge. Ali then runs wild, hits a reverse RANA on Ricochet and climbs. Andrade cuts him off and puts him in the tree of WHOA in the ladder and sets up another ladder. Andrade climbs and Ali pulls him self up and they both climb. Ali then hit the Spanish fly off the ladders. Drew beats him down, and makes a ladder bridge on the floor between the ring and announce table. Ali fights back with a superkick but Corbin chokeslams him through an announce table. Corbin then attacks Drew and chokeslams Balor onto a ladder. Ricochet cuts him off, but Corbin counters thieve with deep six on the floor. Drew then wipes out Corbin with the claymore. Balor climbs until Drew stops him and hits him with a ladder. He then suplexes him onto the ladder. Drew then slams Andrade onto Balor. Drew climbs, but Ricochet flies in and cuts him off. Ricochet climbs and Drew stops him and tosses him over the top and through the ladder bridge. Orton then hits Drew with an RKO, but Corbin cuts him off and posts him. Ali and Corbin climb, and Ali dumps Corbin and climbs by himself. BROCK LESNAR arrives and shoves over the ladder. He climbs and wins. Brock Lesnar won @ 19:55 [***¾] Well that was one way to go, thanks for killing yourselves on the European tour and taking a bunch of killer bumps, Brock needs his rematch at Sweet Saudi Money III. This was a horrible ending to what was a really great match. All these guys some that should be future stars, killing themselves for Brock to come in and work for like 10-seconds and win sums up the current creative direction. Brock is the smartest man in wrestling,

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 20. On the show, the good brother, Jeremy Lambert, joins 411’s Larry Csonka; the guys will do a deep discussion of the AEW TV deal, look at the changes to the WWE MITB card, break down the first four nights of the NJPW Best of Super Juniors, and then following a fan request, Larry books a WWE men & women’s G1 blocks. The show is approximately 116–minutes long.

* Intro
* AEW TV Deal – 4:50
* WWE MITB Changes – 35:01
* NJPW Best of Super Juniors Night 1 Review – 46:53
* NJPW Best of Super Juniors Night 2 Review – 59:53
* NJPW Best of Super Juniors Night 3 Review – 1:12:29
* NJPW Best of Super Juniors Night 4 Review – 1:23:51
* Booking WWE G1 Blocks – 1:44:32

You can subscribe and listen to the 411 on Wrestling Podcast via the above player on Transistor, or on the following platforms:

* iTunes
* Spotify
* Stitcher
* Google Play

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

WWE MITB 2019 was a weird show. There was a lot of enjoyable stuff and the great Styles vs. Rollins match, but there was also questionable booking, the horrible referee shit (intentional or not), and then Brock winning. It was a solid show that could have been much better.