Roadblock: End of the Line
Date: December 18, 2016
Location: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves
Pre-Show: Rusev vs. Big Cass
Back with Cass hammering away and dropping the Empire Elbow for no cover. They head outside Rusev taking him out into the crowd, leaving Enzo to go after Lana. Rusev defends his wife while Cass checks on Enzo, leaving Rusev to beat the count at 4:33. Not enough for a rating but this was rematch bait.
The opening video has a police chase theme with the idea being that everything ends at the end of the line.
Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Cesaro/Sheamus
The slingshot shoulder gets two on Kingston and Swiss Death is good for the same. This has been completely one sided so far. Kofi breaks up the ten forearms and brings in Big E. for the spear off the apron. The Warrior Splash gets two on Sheamus and everything breaks down. Sheamus kicks Cesaro by mistake and Woods kicks Cesaro by design, setting up the Big Ending for a very close two.
Woods sacrifices himself to take the Brogue Kick and the SOS gets two on Sheamus. Cesaro comes in without a tag (though Sheamus was right next to him), meaning Kofi kicks Cesaro for no count. Instead Sheamus sneaks in and rolls Kofi up for the pin and the titles at 10:00.
New Day gets the big show of respect and we get the battle for the spotlight from the new champs.
Sami Zayn vs. Braun Strowman
Package on the UK tournament.
We recap Chris Jericho vs. Seth Rollins. Jericho lost to Rollins several times but then started costing Rollins matches against Owens. This earned Jericho a Pedigree on top of a car and that means a match.
Seth Rollins vs. Chris Jericho
Rollins tries the Pedigree but Jericho powers out and gets in a hurricanrana, which transitions into the Walls. Seth counters that with a small package for two, followed by the frog splash. Cue Owens for a distraction, just as Jericho grabs a small package. The Pedigree is countered again but Jericho stops to yell at Owens, allowing Seth to get in the jumping knee. Rollins gets the Pedigree for the pin at 17:12.
Pre-show recap. Cass vs. Rusev II is set for tomorrow night.
Cruiserweight Title: Brian Kendrick vs. TJ Perkins vs. Rich Swann
Post match Neville makes his return to celebrate with Swann before turning heel (!) and destroying all three. Fans: “THANK YOU NEVILLE!” I can totally go for this, though the idea that Neville weighs under 205lbs is downright laughable.
We recap Owens vs. Reigns. Roman beat him a few weeks ago to earn another shot here tonight but the big story is about the drama between Jericho and Owens.
Universal Title: Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns
Rating: B. Good, though the waiting for Jericho took a little away from it. Unfortunately this shows the problem with Reigns being US Champion coming into this match: what good does it do to tie the title up in this match with no challenger for the title in sight? Yeah Owens vs. Jericho will be fine but sweet goodness enough with the champion vs. champion nonsense.
Results
Cesaro/Sheamus b. New Day – Small package to Kingston
Sami Zayn b. Braun Strowman by surviving the time limit
Seth Rollins b. Chris Jericho – Pedigree
Rich Swann b. TJ Perkins and Brian Kendrick – Spinning kick to the head
Charlotte b. Sasha Banks three falls to two
Kevin Owens b. Roman Reigns via DQ when Chris Jericho interfered
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