It’s the last month of 1998 and things are starting to pick up for Starrcade. The main story coming out of Nitro is kind of hard to pin down. Hall seems to be going to war against the NWO while Goldberg vs. Nash is just kind of happening in the background despite being allegedly the biggest match of the year. Let’s get to it.

Tony recaps some of the NWO stuff from Nitro and calls Dusty a great man for swerving Bischoff. Flair vs. Easy E is set for Starrcade.

Since Hogan has “officially retired”, we get a retrospective on his WCW career. Looking back….Hogan wasn’t all that good around this time.

We see Scott Steiner challenging Scott Hall from Nitro.

Here’s Scott Steiner with something to say. Steiner talks about going to Graceland and says he’s getting more women than Elvis could ever dream of now that he’s the head of the NWO. After insulting the fans, Steiner brags about Hogan passing the torch because they both have big arms. This brings him to Scott Hall because Steiner wants to hurt him. I’m assuming that’s the main event tonight.

Eddie Guerrero vs. Ciclope

Eddie takes out the knee to start and nails the slingshot hilo before sitting on the ropes to yell at the fans. Ciclope slides through the legs to the floor before coming back in with a mostly missing missile dropkick for two. Not that it matters as Eddie hits the brainbuster….and asks for the match to be stopped. The bell rings and we’re done with I think a no contest.

The LWO comes out and Eddie offers Ciclope a shirt, giving us a new member of the LWO.

We see Konnan winning the TV Title on Monday.

We see Page losing the US Title back to Bret Hart.

Renegade vs. Giant

Giant shrugs him off, shrugs him off again and then chokeslams Renegade off the top for the pin in a minute.

Post match Giant talks about beating up two imposters in one week. This brings DDP out through the crowd with a chair to lay out Giant. If the Giant Scum wants some, come get some. I guess that’s another Starrcade match.

Mike Enos vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr.

Chavo has an early chat with Pepe before dodging a charging Enos and nailing him with a dropkick. A gorilla press goes as badly as the charge and Chavo dropkicks Enos to the floor, followed by a baseball slide and plancha. Enos shrugs it off and whips him into the barricade though before yelling at a fan about Goldberg. Back in and Mike works over the arm for a bit but gets caught by yet another dropkick.

Guerrero takes him to top for a hurricanrana, only to have Enos counter into a SWEET top rope powerbomb. That’s not enough for a cover though so Enos takes him up top again for a top rope fall away slam as Chavo is in big trouble. Since Mike isn’t that bright though, he picks Chavo up at two. Enos goes over and grabs Pepe for no apparent reason and lays him on the mat. He sets up a powerbomb onto the horse but Guerrero rolls him up for the pin out of nowhere.

Rating: C. Well this was a surprise. Enos was a good choice for a power guy that throws small people all over the place and then gets pinned because he’s not all that bright. Chavo actually looked like the weaker worker in the match which isn’t something you often have to say about him.

Konnan music video.

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Villano V

Rey is sent into the corner to start but avoids a charge so Villano slaps him in the mask. A dropkick sends Villano out to the floor, setting up a great looking flip dive to take him down again. It works so well that Rey tries another one, only to be slammed down onto the concrete. Back in and Villano hammers away with a knee to the head and a backbreaker before slapping him in the face again. Rey reverses a whip into the corner but charges into the post. Villano’s top rope splash misses and it’s the Bronco Buster into the West Coast Pop for the pin for Rey.

Rating: C. Take Rey and any other high flier and let them fly around the ring for awhile. It’s one of those ideas that is always going to get a nice reaction and this one worked almost as well as anything else. It’s nice to have a match without the LWO stuff getting in the way too.

Post match Eddie comes out and says he’s tired of Rey wanting the title. It’s Juvy that should be going after the Cruiserweight Title and that’s what the LWO is going to do, but Tony says it’s Rey vs. Juvy next week for a shot at Starrcade. Eddie freaks out of course. I still have no idea what the idea of this story is supposed to be. Eddie forces Rey into the group he formed to keep Eric from controlling them and now Eric (or WCW in general) is giving Rey what Eddie doesn’t want. What does Eddie get out of keeping Rey on the team here?

We look at the contract signing from Nitro.

Chip Minton vs. Wrath

Minton was an Olympic bobsledder and wrestled a bit as well. Wrath easily throws him into the corner and stomps away before throwing Minton out to the floor. A suplex onto the concrete keeps Chip in trouble and a slingshot clothesline gets two. Minton comes back with a weak looking sunset flip for two and that’s about the extent of his offense. Wrath hammers away in the corner even more and the Meltdown (BIG pop) is good for the pin.

Rating: D. This was WAY longer than it needed to be and most of it was spent talking about Minton’s Olympic background (nothing wrong with that) and Wrath bouncing back from his loss. The whole appeal of Wrath was the undefeated streak and that just went away a few days ago. There isn’t much left to him now and going back to the squashes isn’t going to do much good.

We recap the Flair/Bischoff/Malenko stuff from Nitro.

Chris Benoit/Steve McMichael vs. Raven/Kanyon

Before the match Raven sits in the corner while Kanyon grabs a mic. Kanyon yells at him for putting his head through a window tonight and talks about Raven’s mother. The fans actually get tricked as Kanyon asks who is NOT better than Kanyon before we go to Arn Anderson leading the Horsemen to the ring. Benoit runs Kanyon over to start but gets caught in a sweet rollup for twp. They trade wristlocks until Kanyon takes him down and chokes away out of anger at Raven.

Kanyon stops to call the depressed Raven an idiot, allowing Mongo to run him over out of a three point stance. Steve misses a boot in the corner though and gets caught in something like a neckbreaker. The Horsemen take over with Benoit chopping the skin off Kanyon’s chest before stomping him down for good measure. Raven doesn’t do much so Benoit goes over to yell at him before Kanyon gets double teamed some more.

A backbreaker gets two for Chris but he charges into a boot in the corner. Not that it really matters as he takes Kanyon down with a dragon screw leg whip, only to miss the Swan Dive. Raven still won’t tag so Kanyon hits a powerbomb into a faceplant for two as Raven walks away after being tagged. That’s a countout as Benoit puts Kanyon in the Crossface.

Rating: C+. The idea here worked pretty well with Raven’s downward spiral into depression continues with him walking away from his only friend. Other than that the Benoit stuff was very good, but Mongo just wasn’t working out there for the most part. Thankfully he won’t be around much anymore.

We see Konnan winning the title again for some reason.

TV Title: Konnan vs. Disco Inferno

Before Konnan comes out, Disco says tha the and Konnan should hook up to make a music video of their own. Konnan comes out and does his catchphrases in retaliation. Feeling out process to start with neither guy being able to get the advantage. A fsuplex gets two for Konnan and the seated dropkick sets up a pull of the champion’s pants.

Disco gets back up and hammers away before getting knocked out of the air. A DDT sends Disco to the floor but he snaps Konnan’s throat across the top rope. Back in and the piledriver is easily countered with a backdrop, setting up the 1-8-7 for two on Disco. Konnan blocks the Chartbuster and an X-Factor sets up the Tequila Sunrise to retain the title.

Rating: D+. The ending was never in doubt but Disco was his usual decent self. Konnan was there for little more than to give the Wolfpack some popularity but he was only ok at best in the ring. The match wasn’t terrible but it was nothing I’m going to remember in about five minutes.

Scott Steiner vs. Scott Hall

The NWO Referee is calling this one. Hall jumps Steiner during the entrances to send him out to the floor. Back in and Hall stays on offense but the NWO Referee grabs the leg to give Steiner control. A takedown gives Steiner a few fast near falls before he just hammers away on Hall in the corner. Hall takes a pumphandle slam for two and the NWO Referee keeps up with the fast counts.

Steiner plants him with a tiger bomb for two with his foot on Hall’s chest before throwing on a sleeper. As expected Hall fights out of it and grabs a sleeper of his own but gets countered into a belly to back suplex. Both guys are down but it’s Hall up first and hammering away. The top rope bulldog gets a very slow two and it’s Outsider’s Edge time. Not that it matters though as the referee makes the save and takes the Edge in Steiner’s place. Steiner pops up and lays Hall out before putting on the Recliner as we go off the air with no winner.

Rating: D. This was more of a “we’re out of time so here’s something we promised without either guy having to do a televised job” thing than a main event. You knew something was up as soon as you saw the NWO Referee out there so it wasn’t like the ending came as a big shock or anything.

Overall Rating: C-. This was one of the decent episodes but it means next week is probably going to be horrible. The tag match was actually solid as they let the good workers run the match and just had Mongo in there to do basic power stuff and then leave. Not much to see here but it’s a pretty weak time for WCW.

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We’ll start with the main event. I’ll take Bully Ray to beat Bobby Roode in the tables match with a powerbomb. No seriously that’s the main event. If you watch Impact, this is the match we’ve heard the most of all month long. I don’t quite get the appeal of having people put each other through tables for a month and then pay to see them put each other through one more table but that’s just me.

Eric Young keeps the title because…..well because Eric Young is World Champion in a major wrestling company and according to them it’s not a ripoff of Daniel Bryan.

I’ll take Angelina to take the Knockouts Title because it’s the easiest thing they can do to keep the division as boring as possible.

I’ll actually take Storm to win the I Quit match, presumably through the use of someone else like Gunner’s dad. Why this feud is still going is anyone’s guess as this is about the fourth match that should have blown the thing off.

Angle/Willow over Carter/Spud to give the good guys their revenge. Again there’s no real thinking in this but that’s the case for almost everything in TNA anymore.

Give me Sanada over Tigre Uno in a match that just didn’t need to be a best of three at all.

I have a feeling Shaw wins the Committed match over Anderson with Christy’s help because Russo is back on the creative team as a consultant and that’s one of his favorites.

Oh and the Wolves get the belts back which should be their first reign but we needed them to win in Japan or whatever.

As I’m sure you can tell, I REALLY do not care about this show at all. That was what went through my head the entire show on Thursday and it’s the same case here. TNA is just not very interesting right now and the majority of the show feels like something they remembered doing before and just swapped the names around. It’s not interesting for the most part and there really isn’t much I want to see on this show which doesn’t need to be a PPV in the slightest. Things can turn around, but I don’t see much good going on at the moment.

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Things have started to pick up for Extreme Rules with Kane attacking Daniel Bryan on Monday and Shield throwing down the gauntlet to Evolution. Other than that we have a lot of the card set or obvious as we head into whatever they’re calling PPVs now. Hopefully something actually happens tonight. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Vickie Guerrero to open things up. She says the Authority has the night off and will be giving the Shield a match against eleven people tonight. We’ll get to that later though because it’s now time for the great debate between Paul Heyman and Zeb Colter, accompanied by their respective clients. Zeb goes first and thanks everyone for allowing this to happen but wants to talk about the night after Wrestlemania when these two men attacked him with a change of plans. He says no one knew Cesaro’s name ten months ago when he came to Colter for help. Time runs out as Colter talks about everything he did for Cesaro.

Heyman’s response mainly consists of talking about Brock Lesnar breaking the Streak. He goes on about 15 times with the same statement and the crowd eats it up. Colter: “SHUT UP!” Heyman: “I can’t shut up because if I do, you might not know that my client Brock Lesnar conquered the Streak at Wrestlemania.” When Paul’s time is up, Colter talks about Heyman lying all the time and owing everyone money.

Colter: “Why did you steal Cesaro?” Heyman: “Because I’m the 1 behind the 1 in 21-1 when Brock Lesnar conquered the Streak.” Heyman says Cesaro was already a Paul Heyman Guy when he won the Andre battle royal, which he repeats about 10 times as well. Colter says that’s a lie and turns over his podium. This is between the two of them and Colter wants Heyman to be a man. “I’d be happy to look at you like a man but we’re one man short grandpa.” The managers are about to go at it and are split up as we take a break.

Cesaro vs. Jack Swagger

I’m surprised this wasn’t saved for the PPV. Cesaro shoves him around to start and hits a running uppercut in the corner followed by another to drop Swagger in the corner. Jack sends him out to the floor, only to have Cesaro ram him into the barricade to take over. Swagger fights out of a chinlock and grabs a belly to belly suplex followed by a double arm trap. Cesaro easily powers up and hits a spinning springboard European uppercut to wake up the crowd a little bit.

Jack will have none of that and slams Cesaro down, setting up the Vader Bomb for two. Both guys fall out to the floor and we take a break. Back with Swagger trying to run the corner but getting knocked down for a top rope European uppercut and two. Jack comes right back and tries the Vader Bomb but has to settle for the Patriot Lock when Cesaro raises a boot. Cesaro is quickly out but gets caught in a slam for two. A tiger bomb puts Swagger down and the fans want the Swing. They get what they want and the Neutralizer is good for the pin on Swagger at 8:44 shown of 12:14.

Rating: C. This was better than I was expecting it to be with Swagger continuing to be decent in the ring while working his formula but getting beaten in the end. Cesaro getting a clean win isn’t a bad thing at all, especially when it’s what should be the big blowoff to the story. I’m not sure what Cesaro does at Extreme Rules now though, unless it’s a rematch which isn’t something we really need to see.

Post match we have….Shield? Cesaro leaves as the trio circles the fallen Swagger and the beatdown is on. Swagger takes the Triple Bomb and Ambrose says HHH told them to adapt or perish. Apparently Jack Swagger failed to evolve. Reigns says they’re just getting started.

We look at Bryan being taken out of the arena on Monday. Cole says Bryan had a neck contusion and is already getting better. Bryan will be on Raw Monday.

The same video about Paige from Raw is shown again.

Tamina Snuka vs. Natalya

Natalya easily takes her down into a leg lock to start and hits a bad looking dropkick. Tamina comes back with a kick to the chest to knock Nattie outside and an elbow to the back gets two. The Samoan drop gets a big pop but Natalya rolls away before the splash. Tamina kicks away from a Sharpshooter but gets caught by a discus lariat for two. Natalya springs up from the mat and gets kicked in the throat for the pin at 4:05.

Rating: C-. Better match than I was expecting here until the kick at the end was botched. Tamina is decent enough in the ring to be a first victim for Paige on Sunday and hopefully Paige can have a better match than the messes she’s had over the last few weeks against people like Aksana.

We recap Evolution vs. Shield.

Shield lays out 3MB in the back.

Vickie is on the phone with presumably HHH and is told to take the night off to be replaced by Brad Maddox.

Curtis Axel vs. Jey Uso

Nothing wrong with the singles matches to set up the Tag Team Title match. A quick elbow drops Jey but Axel gets caught in an early chinlock. Curtis shoves him throat first into the ropes and hits a running knee to the face to knock Jey into the corner. Axel drops a running elbow for two but misses a charge into the corner. Jey comes back with some quick strikes until Axel rams him face first into the buckle a few times. The neckbreaker into a cutter is good for the pin on Jey at 3:40.

Rating: D. Very basic match here but it was only kind of interesting. The problem here is Axel and Ryback have won like two tag matches and are now the #1 contenders because they’ve cleaned out most of the division in that winning streak. It amazes me how the division can go from hot to this in a matter of months, but it’s what happens when you have teams beat each other at random and don’t let two teams get built up.

Video on the Saudi Arabia trip.

Bolieve video.

Here are the Wyatts with something to say. The spotlight shows a cage around the ring and Bray starts talking about how love determines the power you have. Love is a wildfire with beautiful flames and a fine wine that brings warmth to those who drink it. You have to live it and feel it to know it’s real. Cena needs to get the people to love him so they’ll do anything for him and that’s exactly what he’s done.

Now he’s lost their love though and Bray loves his style. On Monday Cena’s people put him in a three on one handicap match like a piece of meat being thrown to the wolves. Bray’s words are razor blades and they’re working just like he planned for them to. He and Cena have a date with destiny at Extreme Rules and the cage will define their world.

All the blood, sweat and tears Cena has shed to fight for the people has led them here, trapped in a box like a rat with a snake. Bray lays on the middle rope and says Cena’s nightmares have become Bray’s dreams come true. One by one the fans will all follow Wyatt, who says he can see them from the top of the cage. Bray starts singing and the fans join in to complete the awesome segment.

Wyatt Family vs. Cody Rhodes/Goldust

Cody starts by dropkicking Luke’s leg out before it’s off to Goldust to hammer on Rowan. A bulldog drops Erick again and it’s back to Cody as the brothers start working on the arm. Rowan slams him into the mat and Bray gets on the mic to ask if the fans are impressed by what they see. Harper catapults Cody’s throat into the middle rope before it’s back to Rowan to crank on the neck.

Bray is yelling at the fans as Harper puts Cody in the Gator Roll. Rhodes finally fights up and hits the Disaster Kick to bring in Goldust off the hot tag. Goldust dives on both Wyatts as everything breaks down. Harper rolls Goldie up for two but gets caught in a powerslam for another two. Cody goes up top but Luke sends Goldust into the corner to knock Cody to the floor. The discus lariat is good for the pin on Goldust at 5:07.

Rating: D+. It’s nice to see the Wyatts getting back to what made them awesome and I’m ok with the Rhodes Brothers wrapping up their run as a team. There’s nothing left for them to do, but it does make me think the Outlaws’ reign was completely worthless and the titles should have gone from the Brothers to the Usos.

Shield takes out Brad Maddox.

Santino Marella/Emma vs. Fandango/Layla

No match as Shield jumps Fandango and gives him the Triple Bomb off the stage through some tables. That should write him off TV for awhile.

Adam Rose is coming.

We look at Bryan getting injured on Monday.

Shield vs. Alberto Del Rio/Ryback/Titus O’Neal/Damien Sandow/Bad News Barrett

Axel has been attacked in the back as well so it’s 5-3. Ryback takes Rollins down with a headlock but a dropkick puts Ryback down, allowing Shield to start making their fast tags. Ryback catches Rollins diving off the top for a slam and it’s off to Titus for more power. He misses an elbow drop though and it’s off to Ambrose for some knees to the face. Reigns gets two off a clothesline before Dean comes in again. Titus drives him into the corner as the announcers actually hype up the PPV six man. Everything breaks down for a few seconds and Shield clears the ring as we take a break.

Back with Barrett putting Ambrose in a chinlock before getting two off a big boot. Del Rio comes in for a quickly broken chinlock followed by the enziguri for two. Dean is sent to the floor before being thrown back in so Ryback can splash him for two. We hit another chinlock followed by a spinebuster for two as Rollins makes the save. Dean avoids a charge in the corner and makes the tag to Reigns to clean house.

Everything breaks down with the Shield in control and Reigns hitting the running boot to the apron on Sandow. Del Rio and Barrett look to charge Roman but Rollins gets on the apron and they bail. Rollins dives on Ryback and both he and Ambrose dive on Titus and Sandow. Reigns nails the Superman Punch to Del Rio on the stage and it’s Sandow being sent back into the ring. A dropkick from Ambrose sets up the spear for the pin at 10:20 shown of 13:50.

Rating: C+. Now THIS is what the Shield needs to do before the match against Evolution. They may have had some issues for part of the match but by the end it was a decimation of five names with a former World Champion in the mix. This was a team dominating to set up a showdown with another team that could dominate anyone they face. Want to find out what happens? Watch Extreme Rules. It’s that simple and they made it work here.

Titus and Ryback get speared as well and the latter takes the Triple Bomb to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was all about setting up the PPV and it worked very well. I’m fired up for the six man and I want to see the other matches even more now. The wrestling wasn’t all that great but it wasn’t that kind of a show. Shield taking over is something that hasn’t gotten old yet and that’s the big story for the night. It’s an entertaining show that set up future stuff which is a good use for Smackdown.

Results
Cesaro b. Jack Swagger – Neutralizer
Tamina Snuka b. Natalya – Superkick
Curtis Axel b. Jey Uso – Neckbreaker into a cutter
Wyatt Family b. Cody Rhodes/Goldust – Discus lariat to Goldust
Shield b. Ryback/Alberto Del Rio/Titus O’Neal/Bad News Barrett/Damien Sandow – Spear to Sandow

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50. Scott Steiner

49. Joel Gertner

48. Jimmy Valiant

47. Zeb Colter

46. New Jack

45. Grand Wizard

44. Brian Pillman

43. JBL

42. Thunderbolt Patterson

41. The Miz

40. Kevin Sullivan

39. William Regal

38. Taz

37. Stephanie McMahon

36. Ernie Ladd

35. Kurt Angle

34. Bray Wyatt

33. Rick Rude

32. Gary Hart

31. Ultimate Warrior

30. Michael PS Hayes

29. Nick Bockwinkle

28. Raven

27. Jesse Ventura

26. Jerry Lawler

25. Ted DiBiase

24. Terry Funk

23. Shawn Michaels

22. Harley Race

21. Edge

20. Captain Lou Albano

19. HHH

18. Randy Savage

17. Jim Cornette

16. CM Punk

15. Arn Anderson

14. Billy Graham

13. Vince McMahon

12. John Cena

11. Jake Roberts

10. Chris Jericho

9. Hulk Hogan

8. Bobby Heenan

7. Mick Foley

6. Paul Heyman

5. Dusty Rhodes

4. Steve Austin

3. Roddy Piper

2. The Rock

1. Ric Flair

I’m really not feeling Flair as #1 but this is WWE so ALL HAIL FLAIR. Cena not being in the top ten is highly questionable and I’d put Jericho above Dusty.

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We’re getting closer to the next live special which has been announced for the end of May. That makes me think we’re going to get done with Brodus challenging Adrian for the title soon as he feels like little more than a placeholder challenger. Other than that it’s hard to see what’s coming as NXT jumps around a lot. We should be getting Sami vs. Graves soon though. Let’s get to it.

We open with Paige in the back with both titles. She runs into NXT GM JBL though and he has to strip her of the NXT Women’s Title because of the schedule that comes with being Divas Champion. Paige protests but JBL has already set up a tournament for the title. He says hopefully someone will be able to step up and reach her level and that’s enough for her to hand the title over.

Opening sequence.

Alexander Rusev vs. Travis Tyler

Tyler hits a quick dropkick and is promptly run over with a clothesline. The knees to the back set up a fall away slam (looked more like a Samoan drop) and some hard elbows to the chest are good for two. Rusev hits his slam and wins with the Accolade in 1:35.

We go backstage as Adam Rose’s party brings him in for an interview. Rose thinks Camacho is boring and would love to fight him anytime. The party dances and shouts that they’re Rosebuds.

BFFs vs. Emma/Paige

Paige is a mystery partner and her entrance is cut for some reason. Emma runs over Sasha to start before it’s off to Charlotte who takes a monkey flip for two. A double suplex gets two more on Charlotte but she cranks on the ankle to take over. Paige throws Charlotte down by the hair and brings Emma in again but Charlotte flips out of another monkey flip. Sasha comes in off a blind tag and runs Emma down to take over.

Back to Charlotte for a figure four neck lock, complete with a forward roll to slam Emma down onto the mat. Emma avoids an elbow drop and it’s a double tag to Paige and Banks. The champ cleans house and hits a running dropkick until Charlotte takes out the knee. Everything breaks down and Charlotte hits her flipping faceplant for the pin at 5:54.

Rating: C-. Not a bad match here but I don’t get why you need Paige to get pinned when she’s already been stripped of the title. This would seem to point to Charlotte as the next champion. That’s fine in theory, but wouldn’t it make more sense to have her beat Paige with Sasha’s help if they’re ok with Paige getting pinned?

Tyson Kidd vs. Mason Ryan

The Better Than Batista chants begin as Mason shoves Kidd away with ease. Mason doesn’t seem to be a heel here. Kidd kicks away at the legs to little effect as Ryan slams him down. A legdrop gets two on Kidd but he takes out the knees again to take over. Off to a front facelock until Mason powers up and hits a Warrior press slam drop for two. Mason charges into a boot in the corner though and the Blockbuster gives Tyson the pin at 3:19.

Rating: C-. It’s just a power vs. speed match but Kidd is fun to watch and Mason did a decent enough job as a guy for Kidd to bounce off of. I’ve always liked the Blockbuster as a finisher and it’s a good move for a guy that can pull off a good flip like Kidd. This was more entertaining than I was expecting.

Tyson says this is his rebirth and says he’ll brawl when people want to fight and soar when people want to fly. NXT is the opportunity people have been wanting and he’s taking his shot.

Tyler Breeze vs. Angelo Dawkins

Dawkins looks like JTG but also has headphones and a backpack. He also dances a lot because that’s what wrestlers do anymore. Dawkins is a former amateur wrestling champion and takes Breeze down with a quick rollup for two but Breeze slaps on a chinlock to take over. Some right hands set up the Beauty Shot and Tyler gets the pin at 2:00.

We look at Brodus Clay jumping Adrian Neville in the back after their match last week and knocking out some of his teeth.

Corey Graves/Ascension vs. Usos/Sami Zayn

Jimmy uppercuts Viktor down to start before it’s off to Zayn vs. Graves. Corey circles around but tags off to Konnor instead of getting involved. It’s back to Graves almost immediately and the brawl is on again. Viktor sneaks back in off a blind tag and kicks Sami’s knee to take over. Sami drags him back into the corner though and Jey comes in with some chops.

A pair of elbows get two on Viktor and he makes the mistake of ramming their heads together. It sends the Usos into a dance sequence and a double right hand drops Viktor again. Sami comes back in with a top rope shot to the shoulder and it’s OLE time. Jey drops an elbow to the arm but allows the tag to Konnor who nails the flapjack as we take a break.

Back with Konnor running Jey over again and getting two off a hard elbow to the face. We hit the chinlock until Graves comes in with a gordbuster for two. Off to another chinlock into a front facelock with Graves driving Jey into the corner for a tag off to Viktor. Jey and Viktor trade chops with the power guy getting the better of it for two. Back to the chinlock for a bit until Jey slams him down but Konnor breaks up the tag attempt. Jey finally escapes and brings in Jimmy to clean house as everything breaks down.

Jimmy kicks Graves in the face and Sami gets two off a top rope cross body. The running boot in the corner is countered but the Blue Thunder Bomb is good for two. A double clothesline puts the Ascension on the floor and there’s the boot in the corner to Graves. Sami and Jimmy dive on Ascension as Jey hits the Superfly Splash for the pin on Graves at 12:30 shown of 16:00.

Rating: B-. I liked this one quite a bit with Sami FINALLY getting a win that means something, even though he didn’t get the pin. I also like that they didn’t have the Ascension take the fall which leaves a door open for Ascension vs. Usos down the line. Good stuff here and hopefully this ends Sami vs. Corey.

Overall Rating: C+. This felt like a bigger show than it was with the main event being a highlight. We’re setting up Neville vs. Clay II, a tournament, a new guy looking good in Tyson Kidd and wrapping up Sami vs. Graves. That’s quite a good piece of work for under fifty three minutes, which is where NXT gets to shine. Fun and solid show this week that felt like the NXT of old.

Results
Alexander Rusev b. Travis Tyler – Accolade
BFFs b. Paige/Emma – Flipping faceplant to Paige
Tyson Kidd b. Mason Ryan – Blockbuster
Tyler Breeze b. Angelo Dawkins – Beauty Shot
Usos/Sami Zayn b. Corey Graves/Ascension – Superfly Splash to Graves

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It’s the go home show for Sacrifice and we have most of the card set up if you can remember some of the matches we’ve heard discussed here or there. Things are being set up for the TV show week to week, which defeats the purpose of having monthly PPVs but it’s TNA so you know they have to screw up something every now and then. Let’s get to it.

Angle is warming up in the back and says if Spud backs out of their match tonight, he’s coming for EC3.

We recap the World Title change from a few weeks ago and last week’s Monster’s Ball match.

Here’s Magnus with what looks like a grappling hook. He calls out Abyss because it’s the Monster’s fault that Magnus lost the title. Magnus calls Abyss a blithering idiot. The weapon in his hand is part of a turnbuckle and Magnus yells at Abyss for not coming down to ringside. Abyss says he’d be fired if he came down so Magnus fires him anyway. The monster says that it was never about the money but wanting to belong to someone. Abyss says he’s still a monster and looks to want a fight but here’s MVP to interrupt.

MVP says calm down and that Abyss isn’t his favorite person after Abyss hit him with a chair a few weeks ago. However, MVP is all about second chances so maybe Abyss should be offered a full time spot on the roster if he can win his match tonight. That match is of course against Magnus and MVP literally skips away. Abyss is thrilled and promises to take care of Magnus tonight.

Spud tells EC3 to save the speech this week but EC3 cuts him off and says last week he saw a ghost. It was actually real though and there’s only one man that can beat Angle: Carter himself. Tonight Spud needs to be a gazelle for Carter. Ethan adjusts Spud’s tie and the picture is starting to make sense to the Rockster.

Rockstar Spud vs. Kurt Angle

Spud goes for a leg dive and is literally thrown across the ring. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker puts Spud down and Angle no sells everything until Carter trips him up to give Spud quick control. Angle runs the ropes for the suplex and the ankle lock gets the win at 2:04.

Ethan clips Angle post match but Willow makes the save.

The Beautiful People promise to give Madison a makeover.

Kenny King is in MVP’s office when the boss comes in. King thinks he should be the top name on this program so MVP gives him a match right now.

Here’s Madison Rayne for even more talking. She calls out the Beautiful People so here’s Angelina to yell at her for trying to be a role model. Madison apologizes and the fight is on until the numbers catch up with her. They load up the bag but Brittany comes in to try for a save. That goes as well as you would expect and Velvet hits In Yo Face to Madison. Now Rayne gets the bag.

Mr. Anderson has something special planned for Samuel Shaw tonight.

Gail Kim wants to team up with Madison to help fight the Beautiful People. Madison accepts and Brittany promises to be there again.

Kenny King vs. Bobby Lashley

Lashley easily throws King down a few times to start and runs him over before throwing King off a headlock. King bails to the floor and tries to sneak up on Bobby, only to have Lashley pull a reverse leapfrog into a powerslam. Lashley moves the referee out of the corner and blocks a pike in the eye but gets caught by the other hand. King snaps Bobby’s throat across the top rope and scores with a springboard missile dropkick.

Bobby fights back with pure power and hits a hard shoulder in the corner. Lashley grabs King’s boot to the ribs but gets kicked in the head. King tries a Blockbuster but gets caught in mid air for a suplex. That looked awesome. King dives away to avoid the spear and takes the countout at 5:37.

Rating: D+. The Blockbuster counter was awesome but this was a VERY dull match otherwise. It was basically a squash until King walked out at the end. I’m not sure how seeing Kenny getting beaten up for four minutes and then leaving makes me want to see him fight even more but there are a lot of things I don’t get in TNA.

Mr. Anderson goes to see Samuel Shaw’s family and the mom’s name is Christy. Anderson’s face is rather amusing. More on this later.

Beer Money has a talk in the back and after ranting about history a bit, Storm wants credit for making Gunner what he is today.

Austin Aries vs. MVP

This is a result of Aries turning his back on MVP at Lockdown and then losing the match. Aries grabs a cravate to start but MVP takes over with a wristlock. A nice flip gets Aries out of a headlock and he nails MVP with a low dropkick. MVP comes right back with a facebuster and the Ballin Elbow but Aries bails outside. The boss dives onto Aries as the announcers are in their own little world. Aries dropkicks him back to the floor and hits a top rope ax handle so let’s talk about Abyss.

Back in and the slingshot hilo sets up a running elbow drop for two on MVP and a middle rope elbow to the back gets the same. Aries misses the running dropkick but bites his way out of a standing choke. MVP comes right back with a discus lariat for two but walks into a facebuster to put both guys down. Aries misses a 450 and the Drive By is good for the pin at 6:38.

Rating: C. It’s the best match and segment of the night but I’m still not interested in what they’re doing here. That’s the story of the entire show so far: it’s just not all that interesting and things aren’t getting much better. MVP beating Aries changes nothing and it ends a storyline that didn’t have a lot of interest in the first place. How does seeing this make me want to buy Sacrifice?

Video on Sanada.

Back at the Shaw house with the mom straight out of Leave it to Beaver talking about how talented her son is. She’s baking homemade apple pie for Samuel who still lives in the basement. So what was the apartment he took Christy to a few months ago?

James Storm/Bobby Roode vs. Bully Ray/Gunner

Storm grabs a headlock on Ray after a break but both members of Beer Money are taken down with backdrops. Gunner comes in to work on Storm’s arm as we hear about their latest gimmick match on Sunday, this one being an I Quit match. Ray fights out of the corner but Roode distracts the referee so Storm can crotch him against the post. Storm: “IT’S BECAUSE YOU’RE FAT!”

Back in and Roode cranks on a front facelock until Ray fights up, only to be slammed back down. Ray comes back with a suplex and makes the hot tag to Gunner for some house cleaning. Gunner plays D-Von for What’s Up on Storm and it’s table time. Ray misses an elbow from the apron to drive himself through the table. Back inside Gunner hits an F5 on Roode but walks into the Last Call for the pin at 7:05.

Rating: C-. Nothing wrong with mixing up two feuds, but at the end of the day I’ve seen Gunner vs. Storm so many times now that I’m not interested in it anymore. Roode vs. Ray is fine but I’ve pretty much forgotten why they’re fighting (and no I’m not asking people to tell me). The match was fine though.

Magnus says it’s his time.

Anderson goes downstairs with the mom giving a creepy wave as the door shuts. Mr. sees something and says oh my god as we go to a break.

Anderson looks at the room and it’s designed like an 8 year old’s. Shaw comes in and does something as the cameraman leaves. The mom is still the same kind of Stepford Wife that she was before and hugs her son as he comes up from the basement. Creepy, creepy segment.

Beautiful People vs. Gail Kim/Madison Rayne

Madison cleans house to start and the Beautiful People are knocked to the floor for a double dropkick through the ropes. Velvet and Madison are back in the ring now for Madison’s crotch slam to the mat before it’s back to Gail for some right hands and a clothesline. Kim misses a charge into the corner and it’s off to Angelina for some shots to the face. She gets caught in the corner for Gail’s running cross body to the ribs though and everything breaks down.

Back in for a leg choke from Gail to make Angelina look annoyed. Sky’s distraction breaks up the hold and Angelina grabs a sleeper, only to have Gail come out with a backbreaker. Rayne comes back in for a bad looking enziguri as the crowd goes SILENT. Not for a botch or anything but because they just don’t seem interested. Thankfully Angelina gets the hint and rolls up Madison with a handful of tights for the pin at 5:00.

Rating: D. The crowd told the whole story here. There was just nothing interesting going on out there and the people didn’t care. It’s the same story we’ve seen about 8,000 times now in this division and nothing has changed at all. The Beautiful People aren’t interesting as there’s no one to fight them because TNA can’t make new stars for this division. Where was Brittany either?

Knux is back at the carnival with I think his ex-girlfriend. He says he has to go back to Impact because it’s what he does best. She’ll be supportive of him for the first time, but says she’s going with him.

Abyss says he lost sight of the one person who cares about him and tonight is for him.

The Wolves want the Tag Team Titles. It’s a handicap match with Zema Ion joining the Bro Mans.

We run down the PPV card.

Magnus vs. Abyss

Eric Young comes out for commentary and if Abyss wins he gets a full time job. Abyss takes him into the corner to start and nails some clotheslines before launching the Brit to the floor. Back with Magnus working on the leg as Abyss is supposed to be a face after being all violent for so many weeks. The leg is wrapped around the post but Abyss grabs him by the throat…..and Magnus kicks him low for the DQ at 7:40.

Rating: D. Well that….happened. It’s angle advancement but much like the rest of this show, the angles aren’t all that interesting. This was supposed to be a big face turn for Abyss I think, but it really doesn’t work when he spent the last few weeks trying to torture the new top face.

Post match Magnus beats on him with a chair until Young comes down and gets beaten down as well.

An ad for the fallout show from Sacrifice eats up the last minute. Not an ad FOR THE PAY PER VIEW mind you, but an ad for the TV show you just watched.

Overall Rating: D. This was a really boring show. That’s the best word to describe it as almost nothing on here made me want to watch another show going forward. It’s a bunch of ideas we’ve seen before with a lot of the same characters and nothing that has been made better by changing around the faces. Sacrifices just does not need to be a PPV as TNA currently feels like a bunch of old ideas thrown into a blender and put on mix to see if it works better if you twist everything around. Shockingly enough, it’s not working.

Results
Kurt Angle b. Rockstar – Ankle lock
Bobby Lashley b. Kenny King via countout
MVP b. Austin Aries – Drive By
Bobby Roode/James Storm b. Gunner/Bully Ray – Last Call to Gunner
Beautiful People b. Madison Rayne/Gail Kim – Rollup to Rayne
Abyss b. Magnus via DQ when Magnus kicked Abyss low

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We close out November here with a fairly big show. The main event for tonight is Page defending the US Title against Bret Hart despite being banged up as usual. Other than that we’re heading towards Starrcade so we’re likely to get more build between Goldberg and Nash, which hasn’t really set the world on fire yet. Let’s get to it.

No Tenay tonight due to illness so Tony and Larry talk run down the card, including a contract signing for Nash vs. Goldberg. This brings us to Hogan on the Tonight Show on Thanksgiving night where he officially announces he’s running for President. He likes a flat tax apparently.

We go to the back and see the NWO limo arriving with Scott Steiner leading the way. They come out to the ring where Bischoff declares Scott Steiner as the new leader of the Black and White. Steiner says Hogan made it official in LA and talks about his physique for a bit. Tonight the first order of business is taking care of Scott Hall, so it’s Hall/a parnter vs. Steiner/Horace.

Nitro Girls.

TV Title: Chris Jericho vs. Konnan

Jericho is defending. Konnan sends him to the apron to start and Jericho immediately complains about a hair pull. Back in and we hit the armbar on the champion before Jericho comes back with a running clothesline. Konnan will have none of this being on defense stuff and hits a seated dropkick, only to be caught in a hot shot. A springboard dropkick puts Konnan on the floor and Chris follows him out with a great looking plancha.

Back in and Jericho dives into Konnan’s boot before a fisherman’s suplex gets two. The Lionsault gets two for the champion but the Liontamer is too close to the ropes. With nothing else working, Jericho tries to cheat by bringing in the belt. Ralphus’ distraction doesn’t work though and an X Factor onto the belt gives Konnan the title.

Rating: D+. Not much here but a title change is always a good way to fire up a crowd. It’s about time the Wolfpack got some gold. That being said, it’s a bad idea overall with the midcard scene picking up and now another title is locked into the NWO stories. Jericho didn’t do much here and unfortunately that’s likely to be a trend for him in the coming months.

The Wolfpack comes out to celebrate and we see Konnan’s music video.

Gene brings out Flair for a chat. Flair is in serious mode tonight and says that he’s talking like a man so Bischoff will hear it. Just because someone gets old doesn’t mean that they’re great. Flair lists off a bunch of names like Hogan, the Andersons, the Road Warriors and Wahoo McDaniel made Bischoff the man he is. Now Flair is mad at Windham for what he did last week, but he hates Bischoff. Flair wants a piece of Bischoff anytime anywhere.

Nitro Party winner.

Here’s Hall in an Outsiders shirt to say that he’ll fight the NWO on his own tonight. Kevin Nash comes out and says if Hall needs a partner, he’ll be Scott’s Huckleberry.

Raven/Kanyon vs. Scott Armstrong/Steve Armstrong

Raven is sitting in the corner to start against Scott and we appear to be in an angle instead of a match. Kanyon and Raven argue about Raven’s mom for some reason but Kanyon gets jumped from behind by Scott to really get things going. The brothers’ advantage is short lived though as Kanyon fights back with a nice faceplant but stops to argue with Raven. A Flatliner lays out Steve but goes to yell even more, allowing Scott to roll Kanyon up for the big upset.

Hour #2 begins.

Here’s Bret Hart for a chat with Gene. Bret says he’s badly hurt tonight and can’t face Page for the US Title tonight even though that’s what Bret wanted to do. This brings Page out through the crowd to say the word SCUM a lot and call Bret a liar because Bret issued the challenge in the first place. Hart doesn’t have his gear so he insists on it being a No DQ match tonight. Page agrees to what sounds like a ruse.

Cruiserweight Title: Billy Kidman vs. Eddie Guerrero

Kidman is defending. Feeling out process to start until Eddie makes the mistake of slapping the champion and gets dropkicked for his efforts. A headscissors puts Eddie down again and a dropkick sends him to the floor. Kidman is sent into the steps to give Guerrero his first advantage and crushes him between the steps and post for good measure. Back in and the slingshot hilo gets two as we take a break.

Back with Eddie cranking on the champ’s arm and wrapping it on the top. He gets crotched loading up the frog splash but blocks a top rope Frankensteiner. Back down and Eddie’s powerbomb is countered into a faceplant (duh) followed by the lifting powerbomb for two. Cruiserweights use a lot of powerbombs the more I think about it.

Guerrero comes back with a tornado DDT but ANOTHER powerbomb is countered into another faceplant. The champ drops Eddie with a superplex but the referee goes down at the same time. This brings out Juvy to help his boss but Mysterio comes out to dropkick Eddie (also his boss) in the back, setting up the Shooting Star to retain the title.

Rating: C. Good stuff as usual from these guys but I’m not sure where this story is going. We get that Mysterio hates being in the LWO and Eddie knows that Mysterio hates being in the LWO and will cost the LWO matches, so why does he insist on Rey being in the LWO and not use the LWO army to destroy Mysterio? At least the matches are good though.

Bam Bam Bigelow is here with a ticket.

Here are Eric Bischoff and Barry Windham with something to say. Eric talks about going to Cody, Wyoming where he heard a lot of people wanting Hogan to be President. We get a little campaign speech before Bischoff calls out Dean Malenko. He gets the Horsemen minus Flair on the stage and Malenko alone in the ring. Tonight it’s going to be Malenko vs. Windham and if Dean wins, Flair gets to face Bischoff. Dean says it’s on but Eric has one more idea: Dusty Rhodes is going to be guest referee. Big Dust comes out but Malenko won’t shake his hand.

Nitro Girls and Heenan at the booth.

Wrath vs. Bobby Blaze

Total squash with Wrath winning in less than a minute but the magic just isn’t there anymore.

Bigelow is still in the crowd.

Here’s Ernest Miller, flanked by Sonny Onoo, to issue his open challenge to the crowd. This brings out Perry Saturn who says that he’ll have a try. Miller says that Saturn is clearly weak due to losing to Sonny on Sunday, so he’ll have to beat Sonny to get a piece of the Cat.

Perry Saturn vs. Sonny Onoo

We get the karate poses from Onoo but Saturn plants him down with a powerbomb, only to have Miller break up the pin. The distraction lets Glacier run in with a Cryonic Kick to Saturn to give Sonny two. Miller throws in a chain to Onoo but Sonny takes the Death Valley Driver. Somehow he slips the chain into Saturn’s tights though and the referee sees it for a DQ, giving Sonny the win. Someone tell me why putting Saturn in this feud is a good idea. I’d love to hear this rationale.

We see Goldberg get out of a limo and come to the ring for the contract signing with Nash. Both guys sign with no issues and Goldberg doesn’t have to defend until Starrcade. Bigelow tries to jump the railing but it doesn’t go anywhere.

Mike Enos vs. Booker T

Booker easily takes him down to start and nails the forearm and a superkick. Enos catches him charging into a hot shot though before knocking Booker out to the floor with a clothesline. Another hot shot onto the barricade has Booker in trouble but he comes back inside with a spinwheel kick, the ax kick and the Harlem Sidekick, followed by a kind of spinebuster for the quick pin.

Bigelow is in the parking lot and wants Goldberg to come fight him.

Brian Adams vs. Lex Luger

Feeling out process to start as Tony talks about the Mark Curtis Benefit Show last night. Luger runs over Adams with ease a few times but gets his neck snapped across the top rope to give not-Crush the advantage. A clothesline puts Luger on the floor so Vincent can earn his paycheck for the night. Back in and Luger makes a quick comeback and nails the forearm but Adams’ feet take the referee down as he’s loaded into the Rack. The NWO nails Luger with a chair and spike piledriver for two before we get Lex’s real comeback. He knocks Adams into the chair despite Adams putting the brakes on, setting up the Rack to win.

Rating: D. Just a dull match here without anything of interest. This is the same as the LWO but slightly less confusing. What exactly are we heading to with this NWO war? They’ve been fighting for over six months now and there’s nothing changing about any of the fights. At least Luger is beating the guys he should be beating though.

Barry Windham vs. Dean Malenko

If Dean wins, Flair gets Bischoff at some point. NWO member Dusty Rhodes is referee, Barry is in jeans and Dean is coming in with a bad knee. Dean wins an early slugout and we head to the floor for a chase but Dusty yells at Dean for a distraction, allowing Barry to take over. A gutwrench suplex and elbow to the jaw drop Malenko and Dusty is right in his face to ask if he wants to give it up.

Dean avoids an elbow drop and heads up, only to be slammed right down onto the bad knee. Some elbows to the knee have Dean in even more trouble and Barry slams the leg down on the apron. Barry stays on the leg with kicks to the thigh as Dean is in the ropes…..AND THAT’S A DQ??? Dusty calls for the bell and raises Dean’s hand as the announcers are in shock.

Rating: D+. The match didn’t have time to go anywhere but was much more about the angle than the action. It’s nice to see someone finally changing over to WCW as at times it seems WCW doesn’t even exist anymore other than as a place for the NWOs to fight each other. Also Dusty being in the NWO just didn’t work.

Post match Bischoff runs out to fire Dusty as the Horsemen come out to beat the tar out of Windham. Eric gets out before Flair can get to him.

Horace Hogan/Scott Steiner vs. Outsiders

The Outsiders do the Rock Paper Scissors to determine who starts against Horace. The NWO referee is in there as well. Hall nails the driving shoulders and puts on an armbar, only to walk into a hard clothesline. A hiptoss is countered into a chokeslam from Hall but it’s off to Scott Steiner. It’s Steiner with a muscle clothesline and a fast count is good for two. A butterfly suplex gets the same for Steiner on the other Scott but Steiner charges into a boot in the corner.

The middle rope bulldog gets two for Hall but the referee counts VERY slowly. Steiner comes back with a low blow but Nash saves Hall from some Horace choking. Back in and Horace stomps away and gets two off a backbreaker and splash. We hit the front facelock for a bit until Hall fights up and makes the tag to Nash. The NWO referee doesn’t count it but Nash comes in anyway and cleans house until Hall hits the Edge on Horace. No count of course so Nash Jackknifes the referee and a WCW referee comes in for the pin. Nash walks out as soon as the pin goes down.

Rating: D+. Another angle instead of a match here and Nash running off was interesting. I’m not sure where Steiner went after the hot tag but it fits the idea of the NWO wanting to run away from a real fight. The fans were really excited about the idea of the Outsiders being back together again, which is why I doubt it’s going to keep happening.

Goldberg barrels through the doors and heads outside to fight Bigelow. They go at it in the parking lot until security breaks it up. That’s not good enough for Goldberg though as he fights away and spears Bigelow down.

US Title: Bret Hart vs. Diamond Dallas Page

Bret is challenging and this is No DQ. Hart is in street clothes and isn’t sure about locking up to start. Page takes him into the corner but lets him go, allowing Bret to get in a low blow to take over. Choking and eye raking ensues until Page sends him into the corner for a hard stomping. Bret gets caught in the Figure Four around the post until the Giant makes the save. A chokeslam puts Page down in the ring and a chokeslam from the top rope (pretty much the same as a regular chokeslam) sets up the Sharpshooter for the knock out win, giving Bret the title back.

Rating: D+. This is a hard one to rate as it was exciting while it lasted but the match isn’t even four and a half minutes long with Giant being out there for about a minute and a half of that. Not much to see here though as this feud just keeps going. Hopefully this wraps things up though.

Overall Rating: C-. This was a show about setting up matches for the future which is what matters as we head into the biggest show of the year. The contract signing was nothing though and it felt more like the Outsiders reunion was bigger than anything with Goldberg. Flair vs. Bischoff looks more like the main event for Starrcade, despite it not even being official yet. It’s not a bad show, but it sets up stuff for the future which is a rare thing in WCW.

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The big segment opened the show as we had Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella celebrating the title win together for one of their few appearances together in the ring. It didn’t last long though as Stephanie and her horrible music interrupted things. This eventually led to Kane coming out and destroying Bryan with three tombstones, including one on the floor, steps and announce table, all while Stephanie’s bad acting reminded us that she was there.

This was the angle that they needed for multiple reasons. First and foremost, it makes Kane look like a monster heading into the title match. No he isn’t going to win of course, but this was the Ivan Drago vs. Apollo Creed moment that Bryan needed for motivation (except it’s Bryan instead of his friend of course). It also plays up Kane as the monster in the mask again which we haven’t seen in awhile now. Third it also lets Bryan get off TV so he can deal with the real life passing of his father, which is what really matters.

One more thing: Stephanie McMahon may look good in a red dress, but DEAR GOODNESS she can be annoying. It wasn’t even in the way it was supposed to be, as Stephanie is supposed to be her telling Kane to tone it down but it came off as her just whining and being condescending. That gets really old in a hurry and took away from the segment, which happens far too often with her.

Barrett beat Sheamus in the tournament in a surprise. That more or less cements Barrett as the tournament winner and I like the idea quite a bit. He’s been on fire since he got back in the ring and has been wiping people out with that Bull Hammer.

Hugh Jackman is guest hosting again next week. I’m cool with that as Jackman actually seems to love being out there which is all you can ask for from one of these things.

The Wyatts continue their creepy promos against Cena. Wyatt absolutely has to win in the cage and I think he’s going to. The thing is I’m not sure where we go after that, but I’m really interested in where it’s going given all those promos.

El Torito vs. Hornswoggle happened. Yeah there were others involved, but that’s the pairing that mattered. I can’t even begin to think of the people we can’t get on Raw, but these guys get their time of course, to hype a movie that has been mentioned I think once. Such is life in WWE.

The Shield vs. Evolution promo was awesome as well with Rollins in particular shining on the mic. It’s reminding me of Cactus vs. HHH to a degree with HHH being backed into a corner and forced to fight against people chomping at the bit to get their hands on him. There really isn’t much to say about this other than I’m far more excited about the match than I was before.

The Rhodes Brothers started their split while we’re getting ready for Ryback/Axel vs. Usos at Extreme Rules. I’m fine with both actually as Cody works better on his own and the magic of Goldust’s return was going to fall apart at some point.

Emma, Layla, Cobras, stupid.

RVD beat Cesaro to advance as well thanks to Jack Swagger. No real shock here as they had to get to this match somehow. The wrestling was better than I expected too. We also got a very nice post match segment where RVD planted some seeds of doubt in Cesaro’s mind regarding Heyman. I have a feeling this will be revisited in the future.

Paige beat Aksana in another not great match. At the end of the day though, I can’t blame Paige for a lot of these issues. We know she can go in the ring, but she’s no miracle worker that can drag a good match out of Aksana. It also doesn’t help that there’s the stigma of her being the best developmental Diva in forever so there’s a big standard to look up to. The finishing move looks awesome though.

Rusev squashed Sin Cara in a match that was more competitive than I was expecting. I kind of like that people are getting in offense on him but he’s just shrugging it off and winning fast. Lana’s legs continue to be mesmerizing.

Cena somehow beat the Wyatts in a 3-1 handicap match as chosen by the fans. I’m not sure why the Wyatts didn’t get the win here but it’s not the biggest problem in the world. The DQ ending made sense but it wasn’t the right choice overall. The post match stuff with Bray hugging an unconscious Cena and singing even more is creepy, but they need to follow up on it.

Overall Raw was entertaining this week but it was all about setting up the future. I’m genuinely curious as to where some of this stuff is going, but at the same time I’m really not sure they can pull off some of the stuff they’re setting up. Bray vs. Cena has potential if they’ll take some chances (no I’m not saying turn Cena) and the Shield rocket push is going strong. There’s hope at the moment but I need to see more before making a real judgment.

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