Smackdown
Date: March 5, 2015
Location: Verizon Center, Washington DC
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Byron Saxton

With just a few weeks to go before Wrestlemania, one of the main stories has been the Intercontinental Title scene. We’re definitely getting the big ladder match, but it’s not entirely clear who is going to be in it. It’s also not clear who is going to hand over the title belt to have it hung above the ring as everyone keeps stealing the thing. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Dolph Ziggler with the Intercontinental Title. He says he never got a rematch for the title against Bad News Barrett because he got fired by the Authority. This is the fifth month that storyline has now been mentioned in. Even Vince Russo didn’t let stories go that long. Dolph officially enters the ladder match, but thinks there’s still something missing. Last year, someone did everything he could and never stopped fighting to become champion. The fans chant YES and Dolph agrees, but he gets Bad News Barrett instead.

Barrett says Ziggler has something he wants. Dolph: “Looks? Charisma? A great Twitter account?” Bad News gets in the ring but Luke Harper sneaks in and decks Ziggler. The champ goes for his belt but Luke steps on it. Ziggler gets back up and everyone brawls so here’s Dean Ambrose to get in on the fighting. The champ is knocked to the floor because he’s just another guy in this story. Everyone brawls on the floor again so R-Truth sneaks down in spy mode, crawling on the mat and getting the belt before hiding under the ring.

Truth is in the back (VERY quickly too) and says he got the title in advance. “It’s like when I eat when I’m not hungry, so when I get hungry I don’t have to eat.” He tries to give the belt to Renee Young but she politely declines. “Where’s Gene Ambrose?” As usual, Renee Young is incredibly cute. I’m convinced she could be bald and still be adorable.

Cesaro/Tyson Kidd vs. Los Matadores

Non-title. Diego and Kidd start things off but both guys tag out less than thirty seconds in. Fernando hurricanranas Cesaro down and Diego does the same with a headscissors, only to get caught in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. A double stomp gets two for Cesaro and we hit the chinlock. Everything breaks down and Cesar goes after Torito, who kicks him in the leg. That’s not a DQ for some reason but Natalya trips him up, allowing the Cesaro Swing into a dropkick from Kidd to get the pin on Fernando at 2:25. This was a good squash for the champs that we haven’t seen before.

Kane and Big Show both say they’ll win the battle royal.

We recap the main event from Monday with Reigns getting pinned by Rollins but cleaning house to end the show. Yeah, the dive over the top and big spear were cool, but it’s like a cool fireworks display after your home team loses a ball game. It’s a fun visual, but your heart isn’t in it.

Ryback vs. Kane

Big Show stares at the Andre trophy at ringside. Kane stomps him down in the corner but runs into some spinebusters. Big Show offers a distraction to no avail as the Meat Hook ends Kane at 2:07. Now why did it take us this many months to get here?

Kane makes Big Show vs. Ryback for right now.

Big Show vs. Ryback

This is joined in progress after a break with Big Show getting in the ring and pounding Ryback into the corner. A clothesline puts the smaller bald power monster down and Show follows it with a slam. Ryback fires some shoulders in the corner but dives into a chokeslam attempt. The KO Punch misses and Ryback hits an awkward looking spinebuster. Kane gets dragged in for offering a distraction and takes a second Meat Hook, allowing Big Show to KO Ryback at 2:58. Dang that was close. We almost saw someone get one over on the Big Balds and I just wouldn’t want to live in that world. What was this supposed to prove anyway?

We look at Bray Wyatt lighting the casket on fire on Raw.

Bray Wyatt wants an answer from Undertaker. He has something Undertaker can relate to, and he’ll unleash its spirit this Monday. Not even Undertaker can outrun his own fate. The camera pans down and shows the urn.

Sheamus return video.

Video on the Daily Show segment with Jon Stewart from Raw. That might be the best celebrity appearance ever. If not then it’s WAY up there.

Brie Bella vs. AJ Lee

I’m not a fan of how Eden says “this is a Deeeeevas match”. This is fallout from AJ returning to help Paige on Monday. Nikki brings up the “Give Divas A Chance” line but says that doesn’t apply to AJ. The Bellas have been giving the Divas a chance since AJ has been gone and no one has lived up to their standard. It’s why they’re the stars of Total Divas and they don’t care who comes at them.

The match starts after a break with Paige now at ringside to balance things out. AJ cranks on an armbar and elbows Brie in the face. A high cross body gets two on Brie but she comes back with a nice middle rope dropkick for two of her own. Back up and AJ has to stop so Brie can clothesline her before we hit a chinlock.

That goes nowhere so Brie dropkicks her down again, followed by a clothesline for some two counts. A Hennig necksnap gets an even closer two as the fans don’t seem all that interested. We hit another chinlock before the running knee to the chest staggers AJ again. Brie immediately goes to the corner but misses another middle rope dropkick. Back up and AJ hammers away with kicks to the ribs to send Brie out to the floor. We get a big staredown outside before the Black Widow makes Brie tap at 7:42.

Rating: C. This was better than your usual Divas matches but a lot of that is due to it actually getting some time. Brie seemed to almost run out of offense about halfway through though. The Bellas are decent enough as the better than you heels and I can live with them far more when they’re not being treated like all time greats who just happen to be heels now. And when they’re not dominating the show. That really drove me insane.

Daniel Bryan thinks the Intercontinental Title picture is very interesting right now and can’t wait to see who comes out with the belt.

I really can’t stand the theme song for this year’s Wrestlemania and I keep forgetting that’s what the song is for when it starts up.

New Day vs. Miz/Damien Mizdow

Woods is the odd man out this week. Before the match we get a look at the commercial from Monday with Miz being embarrassed. Miz slapped Mizdow as a result but we still didn’t get the big face turn. Kofi and Miz get things going by trading armdrags until Miz runs him over for two. Some kicks give Kofi a breather and Mizdow tags himself in and cleans house. Cesaro/Kidd/Natalya are watching in the back as Mizdown’s figure four attempt is broken up. Miz tags himself in and orders Mizdow to the floor but Mizdow gets in his face. During the argument, Big E. gets the tag and it’s the Midnight Hour for the pin at 3:15.

Rating: D. This was the same thing they’ve done multiple times now but at least it was Miz taking the pin instead of Mizdow. I really wouldn’t mind if Woods was left outside as a permanent manager as he doesn’t add much to the team. The match wasn’t very good though and it just reenforced the same things we’ve established for weeks now. In other words, it’s a Smackdown match.

We look back at Heyman’s speech from Raw.

Brock Lesnar video.

Reigns says Heyman is known for running his mouth, but it’s true that Lesnar is going to hurt him at Wrestlemania. Everyone that gets in the ring with Lesnar gets hurt and he’ll be no different. The difference is Reigns will get up, lock his fist and hit a Superman Punch. Then he’ll spear Lesnar in half to win the WWE World Championship, and then Heyman and Lesnar will believe that. As usual, this was far better because they kept it short and simple.

Jack Swagger vs. Rusev

Non-title and Swagger is thrown to the floor a second after the bell. Back in and Swagger throws Rusev to the floor as we take a break. Back with Rusev getting two off a dropkick and we hit the chinlock. Swagger fights up and tries the Vader Bob but has to settle for the Patriot Lock, sending Rusev to the ropes. Back up and Rusev kicks him in the face and Accolades him for the submission at 7:50.

Rating: D. Egads find someone new for Rusev to beat up. This didn’t prove anything and was the exact same match these two have had roughly 19 times. Yeah we get it: Rusev is big and strong and can beat up Jack Swagger. We’ve known that for almost eight months now. FIND SOMEONE NEW.

Rusev poses but Curtis Axel pops up on screen and says don’t change the channel BROTHER. He’s often imitated but never duplicated DUDE. This Monday he’s going to put Rusev down 1-2-3 and then coming for the US Title at Wrestlemania. Whatcha gonna do when Axelmania runs wild on YOU??? If Buddy Landel can get over by being Ric Flair, Curtis Axel can get over by being Hulk Hogan.

Cameron thinks it’s time someone gives her a chance. Summer Rae comes up and says she should be getting the chance. Eva Marie thinks the two of them have no chance. This is what I was worried about when this thing started up. There are far more talented girls to give this spot to, but instead it’s going to the girls on the reality show.

Bad News Barrett/Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler/Dean Ambrose

Truth is on commentary and doesn’t quite get the rules of the ladder match. He also doesn’t like how heights look when you look down at them. Harper Gator Rolls Ziggler to start but has to break up a sunset flip attempt. The running DDT is easily countered and R-Truth thinks he’s talking to Byron Jackson. A double tag brings in Ambrose to stomp on Barrett in the corner before the standing top rope elbow drop gets two. Ziggler and Ambrose clear the ring but nearly come to blows as we take a break.

Back with Barrett elbowing Dean in the face and handing it off to Harper for an elbow of his own. We hit the chinlock from Harper, who Truth accuses of not buying his shirt. Barrett comes back in and gets caught in a tornado DDT. Truth wants the match turned into a stepladder match and claims ladder discrimination.

The hot tag brings in Ziggler to speed things up but the big elbow drop gets two on Harper. Now the running DDT connects but still only gets two. A big side slam gets the same for Harper but Barrett and Ambrose come in to fight right next to them. Those two head back to the floor and Ziggler superkicks Harper, setting up the Zig Zag for the pin at 10:03.

Rating: C-. Totally standard midcard tag match here but it’s very nice to see that headlining the show instead of more dull stuff. It also helps that this is a logical part of the storyline and fits what they’ve been doing so far. Truth continues to be funny on commentary with a bunch of “what did he just say” lines. Oh and Barrett didn’t get pinned! Life is good.

Post match Barrett goes for the belt but Ambrose dives on him. Truth kicks Harper low but Daniel Bryan shows up to look at Truth holding the title. Truth hands him the belt and starts a YES chant. Bryan poses with the title but Stardust jumps Bryan and grabs the belt to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The show went by fast enough and it’s really nice to have stuff away from the main event feud for a bit. It’s also nice to not have the Authority making my blood pressure go through the roof but that’s a different story. This still doesn’t feel like a major show but I like the Intercontinental Title picture when it’s not as all over the place and the battle royal is starting to look a lot better. This was a nice way to cool things down and bring them back to normal after a bad Raw, but it’s still not a great show.

Results

Cesaro/Tyson Kidd b. Los Matadores – Cesaro Swing into a dropkick from Kidd

Ryback b. Kane – Meat Hook

Big Show b. Ryback – KO Punch

AJ Lee b. Brie Bella – Black Widow

New Day b. Miz/Damien Mizdow – Midnight Hour to Miz

Rusev b. Jack Swagger – Accolade

Dolph Ziggler/Dean Ambrose b. Bad News Barrett/Luke Harper – Zig Zag to Harper

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Saturday Night’s Main Event at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

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Monday Night Raw
Date: March 2, 2015
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Booker T., John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole

We’re one step closer to Wrestlemania this week and the big event coming out of last week is Randy Orton not attacking Seth Rollins as everyone expected him to at the end of the show. That would seem to be a layup for a match at Wrestlemania but you never can tell around this company. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Here are Rollins and the Stooges to get things going. Before he can say anything though, we get a clip of him appearing on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart last Thursday. Stewart is on his way here so Rollins suggests that he beg for forgiveness now and turn around. This isn’t like Lawler vs. Kauffman because unlike the Daily Show, every single person in this arena paid to see him tonight.

Cue Roman Reigns, who tells Rollins to keep talking because he wanted to hear what it sounded like to hear the fans tell Seth that he sucks. Rollins says he’s worth more than Michael Jordan because he can out work and out talk anyone, including Wiz Khalifa. He can even out eat Mark Henry. Khalifa is scheduled to perform next week and Henry is rumored to be here tonight so that sounds like an internet newsletter come to life.

Rollins doesn’t think Reigns can beat Brock Lesnar, but he can beat both Lesnar and Reigns. Roman asks if Rollins is man enough to make the main event of Wrestlemania a triple threat match as the fans chant for Punk. Rollins thinks it’s smarter to cash in on the winner of the match, or maybe do it the next night. Or maybe just cash in when no one is expecting it. Or maybe Reigns should just punch him in the mouth right now, which is what he does. The Stooges are laid out and Reigns stands on the Money in the Bank briefcase, but somehow that still doesn’t make me care about him.

Post break, Rollins yells at the Stooges for letting him get hit in the mouth. Randy Orton pops up and says the same thing. He thinks Rollins should demand a match with Reigns tonight to prove he can out talk Jon Stewart and out wrestle Roman Reigns as well. Rollins says he can out wrestle anyone on the roster, which doesn’t sit well with Orton. Dang they were getting close to not having a main event set up. I’m glad these coincidences just happened to take place at complete random.

Dean Ambrose vs. Bad News Barrett

Non-title with R-Truth on commentary. Ambrose stomps away in the corner to start as Cole brings up the multi-man ladder match for the Intercontinental Title at Wrestlemania. Truth is officially announced for the match as Ambrose stomps away at the ribs and puts on a cross leg face rip. A bulldog sets up the standing elbow drop but Barrett crotches him to take over. The champ boots him out to the floor and holds up his title as we take a break.

Back with Ambrose fighting out of a chinlock but Barrett goes outside to yell at Truth for being a thief. Ambrose hits a suicide dive to take Barrett down though and hits the running standing elbow off the apron. This allows Truth to comically sneak over and steal the title belt because this is now a children’s comedy. Winds of Change plants Ambrose as Luke Harper comes up and takes the belt from Truth. The distraction lets Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds for the pin on Barrett at 9:23.

Rating: D. I have nothing left. Just nothing.

We recap Miz stealing Mizdow’s spot in a commercial last week on Smackdown.

Most of the midcard is in the back when Miz asks for silence. He calls Mizdow borderline worthless before giving us the world premiere of the new commercial. Mizdow tries to tell Miz something but Miz cuts him off and mentions a bunch of actors. As expected, it’s for an erectile dysfunction pill and has Mizdow involved with the good looking women. Back live and Mizdow can’t control his laughter. Neither can the rest of the people in the room.

Miz yells at everyone and says his little general has plenty of bullets. This is all Mizdow’s fault of course and Miz slaps him, again setting Mizdow off to a big reaction but once again he backs down. Mizdow almost has to eliminate him from the battle royal, but does it really matter is Mizdow doesn’t win the thing?

Here’s Bray Wyatt to ask if Undertaker is still the heart of fear. He wants Undertaker to come out and see him because Bray has built his own casket. Everything comes at a price though and Bray pulls out a gasoline can. He’s always had a fascination with fire because it has no prejudice and no feelings, just like him. No one can hide from him because everything burns, including Undertaker at Wrestlemania. He pours the gas on the casket and lights it on fire before shouting to find him. Like most Bray stuff, it makes just enough sense to get the idea across without being able to understand it.

Natalya/Tyson Kidd/Cesaro vs. Usos/Naomi

Genders have to match here. Jey and Kidd get things going but the champs take over with a quick double team. A Samoan drop puts Cesaro down but he bails to the floor, setting up a tag to the women. Naomi pops Natalya in the face and starts a quick pinfall reversal sequence, only to have Naomi kick Natalya in the ribs.

Naomi doesn’t buy a leg injury from Natalya and sunset flips her for two, only to have it quickly go back to Jimmy and Kidd. A Whisper in the Wind drops Kidd but he dives away from a double superkick and tags Natalya. The distraction lets Natalya get a rollup pin at 2:54. Didn’t we see this EXACT same story last month but with the titles switched? Now I’m supposed to want to see it at Wrestlemania?

Kidd and Natalya almost get in a fight but they hug it out.

Here’s John Cena with something to say after Rusev turned down his request for a rematch last week. He says this is one of those rare occasions where his detractors are having a good time because not only did Rusev beat him in their first match but his rematch was turned down. Cena is going to get his rematch and is going to bring the title back home to America. Rusev is a marked man and he’s going to lose that title at Wrestlemania. If he won’t defend it though, maybe he could just enter the Andre battle royal.

Oh screw it Stephanie comes out with that smug look on her face. She asks when do people just announce what match they’re in. Cena: “That’s what everyone does in the battle royal.” Stephanie doesn’t get the term Murderer’s Row (famous baseball lineup, means a great talent pool) and brings up a picture of her sitting on Andre’s knee after the first Wrestlemania.

She says Cena can’t disparage Andre’s legacy (what is she even talking about?) but Cena cuts her off and says this is about Wrestlemania. He says she won’t leave him off Wrestlemania so she goes into full on evil Stephanie mode and says WWE is bigger than any star it’s ever had. The question is what will Cena do without WWE, not the other way around.

Cue Curtis Axel of all people who says he’s already deserving a spot in the main event so he should win the battle royal too. A LOUD Axelmania chant starts up and Stephanie thinks he may be the next John Cena. Stephanie makes a match right now, but stops to say Cena can only get his match with Rusev by changing his mind. Axel: “WHATCHA GONNA DO WHEN AXELMANIA RUNS WILD ON YOU???” He rips the shirt off and Cena looks stunned. Cena gives him one chance to leave before pain comes to him.

John Cena vs. Curtis Axel

The bell rings after the break and Axel does Hogan poses. Cena stares a hole in the back of Axel’s head, hits some clotheslines, the AA and the STF for the submission at 2:02.

Post match Rusev comes out and again says no. Cole calls this humiliating because he doesn’t know the meaning of basic English words. Cole: “We could be coming up on the first Wrestlemania with no John Cena.” Me: “Oh screw off.”

Arn Anderson and Michael Hayes talk about Sting’s career and how great he really was. This lasts all of ten seconds.

Here’s HHH to talk about coming to this company twenty years ago. Now he’s the COO and a thirteen time World Champion. Eight days ago he offered Sting a chance to be immortal, but now he has the chance to make it as if Sting never existed. But why didn’t Sting come here before? HHH invites Booker T. into the ring because Booker recently said HHH politiced Sting from ever coming to the company. Why does he think that? That makes Booker sound like one of those internet fans that think they know the ins and outs of the business when they don’t know a thing.

Booker says no one has ever been able to control Sting and now HHH gets to deal with him at Wrestlemania. HHH thanks him for the opinion and then fires him. Booker goes to leave but HHH says he’s changed his mind. That was just an example of the control he has because he’s been handed the chance to end the last vestige of WCW and that’s what he’ll do. I can’t believe they’re STILL talking about WCW. That company has been out of business longer than it was in business and WWE is still bragging about defeating them.

Divas Title: Paige vs. Nikki Bella

Nikki is defending again in a rematch from Fast Lane. We even get Big Match Intros. Paige knocks her around to start but Nikki bails to the floor to avoid the PTO. A minute in and we hit the break. Back with Nikki cranking on the arms and Cole saying the action before the break was, and I quote (see what I did there?), fast and furious. Paige fights up but walks into a weak spinebuster for two.

We get the third mention of Total Divas in about the third minute of, ahem, action. A double clothesline puts both girls down and of course that one clothesline gets us to even after Paige has been in trouble for a few minutes. Paige hits three more clotheslines and a running dropkick for two. The PTO is loaded up again but Paige has to nail Brie. Nikki misses her forearm and eats a superkick, setting up the PTO. Cue Brie for the DQ at 6:46.

Rating: D. GIVE THEM A CHANCE! YOU MIGHT GET A FIVE MINUTE MATCH NEXT TIME! Yeah this was another obvious ending to set up the obvious return to set up the obvious “dream” tag match at Wrestlemania so the Bellas can show how good they really are and AJ can take a loss and be humiliated for calling out Stephanie on her nonsense. But hey, why bother entertaining when you can get one up on AJ in front of the dozens of people who are going to pay for this disaster of a Wrestlemania?

AJ runs in for the save and attacks the Bellas as we have new Super Best Friends.

Post break, AJ and Paige kind of agree to be friends to fight the Bellas.

It’s time for the Daily Show with Seth Rollins, complete with a copy of the Daily Show’s intro. Rollins takes some shots at Stewart’s Oscar hosting last year (it was seven years ago) and at his movie Rosewater for not doing so well as the Stooges applaud in the background. Cue the real Stewart to rips on the Curb Stomp being a New Jersey greeting instead of something to fear. He remembers the wrestlers that earned their spots like Sammartino and Monsoon.

Rollins never went up against the establishment like Austin or fought through injuries like Undertaker. Seth wants to be the poster boy, but just like posters, they get taken down when people are tired of them. If the Authority really cared about him, why isn’t he in the main event at Wrestlemania? He’s better on the mic and claims to be better in the ring, but it’s Lesnar vs. Reigns.

Stewart says the briefcase doesn’t belong to Rollins because he was at Money in the Bank and saw what really happened. That’s enough for Rollins as he grabs Stewart by the collar, drawing out Orton for the save, but Stewart kicks Rollins low and escapes on his own. This was one of the best celebrity performances ever in WWE and most of that is due to Stewart clearly being a huge fan. You can’t fake that kind of passion. Well you could, but if you’ve ever seen the Faculty, you know Stewart isn’t that good of an actor.

Post break Stewart leaves quickly to avoid retaliation.

Daniel Bryan vs. Luke Harper

Cole says Bryan isn’t going to Wrestlemania either. Harper starts fast but gets sent face first into the middle buckle. A running dropkick has him in trouble but Luke slams Bryan to the floor as we take an early break. Back with Harper kicking him in the face and hitting a half nelson suplex for two. A rollup gets the same for Bryan before Harper throws him down again. That’s fine with Bryan as he counters into the YES Lock for the win at 6:23.

Rating: D+. The Divas got more time than this match, which may or may not be about Bryan going into the title match at Wrestlemania. Just like the rest of this show, it’s like they have no real idea where the matches are going and we’re less than a month away from the show. Announce the things and let us know what we’re getting.

Barrett comes out to take the belt back, but it’s stolen by Ambrose, Harper, Truth then Harper again with the big man leaving with the belt. Ziggler cuts him off with a superkick though and puts the title on his shoulder. Dolph climbs the ladder with the belt and Bryan does a YES chant on the table.

Alundra Blayze Hall of Fame video. Two notes here. One, this is shocking if you know your history. Two, in the list of great champions over the years, we saw Moolah, Martel, Trish, the Bellas and Lita. Who on earth actually thinks that’s true? I mean, someone say that to me so I can laugh very hard in their face. They actually mention the belt in the trash moment in the video.

Orton yells at Rollins for going after Stewart but promises to have his back if Rollins needs him. Big Show and Kane come up and say they have his back, so Noble says Orton won’t be needed. Randy walks away, saying suit yourself.

Here’s Heyman who says he’s going to shoot from the hip. Yes Brock will be at Wrestlemania. Believe that. He’ll be anywhere he pleases before the title match. He’ll be anywhere he pleases after the title match. He’ll be anywhere he wants as the WWE Champion. Fans like to believe their fantasies, starting with Daniel Bryan having a chance at beating his client.

Reality is that Lesnar would squash him under his boot, so now it’s time for Roman Reigns. Heyman has to switch microphones before he rants about the fans buying into this idea of Reigns. WWE has already bought the confetti and the pyro but it’s a big waste of time.

Last week he said Sammartino, Hogan, Austin, Rock HHH and Cena couldn’t beat Lesnar. Fan: “ANDRE!” Heyman to the fan: “I DIDN’T MENTION HIM BECAUSE HE’S DEAD STUPID!” Of course there’s no Stephanie to defend Andre now because that segment earlier made no sense. Heyman says none of those people disputed a single thing he said last week because it’s all true. At Wrestlemania, Lesnar is going to conquer Reigns and maybe he’ll just Ronda Rousey Roman. BELIEVE THAT.

Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins

Reigns knocks him around with ease to start and sends Rollins hard into the corner. Seth’s comeback is easily stopped with a knee to the ribs but he catches Reigns with a dropkick. We hit the right hands to the face and Reigns is sent hard into the buckle, but here’s Orton for a distraction as we go to our last break.

Back with Rollins holding a chinlock for a bit until Roman makes his comeback with some clotheslines and a tilt-a-whirl slam for two. Mercury breaks up the Superman Punch, allowing Rollins to score with an enziguri for two. Roman fights up again but Noble’s distraction lets Rollins kick him in the face.

A powerbomb from Reigns puts both guys down. They head outside with Big Show getting in a cheap shot but Reigns dives off the apron to take him down. Kane nails him in the ribs with a chair, giving Rollins a near fall back inside. We get yet another comeback from Reigns as he nails a Superman Punch, only to have Orton grab the foot, allowing Rollins to roll up Reigns for the pin at 15:38.

Rating: D+. The #1 contender for the World Title and the man that is supposed to save us from the horrors of Brock Lesnar just got pinned less than a month before the biggest show of the year. I don’t care what he does after the match. That ending is stupid and there was no reason to not just have the big DQ or something like that. My goodness do they want me to watch Wrestlemania or not?

Reigns snaps post match and destroys everyone not named Orton. He hits a huge dive over the top and spears Rollins out of the air as JBL shouts about him being ready. No man. Screw that noise. I’m not buying Reigns as anything when he’s losing less than a month before the big night, screwy finish or not. You don’t do that no matter what, especially when Lesnar isn’t here to set up the stupid match.

Overall Rating: F+. Where do I even start? First of all, how do you only have six matches on a three hour plus show with two of them not even breaking three minutes? That’s just unacceptable. Second, they really do seem to be making this stuff up as they go. We’re supposed to believe Cena and Bryan aren’t going to be at the pay per view? That’s your big selling point? “Hey people, come see this show without the biggest stars appearing!” Well they might not. I mean, they DARED to challenge Stephanie.

That’s the next major point: the Authority was all over the place tonight and not a single bit of it made sense. All of a sudden Stephanie is the patron saint of French giants and HHH is spouting off at the mouth about having to control Sting, whatever the heck that is supposed to mean. I can’t get over how bad that Stephanie segment was. How is that supposed to make me want to see Wrestlemania? Cena potentially in the battle royal because he can’t convince Rusev to defend the belt, which he’ll eventually do by going after the Russian flag, which won’t bring up a single mention of Big Show doing the same thing months ago?

The main event continues to be a one sided affair because Lesnar isn’t on TV. Heyman can only say YOU CAN’T BEAT HIM in so many different ways before it stops being entertaining. It’s one of those cases where you can only perform so well with what you’re given and that point has long since passed. Brock and Reigns need to do something face to face again, because the last time was the night after the Royal Rumble.

The Divas’ push comes off as a huge joke as the big chance seems to be a tag match at Wrestlemania and a pairing that we’ve seen before. I don’t really know why this is supposed to be a big match, other than AJ is the one not on Total Divas, which is the real title in this division these days. Give them a chance I guess, but if this is the chance, give them a bus ticket out of the company, because it’s not getting better anytime soon.

I have almost no desire to see Wrestlemania this year and I haven’t had that feeling in a very, very long time. There’s almost nothing on the card that I want to see and somehow it seems to get worse every week. It’s like they have no focus for the card this year other than “Reigns wins and we go from there.” To what? Reigns vs. Big Show? That’s a real possibility and I don’t think I can handle it. Then again, I don’t think I can handle three more episodes like this either.

Results

Dean Ambrose b. Bad News Barrett – Dirty Deeds

Usos/Naomi b. Natalya/Cesaro/Tyson Kidd – Rollup to Natalya

John Cena b. Curtis Axel – STF

Paige b. Nikki Bella via DQ when Brie Bella interfered

Daniel Bryan b. Luke Harper – YES Lock

Seth Rollins b. Roman Reigns – Rollup

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of Saturday Night’s Main Event at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SATPVKW

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the Bellas haven’t been treated fairly.

 

http://www.wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-giving-divas-fighting-chance/34085/

We’re up to another show which feels like they’re trying to drain as much blood from the stone of Survivor Series that they can squeeze out. Basically it’s a bunch of singles matches from people who were on the main event teams with gimmicks, more than one of which just do not need to happen. Also, since Lesnar shows up like once every three months, the main event is for Cena’s #1 contendership, but only Cena can leave with it. Is there any reason why this wasn’t the best looking show on paper? Let’s get to it.

The pre-show saw the New Day beat Goldust and Stardust. Would you really expect anything else happening here? That’s really all there is to say here, but I don’t mind the New Day so far. Kofi and Langston have talent and giving them anything to do is a thing idea for them.

The opening match was Luke Harper losing the Intercontinental Title back to Dolph Ziggler in a ladder match in Ziggler’s hometown. This was using the idea of “hit each other really hard with some big ladders” for about fifteen minutes and then have Ziggler win. It’s a great choice for a brawl, but here’s the problem with opening a show with something like this: it’s going to be hard to top. Someday I need to write up a piece on how to structure a card.

Anyway, Ziggler got the title back and that really shouldn’t have shocked anyone. It’s his match in his city (until tomorrow when he was billed from Hollywood, Florida) against a guy that hadn’t actually won a match since he won the title with help. The idea here was that the win elevated Ziggler, but when you think about it, he’s right back to where he was before he was added to Team Cena but now he’s the reason the Authority is gone. Winning the title really doesn’t elevate him any higher than the Survivor Series win did, so I’m not sure if they’re hitting their target on this one.

Earlier in the night, Miz told Naomi that she would be a Hollywood star if he and Mizdow left with the titles. That’s quite the idea, so of course Naomi played absolutely zero role in the title match. Miz hit one of the Usos with a Slammy for the DQ, meaning the story has to continue. They need to do something with Mizdow though because he can only do the same idea so many times before the time is over. I did hear a great idea for how they lose the titles: Mizdow is legal but Miz is down, so Mizdow lays down and takes the pin because Miz isn’t up yet.

The stairs match was the disaster everyone expected it to be. I’ll avoid ranting on Big Show winning again because I think I’ve covered that idea to death already. Here’s the major problem with this match though: why was it a stairs match? The gimmick didn’t get anyone to buy the show, it didn’t help either guy get over, it doesn’t have a history, and it made the match repetitive. There is such a concept as “less is more” and that’s what happened here. This should have been a wrestling match (with Rowan not getting pinned but that’s another story) to give the fans a break from the weapons.

Cena and Rollins had a long and overbooked yet good tables match. I’m not entirely sure what the point was in the tie midway through the match as it really didn’t do anything but extend the match. I guess it lets Rollins say he put Cena through a table but you don’t need the tie to do that. Reigns and Big Show coming down were fine but the match had too much going on. Also, on top of that, what did Rollins have to win here other than pride? Put the #1 contendership on the line or something, because without a title to fight over, it stops meaning much.

Nikki retained over AJ in another nothing match. Three notes here: first of all, Brie said that she’s fine with her sister because they’re family. That’s about as lame of an answer as they could have gone with and is code for “We changed the story. Get over it.” The other note is Nikki Bella ACTUALLY CHEATED to keep the title by using hairspray to blind AJ for the Rack Attack. You know, like a villain is supposed to do. If villains don’t cheat, it’s hard for them to be villains.

Third, to further illustrate how over managed the whole company is, the stuff sprayed in AJ’s eyes was originally called hairspray on WWE.com but they changed it to “an unidentified substance.” Here’s the thing: someone actually looked at that report on WWE.com, saw that it said hairspray, and said no no no it was just some substance.

1. What’s wrong with hairspray?

2. Why not just call it an unidentified substance in the first place?

3. Who in the freaking world cares that it wasn’t actually hairspray??? I know there are some nitpickers out there, but was there really someone out there freezing the screen and zooming in on it to see if it was really hairspray???

4. Who looked at the report and said “CHANGE THIS IMMEDIATELY!!!!”? I really want to know who is in charge of the “identifying what Nikki Bella uses to cheat to win matches” department at WWE.com.

5. Someone is being paid to change hairspray to unidentified substance. Remember that the next time you’re looking for a job.

Next up was Ryback vs. Kane in a chairs match. Here’s a quicker way to cover this one. Read this but substitute Kane for Big Show, Ryback for Erick Rowan, chairs for stairs and swap the winner.

The stairs match was the disaster everyone expected it to be. I’ll avoid ranting on Big Show winning again because I think I’ve covered that idea to death already. Here’s the major problem with this match though: why was it a stairs match? The gimmick didn’t get anyone to buy the show, it didn’t help either guy get over, it doesn’t have a history, and it made the match repetitive. There is such a concept as “less is more” and that’s what happened here. This should have been a wrestling match (with Rowan not getting pinned but that’s another story) to give the fans a break from the weapons.

Rusev b. Swagger Part 19.

Wyatt beat Dean Ambrose in the namesake match when a TV monitor blew up in Dean’s face so Bray could hit Sister Abigail. I’ll skip all the spots and get down to the message of this match: sometimes someone has to lose a match. Anymore WWE seems obsessed with finding ways for someone to slip on a banana peel to lose after dominating for most of the match. Sometimes you have to have someone win and someone lose without some big gimmick ending.

If you’re trying to elevate both guys, having one put up a heck of a fight but come up short isn’t going to kill them (see Cactus Jack vs. HHH in 2000 for proof) but having Ambrose lose like he did here and in the Cell make me roll my eyes and forget the rest of the match. Tell me: how many things do you remember about the match outside of the ending? It was a good match but no one is talking about anything but the ending and how stupid it made Ambrose look. Get the idea here?

Overall this show had too much thought put into it and the whole thing got screwed up. The chairs and stairs matches could have been wrestling matches and the main event being worth anything (#30 in the Rumble perhaps?) would have helped it a ton. At the end of the day, Lesnar and the title not being around is killing this company and they need to get the title off of him as soon as possible.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of the Royal Rumble at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PZ1GR7E

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Finally, I’m holding a Holiday Special for my e-books: any two of them for just $5.  Check out the details here.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2014/11/28/holiday-sale/

These were supposed to start on Sunday but as anyone who frequents my site knows, I can’t keep track of anything to save my life.  I’ll be catching up with four awards today and then do one a day every day until the end of the year.  We’ll start with one of the more popular ones with Feud of the Year.This year isn’t one of the stronger set of choices as there were some good feuds but nothing that felt really epic.  One of the first options that comes to mind is Ambrose vs. Rollins, who had some AMAZING promos and good but not great brawls.  The ending here hurts it as it was more about Wyatt being introduced for no apparent reason than the feud itself.  This can be done perfectly (see 1997 with Undertaker vs. Kane), but Wyatt came out of nowhere and the match was nowhere near HBK vs. Undertaker in the Cell.  This is probably the clubhouse leader but not by much.

Shield vs. Evolution was good and the matches were excellent but I’m not sure I’d call it the best of the year.  It felt more like a way to turn Rollins heel and end the Shield than to have a big moment, which is fine but a bit anti-climactic.  That’s kind of a running problem this year and something we’ll see again.

The same is true for the Wyatts vs. Shield.  THey had what might be the Match of the Year at Elimination Chamber but the feud just kind of stopped instead of having a big conclusion.  I’d put Shield vs. Evolution ahead of this as it actually had a conclusion, albeit not a great one.

AJ Lee vs. Paige deserves some appreciation due to making the Divas Title actually matter, but it went on so long that it really stopped meaning anything to me after awhile.

TNA actually makes the list with the Wolves vs. Hardys vs. Team 3D and their outstanding series, but I’m not sure it was so much a feud as much as a rivalry.  There was never a personal issue between the teams and that hurts it to me.  That being said, there’s a case that they had the best series of matches all year, including Shield.

That really leaves us with one option, which while short met every issue that I listed here.  Of course it’s Bryan vs. the Authority, which was a rollercoaster of emotion with the fans screaming for what they wanted until it FINALLY delivered in one of the best one night performances you’ll ever see at Wrestlemania XXX.  They set the stage and gave us the payoff with some great matches.  What else can you really ask for in a feud?  Yeah it was short in this year, but it ran about eight months from beginning to end.  The moment Bryan made Batista tap was worth everything and the energy in the Super Dome that night was amazing.

Monday Night Raw
Date: December 8, 2014
Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

It’s the Slammys! These shows used to be a highlight of the year but now they’re just there as a background for a usually boring show. However, there’s usually a good ending to these shows but with tonight being the go home show for Sunday’s TLC show, it’s hard to say how big of a surprise we’re going to get. Let’s get to it.

We start with a Tonight On Raw preview, focusing on Cena vs. Big Show in the main event.

Jerry Lawler brings out Seth Green to host the show. Seth says this is our awards show and you can vote for the winners of the awards on the WWE App. Miz and Mizdow cut him off though (minus the belts). The amusing thing here is that Green is 5’4 so they TOWER over him. Miz gives a pitch about being the A-lister Seth needs, but Green says Mizdow is the real A-lister. Mizdow smiles but Miz cuts him off, only to have Damien do a “call me” sign behind Miz’s back. Anyway they’re here for the THIS IS AWESOME Award. The nominees:

Occupy Raw

Stephanie McMahon getting arrested for slapping Brie

The Authority being eliminated/Sting debuting

Steve Austin, The Rock and Hulk Hogan opening Wrestlemania

We’ll get the winner after the first match.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins

Ziggler backdrops him to the floor and we take a break thirty seconds in. Back with Rollins in control and driving a knee into Dolph’s ribs. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Dolph sends him face first into the buckle to get a breather. The Stinger Splash and elbow drop get two but Seth blocks the running DDT. Ziggler counters the buckle bomb into a sunset flip and now the running DDT is good for two. Back up and they head to the corner with Ziggler shrugging Dolph down, only to have the Stooges shove him off, setting up the Curb Stomp for the pin at 7:20.

Rating: C. They didn’t have time to do anything but at least Ziggler didn’t lose clean. I can live with a heel cheating to win and beating a hot star, evne though he’s going into an Intercontinental Title shot this coming Sunday. Why would we need to keep Ziggler strong for something like that?

Sting debuting wins the THIS IS AWESOME Award. Of course Sting isn’t here so Seth is going to accept on his behalf, but Seth comes up and takes the trophy because Sting is responsible for the Authority being gone and Seth deserves it.

Here are some Slammys awarded on the pre-show:

Insult of the Year – Rock insulting Lana and Rusev

Tag Team of the Year – Usos

Breakout Star of the Year – Dean Ambrose

Hashtag of the Year – RKOOUTTANOWHERE

Fan Participation – YOU SOLD OUT to Seth Rollins

Kofi Kingston vs. Stardust

Stardust takes Kofi down to start and steps on his chest before the referee breaks it up in the ropes. A chinlock goes as far as you would expect it to and Kofi fights up with a hurricanrana. Some dropkicks put Starudust down and the NEW DAY Drop (no more Boom) sets up a running knee in the corner. A high cross body is enough to pin Stardust at 2:58.

Johnny Ace is presenting Surprise Return of the Year. After suggesting the People Power replace the Authority, here are the nominees:

Hulk Hogan

Batista

The Rock

Ultimate Warrior

Winner announced after How To Download The App and a break. After we’re back, Ultimate Warrior wins.

Rollins is in the back with the Stooges when the run into Paul Heyman. Seth sends the Stooges away so he can talk to Heyman about the tables match. He thinks he might be next in line to face the Beast after he beats Cena, but promises that his cash-in will come when Lesnar and Heyman least expect it. Heyman is fine with that, but his client might as well be champion for life. However, that doesn’t stop Rollins from being the future. John Cena is standing in his way, so if Rollins wants to be the future, he needs to make sure that Cena is stuck in the past. Rollins seems to like the idea.

Video on NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte.

Charlotte vs. Natalya

Non-title of course. We get a WOO to start and Charlotte drives knees into the ribs to start. She stomps Natalya down against the ropes but gets caught in a quick choke to slow her down. That’s fine with Charlotte who just pounds away at her face. A slap makes Charlotte even madder but Natalya takes out the legs as they hit the mat. Charlotte drops her again with a wicked chop and drops a hard knee for two. Natalya tries the Sharpshooter but gets countered into the Figure Four, which is countered into a small package to give Natalya the pin at 2:30.

Tyson Kidd takes the spotlight like he did at Survivor Series.

Santino presents the OMG Shocking Moment of the Year. He says he was shocked just now by seeing Luke Harper take a shower. Usually he’s watching the Divas take showers….but he’s not a creep. The nominees are:

Seth Sells Out

Nikki Turns On Brie

Bray Wyatt’s Children’s Choir

The Streak Is Conquered

The winner is of course the Streak being conquered. Lesnar’s music plays but we get Heyman instead for a very brief acceptance speech without saying anything of note.

Here’s Bray Wyatt to talk about seeing her for the first time in that rocking chair beneath the Cypress tree. We see Dean destroying the chair last week and Bray says Dean destroyed something that can’t be replaced. That leads us to Dean having his throat crushed on Smackdown in retaliation. Bray asks if that shocks or frightens us. No one here knows what they’re dealing with and he despises all of us.

If you get too close to him, you will get burned by his fire as he stands on top of that ladder. Bray won’t allow us to cry for him though as Dean deserves what’s coming. He repeats Tables Ladders and Chairs over and over again until an ambulance drives into the arena. Dean pops out in a neck brace and pulls a table out of the ambulance. He throws it on the ramp before pulling out a ladder and chair to go with it.

There goes the neck brace and Dean drags the ladder and chair to the ring. He throws the chair in and nails Bray in the ribs with the ladder. Dean throws in a chair and hits Bray square in the head with it. A table comes in as well but Wyatt rolls to the floor. Dean lays on the table with the chair over him. Bray comes back down and gets another chair thrown at him. This Sunday, Dean is going to become the monster and eat Bray alive.

Seth Green brings out Jerry Lawler to present Diva of the Year. The nominees are:

Brie Bella

Nikki Bella

AJ Lee

Paige

The girls are shown in the back when Titus O’Neil shows up in a tuxedo for some reason. AJ wins and nothing seems to come of the cameo. She says that she promised to redefine the term Diva three years ago. Next year she hopes that next year, it’s Bayley, Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Emma or Paige is up here on the throne. She’s not done being queen though and will get her title back this week.

Cena talks about Vince telling Austin that the locker room needs to step up. That might fire up Seth Rollins, so maybe Rollins wants Big Show to wear him out tonight. This Sunday, Rollins has to put him through a table, which is good for Seth because he can’t pin Cena or make him tap out. If Cena can’t win this Sunday, maybe it’s time for him to step down so Seth can step up. Tonight he’s going to slam a giant and shake South Carolina because his time isn’t up yet. This Sunday, Rollins goes through a table.

Erick Rowan vs. Luke Harper

Non-title and Harper brings a ladder with him. It’s a slugout to start with Rowan getting the better of it and nailing a running splash in the corner. That’s fine with Harper who nails a dropkick for one before kicking Erick in the head. The Gator Roll doesn’t get Luke anywhere as Rowan pops back up and nails some clotheslines. A full nelson slam gets two on Harper and they head outside with Luke hitting Rowan with the ladder for the DQ at 2:05.

Post match Rowan fights back and starts throwing the stairs into the ring. Harper takes a big shot to the head and bails.

The Usos come up to Naomi to celebrate their Slammys. Jimmy says it’s the second best thing to happen to him all year after marrying her. Naomi has been talking to Miz’s agent and apparently it went well. Uso isn’t sure but Naomi has a screen test later this week. That’s fine with Jimmy but he’s going to Hollywood with her because Miz is involved in this somehow. Naomi interprets this as Jimmy not trusting her.

Adam Rose comes out to present LOL Moment of the Year. The Bunny won Animal of the Year earlier. Rose thinks he should be hosting and says the fans know nothing when they disagree. The nominees are:

Mr. T.’s Mother’s Day message at the Hall of Fame ceremony

WeeLC

Mizdow the Stunt Double

Vickie Guerrero knocking Stephanie into pudding

The Bunny tries to open the envelope but Rose gives us Mizdow for the win. Here he is along with Miz (and the belts this time), who actually lets Mizdow have some spotlight for a bit. It’s only for a bit though as Miz takes the trophy and says he can make us go through all these emotions because he’s an actor. Miz: “I hear you. You want MIZ NOW and you’re getting MIZ NOW!” Miz thanks the only one that has been there for him since day one: the moneymaker. Mizdow doesn’t seem that offended.

Here are some other winners.

Faction of the Year – Shield

Rivalry of the Year – Bryan vs. Authority

Raw Guest Star of the Year – Jackman

Twitter Handle of the Year – @HeelZiggler

Couple of the Year – Bryan/Brie Bella

Here are Lana and Rusev for a chat. Lana runs down the American economy and President Obama before moving on to the Real Americans. Lana: “That is an LOL moment!” Cue Swagger, who will be challenging Rusev for the title on Sunday, to say that Rusev broke Colter’s leg, so he’s going to snap Rusev’s ankle. Jack charges and ducks the running superkick before dropping the ankle on the barricade. There’s the Patriot Lock on the floor and Rusev kind of taps until referees make the save.

New Day vs. Goldust/Stardust on Sunday’s pre-show.

Usos/Ryback vs. Kane/Miz/Damien Mizdow

Seth Green is on commentary. Kane slams Ryback to start as Seth talks about Battlestar Galactica. The Usos come in to start in on the arm but the announcers are too busy taking pictures. Off to Miz to stomp away on Jey before a headlock takes the actor down. Lawler has to get the announcers back on the match as Cole does his traditional driving off a cliff of a tangent. Jey hammers away on Miz and grabs a suplex, so Mizdow comes in and mimes getting hit in the face before raising his arm like he’s about to be suplexed. He flips over then dives over the top after Miz is sent flying.

Back from a break with Kane holding Jey in a chinlock before it’s off to Miz for a Reality Check. Jey finally breaks free and tags in Ryback to clean house. Everything breaks down and the Usos escape a double chokeslam and nail Kane with a double superkick. Jey dives onto Kane but Jimmy gets low bridged to the floor when charging at Miz. The Meathook and Shell Shock end Miz at 9:52.

Rating: C. This was a quick match that combined the two feuds into one and there’s nothing wrong with that. Jimmy vs. Miz is at least a fresh story and something that fits the characters instead of being shoehorned in. Ryback continues to get a push, even though he’s lost some momentum after that performance at Survivor Series.

Green celebrates with the winners.

We look back at the first Slammys in 1986.

Here’s Ricky Steamboat to present Match of the Year. He gives a very nice speech about what it means to have a classic match to introduce the nominees.

Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Batista – Wrestlemania XXX

John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt – Payback

Shield vs. Evolution – Extreme Rules

Team Cena vs. Team Authority – Survivor Series

Team Cena vs. Team Authority wins with Ziggler coming out to accept. Ziggler sounds very touched by this and says they’re going to build off of it because this belongs to all of the fans.

AJ Lee vs. Summer Rae

Summer mocks AJ for winning the award earlier and AJ goes right at her, only to eat a wheelbarrow slam for two. A spinwheel kick that misses by six inches gets two on AJ before we hit a quickly broken chinlock. AJ pops up and Black Widows Summer for the submission at 2:18.

Rob Van Dam is here to present the Extreme Moment of the Year. The nominees are:

Brock Lesnar’s 16 suplexes to John Cena

Kane tombstoning Bryan on the steps and the announcers’ table

Chris Jericho diving off the cage and onto Bray Wyatt

Seth Rollins Curb Stomps Dean Ambrose onto cinder blocks

Jericho wins and Fandango comes out to accept on his behalf. You’ll never forget his name you see.

Saint Mick does his merchandise shilling.

Big Show says no one is going to forgive him for what he does so he’s going to destroy Cena tonight.

Booker T. is presenting Superstar of the Year.

Dean Ambrose

Bray Wyatt

Roman Reigns

Brock Lesnar

Bray Wyatt

John Cena

Seth Rollins

After a break, the winner is Roman Reigns. He’s actually in the building tonight to accept the award and says this may not be the brass ring but it’s a step in the right direction. It doesn’t matter if you’re at the top of the stairs, he’s stepping up and you can believe that.

Chris Jericho is Guest GM next week.

John Cena vs. Big Show

Big Show’s music comes on at 11:00pm EST so this is going to be quick. Cena charges right at him and gets headbutted down. A shoulder bounces off Show and he chokes Cena on the ropes. Cena avoids a charge in the corner and grabs a DDT, only to walk into a side slam to put him right back down. Off to a bearhug for a bit before Cena jumps onto the giant’s back for a sleeper. Show flips him forward but misses the KO Punch, allowing Cena to hit a belly to back. The Shuffle is countered by a chokeslam but Cena slips out and AA’s Show for two as Rollins and the Stooges come in for the DQ at 5:43.

Rating: D. This was every Cena vs. Big Show match you’ve ever seen and with the ending that everyone and their mother (even Mr. T.’s) knew was coming. It’s not the worst match in the world, but what could they possibly do in less than six minutes with a completely telegraphed ending?

Rollins loads up a ladder for a super Curb Stomp but Ziggler makes the save. Cena and Ziggler beat up the Stooges but Big Show knocks them both out. Cue Rowan but Harper jumps him from behind. Show chokeslams him onto the steps so here’s Ryback for the late save. He posts Show and Meathooks Harper before setting up a table. The Shell Shock is broken up by Kane with a chair but Ziggler takes out Kane. Some superkicks drop Big Show, only to have Harper put Dolph through a table. Cena AA’s Harper, only to eat a Curb Stomp. Rollins loads up the announcers’ table and TripleBombs Cena through to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. Well that happened. This was one of those shows where there just wasn’t anything to talk about. The Ambrose vs. Wyatt segment was good but it’s not enough to carry a three hour show. This was much more a go home show with a few other things going on in the background. Sunday should be fun but we really need to get to Wrestlemania season to breathe some life into this company again. The show wasn’t even horrible but there’s just nothing here worth seeing.

Results

Seth Rollins b. Dolph Ziggler – Curb Stomp

Kofi Kingston b. Stardust – High cross body

Natalya b. Charlotte – Small package

Erick Rowan b. Luke Harper via DQ when Harper hit Rowan with a ladder

Usos/Ryback b. Miz/Damien Mizdow/Kane – Shell Shock to Miz

AJ Lee b. Summer Rae – Black Widow

John Cena b. Big Show via DQ when Seth Rollins interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of the Royal Rumble at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PZ1GR7E

And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Finally, I’m holding a Holiday Special for my e-books: any two of them for just $5.  Check out the details here.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2014/11/28/holiday-sale/

Smackdown
Date: December 5, 2014
Location: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Commentators: Tom Phillips, John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole

We’re getting close to TLC and we have most of the card set already. Naturally most of it is just pairings from the Survivor Series main event split off into singles matches with gimmicks attached. The violence and carnage at the pay per view is usually enough to carry it over the weak stories so hopefully it works again this year. Let’s get to it.

Recap of the main story from Raw with Cena vs. Rollins in a tables match being set for TLC and all the brawling between the Survivor Series teams.

Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper

Harper is defending of course. The champ sends him into the corner to start but Dolph hammers away with shots to the jaw. That’s fine with Luke as he picks Dolph up and drives him into the corner again. Ziggler tries the same sunset flip that pinned Luke on Monday but only gets two and a boot on his throat for his efforts. A quick neckbreaker gets two for Ziggler but Harper blocks the running DDT and just drills him with an elbow to the face.

Harper doesn’t want his leg to feel left out so he nails a big boot to send Ziggler to the floor and us to a break. Back with Ziggler fighting out of a chinlock and sending Luke shoulder first into the post. Harper counters another neckbreaker but misses the big boot and eats the running DDT for two more.

Now it’s Dolph missing a kick of his own and walking into a superkick from the champ. The Fameasser gets two more as the trading continues. Ziggler gets two each off a high cross body, sunset flip out of a powerbomb and superkick as frustration is setting in. Harper has had enough though and kicks Dolph low for the DQ at 10:10.

Rating: C+. I still like their matches as they’re playing the power vs. speed dynamic very well, but they’re starting to do the same match over and over again. On top of that, it’s hard to believe that the title is going to change hands before TLC, which makes the near falls a bit harder to get behind. Still entertaining though.

Post match Harper pulls in a ladder and loads up a powerbomb, but you can’t powerbomb Kidman. In this case you can’t powerbomb Ziggler either as he faceplants Luke into the ladder. Harper rolls outside so Dolph pelts the ladder at his head in a big crash. Santino comes out and makes the obvious ladder match at TLC because the power makes him feel like Oprah.

Here’s what’s left of the Authority, complete with Big Show, with something to say. Rollins says he hates Christmas but can’t wait for the annual demolition derby known as TLC. In nine days, he gets to face your hero John Cena in a tables match with Cena’s future title shot on the line.

Rollins is excited by taking away the only thing Cena cares about, because he doesn’t have to make Cena tap out or pin him, even though he could (Sheamus used nearly the exact same line in 2009). All he has to do is drive Cena through a table, but more than just a table is going to be broken. Rollins is going to have tables everywhere and Cena is going to get beaten up, plus a lot of splinters. Uh….right Seth.

Anyway, Big Show says he’s been here for a long time and had all kinds of matches. However, this is going to be his first steel stairs match. He heads outside and bangs the steps into the post a few times and promises to do much worse to Rowan. Kane wants to talk about his chairs match with Ryback, where Ryback will be fed chair after chair after chair. Cue Santino to make our tag match main event: Rollins/Big Show vs. Ryback/Rowan.

We recap the Miz/Naomi/Jimmy Uso stuff from Monday. Miz apologized to Jimmy on Main Event and asked if Jimmy was mad that Miz could do more for Naomi’s career than Jimmy ever could.

Cesaro/Tyson Kidd vs. New Day

Woods/Kingston here. Woods tags out less than five seconds in so Kofi can sunset flip Cesaro for two. Cesaro drives Kofi into the corner so Kidd can hammer him down. Kingston easily fights out of a chinlock and cleans house, including the Boom Drop on Tyson. Trouble in Paradise misses but the SOS gets two. Everything breaks down and a Demolition Decapitator with a Woods top rope stomp instead of an Ax elbow is good for the pin on Kidd at 2:45.

New Day celebrates when the Dusts pop up on screen. Stardust wants to know why the three of them are thinking this will be any different when they’ve tried the same things over and over again. They’re heading for a black hole (seriously) where light can never escape. The positive message means nothing to Goldust and there will be no new day. Woods says darkness will not prevail because there is no force in the cosmos that can hold them back. Kofi says the New Day is about unity and they’ll take the Dusts on any time. Big E. goes into full on preacher mode and promises to make them feel the power of the New Day.

Naomi is very happy with a bouquet of flowers. She thanks Jimmy for them but he didn’t send her any flowers. Apparently she never thought to read the card because they’re an apology from Miz. Jimmy smashes the vase.

We get a clip from Main Event with Swagger making it his mission to take the US Title from Rusev.

Dean Ambrose vs. Rusev

Non-title. Before the match, Dean says he really enjoyed destroying the rocking chair on Monday. Maybe Bray’s grandmother used to read Baby Bray stories from that chair. Or maybe he just saw it at Cracker Barrel and liked it. Not that it matters because at TLC, Dean is going to break Wyatt into more pieces than he broke that chair. Lana and Rusev come out with the blonde saying the match won’t be happening, thanks to Jack Swagger.

We see a clip from Raw of Swagger going after Rusev, which Lana calls persecution. Rusev promises to snap every bone in Jack’s body, just like he did to Zeb Colter. Dean tells Lana to stop with the flirtatious eyes because he’s going to fight the Russian. He goes after Rusev but gets jumped from behind by Wyatt. Dean fights back as Bray goes to get a chair but Wyatt sends him into the steps. He gets the chair and puts it against Dean’s throat before driving the chair into the steps. Medics check on Dean as Bray has a disturbing smile on his face. Ambrose does a stretcher job.

Jey Uso vs. Miz

Before the match, Miz wants to know what’s up with Jimmy. Is he really that insecure and jealous? Miz is just trying to pass along the kind of help that made people like Kate Upton and Selena Gomez. The agent has been watching her on Total Divas and thinks she’s a star in the making because she’s hot with a voluptuous body.

The Usos come out with no special entrance and we’re ready to go. Jimmy tries to come in soon after the bell but gets ejected for his efforts. We get our first contact over a minute in with Miz driving a knee into Jey’s ribs. It’s already off to a chinlock but Jey quickly fights up and nails a Samoan drop. Mizdow comes in for a distraction though and the Skull Crushing Finale is enough to pin Jey at 2:25.

Brie Bella vs. Naomi

AJ Lee and Nikki are both at ringside with the former on commentary. We look at AJ fighting both Bellas on Monday. AJ: “It’s great therapy to punch a Bella in the face.” Brie nails a dropkick for an early two as Nikki sits on the steps and taunts AJ with the belt. A clothesline gets two for Brie and we hit the chinlock. AJ says she was Divas Champion for so many days that it was a common law marriage. Naomi tries what looked to be Rey Mysterio’s sitout bulldog but Brie falls backwards instead. AJ prevents Nikki from interfering and Naomi rolls Brie up for the pin at 2:34.

Santino is in the back, talking about how hard it is to be in charge. If anyone understands what that means, it’s….the Bunny. Apparently Santino’s grandmother calls him at 3am to ask him how to fix the clock on the microwave.

Rollins and Show are ready for their match thanks to a Kane pep talk. Show says they’re not friends but he needs to get through this match to get to TLC.

Ryback/Erick Rowan vs. Seth Rollins/Big Show

Rowan and Rollins get things going with Seth being launched across the ring. Rollins bails to the corner but actually doesn’t tag. Rowan does though as it’s Ryback’s turn to hammer away in the corner. He misses a charge though and Seth drives in some elbows to the head, only to be driven across the ring with ease. Seth runs him over again though and we take a break. Back with Big Show headbutting Ryback and elbowing him in the back of the head. Ryback fights out of a chokeslam attempt and makes the hot tag to Rowan.

Things speed up with Rowan nailing a bunch of clotheslines to put Show down, only to have the Stooges offer a distraction so Big Show can take over. We settle down to Rollins driving knees into Erick’s head before it’s back to Show for a snapmare of all things. A DDT gets two on Erick but Show misses the elbow. The real hot tag brings in Ryback to clean house, but Rollins counters a swinging Rock Bottom into a crucifix for two in a nice counter.

The springboard knee to the head misses though and Ryback powerslams him down for two. The Stooges’ distraction breaks up the Shell Shock and the knee to Ryback’s head gets two. Seth misses a Curb Stomp and eats a spinebuster, only to have Kane get on the apron. Rollins enziguris Ryback down as Kane gets ejected. The referee won’t allow a tag to Big Show that he didn’t see, leaving a protesting Rollins to eat the Meat Hook and Shell Shock for the pin at 14:43.

Rating: C. What is with WWE not letting Big Show or Kane do a job? You have Big Show right there and you have Rollins do a clean job instead? Anyway, it’s nice to see Ryback get a pin but he lost a lot of momentum at Survivor Series. The match was your standard main event tag without anything to make it interesting but it was a fine way to finish a show.

Overall Rating: C-. This was the run of the mill Smackdown with nothing worth seeing and very limited storyline development, but it’s cool to see actual stories in the midcard other than the standard stuff you see every time. Thankfully there isn’t much time left until TLC and we can get ready for the Rumble when things will actually pick up.

Results

Dolph Ziggler b. Luke Harper via DQ when Harper kicked Ziggler low

New Day b. Cesaro/Tyson Kidd – Top rope double stomp/backbreaker combination to Kidd

Miz b. Jey Uso – Skull Crushing Finale

Naomi b. Brie Bella – Rollup

Ryback/Erick Rowan b. Big Show/Seth Rollins – Shell Shock to Rollins

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of the Royal Rumble at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Finally, I’m holding a Holiday Special for my e-books: any two of them for just $5.  Check out the details here.

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This is an interesting time for WWE as we just got done with a dull week after dropping off a high peak. However, with a show like TLC coming up, there’s only so much work that needs to be done. You can just split up Team Cena vs. the Authority and make a bunch of gimmick matches out of them, which works well enough due to the show being naturally fun. Let’s get to it.

We opened with the Anonymous Raw GM computer talking, only to be cut off by Cena, who didn’t want to rehash this stupid gimmick. Thankfully that more or less was the end of the computer for most of the night because it really doesn’t need to be around. However, the computer did create a major match at TLC: Cena vs. Rollins in a tables match, where Cena can lose his #1 contendership. Rollins has nothing to gain but pride, but that might change as we go along.

The rest of the segment was filled out, because Heaven forbid the opening segment isn’t twenty minutes long, with a huge brawl involving pretty much everyone from the elimination tag, eventually setting up a six man tag for the main event. Again, this could have been cut down by ten minutes but that’s the rule of thumb anymore. The good guys got the worst of it with Cena going through a table.

The Usos won a long Tag Team Turmoil match to earn a shot at the Tag Team Titles. As usual I’m not a fan of these matches as a lot of the falls end way too soon, which makes you wonder why the regular matches don’t end that fast. The important thing here though was the post match scene, as Miz offered Jimmy Uso’s wife Naomi a producer’s card, likely trying to get into her husband’s head. This led to Jimmy coming out and knocking the heck out of Miz later on. I love these little angles that enhance what would be an otherwise run of the mill match. Do more things like this.

In another important moment, Erick Rowan is revealed as a genius guitar playing wine enthusiast. I did a full column on this last night so I’ll keep it short here: adding little characteristics and details to people make them far more interesting than they are in the ring. Give me something that makes me want to see more, because the same matches aren’t going to keep my interest up.

Rowan beat Big Show via DQ when Show hit him with the steps. Those have been a recurring theme between the two of them so odds are we’re seeing something stupid like a steps match at the PPV.

Rusev attacked Zeb Colter off screen and cost us Fandango vs. Swagger. Jack came out a segment later to chase Rusev off and reignite their feud.

Mizdow beat Fernando in a dull match that took place so Jimmy could come out and slap Miz.

Bray Wyatt beat R-Truth for the millionth time before calling out Ambrose again. The key thing here was Dean breaking Bray’s chair, which gave us some of the first real emotions from Wyatt. He looked human for the first time and it opens up some interesting doors for the feud.

Naomi was AJ’s fan chosen partner to beat the Bellas in another lame match. Naturally AJ made Nikki tap because what else would happen?

Paul Heyman put Lesnar’s appearances over as the most important thing you’ll see all year, even though it doesn’t look like Brock is going to be there until after TLC. He also asked who becomes #1 contender after Cena loses at TLC, because Lesnar is going to smash whomever he faces.

The main event was Ryback/Cena/Ziggler vs. Kane/Harper/Rollins with Ziggler sunset flipping Harper for the pin. Big Show came in post match and got beaten up to end the show. This was a very long match at over 25 minutes, but unfortunately it felt more long than good with a ton of chinlocks. Ryback and Ziggler got to look good though as Cena continues to be just kind of in the background like he has been since Survivor Series. It’s kind of interesting for a change, but I could go for more of him talking at least.

Overall the show was more interesting than last week, but they’re going to have to give us something interesting at the Slammys next week. TLC is going to be fun because of how insane things can be with all the gimmicks, but they better be thankful that they only have three weeks to fill because these shows are really getting dull. Granted it probably has something to do with us seeing these exact same things on the way to Survivor Series, but when has that ever stopped the writing staff before?

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of the Royal Rumble at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

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Finally, I’m holding a Holiday Special for my e-books: any two of them for just $5.  Check out the details here.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2014/11/28/holiday-sale/

Today we’re looking at a chick who is now one of the focuses of the Divas division. If nothing else it shows you the power of sleeping with John Cena. Today is Nikki Bella.

The Bellas got started in developmental in 2007 and we’ll pick things up on ECW on March 30, 2009 with their first showdown.

Nikki Bella vs. Brie Bella

Nikki comes out with Miz and Morrison but Brie counters with Carlito and Primo. Brie grabs a quick rollup for two before just hammering away at her sister’s face. Some armdrags put Nikki down but she grabs a quick suplex for two. Brie hooks a bulldog but the tag teams get in a brawl, allowing Nikki to roll up Brie for the pin.

Rating: D. Somehow this is going to be even worse when we get the big showdown in a few months. The girls just aren’t that good in the ring and it really shows in these matches. Nikki and Brie try out there but they seem to take things way more seriously than they should and it drags everything down. Just be good looking women and shake your hips.

Nikki didn’t have a lot of success at first so we’ll jump ahead to Raw on August 9, 2010.

Gail Kim/Eve Torres vs. Maryse/Jillian Hall vs. Bella Twins

This is a Summer Spectacular or something. They’re all in swimsuits, but of course one pieces. Santino and Kozlov are here too and they come in on a water slide. This goes like 3 minutes and one of the Bellas hits a cross body to beat Jillian. Tamina comes out in a swimsuit as well and slaps Santino’s tights. Yep it’s Glamarella all over again.

Rating: N/A. The girls looked good at least. If you have a thing for legs, FIND THIS MATCH IMMEDIATELY.

Off to Tribute to the Troops 2010, when it still meant something.

Bella Twins/Natalya/Kelly Kelly vs. Alicia Fox/Melina/Laycool

Not on the first show either. Yep the evil ones are definitely hotter. They’re all in Santa outfits of course. Alicia vs. a Bella starts us off and Cole thinks it’s Nikki. Since Cole is a very stupid man we’ll call her Brie. Melina is working as a heel here to play up the whole turn on Raw two days ago. Kelly comes in and we get the headscissors to show off the underwear under her skirt. She beats the tar out of Michelle before Layla saves. Everyone gets in until Kelly hits K2 to beat Michelle. Another nothing match.

We’ll head stateside again for Raw on March 7, 2011.

Women’s Title: Eve Torres vs. Nikki Bella

The bell is after the break. Gail Kim is here with Eve. Eve starts all fired up and hammers away on Nikki including a bicycle kick. Cole talks about going to be on New Year’s Eve and waking up on Christmas morning. That’s how he feels about introducing his referee tonight. Cole literally gets up on the table and grabs a mic, saying we need to end this because he wants to announce his referee. Eve uses the bottom rope as a springboard to get an enziguri. Twin Magic gets caught and a spinning neckbreaker gives eve the win at 3:12.

Rating: C. Even with the Cole stuff in there the whole time this wasn’t bad for the most part. Eve dominated and thankfully they didn’t manage to make things look stupid with the Twin Magic getting by again. It makes the referee and wrestlers look stupid so I’m glad it failed here. Decent match here and pretty good for the most part. Should be interesting to see where it goes from here too.

Another year, another Tribute to the Troops, this time in 2011.

Bella Twins/Natalya/Beth Phoenix vs. Eve Torres/Kelly Kelly/Alicia Fox/Maria Menounos

Maria is the host of I think Extra. She was a guest host of Raw a few years ago. Eve vs. a Bella starts us off but it’s off to Maria quickly. Off to Eve with the other Bella quickly and the standing moonsault gets two. Beth comes in but gets caught by an enziguri. Kelly comes in and everything breaks down with one from each side having the upper hand for about 3 seconds. Maria comes in against Beth and gets a pin off a sunset flip. This was what it was.

The Twins would go back to the only thing that worked for them on Raw, January 2, 2012.

Bella Twins vs. Eve Torres/Kelly Kelly

Kelly vs. let’s say Brie to start and Kelly does her spanking and Stinkface to get on my nerves even more. Eve comes in and does her usual stuff. The moonsault is broken up and it’s Nikki in now. Top rope moonsault gets two and it’s Twin Magic for the pin on Eve at 2:04. Are we really back to this again?

Then things would change in a hurry on Raw, April 23, 2012.

Divas Title: Nikki Bella vs. Beth Phoenix

Before the match here’s Eve to say that this is now a lumberjack match. Maxine is one of the divas here so I’m sure she’ll be complaining about not being off NXT yet this week again. Nikki dropkicks Beth down and monkey flips her down. That results in her getting slammed into the corner and gorilla press dropped. Off to a chinlock followed by a backbreaker. Beth throws her to the floor and injures her knee. Brie goes after Beth and the lumberjacks jump on Beth in a dog pile. I think there was a switch in the pile but I’m not sure. Beth’s ankle or leg is messed up, allowing Nikki to roll her up and win the title at 4:11.

Rating: D. The girls looked good, the match was the usual Diva stuff, the whole deal with the Bellas leaving soon is now up in the air, I still don’t care about the Divas. Next. Oh and the leg injury appears to be real. This really was a surprise, mainly due to rumors that the Bellas were going to be leaving soon.

The title reign would last all of six days and the Bellas actually would leave the company for over a year. They would return in 2013 and pick up where they left off. From Raw on October 21, 2013.

Bella Twins vs. Tamina Snuka/AJ Lee

Brie takes Tamina down to start but the Twin is knocked to the floor with ease. Back in and a snap suplex gets two on Brie before we hit the cravate. Off to Nikki who is easily slammed down before it’s off to AJ, who gets the biggest reaction of the match. Nikki fights out of a chinlock and makes the hot tag off to Brie, sending the fans back into their coma. Brie speeds things up and dropkicks Brie down, only to get caught in a half crab. Brie hits a bad looking knee to the ribs before accidentally kneeing Tamina in the head. Not that it matters though as the Bella Buster pins AJ at 5:27.

Rating: D. The Bellas look good in their outfits but man alive this face turn isn’t working. The problem is the double turn by the Bellas and AJ depends on if you like Total Divas. If you like the show, you buy the double turn. If you don’t like Total Divas, you side with AJ, even though there aren’t any shades of gray in the story. AJ is meant to be the heel and Brie as the girl who is fighting for what she wants, even though no one seems to care.

Then came Total Divas, which basically starred the Bellas in the early days. This led to a long feud with the True Divas, including this mathc on Raw, December 2, 2013.

Summer Rae/Tamina Snuka/AJ Lee vs. Bella Twins/Natalya

The non-Total Divas are now the True Divas. AJ skips around the ring while Nikki gets two off a crucifix on Tamina to start. Brie comes in with a middle rope dropkick and a running knee to Snuka’s chest. AJ is still skipping around the ring. Summer chokes Brie on the ropes and shows off her flexibility before getting a two count.

Brie finally fights out and makes the tag to Natalya who speeds things up a bit. Tamina is knocked off the apron so Summer shouts at AJ to stop skipping and make the tag. AJ finally comes in and nearly gets caught in the Sharpshooter as everything breaks down. The distraction lets Natalya roll up AJ for the pin at 4:18.

Rating: D. Here’s the problem with the Total Divas face push in a nutshell: we haven’t been given a reason to care about them. There was never a moment where they were all turned face, other than AJ’s promo from months ago which was all true stuff. WWE is assuming that fans like the Total Divas because they have a reality show and the Bellas date Cena and Bryan, though I don’t think Cena and Nikki have ever been announced on WWE TV. Other than that, they just started being faces and the announcers started talking about AJ being mean. That’s not enough to build a boring feud on and it’s showing badly.

Off to the blue show on March 14, 2014.

Nikki Bella vs. Tamina Snuka

AJ sits in on commentary as Tamina takes Nikki down by the hair. Nikki is sent to the floor and holds her knee, prompting some amusing fake concern from the champ. Back in and Nikki gets slammed down but still avoids the Superfly Splash. AJ tries to figure out who the #1 contender is as Tamina kicks Nikki’s head off for two. Tamina gets bored with Nikki and throws Brie into the barricade for fun. It doesn’t pay off though as Nikki hits the Rack for the pin at 3:13.

Rating: D. Divas, regular match, Nikki’s turn for a push. Next.

Nikki would get a big push over the summer and eventually turned heel on her sister, setting up this match at Hell in a Cell 2014.

Brie Bella vs. Nikki Bella

Loser is the winner’s servant for 30 days. They lock up to start with Brie sending Nikki into the corner but missing a charge. Nikki runs her over for two and a facebuster gets the same. The fans start chanting JBL because NO ONE CARES ABOUT THIS STORY. Brie plants her face first for two before hitting a few dropkicks. A running knee to the face has Nikki in trouble but she misses a charge and falls out to the floor.

She comes up clutching her knee and heads back inside to take a missile dropkick for two. Nikki pops back up and hooks the Rack for two. Brie slaps on the YES Lock but Nikki gets her feet on the ropes. Nikki comes back with a hard forearm to the face and a second Rack for the pin at 6:21.

Rating: D+. The worst part: the wrestling wasn’t all that bad. The problem with this is it’s one of the least interesting stories in years as I don’t even remember why they’re fighting. I get that it’s about Brie quitting but are we really supposed to care that a woman is dating John Cena (wait, does that relationship exist in WWE?) and had to wrestle some handicap matches against some heels. Also, if Nikki hates her sister so much, why would she want her around for thirty more days?

We’ll wrap it up with Nikki’s title shot at Survivor Series 2014.

Divas Title: AJ Lee vs. Nikki Bella

AJ is defending and Nikki has her sister Brie as an assistant. We get big match intros and Brie gets up on the apron with with title in her hand. She kisses AJ, allowing Nikki to get in a cheap shot and the Rack Attack gives us a new champ at 38 seconds in the Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan ending from Wrestlemania XXVIII.

I’ve made no secret out of the fact that I really don’t think much of Nikki Bella. She tries to be all serious and intense and it really doesn’t work. At the end of the day, she’s another Diva who is there because she looks good in tight outfits and has a twin. She’s gotten better over the last year or so, but there’s still just not enough there to warrant the push she gets. There are far worse Divas out there, but at the end of the day my reaction continues to be that I don’t get why I’m supposed to care.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on the History of the Royal Rumble at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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And check out my Amazon author page with wrestling books for under $4 at:

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Finally, I’m holding a Holiday Special for my e-books: any two of them for just $5.  Check out the details here.

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Smackdown
Date: November 28, 2014
Location: Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole, Tom Phillips

The Authority is gone, for now at least, and much like Raw we don’t have a permanent boss. There’s a chance that WWE will just use the same rotating boss idea like they’re doing on Raw, because goodness knows wrestling fans just aren’t smart enough to get by without a GM pointing the way. Let’s get to it.

We open with a Sting montage. That’s still so strange to see in WWE.

Opening sequence.

First up is MizTV with Miz saying he became WWE Tag Team Champion at Survivor Series. The fans of course cheer for Mizdow. Tonight’s guest is Big Show and we see a clip of Rowan knocking him to the floor on Monday. Miz says a lot of people aren’t happy with Big Show but the only problem Miz sees is that Show joined Team Cena. Show is so glad that someone finally gets it. He had to look out for himself because no one else will and no one knows his situation but him.

Cue Daniel Bryan for an interruption and a huge ovation. On Monday, Show said that if anyone has something to say, they should come say it to his face. Well Bryan has something to say: he’s in charge tonight. First of all, we’re going to have Ryback vs. Seth Rollins. That’s not all though, as a title is going to be defended tonight when Luke Harper defends against Dolph Ziggler.

Miz tells Daniel to stop stealing his spotlight. Bryan: “Mizdow already did that.” Show wants Bryan out, but Daniel has something for Big Show too. On Monday, Rusev refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance, so tonight he’s defending the US Title in a 20 man battle royal, which starts right now.

US Title: Battle Royal

Rusev, Big Show, Miz, Damien Mizdow, Erick Rowan, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, Diego, Fernando, Titus O’Neil, Jack Swagger, Heath Slater, Tyson Kidd, Adam Rose, Sin Cara, Cesaro, Goldust, Stardust, Justin Gabriel, Curtis Axel

It’s a huge mess to start with Show crushing Los Matadores in the corner before throwing Gabriel and Cara out with ease. Rowan does the same to Slater and Cesaro punches Axel over the top. Los Matadores throw out Rose but Show tosses both of them at the same time. We get the showdown with Rowan and Big Show and Erick gets the better of it by knocking Show into the corner and eliminating him pretty easily. Show isn’t done though as he grabs Rowan from behind, allowing Rusev to dump him.

A bunch of guys go after Rusev to no avail as we take a break. Back with Miz saving himself and no new eliminations as far as I can tell. We have Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, Tyson Kidd, Cesaro, Miz, Damien Mizdow, Stardust, Goldust, Rusev, Titus O’Neil and Jack Swagger to go. Stardust low bridges Miz to the floor so Mizdow eliminates himself. Swagger puts out the Dusts before Titus knocks Jimmy out.

Jey dumps Titus, Kidd eliminates Jey and we’re down to four: Swagger, Kidd, Cesaro and Rusev. Everyone goes after Swagger but he fights his way off the and back inside. He throws all three evil foreigners into the corner and gives Rusev the Vader Bomb, only to have to save himself from Cesaro. Kidd dives at Jack but gets dumped, allowing Cesaro to send Swagger to the apron. He backdrops Cesaro out but Rusev hits the running superkick to eliminate Swagger and retain at 13:27.

Rating: D+. This was a fast moving battle royal that didn’t have any significant threat to the champ. Show and Rowan could have won just on size and power alone but Rusev is going to have the title a lot longer than he has so far. You could tell there wasn’t going to be much here with all those tag teams in there though.

Kane is working merchandise tonight when Santino comes up. He mocks Kane’s Ryback shirt, gets stared at, and runs away.

Bray Wyatt is here for a chat. When Ambrose started climbing that ladder on Sunday, he looked like an angel climbing up to Heaven. It almost brought a smile to Bray’s face, but there’s not enough room for people like them up there. He could feel those chairs crashing down on him and it almost made him think he failed Dean for the first time. They have reached the point of no return and what happens next will change Ambrose. Tables, ladders and chairs. Bray says it over and over because he’s going to enjoy torturing Ambrose’s body with all those things. Follow the buzzards.

TLC ad, set to Jingle Bells.

Nikki Bella vs. Emma

Non-title. Nikki slams Emma down with ease but gets caught in the Dilemma for a few seconds. A big slap puts the champ down but Emma runs into an elbow to the jaw. Rack Attack ends this at 1:29.

Post match Nikki has Brie hold the title and say it’s time to hear the truth about AJ Lee. We’ve heard her sob story over and over, but Nikki has worked harder. She’s what a real Divas Champion looks like and AJ will always be that pathetic little girl from New Jersey. AJ runs in and nails Brie as Nikki bails. Nikki had good passion in her promo, but trying to take her seriously as this hard working woman who has clawed her way to the top cracks me up every time.

Kane has destroyed the merchandise stand.

Ryback vs. Seth Rollins

Ryback quickly shoves him down so Rollins grabs a headlock to take away the momentum. A slam sends Rollins rolling to the floor but he comes back in for some unsold chops. Ryback gets all fired up but misses a charge and goes shoulder first into the post. Back in and Rollins nails a dropkick for two and puts on a front facelock. Rollins fights out of a quick Shell Shock attempt and hits the Downward Spiral into the corner for two. They head outside with Ryback going after Mercury, only to have Rollins send him into the steps as we take a break.

Back with Rollins holding a headlock until Ryback lifts him up into a kind of slingshot belly to back suplex. Ryback’s powerbomb is escaped and an enziguri connects, followed by a superkick for two. Seth misses a splash in the corner so Ryback lifts him up, only to be countered into a running buckle bomb for two. That was a surprising power display from Rollins. The big guy backdrops Rollins onto the Stooges before planting him with a spinebuster back inside. There’s the Meat Hook but Kane runs in for the DQ at 14:46.

Rating: C-. They telegraphed the ending with that shot of the destroyed merchandise stand and the match felt like it was just killing time until we got to this point. That and Kane runs in on at least a match a week anymore so you had to know this was coming. At least Ryback should be able to destroy him in a few weeks.

Rollins and Kane take Ryback down and Kane destroys him with a chair.

Curtis Axel/Slater Gator vs. New Day

New Day is very excited to be making their debut here. Woods dropkicks Axel down to start before bringing Kofi in to kick him in the chest. Big E. nails the Warrior Splash but stops to wipe the sweat off his face. Axel finally takes Xavier down and it’s off to Slater for some stomps to the chest. The heels start taking over until Woods flips out of a suplex and tags out to Kofi. Everything breaks down and Big E. backdrops Kofi onto Titus and Axel. Back in and a combination top rope DDT/Big Ending puts Slater away at 3:23.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t bad but what are you expecting from two former Intercontinental Champions and Woods? That’s the problem with a team like this: two of the three members have already had success, so it’s not like them beating a team of jobbers really means anything. It’s not a bad idea but they need to actually go somewhere instead of acting like these wins mean much.

Recap of the Authority having to leave and Bryan’s revenge on all of the Team Authority members.

Bryan makes Ryback vs. Kane in a Chairs match for TLC. Oh and YES he will be back soon.

Stardust says the Cosmic Key is gone but their anguish goes on and on. He says each day is part of the endless march to oblivion and welcome to the Black Hole. Goldust declares that darkness has fallen on the New Day. There’s the first feud.

Intercontinental Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper

Ziggler is challenging and goes right at Harper with a rollup like he beat him with on Sunday. A dropkick puts Luke on the floor and we take an early break. Back with Ziggler fighting back with Cole saying it’s rally time. A high cross body gets two but Harper sends him face first into the buckle. We hit the chinlock from the champ but Ziggler hits a quick jawbreaker. Back up and Ziggler hammers away before getting two off the big elbow. The Fameasser is countered but Dolph slips out of a powerbomb and hits the running DDT for two.

Harper gets the same off the sitout Boss Man Slam and Ziggler nails a Fameasser for yet another two. Luke comes back with the big boot and Batista Bomb for two more and Harper is getting shocked. Why he’s shocked I’m not sure as that’s the third time that combination has gotten a near fall. They head outside with Ziggler being launched over the announcers’ table, only to pop up with a superkick, allowing him to beat the count for the win at 10:52.

Rating: C+. Nice match here as these two have good chemistry and Ziggler can take big bumps like almost no other. Harper is going to be a good dragon for someone to slay and take the belt but I can’t imagine him as a long term champion. They’ll likely have a ladder match at the pay per view which should be fun.

Post match Harper lays Ziggler out with the discus lariat but takes too long getting the belt, allowing Ziggler to hit the Zig Zag to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This felt like a B house show that was filmed and aired on a Friday night. Nothing on here meant anything and the only thing that mattered was Ryback vs. Kane being announced for the pay per view. That being said, it wasn’t really bad or anything, but it’s back to the old Smackdown standard: it came, it aired for two hours, it had some passable matches and I’m never going to think of it again. That makes it far more dull than bad, which isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Results

Rusev won a battle royal, last eliminating Jack Swagger

Nikki Bella b. Emma – Rack Attack

Ryback b. Seth Rollins via DQ when Kane interfered

New Day b. Curtis Axel/Slater Gator – Big Ending/Top rope DDT combination to Slater

Dolph Ziggler b. Luke Harper via countout

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