Smackdown – March 5, 2015: Reestablishing Equilibrium
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:
Reviewing the Review – Monday Night Raw: February 23, 2015
We’re past Fast Lane now and the only thing left between here and Wrestlemania is time. Well that and five Raws and Smackdowns of course. The main story tonight is the start of the hard build between Lesnar and Reigns as well as filling in the rest of the card for the biggest show of the year. Let’s get to it.
To begin with, let’s get through the big story of the week which didn’t air on Raw: Brock Lesnar not appearing. Allegedly this was over some undisclosed contract issue, which seems to be very convenient given that he was seen at UFC 184 over the weekend. I’m not saying it’s an angle, but there’s enough there that it seems like it’s a possibility. Either way, Lesnar will be in the main event at Wrestlemania and I’d be absolutely shocked if anything else happened. At the end of the day, Brock will be there for the right price because unlike CM Punk, he isn’t completely delusional.
Orton opened the show and said this wouldn’t be a twenty minute speech. He wants Rollins but got the full Authority instead, and OF COURSE we had to listen to Stephanie say every corporate name she could fit into a single speech. That might be the most annoying thing she does. Everything has to be proper titles and it comes off like the least natural way of speaking I’ve seen in years. There’s going to be a business conference later in the night to get to the point of this. I’m as riveted as you are. Not by the dumb story, but by Stephanie. I mean, don’t you just freeze in place when she speaks?
Dolph Ziggler pinned Bad News Barrett. I’ve ranted enough about how annoying it is when the Intercontinental Champion loses, but at least this seems to be setting up a big match at Wrestlemania…..where the perennial loser will win and all is supposed to be forgotten right?
The business conference was more of STEPHANIE POWER as she got Orton to agree to team with Rollins tonight. As I said back on Monday, this felt like just a way of killing time until we get to the obvious ending. That kind of storytelling rarely works, especially with so little time before Wrestlemania.
The Prime Time Players beat the Ascension because…..well why not just bail out of the Ascension story before it has the chance to go anywhere? Now, can someone please tell me what that story was supposed to be, because the legends thing stopped weeks ago.
Now we get to the big segment of the night: Daniel Bryan endorsing Roman Reigns and then Paul Heyman coming out to say the exact same thing he’s been saying for weeks: Reigns is awesome, but not awesome enough. This segment was well done, well spoken and had a very clear goal. However, it completely failed at its intended goal: making me care about Roman Reigns.
They’re following a script now and the idea makes sense, but Reigns is just not someone the fans can relate to. Look back at the Bryan story. It’s such a basic concept with the volume turned way up: Bryan is the every man who has been held down by the machine but will not stop fighting until he overcomes the odds and achieves his glory. What is Reigns’ story? Come see Superman fight Doomsday? That’s only a story when Superman loses, and I don’t picture Roman Reigns losing at Wrestlemania.
Someone tell me why I should care about Roman Reigns. Yeah he had a really cool run as part of the Shield, but Rollins has grown by leaps and bounds since then and Ambrose has had his moments. Reigns is basically the same guy he was a year ago at this time but without his partners around him. The more I think about it, the more I see him as Diesel in 1994: big, strong, not that interesting because there’s little to him other than power and high impact offense. That’s not enough to carry him against Lesnar and I don’t see this experiment working longer than a few months.
Kidd and Cesaro beat the Usos in their rematch. This was about what you would expect and thankfully they didn’t just switch the titles right back. The Usos can do something else besides get the belts back (I’m not sure what exactly) and just let Kidd and Cesaro show off for the next four months or so. The Usos were good long term placeholders, but I’ve seen enough of them with the belts in the last year.
Mizdow has gotten a commercial shoot by being the stunt double. This would be the 318th issue to start the eventual face turn.
Bray Wyatt says his usual insane stuff about Undertaker. At least he has a target now.
Jack Swagger beat Stardust with the Patriot Lock after a distraction from Goldust. I don’t like Wrestlemania rematches and we seem to be getting more than one this year.
Cena and Rusev argued over political ideologies, monetary policy and whether or not Cena gave up in the Accolade. Or Acolyte, whichever Cena is calling it this time. It’s worked for 40 years and it works now.
Rollins and Orton didn’t have much to say.
Cool video on Sting to catch younger fans up.
The Bellas vs. Paige/Emma lasted 30 seconds. They seem to be setting up Bellas vs. Paige/AJ in a dream tag match. That would likely be Kevin Dunn’s dream with the Bellas going over.
The Bushwhackers are going into the Hall of Fame. Luke licked my face when I was three so I can’t complain too much.
Ryback beat Curtis Axel in 44 seconds. That Axelmania and the Royal Rumble clock are the most entertaining things Axel has ever done.
The final match was your standard main event tag with Reigns and Bryan beating Orton and Rollins with the running knee ending Seth. Orton bailed after Rollins tagged himself in but didn’t RKO Rollins for some reason. That reason would be ALL HAIL STEPHANIE of course, because Heaven forbid he offend her.
Overall, this show proved one thing: the road to this year’s Wrestlemania is lacking. The stories are being told well enough, but they’re just not very good stories. Reigns isn’t an interesting hero, Orton vs. Rollins needs to just get set up already, the Intercontinental Champion is the biggest loser this side of Barry Horowitz and there are at least two upcoming rematches if not more. That doesn’t scream biggest show of the year to me. It screams “oh dang we blew our ideas last year and we’ve got nothing left for this time.” That’s not good in any way, shape or form.
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:
Monday Night Raw – February 16, 2015: The Response To The Acceptance For A Challenge To Talk
Monday Night Raw Date: February 16, 2015
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Booker T.
It’s the go home show for Fast Lane and the main story here is the implosion of Reigns and Bryan. They’ve gone from respect to attacking each other in the span of a week, meaning it’s almost time for them to either win the Tag Team Titles or respect each other again so the story stops making any sense. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Here’s Cena to address Rusev attacking his bad eye last week. Cena knows you have to be extra aggressive to deal with something like Rusev. This Sunday it’s not going to be the smiling Cena because he’s coming to Fast Lane to fight for respect and to win the United States Championship. Notice that Cena makes winning the title sound like it means something to him. Ambrose has been doing the same with the Intercontinental Title and it’s a nice touch that we haven’t gotten in a long time.
Cue the Russians with Lana talking about how everyone has fallen to Rusev and Cena will be no exception. There is no coming back from this Sunday and Cena will be crushed. Rusev promises to destroy everything Cena has, including his will to live. Cena goes right after him and takes Rusev down on the stage, including throwing him face first into the wall like Rusev did last week. The fans are WAY into this beatdown and even count along with ten right hands to Rusev’s head.
Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper
Dean brings out a signed contract for an Intercontinental Title shot at Fast Lane, just waiting for Barrett’s signature. Ambrose takes him down with a headlock to start but Luke writhes out of it and headbutts Dean into the corner. Back up and Dean hammers away before hitting a nice middle rope back elbow to the jaw. They head outside with Dean’s suicide dive being easily blocked in a move you don’t see all that often. Harper kicks him in the face and we take a break.
Back with Dean caught in a headlock until he bites Harper’s hand to escape. He throws Luke to the floor but Harper pops back in, only to get caught in a tornado DDT to put both guys down. The standing flying elbow drop gets two but Dean walks into the superkick for the same. The rebound clothesline is countered into a sitout Boss Man Slam for two for Harper. Luke misses the discus lariat and Dirty Deeds is good for the pin at 11:06.
Rating: C+. Nice match but it’s a shame to see Harper as just another jobber to the stars. He didn’t get an entrance here and was just there as a plot device so Ambrose could pin another former Intercontinental Champion. The match was fun stuff at times though with some nice sequences, but you knew Harper wasn’t going to have a real chance here.
Quick chat about the Dust Brothers imploding. Bringing in Dusty is the only logical step from here.
The Authority is in the back where Big Show and Kane argue over the ending of Tag Team Turmoil and the Royal Rumble. Kane blames him for everything and they’re about to fight again. Big Show keeps saying February 13, which would be last Friday. HHH cuts them off because he’s tired of how these two make him look. They have big singles matches tonight and HHH wants solutions instead of excuses.
Bray Wyatt has what looks like a nail in his hand and talks about there is fear inside of us all. It’s coming. They’re giving themselves extra time before revealing Undertaker, presumably to make sure he can actually go.
The Dust Brothers are in the back with Dusty Rhodes and Stardust is being his usual insane self. Dusty says he’s here to tell Cody that none of the stars and galaxies mean anything without family. He loves them both no matter what happens so get it together. The brothers shake hands and Dusty is pleased.
New Day vs. Goldust/Stardust
Woods and Stardust get things going with Xavier hitting a knee to the ribs, sending Stardust over for a tag to his brother. The brothers start taking over on Woods as we see Dusty watching in the back. Woods enziguris Stardust down and makes the tag to Kofi as everything speeds up. Everything breaks down and Kofi takes a good while to get the fans into his clapping. The brothers nearly collide again, allowing Kingston to hit Trouble in Paradise for the pin on Goldust at 2:58. Not really noteworthy here but Cole confuses Woods and Kingston because he’s a moron. If he can rip on people for basic errors, so can I.
Stardust and Goldust hug post match, but Stardust lays him out with Cross Rhodes.
Roman Reigns says he has to deal with Daniel Bryan and Brock Lesnar at the same time. The Authority hasn’t been trying to set anything right but rather stop Reigns from riding the fans’ momentum. Bryan took the opportunity he had but Reigns is going to take that opportunity back.
Stardust rips into Dusty in the back, saying this family stuff is nonsense. He declares Cody dead and Dusty looks heartbroken.
Kane vs. Roman Reigns
Bryan is on commentary and starts us a YES chant as Reigns runs Kane over to start. Kane sends him into the middle buckle to take over, which Bryan says is on Reigns instead of him. We’re already in the chinlock as Cole brings up the possibility of Bryan getting disqualified on Sunday. Bryan: “Why would I have to worry about that? I’m the better wrestler.”
Back up and Kane boots Reigns in the jaw for two and we get what sounds like a YOU CAN’T WRESTLE chant. Who exactly are they talking about there? Reigns fights back and gets two off a Samoan drop, followed by another YES chant. Kane kicks him in the face again and they head outside with Kane loading up the announcers’ table, only to eat a spear to give Reigns the countout win at 6:18. If anyone can come up with a reason why that wasn’t a pinfall win for Reigns, please let me know so I can tell you why you’re wrong.
Rating: D. Boring match here and again, why in the world does WWE have no problem having people like Miz and Mizdow both get pinned going into their match but Kane only has to lose by countout? This protection of the giants astounds me as they’re both made men and can lose every match for the rest of their careers and not have their legacies hurt, but they’re protected like Fort Knox.
Bryan starts another YES chant and Reigns offers him a chance to get in. Daniel walks away instead.
Post break, Bryan says Reigns is going to have to deal with a lot more YES chants Sunday than he did tonight. If he wants to be World Champion, he has to be mentally tough. This is at least somewhat interesting.
The Bellas steal Paige’s clothes so she can’t have a match tonight. Cameron won’t let her borrow any gear so Paige grabs one of the Rosebuds, who I believe is played by indy star Mia Yim. Again, this is an acceptable use of the Divas, but there’s no room for people like Charlotte and Sasha Banks to have an awesome match because it’s not what fans want to see. No, they want to see pranks like you would see at a summer camp from “reality TV stars”.
Summer Rae vs. Paige
Paige is dressed as a fairy princess because that’s supposed to be entertaining. She runs Summer over and drives knees into Summer’s chest, only to take a spin kick to the face (clearly didn’t connect), setting up a full nelson with the legs. Paige rolls out and hoots the PTO for the win at 2:45.
Post match the Bellas come out but Paige cuts them off and says she doesn’t need an outfit to make her look good. This Sunday, she’ll look even better because she’ll be wearing the Divas Championship.
Sheamus return video.
Here’s Rollins for his match with Ziggler but first he rips on the idea of Presidents’ Day because it’s about the past. That’s a waste of time because the future is right here in front of you. He’s the most talented performer in the world and could do anything he wanted. Maybe he should run for President even though he isn’t old enough. Or he could host the Daily Show and make it watchable. Or maybe he should just become World Champion and main event Wrestlemania.
Instead he’s stuck dealing with people like Dolph Ziggler, who cuts Rollins off. Dolph says Rollins had a bad Valentine’s Day. Did the Stooges get him the wrong chocolates? Maybe HHH screwed up the talk about the birds-uh and the bees-uh. Rollins calls Ziggler a nothing but Dolph says he raises the bar every time he’s in this ring. If he can’t keep the Authority gone, the least he can do is take care of their golden boy. Ziggler knocks Rollins to the floor and the opening bell is after a break.
Seth Rollins vs. Dolph Ziggler
The match is joined in progress after a break with Ziggler fighting out of a chinlock. The Stooges get caught interfering and earn an ejection for their troubles. Ziggler eats a forearm to the jaw but sidesteps a charge to send Rollins into the post. The buckle bomb is countered into a sunset flip for two and the running DDT gets the same. Rollins starts hammering away but misses the top rope knee. A superkick to the ribs looks to set up the Curb Stomp but Ziggler scores with a superkick of his own. The Zig Zag has Rollins beat but the Stooges run in for the DQ at 5:18.
Rating: C. The match was decent enough but my goodness can we get some better motivation here? Yeah there are some lame matches and stories, but it’s hard to always blame the wrestlers for the results. Look at this one for example. Why were Rollins and Ziggler fighting? Over who is the best? Well ok fine, but that’s not what their promo set up. Why didn’t their promo set that up? Because it was clearly just there to fill in time rather than to set up their match. You can’t pin that (or Kane for that matter) on the wrestlers, at least not all of it.
Rowan and Ryback come in for the save and lay out Noble.
Here’s HHH to address Sting’s actions from last week. First up we get a video recapping Sting helping get rid of the Authority at Survivor Series and helping the three fired guys get their jobs back. HHH says the word on the street is that he’s afraid of Sting. This Sunday, the unthinkable is going to happen when WCW and WWE are in the same ring. I’d try to forget the Invasion too boss. Before he can get too far though, here’s Ric Flair to interrupt.
Flair says he’s here because he respects and loves HHH. This is the same town where HHH inducted Flair into the Hall of Fame and said Flair should have his own wing. HHH politely cuts him off to say he already knows how good Sting is, but Flair don’t put yourself in a position to fail. HHH talks about how Sting took Flair to the limit at the first Clash of the Champions and then lived off that reputation for years.
If Sting had shown up here over the years, HHH would have done whatever it took to get rid of him on principle alone. If Sting is WCW, then HHH is the WWE. Flair tries to cool HHH down by bringing up him not being a full time wrestler now (as opposed to Sting of course). HHH needs to be careful that he doesn’t get caught up and lose to Sting.
In a good line, HHH says he may not be Flair in the ring, but when it comes to taking care of Sting, Flair is no HHH. Flair says don’t let Sting shove you down again, so HHH shoves Flair down and rants about how important WWE is to him. This worked a lot better than I was expecting, despite all the HHH’s nose sized holes in the idea.
Darren Young/??? vs. Ascension
Young’s partner doesn’t even get an entrance. The beating is on before the bell with Konnor crushing the nameless guy (even the announcers are referencing the fact that they don’t know his name) until Titus O’Neil comes in for the save. So the Prime Time Players are back together and Slater Gator is done?
Miz and Barrett agree to take care of each others’ problems.
Preview of the Destruction of the Shield DVD.
Damien Mizdow vs. Bad News Barrett
Non-title. Barrett stomps away in the corner to start but Mizdow stomps him down, only to have Miz ring a bell, meaning to stop. He needs Mizdow to come buff his shoe, allowing Barrett to kick him down off the apron. Mizdow takes over again but another bell (potential smudge on sunglasses) distracts Mizdow so the Bull Hammer can give Barrett the pin at 2:31.
Ambrose hits the ring post match and ties Barrett to the post. Ambrose demands that Barrett sign and puts a pen in his hand, literally forcing Barrett to sign. Bad News: “GET A KNIFE! THIS IS ILLEGAL!” Ambrose says that makes it official and the match is on for Fast Lane.
Bray pounds the nail into a board and shouts to find him before he finds whoever he’s talking to.
Jimmy Uso/Naomi vs. Natalya/Tyson Kidd
The Usos defend against Cesaro and Kidd on Sunday. Kidd bails to the corner to tag in Natalya instead of fighting Jimmy. After a few armdrags, it’s back to the guys as Kidd actually fights for a change. Jimmy stares back at him and it’s back to the girls. Natalya throws Naomi down and hits a quick basement dropkick but Kidd still doesn’t want to come in. Naomi flips Natalya over into a nice pinfall reversal sequence with a sunset flip getting the pin on Natalya at 2:55.
Kidd blames Natalya for the loss.
Daniel Bryan vs. Big Show
Reigns is at ringside. Bryan kicks away at Show’s leg but gets shoved down. JBL: “It’s like Jack and the Beanstalk, except the Beanstalk doesn’t fight back.” As in the story where JACK FACES A GIANT, meaning the entire analogy is completely overthinking the idea and missing the point? Show throws him around but gets caught in a sleeper as Reigns gets up and starts signing autographs. It doesn’t seem to bother Bryan as he takes Show down to his knees. Show fights out as Reigns is taking pictures with fans. Bryan gets thrown down as we take a break.
Back with Reigns sitting again and Bryan fighting out of a chinlock. Show puts him in a bearhug but gets guillotined on the top rope as JBL tells Booker to stop talking about fairy tales. Big Show is finally pulled over the top rope but Reigns starts throwing out t-shirts. Daniel is thrown into Reigns so Show spears Roman down for some reason. They get back inside and Bryan knocks Show into the corner. He counters a chokeslam into the YES Lock but Show makes the ropes. Here come the YES Kicks for two but Bryan gets launched off the kickout. Bryan goes up top but Reigns Superman Punches Show for the DQ at 14:38.
Rating: C+. That would mean Big Show beat Bryan and Kane only lost via countout. Only in WWE. Anyway, this was actually a pretty decent power vs. speed match and the Reigns stuff was a nice addition to everything. We’ll call this a pleasant surprise more than anything else. We’ll also call the tag match on Thursday, where Bryan and Reigns cleaned out the tag team division, not meaning anything a pretty obvious non-surprise.
Post match Bryan dropkicks Reigns down and the fight is on. Referees eventually break it up but the fans wake up to shout LET THEM FIGHT. Instead they begrudgingly shake hands before fighting again, much to the fans’ delight. Bryan kicks him to the floor and hits the FLYING GOAT but Reigns sends him into the crowd to keep the fight going. A chair is brought in but they’re eventually dragged away to end the show. That was a really good closing segment and I was getting into it by the end.
Overall Rating: C. This is what you call “OH SNAP THERE’S A PAY PER VIEW ON SUNDAY AND WE HAVEN’T DONE JACK!” All night long they were flying through everything they could in an attempt to hide the fact that Fast Lane doesn’t need to exist. The wrestling was ok at best, but they did a decent job of setting Sunday up. The US Title match feels a lot bigger all of a sudden but I don’t think Cena walks out with the title. Other than that, the Flair/HHH segment was good enough if you can ignore some of the lame motivation.
That’s this show’s biggest takeaway for me: the lack of logical motivation all over the show. Look at Ziggler and Rollins for example. They had an issue three months ago, but both guys have moved on since then. Are they really just fighting because of what happened at Survivor Series? All we heard from them was some lame stuff about Valentine’s Day, which makes me think there was no given reason for the two of them to be fighting. That’s a far too common problem in this company and it’s really starting to show.
Results
Dean Ambrose b. Luke Harper – Dirty Deeds
New Day b. Goldust/Stardust – Trouble in Paradise to Goldust
Roman Reigns b. Kane via countout
Paige b. Summer Rae – PTO
Dolph Ziggler b. Seth Rollins via DQ when Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury interfered
Bad News Barrett b. Damien Mizdow – Bull Hammer
Jimmy Uso/Naomi b. Natalya/Tyson Kidd – Sunset flip to Natalya
Big Show b. Daniel Bryan via DQ when Roman Reigns interfered
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:
Smackdown – January 29, 2015: And So It Ends. Please Dear Goodness Let It End.
Smackdown Date: January 29, 2015
Location: XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole
This is a rare live show due to the massive snow storm in the northeast that wiped out Tuesday’s tapings. That might actually be the best thing they could have had happen to them after the negative reaction to the Royal Rumble. Tonight’s main event is yet another Bryan vs. Kane showdown, this time in a casket match. Let’s get to it.
Here’s HHH to welcome us to Raw before realizing he’s a bit shaken up. The one thing WWE doesn’t like is being told what to do, which is why they did it. Just like they were told they would never have a million Network subscribers, which is exactly what they announced this week. He actually thanks the fans for subscribing in a rare genuine act. Then he was told they couldn’t have a show in Hartford, so here they are for the live show.
WWE isn’t the only one with a controversy right now because the NFL and Roger Goodell have a problem with their balls. Some like them hard and some like them soft, but WWE has never had a problem with balls. However, that’s not something they have an issue with in WWE. HHH is the same way, because he has a problem with the man called Sting, and he’ll be dealing with that face to face at Fast Lane.
That brings him back to the Royal Rumble which had its fair share of controversy. First of all there was an exceptional triple threat where Rollins proved that he is the future, Cena proved that he is the past and Brock Lesnar proved that he is the beast and World Heavyweight Champion.
However, that wasn’t the major controversy. The controversy was due to the Royal Rumble itself, which everyone has been talking about. We see some clips with Cole talking about how the fans are upset that guys like Ziggler, Bryan and Wyatt have been eliminated, leaving Big Show and Kane in the end. Reigns eliminated Rusev to win and cemented his spot at Wrestlemania.
HHH promises to make an announcement on Raw that is going to end the controversy and shake the WWE to its core. That sounds like trying to fix the main event already, which might not be the worst idea in the world. This brings out Reigns, who says there was no controversy because he won the Rumble. HHH agrees that he won the match, so now Reigns can win this one.
Big Show vs. Roman Reigns
Now let this be the FINAL match. They shove each other around to start with Big Show shoving him around to start. This is where Reigns is getting hurt more than anywhere else: he should be DESTROYING Big Show to set up a major showdown with giant killer vs. ultimate giant Lesnar at Wrestlemania. Instead it’s Big Show looking dominant and Reigns probably making a comeback to win in a surprise. Show throws him across the ring as we’re waiting on Reigns’ first offense. He slips out of a slam and sends Big Show into the buckle for a breather, followed by a clothesline out to the floor as we take a break.
Back with Show working on the knee and putting on something like an ankle lock. Reigns climbs up the ropes to escape and counters into an ankle scissors of all things to send Show over the top. There’s the apron kick but of course Show pops back up. Some clotheslines have little effect but a third one finally puts Show down.
A Samoan drop plants Show again but he rolls outside. Another running clothesline off the apron puts Show down but the knee is banged up. Back in and the Superman Punch is countered into the chokeslam for two. Show goes up but gets Superman Punched twice. He still won’t go down so Reigns slams him down, setting up the spear for the pin at 12:21.
Rating: D. AND THEY’RE DONE. Like NEVER AGAIN let these two fight. It’s not even that Reigns is looking bad out there but Big Show just looks like nothing. And what does Reigns get out of this win? Nothing of course, because NO ONE CARES ABOUT BIG SHOW. Dull match here and it’s almost infuriating after all the months of these two fighting.
Vince announces February as a free month for new subscribers on the WWE Network.
Here are Rollins and the Stooges with something to say. Rollins says he told us he would prove himself on Sunday and that’s exactly what he did. He was a single count away from winning the WWE World Heavyweight Title and he stuck a dagger into Lesnar’s heart when he broke his rib. He’s feeling so good that he’s going to issue an open challenge to anyone in this building that wants to face him.
Cue Ryback to go after Rollins but the Stooges get the better of him. This brings out Rowan to help but the Stooges and Rollins take him down as well. Ziggler completes the trio but gets sent into the announcers’ table. Rollins knees Rowan in the back and the Authority bails before anything else happens. I smell a six man.
Kane is caressing a coffin and promises to lock Bryan inside tonight where the only thing he’ll be able to hear is the beating of his heart. It’s ashes to ashes and dust to dust, so may God have mercy on Bryan’s soul tonight, because Kane will have none.
Jey Uso vs. Tyson Kidd
They start fast with Jey going to the corner but getting kicked in the knee. Tyson immediately goes after the bad wheel and slaps on a leg lock like a smart heel (or wrestler in general) should. Jey kicks Kidd out to the floor and nails him in the head, setting up a charge (so much for selling the leg). Kidd kicks him in the head though and springboards back in, only to get caught in a Samoan drop. Jimmy and Cesaro go at it on the floor, allowing Kidd to hit the fisherman’s neckbreaker for the pin at 2:30.
Here are Rusev and Lana to talk about this past Sunday. Rusev says he should have been the winner and Lana is so upset that she can’t speak English. He’s the US Champion and wants to challenge a man from the past: John Cena. Cena has no hunger or desire and he isn’t a superstar anymore. This brings out Cena who looks shocked at what Rusev just said. Cena threatens to shut Rusev’s mouth for him.
It sounds like Rusev has bought into his own hype because he thinks Cena is no challenge for him. He’s John Cena, a fifteen time World Champion, a two time Royal Rumble winner and the face who runs this place. He had that US Title years ago and challenges Rusev to do the Hartford Hoedown. Rusev is ready to go but Lana calls him off. The Russians leave but Cena isn’t done. He’s fighting Rusev at Fast Lane and ending the undefeated streak because the champ is here. This really didn’t accomplish much but Cena sounded good.
Paige vs. Nikki Bella for the Divas Title is official for Fast Lane. Paige is in the back when the Bellas come up to make fun of her for being pale. She elbows Brie in the face but takes a big forearm from Nikki.
Goldust/Stardust vs. Ascension
The brothers aren’t sure who is going to start until it’s Stardust vs. Viktor. A hiptoss puts Viktor down and Stardust WOOs. Stardust is shoved into a forearm to Konnor but Viktor nails him in the back to take over. Konnor comes in an\d stomps away and hammers away before it’s quickly back to Viktor for a chinlock.
Ascension keeps hammering on Stardust in the corner as the Dusts are suddenly the faces in this match. Stardust finally gets over for a hot tag and Goldust comes in with a knee to Viktor’s head as everything breaks down. Stardust tags himself back in and Goldust isn’t pleased. Konnor shoves Stardust off the top and a quick Fall of Man is good for the pin at 4:33.
Rating: D+. This was more angle advancement than anything else but it also gave Ascension another win. It looks like they’re splitting up the Dust Brothers and I can’t say I blame them at this point. There’s nothing left for them to do and they’re starting to get stale as a team, so give the fans a feud that they’ve been wanting for a good while.
Kane is STILL looking at the casket and slams it shut.
A magician is entertaining some wrestlers in the back when Miz and Mizdow come up to shake his hand. Miz gets annoyed at Mizdow shaking his hand but the magician demonstrates a magic trick with a fake egg, only to mystify Miz by turning it into a reel egg. Miz doesn’t believe it’s real and gets it cracked on his head. R-Truth: The yoke’s on you. Mizdow makes sure he isn’t caught laughing. I’m a big fan of magic so this was more entertaining than it should have been.
Bray Wyatt asks us what makes us happy. Maybe it’s money or a fond memory. He finds enjoyment in things that mommy and daddy hid from us as children. Bray is legion among men so he asks what makes us smile. When he’s done, it will be hard for us to ever smile again. Run.
Kane vs. Daniel Bryan
Casket match and they have a lot of time for this one. Cole talks about Bryan looking at the casket because he’s never been in a casket match before. I’m sure this has nothing to do with the potential of being locked inside a casket. Kane quickly goes for the casket but Bryan comes back with kicks to the leg while wearing what appear to be furry boots. Kane can’t gorilla press him into the casket and runs away from an attempted baseball slide as we take a break.
Back with Kane putting Bryan’s face in the ring skirt and hammering away at the covered head. A big boot almost knocks Bryan into the casket but he kicks Kane away for the save. Kane plants him with another side slam but has to fight out of a headscissors to put him into the casket. Bryan nails a high cross body on the floor but gets kicked into the casket, only to crawl out the other side. Kane still can’t get him into the casket and we take another break.
We come back with Bryan holding Kane in a chinlock (you don’t see that everyday) and hitting his running clothesline to put the giant down. Here come the YES kicks to send Kane outside, setting up the FLYING GOAT and more right hands from Daniel. Kane backdrops him over the barricade as the casket has been forgotten for the moment. They head over to the announcers’ table with Bryan getting sent into the chairs, followed by a bunch of chair shots to the back.
They suddenly remember this is a casket match with Kane loading up Bryan for a tombstone off the apron, only to have Daniel slip out and dropkick him a few times. He tries a third dropkick but charges into a chokeslam. Kane loads him into the casket but eats a kick to the face followed by the YES Lock with Kane partially in the casket. Even though it looks terrible, it puts Kane into the casket but Bryan still can’t close it. Kane gets out again and almost turns Bryan inside out with a clothesline. Bryan escapes another chokeslam and the running knee to the side of the head puts him in the casket for the win at 22:10.
Rating: D. WAY too long here with a boring match as they had another Bryan vs. Kane showdown that no one wanted to see. Much like earlier, I really hope this is going to be the end of the feud because there’s no reason for these guys to fight ever again. It took too long for Kane to put put away here, but at least Bryan won. I’m not a fan of these matches though and it really gets annoying watching them having a dull match until they remember it’s a casket match.
We see HHH teasing the announcement for Raw again to close the show.
Overall Rating: D+. The promos carried this show and the show flew by but it really wasn’t all that great. The casket match felt like it went on forever, much like the entire Bryan vs. Kane feud. Thankfully Big Show vs. Reigns should be done, which is why you can already see the gimmick rematch coming at Fast Lane. This was a passable show and felt like Raw cut down to two hours.
If they did this style show every Monday, I can’t imagine how much more the fans would calm down. They didn’t pack this show full of nonsense and there wasn’t as much time being wasted. Keep the show moving and don’t let it get repetitive and the show becomes much easier to sit through. That third hour really does cripple Raw and this show is proof. It wasn’t good, but it was a lot easier to sit through.
Results
Roman Reigns b. Big Show – Spear
Tyson Kidd b. Jey Uso – Fisherman’s neckbreaker
Ascension b. Goldust/Stardust – Fall of Man to Stardust
Daniel Bryan b. Kane – Bryan closed Kane in the casket
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:
Ambrose got started in 2004 under the name of Jon Moxley. Here he is in an early jobbing appearance on Velocity, January 21, 2006.
Brad Taylor/Jon Moxley vs. MNM
MNM are Smackdown Tag Team Champions but this is non-title of course. Moxley, with hair longer than Rollins’, eats an elbow to the jaw to start. Everything breaks down and Taylor is thrown to the floor. Mercury drops him throat first across the barricade and adds a huge clothesline back inside. All MNM so far. The breakdancing legdrop has Taylor in trouble but Nitro has to stop for some posing. A tag finally brings in Moxley who is knocked on the back of his head by a dropkick. The Snapshot gives Mercury the easy pin in a long squash.
Rating: D. Dull stuff here but what else are you expecting on a five minute squash on the C list Saturday night show? Moxley didn’t get to show off much here but only a year and a half into the business he really didn’t have much to show off at this point anyway. It’s always interesting to see a jobber who becomes a bigger deal than the stars in the match and that’s what we had here.
Moxley would head to perhaps his most famous haunt: Heartland Wrestling Association in Cincinnati. Here he is on HWA TV in February 2007.
Jon Moxley vs. BJ Whitmer
Feeling out process to start as they trade wristlocks with the commentator running down upcoming house shows. Whitmer cranks on the arm as we hear the other commentator call Puerto Rico a foreign country. A headscissors from Whitmer gets us to a standoff as they’re not really going out of first gear yet. Whitmer hits a quick running knee to the face and a running clothesline puts Moxley out on the floor. That goes a bit better for him actually as he whips Whitmer into the apron and barricade to take over for the first time.
They head inside again with a Jon nailing a backbreaker for two. As is his custom, Moxley goes a little big insane by slapping on a headscissors but cranking on the leg as well for kind of an inverted STF. Back up and Whitmer rips off some chops before a big spinebuster gets two. Jon fights out of what looks like a Rock Bottom and nails a powerbomb into a Liontamer, sending BJ crawling to the ropes. He’s fine enough to superplex Moxley down though before hitting an exploder suplex (I’m guessing that’s what he was going for earlier) but a group called Five Most Wanted comes in for the DQ.
Rating: D+. This really didn’t do much for me, but to be fair Moxley was much better on the mic at this point anyway. I’ve never gotten the appeal of Whitmer. He’s been in ROH for the better part of ever and has had some ok matches, but I’m not sure why he’s been around as long as he has. I really don’t have much to say on this one if you can’t tell.
I’m not entirely sure but I believe this match took place at an HWA house (bar actually) show on March 7, 2007.
Raven vs. Jon Moxley
Before the match, Moxley says he only plays by his rules so this is Jon Moxley Rules, which I’m guessing means anything goes. Raven comes out and asks if that’s what Moxley considers a promo. A quick poll says the people are here to see Moxley take a beating. This is officially a Raven’s Clockwork Orange House of Fun match, which is yet another name for hardcore/weapons match.
Moxley takes him into the corner a few times to start and Raven pauses to grab the mic again. He calls that mildly intimidating and tells Moxley not to do that again. Now Jon wants a handshake but Raven is ready for his kick to the ribs. They head outside and thankfully there’s a spotlight there to make up for the horrible lighting. Raven takes him over the barricade but the cameraman seems to stumble as we lose sight of the guys in the match.
We catch up with Raven choking him on the ground before taking Moxley back to ringside. A clothesline knocks Moxley out of a chair but he comes back with a low blow inside. He shouts NEVERMORE and stomps Raven down for two and it’s time for a chair. Moxley has a seat and puts on the sleeper, only to release early ala Adrian Adonis at Wrestlemania III. Raven crotches him on top and gets all fires up with a bunch of left hands and a discus lariat, only to have Moxley throw him into the chair for two. Raven blocks the drop toehold, pelts the chair at Jon and plants him with the Raven Effect for the pin.
Rating: C. I liked this better than I was expecting to as it’s fascinating seeing a veteran like Raven walk Moxley through this match. Yeah it’s stuff we’ve seen before from Raven, but the stuff setting this up was probably an invaluable lesson for Jon. Raven has been around forever and has a great mind for the business, so it was clear that he was able to show these guys a lot of new ideas. That’s always good for guys like Moxley and other guys early in their careers and this worked well enough as a result.
Moxley would actually get a TNA tryout match on November 11, 2008 before an Impact taping.
Lamar Braxton Porter vs. Jon Moxley
Porter is a doctor character (specializing in PAIN) and is a big power guy with a beard. From what I can tell he wrestled down in FCW in 2010/2011 under the name Cable Jones on a developmental contract. Anyway he shoves Moxley around with ease to start and Jon bails to the corner. Moxley’s waistlock doesn’t get him anywhere and Porter chokes him in the corner.
Jon, a very cocky guy here who seems to be the default face, gets pounded down in the corner again before a spinebuster plants him. Porter misses a charge in the corner and gets slammed down, setting up a missile dropkick for two. An STO backbreaker drops Jon and sets up a swingout Rock Bottom for two more. Back up and Moxley plants him with a DDT for the pin.
Rating: D+. You know Moxley wasn’t much to see in his earlier days. I can see why Porter got a shot in FCW though as he’s a big, strong guy with a god looking beard. That being said, I can also see why these guys didn’t get on in TNA. It wasn’t much of a match and neither guy really stood out here with just back and forth stuff and Porter using his power game. I’ve watched about five Moxley matches now and he hasn’t done anything that stands out from the crowd.
I’m taking a guess on the date of this one and I have no information about it.
Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson
The show looks to be in a church as there are very high ceilings and lights everywhere. Danielson flips out of a test of strength and spits in Moxley’s face to send Jon out to the floor. Back in and Moxley grabs a headlock and they hit the mat for a wrestling sequence. It’s Danielson taking over (shocking I know) with an armbar while sitting on Moxley’s head for good measure.
Danielson does that PAINFUL looking move where he has one arm pinned down and bends the other so that it touches the mat. Back up and Moxley elbows him in the face to take over as the match slows down a bit. The camera shot goes wide for some reason, making it a lot harder to tell what’s going on. Moxley chokes away in the corner and then hammers away in the opposite corner.
In what has been a recurring problem for him, Moxley takes way too long going up top and gets superplexed right back down. Bryan makes his comeback and hits a quick snap suplex, followed by the Swan Dive for two. We hit a nice pinfall reversal sequence for a series of two counts before Jon suplexes him down for another near fall. Moxley tries it again like a villain….rarely does actually, but gets caught in Cattle Mutilation for the submission.
Rating: C. This wasn’t bad and you can see Moxley starting to get the in ring work down. He still doesn’t have a varied offense but that would come soon enough. Danielson was on fire at this point and lighting up the indies (I say this point in a broad scope) and would have been able to get a good to great match out of anyone. Probably the best Moxley match so far.
We’ll head to a co-promoted show from Dragon Gate USA/Evolve on July 23, 2010.
Jon Moxley vs. Brodie Lee
You probably know Lee (in the same attire he wears today) better as Luke Harper. Moxley charges at the bell but gets shoved away and chopped HARD. A big boot drops Moxley again and Lee plants him with a butterfly suplex. Moxley can’t piledrive him though and gets kicked out to the floor. Total dominance so far. Things actually work a bit better for Moxley on the floor as he sends Lee into the post and bites his face.
Brodie comes back by knocking him up against the barricade and chopping Moxley into the crowd. Jon gets that crazy Ambrose look in his eye though and dives back over before choking Lee to the floor. Back in and Moxley gets caught in a half nelson suplex, only to fire off slaps to the face. They slug it out with that REALLY FREAKING ANNOYING non selling of shots to the face before a double clothesline puts both guys on the floor. Both guys bring in chairs and it’s a double DQ befor eanyone does anything with them.
Rating: C+. Now THIS is more like it. These guys beat the tar out of each other and you can see the characters they would be best known for in WWE shining through. Moxley is finding his niche as the off his rocker brawler who can cut awesome promos on the side. The same is true for Lee, as he’s basically the same guy here as he is today as Harper.
Now we get to the matches I’ve been wanting to do since this summer: Dean Ambrose’s series with William Regal. The idea here is simple: Ambrose knows that he’s a villain just like William Regal and has spent months trying to get a match with him. They would FINALLY have their showdown on FCW TV, November 6, 2011. This feud was made by the promos as Ambrose just went completely insane on Regal while Regal kept his calm. One day Ambrose attacked him though and Regal snapped, turning into the evil man that Ambrose knew was still inside him. Regal thanked him for this and the match was set.
William Regal vs. Dean Ambrose
Regal receives a very respectful ovation from the fan. Neither guy is interested in shaking hands as they’ve got a lot of time to work with here. Regal drops him in the corner and stomps away while arguing with the referee as only a villain could. A bunch of forearms drop Ambrose and Regal’s facial expressions here are driving this to another level. You can tell how much he’s relishing being evil again because it’s his nature as a human.
Ambrose gets in a shot to the arm and grabs a standing armbar before Dean forearms him out to the floor. Regal sends him back first onto the apron though and we take a break. Back with Ambrose on his back but crawling away. You might even say backing up in a defensive position. That’s fine with Regal who grabs the arm and bends Dean’s pinkie finger back before driving elbows into the face.
Regal takes him into the corner and pulls Dean’s arm through the turnbuckle pad to tie him into the corner. He drives knees into the exposed arms until the referee has to try to get him out. The distraction lets Dean come back with a running clothesline with the good arm for two. Dean chokes with his shin in a move Regal used earlier on to keep up the psychological game. Regal reverses a triangle choke into a Regal Stretch attempt (cranking on the good arm since Dean can’t use the injured one to escape) but Dean gets to the ropes before the hold is on full.
It gets even worse for Ambrose as Regal is all fired up now. He takes Dean back to the floor and pins the arm between the steps and the ring before kicking the steps into the post. Back in and Regal just hammers Dean across the face with forearms. Ambrose tells him to bring it on so Regal rips at his face. A pair of exploder suplexes is only good for two and Dean is smiling. With the left arm hanging, the Knee Trembler is enough to end Ambrose.
Rating: B+. This was almost all psychology here and it worked wonderfully. Dean tried a monster but pushed him to a level he never should have gone near, sending Regal to pure evil. It was more than Ambrose could handle and Regal had to finish him off with a running knee to the head of a basically unprotected man. Great stuff and well worth checking out to learn how to be a heel.
We’ll wrap up the developmental time with this match that is likely headlining a major pay per view someday. From FCW TV on January 12, 2012.
Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
Reigns is known as Leakee here but that looks better as a title. The winner gets a title shot next week. Ambrose stops to look at William Regal, who he’s been having a long feud with at this point. We’ll get there eventually. Leakee pulls Dean down as Regal talks about how glad he is that his children don’t have evil in their eyes. Rollins gets double teamed but Leakee slams both of their faces into the mat to take over.
Now it’s Leakee getting double teamed as we take a break. Back with Leakee still being double teamed as Regal talks about how great it is for he and Ambrose to be evil but he’s trying to control his hatred. Ambrose rolls Rollins up for two before getting sent to the floor. Leakee knocks Rollins out of the air for two but Ambrose takes Leakee down into the Regal Stretch as part of an obsession with getting a rematch.
Leakee makes the ropes but Rollins springboards in with a clothesline to Dean. The low superkick sends Leakee to the floor but Dean counters another attempt into a wheelbarrow slam for two. Ambrose misses a knee trembler (Regal’s finisher) and Rollins hammers away, only to miss the curb stomp.
Instead he dives through the ropes to take out Leakee before heading back inside to slug it out with Dean. Regal admits that he knows Ambrose will be the end of him as Ambrose turns Rollins inside out with a clothesline. Leakee comes in and Samoan drops both guys at the same time before Checkmate (a running bulldog, a terrible finisher for him) ends Ambrose for the pin.
Rating: C+. All this really did was make me want to watch Ambrose vs. Regal in a match that tears the house down and shows more emotion than anything WWE has done in years because they’re both old school workers like that. The match itself was your usual triple threat. Leakee changing finishers was the best idea he could have had.
Ambrose wasn’t done with Regal though and spent months trying to get a rematch. They finally had their showdown on the final episode of FCW TV on July 15, 2012.
William Regal vs. Dean Ambrose
Feeling out process to start with Regal reaching for the bad arm. An early key lock takes Ambrose (who has a hairy chest here) down and Regal rams the arm into the mat. He stays on the arm by driving in knees and bends the fingers around again. Back up and Ambrose tries to escape in the corner but Regal trips his leg to keep control. He stays on the arm as Dean just can’t get away from him. Regal is wrestling more of a match here instead of going after revenge.
Ambrose finally escapes and shouts that Regal is going to have to take the arm home with him. That’s fine with Regal who takes him down into a crossface chicken wing on the mat but Dean bites the hand to escape. Regal gets even angrier and fires off knees to the face, followed by an exploder suplex. They head outside with Regal putting the arm between the steps and ring again. He doesn’t crush it though but rather steps on Dean’s head to get back to the apron before pulling on the free arm.
The referee breaks it up so Dean unties the bottom buckle as we take a break. Back with Ambrose finally sending him into the post to get a breather. Dean stomps away and the left arm is far too healthy so soon. Regal is stunned from the bad shot into the post and the referee has to check on him.
A series of palm strikes to the head have Regal in trouble and Dean rips the buckle pad off. He drives a bunch of knees into the side of the head, sending Regal’s ear into the buckle. The ear is busted open and a trainer comes out to check on him, but Regal charges across the ring with a forearm. A bunch of referees come in and the match is stopped due to the injury.
Rating: B-. Good but not on the same level of the first match. They needed a bigger ending than what they had here though because the match ending with Regal making a comeback isn’t very powerful, but at least they had an idea here. You can see the anger in Ambrose though and that’s all you needed later on.
After the match Ambrose puts him in the Regal Stretch until everyone breaks it up. Regal looks at him and extends his head so Dean can finish him off. Ambrose nails the Knee Trembler to knock him senseless to end the show and FCW. That’s the way the match should have ended.
Ambrose would of course debut as a member of the Shield at Survivor Series 2012. Here’s one of his earliest singles matches in WWE on Smackdown, April 26, 2013.
Undertaker vs. Dean Ambrose
This is quite the rub for Ambrose. Apparently HELL NO isn’t here tonight so Undertaker is on his own. Ambrose takes it to the corner to start which is about the dumbest thing you can do against undertaker. As expected, Taker launches Dean into the corner and pounds away before hitting the apron legdrop. Back in and Taker misses a big boot in the corner, crotching himself in the process.
Ambrose sends him to the floor and goes off on the big man before sending him into the apron. Back in and Dean pounds away even more with that cocky/psycho look on his face. After a quick two count, Dean pounds on Taker’s jaw and yells about justice. He shouts a bit too much though and gets grabbed around the throat. Taker tries to run the ropes but gets caught with a running knee to the ribs. That gets him nowhere though as Taker snaps off a chokeslam but he has to fight off Shield. Ambrose grabs a DDT for a VERY close two but walks into the Hell’s Gate for the tap out at 4:40.
Rating: C+. You want to talk about a rub, look at what you just saw here. The Shield debuted just six months ago and now one of them is fighting the Undertaker in the main event of Smackdown. Ambrose had Taker in trouble too and never once looked like he was in over his head. This is one of the best initial pushes I’ve ever seen and is showing no signs of slowing down at all.
Time for some gold at Extreme Rules 2013.
US Title: Kofi Kingston vs. Dean Ambrose
Kofi is defending. Rollins and Reigns walk back up into the crowd to keep this as an actual one on one match. Feeling out process to start with Kofi trying a quick Trouble in Paradise but Dean grabs the rope. A hiptoss sends Ambrose down and Kofi pounds away in the corner. Dean comes out of the corner with a clothesline and drops an elbow for one. With Kofi against the ropes, Ambrose hits a hard dropkick for a near fall. Ambrose talks trash and puts on a crossface chicken wing of all things, complete with a grapevine.
Kofi fights up and sends Ambrose face first into the buckle to escape before dropping him with a dropkick. Boom Drop connects but Ambrose backs away before Trouble in Paradise can launch. SOS gets two on Dean and Kofi goes up top, only to be crotched down and caught with a butterfly superplex for two.
Ambrose charges into a kick to the face in the corner and there’s a top rope cross body for two for the champion. Dean goes to the apron and there’s Trouble in Paradise but it knocks Ambrose to the floor. Kofi throws him back in for two but another Trouble in Paradise only hits ropes. The bulldog driver gives us a new champion at 6:45.
Rating: C+. This was exactly what it was supposed to be. Kofi was given the title to drop it to someone like Ambrose and he did that just fine. Kingston is the kind of guy who can bounce back no matter who he loses to so he’ll be just fine. This should be the first of many titles for Shield and it’s a very good sign that they’re getting gold this soon.
Here’s a rare defense of the title at Night of Champions 2013.
US Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose
Ziggy beat Ambrose via DQ on Friday to get this shot. Feeling out process with Ziggler trying to speed things up, only to have Dean grab the rope. Ziggler gets two off a dropkick and there are the ten elbow drops. They tumble out to the floor and Dean takes over before heading back inside for a knee in the back and some face rubbing into the mat. We hit a reverse chinlock followed by a regular chinlock until Ziggler fights up and gets two off a sunset flip.
They trade rollups for two each and Ziggy goes to the middle rope, only to be knocked down so Dean can slowly rake his back. A superplex gets two for the champion so Dean flips over the top and goes up but Ziggler catches him in a top rope X Factor for two. Ambrose’s full nelson is countered into a rollup for two and Dean goes to the corner.
A Stinger Splash and ten punches set up a clothesline for two on Ambrose and it’s off to the sleeper. Dean easily suplexes his way to freedom and a near fall but gets caught in the Fameasser for a close two. Dean’s bulldog driver is countered into a rollup for two but the second attempt is good for the pin to retain the title at 9:54.
Rating: C+. I liked this one more than I thought I would. This is the kind of match the show needed: a fast paced, back and forth match with both guys looking good. A clean win over a former world champion is nothing but good for Dean and the match was a nice pickup as well. Good stuff here.
Ambrose had a major match at the 2013 Slammys on Raw, December 9, 2013.
CM Punk vs. Dean Ambrose
Rollins and Reigns are staying at ringside. Punk takes him down into a headlock followed by a wicked looking armbar to start. Dean fights up and takes Punk over to the rope, only to be taken down with a hammerlock. Back up and Punk tries a spinning cross body off the ropes but dives into a gutbuster instead. Dean stomps away at the injured ribs and drops an elbow for two before being Punk’s back around the ropes.
Punk has his face shoved into the mat for two and we hit the reverse chinlock. CM fights up and sends Dean chest first into the corner before throwing Ambrose outside to get a breather. The suicide dive takes Ambrose out but Punk has to keep an eye on the rest of the Shield as we take a break.
Back with Ambrose holding a headlock but getting belly to back suplexed down. Punk misses a dropkick and as per wrestling logic, he hurts himself despite landing the same way he would have had the move connected. A swinging neckbreaker gets two on Ambrose and some forearms keep him in trouble. The knee in the corner sets up the Macho Elbow for two but Ambrose comes right back with a butterfly suplex.
Punk’s top rope cross body is rolled through for two but he comes back with the high kick for two of his own. The fans think this is awesome. Ambrose knees him in the rubs but sends Punk to the floor where Shield gets in his face for some reason. The other two members leave and Punk hits a quick GTS for the pin at 17:07.
Rating: B. As I said on Smackdown: this was exactly what you would expect from Punk vs. Ambrose when they get time. I wish they would let someone else lose the fall to Punk, but at least this time we got some storyline development as a result. Very solid TV match here as anyone would have expected.
Ambrose had a long feud with Cesaro, inlcuding this match on Smackdown, July 25, 2014.
Cesaro vs. Dean Ambrose
No DQ after Ambrose got DQ’ed on Monday. Ambrose stomps him down in the corner and wants to know who sent Cesaro out here. He pulls out some Singapore canes and chairs but Cesaro kicks him off the apron. Cesaro gets a cane of his own but only hits the post, allowing Ambrose to take him over the barricade and into the timekeeper’s area. A box of something goes onto Cesaro’s head but he comes back with a cane shot to the chest as Ambrose dives off the announcers’ table.
We take a break and come back with Cesaro holding a cane over Dean’s face. He sets up two chairs and slams Dean onto the chairs, which don’t move. Back to the cane over the face before Cesaro nails him in the bad shoulder a few times. Dean says bring it and catches the next swing before hitting the rebound clothesline. Now it’s Ambrose’s turn to hammer away with the cane.
That’s not enough for Dean though as he sets up two chairs back to back but neither guy can nail a suplex. Instead Dean picks one up and suplexes Cesaro through the other chair for two. A middle rope chair shot to Cesaro’s arm has him in trouble but he slams Dean onto a chair for a near fall of his own. They head outside and Dean nails a suicide dive before throwing about ten chairs into the ring.
Ambrose throws Cesaro back in but here’s Rollins to jump Dean. It doesn’t seem to matter as Dean clotheslines him into the crowd but gets crotched on the top rope by Cesaro. A BIG superplex puts both guys down onto the pile of chairs for two and Cesaro is shocked. He’s so shocked that Ambrose grabs a small package out of nowhere for the pin at 11:39 shown of 14:39.
Rating: B-. Take two guys and let them beat each other up for about fifteen minutes. Where could that go wrong? Ambrose is such an offbeat character and he’s perfect for a match like this. Cesaro can wrestle any style and fits in perfectly in a brawl. That superplex looked awesome too.
The next major feud was with Seth Rollins after the Shield split up. Rollins crushed his head against some cinder blocks and the war was on. The blowoff was inside the Cell at Hell in a Cell 2014.
Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
Dean is out first and throws a bunch of chairs and some bags in the ring before climbing the Cell. Rollins comes out but doesn’t want to go up so he sends the Stooges up instead. They go up and get the beating you would expect, only to have Rollins sneak up and destroy Ambrose with the Stooges’ help. There hasn’t been a bell yet. They slowly climb halfway down the side of the cage and we get the first major spot of the match as they ram each other into the Cell and fly through the announcers’ tables.
Both guys are put on stretchers as the match stops. Dean realizes what’s going on though and gets off his stretcher. He goes after Rollins and drags him into the Cell to officially start things off. Dean busts out some duct tape but blasts Seth over and over again with a chair instead of using it. He tries the screwdriver to Seth’s face but Rollins snaps his throat across the top to escape. Dean pops back up and dropkicks Rollins into the Cell to take over again. They get back inside so Dean can clothesline Seth out to the floor.
The suicide dive sends Seth into the Cell wall and Rollins is almost dead. Back in again and Dean piles up chairs but gets suplexed onto them instead. Dean gets right back up and puts Seth across a table at ringside for a middle rope elbow ala Cactus Jack. He rubs Seth’s face into the steel but Kane pops up with a fire extinguisher to blind Ambrose. Seth powerbombs Dean through a standing table against the Cell and they go back inside again.
The Curb Stomp gets two and Seth is frustrated. He goes outside for the briefcase but instead just destroys Dean with chair shots. Rollins puts him head first on the briefcase but Dean counters with Dirty Deeds, only to have Seth escape with a kick to the head. Dean comes back with a Rebound clothesline and a briefcase shot to the face for an even closer two.
Now it’s cinder block time with Dean loading up a Curb Stomp of his own but we’ve got Wyatts. Well at least Bray speaking in tongues and now a lantern in the ring. Smoke fills the ring and we have what looks like a ghost in the middle of it. Bray pops up and nails Ambrose as the lights go out again. Back up with Bray spider walking over to Ambrose and laying him out with a release Rock Bottom to give a shocked Rollins the pin at 13:48.
Rating: B+. It’s a good fight but the ending hurts it a bit. This is probably the best option they could have gone with as you don’t want Rollins losing but you also don’t want Dean to lose all of his heat. Ambrose vs. Wyatt should be good but I would have liked this feud to have a more definitive ending. Unfortunately that wasn’t really possible and this puts Bray back in the spotlight with a feud he could actually win.
Well you know who’s next. We’ll wrap it up at Tribute to the Troops 2014 in one of the only matches Ambrose won of the feud.
Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt
This is a Boot Camp match, meaning a military themed street fight. Sgt. Slaughter does the introductions for old times’ sake. Ambrose comes out in a camouflage hat to really suck up to the fans. It’s a brawl to start of course with Dean hitting his dropkick against the ropes. Bray comes back with a slam as we’re waiting on the weapons to come into play. Dean comes back with what looked like a bulldog to send Bray outside, setting up the suicide dive.
They head to the camouflaged posts before Dean hits him with what looked like a tool box. Since there aren’t enough weapons in the ring, Dean goes underneath to find some chairs, one of which he wedges in the corner. Bray comes back with a kendo stick shot and hammers away on Dean’s ribs. Some right hands get two on Ambrose as the announcers debate G.I. Joes.
We take a break and come back with Dean fighting out of a cravate but eating a right hand to the face. A big kendo stick shot gets two and Bray slowly kicks away. Bray misses a big shot though and Dean takes the stick away. Wyatt seems to like the idea but doesn’t like the beating Ambrose gives him as much. A White Russian legsweep and middle rope elbow with the chair get two for Dean so he starts looking for more toys. He picks a table but takes too long setting it up, allowing Bray to Rock Bottom Ambrose through the table for two.
Wyatt busts out another table but stops to get in Slaughter’s face, allowing Dean to get a breather. Slaughter takes off his boot as Dean comes back with the rebound clothesline. The steel toed boot comes into the ring and goes upside Bray’s head to knock him onto the table. Dean heads up top for the elbow through the table for the pin at 14:30.
Rating: C+. This was violent enough to be entertaining but the gimmick was just there to tie things together. In other words, this was a basic street fight with nothing special other than the last spot of the match. Nothing much to see here, but these two have done so much that it’s hard to find something new.
The more I watch of Ambrose, the more I like him. Looking back over his career, you can see the evolution of his persona into the one he is today. The early days as Jon Moxley really don’t hold up, but as he started becoming more of a brawler with a touch of insanity (and later a slap of insanity), everything clicked because he started nailing the character instead of the wrestling. I’d love to see where else he goes with his stuff because the groundwork is more than there.
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:
I’m keeping this one quick because there just aren’t enough options there.
Sami Zayn’s Road to Redemption worked like a charm with the blowoff making it worth the journey. You could argue this story started back when Sami debuted and started his feud with Cesaro. Over the last few months, Sami has gone back and defeated everyone that has given him a loss before finally capping it off with a title win over NXT Champion Adrian Neville. It’s a classic story and the matches working like a charm made it even better. Yet another reason to love NXT.
Shield breaks up, which ties into a bunch of singles feuds. You had the Shield as perhaps the greatest three man combination ever and there was only one way to get out of that: someone had to turn. In this case it seems to have been the best option, as Rollins turned on his brothers and joined the Authority as the new ace heel. He has since become the top heel in the company and looks ready for the heel push towards the stars. It was a shocking moment and kicked off one of the best set of stories all year.
That leaves us with one option and this really shouldn’t surprise anyone paying attention: Daniel Bryan’s Road to Wrestlemania. Bryan going from the tag team guy to the champ to being screwed over to a Wyatt for a little while to being the people’s choice to the WWE World Heavyweight Champion was one heck of a rollercoaster and the blowoff was in the main event of Wrestlemania. I really don’t think I can give it more praise than that and this might be the easiest winner of the awards all year.
2014 Awards: Match of the Year
Here’s another major award with some last minute entrants.
We’ll start with the frontrunner for most of the year, mainly due to its build up: the Wyatt Family vs. the Shield at Elimination Chamber. These two teams had looked dominant for months coming up to the match and they finally stared each other down. It’s one of those moments where you just knew it was going to be great and then they blew the doors off the place at Elimination Chamber.
Daniel Bryan vs. HHH from Wrestlemania is way up there and the ending was perfect with HHH getting to chuckle at all the fans (myself partially included) who thought he would put himself into the title match. This isn’t something that’s going to hold up though, as it’s good but the show’s booking hurts it a bit. At the end of the day, there was no way Bryan wasn’t winning here, which brings things down. It’s still great, but I can’t say it’s the best match of the year.
We even get a TNA entry with the ladder match in the Tag Team Title series. I know Full Metal Mayhem gets the attention because it was the final match, but the ladder match was just a hair better. This was back to the TLC formula of take six guys and let them break a lot of stuff, including their bodies. It’s a total stunt show and that makes for some very entertaining matches.
I know this one wasn’t universally popular, but I have to mention WeeLC from Extreme Rules. When WWE does comedy well, it can be some of the funniest stuff you get. They NAILED this one and made what could have been the worst idea in history into something hilarious that was a highlight of the night. This isn’t really a serious contender but man alive it was funny.
Back to the first major show of the year with Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt. Here we have two guys just beating the tar out of each other for over twenty minutes in an outstanding opener. Wyatt beat Bryan, but it’s a match where the winner really doesn’t matter. Bray has so much potential, and the fact that he can back it up in the ring is a very important point.
I can’t go with Team Authority vs. Team Cena as a nominee but I’ll throw it in as an honorable mention. The last ten minutes actually had my heart beating fast and not being sure of what should have been a sure thing. Throw in Cena going out halfway through the match and it gets even better. Great match, including STING, but I’m not sure if it’s one of the best of the year.
What I am sure of though is how amazing Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro from NXT: Arrival was. These guys just know how to make things work with Sami as the ultimate underdog and Cesaro being able to do insane power moves that just blow your mind. It’s a hair beneath the 2/3 falls classic, but they got in most of the same spots and Cesaro going into Beast Mode at the end. He doesn’t go there often, but when he goes to that place, I see the superhero that people say is inside him.
It’s been too long since we’ve had a Shield match and HHH might bury me if I don’t mention him, so I’ll throw in Shield vs. Evolution in the elimination tag at Payback. They let the match go for a long time until we finally got to an elimination so the pin was a surprise. This was the old standard of let six guys beat the tar out of each other for half an hour with the young guys hitting one high spot after another and making the big comeback because the fans actually want to see them do it. In other words, they built up the drama and paid it off at the end. Wrestling 101 still works if you can believe that.
Now we’ll go to the other end of the spectrum with Bully Ray/Rockstar Spud vs. Austin Aries/Bobby Roode from One Night Only: Jokers Wild II. In short, this is the funniest match I’ve ever seen and you should watch it yourself. The key here: you can tell the guys in the match came up with the comedy themselves. Instead of inserting them into “funny” situations, the comedy flows naturally because it’s stuff that these people would logically do that is still funny. Over in WWE you see people doing things that are only being done because a script tells them to do it.
That brings us to the winner, which was the only match all year that I had to see. The build was perfect, the go home promo was perfect, the match was perfect, the execution was perfect, the aftermath was perfect, yet for some reason I only gave it an A. The match is of course Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville for the NXT Title at Takeover: R-Evolution. It’s a strong contender for Show of the Year and it was capped off by the Match of the Year.
Monday Night Raw – November 17, 2014: 18 Men On A Free PPV. Yo Ho Ho And A Grumpy Cat
Monday Night Raw Date: November 17, 2014
Location: Berglund Center Coliseum, Roanoke, Virginia
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler
We’re back stateside now for the go home show for Survivor Series. The big story tonight is a contract signing for the main event where we’re most likely to find out who the final members of each team are going to be. More importantly than that though, we have the Grumpy Cat here tonight because there’s an untapped audience between Lifetime and WWE. Or something. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of last week’s Survivor Series partner shuffle.
Here’s the Authority, including Harper, to open things up. HHH brings up Vince making the rules for the Survivor Series in case we hadn’t heard about it in the last few weeks. HHH doesn’t care for the idea of being the employee of someone like the people in the audience. Instead he’s supposed to be someone like Vince McMahon, running the evil empire.
These people would rather have the inmates like Cena and Ziggler running the asylum. The last place that let the inmates run the asylum was WCW and that will NEVER happen in WWE. HHH looks at the team and says they can’t lose while plugging the Network. Stephanie thinks Team Cena should work on being together. HHH says Team Cena will be decimated before the contract signing at the end of the night.
The wife runs through the team again and says Team Cena is down a member. That brings her to Ryback but the Big Guy cuts them off. Ryback says the Authority wants what’s best for business, Cena wants what’s best for the people but Ryback wants what’s best for him. Stephanie gets that idea and brings up respect. It’s clear that Cena doesn’t respect Ryback so why does he want to join the team?
She throws us a clip from Superstars last year where Cena said Ryback had no brains or testicular fortitude. Then a clip from Raw where Cena mocked his way of speaking. Back live, Stephanie suggests that Cena is jealous of Ryback and absolutely hates him. She asks if he wants to team with someone like Cena, but Ryback says he’s his own team and leaves. HHH says that’s a good idea and makes Ziggler vs. Harper right now.
Intercontinental Title: Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler
After a break this is now a title match. During the Big Match Intros, the Stooges come in to jump Ziggler and a briefcase shot from Rollins knocks him cold. Ziggler is holding his head on the mat but says ring the bell. The bell rings and Luke kicks him in the head for two. A Batista Bomb gets the same but Luke misses a big boot in the corner and falls out to the floor as we take another break.
Back with Ziggler escaping a vertical suplex but getting popped in the jaw for two. There’s the Gator Roll and we hit a chinlock. Ziggler fights up and nails a Fameasser for two but Harper counters the superkick into a sitout Boss Man Slam for another near fall. Luke charges into the superkick for two more but comes back with the discus lariat for the pin and the title at 8:33.
Rating: C. Harper’s hard hitting offense continues to look awesome and it’s a good sign that he’s finally getting a singles push of his own. I can’t imagine him ever becoming a huge star but the Intercontinental Title is a good start. They almost had to take the belt off Ziggler after all the stuff they’ve thrown at him and this is the best option out of all the Authority members. Ziggler is even protected a bit because of the pre-match attack.
Ziggler takes a Curb Stomp post match.
The announcers plug the free PPV.
Kofi Kingston New Day video.
Miz and Mizdow pitch a movie idea to the Grumpy Cat. They even have a grumpy stuntcat. The Cat doesn’t care and Miz storms off, only to come back and apologize. One of these men used to be an intellectual savior to the masses people.
Adam Rose vs. Tyson Kidd
The Bunny does Rose’s fall onto the Rosebuds to make Adam even angrier. JBL seems annoyed by the suggestion that the Bunny is a man in a costume. Kidd hammers away to start but walks into a spinebuster for two. The Bunny hits on Natalya, allowing Tyson to slap on the Sharpshooter for the submission at 2:00.
Post match the Bunny goes after Adam and thrusts his hips behind Rose. Just go with it.
Video of Wrestlemania tickets going on sale.
Bray Wyatt is here and after a break he’s in the ring to talk about the lies he’s been told about money buying happiness. He’s been told that a man like Dean Ambrose can buy happiness but Dean is going to be alone day after day. Bray hopes that Dean doesn’t mistake his generosity for something malignant. Yeah Bray did something to get Dean’s attention, but now he comes in peace. That momentary suffering was a gift though because Bray knows the pain Dean is going through.
His mother drowned herself in her own misery and his father left him in a lifetime of isolation. Wyatt says he can save him but Dean pops up on screen. He calls Bray’s ramblings nails on a chalkboard, but he’s been trying to see things Bray’s way. Maybe he can learn something from Bray. He’s already learned a magic trick called video recording, because he’s in the arena right now. The lights come on and Ambrose hammers on Bray, sending him running up the ramp. At Survivor Series, Bray needs to worry about saving himself.
We recap the title change and hear that Ziggler has been taken to a hospital.
Larry the Cable Guy is hosting Raw next week because WWE thinks it’s 2006.
Ryback vs. Cesaro
Ryback powers him into the corner to start and chops away but Cesaro takes him down with a quick suplex. Ryback shrugs it off and hits a delayed suplex of his own. The Thesz press and head slams have Ryback in trouble but Cesaro powerbombs him out of the corner to take over. We hit the chinlock for a bit on Ryback before a slam and kick to the head get two. Back up and Ryback gets clotheslined out to the floor as we take a break.
We come back with Ryback fighting out of a chinlock and catching Cesaro with a belly to belly suplex. Cesaro bails to the apron to avoid the Meat Hook but gets thrown right back in. The middle rope splash connects and a powerbomb out of the corner gets two for Ryback. Shell Shock is countered into rolling Germans for two and Cesaro goes up top.
A big elbow drop gets two more but Ryback pops up with a powerslam for two of his own. The Meat Hook is countered with the uppercut and Swiss Death gets an even closer two. The Neutralizer is countered into a Shell Shock attempt which is countered into a rollup for two more. Not that it matters as the Meat Hook sets up the Shell Shock for the pin at 14:16.
Rating: B. While it’s not as good as the announcers made it out to be, this was one heck of a power match with some solid near falls. Ryback is able to have a decent match if he’s given the right circumstances and someone like Cesaro is a good opponent for him. I wouldn’t mind seeing Cesaro win a bit more often but you can’t have Ryback lose this early in his return.
Cena hopes he sees all of his team members at the contract signing tonight. Ryback doesn’t seem to be part of those plans though.
Here are Rusev and Lana with something to say. Lana brings up Putin being disrespected at the G20 Summit but stops to say SHUT UP a lot. This past week, America drooled over the queen of social media Kim Kardashian, even though no American can compare to Lana. She has a topless photo of her own to show us, but of course it’s of Putin on a horse. This brings out……Heath Slater dressed as Uncle Sam. Like the rest of America, Slater wants Lana to shut up. The spirit of America flows through all of us, including this country boy right here.
Rusev vs. Heath Slater
Superkick, Accolade, 36 seconds.
Miz pitches a buddy comedy to Grumpy Cat. Erick Rowan comes up saying here kitty kitty. He wants the cat, meaning the stuffed one Mizdow is holding. Everyone stands around looking confused. JBL: “…..ok?”
Big Show comes out for a match but gets interrupted by Stephanie’s horrible music. She talks about watching the Monday Night War and seeing Big Show billed as Andre the Giant’s son. Big Show has always been in someone’s shadow, even though he just wants to be in the main event. The people can’t fix that but the Authority can. Thankfully they don’t offer him the usual but instead suggest that he could enter the Hall of Fame next year.
Big Show says no but here’s Sheamus to interrupt. He’s glad to be on Team Cena and will love to only see HHH and Stephanie when they buy tickets. Stephanie laughs because there was an issue with Sheamus’ passport and he’s in danger of being deported. Not that it matters though as Sheamus vs. Big Show are fighting right now. The winner will have a chance to win the World Title at some point in the future.
Big Show vs. Sheamus
They shove each other around to start and Big Show nails some chops in the corner. Sheamus gets thrown to the floor and then over the barricade as we take a break. Back with Sheamus fighting out of a chokeslam attempt by hitting the ten forearms to a kneeling Big Show. A kick to the face and knee drop get two on the giant but he blocks a slam and comes back with some of his own. Show puts on a Haas of Pain but Sheamus is right next to the ropes.
The pale one starts his comeback with an ax handle and avoids a legdrop. He loads up the top rope shoulder but gets speared out of the air for a close two. White Noise (that’s always cool to see on Big Show) and a chokeslam get two each. Show loads up the Vader Bomb but gets caught in an electric chair to put both guys down. Cue Rusev and Henry for the no contest (even though Rusev hit Sheamus first so it should be a DQ but rules that have been the same throughout wrestling history don’t count when writers don’t need them to count) at 11:08.
Rating: C-. This was the usual decent power match between these two but you could see the ending coming the entire way. As soon as they said the winner gets a title shot you knew no one was getting their hand raised for this match. That ending gets on my nerves though as Sheamus should have won via DQ because just having Henry and Rusev get in at the same time was too complicated.
Rusev Accoldes Big Show as Sheamus takes the World’s Strongest Slam through the table.
Nikki Bella vs. Brie Bella
Brie is dressed like AJ and this is an exhibition match. The real AJ comes out to watch but Nikki needs to warm up first. Some backbreakers have Brie in trouble but she finally gets annoyed and shoves Nikki away. That earns her some slaps to the head before Nikki loads up the Rack Attack. AJ gets on the apron, allowing Brie to grab a rollup pin at 2:06.
Nikki goes after Brie post match but AJ makes the save. Brie starts a YES chant and gets beaten up by the champ. I have no idea why this was an exhibition match.
Big E.’s New Day video.
Cena tries to get Ryback again but he isn’t happy with those insults. John apologizes for the comments and says if Ryback helps, the Authority is gone. Ryback says he’s Team Ryback and asks Cena to leave. Cena calls him selfish and thinks Ryback doesn’t want to take a risk.
We recap Ambrose and Wyatt from earlier.
Goldust/Stardust/Miz/Damien Mizdow vs. Usos/Los Matadores
Setting up this Sunday’s four way tag. Diego stops Miz early on for OLE before putting him across the middle rope for a running crotch attack. The fans want a tag to Mizdow but get Goldust instead, only to have Diego fire off some chops in the corner. Los Matadores hit a double hiptoss to Miz, sending him rolling out to the floor. Mizdow comes in and flips himself over before rolling outside as well. Los Matadores dive onto Goldust/Stardust and Torito dives on the actors as we take a break.
Back with Goldust sending Fernando shoulder first into the post. Stardust comes in for a double stomp as the fans STILL want Mizdow. Instead they get an armbar from Stardust so the fans chant for JBL. Back to Miz for a chinlock before Goldust comes in to work on the arm. Mizdow holds out his arm and Goldust is ready to bring him in but Stardust steals the tag instead. Back to Miz who FINALLY tags in Mizdow, only to tag himself back in a few seconds later.
Fernando kicks Miz out to the floor as Jerry says Drew Carrey is in Dumb and Dumber. Fernando tags in Jimmy but Jey tags himself in as the Usos clean house. The double dive takes down some heels until it’s Jimmy hitting a release Samoan drop on Stardust. The Rikishi attack connects but Jimmy charges into a Goldust powerslam. We start the parade of finishers and Jimmy superkicks Diego by mistake before walking into Dark Matter for the pin at 11:48.
Rating: D+. The match was dull but it’s interesting to see that they’re setting up Mizdow’s face turn when he finally gets tired of never getting the spotlight. The fans are buying into it too and everything works. Unfortunately this match has no heat as we head into the show because the main event has swallowed the whole thing.
The Cat is not pleased.
Sheamus has been taken to the hospital and is out of Survivor Series.
After Raw, you can see a preview of the new Randy Savage DVD on the Network.
Here’s the Authority for the contract signing. HHH says Cena is going to come out here and talk about how important this business is to him but it’s nothing compared to what it means for the Authority. This is the air they breathe and they will not lose on Sunday. Stephanie invites Team Cena to come out here and here’s John by himself.
Cena says they’ll win but Stephanie laughs it off and asks what army is going to help him. She tells him to wake up but Cena says don’t get used to giving any orders because the Authority is losing on Sunday. All night long there have been underhanded tricks to take out Team Cena, except for one man. He sees what’s going on: they come out here every week and put people to sleep but claim to know what’s best for business.
Cena is going to have a team on Sunday, even if he has to pick four people out of the crowd. John goes outside and walks around, asking if there are four people that can join him Sunday. There’s a man dressed as a nun, a guy with a sailor’s hat and two kids. Those four would have more passion than the Authority and that’s why Cena’s team is going to win. Cena offers us a preview for tonight and sits down in a chair.
Kane is going to be the first and then Luke Harper will fail. He’s from the swamp so he’ll be used to swamping in his pants. Rusev is next and HHH will start sweating through his suit while Stephanie is vomiting. When they wake up they’ll be hungry so Cena can feed them Sexual Chocolate. Cena gets in the ring and says the Golden Boy with a thing for latex will fall last and HHH will be left cleaning toilets. Stephanie slaps Cena and it’s time to fight.
Cena gets ready but Ziggler and Big Show limp out to stand next to John. Lawler: “80% of a team is better than no team at all!” HHH counts the people but here’s….ERICK ROWAN to help balance things out? Stephanie doesn’t know what to do but says there’s still one spot open. She gives Team Cena one last chance to reconsider but here’s Cesaro of all people….to stand with the Authority.
Stephanie asks if there are any more surprises so here’s Ryback and it really is on. Well that makes most of tonight pointless but it makes the most sense. Everyone brawls to the floor until it’s HHH and Ryback in the ring. They stare each other down until Cena comes back in to AA HHH through a table. Team Cena poses to end the show.
Overall Rating: D+. This show was rough and a lot of that is due to how they’re building up Survivor Series. I’m sure they’ll add some stuff the night of the show or maybe on Smackdown, but right now there are four matches announced for Sunday and two of them are taking up 18 names, assuming they don’t get thrown into other matches for some reason.
The problem right now is everything is put in the main event and while it’s a good story, it’s not enough to carry three hours. Tying everything of note up in one match is never a good idea and it’s going to make the rest of the card feel empty. They should have gone with four on four and had at least one other major match for Sunday, but to be fair it is free so it’s going to be hard to care about.
The worst part about it is the main event on Sunday is a well built match. They have a big match and have made it unclear as to who is going to win. However, when that’s what 80% of Raw is about, it’s a very hard show to sit through. Having ten guys in a single match was too much, but maybe they’ll mix things up on Sunday.
This show really didn’t do much for me but it could have been far worse. Thankfully the Grumpy Cat was just there for a few backstage bits, but that begs the question: is it worth bringing him in and paying however much it cost and all the eye rolling from your base to do some quick gags? I could ask the same for next Monday with Larry the Cable Guy (seriously, it’s 2014) but they have enough problems on Sunday already.
Results
Luke Harper b. Dolph Ziggler – Discus lariat
Tyson Kidd b. Adam Rose – Sharpshooter
Ryback b. Cesaro – Shell Shock
Rusev b. Heath Slater – Accolade
Big Show vs. Sheamus went to a no contest when Rusev and Mark Henry interfered
Goldust/Stardust/Miz/Damien Mizdow b. Usos/Los Matadores – Dark Matter to Jimmy
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
Smackdown – November 14, 2014: Story Advancement And Good Matches. Mass Hysteria!
Smackdown Date: November 14, 2014
Location: Echo Arena, Liverpool, England
Attendance: 2,500
Commentators: Michael Cole, Tom Phillips, John Bradshaw Layfield
We’re wrapping up the European shows here with the blue show over in Liverpool. By now most of the Survivor Series main event is set as I believe we have five guys apiece. It should be interesting to see if any of them are swapped out again. They’ve done a nice job so far of building up the people in the match other than Cena, which should be the point of something like this. Let’s get to it.
We open with a long recap of Raw’s events and all the changes to the teams.
Here’s the returning Chris Jericho for a British Highlight Reel. Jericho has one burning question: Who is Adam Rose’s Bunny, because he’s AWESOME. He thinks it’s Funaki, drawing the first Funaki chant in WWE history. That’s enough hijinks though so let’s get our guests out here. This brings out HHH and Stephanie, with Steph doing Jericho’s pose in a cute bit.
Jericho would like to know why the Authority wanted to be on the show. Stephanie says it was because it’s been too long since Smackdown had the Highlight Reel and they like to have fun. She sucks up to the fans and calls them the most important part of the show. We get a YES chant, which shows how important the fans are because they keep him that popular. However, he wouldn’t be there without the Authority. Who could run the WWE without the Authority? Jericho: “I could.”
Actually he has a better idea: the fans run WWE. He lists off some humiliating ideas for HHH, such as cleaning Jericho’s boots, before showing us a clip of Vickie Guerrero shoving Stephanie into the mud in her retirement match. That’s enough for HHH who says the wolf doesn’t ask to be embraced by sheep. The Authority is going to be laughing when they win at Survivor Series. Jericho should learn that when he calls again to come back and get his WWE fix, because he might be erased from the WWE history books by then. Chris thinks this is an arena full of Jericholics and starts singing the Goodbye song.
Video on Wyatt costing Ambrose the Cell match.
Bray Wyatt vs. Sin Cara
Bray nails him a few times to start but misses a charge. Cara goes up for the Swanton but only hits mat. Back up and the charge hits this time, setting up the suplex slam. The Spider Walk sets up Sister Abigail for the pin at 2:16. Total squash.
Post match Bray says he can feel Ambrose screaming for help in his heart. Dean used to feel unloved and woke up every Christmas morning, hoping that daddy would come back. But when he came downstairs, only darkness was waiting for him. That’s what life has become for Dean, but Bray is the light he’s been searching for his entire life.
Salvation is at hand so let Bray fix him. Cue Ambrose but Bray bails and calls Dean predictable. All he has to do is push the right buttons and Dean will be there right on time. Ambrose wants to punish him, just like he wants to punish his daddy. Bray gets in but gets knocked out by a single right hand. As he walks away, Bray says Dean is crying out for help and that he is the key.
Xavier Woods’ new day is coming.
Goldust/Stardust vs. Adam Rose/The Bunny
Non-title. Rose is a bit less energetic on the way to the ring this week. We get a clip from Main Event where the Bunny took out Goldust, allowing Rose to roll up Stardust for a surprise pin to get back in Adam’s good graces. Adam runs over Goldust to start but gets thrown into the corner for a tag off to Stardust. The Express tries to fire up Rose as he fights out of a chinlock. Goldust and Rose bang heads and the hot tag brings in the Bunny. Stardust gets taken down and won’t tag out, allowing Stardust to block a splash with knees. Dark Matter ends the Bunny at 2:03.
Rose Party Fouls the Bunny post match.
WWE2K15 stuff.
Dolph Ziggler looks at what the Authority has put him through in recent weeks and isn’t worried about his triple threat elimination title defense tonight. He says he’s survived everything they’ve thrown at him and if this is the night he loses, he’s going down with a fight and staying on Team Cena. All he has to do is survive until Survivor Series and then the Authority is gone.
Video on Ryback.
Ryback says he’s on his own team and the only person who needs to worry about survving is Kane, who he faces tonight. What you saw on Monday was just an appetizer and unfortunately for Kane, it’s almost feeding time.
Intercontinental Title: Tyson Kidd vs. Cesaro vs. Dolph Ziggler
Ziggler is defending under elimination rules. Kidd gets shoved away to start and Cesaro kicks Dolph in the face. The smaller guys dropkick Cesaro down but Dolph has to kick out of a rollup from Tyson. They trade rapid fire rollups for two each until Dolph dropkicks Cesaro down again. We take a break and come back with Cesaro suplexing both guys at the same time in a nice power display. A powerbomb plants Dolph and Kidd comes back in with a springboard elbow drop.
Cesaro throws Tyson down to cover Ziggler for two and the fans think this is awesome. Dolph gets two off a Fameasser to Kidd but gets caught in the Tree of Woe. Now it’s Kidd with some delayed dropkicks to Dolph’s face but Cesaro nails a clothesline for two on the Canadian. The champ comes back in with a high cross body to Cesaro as JBL rips on Ziggler for complaining too much. Ziggler neckbreakers Kidd and DDTs Cesaro at the same time for two each. Kidd pops back up with a neckbreaker of his own to the champ but gets caught with an uppercut on the top.
They all head to the corner and grapple up top until Cesaro superplexes Ziggler while Kidd powerbombs Cesaro for the Tower of Doom. Cesaro covers Ziggler but Kidd slaps on the Sharpshooter to the European at the same time. Pure leg strength breaks the hold though and Cesaro counters the running DDT with Swiss Death. We take another break and come back with Kidd hitting a Blockbuster on Cesaro, driving him into Ziggler’s raised knees at the same time.
For once that hurts the knees so Kidd puts on the Sharpshooter with Cesaro adding a Crossface at the same time. In what JBL calls a very stupid move, Kidd lets go of his half and stomps on Cesaro, earning him a Cesaro Swing. Ziggler comes back with the running DDT for two on Cesaro but Kidd kicks the champ in the face, right into a German suplex from Cesaro. Back up and a Zig Zag nails Cesaro but Kidd dropkicks the champ down and steals a pin to eliminate Cesaro at 18:17.
So it’s Ziggler vs. Kidd for the title now with the champ on the floor. Tyson headscissors him down into the steps before running the barricade for a kick to the face. Back in and Kidd chokes on the ropes but gets rolled up for two. A Moss Covered Three Handled Family Credenza gets two for the challenger so Kidd springboards with a dive only designed to get superkicked down for two. Tyson pops back up and grabs the Sharpshooter, only to have Dolph roll through into the Zig Zag for the pin at 21:43.
Rating: B+. This had the time to get going and worked out quite well by the end. I like that Kidd is getting a solid push and getting to show off his skills instead of just being an accessory to Natalya. This feud is doing a great job to build up Ziggler, and more importantly the Intercontinental Title, which have been needed for a long time now. Really good, long match here.
Natalya vs. Layla
Layla steals the shirt Natalya is about to throw into the crowd. Natalya rolls out of a wristlock ala Owen Hart but Layla rolls out of an early Sharpshooter attempt. They trade some hard forearms until Layla just kicks her in the head. Some choking on the ropes gets two for Layla and we hit a figure four neck lock. Off to a body vice instead as we keep cutting to Summer Rae on the floor, even though she hasn’t done anything. Layla poses a lot but gets dropkicked down for two. Natalya gets thrown out to the floor but slaps Summer hard in the face. Back in and a quick Sharpshooter makes Layla tap at 3:55.
Rating: D+. Eh Summer looked good in a short black dress and Layla is always good looking. I’m not sure why I’m supposed to care about this though but I’m assuming it’s something related to a show that doesn’t air with the rest of WWE’s shows and is about four months removed from current events.
Recap of the opening segment.
Kofi Kingston’s new day is coming as well.
We recap Bray’s promo on Dean earlier.
Ambrose shouts about being sick of Bray Wyatt. Bray jumps him from behind and lays Ambrose out. He says this world isn’t made for people like them and labels are the way the world puts them in a box.
Ryback vs. Kane
HHH and Stephanie are at ringside. Kane grabs a headlock to start as we’re already in the slow power counters stage. Ryback runs him over with a shoulder but eats an uppercut for his efforts. Cole wants to know what HHH and Stephanie could possibly do if they lose at Survivor Series because it’s all the know. A suplex puts Kane down and we take a break. Back with Ryback hitting his Thesz Press and slamming Kane’s head into the mat.
The Meat Hook is stopped by a big boot and an elbow drop gets two for Kane. Ryback fights back with chops but gets whipped hard into the corner. We hit the chinlock for a bit but Ryback powers up and breaks a chokeslam attempt. Now the Meat Hook connects but Kane escapes the Shell Shock and takes it to the floor where a chair to Ryback’s ribs draws a DQ at 11:45.
Rating: C-. Watchable power match here with neither guy doing anything of note but enough big crashes to make it work. Ryback continues to look good in the ring and capable of doing more than big spots, though I’m not sure why they couldn’t have Kane take a pin here. I don’t know why they keep letting him lose by DQ but it’s not going to kill him to lose to a fairly big name.
Ryback shrugs off the chair shots and nails Kane with the chair. He stares HHH down to end the show.
Overall Rating: B-. Smackdown and WWE continue to pick up steam as they let the wrestlers do their thing tonight. It’s almost like interesting stuff happens here, including Ambrose vs. Wyatt which has mainly been built up on Fridays. This wasn’t a must see show or anything but it had a great TV match that got a lot of time. What more can you ask for from Smackdown anymore?
Results
Bray Wyatt b. Sin Cara – Sister Abigail
Stardust/Goldust b. Adam Rose/The Bunny – Dark Matter to the Bunny
Dolph Ziggler b. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd – Zig Zag to Kidd
Natalya b. Layla – Sharpshooter
Ryback b. Kane via DQ when Kane used a chair
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1997 WCW Monday Nitro Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at: