Main Event – December 6, 2017: What A Difference A Lack Of A Centerpiece Makes
IMG Credit: WWE
Main Event
Date: December 6, 2018
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson
This could be an interesting one as this week’s Raw and Smackdown were as polar opposites as you could ask for. Raw was a slog to get through while Smackdown was a heck of a show with everything you could want in two hours. Now the question is how much of Raw’s awful can they cram in here. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
In Memory of Dynamite Kid.
Opening sequence.
Curt Hawkins vs. Tyler Breeze
Feeling out process to start and this match is so important that the announcers start talking about Mixed Match Challenge and where they would take their vacations if they won. Hawkins knocks him into the corner and offers a handshake but Breeze is too smart for that. Some right hands don’t go very well for Breeze as he gets caught in the Tree of Woe for a running dropkick. Breeze is right back with some right hands and stomping of his own in the corner, though the fans aren’t too thrilled with him.
After a quickly broken reverse chinlock, Breeze ties him in a Tree of Woe of his own but misses a dropkick. So….is Hawkins face here? The fans are treating him like one and he seems to be wrestling like one, and since faces and heels are switched week to week around here, it wouldn’t shock me at all. Hawkins makes a comeback with right hands and a Michinoku Driver for two. A running lariat gets the same but Breeze hides in the ropes, allowing Breeze to score with a superkick. The Unprettier extends Hawkins’ losing streak at 5:57.
Rating: D. Well I’m confused. I mean, I get the idea of the rapid fire changes, but that doesn’t make it a good idea. Hawkins has been a heel for the better part of ever (he has a cane so he has to be evil) and while Breeze reluctantly teamed with Ascension last week, I don’t get how this is supposed to just be ok. That being said, Hawkins has a much better chance of winning a match as a face as you can only have the plucky good guy lose so many times.
From Raw.
A bunch of security guards in gas masks come out to escort Ambrose, in a gas mask of his own, to the ring. Ambrose, still in the mask, says you can’t be too careful in a horrible city like Houston so he has some guards to protect him from that madman Seth Rollins. The mask comes off and Dean talks about how Rollins wanted something from him, just like all the people. Like all those people who would always stick their phones in his face to try and add some excitement to their lives.
Seth tried to control him and that’s the worst feeling in the world. Those people are sitting in the crowd right now but none of them have the courage to slap them in the mouth right now. Ambrose is proud to sit in this ring as the moral compass and at TLC, he could take the Intercontinental Title but he’d rather just teach Rollins a lesson. At TLC, Rollins will lose control of himself, his emotions and the Intercontinental Title. Don’t worry though, because he’ll be right there to save the title.
Cue Rollins from behind (at least he wasn’t a guard in disguise) to get in a few shots and then beat up the guards. Ambrose uses the distraction to get out but Rollins chases him down for the brawl. They come back to ringside though and Dean gets in a shot to the face with a gas mask. Ambrose even hits Dirty Deeds on the floor, followed by another inside. This was good but that’s the problem: it’s just good. This feud started off red hot and hasn’t lived up to the hype since then. The match will be very good as these two almost always are, but it’s not what it could have been.
From Smackdown.
It’s time for MizTV but hang on because we need R-Truth and Carmella for a dance break. Miz’s guest tonight is Daniel Bryan, who has been on the show several times but never as WWE Champion. Miz says that Bryan’s comments last week were proof that Miz was right all along. Bryan says he came to the realization that he doesn’t care about the people and he’s allowed his dreams to take control. He doesn’t have a lot of intellectual peers to discuss this with (Miz included) but he can consult great minds of history in his books. Men like Alexander Hamilton for instance.
Bryan calls the fans fickle for chanting YES because they’re sheep who regurgitate things from twenty years ago for reasons they don’t know. Anyway, Bryan talks about the abilities of the old Bryan being mixed with the mentality of the new Bryan. Miz thinks that sounds like EXACTLY WHAT HE TOLD BRYAN FOR YEARS. Bryan talks about doing one bad thing to one man while all these people do horrible things to harm the planet every single day. They drink from their plastic water bottles and eat their processed meat that releases methane into the air and causes permanent changes to the climate.
All he did was kick one man in the groin and he’s the bad guy? Bryan tells us to count the sins and Miz is confused. Miz: “Did you think I brought you out here to talk about Alexander Hamilton, methane gas and water bottles?” He’s not cool with Bryan not admitting that he was right and wants a simple answer: was he right nor not? Bryan finally says yes….and then no….and then yes and no again over and over.
It really doesn’t matter either way, because the old Daniel Bryan and the YES Movement are dead. Bryan throws down the YES plates from the side of the title and holds up the title while calling the fans fickle again. This brings out AJ Styles so Bryan throws Miz into him and runs off but can’t get away fast enough. Bryan tries to use Miz as a shield again and this time it works, as a Skull Crushing Finale drops AJ. This was more gold from Bryan, who is playing a great heel. That’s very impressive given how big he was as a good guy.
And from later in the night on Smackdown.
AJ Styles vs. The Miz
Miz grabs a headlock to start as Bryan talks about how the fans wanted him to come back but weren’t willing to put in the work with him on the way. Saxton reads some comments from hurt fans and Bryan calls them idiots. AJ gets two off a slingshot splash (Bryan: “I could do that.”) as Bryan wishes that his daughter kicks thousands of men in the groin, including Saxton.
The reverse chinlock goes on to put AJ in some trouble so Bryan calmly goes off about ruining the environment. Saxton continues to come off as the lamest commentator ever, again asking about Bryan’s new attitude and getting laughed off. AJ gets dropped to the floor and we take a break.
Back with both guys down and Saxton again trying to question Bryan, who cuts him down with ease. AJ hits a running clothesline in the corner and gets two off the fireman’s carry backbreaker. The Skull Crushing Finale is countered so Miz gets two off a DDT instead. AJ sends him outside for the slingshot forearm but Bryan gets up for a distraction, allowing Miz to send AJ into the steps. That and the Finale are good for two back inside and that should be about it for Miz. Bryan grabs AJ’s leg so Miz charges, only to get caught in the Calf Crusher to make him tap at 13:02.
Rating: C+. This was much more about Bryan, though as awesome as he was, he made me want to strangle Saxton all the more. He’s just so annoying and comes off like a child in an adult’s world. Anyway the match was fine and helped advance AJ vs. Bryan, which is exactly the point of what they were doing here.
Post match Bryan goes after AJ’s leg with a chop block and wraps it around the post. Bryan puts on a heel hook until referees break it up so he settles for a kick to the head. The multiple stomps to AJ’s head have Bryan doing a victory lap, only to come back for even more stomping. Bryan insists on being announced as the NEW Daniel Bryan and then rants about the fans being fickle. One more chop block ends the show.
TLC rundown.
Mojo Rawley/Ascension vs. Zack Ryder/B-Team
Mojo and Axel start things off and that means some dancing from Curtis. We get a very early stalemate into a big brawl as it’s off to a break. Back with Ryder diving over for the hot tag to Axel for the house cleaning. Ryder hits a pop up Rough Ryder on Viktor and a sunset flip gives Axel the pin at 5:57. There must have been a lot cut out of there.
From Smackdown.
Ladders surround the ring and it’s Paige at a table to host the contract signing. Paige mentioned making history so Becky says it must be Tuesday because that’s what she does every time she gets in the ring. She doesn’t care what happens at TLC because she plans to win and doesn’t care what happens to these two dopes. Charlotte doesn’t like Becky implying that she was handed a title shot because she beat up Ronda Rousey on her own. Then it took Nia Jax one time to knock Becky onto the shelf so Charlotte won’t have any trouble.
Asuka cuts off the argument and says Becky has never beaten her so she’ll beat Becky at TLC. They all yell at each other (as WWE women tend to do when they’re in large groups) but Becky says neither of them can beat her and signs. That’s it for Becky, which Charlotte says is appropriate because Becky is all talk these days. Charlotte promises to win too and signs as well. Asuka wants a fight right now but cue Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville to cut them off. They promise to beat up Asuka and Charlotte the first chance they get so Paige makes the match for later. Why not just do it now?
And from Smackdown to close things out.
Ronda Rousey/Ember Moon vs. Nia Jax/Tamina
Rousey walks hard to the ring but gets jumped 2-1 until Moon comes in. A middle rope Codebreaker rocks Nia and Rousey hits a running forearm off the apron to take her down again. Back from a break (with no bell beforehand) with Ember in trouble and Rousey bouncing back and forth on the apron. Ember gets over and makes the tag a few seconds later….and Rousey tags back out after a few kicks to Tamina. Nia loads up the big right hand, which she uses on Ember’s ribs after a quick tease.
Ember hurricanranas her way to freedom but Nia breaks up the hot tag, only to get knocked off the apron by Tamina. That means the hot tag can bring Rousey in for the clotheslines and knees to Tamina, who is knocked into the corner. Rousey demands the tag to Nia so she comes in and tags right back out. Rousey flips Nia back in and then beats Tamina up with the rapid punches in the corner. A jumping knee to the face gets two on Tamina but the Eclipse rocks her again. The armbar makes Tamina tap at 5:57.
Rating: D+. This was exactly what it needed to be with Nia being the loudmouth who won’t actually fight but at the same time, I’m not sure how much WWE can make me buy her as a threat to Rousey at TLC. She’s really living on that one right hand to Becky from a few weeks ago and that’s not exactly a lot of material. At least the ending was the right call here and Moon didn’t get treated like an afterthought again.
Overall Rating: C. Well, they did balance things out a bit. Aside from the weird Hawkins turn which likely won’t go anywhere, you had a nice selection from Raw and Smackdown to make the show feel far less one sided. Unfortunately the good stuff from Smackdown was weighed down by the Raw counterparts. That being said, the lack of Baron Corbin helped so much. I didn’t realize just how bad he was on Raw but my goodness what a difference it makes when he’s gone.
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