Takeover: San Antonio Date: January 28, 2017
Location: Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Percy Watson, Tom Phillips, Corey Graves
For the first time that I can remember, NXT actually has its work cut out to make one of these shows work. The card just isn’t all that strong this time around and it shows badly. The main event here is Shinsuke Nakamura defending the NXT Title against Bobby Roode, which really could go either way. Let’s get to it.
The opening video looks at all five matches tonight with a theme of change.
Tye Dillinger vs. Eric Young
During Sanity’s entrance, the camera starts on Alexander Wolfe and pans over to the other members but goes one to far and pans over to air. Young gives Dillinger one last chance to join the team but gets left hands to the jaw for his efforts. A trip to the floor goes nowhere and Dillinger chops away again before whipping Eric outside one more time.
Eric finally sends him outside so Killian Dane (Big Damo) can get in a crossbody to really take over. Back in and Eric’s top rope elbow hits Tye in the back before sending him outside again. A neckbreaker gets two on Tye but he dropkicks Young out of the air to put both guys down.
Back up and Tye grabs him by the beard to really start his comeback. Young runs up to the top so Tye charges up into a belly to belly superplex for two, which means crowd reaction shots have come to NXT. Cue Wolfe to the apron so Tye gives him a Tyebreaker, followed by a superkick to Dane. Another Tyebreaker hits Young but Wolfe puts his foot on the ropes. Tye goes after Sanity once too often and gets caught in the wheelbarrow neckbreaker for the pin at 10:56.
Rating: B-. Good match here but the crowd is going to go INSANE when Tye finally wins a big match. He keeps getting closer and there’s enough interference here to warrant a rematch or another big match of some sort. If they don’t have him get that big win in Orlando over Wrestlemania weekend, I have no idea what to tell them.
Samoa Joe is here.
Andrade Cien Almas vs. Roderick Strong
Strong eliminated Almas in a four way for the #1 contendership so it’s time for payback. Almas does his pose in the ropes to start before kicking at the arms. A cross armbreaker has Strong in trouble and a running kick to the head makes it even worse. This has been ALL Almas so far but he misses a moonsault and gets caught in an Angle Slam. Back up and they slowly chop it out before switching over to elbows, followed by a hard kick to send Strong into the corner.
Strong kicks him in the face again but gets pulled down into something like Rings of Saturn, sending Roderick’s foot onto the ropes for a break. Almas gets caught on top and Strong drops him onto the turnbuckle with a backbreaker for two. Andrade gets in the double knees in the corner, only to have Strong get out of the hammerlock DDT. Another knee to the face sets up the Sick Kick for the pin on Almas at 11:44.
Rating: C+. Again, not bad here and it’s one of Almas’ better matches. I’m starting to get more into him but he came in so flat that it’s really hard to care about him no matter what he does. The heel character is working far better though and having good matches will get him noticed faster than anything else. Strong getting the win is a good idea as he hasn’t really established himself too well yet.
Video on Shawn Michaels winning the 1995 Royal Rumble.
Michael P.S. Hayes is here.
We recap DIY vs. the Authors of Pain. Akam and Razar, managed by Paul Ellering, won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic to become #1 contenders and now it’s DIY trying to fight off the monsters to retain their newly won titles.
Tag Team Titles: DIY vs. Authors of Pain
Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa are defending and unfortunately the Authors take off their jackets, meaning the name tags go away. Razar takes Ciampa into the corner and shouts at him a lot, drawing a PSYCHO KILLER chant from the crowd. Gargano tries the spear through the ropes and is casually swatted away. Everything breaks down and the champs just can’t do anything with rights and lefts.
Some running knees work a bit better though and the monsters are knocked to the floor for a suicide dive and running knee from the apron. Back in and Akam casually slams Gargano over the top and the beating is on. It’s off to an over the shoulder backbreaker until Johnny slips down into an enziguri…..which has no effect whatsoever.
Gargano finally slips away and makes the hot tag off to Ciampa so house can be cleaned as well as possible. Some German suplexes take the Authors down and Paul Ellering is losing it on the floor. The referee tells Ciampa “six minutes left” as he chops away at Akam, who takes Ciampa’s head off for two. The champs get two of their own off a double spear but Johnny gets knocked to the floor again, leaving Ciampa to get caught in a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination for two.
Johnny is back in to break up the Last Chapter and it’s off to the double arm submission. Akam powers out of Johnny’s crossface though and slams Gargano onto Tommaso to break the other hold. That’s a really effective spot as the champs took their best shot and couldn’t stop the raw power. They slug it out from their knees but the double strike is countered into the Authors’ double powerbomb. The Last Chapter on Ciampa give us new champions at 14:27.
Rating: B. I’m kind of surprised here but at the same time not exactly. Coming in I didn’t think this would happen but now that it has, it makes the most sense. That being said, I was very, very pleasantly surprised here as I was expecting a big drop off and got the best match the Authors have ever had. It’s a good match though and that’s all you could ask for out of these guys.
Here’s Seth Rollins to take over the ring and call out HHH, who he knows is here because HHH runs NXT. HHH comes out but walks to the back, sending security out instead. Rollins is taken out and the fans aren’t happy.
We recap the Women’s Title match. Asuka is unstoppable but has been dealing with the combined forces of Billie Kay and Peyton Royce. Nikki Cross has gotten in on things too and Asuka wants to fight all of them at once.
Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Nikki Cross vs. Peyton Royce vs. Billie Kay
Asuka is defending and this is one fall to a finish. Billie and Peyton look terrified and bail out to the floor shortly after the bell. With Asuka and Cross circling each other, the Aussies come back in for little success before being tossed back out. Asuka German suplexes both of them at the same time and it’s back to Asuka vs. Cross.
Nikki ducks Asuka’s big kick and takes the champ to the floor for an elevated neckbreaker off the apron. Cross hits a big dive but the Aussies beat Nikki up the aisle while Asuka is down at ringside. Is there a reason they’re not running back to the ring so one can get a fast pin on the other?
They actually take Cross to the announcers’ area and double suplex her through a table in a rare big spot. Back to the ring with the Aussies double teaming Asuka instead of just doing something a bit less complicated, like LAYING DOWN FOR EACH OTHER. Billie kicks Asuka into a Widow’s Peak for two but the champ shrugs it off and kicks them both down to pin Peyton at 10:02.
Rating: C-. Did I fast forward the last five minutes here? It felt like the last part of the match was missing as Asuka was in the first real trouble of her title reign and then retained the title about fifteen seconds later. Asuka retaining is fine but this needed a few more minutes to really sell her being in trouble.
Nikki raises her head and smiles at Asuka as the champ leaves.
Tyler Bate is here.
We recap the NXT Title match. Shinsuke Nakamura got the title back after winning the feud against Samoa Joe. Bobby Roode won a four way elimination match to become #1 contender and wants to make the title GLORIOUS.
NXT Title: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bobby Roode
Roode is challenging and comes to the ring with eight rather attractive women in matching dresses. Nakamura rides to the ring on a platform for a rather unique entrance of his own. The fans sing Nakamura’s song after the bell for a pretty intimidating atmosphere. They hit the mat to start with Nakamura getting caught in a headlock, only to send Roode off and tell him to bring it on.
Roode switches to the basics with an elbow to the jaw followed by a wristlock. Good Vibrations is broken up so Roode blasts him in the jaw to send Bobby outside. Roode is right back though and sends him into the steps, which seems to jar the champ’s neck. Back in and Bobby goes right after the neck until Nakamura comes back with the strikes. Good Vibrations works this time as the pace picks up a bit.
Roode blocks the inverted exploder as he’s had counters for almost everything so far. The running knee in the corner hits Roode’s ribs and now the exploder works just fine. Nakamura loads up Kinshasa but Roode is out on the mat. It’s playing possum though and Bobby gets two off a rollup. A backstabber gets the same and that perfect spinebuster gives Roode yet another near fall.
Roode’s superplex is broken up and Nakamura scores with a middle rope kick to the chest. Kinshasa is blocked and Roode grabs a rollup with his feet on the ropes for two more. Nakamura starts no selling the chops and wants some more. The hard strikes come back and it’s off to a triangle choke of all things. Roode reverses into something like a powerbomb which is countered into a sunset flip for two.
A sliding knee gives Nakamura the same so he goes to the middle rope for a jumping knee but both guys crash down to the floor. The champ’s knee is banged up though and Nakamura goes down after hitting Kinshasa. Roode is out and the referee brings the trainer in to check on the knee. Nakamura says he can go and Roode is sitting up in the corner.
Back in and Roode grabs the Glorious DDT for a very, very close two. Bobby slaps on a half crab and punches at the knee for extra damage before dragging it back to the middle of the ring. Cue Matt Bloom (Albert, the head NXT Coach) as Nakamura tries to reverse into another triangle. The knee gives out though and a second Glorious DDT gives 27:09.
Rating: A-. Much, much better match than I was expecting here though I’m not entirely sure where we go from here. I don’t exactly see Roode vs. Nakamura II with Nakamura winning his third title as the best Takeover: Orlando main event but who else is there? Ohno? Dillinger? We can figure that out later though because this was a heck of a match as Roode stayed simple and was smart enough to take down the unpredictable and wild Nakamura.
Graves is THRILLED to end the show.
Overall Rating: B. And somehow, that’s probably the worst Takeover ever. The show was a completely fine two hours and twenty minutes with the Women’s Title being the worst match and still totally watchable. The talent drain has really hurt NXT and the two house shows instead of regular TV didn’t do this one any favors. Still though, it’s certainly a good show but when the bar is set that high, something like this is bound to happen.
Results
Eric Young b. Tye Dillinger – Wheelbarrow neckbreaker
Roderick Strong b. Andrade Cien Almas – Sick Kick
Authors of Pain b. DIY – Last Chapter to Ciampa
Asuka b. Billie Kay, Peyton Royce and Nikki Cross – Kick to Royce’s head
Bobby Roode b. Shinsuke Nakamura – Glorious DDT
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the History of the WWE’s Big Four Pay Per Views, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:
Royal Rumble 2015 Date: January 25, 2015
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 17,164
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler
Now this is one I’ve been looking forward to and dreading at the same time. I actually didn’t mind the main event the first time around but ever since then I haven’t been able to think of a single good thing that match did. It should be interesting (hopefully) to see how far this thing has fallen in just a year. Let’s get to it.
Pre-Show: Tyson Kidd/Cesaro vs. New Day
Talk about a year making a big difference. Cesaro and Kidd looked to be the hottest team in years and now they’re both out while New Day, who looked to be a horrible disaster, actually IS the hottest team in years. As usual, time can change so much in wrestling. As usual, Woods is the odd man out here. Adam Rose is here with Kidd/Cesaro for no adequately explained reason but the fans would rather cheer for Cesaro anyway.
Kidd and Big E. get things going as the announcers talk about the Rumble instead. Ok to be fair, it’s a pre-show tag match with nothing on the line so I can live with it here. Big E. grabs a few backbreakers to start before it’s off to Kofi for two off a dropkick. Cesaro comes in for a BIG reaction and you can tell who the star of this match is going to be.
It’s quickly back to Big E. who takes over with a shoulder in the corner, followed by a middle rope cross body from Kofi. Lawler: “I like New Day but I’m excited to see what they’re going to evolve into.” Cesaro and Kidd take Kofi into the corner and I still don’t get why Rose is on the floor. Like, I don’t remember that in the slightest and it’s bizarre to see a year later. The Cesaro Swing into the dropkick (still awesome) gets two and we take a break.
Back with Cesaro holding Kofi in a chinlock but Kingston comes back with a dropkick to Kidd. Big E. starts cleaning house with clotheslines and the fans are REALLY not pleased. Cesaro charges into a Rock Bottom (well close enough to one) out of the corner for two. Kidd is sent to the floor for a flip dive from Kofi, followed by Big E. spearing Cesaro through the ropes for a big crash.
It’s Cesaro on his own against both guys but Big E. is sent outside and Kofi gets kicked in the head, setting up a superplex into a springboard elbow from Kidd for a VERY close two. A sunset flip gets two on Kofi with Cesaro holding Kidd in place for a smart move. Trouble in Paradise is countered into the Sharpshooter but Big E. makes the save with a belly to belly. Rose gets on the apron and gets kicked in the head, only to have Kidd grab a fisherman’s neckbreaker for the pin on Kofi at 11:03.
Rating: B-. Well that worked. This is why having a hot tag division is so important: you can wake up the crowd in a match that really doesn’t matter either way because both teams looked great. New Day could clearly go in the ring but it would still be a few months before they really figured it out. Well that and until they were allowed to have some personality, which was the cure all along.
The opening video is about finding the moment that cements what you are. However, there can only be one. Tonight, someone’s moment becomes a reality. The triple threat gets a little attention as well.
New Age Outlaws vs. Ascension
This is fallout from the Outlaws, the NWO and Acolytes beating down the Ascension for not respecting the veterans enough or something. Yeah it ruined another act that was built up for over a year in NXT but HHH’s buddies got a pay per view appearance out of it. Gunn and Viktor get things going and all it takes is a hiptoss to draw the YOU STILL GOT IT chant. Fans get easier to impress every year. Dogg comes in for the shaky knee drop on Konnor but the young guys take over with a chinlock.
As the match slows down (likely so the Outlaws can breathe), JBL regales us with tales of Bullet Bob Armstrong vs. Buddy Colt. Konnor puts on a chinlock and Dogg taps, likely because tapping out wasn’t a thing when he started. The match keeps going anyway with Dogg avoiding an elbow drop, only to be chinlocked down by Viktor. That goes nowhere and the hot tag brings in Billy to clean house, only to miss the Fameasser and walk into the Fall of Man for the pin at 5:26.
Rating: D. And of course this launched the Ascension up the card and into the Tag Team Title scene forevermore. Yeah of course they never recovered after getting beaten down by a bunch of old retired guys and then winning a meaningless match against a long past retired team because…..yeah I think you know why this didn’t work, or at least you should.
We look at Sting saving Cena from Big Show/Kane/Seth Rollins on Raw. Sting isn’t on the show or anything but he had a cameo there of course. Cena winning however did get Dolph Ziggler, Ryback and Erick Rowan their jobs back but Rowan didn’t qualify for the Rumble. At least the match meant something.
The Authority isn’t pleased with Sting doing that WCW nonsense around here. Cue Paul Heyman who says Brock can help with their problems, whatever those are.
Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Damien Mizdow/Miz
The Usos are defending but Mizdow is the most over guy in the match. Speaking of things that have changed a lot in a year. The Usos took the titles from Miz/Mizdow to close out 2014 so this is the rematch. Jey and Miz get things going and the fans already want Mizdow. Something like a top rope Demolition Decapitator gets two on Miz as Cole recap Miz trying to get Naomi on their side with promises of Hollywood fame.
Miz gets crotched on top so Mizdow (gently) does the same, continuing the one idea act that somehow had fans cheering for him. Miz’s top rope ax handle is punched out of the air so Mizdow goes up and dives into a punch from no one. The fans think Mizdow is awesome, meaning it’s time for a chinlock from Miz himself. The Reality Check gets two but Miz won’t tag Mizdow in. Again, this doesn’t make a ton of sense as Miz is making himself wrestle the whole match by himself.
Anyway, Jimmy gets away and tags in Jey to take over with the running Umaga Attack in the corner but Miz grabs a DDT for two. Everything breaks down and both Usos hit a dive to take out both challengers, though Jey almost misses Miz, drawing a rather rude chant from the fans.
Back in and Jey misses the Superfly Splash, allowing Miz to get two off the Skull Crushing Finale. The second attempt at the Splash connects but Mizdow breaks it up, drawing the loudest pop you will EVER hear for a heel breaking up a cover. Mizdow’s Skull Crushing Finale gets two on Jimmy, who superkicks Miz into a powerbomb from Jey. Jimmy’s Superfly Splash retains the titles at 9:20.
Rating: C-. Nothing special here as Miz/Mizdow’s one joke is long past its point of interest and we’re just waiting on Mizdow to turn, which would of course take too long to mean anything as WWE would screw it up again. It really is amazing how far the tag division has fallen in just a year as all the injuries and screwiness have turned the division on its head. The Usos are still the Usos though and that’s all that matters.
The pre-show panel chats a bit and we look at the pre-show match.
J&J Security play the new WWE mobile game until Seth Rollins comes in to yell at them for not being serious enough. Rollins says he’s been called the future but he’s the right now.
Wrestlemania ad. I had forgotten how much I hated that theme song.
Bella Twins vs. Paige/Natalya
No idea what the story here is but I’m sure it’s Total Divas related. Nikki and Paige get things going with Paige not being able to Irish whip her. It’s off to Natalya who gets two off a kick to the back of the head. Brie comes in to work on the arm as the announcers joke about which twin is older. I’m not sure why this is supposed to be funny but they certainly think it is. A double suplex puts Brie down and Paige does her slow, crawling cover for two.
Natalya comes in and covers as well but for some reason she isn’t legal. Even Paige is confused as she grabs Brie again and now tags Natalya in all legal like. Brie gets two off a quick slam and it’s back to Nikki for a Hennig neck snap. Lawler: “Name two countries and then a state.” Cole: “It was a joke.” It’s as random as it sounds. Now it’s off to Lawler approving of the Bellas’ looks as they take turns on Natalya for some near falls.
Brie puts on a chinlock for a bit before both Bellas grab a leg and roll forward to flip Natalya onto the back of her head. Nikki puts on a headscissors and does push-ups to drive Natalya’s face mere inches away from the mat. Natalya powers up and drops Nikki on her back for the break and avoids a clothesline, only to have Brie pull Paige off the apron. Nikki’s big forearm puts Natalya away at 8:02.
Rating: D. We don’t even have time for a hot tag? This wasn’t much to see but again, it’s all about the Bellas because they’re the stars on Total Divas and know how to act like the Kardashians or whatever. Nikki would get a lot better after another six months on top of the division or so, but that would be a very long six months.
Roman Reigns says he’ll beat his performance from last year.
Stardust does his usual and Goldust says he’s right.
Rusev says he’ll win and promises to crush whoever wins.
Miz says this is his year and Mizdow repeats everything. Again: that’s not what a stunt double does.
Big Show says he’s not mortal because he’s a giant.
Fandango says no one understands the power of the tango.
YES, Daniel Bryan thinks he can get back to the main event of Wrestlemania.
We recap the triple threat for the World Title. Rollins tried to cash in Money in the Bank on Lesnar at Night of Champions while Cena was challenging, triggering a feud between Rollins and Cena. Tonight they both get their shot in what should be awesome.
WWE World Title: John Cena vs. Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar
Lesnar is defending and this is one fall to a finish. The fans just explode on Cena with the JOHN CENA SUCKS song making its return. I was there when it debuted and that’s a pure thing of brilliance. Lesnar on the other hand is treated…..well about how you would expect Philadelphia to react to him. Rollins bails to start and there’s the first German suplex to Cena. Another one drops Cena again so J&J come in, only to get a German of their own.
Rollins kicks Cena in the head but gets pulled inside to face Brock all alone. It’s time for more German suplexes and the fans loudly applaud. There’s a regular suplex to Rollins and we get an ECW chant. Brock grabs a Kimura on Cena but John lifts him up, allowing Seth to springboard in with a knee to the champ. Cena and Rollins get smart and double team Lesnar, only to have Seth throw John to the floor for one off an AA.
Brock pops up like a daisy and sends both of them outside, only to have Rollins knock him into the steps. As J&J are in a heap next to the barricade, Cena starts his usual finishing sequence on Rollins but Lesnar breaks up the Shuffle with another German suplex. Seth breaks up the rolling Germans though as he needs Cena to help fight against Brock. Makes sense. A knee to the back puts Brock on the floor but the champ is right back in for the save as Seth covers Cena.
Back up and Cena throws Rollins to the floor and actually drops Brock with some clotheslines. Seth pulls Cena outside and tries a springboard, only to get caught in a big F5. That is some terrifying strength. Brock loads up a table for some reason so Cena gives him three straight AA’s for two with Rollins making a last second save. There’s a Curb Stomp from Seth and this time Cena has to dive in and break up the cover. The fans think this is awesome (indeed) as everyone heads outside, where Cena spears Lesnar through the barricade.
Brock keeps getting up so Cena throws him into the steps and blasts him in the face for good measure, knocking the champ onto the announcers’ table. Rollins feels left out so he drives Brock through with a HUGE top rope elbow and Cena is the only one standing. The non-Lesnars head back inside and Seth hits a quick low superkick for two. The AA doesn’t work so Cena Batista Bombs him for a VERY near fall.
Not to be outdone, Rollins reverses a superplex attempt into a running Buckle Bomb for two more. Both guys are spent so Rollins tries a Curb Stomp, only to get caught in the STF. Cue J&J from their comas for the save as a stretcher comes out for Brock. There’s a TripleBomb for two on Cena but he ducks a briefcase shot and AA’s both J’s at the same time. He should not be able to do that twenty minutes into a match this physical. Or any match for that matter.
Another AA gets two on Rollins and the Curb Stomp gets the same on Cena as the fans are freaking out on these kickouts. We’re told Brock has at least a broken rib as Rollins busts out the Phoenix Splash on Cena. Not that it matters as a TICKED OFF Brock gets back in for some German suplexes, only to have Seth hit him in the face with the briefcase. Rollins loads up a Curb Stomp onto the case but you don’t try that on Lesnar, as he counters with a HUGE F5 to retain at 22:42.
Rating: A. Good grief what a battle. This was the night where Rollins became a star and people knew that he was going to be champion soon. Cena put in his normal amazing performance here as well, but good night Brock looked like a monster. This is the beast that WWE wanted to build up for someone to take down and it worked perfectly here. Just outstanding action here with all three looking like they had been through a war. This was the instant match of the year leader and it would take something special to knock it off.
Brock walks off as the medics are stunned.
Rumble By The Numbers video.
Royal Rumble
Good luck following that. Miz is #1 and R-Truth is #2 with 90 second intervals. They start slowly (smart here) until Truth gets in a few pelvic thrusts. Truth is sent to the apron a few times and gets crotched on the top until Bubba Ray Dudley makes a big surprise return at #3. You think that might wake the Philadelphia fans up a bit? Bubba is fired up to start and gives Miz the Dusty punches before R-Truth plays D-Von (I’m not touching that one) on What’s Up.
Now it’s table time but Miz gets up, only to be put back down with a 3D. There go Miz and Truth as Luke Harper is in at #4 for a hoss fight. They slug it out boo/yay style but Harper elbows out of a Bubba Bomb. A big clothesline drops Harper but Bray Wyatt is in at #5. Bubba isn’t sure what to make of him and Bray does his big freaky smile. The fans want D-Von (fair enough idea) but Bray sends Bubba into a clothesline and dumps him a few seconds later.
Harper and Wyatt stare at each other and Curtis Axel is in at #6, only to have Erick Rowan jump him from behind and destroy him, kicking off Axelmania because Axel was never officially eliminated. Rowan (not part of the Family at this point) gets in and teases a reunion against Bray, only to be quickly double teamed. Erick almost gets Harper out but Bray dumps them both and points to the sign. In another surprise return, the Boogeyman is in at #7. Cole: “It’s the eater of worlds against the eater of worms!” His entrance takes forever and Bray dumps him like the jobber that he is.
Sin Cara is in at #8 and gets in a few shots, only to get punched out of the air. Sister Abigail sets up another elimination and Bray is on a roll. With no one to fight, Bray grabs a mic and issues an open challenge to everyone in the back because this is his year. It’s time to sing until Zack Ryder is in at #9 (apparently returning from shoulder surgery), only to be eliminated even faster than Cara.
NOW things get interesting as Daniel Bryan is in at #10 to one of the loudest reactions you’ll hear since…..well since the last time Bryan was in a big match probably. Daniel speeds things up a lot with some running dropkicks in the corner as JBL tells Bryan not to go so hard because he needs to pace himself. Preach it JBL. A middle rope hurricanrana puts Bray down and it’s Fandango in at #11. Well that’s quite the drop in star power. He goes after Bryan but stops to dance, allowing Bryan to flip out of a belly to back suplex.
We go old school (way old school actually) with an airplane spin until Tyson Kidd (with his sweet theme song) is in at #12. A springboard missile dropkick drops Bryan and Fandango is quickly dropped into the corner, leaving Kidd and Bryan to slug it out in what could rock with about fifteen minutes. Stardust is in at #13, with Cole saying it’s his Rumble debut. No Cole, no it’s not. I get what he’s going for and no Cole, no it’s not.
Fandango and Stardust take turns skinning the cat before Stardust takes out the knee to get Fandango in trouble. Bryan eliminates Kidd but Bray is back up, only to be knocked through the ropes and out to the floor. You know that means a suicide dive from Daniel, followed by Diamond Dallas Page in at #14 for another surprise. Stardust is right on him but there’s the first Diamond Cutter. JBL: “Do they teach that in yoga class?”
Fandango takes Page down but gets crotched on top, setting up a super Diamond Cutter for a very nice pop. Bray pounds on Page but takes a Diamond Cutter of his own, which is one step too far. The guy is a monster and shouldn’t get dropped by a retired legend. Rusev comes in at #15 and superkicks Page before eliminating him. Side note: put Page in the Hall of Fame already. He has the resume and he’s worthy of canonization after what he accomplished with Roberts and Hall.
Rusev dumps Fandango and puts Bryan on the apron, allowing Bray to knock Daniel out. That right there is pretty much it for this Rumble meaning anything as we now know it’s all about Reigns, even though the fans aren’t going to be interested no matter what. I know you can’t have Bryan win here, but you could at least give him a run near the end. This was a bad idea and the DANIEL BRYAN chants starting up a minute after he’s gone don’t bode well for the rest of the show.
Goldust is in at #16, giving us Goldust, Stardust, Rusev and Wyatt. The brothers go after each other for a bit until Kofi Kingston is in at #17. Kofi goes after Bray as the fans are booing everything presented to them no matter how watchable it is. All five wind up in one corner for some reason with no eliminations until Adam Rose is in at #18. The Rosebuds do the full entrance and catch Kofi as he’s launched over the top for his annual save. Rusev dumps Rose with ease and kicks Kofi out a few seconds later to get us back to four. Roman Reigns is in at #19 and oh man this is going to be good.
The fans go nuts on Reigns as he fires off the running corner clotheslines and gets rid of Goldust and Stardust in rapid succession. Big E. is in at #20 and only gets kind of booed. Rusev is right on him and that gets booed loudly out of pure spite. Rusev hits a quick Cannonball on Big E. and it’s Damien Mizdow in at #21 for a bit of relief from the fans. Miz cuts him off and wants the spot but Reigns shoves him down and Damien, egged on by the crowd, goes in as well.
Mizdow cleans some house but is thrown out by Rusev in less than twenty seconds. Dang they really don’t want the fans to cheer anything tonight do they? Well other than Reigns of course. Jack Swagger is in at #22 and gets in a few nice shots until Bray cuts him off. We’ve got Wyatt, Swagger, Reigns, Big E. and Rusev at the moment until Ryback is in at #23. That means more power brawling with Meat Hooks and suplexes all around. Bray and Rusev continue their loose alliance to to get Ryback in trouble and there’s a CM Punk chant for the latest false hope.
Kane is in at #24 and you know the people aren’t happy with that. The match slows down a bit with Kane putting Ryback on the apron and Big E. doing the same thing to Swagger. Those attempts go as far as you would expect and it’s Dean Ambrose in at #25 to give the fans something to actually cheer for. Dean goes for Rusev to start but has to stop a charging Kane. The fans are WAY into Ambrose as he’s the first guy they’ve wanted to cheer for in about fifteen minutes.
Titus O’Neil is in at #26 and put out in four seconds by Ambrose and Reigns. So much for that one. The ring is getting too full and Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett makes it even worse at lucky #27. Everyone brawls against the ropes until it’s Cesaro in at #28. Cesaro fires off a bunch of European uppercuts but he can only get Ambrose to the apron. Rusev dropkicks Big E. out to clear a little room but Big Show takes his place at #29.
Everyone goes after him but Show throws them away before starting a chokeslam contest with Kane. There goes Ryback thanks to both giants and Show dumps Swagger. A chokeslam sends Rusev rolling out under the ropes and it’s Dolph Ziggler in at #30 (Remember when “who is #30” was the big question every year? Now it’s just another entrant. It’s kind of sad really.), giving us a final grouping of Wyatt, Rusev, Reigns, Kane, Ambrose, Barrett, Cesaro, Big Show and Ziggler.
Here’s the thing: that’s actually a stacked final set of people. Wyatt, Rusev, Ambrose, Barrett, Cesaro and Ziggler are crowd favorites, Big Show and Kane are at least good monsters to conquer and Reigns is…..well that other group is really popular. The problem here is NO ONE but Reigns has a chance and the entire audience knows it, making this inevitable rather than anything interesting.
Ziggler superkicks the giants and takes them both down with the running DDT. Barrett is sent to the apron and superkicked out but Ziggler gets caught in the Cesaro Swing. Cesaro sends him to the apron but Dolph gets him to the apron for a superkick and an elimination, only to have Big Show and Kane put Ziggler out. That also gives Kane the all time record for Rumble eliminations.
The giants throw Bray out like he’s no one (thanks for the 47 minutes Bray) and the fans are getting even angrier than they already were. So it’s Ambrose/Reigns vs. Big Show/Kane with Rusev forgotten on the floor. Roman is bleeding from the mouth as he clotheslines Show down but he and Dean can’t get rid of the bigger giant. Kane boots Roman in the face and the KO Punch knocks Dean silly, giving the giants an easy elimination. Reigns is suddenly even less popular as the inevitability gets that much closer. Even Cole acknowledges that the fans hate this.
Reigns fights back and the booing gets even louder until Kane and Show start fighting, because the last SIXTEEN YEARS of these two fighting isn’t enough. They fight next to the ropes and Reigns gets up for a double elimination, actually sending the fans into silence for the win.
Kane and Big Show get back in and beat Roman down even more, complete with a double chokeslam. The fans remember that Rusev is still in but here’s the Rock to help save his cousin. He cleans house and drops both giants to a nice reaction until Reigns Superman Punches Show into a Rock Bottom. Rock leaves and Rusev gets back in, only to get speared and eliminated to really give Roman the win at 59:31.
Rating: D-. WOW. This is somehow so much worse than I remember it as WWE was clearly going out of its way to clear the path for Roman but the fans were having none of it. The problem here is a simple one: there was never any drama. Look back at 2012 for a second. The final two were Chris Jericho and Sheamus, neither of whom were interesting choices to win. However, the final three minutes of that match are AWESOME as you really didn’t know who was going to win and both guys had a real chance. That’s the easiest way to get fans to like the Rumble, or really most matches.
This Rumble is really more like 1993 than anything else. That was the year of Yokozuna and everyone knew it, though there was the slightest chance of the Undertaker winning it. However, Undertaker went out in the middle of the match and the rest was just a waiting game to see who was on Yokozuna’s victim list.
That’s exactly what happened here. Everyone knew Reigns was the heavy favorite no matter who they wanted to win and the ONLY person with a real chance of beating him was Bryan. This year Bryan was the twelfth man eliminated, leaving about thirty five minutes left in the match. That’s a long time for the fans to sit around with little to no hope as things get worse and worse. The best false hope they had for the rest of the match was Ambrose and that just wasn’t going to happen.
On top of that, you have Big Show and Kane as the big bads for Reigns to conquer. That’s fine on paper, until you look at all the papers labeled “Raw Results” where you see how many times he and everyone else has beaten both of them. Instead of some group of the popular guys at the end, it was Kane and Big Show for the first ending. Then there’s Rusev for the false hope spot but Reigns destroyed him too before winning.
So yeah, this was one big mess all designed for Reigns to look like a hero and it failed miserably. It boils down to a simple concept that actually takes me back to the Russo days to a degree: you have to earn it. The problem here is Reigns hasn’t really accomplished anything to earn this spot and the fans are rejecting him. Austin dominating the 1998 Rumble worked because the fans had seen Austin go through a lot of wars to earn the right to be the top dog. Reigns’ big moment was a win over Randy Orton at Summerslam 2014. That’s not exactly huge and the fans hadn’t forgotten.
Ignoring the Reigns part for a minute, this was a really dull match. Bubba was a cool surprise and Page was good for a Diamond Cutter, but Boogeyman? Other than that and Bray’s dominance (which went nowhere), this was really dull stuff. Kofi being caught by the Rosebuds was a good quick chuckle but really low on his list of saves. Just a horrible Rumble from start to finish with only a few bright spots throughout.
Rock poses with Reigns and the fans STILL boo. The Authority comes out to glare a lot as Reigns celebrates and points at the sign to end the show.
Overall Rating: D. Oh yeah this was bad. The triple threat is the only thing keeping this from being a disaster as the rest of the card is a bunch of nothing tags and then a disaster of a Rumble for the last third. The Rumble itself really is that bad and drags an already bad show down even lower. It’s balanced out a bit by the triple threat but twenty two minutes of awesome can’t make up for an hour of horrible. Terrible show here and thankfully WWE finally figured out that Reigns wasn’t ready yet, because he just wasn’t here.
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Smackdown Date: August 29, 2002
Location: Mohegan Sun Hotel and Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tazz
We’re past Summerslam and Smackdown now has their own World Champion as Stephanie (cue the chorus) has signed Brock Lesnar to an exclusive deal. How exactly she can do this isn’t clear but my guess is SHE’S STEPHANIE MCMAHON AND SPOKE IN A LOUD VOICE because that renders everyone powerless. Let’s get to it.
We open with a quick look at Lesnar winning the title.
Opening sequence.
Here’s Stephanie to open us up (of course) and she’s already bragging about how awesome Smackdown is because of Lesnar. Since Eric Bischoff’s #1 contenders match means nothing, we’re going to have a series of single elimination matches to crown a new #1 contender. She brings out Edge (Stephanie: “WOO! I’ll scream if I want it.”) and Eddie Guerrero but doesn’t make it clear if this is a tournament or gauntlet or something else.
Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge
Eddie fires off right hands but walks into a flapjack, followed by the half nelson facebuster. Edge charges into an elbow in the corner and Eddie starts back in on the arm. Careful Eddie: you might make him spear you with no consequences again. With nothing else working, Edge suplexes him over the top for a good looking crash, followed by a slightly less good looking dive.
Back in and Eddie grabs a superplex as Cole says the winner of this series of matches gets the title shot. Again: more details on what that means would be nice but we’re not likely to get them are we? Edge comes back with a powerbomb of all things and both guys are down. The Edge-O-Matic gets two but Eddie slips out of the Edgecution and grabs a couple of chairs. Ever the schnook, the referee takes one of them out, allowing Eddie to block a spear with the other one. The frog splash puts Edge away and advances Eddie to….whatever the next step of this thing is.
Rating: B-. You know these two are going to have good matches together and this being kept shorter made for a tighter match. Edge is benefiting greatly from having matches against guys like Eddie and Benoit as he’s getting much sharper in the ring. That’s the kind of thing that is always going to benefit young wrestlers and can’t be overstated.
Matt Hardy asks Stephanie if he’s next to face Eddie but she announces Rikishi as Eddie’s next opponent. So it’s a gauntlet?
John Cena vs. Reverend D-Von
No Batista this week. D-Von throws his coat at Cena to start and hammers away before grabbing a neckbreaker for no cover. A suplex and powerslam give D-Von two and he cuts off Cena’s comeback with the spinning elbow to the jaw. The flying headbutt misses but D-Von grabs the inverted reverse DDT for the completely clean pin.
Rating: D. What in the world was the point of that? D-Von can’t even cheat to beat someone with Cena’s potential? This was cutting Cena’s leg off and leaving him with little to do for the sake of giving D-Von a clean pin. That’s one of the more confusing booking decisions I’ve seen in a long time and I really don’t get it.
Batista comes in and lays D-Von out with a Batista Bomb (which Cole calls a gutwrench powerbomb). Soooooo……that’s why Cena lost? To set up Batista vs. D-Von? Really?
Rey Mysterio vs. Rico
Mysterio starts fast and sends Rico outside, followed by a dive onto Billy and Chuck. The innocent bystanders are sent to the back for no apparent reason, leaving Rico to start firing off kicks. A sitout powerslam of all things plants Rey as Rico is getting to show off for the first time in WWE. Two Amigos into a Falcon Arrow (a type of powerbomb according to Tazz) gets two more and there’s another powerslam. Rico misses a VERY long moonsault and Rey starts his comeback with the usual. A double springboard moonsault gives Rey two and it’s the 619 into the West Coast Pop for the pin.
Rating: B-. I’m one of the bigger Rico fans you’ll ever meet and this is more proof that they wasted a lot of potential with him. I watched him in OVW and was far more impressed by him than Cena as Rico just got it so much faster. He had the look, the in ring work and the work ethic but he got stuck with this horrible gimmick and that’s all he’s remembered for doing.
Hardcore Holly is turned down for a spot in the #1 contender series in favor of Stephanie answering a phone call.
Video on Chris Benoit.
Here’s the Smackdown Your Vote video from Raw.
Stephanie is trying to get someone to jump to Raw when Matt comes in to ask for a spot in the series again, eventually cutting off her call to get an answer. He gets Brock Lesnar instead. I do love the fact that the story of the show is “let’s all beg Stephanie for favors”.
Rikishi wants a rematch with Lesnar and tries to get “piece of the Kish” over as a catchphrase. Eddie comes in to laugh at him and suggests the thong is on too tight.
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rikishi
Rikishi starts fast but can’t get the Stinkface. Eddie goes after the knee and kicks it into the steps before kicking at it even more back inside. We hit the leglock for a bit with Eddie very slowly cranking away. Rikishi fights up, crushes Eddie in the corner, and finishes him with a superkick (with the bad leg).
Rating: D. Nothing to see here as Rikishi’s odd push WAY above his level of importance continues. For the life of me I don’t get why he’s getting pushed like this but I guess they don’t have anyone else to go with here. It’s not like Matt Hardy or anyone is right there for the same spot.
Chris Benoit runs in to help with a beatdown on Rikishi but Edge makes the save.
Here’s a video mocking Major League Baseball’s strike.
Stephanie rips into Benoit for attacking Rikishi and punishes him by….giving him a match with the injured Rikishi. So she’s loud, basically a heel, and really stupid too.
Tajiri vs. Shannon Moore
Jamie Noble, Nidia and Hurricane are at ringside as well. They start fast with Shannon grabbing a quick rollup for two, earning himself a hard kick to the back. A chinlock doesn’t go anywhere so Tajiri puts him in a reverse Tree of Woe for a baseball slide to the back of the head. It’s off to a cobra clutch for a bit until Moore fights up and gets two off a running neckbreaker. One heck of a German suplex gives Tajiri two and it’s time for the seconds to get in a fight. Moore grabs a rollup for the upset.
Rating: C-. Not much of a match but well done at building up a challenger for Noble. The division is hardly the best in the world but they’re putting a few things together, which is better than you would expect. At least Moore is a fresh name and that’s a good sign. I mean, none of it matters as soon as Mysterio goes after the title but I like it better than just having Noble sit on the belt for months.
Rikishi vs. Chris Benoit
Benoit stomps him down in the corner to start but a Samoan drop gets Rikishi out of trouble. It seems to hurt his shoulder though and there’s the Crossface. A rope grab only sets up a second Crossface and Rikishi is done. Yeah Stephanie! You show Benoit by giving him a two and a half minute match against an injured opponent! Benoit is now going on to the final match in the series.
Kurt Angle apologizes to the other six dwarfs for beating Mysterio at Summerslam. He’s going to be Benoit’s opponent in the final match. The crowd sounds VERY interested at the idea of Angle vs. Lesnar.
Funaki wants to interview Brock Lesnar but Paul Heyman will have none of that. Matt Hardy comes up instead and says he’ll take Lesnar out. From here on, it’s WWE Mattitude.
Brock Lesnar vs. Matt Hardy
Non-title and Brock isn’t wasting time here as he takes Hardy outside and sends him back first into the post. Back in and we hit the shoulders to the ribs, followed by the overhead belly to belly suplex. Matt makes a quick comeback and posts Lesnar, followed by a dropkick to send him into the corner. That’s about it though as the Twist of Fate is countered into the F5 for the pin.
Rating: C. See, now this made him look like a force. This was the kind of squash that Lesnar hasn’t had enough of in his brief run and it made him look like a monster. It’s a pin over someone with some credibility who can sell the heck out of the F5. Good match here and Matt can bounce back with a few funny promos, especially after getting beaten by someone he had no business beating.
Brock isn’t done and powerbombs the heck out of Matt.
Whoever Stephanie was talking to has signed with Smackdown. They’ll be debuting in the main event, which is now a triple threat. Did you know Stephanie was all powerful?
Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle vs. Undertaker
One more Stephanie cameo as she introduces Undertaker, which actually does make sense here as this is a major moment. It’s seeing her all the other time that it’s not necessary. Undertaker shrugs off some double teaming to start (duh) but misses a big boot and crotches himself on the ropes. A few kicks to the leg put Undertaker on the floor, leaving Benoit and Angle to do exactly what you would expect Benoit and Angle to do.
Kurt snaps off some German suplexes but Benoit comes right back with a few of his own. Benoit whips him into the corner and flips Angle over with a release German suplex, only to have Undertaker dive back in for the save at two. Angle is sent outside and it’s time for more chairs, one of which goes square onto Undertaker’s head. Not that it matters as he’s back on his feet about thirty seconds later so Benoit grabs a German suplex. That’s no sold as well as Undertaker gets in a chokeslam, only to have Angle make the save with the ankle lock.
Kurt gets sent to the floor so Benoit puts on the Crossface with Angle coming back in for an ankle lock at the same time. That’s not enough for a tap so Benoit and Angle trade submissions, thankfully with Undertaker actually staying down for a good while off the double submission. Benoit kicks off the ankle lock to send Kurt into a botched rollup for no count. The Angle Slam drops Undertaker again but he’s back to his feet ELEVEN SECONDS LATER for the Last Ride and pin on Benoit.
Rating: B. I criticized Edge’s non-selling against Eddie at Summerslam but this was a good bit worse. You don’t take a double submission from two former World Champions and then no sell another finisher by being up in about ten seconds. If you just have to give Undertaker the title shot (and who better to give it to than a guy who beat TEST on Sunday and then lost on Monday), there are better ways to do it. Like, have Undertaker sell some stuff.
The problem is this match was all backwards. Angle and Benoit wrestled like a pair of faces with all the effort and speed while Undertaker just snuck in and stole the pin. Undertaker did sell earlier in the match but then just turned it off and won the match like Benoit was nothing in the end. Then again, Stephanie is their boss so the whole face/heel dynamic is screwed up on Smackdown in general.
Overall Rating: C. This is a very hard to rate show as the wrestling was mostly fine but the Stephanie stuff is just excruciating. It really does feel like she’s the main character of the show and we’re just stuck sitting around waiting to see what HUGE move she makes next and how she’s trying to screw Raw over next while yelling at any wrestler, often for doing what she says. She’s really taking a lot of the fun away from what could be a great show and that’s very bad.
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Royal Rumble Count-Up – 2014: The Night it Changed
Royal Rumble 2014 Date: January 26, 2014
Location: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler
The big story here is the rise of Daniel Bryan, who has gone from solid midcard guy to the people’s choice to win the Rumble. However, Batista has returned and is basically the guaranteed winner of the Rumble, no matter what the fans want to see. I can’t imagine this ends well. Let’s get to it.
Pre-Show: Tag Team Titles: Goldust/Cody Rhodes vs. New Age Outlaws
The Outlaws reunited as a nostalgia act and pinned the champs to earn this shot. Dogg and Cody get things going with Dogg hammering away, only to miss his Shake Rattle and Roll punch. Cody misses the Disaster Kick but sends both Outlaws to the floor. The champs hit dives on the Outlaws as we take a break. Back with Goldust in trouble as Dogg puts on a chinlock.
The Outlaws double team Goldust for a bit until he hits a jumping sunset flip for two on Dogg. Gunn charges into a powerslam and there’s the hot tag to Cody. A missile dropkick drops both Outlaws and Cross Rhodes plants Dogg for two with Billy making the save. Gunn makes a blind tag and hits a Fameasser on Cody for the big upset win.
Rating: C. This was fine for an opener and the fans were into the nostalgia. The Outlaws were only transitional champions anyway as the Usos would get the belts before Wrestlemania. Cody and Goldust had them back before the year was over too so no one was really hurt by this.
The opening video talks about working to achieve your dreams. Sometimes there’s a very thin line between almost getting there and getting everything you want. We also focus on Orton vs. Cena because that’s the real main event here. The Rumble itself gets a quick mention too.
Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt
Daniel joined the Wyatt Family on the last Raw of the year but then rejected them a few weeks later, leading to one of the loudest YES chants you’ll ever hear. Bryan punches out of the corner to start but Bray drives knees into his ribs and blasts him with an elbow. That’s fine with Bryan as he kicks the knee out but has to go after Bray’s followers Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. A suicide dive drops Harper but the referee ejects both monsters.
Bray huddles with his Family on the floor, allowing Daniel to take him down with a plancha. Back in and a high cross body gets two on Wyatt but he chops Daniel off the middle rope and out to the floor. Bray charges at Daniel but drives the bad knee into the steps to put him back down again. Back in and Daniel starts kicking at the leg before snapping off a dragon screw leg whip. A modified curb stomp gets two for Bryan but Bray drives him back into the corner.
They slug it out to the apron with Wyatt snapping Daniel’s shoulder down in a big crash. Back in and Bray hits his release suplex slam and we hit the chinlock. Bray puts Daniel’s head against the post and drives in forearms to follow up on Bryan’s recent concussion. Back in again and a kick to the face gives Bray a few near falls. A big release Rock Bottom plants him again and Bray does his Spider Walk out of the corner. Bryan finally avoids an elbow drop and hits a running clothesline.
Some kicks stagger Bray and a drop toehold sends him into the middle buckle. Daniel kicks away in the corner and nails a top rope hurricanrana for two. Another running clothesline is countered by a running elbow to the chest as Bray takes over again. Bryan low bridges him to the floor and hits a running tornado DDT off the apron. A running dropkick sends Bray into the barricade and a missile dropkick puts Wyatt down in the ring.
The YES Kicks get two but Bray turns him inside out with a clothesline for two. Sister Abigail is countered but Bray bites his way out of the YES Lock. Daniel scores with more kicks and hits a top rope splash but Bray ducks to the floor to avoid the running knee. The Flying Goat is blocked though and Bray hits Sister Abigail into the barricade to knock Bryan silly. Back in and another Sister Abigail is good for the pin.
Rating: A. This was considered a match of the year contender and it’s easy to see why. These two beat the tar out of each other with each move getting harder and harder than the previous. Bryan lost here but came out looking like a star. Bray on the other hand looks like a killer and that’s exactly what he’s supposed to be.
Paul Heyman says Brock Lesnar is going to challenge the winner of Orton vs. Cena for the World Title. However, first he has to make an example out of Big Show.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is here.
The expert panel of Jim Duggan, Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair aren’t sure who to pick between Lesnar and Big Show.
Big Show vs. Brock Lesnar
These two have had a feud for years and this time Big Show has been getting the better of it through pure power. Lesnar takes Show down before the bell and pounds on him with fists and then a chair. As Big Show is down, Lawler says Big Show gave Lesnar his first loss at the 2002 Royal Rumble, which would be three months before Lesnar debuted. We get the opening bell with Lesnar getting another chair but Show nails him with the KO Punch. Lesnar is rocked and Show takes him outside for a whip into the barricade. Back in and Big Show loads up another KO but Lesnar ducks and throws him up for the F5 for the easy pin.
Lesnar beats on him with the chair even more after the match. He’s broken two chairs over Show’s back.
Shield says they have 27 enemies tonight and it’ll be the three of them left standing. Only one of them can stand tall at the end but Reigns thinks he has the winning number. He won’t say what it is though. Dean offers to tell him his if Reigns tells his. Dean: “What if I have two numbers? I have ALL the numbers!” They agree to believe in the Shield.
Orton says he’s going to beat Cena and put him to the back of the line. Renee Young asks about Batista, Brock Lesnar and Bray Wyatt wanting title shots but Orton laughs it off and calls Wyatt a deranged hillbilly Duck Dynasty reject.
We recap Orton vs. Cena. This is more about their short term history, focusing on the titles being unified back in December. Orton seems to be cracking under the pressure of being champion and even attacked Cena’s father at Raw recently.
WWE World Title: Randy Orton vs. John Cena
No countout and no DQ with Orton defending.. The fans loudly chant for Daniel Bryan before and after the bell. They hit the mat and the fans are already bored less than twenty seconds in. Cena fights up and gets two off a bulldog but charges into an elbow in the corner. Now a Randy Savage chant starts up and Orton stops for a second before kicking Cena even more.
Off to a chinlock as the fans chant for Y2J. After fighting out, Cena catches on and tries a Boston crab. Orton kicks him to the floor during a brief Undertaker chant and now it’s just the standard boring chant. A clothesline puts Orton back outside but he sends Cena into the steps. Back in and a DDT gets two for Orton as the fans just say both guys suck. Cena comes back with shoulder blocks and the ProtoBomb, only to take too long jawing and walk into a powerslam for two.
A half nelson slam into a neckbreaker gets two for Cena but he gets caught on top. He headbutts his way out though and hits the top rope Fameasser for two. Orton counters the AA attempt into his backbreaker for two as the fans have calmed down a bit. The Elevated DDT off the apron to the floor gets two more on John. Orton’s RKO is countered into the STF but Randy is too close to the ropes. He grabs the ropes to block an AA as well but the refereee gets bumped.
There’s the STF again and Orton taps but there’s no referee. Orton uses the opportunity to nail Cena with a title belt for two. He stands around too long again though and takes an AA for two more. The RKO gets the same and now the fans want Divas. Orton misses the Punt but pulls Cena down into an STF. John counters that into a Crossface but Orton rolls into a cover for two.
Back up and Orton hits Cena with an AA, followed by Cena grabbing an RKO for another near fall. With nothing left to do, Cena loads up a middle rope AA but has to settle for a tornado DDT. The STF goes on in the middle of the ring….we’ve got Wyatts. The lights go out and come back on to reveal all three on the apron. Cena goes after them but walks into an RKO to keep the title on Orton.
Rating: B. This matchup has suffered from brand damage. We’ve seen it so many times over the years that even if the match is good, like it was here, people just do not want to see it. The guys got the crowd to calm down a bit about halfway through the match, but there’s just nothing left to see from these two. They’re both hard workers and try every time they’re out there but the interest is just gone.
The fans chant for Bryan as the Wyatts destroy Cena even more.
Tribute video to the recently passed away Mae Young.
The New Age Outlaws celebrate but tell Renee that she isn’t invited to the party.
We get some classic Rumble promos.
Miz will win because he’ll do whatever it takes to headline Wrestlemania again.
The Usos are cool with having to fight each other.
Intercontinental Champion Big E. says headlining Wrestlemania is where it’s at.
Fandango thinks he’s the only one worthy to headline the big dance.
Batista just says exactly.
Damien Sandow says it’s insane to try the same thing and expect different results. He won’t make the same mistake again.
Ryback says there are 29 superstars and one Human Wrecking Ball.
Mysterio will shock the world again.
The expert panel makes their picks. Duggan likes Ziggler, Shawn goes with Shield or Punk and Flair takes Batista.
Royal Rumble
90 second intervals with Punk at #1 (as ordered by Kane) and Seth Rollins at #2. Punk takes him into the corner to start for some shoulders to the ribs. Some kicks stagger Rollins but he comes back with a big kick of his own. A clothesline drops Rollins again but he pops back up with an enziguri. Both guys are down as Damien Sandow is in at #3. The fans loudly chant for Punk as he DDTs Sandow and drops Rollins with a neckbreaker at the same time.
The heels stomp Punk down until Cody Rhodes is in at #4. Cross Rhodes plants Sandow but Rollins stops an elimination attempt. Punk dumps Damien a few seconds later though and it’s time for Rollins to get double teamed. Kane comes in at #5 and cleans Punk’s clock. He loads up the chokeslam but Punk kicks him in the head for a surprise elimination. The debuting Alexander Rusev is in at #6.
Rusev kicks Rollins and Rhodes in the face but can’t eliminate either guy. Instead he just beats everyone up until Jack Swagger is in at #7. It’s Swagger vs. Rusev now but everyone opts to gang up on Rusev instead. Cody and Swagger break off and Kofi Kingston is in at #8. Everyone fights by the ropes until Jimmy Uso is in at #9. The announcers are noticing how fast the clock is going by.
Jimmy goes after Kofi in the corner as Rusev works on Swagger. Punk puts Rusev in a sleeper and Goldust is in at #10, giving us a group of Punk, Rollins, Goldust, Cody, Jimmy, Swagger, Kingston and Rusev. Goldust hammers away until Rusev nails him in the jaw. A group of people gang up on Rusev and dump him out, which isn’t quite a great debut for him. Kofi gets thrown out as well but Rusev catches him in mid air. He drops Kofi on the barricade and it’s time for the great return. Kingston stands up, uses the barricade as a balance beam and jumps back to the apron in a pretty cool save.
US Champion Dean Ambrose is in at #11 and goes right after Punk. Things slow down again and Dolph Ziggler is in at #12. The fans are entirely behind Dolph as the ring is getting too full. Punk has to hang onto the apron as R-Truth comes in at #13, only to be dumped in about thirty seconds by Ambrose. Rollins knocks out Jimmy and Kofi steals Swagger’s boot while literally hanging on by his feet. Jack comes over to him but gets nailed by the boot as Kofi gets back in.
Kevin Nash makes a required return at #14. He eliminates Swagger with ease and goes after Ambrose and Rollins. Punk has Ziggler dangling but Dolph gets his feet back in. Roman Reigns completes the Shield at #15, giving us Punk, Rollins, Rhodes, Kingston, Goldust, Ambrose, Ziggler, Nash and Reigns. Roman cleans house with punches and spears before launching Kofi out.
Ziggler puts Roman down with a DDT but eats a spear to cut him in half. Reigns throws Ziggler out with ease and the fans suddenly hate him. Nash gets the same treatment as Reigns now has three eliminations in less than two minutes. Great Khali is in at #16 and goes after the Shield but gets tossed by Reigns. Goldust eliminates Cody to make up for the last two years but Reigns gets rid of Goldust a second later. That leaves the Shield alone with Punk but Sheamus returns after being out six months with an injury at #17.
Sheamus cleans house and gives Dean the ten forearms followed by an Irish Curse to Rollins. Reigns eats a Brogue Kick as Miz is in at #18. Punk is just laying in the corner and making almost no effort to get back up. Miz hammers away on Reigns in the corner and Fandango is in at #19. The entire crowd starts doing his dance but Miz sends him to the apron in just a few seconds. Fandango gets back in though as Shield slowly takes over again. Reigns motions to Punk in the corner but doesn’t go after him. Punk hasn’t moved from there in at least five minutes now.
El Torito is in at #20, giving us Punk, Rollins, Ambrose, Reigns, Sheamus, Miz, Fandango and Torito. Of course the bull cleans house until Punk stands up. Punk grabs him by the head but takes a headscissors, only to have Fandango run Torito over. The referee checks on Punk as Torito dropkicks Fandango out. Reigns catches Torito with ease and dumps him out for his sixth elimination. Punk gets back up as Cesaro is in at #21. He immediately starts swinging Miz but Shield breaks up a Swing attempt on Punk. Instead Rollins gets swung a ridiculous THIRTY TIMES. Luke Harper is in at #22 as Reigns spears Cesaro down.
Rollins and Cesaro slug it out until Jey Uso is in at #23. The brawling slows down a bit now and JBL is in at #24. Cole: “The JBL character has never entered the Royal Rumble.” Good grief. JBL wears his full suit into the ring but asks Cole to go get his jacket, allowing Reigns to dump him out. Fans: “YOU STILL GOT IT!” Erick Rowan is in at #25 as JBL tries to talk about ANYTHING but being in the Rumble. Rowan kicks Miz out to clear things up a bit but everything slows back down again.
Harper tosses Jey Uso but the Wyatts turn around to see the Shield. Ryback is in at #26 and goes right for Cesaro as the fans chant Goldberg. Alberto Del Rio gets lucky #27 and things slow down yet again. Batista is in at #28 and the fans just rip him apart. He quickly dumps Rowan and has a staredown with Ryback before dumping him as well. Del Rio, the man who has been going after Batista since he returned, superkicks him down but gets lifted into the air and dumped with ease.
Intercontinental Champion Big E. is in at #29 to almost no reaction but the fans like him for suplexing Batista. The fans are chanting for Bryan and get even louder as the countdown clock comes on. The clock runs out….and it’s Rey Mysterio. To say the fans aren’t pleased with this is the understatement of the year. We’re going to pause for a second here and look at this.
First of all, Rey Mysterio is a fine choice for #30 in the Royal Rumble. He’s a multiple time World Champion, he’s held nearly every title in WWE history, he’s going to be in the Hall of Fame one day, he’s the most successful cruiserweight of all time, he’s won the Royal Rumble before and he’s one of the most popular wrestlers ever. However, he’s not the right choice for this spot.
There are two schools of thought here. The first and more prominent is that WWE just did not understand the fans and thought they would accept Batista as the big star making his return and embrace him with open arms. Then they heard the reaction and changed course to make Wrestlemania all about Daniel Bryan. The other school of thought is Bryan not being in the Rumble was planned from the beginning, they knew where they were going at Wrestlemania the entire time and the stories about Orton vs. Batista headlining the show were false rumors. I’m in the middle on that but I lean more towards the second.
Now Bryan didn’t have to win the Rumble here. You could have had a bunch of different ways to get rid of him, even down to having Kane run out and eliminate him if need be. However, he should have been in the main event. It makes sense that he at least has a chance to be in there, even if it’s just to get screwed over again.
Anyway, we have a final grouping of Punk, Rollins, Ambrose, Reigns, Sheamus, Cesaro, Harper, Batista, Langston and Mysterio. Rey hurricanranas Punk to the apron as the fans are booing the heck out of the match. Sheamus clotheslines Langston out to end his worthless Rumble. Cesaro hammers on everyone in sight and Rey hits the 619 on Rollins just to make everyone even madder. Rollins enziguris Rey out for a nice pop and we’re down to eight.
Dean and Seth put Harper on the apron but Reigns Superman Punches him out to give him eight eliminations. Ambrose tries to put out his Shield mates but Cesaro jumps he and Rollins. That’s fine with Reigns who dumps Cesaro, Rollins and Ambrose all at once to tie Kane’s record for eliminations in a single Rumble.
We’re down to four now and everyone hits a finisher. Reigns takes the GTS but Kane sneaks in to eliminate Punk. That would be Punk’s last WWE match to date. Kane goes off on Punk outside and chokeslams him through the announcers’ table. We’re down to Sheamus, Batista and Reigns but all three are down. Another Daniel Bryan chant starts up as Batista takes over, turning it into a NO chant.
Sheamus cleans house and points at the sign before loading up a Brogue Kick. He misses Batista though and gets backdropped to the apron. Reigns elbows Sheamus out to set a new Rumble record for eliminations with twelve. That leaves Reigns vs. Batista and all of a sudden everyone is a Reigns fan. Reigns wins a slugout and clotheslines Batista down as the people chant for Roman. Batista comes back with his own horrible spear, only to have Reigns show him how it’s done….and then get thrown out a few seconds later to send Batista to Wrestlemania.
Rating: D. This just wasn’t a very good Rumble though its moments. Batista came in at the wrong time and it killed any kind of comeback he could have had. The fans did not want to see what the company was offering them at this point and they let them know about it. In their defense though, this Rumble was kind of awful. The comedy and returns felt forced, Rusev’s debut went nowhere and they might as well have given it to Batista and put on an hour of Mighty Mouse cartoons to save everyone’s time. It’s not a good match but the crowd reaction is certainly interesting.
Batista is booed out of the building as we see a highlight package ends the show.
Overall Rating: D+. The Rumble really hurts this show as it drags down two good matches and an entertaining Lesnar squash. The problem is that’s the lasting memory of this show: the fans booing the heck out of Batista as WWE seemed to think he was exactly what WWE wanted. The show isn’t horrible but it leaves a really bad taste in your mouth.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the History of the WWE’s Big Four Pay Per Views, now in PAPERBACK. Check out the information here:
You’re all familiar with the Big Four WWE pay per views. Well now you can be even more familiar with them by picking up my collections of reviews, which are now available in PAPERBACK. After years of only having these as e-books I’ve gone through all of them, polished them up, and turned them into actual, physical books.
All four are ready to go from Amazon and are full on paperbacks. The Royal Rumble is $9.99, Summerslam and Survivor Series are 10.99 in the USA and all three are £ 9.99 in the UK. Wrestlemania is $12.99. They are available worldwide (only in English) from any country’s Amazon page but here are the US and UK links:
I hope you like these and please shoot me any questions you might have.
KB
NXT Takeover: San Antonio Preview
It’s that time again as NXT will be taking over another Saturday night before we get to one of the Big Four pay per views. Unfortunately this show hasn’t had the best build in the world and a lot of that is due to a combination of the talent being taken up to the main roster and the two weeks spent on international shows that could have been used on the build towards the matches. Today we’re going to look at the build towards “Takeover: San Antonio” and see if it looks better on paper than it’s looked on “NXT” TV.
Eric Young vs. Tye Dillinger
This feud has served two purposes: showing that Dillinger has a reason to still be in NXT and giving Sanity’s leader his first major feud. The stable has the potential to be something special and Dillinger’s TEN gimmick is getting over like almost nothing has in a very long time. The fans just want to cheer for the guy and he’s more than made up for it in the ring. He’s no Sami Zayn or anyone near that level but he’s doing enough to make it work.
That being said, there’s no reason for Young to lose here. I could easily see Dillinger moving up to the main roster for the Royal Rumble alone while Sanity with Young at the helm could dominate NXT for a good while going forward. Young wins here as he’s the only logical option along with deserving it (that was much easier to say that it should have been).
Andrade Cien Almas vs. Roderick Strong
I always forget that Strong is even in NXT as he just hasn’t done all that much yet. Almas is in a similar place as he’s barely established himself in the promotion. His in ring stuff hasn’t done much to impress me and I’m still not sure why I’m supposed to care about him (though his heel work has been better than his face run). Strong is entertaining though and I’ve always been a fan of the guy.
I’m actually going to go with Strong in what could be considered an upset. Strong is a talented guy and can go with anyone in the ring but neither guy really has a strong personality. Both of them need something to do but I’d rather see Strong knock that smile off of Almas’ face than anything else and that’s enough to give him the nod here. I have next to no confidence in it but I’ll go with Strong.
Tag Team Titles: DIY vs. Authors of Pain
Now this is where things get a little hazy. DIY is on a roll at this point and is one of the best teams I’ve seen in a long time. However, the Authors of Pain have been treated as nearly unstoppable monsters and the logical move would be to see them steamroll the champions for the titles. At the same time though, I can’t imagine DIY losing the belts that they spent so much time winning.
I see this one going along the lines of Sting vs. Vader in 1992: the Authors of Pain destroy the champs and then get disqualified or counted out for going a bit too hard. DIY will probably drop the belts to them later on but I don’t think it happens just yet. They did too much great stuff against the Revival to lose them to a team like the Authors of Pain, at least this early on.
Women’s Title: Asuka vs. Peyton Royce vs. Billie Kay vs. Nikki Cross
This one depends on where you think the title is going after the match as we get closer to the big Wrestlemania weekend show. Asuka has been running through the division for almost a year now and the only real idea is to have the three challengers in one match instead of lining them up one at a time.
That being said, I still think Asuka runs through them all with a fall on one of the Aussies. There’s no reason to have her go over Cross yet but I could easily see the big showdown between Asuka and Ember Moon at the big show in Orlando. They could throw in a big curve ball and have the Aussies basically be the NXT version of Laycool but again, I just don’t see it happening. Asuka retains.
NXT Title: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bobby Roode
The more I think about this match, the more confused I really am about the whole thing. NXT has managed to book a match where it’s hard to imagine either of them actually losing here. Roode has been built up as the big star but Nakamura is Nakamura, as in someone who requires a small cannon to finally put down. On paper this should be a squash it’s hard to not buy into Roode’s schtick.
At the end of the day though, I think it’s going to be Nakamura retaining the title and setting up a showdown with……well I have no idea actually (Kassius Ohno maybe?) but I don’t think Roode wins here. He’s the kind of guy who could get his heat back in the span of about five minutes so Nakamura goes over here after a match which far exceeds expectations.
I think I’ve talked myself into being excited over this show. If there’s a single promotion that can make me believe they can pull off what feels like a lackluster card, NXT is the one. I’m not sure it’s going to work but I’m more than willing to give the show a chance. If they can get most of the matches right and hit the ground running heading into Orlando, everything will be fine.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
We’re down to the final series with the most important of them all: Wrestler of the Year. Someone has to be the biggest name with the best year and that’s what we’re going to be looking at today. WWE has had a great year and some very talented wrestlers put on a strong series of matches. As usual, these are in no particular order and again: I don’t watch much New Japan so there’s no Omega or Naito.
1. Sasha Banks
It seems fitting to start with one of the women. As great as Charlotte has been this year, I really can’t bring myself to say she’s been that much better than Banks. When the women were put into the new division around Wrestlemania season, it was Banks that the fans wanted to see. She’s been the most popular name in one of the best divisions of the year and that’s noteworthy.
The thing to remember about Banks is that while she’s only twenty four, she’s been wrestling for about six and a half years, putting her way ahead of Charlotte on the experience chart. Banks is also more interesting and had more steam coming up to the main roster, making her a bit more polished than Charlotte for a long stretch of the year.
Above all else though, Banks was right there with Charlotte every step of the way as they rocketed through the history books to become the most important feud in women’s history. These two main evented a pay per view together and it wouldn’t be fair to only give Charlotte praise and credit for doing so. Banks won just as many titles as Charlotte and that’s more than worth a spot on this list.
2. Charlotte
We might as well get this one out of the way now as Banks and Charlotte are basically joined at the hip more often than not. Charlotte showed that she’s one of the best female workers of all time and one of the best workers regardless of gender in wrestling today. She’s just so far ahead of almost anyone else in wrestling and it’s unfair to compare her to most of the female wrestlers in WWE.
I know it’s been harped on over and over but she and Banks main evented a pay per view. Really, that can’t be emphasized enough and the fact that most of the matches between the two of them were good made things even better. Charlotte has been praised by her father as one of the best female wrestlers of all time and for once, Flair actually seems to be accurate in his praise.
The fact that Charlotte has become someone people want to see is such a telling story. She’s become a star and just looks so natural doing so. Charlotte has only been in wrestling for a few years now and she’s already one of the best of all time. If she can stay this good for even longer, I’m really curious to see how far she can go because the sky is the limit.
3. Shinsuke Nakamura
This is an interesting one as Nakamura hit the ground at a full on sprint with an amazing match against Sami Zayn at “Takeover: Dallas”, went on to defeat Finn Balor and then went on to become NXT Champion by the end of the summer. After that things started to go downhill a bit as he traded the title with Samoa Joe before coming out with it again.
However, Nakamura hit the ground running so hard and was so much better than most of the roster for the majority of the year that it’s hard to argue against him being so high up on a list like this. The key here is that Nakamura comes off as a major star and just destroyed so many big NXT names. It was even better because someone caught up with him and gave Nakamura a great feud.
Nakamura seems destined for the main roster in a hurry and that’s a good thing. His signing back in January was one of the top news stories of the year and he’s certainly lived up to the hype so far. I’ve had a great time watching Nakamura kick and knee people very hard and when he’s on his game with someone who can hang with him, he’s one of the most entertaining acts in wrestling.
4. The Miz
I know he might not be the most popular but I’ve been very high on Miz for a long time and this might have been his best year yet. The guy just gets better and better and it’s very nice to see him get the recognition he deserves. His matches have been getting better and better and if you add in that whole promo of his life thing against Daniel Bryan on the debut of “Talking Smack”, it’s hard to suggest otherwise.
The big changing point for Miz might have been having Maryse return as his manager on the “Monday Night Raw” after “Wrestlemania XXXII”. There’s just something so easy to hate about a loudmouth who won’t shut up but has a gorgeous wife. The fact that it’s his real wife makes thing even better because while a lot of things might be fake, their marriage is real. How can you bare to stand him as a result?
All that being said though, it’s getting harder and harder for people to argue that Miz isn’t one of the best around. There are very few holes in his game and 2016 was more proof that he’s ready for the main event scene all over again. I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if he picked up another World Title this year and, much like the first time, he’s certainly earned it.
5. AJ Styles
If anyone is flat out ahead of Styles in this race, I don’t know who it is. Styles debuted at “Royal Rumble 2016” and took the company by storm. After a bit of a surprising loss to Chris Jericho at “Wrestlemania XXXII”, Styles was almost immediately in the World Title scene with a pair of great matches against Roman Reigns. Styles went on to defeat John Cena in back to back pay per view classics before winning his first WWE World Title.
This was a coronation after so many years spent toiling in TNA and then a few more taking New Japan Pro Wrestling by storm. Styles was widely considered one of the best of all time to never set a full time foot in WWE and once he got there, he was on fire the whole way. The debut at the Royal Rumble was one of the best moments of the year and he followed it up with classic match after classic match.
Styles has had one of the best years in WWE history and it should be amazing to see where he goes from here. At his age (he turns 40 in June) you can only get so much out of Styles and thankfully he’s doing some of his best work at the moment. I can’t imagine how good he’s going to be when he gets to be at the top of his game on the grandest stage of them all but 2016 was more than enough to earn the chance.
6. Samoa Joe
This is a great example of someone showing up in NXT and then waiting for the right moment before breaking loose like a runaway train. Samoa Joe debuted in NXT last summer and didn’t really do much at first. Eventually he got into a feud with Finn Balor and the two main evented “Takeover: Dallas” in an unintentional bloodbath. Samoa Joe would go on to win the title at a house show and then spent the rest of the year feuding with Nakamura.
The interesting thing about Samoa Joe is how different he really is than the rest of the NXT roster. Yes he’s a big guy and fights against people half his size but he comes off as a huge bully who can back it up in the ring. Not only did he beat Balor and Nakamura but he did so to become the first ever two time NXT Champion. For someone who is considered completely outside the NXT mold, it’s rather telling that he’s the first double champion.
What I like about Samoa Joe is you get what you see: a big guy who wrestles a power style but can throw in more submissions than he knows what to do with almost every time he’s in the ring. Couple that with some surprising athleticism and some GREAT promo work and it’s no wonder that he’s a star on the roster. If nothing else, he’s yet another name on the long list of names that TNA had and let go without much effort.
7. Kevin Owens
How can you not include the longest reigning WWE Universal Champion of all time? Owens might not be having the greatest ending to a year of all time but he was on fire earlier in the year. What started off as a pretty forgettable Intercontinental Title reign turned into a rekindling of the awesome Sami Zayn feud and wound up with him winning his first World Title after Finn Balor went down with an injury.
While Owens can go in the ring, he’s actually far better on the microphone. What I love about Owens is how he turns what should be mundane parts of a match into something either amusing or interesting. Who else do you know who can turn a chinlock into an event? That shows that he’s both thinking and putting in the effort while so many other people just lay there with the hold on and figure out what to do next. The wrestler’s job is to entertain the fans and Owens always seems to be trying to do just that.
Owens is a very interesting case and it’s a shame he’s been saddled with such horrible booking. He’s been the Raw World Champion for several months now and for some reason he’s been playing up to third fiddle on the show. Oddly enough he was better without the title but I have no issue at all with him holding the title this long. The guy is just good and there’s no other way to put it.
8. Chris Jericho
You can’t have one Canadian villain without a second (it’s a law or something). Every time you expect Jericho to be over the hill and running on fumes, he finds a way to reinvent himself all over again. With the power of something as simple as a list of names and things that get on his nerves, Jericho is putting on some of the most entertaining performances of his career at the rather advanced age (for wrestling) of 46.
Jericho is WAY past the point of needing titles but I wouldn’t mind seeing him win any title available to him. You can almost write the Jericho vs. Owens feud from here and given how much the fans are begging to cheer for Jericho, the reaction would be absolutely incredible when they hear that Owens just made the list.
If there is a wrestler who has turned himself into something fresh as many times as Jericho, I’ve yet to see them. Jericho is easily the most entertaining thing about “Monday Night Raw” at the moment and that’s been the case for several months now. He’s outshining everyone and the rest of his year has been incredibly strong as well with some solid matches to back up the talking. Not bad for a guy who debuted over twenty six years ago.
9. Asuka
I know she hasn’t had the most competition in the world but Asuka has run through the NXT women’s division (and some main roster women) like they’re not even there. I’m not sure who could possibly hold up against her strikes but it’s certainly fun to imagine someone having a chance against her.
The idea of Asuka facing off against some of the main roster women is rather interesting and that’s the best thing that can be said about her. Well, aside from the fact that she’s rather awesome in the ring and has a sweet entrance with a catchy theme song. I’m not sure how much else I can say about her but she’s made one heck of an impact with almost no one else being able to touch her.
The difference between Asuka and someone like Brock Lesnar is the simple fact that she doesn’t just do the same stuff over and over again. Let her go out and do her freaky strikes and then finish with either the Asuka Lock or even more strikes. Everyone comes out looking great and Asuka is on top of that list.
With all that being said, of course it’s Styles. It’s been Styles for months now and no one (save for MAYBE Jericho) really came close. When you add up the outstanding matches, great character development and awesome talking plus all the expectations that he had to deal with from the day he made his debut with the company, Styles has risen WAY above what anyone could realistically expect from him. He’s been nothing short of incredible this year and continues to surprise me almost every week. Styles is the wrestler of the year by a landslide.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
This is one of the last two because we’re getting close to the Royal Rumble and that’s FAR too late for the sake of doing a Best of series. Basically today we’re looking at the Surprise of the Year, which I’m going to keep a bit shorter for the sake of time. There are a LOT of options here and it’s going to take forever if I go into a bunch of details. These are in no particular order.
1. AJ Styles Debuts at the Royal Rumble.
Sweet goodness this worked, assuming you can ignore what WWE felt was the more important visual. This was AJ STYLES debut in WWE and for some reason we were looking at Roman Reigns. Styles actually appearing in WWE was almost unthinkable but here it was, in one of the most important matches of the year. That’s one of those moments you remember and it worked really well here.
2. Dean Ambrose Cashes in Money in the Bank.
I know it might not be the biggest in the world but the cash-ins are always cool to see. Ambrose cashed in and beat Seth Rollins for the World Title, which meant that all three members of the Shield were World Champion in the same night. Ambrose actually winning was a surprise as he was a few steps below the other Shield members and he finally won the big one. Well done, especially considering how many times that briefcase has been cashed in before.
3. Goldberg Returns.
For someone who hasn’t been around in over twelve years, Goldberg made one heck of an impact and the place went nuts when he showed up again. Sure it was just for the sake of a video game but the place came unglued when he was announced and it set up a big moment down the line. That’s hard to do with someone from a different generation but they pulled it off here.
4. AJ Styles Beats John Cena Clean.
You know how many people get to beat Cena clean? You can probably count them on your fingers (and toes if you’re a little slow) and Styles is another one to have done it. People were expecting the whole “Cena loses then Cena wins” but instead, Styles becomes one of the few to get away with a perfect record against Cena, which is quite the year for someone who hasn’t been around that long.
5. Zack Ryder Wins Intercontinental Title.
This was one of those things that you just couldn’t imagine happening and the fact that he did it at Wrestlemania is even better. Ryder could barely win a single match and now he’s the Intercontinental Champion. Sure he lost it the next night and sure I’m convinced that it was going to be Neville before his broke his ankle but Ryder won that title and there’s no one that can take it away from him. Well save for Miz of course.
6. Rhyno/Brian Kendrick Have Titles in 2016.
These two hadn’t even been thought of in WWE in years and they manage to win new titles. Rhyno is a bigger surprise given how good the tag division actually is over on Smackdown. I liked his run with Heath Slater even more than I was expecting to and the team worked very well. Kendrick wasn’t the most thrilling Cruiserweight Champion but at least he put on a few good heel performances.
7. Cruiserweight Division Returns.
Speaking of the cruiserweights, they’re back too! This is one of those things that has been talked about for years and they actually did it. I’m not sure we needed a Cruiserweight division but the tournament they used to bring it back was awesome too. 205 Live has become a lot of fun and that’s an even bigger bonus. Good stuff here, which I didn’t expect coming into the division.
8. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Main Events a Pay Per View.
Let me repeat that: women main evented a WWE pay per view. I really don’t think this needs much more of an explanation.
9. Goldberg Squashes Brock Lesnar.
It’s very rare that I sit in awe of something I see on a wrestling show but that’s what happened here. I was genuinely shocked by what I saw and that doesn’t happen. Goldberg didn’t just beat Lesnar but rather DESTROYED him in less than ninety seconds. That’s getting up there with an old Midnight Express time in the main event of a pay per view. Just….dang man.
10. Daniel Bryan Retires.
I’m not sure if this qualifies as a surprise after all the time that Bryan missed from the ring. Still though, the speech itself was incredible and Bryan looked like a star who never had the chance to stay on top. It made him a legend but it was a pretty big shock when we knew he wasn’t coming back this time around.
11. Finn Balor Vacates Universal Title.
The fact that this happened so soon after he won the thing (another surprise in its own right) is what makes this one so big. Balor literally won the title in his third match on the main roster and then he goes down with a major shoulder injury. Above all else: just imagine what happens to his career if he lost that title match. He’d be lucky to get a Cruiserweight Title run at that point.
12. Shane McMahon Returns.
I don’t know how to put this one into words. The wife and I were looking away from the screen and our necks snapped into place as our jaws dropped. Shane hadn’t been around in nearly eight years and yet here he was on Monday Night Raw with his dad all over again. It was a genuine shock and that doesn’t happen in WWE.
13. Another Brand Split.
Again, this is one of those things that is talked about all the time but for once they actually pulled the trigger. I’m still not sure the rosters are deep enough to pull this off but it’s the wrestling world we live in now, McMahons and all. I like the idea well enough and it was certainly exciting, especially for the Draft when it actually happened.
Overall this was a two horse race. I had to think back to how shocked I was over Shane returning and the Lesnar squash and the more I thought about it, the more I couldn’t get my head around Goldberg vs. Lesnar. That to me is the sign of a surprise having lasting power and it’s enough to give the main event of Survivor Series the win here.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Ring of Honor TV – January 25, 2017: The ECW Formula
Ring of Honor Date: January 25, 2017
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly
Tonight we’re looking at the Brits as the TV Champion Marty Scurll and his archnemesis Will Ospreay are both here tonight. It would be nice if that doesn’t turn into something about Japan for a change but Ospreay is part of the Chaos stable so I don’t have my hopes up. Let’s get to it.
We open with a video on Scurll and Ospreay for a really good visual of how different they are.
Opening sequence.
Jonathan Gresham vs. Marty Scurll
Non-title. Marty sends him into the corner and of course tells him to bring it on, which might have included some rather rude British hand symbols. Gresham works on the arm for a bit before getting chopped in the corner for his efforts. Scurll bounces out of a headscissors on the mat and sends Gresham outside for a hard superkick to the head. Back from a break with Marty standing on Jonathan’s legs and ripping on his nose. That really is villany.
They trade strange chokes on the mat until Marty is sent to the apron, only to miss a slingshot….something. Some very fast standing switches allowing Gresham to grab la majistral for two. A rollup gives Gresham another very close two but Scurll slams him onto the ropes. Marty superkicks him into a broken finger, setting up the crossface chickenwing to retain the title at 11:26.
Rating: C+. Gresham is a pretty dull guy but he can go out there and wrestle a very solid match when he’s given the chance. I had more fun with this one than I was expecting and Scurll is a solid choice for a heel champion, especially when he gets to be evil with stuff like breaking the fingers. Good little match here, which is surprising.
We get clips of Adam Cole winning the World Title back from Kyle O’Reilly at Wrestle Kingdom.
Jay Lethal is ready to beat anyone left in his quest to get the World Title back.
Jay Briscoe is ready for the other Jay….which means Lethal of course and not Jay White or any other Jay that I can’t remember around here.
Decade of Excellence Semi-Finals: Christopher Daniels vs. Chris Sabin
Kazarian is on commentary. Feeling out process to start with neither guy being able to get anywhere off a wristlock. Sabin sends him outside by the leg and hits a quick suicide dive, followed by a chinlock which doesn’t exactly fit with a speed guy. Chris takes him outside and gets sent head first into the barricade to send us to a break.
Back with Daniels putting on a chinlock but Sabin hurricanranas his way out of the Angel’s Wings. A running flip dive from the apron to the floor drops Daniels again and some more kicks have him in more trouble. Not that it matters as he grabs the Koji Clutch for a breather. That goes nowhere of course so Sabin misses a charge into the corner and takes the Best Moonsault Ever to give Daniels the pin at 11:47.
Rating: C+. Another good match here and that’s the best thing that you can get out of Daniels right now. He’s been on a roll since right before Ladder War and I’d love to see him get a quick title reign, just for the sake of all those years that he’s spent stuck in the midcard. It would be a cool moment and while I don’t think they’ll do it, there’s always a chance and that would be awesome.
Daniels helps Sabin up.
Kevin Sullivan’s Dark Army is standing around a barrel of fire with Sullivan being angry at Corino. Steve can get out of trouble if he brings Sullivan the golden one. Laughter ensues.
Dragon Lee vs. Will Ospreay vs. Kushida
One fall to a finish and sweet goodness I’m not even going to try to keep track of what’s going on in this thing. Everyone flips and spins around to start and it’s a big standoff for a standing ovation. Back from a very early break with….more clips of Cole vs. O’Reilly. Back to the actual match, Kushida gets in a shot to Will’s arm to keep him on the floor, only to have Lee pull Kushida into an STF.
Kushida, with light-up shoes on, cranks on Lee’s arm until Ospreay comes back in. Lee is sent to the floor as Ospreay gets caught in an armbar, only to have Ospreay come right back with a handspring into a kick to the face. Ospreay dives out to the floor to take Kushida out but Lee dives onto both of them for a huge crash.
It’s time to crank it up with Ospreay trying a shooting star off the apron and landing on his feet outside. Lee takes both of them out and we head to another break, this time with no Cole vs. O’Reilly. A suplex into a powerbomb gives Lee two on Kushida but Ospreay tries two moonsaults, only to switch up into a standing shooting star for another near fall on Kushida.
Lee muscles Kushida up in a German suplex but Ospreay drops Lee and all three are down. Back up and Lee snaps off a reverse hurricanrana on Ospreay and there’s the Hoverboard Lock on Will. That goes nowhere so Ospreay tries a springboard cutter, only to get caught in another Hoverboard Lock. One heck of a spinning DDT plants Ospreay and Kushida FINALLY puts Ospreay down for the pin at 14:43.
Rating: B. Now this was more like it with the Super Crazy vs. Tajiri vs. Little Guido formula from ECW. There’s just something cool about watching three talented high fliers spin around and do all kinds of spots that only the three of them can do. This was entertainment for the sake of entertainment and there’s nothing wrong with that.
We see the end of Cole pinning O’Reilly to win the title to end the show.
Overall Rating: B-. This was the kind of entertaining show that it needed to be with a lot of entertaining wrestling and some moderate story progression. I like the idea of having some new characters brought in and everything was a lot of fun. Just do more stuff like this instead of doing the same boring stuff that this show has a tendency to put on.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Impact Wrestling – January 26, 2017: Transfusion Please
Impact Wrestling Date: January 26, 2017
Location: Impact Zone, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: D’Angelo Dinero, Josh Matthews
Tonight is billed as Genesis, which is likely to be another show that doesn’t really add anything special but will be treated like something interesting while still being a normal show. We’ll throw in two title matches with Lashley vs. Eddie Edwards in an Iron Man match and Rosemary vs. Jade in a Monster’s Ball match. Let’s get to it.
Here are the Hardys with something to say. Matt, who sounds like he has a very sore throat, talks about Brother Nero (There was a video on YouTube where Matt freed Jeff from being Brother Nero. Are we not even following TNA’s own continuity here?) winning the #1 case last week. Jeff thinks he might win the World Title again but Matt has a big idea: going around the world and winning all the Tag Team Titles they can (as revealed to him in a pre-mo-nition as he and his family ate Senor Benjamin’s green beans by the Lake of Reincarnation).
Cue the DCC to imply they’ll be cashing in their Race for the Case match against the Hardys next week. Before any violence can take place, here’s Decay. Crazzy Steve suggests a triple threat for tonight and the DCC immediately agrees. Matt says that even though these are some rude blokes, the match is on.
Tag Team Titles: Hardys vs. DCC vs. Decay
The Hardys are defending. Joined in progress with the DCC working over Steve as the announcers talk about Don West’s insane deals. The hot tag brings in Abyss and LET’S PLUG SCHITT’S CREEK! Jeff comes back in and drops Abyss but the DCC takes over on him in the corner. That means James Storm can distract Matt so a non-tag can take place. Everything breaks down and Kingston gives Matt an STO for two. Steve mists Kingston and it’s a Twist of Fate to retain the titles at 7:00.
Rating: D+. TNA puts James Storm in an interesting/cool looking gimmick and the solution is to put him in a team going after the Tag Team Titles because that’s all James Storm is allowed to do. That man left TNA for this nonsense? Anyway, this is turning into New Day vs. Gallows and Anderson/Cesaro and Sheamus: we know the champs can beat them and they’ve beaten these guys so often that it’s getting really boring. I know TNA is incapable of making new stars but is one fresh team that hard to pull off?
Laurel Van Ness makes Braxton Sutter take her to dinner. Apparently they’re at a restaurant, which looks so fake that I didn’t realize that’s where they were supposed to be until Laurel ordered a glass of wine.
Here’s Drew Galloway to talk about how much he wants the Grand Championship to be the top title around here. That means an open challenge.
Grand Championship: Drew Galloway vs. Moose
Drew is defending and Josh asks how ironic this is. Uh, a guy who got screwed out of a title last week answering an open challenge isn’t ironic you stupid man. Moose goes right at him to start and hits something like a powerbomb. A moonsault almost completely misses but is still good for two. Moose sends him outside and the fight is on with Moose easily getting the better of it. Galloway gets dropped on the barricade and Moose wins round one.
That’s enough to send the champ walking up the ramp but he comes back in to start round two. The middle rope chokebomb and the Game Changer get two each but Drew kicks him low again, meaning Galloway loses a point. The Claymore connects for two so Drew shoves the referee down and kicks Moose low again, setting up the Futureshock to retain at 6:46.
Rating: D. You know, this whole “YOU’RE LOSING A POINT” thing might mean something if more than one match in the history of this title actually went to a judges’ decision. This points system thing is a big waste of time and the title really could have been just a TV Title but that was like three names ago.
Laurel continues to be a blithering idiot and Sutter drinks a lot of wine to cope.
Knockouts Title: Rosemary vs. Jade
Rosemary is defending but Jade dives at her to take over. Some kendo stick shots to the back have Jade in trouble but she blocks a suplex onto the thumbtacks. Instead, Jade whips her in the back with a belt before the German suplex puts Rosemary into the tacks. Jade gets smart by blocking the mist with a trashcan lid, which she kicks into the champ’s face for two. It’s time for the barbed wire board and a release STO makes Rosemary scream again. That means it’s time for a regular table but Jade takes too much time going up top, setting up a superplex to drive Jade through for the pin at 9:25.
Rating: B. Jade is a great example of someone with a lot of talent that TNA has given us no reason to care about. Tell me two things about her character other than she used to be in the Dollhouse. She’s entertaining in the ring and I’ve seen far worse performers but there’s just no connection to her, which is the case with most of the roster.
Gail Kim comes out to check on Jade and Rosemary mists her.
Laurel offers some post dinner shenanigans to Braxton but he goes to find the check. With Braxton gone, Laurel calls Maria to tell her it’s going great.
Caleb Konley is making his debut and got his start watching wrestling his entire life.
X-Division Title: DJZ vs. Trevor Lee vs. Andrew Everett vs. Marshe Rockett vs. Caleb Konley
DJZ is defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Josh’s brilliant insight: “DJZ would love to successfully defend his X-Division Championship.” Everyone brawls with everyone to start and then, in what might be the dumbest, most contrived spot I’ve ever see, we get a Human Centipede style elevated DDT with three people grabbing someone’s head back to back until DJZ grabs a running neckbreaker to drive everyone down.
That’s the kind of ridiculous stuff that makes it so clear that everyone is working together because there is NO WAY that could work otherwise. Everyone hits a bunch of dives and the Helms Dynasty starts working together, only to get in a fight over who gets to cover. The ZDT to Everett retains DJZ’s title at 4:21.
Rating: D. Words cannot describe how sick I am of this kind of match. It’s a big mess of a match with no story, no psychology, that STUPID multi-man DDT that I’m sure they thought was the coolest thing in the world (or better yet, someone might make a YouTube reaction video about it) and the same challengers we’ve seen over and over again, plus one new name who we heard about for all of five seconds.
The Helms Dynasty Pillmanizes DJZ’s leg.
Edwards asks Davey Richards to let him defend the title on his own. Davey agrees but doesn’t look happy.
Open Fight Night video.
The Hardys go over some possible matches for Jeff’s Race for the Chase match. He doesn’t care for the idea of winning the X-Division Title because it would only feed his addiction so DELETE. Rosemary and Ricky Morton are deleted as well but Matt has a pre-mo-nition showing him who Jeff will pick.
TNA World Title: Eddie Edwards vs. Lashley
Lashley is challenging in a thirty minute Iron Man match. Lashley starts fast with a delayed vertical suplex but Eddie avoids the spear and kicks him out to the floor. Back in and Lashley gets two off a slam and we take a break. Lashley is still in control when we come back and the spear gives him the first fall at 8:40.
The slow pace continues as Lashley hammers away, only to get caught in a Blue Thunder Bomb. A half crab doesn’t do much damage to Lashley so he throws Eddie over the top with a release belly to belly suplex. Lashley powerbombs him on the ramp for a countout at 14:25 to make it 2-0.
With the referee checking on Eddie, Lashley takes off a turnbuckle pad. For no apparent reason, Lashley keeps going to the ropes and knocking Eddie off the apron as this just keeps going. Back from a second break with Lashley missing a spear and going into the exposed buckle, allowing Eddie to grab a rollup for a fall at 22:20.
They head to the ramp again with Lashley loading up a release German suplex, only to have Edwards flip out onto his feet. There’s the Boston Knee Party but Eddie has to very slowly crawl back to the ring. Lashley dives in at nine to beat the count but it’s another Boston Knee Party to tie things up at 24:03. A few seconds later JB says we have five minutes left as they’re actually closer than I was expecting.
Lashley gets two off another spear, which of course is followed by a third Boston Knee Party for two more. Eddie’s middle rope hurricanrana is countered into a powerbomb and Lashley grabs a side choke to make Eddie tap at 26:40 to go up 3-2 with just over three minutes to go. Lashley goes outside to yell at Pope and says he’s already won. That means another suicide dive to take Lashley out and Eddie grabs a guillotine with 51 seconds left. Of course time runs out (at 29:33) to give Lashley the title back.
Rating: D+. The wrestling was fine enough but this DID NOT need to be a thirty minute match in any way, shape or form. There was way too much laying around and so much of that is due to there being no reason for these two to still be fighting. TNA is desperately needing some fresh blood in their main event scene, which has what, four people at most right now? Seriously: Edwards, Lashley, Carter and……I guess Hardy? Assuming he goes for the World Title again? Give us something fresh already.
Overall Rating: D. This is the worst kind of show you can have: not absolutely horrible but so painfully uninteresting that I lost any semblance of caring about halfway through. These matches all just felt like they were going by with no interest or caring, which has long plagued this company. What are we looking at going forward? Gail Kim, Jeff Hardy and Trevor Lee as the challengers to titles? A heel midcard champion who keeps cheating to retain the title? It feels like we’ve been here for years now and that’s not enough to make me care enough. Really dull show here and that’s not a good sign whatsoever.
Results
Hardys b. DCC and Decay – Twist of Fate to Kingston
Drew Galloway b. Moose – Futureshock
Rosemary b. Jade – Superplex through a table
DJZ b. Trevor Lee, Andrew Everett, Marshe Rockett and Caleb Konley – ZDT to Everett
Lashley b. Eddie Edwards three falls to two
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book, KB’s Complete Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume V at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
