Survivor Series 1997
Date: November 9, 1997
Location: Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Attendance: 20,593
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

We had to get here eventually. This is the show that changes everything in wrestling and officially launches the WWF into a new era. Aside from the big moment on the show, we also have a very injured Steve Austin challenging Owen Hart for the Intercontinental Title and the in ring debut for Kane (at least in that character). Let’s get to it.

The opening video is about the Iron Man Match between Bret and Shawn at Wrestlemania XII, where Shawn won the title in overtime. Bret has since gone insane and claimed conspiracy after conspiracy against him, mainly led by Vince and Shawn. The main event tonight is Bret vs. Shawn II. By that I mean about Bret vs. Shawn VIII (It’s not even their first world title match at Survivor Series) but you get the point.

There’s a Karate Fighters (game at the time) blimp flying around. I’m sure people who paid good money for their seats are THRILLED that they get to look at a blimp instead of being able to see the ring.

Team New Age Outlaws vs. Team Headbangers

New Age Outlaws, Godwins

Headbangers, New Blackjacks

The Outlaws are of course Billy Gunn and the Road Dogg, the Headbangers (a hard to describe team that wore skirts and jumped into each other) are Mosh and Thrasher, and the Blackjacks are Barry Windham and Bradshaw. Windham (looking FAT here) starts with Phineas, the latter of which is immediately knocked to the floor with a shoulder block. This is when the Outlaws are a new team of jobbers who would soon shock the world and win the Tag Team Titles from the Legion of Doom.

Off to Bradshaw, who looks skinny here by comparison to what he would become. Phineas gets a boot up in the corner as the evil ones take over. The Outlaws don’t want to come in so it’s off to Henry instead. Bradshaw gets two off a legsweep and puts on an abdominal stretch before falling back and rolling up Henry for the pin. Back to Windham to face Phineas, with Barry hitting a gutwrench suplex and a lariat for two. Phineas comes back with a clothesline of his own for the elimination and to tie it up at three.

Mosh comes in to take over on Phineas with a devastating armbar. It’s off to Billy who beats down Mosh and receives homophobic chants in his general nature. Or maybe it’s something in French. We get down to some basic wrestling and the fans go SILENT. Mosh tries a bulldog but Billy shoves him off and gets the pin for a quick elimination. It’s Thrasher/Bradshaw vs. Phineas/Outlaws.

Thrasher (who actually had a big hand in training Big Show) comes in and works on the arm but Phineas takes him down in return. This has been really dull so far. Thrasher goes up and hits the Stage Dive (top rope seated senton) for the pin to make it 2-2. Off to Bradshaw vs. Road Dogg with the former pounding away. A gutwrench powerbomb puts Dogg down but a Billy distraction lets Dogg get a school boy to pin Bradshaw.

Thrasher pounds on Dogg but walks into a pumphandle slam. He counters into a cover on the Dogg but Billy comes off the top with a legdrop. Now when I say legdrop, I mean he literally is a foot away from Thrasher but gets the pin anyway. This looked so bad that even though I had seen it before, it still made my jaw drop. The Outlaws survive.

Rating: F-. The ending alone makes this a failure, but on top of that, the best worker in this match was Thrasher by far. Let that sink in for a minute. The Outlaws had only been the Outlaws for a month and a half or so at this point so no one cared about them, the Godwins are as interesting as corporate accounting, the Blackjacks are the Blackjacks, and the Headbangers are barely interesting at all. This was a horrible match and an even worse choice for an opener.

Truth Commission vs. Disciples of Apocalypse

Jackyl, Interrogator, Sniper, Recon

Crush, 8-Ball, Skull, Chainz

The Truth Commission is based on a real South African thing, where there were a lot of crimes were committed during Apartheid and the government said “tell the truth that you committed/witnessed these crimes and say you’re sorry.” Amazingly enough it calmed a lot of people down and made the situation a lot better. That being said, I have NO idea why it’s used as a wrestling gimmick. In short, they’re a military themed group. That sums them up as simply as I can.

The Comission is led by Jackyl, who is more famous as Cyrus in ECW. Interrogator is a monster more famous as Kurrgan and the real star of the team. Sniper is a French Canadian wrestler who means nothing and Recon is Bull Buchanan. Crush is Crush, 8-Ball and Skull are big twins and Chainz is Brian Lee from ECW. This really doesn’t scream interesting to me but this is during the Gang Warz period which didn’t ever do anything for me.

Interrogator and Chainz start things off after a brawl with Chainz hammering away but having no visible effect. A sidewalk slam eliminates Chainz in about a minute. Off to Recon vs. 8-Ball with Recon hitting a World’s Strongest Slam for no cover. Jackyl comes in for what might be the only match he ever wrestled in WWF. He’s much better as a manager anyway.

Jackyl drops a top rope knee which is immediately no sold. He chops away a bit but walks into a sidewalk slam from 8-Ball for the pin to make it 3-3. Sniper jumps 8-Ball and hits some elbows for two as Jackyl is on commentary now. Off to Crush, the leader of the team, who stomps away on Sniper a bit. Recon comes back in to face Skull and a collision sends Skull to the floor. 8-Ball comes in illegally and clotheslines Recon down for the pin.

Sniper comes in to beat on Skull but gets caught in a double spinebuster from the twins for two. Interrogator hits 8-Ball from the apron and Sniper hits a bulldog for the elimination, making it 2-2. If this match sounds like a total mess that is hard to follow, it’s because that’s being nice about what’s going on.

Off to Crush for a figure four headscissors on Recon. Skull DDTs Sniper but walks into a sidewalk slam from Interrogator for the pin. It’s Crush vs. Sniper/Interrogator and Crush immediately powerslams Sniper down for the pin. Interrogator is in the ring before the pin hits and ANOTHER sidewalk slam gives Interrogator the final pin and the victory.

Rating: F. In ten minutes, we had seven eliminations, four of which were by the SAME FREAKING MOVE. This was another match where just like the first, there was no one out there that could carry things to make the match work in any way. It makes Interrogator looks good, but it barely accomplished that because of how bad the match was.

We’re about thirty five minutes into the show and it may be the worst thirty five minutes to open a show that I’ve ever seen.

Some fans are split over the main event.

Austin answers some questions from America Online.

We recap Team Canada vs. Team USA. Steve Blackman is in the match for the Americans now after running into the ring to save Vader on Monday so tonight is his debut.

Vader says his team doesn’t look the same but that’s because they’re Americans.

Team Canada (captained by an Englishman) says they’ll win.

Team USA vs. Team Canada

Team USA: Vader, Steve Blackman, Marc Mero, Goldust

Team Canada: British Bulldog, Jim Neidhart, Doug Furnas, Phillip Lafon

Team America comes out to what would become Kurt Angle’s music and naturally are booed out of the building. The Canadians come out to Bret’s music to make sure the idea is hammered home. Furnas is from Oklahoma and Neidhart is from Nevada, but Jim had dual citizenship so it’s not as backwards.

Mero, wearing a hat, starts with Bulldog. Mero takes off the hat and Bulldog wipes himself with it, making him a hero in Canada. Bulldog knocks Mero to the floor and makes fun of Blackman’s martial arts in a funny bit. Vader comes in sans tag and works on Smith’s arm but jumps into a slam. Bulldog EASILY suplexes Vader and it’s off to Lafon.

Back to Mero who hits a knee lift but gets his head kicked off by Lafon, followed by a clothesline for two. Off to Neidhart and then right back to Lafon. Blackman comes in and JR points out that Steve isn’t a wrestler. Lafon DDTs him for two and gets a crucifix for the same. Blackman fights off Team Canada on his own but gets caught on the floor in a fight with Furnas and Lafon, resulting in a countout elimination.

It’s Mero vs. Neidhart now with Jim missing a middle rope splash. Vader comes in and Neidhart knocks him down twice in a row. Vader comes back with the running body attack and a splash for the pin. Back to Lafon for some kicks to send Vader to the floor. Vader gets back in and Lafon is sent rolling to the corner, followed by a big belly to belly to put him down. A middle rope splash is enough to eliminate Lafon, leaving Bulldog and Furnas vs. Vader, Mero and Goldust.

Furnas comes in to pound away but misses a dropkick, allowing the tag in to Mero. Has Goldust been in there yet? Mero pounds Furnas down and goes up for a moonsault press and it looks AWFUL, with Furnas going down like he was trying to powerslam Mero out of the air but Mero hitting the move like usual. Either way it gets two and it’s off to Bulldog because Furnas doesn’t seem to be sure what planet he’s on.

Mero escapes the Bulldog powerslam and blasts Smith with a right hand. Back to Furnas who fires off the rights and lefts. Furnas does the exact same thing, but Mero is a legitimate former amateur boxing champion so that’s not really a fair contest. Mero tries a rollup but gets reversed into one by Furnas who grabs a handful of tights to get us down to 2-2.

Vader pounds on Furnas as the King laments Sable having to leave with Mero. Furnas clotheslines Vader down and it’s off to Bulldog again. Goldust, who apparently has a broken hand (thanks for letting us know earlier), STILL doesn’t want to come in. Vader suplexes Furnas down but Furnas hits him low. When Vader gets another break from Bulldog, Goldust hides on the floor instead of tagging.

Furnas suplexes Vader down but doesn’t tag. A Frankensteiner takes Vader down for two but Vader is right back up. Vader slugs Goldust in the face and pulls him into the ring. Goldust walks out for a countout but Vader slams Furnas down and hits the Vader Bomb for the elimination. Vader turns around and is knocked silly with the ring bell from Bulldog for the final elimination.

Rating: C-. This was a better match by miles and miles than the first two, mainly due to people with actual talent being in there. On top of that, the people CARED about the match and it makes the match a lot better by result. The result was never in doubt given how worthless Team America was, but it was cool to see Vader getting to be his old self, even for one night. The match still wasn’t great but after the first two matches tonight, this was a masterpiece by comparison.

Buy Austin’s shirt!

We recap Kane vs. Mankind, by talking about Undertaker. The idea here is that Undertaker kept saying Kane wasn’t alive, but Bearer insisted he was. Kane showed up at Badd Blood and cost Undertaker the first Cell match. Kane destroyed various people, including Dude Love. Dude left but was replaced by Mankind, who offered to stand up to the monster and tonight it’s Kane’s debut match. Mankind’s solution to Kane: hit him in the head with a pipe. I love it when things get basic like that.

Mankind promises to charge against a brick wall as many times as it takes until it goes down, and if he dies launching himself into that brick wall, so be it. If that’s what it takes to get to Paul Bearer, so be it.

Kane vs. Mankind

The brawl starts immediately on the floor with Kane throwing Mankind into the steps. Kane has the red arena lights ala Sin Cara during his matches at this point. With Mankind half dead in the ring, Kane does the corner fire deal and the match starts. Mankind fights up and a Cactus Clothesline puts both of them on the floor. Kane knocks him right back down and throws the steps at Mankind’s head to take him down again. Total brawl so far, as it should be. Back in and Mankind charges into a big boot but Kane chokes away in the corner.

Kane sends it to the floor again and beats on him some more, but Mankind hot shots him onto the steps to slow the monster down. A chair to the head knocks Kane back into the ring and there’s a piledriver, but Mankind goes after Bearer by mistake. Kane sits up and chokeshoves Mankind off the apron and through the announce table. The Spanish table of course.

Kane loads up a chokeslam on the floor but Mankind kicks him low (which only works on Kane on occasion) and DDTs him on the concrete. The elbow off the apron hits Kane again but Kane sits up and slams Mankind off the top to the floor. Back in and Mankind literally pulls himself up to his feet and is immediately tombstoned for the pin.

Rating: C+. When you have a new guy you want to put over, you call Mick Foley. This is a match you have to think about to get why it worked. First and foremost, Kane is supposed to be a monster who has very little experience in the ring. Think of him like Jason from Friday the 13^th who just wants carnage instead of wanting to wrestle. These two beat the tar out of each other and it made Kane look unstoppable. That would continue for about five and a half months until the Dead Man came back.

Vince says the main event will happen tonight.

Team Legion of Doom vs. Nation of Domination

Legion of Doom, Ken Shamrock, Ahmed Johnson

Faarooq, The Rock, Kama Mustafa, D’Lo Brown

The Nation of Domination is a black power stable led by Faarooq, a brawler. Rock is of course Rocky Maivia, Mustafa is a fighting machine later to be known as the Godfather, and Brown is the closest thing to a high flier the team has. The LOD, Tag Team Champions here, and company talk about being ready for war. Shamrock is a former UFC Champion trying his hand at wrestling. Brown and Hawk start with D’Lo bouncing off of him. Hawk no sells a piledriver as is his custom and a neckbreaker puts Brown down. Off to Rocky who gets knocked around but someone hits Hawk in the back and the yet to be named Rock Bottom eliminates him.

Ahmed comes in and “hits” a jumping back elbow to take Rock down. Kama, quite the monster in his own right, is in next and takes Johnson down with one shot. Faarooq is in next to work on Ahmed’s ribs and continue a feud that went on for like a year. Brown whips Ahmed with a belt which the referee somehow doesn’t hear. Faarooq loads up the Dominator but Johnson escapes (while falling down) and hits a Pearl River Plunge for the elimination.

Brown comes in again and hits a quick Low Down (frog splash) for no cover. Johnson starts no selling and hits a sitout gordbuster. Faarooq is still at ringside. Rock comes in but walks into a spinebuster. Ahmed hits the ropes but Faarooq trips him up and holds the foot so Rocky can get the pin. It’s Animal/Shamrock vs. Brown/Rocky/Kama at the moment. Animal comes in to face Rocky but it’s quickly off to Shamrock. Ken is still somewhat new here so his style still looks fresh.

A big dropkick puts Rocky down and it’s off to Kama. After getting beaten around for a bit, Kama puts on a front facelock to slow things down. A double clothesline puts both guys down and some LOUD noise freaks everyone out. Even JR and King don’t know what it was. Animal gets two off a legdrop but gets kicked in the face for his efforts. Kama showboats a bit too much though and Animal dropkicks him in the back and grabs a rollup for the pin.

Brown comes in and during the distraction, Rocky hits Shamrock low for two. D’Lo hooks a chinlock followed by a backbreaker, but his moonsault misses by about two feet. The Outlaws come out while wearing the stolen LOD shoulder pads, and we’ve got powder and a shoved referee. Animal gets counted out during this mess, leaving us with Brown/Rock vs. Shamrock.

JR talks about how many people Shamrock has made tap out. Jerry: “This is wrestling. You don’t win by making people tap out.” JR: “…….YEAH YOU DO!” Brown starts but it’s both Nation members in there at once. Shamrock runs them both over, suplexes Brown and gets the submission via ankle lock. Rock cracks Ken in the back with a chair shot but it only gets two. Rock hits his spinning DDT for two as does the People’s Elbow (not a thing yet). Ken comes back with a northern lights suplex and a standing hurricanrana. There’s the ankle lock and Rocky is done.

Rating: C. This was a little messy but it pushed Shamrock hard while the heat for Rocky was INSANE. The crowd hated him and Vince certainly took notice. Both of these guys would get huge pushes in the next year with Rock’s being a major step up. The LOD were in their very last run here and they didn’t go out well after that. Fun match here although not great from a technical standpoint at all.

We recap Austin vs. Owen. Austin was challenging for the Intercontinental Title at Summerslam when Owen piledrove him, legitimately hurting his neck (and in the long run saving the company because of what Austin had to evolve into) and paralyzing Austin for a few minutes. Austin amazingly enough finished the match and won the title (with the worst rollup of all time), which is remarkable when you think about it. He had to forfeit the title a month later due to the injury but tonight he’s going for it again.

Intercontinental Title: Steve Austin vs. Owen Hart

Owen is defending, having won the title in a tournament since Austin was hurt. Owen has Lafon, Furnas and Bulldog with him. Hart stalls forever on the floor while rocking an Owen 3:16 (I Just Broke Your Neck) shirt. Neidhart tries to sneak in on Austin but walks into a Stunner. The champion gets in a shot to start and tries a piledriver, much to the crowd’s delight. Owen wraps the knee around the post but gets kicked in the face.

The Hart Foundation leaves and Austin clotheslines Owen in the back on the floor. Hart puts Owen onto the broken Spanish Announce Table before choking away with a cord. Hart wants to be DQ’ed and rings the bell early. Keep that in mind for later. Back in and Austin stomps Owen in the corner, hits the Stunner and wins the title. It’s as quick as it sounds.

Rating: D+. This was barely four minutes long. I’d assume they were unsure about how long Austin could go out there and if that’s the case it’s more than understandable. Austin would again forfeit the title a month later because he wanted to go after the World Title, which he would of course win at Wrestlemania.

Attitude. It’s here.

We recap Bret vs. Shawn. This is Bret’s chance to get his win back from Shawn at Wrestlemania 12. Bret was bitter at Shawn after a massive heel turn, so there’s some great hatred going on here. Ironically enough Shawn cost Undertaker the title, giving it to Bret, at Summerslam.

WWF World Title: Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels

Shawn is European Champion coming into this for no particular reason other than he wanted Bulldog to not have the title anymore. Shawn wipes himself with the Canadian flag (something else taken from Bulldog) during his entrance to further make himself public enemy #1. We get the long tracking shot for Bret’s entrance which is always cool to see. Shawn jumps Bret to start but Bret snaps on him and beats Shawn right back down to the delight of the crowd.

A HARD clothesline puts Shawn on the floor and Bret is going off. I don’t think the bell rang yet. Bret takes it to the crowd and Shawn is reeling. Vince, Commissioner Slaughter and a half dozen referees are at ringside now. JR talks about how this could be Bret’s last match if he loses. Shawn gets an American flag bandana and chokes him into the crowd. Remember the match hasn’t started yet. Bret backdrops Shawn over the barricade and back to ringside.

Shawn keeps trying to piledrive Bret on the concrete but Hart keeps escaping. They head back into the crowd with Bret in total control. They go to the entrance and Bret decks a referee. Back into the ring they go and the bell FINALLY rings as Bret chokes Shawn with a Fleur de Lis. Shawn comes back with the forearm and nipup as the fans question Shawn’s sexual orientation.

Michaels chokes with the flag as Bret has a busted hand. Shawn stalls a lot because that’s the kind of guy he is. Back to the floor with Shawn pounding on Bret and spitting on the crowd. Shawn drops Bret face first on the steps and breaks a Canadian flag over his knee. Back in and Shawn hits a top rope ax handle and it’s off to a front facelock. Bret escapes in what has to be the loudest reaction to a broken front facelock of all time.

Shawn comes back and slams Bret down but Bret rolls through a cross body off the top for two. Bret puts on the Hartbreaker, the figure four around the post for a bit before going after the knee in almost perfect Ric Flair fashion, down to the cannonballs down to the knee and a Figure Four.

Shawn finally turns it over and Bret gets a rope. A Russian legsweep gets two for Bret as does a snap suplex. Bret goes up but Shawn pulls the referee into the way so the shot hits Hebner instead. Shawn rakes Bret’s eyes, puts Bret in the Sharpshooter, and Hebner calls for the bell to give Shawn the title in the most infamous moment ever in wrestling.

Rating: B-. I’m only talking about the match here. The main thing to keep in mind about the famous ending is that there was about twenty minutes of brawling and of the actual match before the finish. I think that’s something people forget because of the famous part. The match we got was quite good, which isn’t really surprising given how familiar these two were with each other. It’s no masterpiece, but it felt like an epic encounter, which is what it needed to do.

Now we’ll get to the big white elephant in Montreal. I’ve not going to pretend like I have some big insight into what happened because I certainly don’t. Long books have been written about what happened here and there’s no point in rehashing the whole thing all over again. In short, it was Bret’s last match, he didn’t want to lose the title in Canada, a screwy finish was agreed on, Vince changed the ending and screwed over Bret, Bret wasn’t seen in WWE for almost thirteen years.

After all the years since then, I think both parties were wrong, but Bret needed to get over himself. So what if he had to lose the title in Canada? I get that he couldn’t stand Shawn, but for someone who seems to pride himself on being oh so professional, it’s pretty lame to say he doesn’t want to lose the title in another country when he made it clear he was leaving.

Vince was in major trouble at this point and was under a lot of pressure. While I don’t think he believed Bret would trash the title on Raw, he had to be worried about something happening, like the title having no value if Bret never lost it, which is understandable. Did he go about the issue the right way? No, but it wasn’t a normal circumstance. Vince did what he thought was best and while it caused a ton of controversy, it was one of the few things he could do. There are a to of different ways you can look at it, and there isn’t a single right answer.

Overall Rating: D. Main event aside, this was a pretty bad show overall. The first forty minutes are AWFUL, the next match is just ok, Kane vs. Mankind is decent, the next match is about building for the future, the match after that was basically a squash, and the main event was good but not great. When the best you can do is good but not great, you’ve got a problem. They’re pretty lucky that only the main event is remembered here, because the rest of the show sucked.

Ratings Comparison

Team New Age Outlaws vs. Team Headbangers

Original: D+

Redo: F-

Truth Commission vs. Disciples of Apocalypse

Original: F

Redo: F

Team Canada vs. Team USA

Original: B+

Redo: C-

Kane vs. Mankind

Original: C+

Redo: C+

Team Legion of Doom vs. Nation of Domination

Original: B

Redo: C

Steve Austin vs. Owen Hart

Original: C

Redo: D+

Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart

Original: B+

Redo: B-

Overall Rating

Original: B+

Redo: D+

Now there’s a major change, likely the biggest so far.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/11/06/history-of-survivor-series-count-up-1997-what-a-screwy-show/

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

This is a show that I did not want to see. In case you didn’t notice it in my 148 different versions of complaining about the show, this was the least interested I’ve been in a pay per view since…..well since whenever TNA last had a pay per view probably. It’s almost entirely made of rematches, which can work but in this case I wasn’t interested in the matches the first time around either. This is the dark time of the year for the company but I wound up really liking the show. A lot of that was due to the lack of expectations but let’s see how well it holds up.

The pre-show match saw Cesaro/Neville/Dolph Ziggler defeating Rusev/Sheamus/King Barrett. This was ALL about Cesaro, who hit a stretch in the middle of the match where he had the fans more fired up than anyone this side of Daniel Bryan. It was fun, it was entertaining, and it was followed by two straight pinfall losses on TV the following week. This is what you’re going to get in WWE: someone starts getting over and it’s not something they want to happen so it’s time to have them lose when more people are watching. The match was really fun though and did exactly what it needed to be.

Alberto Del Rio was the surprise for the US Title Open Challenge. This was indeed a big surprise, but the more I think about it the more unsure I am. Let’s get the good out of the way first: it wasn’t Big Show or some other goon that no one wanted to see. Del Rio is fine but he’s not the most interesting guy in the world by any stretch. He’s a good choice going forward as a midcard champion and the Zeb Colter as manager addition is a nice touch. However, Del Rio has never shown the ability to make me care about him as a heel. He has the in ring abilities but the lack of charisma hurts him. I could go for another face run though.

As for the match, it was just a step ahead of a squash with Del Rio winning clean with the low superkick (there’s a drinking game with that move). This seems to send Cena away for the next few months, which might help freshen things up a little bit. The ending could have been more but it’s nice to have the ending be a clean pin. Also, Del Rio FINALLY beats Cena on his own. Well done indeed.

Next up we had the first Cell match with Roman Reigns defeating Bray Wyatt. This was a good, hard hitting match but it didn’t need to be inside the Cell. This was really just a glorified street fight that happened to be inside the big cage, which isn’t the point of a match like this. You could have just had a regular cage match or barred anyone from ringside with a threat of suspension or whatever. The story leading up to this made it fit in the Cell but the execution didn’t work.

I do like that Reigns won and ended the feud (for now, because you know they’ll get together again one day, probably on a meaningless Raw where they “renew their rivalry”). Wyatt will of course be fine because wins and losses mean nothing (so he’s Nikki with a beard) to him. It’s a good match though and about what I was expecting from these two.

New Day beat the Dudleyz in another average match. This really felt like the end of the feud and at this point that’s the best thing they can do. The Dudleyz never needed to win the titles again and it’s cool to see the New Day get a win over the most successful tag team of all time. Above all else though: this match showed how much New Day needs Woods around. It wasn’t bad or anything without him but he’s the heart and soul of the team.

Charlotte retained the Divas Title over Nikki Bella in a really well done match. Nikki has started getting some psychology down and isn’t screwing up such basic stuff. Also it was nice to see Charlotte win a big match for a change as she’s spent the last month getting beaten up and then often losing. I can live with her following the 1995 Randy Savage formula of getting destroyed and then hitting one big move to retain the title. Taking a beating is fine as long as she survives.

However, Charlotte and the rest of the newcomers (as in the women who arrived three months ago) desperately need personalities. Charlotte is Ric Flair’s daughter, Becky has red hair and great legs and Sasha is spunky. What else is there to say about these three since they’ve been in WWE? Nikki has a character (not a great one but at least it’s there) and is more interesting as a result. Let them have characters (like Paige, who is starting to get there) and there might be an actual division.

Ambrose and Reigns had a nothing segment in the back that seemed to be setting up something for the next night which didn’t really happen.

Seth Rollins retained over Kane in another lame match. What was anyone expecting here? This has been the Kane formula for nearly fifteen years now: he’s an unstoppable killing machine for weeks until he has a match where he’s just a power wrestler. I don’t know why anyone expected anything different and the match was as normal as any Kane match where he clearly had no chance to leave with the title.

Kevin Owens beat Ryback to retain the title in a short match that felt like it got cut down due to time. There’s really not much to say here because it was a Raw match that ended with Owens hitting his finisher. Ryback is probably going to drop down from the ranks soon and now we get a new challenger for Owens, which is probably good at this point.

That leaves us with the main event of Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker. I’m not sure what to say here. They beat the heck out of each other and bled a lot, making it better than most Cell matches in recent years. The blood was such a nice touch and it really made the match feel like a war. It’s really tiring seeing people fight in something considered the most violent match in the world and never get that intense.

The idea here was that Lesnar is now the perfect fighting machine after learning from Undertaker…..but he kind of already was that in the first place. He regularly beat the tar out of anyone he fought, he made Undertaker tap and he’s an awesome amateur wrestler. I like the idea but it’s not something that holds up when you think about it for a little bit. Still though, Brock ripping up a ring and F5ing Undertaker on the exposed boards (after the hardest low blow I’ve ever seen) for the win was great stuff and made him look like an eve bigger killer than he was before.

Then the Wyatts kidnapped Undertaker to set up a Survivor Series match. That’s fine and there’s not much else to go into here, other than SHUT UP JBL! The entire time this was going on, JBL kept going on and on about how disrespectful it was to Undertaker to have a backwoods cult kidnap him, presumably to torture him or perform some ritual. Yeah Brock Lesnar can beat on him with a chair, make him bleed, crush his groin and drop him head first onto exposed boards, but the Wyatts were just rude. It was a moment that really didn’t need commentary and JBL really hurt the segment.

The more I think about this show, the less I like it. There’s a lot of good stuff on it but most of the title matches bring it down. It’s still a good show and a very nice surprise over what it was going to be, but it was really just a last stop before the company could start caring again. Hopefully they go somewhere interesting from here and this would be a good start to get there. The show wasn’t great but it was a good enough usage of three hours.

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 26, 2015
Location: Valley View Casino, San Diego, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton

It’s the night after Hell in a Cell and a few things have been wrapped up. Above all, we need a new #1 contender for Rollins after he beat Kane to retain the title last night. We also need a new Director of Operations/boss because where would we be without three bosses? On top of that, we also need to find out what happened to Undertaker after he was abducted by the Wyatts last night, which is likely setting up an elimination tag at Survivor Series. There are a lot of people missing due to injuries/time off so this could be interesting. Let’s get to it.

The Authority gets us going and Stephanie talks about the legends that were made last night. Normally I would ask what she’s talking about but I’ve been advised to not drive my blood pressure up that high ever again. She introduces “the man who is simply known as the man”, Seth Rollins. Seth is all happy and celebrates with the Authority, who says he proved them right as he ran over everyone they put in front of him. Stephanie is very relieved because their reputations were on the line. That line made me cringe but it’s very clear that those reputations are the most important things in this company.

They’re proud of Rollins and he has to hug them both. HHH talks about the problem of Rollins cleaning out the roster. Starting tonight, people have to prove themselves all over again, so tonight the winners from last night are going to compete in qualifying matches. Those winners will compete in a fatal four way for the right to be defeated by Seth Rollins.

Seth thinks that’s best for business but here’s Roman Reigns to interrupt. Reigns says this has been making him feel sick (amen brother) because Rollins doesn’t belong in the WWE Hall of Fame. He’s winning tonight and then taking that title. Believe that. Stephanie: “LET THE GAMES BEGIN!” Let’s start with a game of SHUT UP STEPHANIE!

Roman Reigns vs. Kofi Kingston

Before the match, Big E. mocks Reigns’ hair and fashion sense (it hasn’t changed in three years!). Kofi says that New Day is putting the Dudleyz in the past, Woods in their hearts (“Let’s throw up a unicorn horn right now!”) and Reigns on the ground. “Just call me Harry Potter because I’m about to make some magic!” Kofi starts fast but Reigns is ready for him and grabs a neckbreaker to send Kingston outside. JBL’s hat gets knocked away and we take a break. Back with Reigns suplexing Kofi in as Big E. shouts various things.

One of the distractions work as Kofi gets in a shot from behind to take over. We hit a sleeper for a bit before a nice top rope ax handle keeps Reigns in trouble. For some reason Kofi goes to an armbar (you don’t often see bad psychology from him like that) and Reigns slams him down with his old NXT finisher (similar to the Protobomb). The corner clotheslines have Kofi in trouble a missed top rope dive makes things even worse as Reigns grabs a rollup into a powerbomb for two. Big E. gets on the apron but eats a Superman Punch, setting up a spear to give Reigns the pin at 12:49.

Rating: B-. This was a lot better than I was expecting as Kofi got in some good offense and got to control for a long time. Kofi is a great asset as he can be funny but also work a good match like this at any given moment. People often forget how great of a resume he really does have as he’s the modern day Tito Santana with all those titles. Good match here.

Miz has an audience to watch him play WWE2K16.

Stills of Del Rio returning and winning the US Title last night.

The other qualifying matches are:

Neville vs. Alberto Del Rio

Big E. vs. Dolph Ziggler

Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro

Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro

Non-title. In an inset promo, Owens says the greatest moment in WWE hasn’t happened yet because he hasn’t been Intercontinental Champion and WWE World Champion at the same time yet. I love it when people who aren’t going to be anywhere near the main event talk about wanting to be the World Champion. Even if it’s not realistic, it sounds good. Cesaro grabs a few rollups to start before sending him face first into the apron. A big delayed vertical suplex gets two on Kevin and it’s already back to the floor for a double clothesline. Both guys beat the count back in at nine and we take a break.

Back with Cesaro hitting the running uppercuts to send Owens outside to run, but Cesaro blasts him with another running uppercut. The cannonball off the apron puts Owens down again and a high cross body gets two. The Swing is countered into a DDT for two but Cesaro comes off the middle rope with a spinning uppercut. Sweet goodness that looked awesome. The referee tells Cesaro to get off the ropes, allowing Kevin to get in a superkick and the Pop Up Powerbomb for the pin at 10:23.

Rating: B-. Gah I was hoping for Cesaro to win here but I know I would have been annoyed if Owens got pinned clean. This is the logical ending but it’s a shame that Cesaro’s latest awesome run looks to be going nowhere. Good match here though as Raw is already on fire and a better show than it’s been in weeks.

Paige is in the back on the phone when Becky and Charlotte come in. She tells them to hang on for a second because everyone is interested in her after she was on Conan. Becky and Charlotte aren’t pleased but Paige promises she had nothing to do with attacking Natalya and it’s a new version of her. They do the pinky swear and things are cool for now.

Team PCB vs. Team Bella

So yeah, this revolution is another way to go with rematch after rematch. Byron says this is about being the BTB: the brand to beat. I’m going to ignore how stupid that sounds and watch Paige armdrag Nikki for two to start. Nikki forearms Charlotte off the apron and brings in Alicia, who walks right into a double dropkick from Charlotte and Paige.

The fans want Becky but get Brie taking over on Charlotte by kicking her in the leg instead. The YES Kicks are broken up by a neckbreaker and it’s finally off to Becky, who feels like she hasn’t been in a match in forever. Everything breaks down and Nikki hits the forearm and Rack Attack for the pin on Becky at 5:27.

Rating: C-. Raise your hand if this surprises you in any way. Becky is getting popular and the fans want to see her so it’s time to give the Bellas another win over them because that’s how this division works. Nikki and Brie are the chosen ones and they’re going to get wins no matter how many times we’ve seen them fight everyone or how much fire the division has been given by these new additions.

Post match Paige goes full heel and lays out Charlotte and Becky with Rampaiges before putting Charlotte in the PTO.

We see Lesnar vs. Undertaker inside the Cell. In WWE2K16 that is.

Now we get a stills package from the real match, including the post match attack by the Wyatts.

Zeb Colter quotes John Lennon’s Imagine and talks about there being no countries. Starting tonight, he and Del Rio are the only citizens of a new country like MexAmerica (uh……). Del Rio says he isn’t going to let an immigrant like Neville take away his chance to be WWE World Champion again.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Neville

Non-title again. Del Rio goes after the arm to start, sends Neville out to the floor, then cranks on another armbar back inside. You can’t say he makes things too complicated. A quick headscissors sends Alberto to the floor and we take a break. Back with Del Rio’s chinlock being broken but he settles for a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Del Rio puts on the chinlock again as JBL actually mentions being managed by Colter early in his WWE run (when Colter was known as Uncle Zebekiah).

Neville fights up again and sends Alberto to the floor for a big flip dive. The running enziguri knocks Neville off the top rope but Neville counters the armbreaker into a rollup for two. Neville tries to go up top too fast though, allowing Del Rio to crotch him into the Tree of Woe, setting up the top rope double stomp. That always looks sick and it puts Neville away at 12:08.

Rating: C-. Del Rio is still a little dull but his psychology is right there. I also like that they’re not going with just the armbreaker. That’s an established finisher for him and it’s a good thing that they’re letting him win by pinfall instead of just the submissions. Neville is getting pretty firmly into his jobber to the stars role but at least he won a match last night to keep him relevant.

Ryback/Dudley Boyz vs. King Barrett/Sheamus/Rusev

It’s a big brawl to start until we get down to D-Von dropping a headbutt on Sheamus for two. Rusev comes in and pounds D-Von into the mat before bringing Barrett in for some kicks to the ribs. Sheamus gets another turn with the forearms to the back and a chinlock. The Irish Curse doesn’t do much good as D-Von scores with a clothesline and makes the tag off to Ryback.

A BIG clothesline knocks Barrett off the apron and Bubba comes back in for a release Rock Bottom. All three of the good guys do FEED ME MORE and it’s a triple Meathook. Barrett takes What’s Up but a Sheamus distraction lets him roll D-Von up with a handful of tights for the pin at 6:13.

Rating: D. This was just there and I never got into it once. As JBL pointed out, this was the losers bracket and that’s really not something a lot of fans are going to want to see. I do like that they’re pushing the foreigners as something to be reckoned with and they actually haven’t lost a match yet, but they need to actually do something.

After another look at the ending of the show, Bray Wyatt is in the ring in his rocking chair. He talks about the twenty five years of the Undertaker and how scared people have been of him for all that time. Last night was war inside a Cell and the red horse of the apocalypse rode in. After promising to dance with Roman Reigns again later, Bray declares the demise of the Undertaker as his resurrection.

Right now Bray is feasting on the soul of the Undertaker but he needs more. He won’t stop until there is nothing left of the Undertaker and Bray has ascended to his throne. Undertaker’s soul is being destroyed bit by bit so Bray asks everyone here to bow their heads for a moment of silence. Is it that time of year again? Bray says rest in peace and here’s Kane to interrupt.

Kane gets on the apron but the rest of the Wyatts show up. Strowman comes in for the showdown but Kane actually cleans house until just Bray is left. Kane goes for a chokeslam but there are too many Wyatts. The real beatdown is on and Bray looks to the stage for Undertaker. No one comes out though and Kane is carried away like Undertaker was last night.

Post break the Wyatts drag Kane off into the shadows as Bray sings.

Big E. vs. Dolph Ziggler

Well this should pick things up a bit. Before the match, here are Tyler Breeze and Summer Rae, complete with camera view on the Titantron. Ziggler is so distracted that he tries a cross body on a power guy. That’s like lesson one of wrestling school. A dropkick works a bit better and Kofi tells Dolph to stop cheating. With Kofi proclaiming that the hips don’t like, Big E. comes back with an abdominal stretch until Ziggler Cactus Clotheslines both of them out to the floor.

Back in and Big E. runs Ziggler over for two and we take a break. Back with Breeze and Summer eating popcorn behind their velvet ropes as Big E. is still in control. Ziggler finally slips out of a slam and grabs a sleeper but Big E. sends him hard into the corner. Back to the abdominal stretch for a big but Dolph makes his comeback to silence.

A hard catapult sends Dolph into the post but Big E. goes to steal some of Summer’s beverage, allowing Ziggler to grab a Fameasser for two. Big E.’s Warrior Splash gets the same but Ziggler superkicks him back down. The running DDT is easily countered but Big E. misses a charge into the post, setting up the Zig Zag for the pin at 13:55.

Rating: C+. Obvious ending but this was entertaining enough. Again it helps when these guys get a chance to space out their matches instead of having to fly through everything in five minutes. Big E.’s power looked great here but it didn’t make sense for him to beat someone on Dolph’s level. Good surprise here.

The four way will be Reigns vs. Owens vs. Del Rio vs. Ziggler.

Ambrose reminds Reigns that he’s been this close time after time. Tonight it’s time for him to take it. Reigns says he’s got this.

It’s breast cancer time with a bunch of cancer survivors in the ring and a big chunk of the roster standing behind them. Titus O’Neil is actually doing the talking here as he goes over the basic idea of the campaign and leads the women in the Million Dollar Dance.

Miz is still playing the game, as Steve Austin for some reason. Miz wins and loads up the catchphrase but Austin’s voice comes out. Austin himself shows up and Miz says Austin’s catchphrases with a WWE2K16 theme. Austin might have been on screen for fifteen seconds and I wouldn’t be surprised if this wasn’t filmed last week.

Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Dolph Ziggler

Rollins is on commentary and there’s no Colter at ringside. It’s a brawl to start with all four heading outside, only to have Owens take over on Reigns. Del Rio jumps off the barricade to take Ziggler out and the champions double team Reigns back inside. Reigns fights back and clotheslines Alberto to the floor, followed by the apron boot to Owens. Del Rio gets one as well but Ziggler kicks Reigns’ head off as we take a break.

Back with Ziggler getting double teamed for a change but we get the obvious problem of who gets the pin. Del Rio gets the better of it and superkicks Owens to the floor, only to turn around and get laid out by Reigns. Ziggler comes back in for the staredown with Reigns, who Rollins points out has had a much longer rest than anyone else. The running DDT (you knew he was getting that in at some point tonight) gets two but Reigns gets the same off a Batista Bomb.

The Superman Punch connects but Del Rio knocks Reigns to the floor and steals the cover for two. I actually bought that for a second. Del Rio misses the corner enziguri and the Fameasser is good for two. You can hear Rollins having a blast with this on commentary. Reigns breaks up a Doomsday Device with a Superman Punch but Owens superkicks him down.

Del Rio and Ziggler both eat Cannonballs but Reigns adds an apron kick to Del Rio for good measure. It’s Reigns vs. Owens and the fans REALLY like this one. Owens hits a superkick but the Pop Up Powerbomb is broken up by a Superman Punch and the spear gives Roman the title shot at 15:01.

Rating: A-. Well that rocked (save for the champion getting pinned but I can live with it in this case). Reigns winning is the right call but it opens a lot of doors for Undertaker’s partners against the Wyatts. I’m hoping Reigns wins the title at Survivor Series because it seems to be a much better idea to have him win his first title ANYWHERE else but Wrestlemania and another big pay per view sounds like a great place. The fans were on fire for this and they did a good job of making it seem like anyone could win, even though Reigns was the pretty clear choice. Awesome match here and it makes a good show even better.

Reigns and Rollins stare each other down to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This show avoided one of WWE’s biggest problems: it stopped trying to cram so much stuff into three hours. That’s one of the things that amazes me about WWE: they have so much time to fill yet somehow they manage to overload the show almost every week. This was a good example of letting things take their time and breathe for a minute, which made for a much more entertaining show.

Combine that to actually building to a title match that people might want to see instead of Kane’s split personalities and you have a better result. I liked this a lot better than most shows and I have stuff to look forward to for once. Maybe all these people being gone is a good thing as it lets the show breathe. In a perfect world they would be back and WWE would push some of the stuff that clogs up the show to Smackdown but that’s never going to happen for reasons that I’ll never understand. Anyway, good show tonight with a MUCH better pace.

Results

Roman Reigns b. Kofi Kingston – Spear

Kevin Owens b. Cesaro – Pop Up Powerbomb

Team Bella b. Team PCB – Rack Attack to Lynch

Alberto Del Rio b. Neville – Top rope double stomp

Rusev/King Barrett/Sheamus b. Dudley Boyz/Ryback – Rollup with a handful of tights to D-Von

Dolph Ziggler b. Big E. – Zig Zag

Roman Reigns b. Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio and Kevin Owens – Spear to Owens

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Hell in a Cell 2015
Date: October 25, 2015
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s time for one of the most violent shows of the year with two matches inside the namesake structure. The other main event is Demon Kane challenging Seth Rollins for the WWE World Title but if Demon Kane loses, Corporate Kane loses his job as Director of Operations. Uh right. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Cesaro/Neville/Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev/Sheamus/King Barrett

Rematch from Raw where the bad guys won. Neville and Sheamus get things going with the big guy taking a kick to the back of the head. Off to Cesaro (who is jeered by Stardust and the Ascension from ringside) who gives Neville a platform for a corkscrew moonsault. The announcers talk about Blazing Saddles as Ziggler comes in to hammer away on Sheamus in the corner. A quick Fameasser gets two but Rusev superkicks Ziggler in the face and we take a break.

Back with Barrett cranking on Ziggler’s arms and kicking him in the chest for two. Rusev comes in to talk trash the announcers bounce back and forth between talking about the match and golf. Sheamus comes back in for one of the most intense chinlocks I’ve ever seen but Ziggler pops up for his jumping DDT. Leave it to Dolph to just get in his stuff instead of selling. Cesaro comes in for the running uppercuts and a cannonball off the apron to take Sheamus down.

There’s a running uppercut against the barricade for Rusev before Cesaro takes a lap around the ring to hit Sheamus with another uppercut. That was one heck of a run and Cesaro keeps it going by backflipping Neville onto Sheamus and Cesaro. Ziggler superkicks Barrett into the Swing and it’s the Red Arrow to put Barrett away at 11:31.

Rating: C. For Cesaro, who stole this match as well as anyone I’ve seen do in years. He had the fans totally into him and ran with it for a change, though somehow it seems that he’s considered boring. If that’s still the case, he needs to get out of WWE now because he’s never going to get a crowd more fired up than he did right there.

Oh and in case you don’t get what I meant, the match was a B-.

The opening video is about the torment everyone is about to go through, including those not in the Cell. I take it to believe that their torment will be the same, meaning the Cell changes nothing and is therefore worthless. Nice job WWE.

US Title: John Cena vs. ???

Cena is defending in this Open Challenge. The mystery opponent is…….not clear yet as we’ve got the returning Zeb Colter on a motorized scooter. He calls Cena a divider and a separator so it’s time for people of all different backgrounds to come together. Colter thinks it’s time for Cena to lose the title to someone who will do more with it than Cena ever has. That next US Champion is…….ALBERTO DEL RIO! That’s quite the surprise but more importantly, HE ISN’T THE BIG SHOW!

Cena shoulders him down to start but a hard kick to the hamstring sends the champ out to the floor. Back in and we hit the armbar as Del Rio’s psychology hasn’t slipped a bit. Alberto misses a charge though and crashes out to the floor, only to come back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and a chinlock.

Cena continues his loud spot calling until he comes back with the release fisherman’s suplex. An enziguri looks to set up the armbreaker but Cena comes back with that clothesline that he uses for his comebacks. The finishing sequence is initiated but the AA is countered into a Backstabber and the low superkick is good for the completely clean pin at 7:50.

Rating: C. Not much to the match here as we knew Cena was losing but I really like the fact that it was clean. WWE needs stars right now and Del Rio is as good of a choice as anyone due to his resume and the shock value of him coming back. It’s better to have a big name come back and win than have someone win it with a fluke. Del Rio looks legit and that’s exactly what he needed to do.

Rollins comes in to the Authority’s office and does that weird recapping events thing that he does until Kane comes in to say he’s back from suspension. He was back on Smackdown and made a match but as usual that doesn’t count. Kane and Rollins get in an argument and HHH throws Kane out.

We recap Wyatt vs. Reigns. They’ve been feuding for months as Wyatt doesn’t want Reigns to be the next face of the company for reasons that he kind of explained months ago and hasn’t brought up since. This led to a series of tag matches and then they were ready for the Cell.

Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns

No seconds at ringside. Cole hypes up the fact that these are the 34^th and 35^th men inside the Cell. It’s been around 18 years so that’s not really all that impressive. They slug it out to start until Reigns throws Bray with a suplex. It’s quickly out to the floor for the apron boot and a ram into the cage but Bray comes back with a kendo stick to take over. Bray starts driving the tip of the stick into Reigns’ hand before putting the stick and a chair in the cage wall.

Roman gets sent through the stick but comes back by throwing Bray face first into the chair. Now since Bray used a kendo stick, Reigns has to come up with something more devastating. His choice: TWO kendo sticks and TWO tables. As is the law of the table match though, Roman sets one up and winds up going through it via a Rock Bottom from the apron.

The backsplash gets two back inside and Bray loads up another table. The fans give Reigns the Cena dueling chants but he breaks up a superplex attempt and powerbombs Bray through the table for two. Now the fans think it’s awesome. Pick a side already. Sister Abigail is countered into a fast rollup and the Superman Punch gets two more.

The fans switch to ROCKY’S COUSIN (that’s an insult?) until Reigns spears him through the ropes and through the table for a huge crash. It’s only good for two though and Bray grabs Sister Abigail for the same. Some kendo sticks are put up on the turnbuckles but Roman pulls one down and beats Wyatt with it, setting up the spear for the pin at 23:22.

Rating: B-. This is the new normal for the Cell: a long street fight that happens to be inside a big cage. This didn’t have a big moment or a big finish but it did have some good spots and was entertaining but they’re never going back to the old Cell style. It’s sad and annoying but it’s the truth. Unfortunately WWE talks about it like this big warzone and it’s just not that kind of match anymore. Good match, but the standard underwhelming Cell formula.

We recap the New Day vs. the Dudleyz. They’ve traded some wins and the Dudleyz put Woods through a table. This feud has gone on too long and it’s getting tiring.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Dudley Boyz

New Day is defending and Big E. brings the broken trombone for the spirit of Woods. Big E.: “Tromboner……trombonists……TROMBONE PLAYERS around the world are in mourning!” However, they promise to play the bongos on D-Von’s head and a drum on Bubba’s belly. Kofi: “LIKE A CAUCASIAN KAMALA!” D-Von shoulders Kofi down to start and Bubba knocks Kingston to the floor.

The champs have a huddle (Big E.: “TIME OUT SUCKA!”) and the announcers look at the trombone. The Dudleyz botch a backbreaker/legdrop spot and the fans boo it loudly. Big E. runs D-Von over and it’s time for the rotating stomps, followed by more dancing. The Warior Splash gets two but the champs make the mistake of trying What’s Up, allowing D-Von to kick Kofi away and make the tag.

Bubba cleans house until Kofi dropkicks both Dudleyz down. Kofi grabs the trombone and throws it to Bubba before falling down ala Eddie Guerrero. The referee teases the DQ but doesn’t go for it, only to have Big E. blast D-Von in the back with the trombone, setting up Trouble in Paradise to D-Von for the pin at 9:24.

Rating: C. And hopefully that’s that. I don’t really need to see these teams fight again for a very long time as they’ve covered almost everything they need to cover. The Dudleyz are going to be fine after putting New Day over and if they’re gone after tonight, they’ve served their purpose. I’m sure they’ll stick around and have a few more feuds but this was the right result.

We recap Nikki Bella vs. Charlotte. Nikki lost the title to Charlotte last month but Charlotte has been treated like a joke ever since while Nikki hasn’t seem to mind that she isn’t champion anymore.

Divas Title: Nikki Bella vs. Charlotte

Charlotte is defending and again no one is at ringside. Feeling out process to start with Charlotte hammering away in the corner and countering a powerbomb attempt with a hurricanrana. Some big forearms put Charlotte down and Nikki cranks on her neck with a knee in the back. Nikki backbreakers her a few times before putting on a half Liontamer of all things. Charlotte finally gets to the ropes and kicks Nikki in the face but she can’t pull off a suplex because of the back. Double knees to the back and a spinebuster keep Charlotte in trouble but trash talk is enough for her to come back with chops.

Nikki comes off the second rope but jams her knee to give Charlotte an opening. Not that it matters as Nikki is fine enough to load up a belly to back superplex, only to have Charlotte backflip off the top and send Nikki crashing down again. The Figure Eight doesn’t work because of the back though and Charlotte crashes to the floor. Nikki follows up with an Alabama Slam onto the apron (freaking OW man!) but the Rack Attack is broken up, setting up the Figure Eight to retain the title at 9:42.

Rating: B+. Yep it was good. I’m fine with Charlotte selling for most of the match as long as she doesn’t lose in the end like a squash. Nikki has gotten WAY better in recent months but it took so long to get there that she’s got a long way to go. It’s still really entertaining stuff though and I’m glad they didn’t give it back to Nikki as that’s been covered for way too long already.

Paige and Becky run out to celebrate with Paige making sure to get in first. Ignore Nikki casually rolling out of the ring and walking up the aisle holding her back instead of limping.

Reigns is in the back when Dean comes in. Ambrose congratulates him on the win and says they have something new to deal with but Reigns says they’ll do that tomorrow. That’s cool with Dean and they’re celebrating tonight. That must be setting something up for later.

We recap Kane vs. Seth Rollins. They fought for months over the summer but then Brock Lesnar broke Kane’s ankle. Kane returned and saved Rollins from Sheamus cashing in and then developed a split personality. Therefore, tonight it’s Demon Kane vs. Rollins but if Kane doesn’t win the title (or the match as it’s changed a few times), Corporate Kane loses his job as director of operations.

WWE World Title: Seth Rollins vs. Kane

Are Kane’s magical hair growing powers ever going to be addressed? Rollins is defending but Kane starts fast with a running DDT and basement dropkick. They’re on the floor in a hurry with Kane loading up the announcers’ table but Seth escapes and they get back inside. Rollins sends Kane right back to the floor and it’s a big flip dive to take the monster down. Back in again and Seth dives into an uppercut but avoids a charge in the corner and pounds away. That goes nowhere as he gets crotched on the top and kicked in the face for two.

The top rope clothesline sets up the chokeslam for two and Kane is stunned. Why he’s stunned isn’t clear as everyone kicks out of that thing but since when has logic ever stopped a wrestling match? The tombstone doesn’t work so they head outside and load up the announcers’ table again. Lawler: “The Spanish announce table is right over there!” Rollins escapes another chokes attempt and powerbombs Kane onto the Spanish table. The count almost beats Kane but he gets back in, only to take some kicks to the head and one heck of a frog splash for two. Another chokeslam is countered and the Pedigree retains clean at 14:36.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t the worst but above all else THANK GOODNESS they didn’t set up a rematch. It’s another example of “hey let’s set Kane up as this unstoppable monster!” and then he just loses the title match because he’s Kane, he’ll be fifty the year after next, and no one buys it at this point.

The pre-show panel chats for a bit. Renee has changed outfits for some reason.

Intercontinental Title: Ryback vs. Kevin Owens

Owens is defending after taking the title from Ryback last month. Ryback ax handles him in the chest to start and shrugs off Owens’ offense. Back in and Owens gets in a shot to the ribs to take over, followed by the backsplash for two. The Cannonball is countered into a spinebuster and the fans just do not like Ryback. Owens avoids the Meathook but walks into a powerbomb for two. Ryback goes up top but gets shoved out to the floor, only to come back in for the Meathook. They fight over by the ropes and it looks like Owens gets in another thumb to the eye, setting up the Pop Up Powerbomb (minus any power) to retain at 5:34.

Rating: D+. I’m thinking time hurt this one a lot but they weren’t going to have anything great no matter what they did. This was the most obvious result of the night and there wasn’t a lot of interest going into it. Ryback can go off to do something else now and Owens needs a new opponent. Not a horrible match but it could have been on any given Raw.

We look back at Del Rio winning the title tonight.

Recap of Lesnar vs. Undertaker from Summerslam where Undertaker tapped but won by knockout after hitting Lesnar low and putting him in Hell’s Gate. Tonight is the final showdown (allegedly) inside the Cell.

Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker

They stare each other down before the bell and Undertaker gives him the throat slit. The fans are split on this one and it feels like a main event. They slug it out as you would expect with Undertaker over off a clothesline. Undertaker blocks some suplexes and Brock is sent to the floor. Brock tries an F5 on the floor for some reason and Undertaker sends him into the post, drawing a nice cut on the head.

Back inside with a chair included but Brock grabs a spinebuster to get a breather. And now let’s stop for a doctor INSIDE THE CELL. Why even have the thing at this point? A lot of the blood is wiped away and Lesnar beats away on Undertaker with the chair, including a shot to the arm that impresses the announcers far too much. Undertaker suplexes him on the floor but now he’s busted open as well.

Back in and Undertaker drives Brock’s throat onto the top of a chair for two. A suplex out of nowhere sends Undertaker flying and Brock follows up with two more. The F5 is good for a near fall and let’s get that doctor in there to check on the cuts. At least they let them do the high spots first. Thankfully Lesnar throws the doctor away and hits a second F5 for another near fall. Some steps to the head get two more and Cole says we’re all in shock. No Cole, we’re not.

Lesnar picks up the steps, poses with them until Undertaker can raise his feet, and then slams them onto said feet so Undertaker can kick the steps back into his face. Hell’s Gate goes on (Heyman: “NO!!!!!”) but Brock punches his way out. Brock erupts on Undertaker with lefts and rights….and then he rips the mat apart.

Undertaker sits up though and it’s a chokeslam onto the exposed boards. The Tombstone onto the boards (work with me here) gets two and Undertaker gets in his awesome shocked look. Undertaker does the throat slit but Brock hits one of the hardest low blows I’ve ever seen, followed by the F5 onto the boards for the pin at 18:10.

Rating: A-. Now that felt like a Cell match. I know it’s an easy answer but that blood really does add a lot. It makes them feel like they’re actually having a violent battle instead of a street fight that happens to be inside a big cage. In other words, it makes it feel special. This wasn’t as good or violent as their first Cell match but thirteen years will do that to you. Oh and how much better was this with three suplexes instead of like fifteen? That helped so much.

The announcers treat this as WAY bigger of a deal than it is considering we saw it before. JBL talks about how Undertaker might be the best of all time and we get the big emotional situp with a THANK YOU TAKER chant. The only thing I can think of to say: oh shut up. He’s lost this exact same match before and this one really means nothing, especially after the Streak was broken. If it’s his retirement match then fine (it’s not) but stop treating this like anything more than a really good match.

Undertaker stands up…..and we’ve got Wyatts. Undertaker tries to get ready to fight but it’s an easy beatdown. JBL will not SHUT UP during the whole thing about a lack of honor or some nonsense like that as the Wyatts take Undertaker away to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. So much of that is due to the low expectations coming in but this was a heck of a show. The worst match is five minutes long and the main event was a great surprise. Unfortunately WWE has no idea how to do TV right now but their pay per views rock. In other words: it’s great when they’re finally able to settle down for a change and not waste everyone’s time with stupid build that completely misses the point. Get the TV better to set up these great shows and the company is on fire again. Until then though, just wait for the big shows because it’s all you’re getting.

Results

Alberto Del Rio b. John Cena – Superkick

Roman Reigns b. Bray Wyatt – Spear

New Day b. Dudley Boyz – Trouble in Paradise to D-Von

Charlotte b. Nikki Bella – Figure Eight

Seth Rollins b. Kane – Pedigree

Kevin Owens b. Ryback – Pop Up Powerbomb

Brock Lesnar b. Undertaker – F5

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

What am I supposed to say about this show? It’s been one of the least interesting builds to a pay per view that I’ve seen in years and I haven’t seen many people who think otherwise. The matches are ranging from “we don’t need to build this” to “they’ve been feuding for a long time so let’s just have them feud more” to “it’s a pay per view with a major main event so let’s burn this off here.” Maybe I’ll find something to get excited about but I’m not there yet. Let’s get to it.

The pre-show match is a replacement due to Orton being injured again, though to be fair it’s been a pretty long time since his shoulders acted up. Instead of the match that’s only been kind of built up, we’re getting a rematch from a match that wasn’t great in the first place but it’s a way to let the writers do the same idea twice in a week so they don’t have to think of anything new.

The new match is Cesaro/Neville/Ziggler vs. Sheamus/Rusev/King Barrett in a match that changed on Thursday after the debut of Tyler Breeze. I know the most common (not common sense that is) booking would be to have the good guys get their win back here and set up the fabled rubber match on Raw, but I’m thinking instead they go with the heels winning here as Ziggler already has business with someone else. Maybe Breeze even interferes like he should in a well booked promotion. Either way, heels win for my pick that has little chance of being right.

We’ll start the actual show with the most obvious ending: Kevin Owens retains over Ryback. This was more interesting before Ryback got pinned clean in four minutes on Monday but since the writers think they have about fifteen male wrestlers, we had to sacrifice the Intercontinental Title match to help rebuild the World Champion. This wouldn’t be a problem but Rollins has been destroyed in recent weeks and needed the help. This was because

1. The writers don’t know how to book a heel champion.

2. How else was Kane going to look strong because Big Show had recently squashed every normal piece of cannon fodder to set up a house show match no one believed he had a prayer of winning?

So yeah Owens retains and there’s no real reason to believe otherwise.

New Day retains over the Dudleyz in another rematch (that’s three in a row for those of you counting). If they didn’t change the titles in New York, there’s no real reason to change them anywhere else. I’m hoping this is the end of the feud and that they don’t try to stretch it all the way out to a tables match somewhere. New Day can entertain against anyone and the Dudleyz can put over team after team without losing their credibility. There’s no need to continue the feud so hopefully they wrap it up here.

Now we have a match that could go either way with the Divas Title match (rematch #4). Nikki was never really broken down after losing the title because holding the record seems far more important to her than actually being the champion. Charlotte on the other hand has had trouble beating Brie Bella, even losing to her in a tag match recently. Either way it seems that the winner will just be keeping the title warm for Sasha Banks, so the question comes down to does WWE want Nikki to bore us to death against Banks or do they want a rematch of the Charlotte vs. Sasha classic? All hail the new champ.

Next up is the US Title Open Challenge, which may or may not be a rematch. Cena is pretty clearly losing here so the question is who gets the belt. There are multiple options in this case, ranging from the newly debuted Tyler Breeze to perhaps a newcomer debuting to the now free Dean Ambrose. While I think they’ll go with Ambrose, that leaves the issue of how does Ambrose put Cena on the shelf for a few months? I can’t imagine Cena is just going to lose and say “see you in two months” so he needs someone to injure him.

Unfortunately, I think that leads us to Big Show. He’s still fresh (as fresh as you can be nearly seventeen years after debuting) off the Lesnar feud and WWE is the kind of company that would rather make him a transitional champion, believing that he gets the win over Cena and whoever beats him inherits the momentum, even though that doesn’t work because it’s freaking Big Show. That’s my pick, though it’s probably going to be Ambrose.

That leaves us with the three main events and we’ll start with the least important: the WWE World Heavyweight Championship (rematch #5). The idea here is that Kane has multiple personalities and if his Demon side can’t beat Seth Rollins for the title, his Corporate side loses his job as head lackey to the Authority. At the same time though, Rollins continues his eternal quest to impress the Authority because this show exists to make them look important. Oh and of course Kane pinned the champ on Raw to make us believe that they might put the title on the 48 year old who hasn’t been interesting in years.

Of course Rollins retains as that old “who cares if he loses all the time if he still has the belt” mindset shines through again. I know we’re still setting up Rollins vs. HHH (which has been coming for months now) but could they try to give us something good along the way? This is the match that they spent months setting up in the summer and we’re finally getting it here because the REAL main event is carrying the show, meaning there’s no need to put in effort on this match because we’re lucky that way.

I don’t think they want to get rid of Sheamus’ briefcase yet (oh lucky us) so Rollins retains, though I’m sure there’s going to be some wacky shenanigans that mean Kane gets to keep his job (probably after a thorough performance evaluation or whatever they call it this time). It’s probably a DQ or a countout because that way Kane wins the match and we can ignore the whole “if Kane doesn’t win the title he’s fired” stipulation because of whatever reason the Authority has this time. Rollins retains but doesn’t win, meaning we get a rematch at Survivor Series and probably TLC because we’re just that lucky.

Then we have the match with the biggest build as Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns get inside the Cell for rematch #6. This is another bad feud as they started fighting back in June and are still after each other today. Bray won at Battleground with Harper’s help and they’ve traded tag wins ever since. Therefore, it’s clear that it’s time to go inside the Cell. I mean, a regular cage or something else is out of the question because it’s October so what else can they really do? This should be a fun brawl but we’ll be waiting around for the interference that everyone knows is coming.

I think I’ll go with Roman here, though Bray needs the win a lot more than he does. Neither guy has done anything significant since Wrestlemania but at least Reigns was a big deal at the beginning of the year. Wyatt has his full minions (well once Harper is back from his “personal issues”, which I assure you have nothing to do with that photo that I’m sure you’ve all seen.) now and is probably going to lose anyway, which will (or at least should) set up a Survivor Series elimination match so they can continue the feud past the advertised ending. Like they almost always do.

Speaking of the end, we have what is billed as the final showdown between Lesnar and Undertaker and I can’t be more thankful. Oh and rematch #7 to complete the field of matches that we actually know about. The match at Summerslam was fun but it’s the same story as the Wrestlemania match with Lesnar vs. HHH: yeah it was good but I don’t need to see them again this fast. It doesn’t help that neither guy seems interested in selling the match. Brock has appeared twice, Undertaker once in recent weeks. Their showdown on Monday was “yeah we’re going to fight on Sunday” and that’s about it.

I’ll take what should be the obvious winner with Lesnar, but don’t be surprised if they have some sort of wacky ending and set up one FINAL (as in final final, not prelude final) match at Wrestlemania to send Undertaker out. The drama and violence should be good but it’s a match where they’re having to drag me into it and I don’t really care what happens.

What a horrible looking show. I can’t remember the last time I was less interested in a pay per view than this as WWE hasn’t given me a single thing to get excited about. Save for the Cena match, everything is a match we’ve seen recently. That’s how you book a house show and we’re getting it as a regular pay per view. They need to figure out something new and do it in a hurry because this is one of the worst times I can remember for creative in a long time and the ratings are backing that up.

I don’t know of anyone excited for this show and it’s only going to get worse as the company throws its feet on the desk and say “eh no one is going to watch because of football anyway so we’re on vacation.” I know people aren’t going to watch but at least pretend like you care what’s going on and don’t give us a blend of the last two pay per views you put together and expect us to be entertained.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Star Wars and stupid wrestling booking.

http://www.wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-coming-attractions/43502/

Aside from the important shows, my favorite reviews to look back on are the shows where people say I got the ratings totally wrong. I’ve changed my opinion on shows before via a second look so maybe that’s going to happen here. This week’s show was pretty much hated but I had a decent enough time with it. Let’s get to it.

We start immediately with the big story of the night: the Authority isn’t here (and won’t be here despite saying they’re trying to make it all night). Therefore Corporate Kane is in charge and gets to book the show on his own so he makes himself vs. Seth Rollins in a lumberjack match. Why doesn’t he make this a title match you ask? Plot convenience of course.

Throughout the night, the Authority keeps trying to get hold of Kane and ask him what the main event is but bad reception keeps cutting them off. Why doesn’t HHH send him a text or an e-mail so he can get the information when the reception is good and doesn’t have to be on his phone at that time? Plot convenience of course. Granted it wouldn’t matter in this case as the Authority found out about the match and told Kane he had to change it.

Naturally this gave us Demon Kane vs. Rollins because that’s still supposed to be different. This wasn’t the best idea, especially given that the fans aren’t thrilled to see them fight in the first place, so now they get to fight twice. Monday Night Football was a weak game and they had a chance to do something good, but we get Rollins vs. Kane I instead of the only match at the pay per view. I know I defend this company a lot, but there are times where they do stuff that boggles my mind.

Ambrose and Orton had a male bonding segment that was interrupted by New Day. As usual New Day stole the show with pure charisma and asked why Orton has been a part of so many groups. This led to a very long tag match (by Raw standards at least) that didn’t do much for me but could have been far worse. If my best option is nearly twenty minutes of pretty good wrestling, I’ll gladly take it over the drek that Raw is capable of putting on any day. Even on a new day, like the team that won the match due to some face miscommunication.

Things aren’t boding well for Orton/Ambrose heading into the pay per view. For one thing they lost here and even worse they’re actually on the pre-show. That screams angle for later in the show to me, as they’ve been in one of the biggest stories on the show and the card currently has six matches. I could easily see a fight breaking out to set up Orton vs. Ambrose on the show, because why build what could be a solid midcard pay per view match when you can throw it out there with an hour of build?

Video on Undertaker vs. Lesnar, which would air again (or at least a very similar version) later in the night. Well that’s nice of them. It’s not like either guy can be bothered showing up and making me want to see the match so I’ll take what I can get.

Nikki beat Naomi in a nothing match but the fans chanted for Sasha to fill in most of the time. The more I think about it the more I’m glad they haven’t added Sasha to the title match in the hopes that we get past Nikki’s rematch and move on to something else, because you know this company loves itself some rematches.

Dolph Ziggler answered the US Open Challenge and lost like everyone else does. It was another good match but when are they going to pick something for Cena to do at the pay per view? Word on the street is that he’s leaving for a few months after the show but at the moment there’s no one to challenge for the title and no real prospects, unless they throw Big Show in there again. Would that really be a big surprise at this point? You would think Ziggler wins it here but I guess this was the payoff to the accidental superkick. Every day that goes by scares me even more that we’ll get something stupid at the pay per view.

The Dudleyz squashed the Ascension. At least they’re on TV.

Sheamus and King Barrett beat Neville and Cesaro in a nothing match. Barrett has said he wants to be a tag wrestler and Sheamus/Barrett would be fine enough for a team. I’d like to see Cesaro/Neville actually win something but they seem to be the latest acts on the doomed bulletproof list.

Roman Reigns came out and gave a big speech about how Bray was trying to take away his livelihood. This has been described as horrible but I really liked it. What was far worse was the obnoxious Chicago crowd jeering the whole thing because they can’t shut up for five minutes. They decided a long time ago that they don’t want to see Reigns (they’ll take anyone but him I assume) and no matter what he says, they’re going to boo. This gets annoying quickly and unfortunately that’s often what decides everyone’s reactions to the speech. Roman got to the point and delivered, which is a big improvement over his usual stuff.

In something I really don’t like, Reigns beat Braun Strowman by countout. I could live with this if it was like Strowman’s debut match against Ambrose where it was a squash, but in this case Roman hung with Braun the whole way and basically knocked him out to win. That shouldn’t happen for months but this is WWE where the idea of CHILL OUT AND WAIT is sacrilegious. Not a good brawl either and that’s not a good thing, especially with Braun losing and being made to look beatable this early.

Here’s the column on the Lana/Rusev/TMZ fiasco:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2015/10/14/new-column-the-worldwide-leader-in-not-knowing-the-difference/

Then Ryback beat Rusev in about three minutes because Vince loves publicity as long as it’s controlled publicity.

Kevin Owens squashed Kalisto to end one of the best uses of the mini feuds that I’ve seen in a long time. They don’t need to do their usual tropes so let Owens beat up a midcard tag team instead. The story works fine and Owens vs. Ryback is built up even more. Simple, yet effective. I love that idea.

Brie Bella pinned Charlotte in a tag match because the way to get someone new over in the division is to give them the title and then have them lose almost every match. Paige and Natalya fought a bit to pad out the match. I do like the idea that they have more than one Divas story going at the same time, but they could have better ideas than Brie Bella pinning the Divas Champion.

Kane pinned Seth Rollins off a tombstone. This really doesn’t surprise me at this point and it shouldn’t surprise you either. Neither should Rollins retaining the title in a boring pay per view match.

So….yeah I’m not sure what I was thinking. Ziggler vs. Cena was good but not good enough to make up for a lot of the boneheaded moves going on here. This is looking like the weakest pay per view I’ve seen in a long time and WWE really doesn’t seem interested in making anything of it. Lesnar vs. Undertaker might as well not even be happening because neither guy seems interested in building it, leaving us with a main event of Kane vs. Rollins. Which we saw here. And it sucked.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Monday Night Raw
Date: October 12, 2015
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton

We’re getting closer to Hell in a Cell and most of the card is now set. The big story though is New Day, who was showed a completely different style last week as they left John Cena, Dolph Ziggler and the Dudleyz laying. This is a different kind of crowd to perform in front of though and they could certainly change a lot of what we’ve got coming. Let’s get to it.

Kane is on the phone with HHH and Stephanie, who aren’t going to be here until late. They tell him to keep things with Rollins under control until they arrive. Kane promises he will and then makes himself vs. Rollins in a lumberjack match.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Dean Ambrose with something to say. He’s here to welcome us to the show but now he’s looking for a fight. Instead he gets Randy Orton, who says he’s been fighting the Wyatts alongside him and they’re going to continue doing that at Hell in a Cell against Luke Harper and Braun Strowman. Ambrose says he’s been fighting the Wyatts for years so if Orton follows his lead, everything will be fine.

Naturally they get in a mini argument over who the leader is but here’s New Day to interrupt. They talk about slaying everyone last week and brag about leaving everyone laying with their bare hands. This included sending the Dudleyz to a retirement home and beating the WWE’s prized possession down, even though they could see him. Evolution or Legacy couldn’t do that and…..dang Orton has been in a lot of groups. It’s out with the old and in with the New Day so Orton and Ambrose need to pull a Derrick Rose and sit on the bench. That brings Kane to the screen to make the tag match for right now.

New Day vs. Randy Orton/Dean Ambrose

Non-title. Dean cleans house on Kofi to start and works on the arm. A shoulder sends Kofi to the floor and we take an early break. Back with Dean clotheslining Big E. for two and it’s off to Orton for a dropkick. The good guys take turns stomping on Big E., complete with the Garvin stomp.

Dean shows Orton how to stomp and they get in an argument, allowing E. to crawl over and tag as we take another break. Back with New Day in control and stomping Orton down, including the running dropkick from Orton. Big E. slaps on a bearhug until Randy elbows his way out, setting up the tag to Dean.

All of the New Day members are sent to the floor for a suicide dive but E. comes back with a belly to belly inside. Another tag brings in Orton, who ducks Trouble in Paradise and plants Kofi with the hanging DDT. The camera went wide like someone was going to run in but nothing happened. The RKO is loaded up but Kofi shoves Randy into Dean, setting up a rollup for the pin at 17:53.

Rating: C+. Long match here but more of a plot device than anything else. Above all here though: New Day didn’t lose. That’s a really nice surprise out of them as they didn’t go with the lame idea of having the Tag Team Champions used to build up someone for a one off tag match and a possible feud among themselves. They’re getting somewhere, just very slowly.

Video on Undertaker vs. Brock with the final chapter inside the Cell.

Nikki Bella vs. Naomi

We see a video of the Iron Man match from last week and the fans want Sasha, who is at ringside. Naomi’s corner wiggle (she’s just having fun!) and a kick to the chest get two on Nikki but she takes Nikki down and stands on her hair. We hit the hammerlock on Naomi as Nikki tries to have some psychology. That preposterous idea offends Naomi so much that she rapid fires kicks to the ribs and sends Nikki out to the floor for a big dive. Brie gets on the mic and starts a WE WANT SASHA chant to get in Naomi’s head. Sasha pulls Brie off the table but the distraction lets Nikki hit the forearm and Rack Attack for the pin at 4:54.

Rating: C-. Not bad here but they’re getting dangerously close to making Sasha the star of the division while almost never wrestling a singles match. At this point they almost have to add her to the title match at the pay per view and that’s where it seems they’re going. I’d put the title on her now and be done with it, but Nikki getting it back is always a chance. Maybe Charlotte can chase her and not look like a huge loser for a change but that might be giving WWE too much credit.

Paige has been named the Most Unconventional Diva in a Payday (candy bar) product placement bit.

Here’s John Cena for the US Open Challenge but first he wants to talk about this building. This is where he had his first WWE match back in 2002 but tonight Chicago is the place to be and he’s the man to beat so who wants some this week?

US Title: John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler

Cena is defending and starts with an armdrag (that’s a new one) into an armbar. Ziggler goes to the floor and the fans go nuts with a YES chant and look at something in the crowd. Cena grabs the mic and says that we just had a marriage proposal and SHE SAID YES. Well that’s not something you see every week. Fans: “She! Said YES!” Cena even goes to applaud them again and it’s off to an armbar from Ziggler as we take a break.

Back with Ziggler hitting his elbow drops but Cena fires off the shoulders. Ziggler breaks up the Shuffle with a dropkick as we hear about John Cena facing Kurt Angle in his debut. A modified ProtoBomb sets up the Shuffle and the STF goes on. Ziggler somehow powers out and puts on a sleeper while they’re still on the mat. That goes as far as a sleeper is going to and Cena knocks Ziggler to the floor.

The middle rope AA is broken up and Ziggler catches him with a running middle rope DDT (cool move) for a very close two. Cena’s big running clothesline takes Ziggler down and he catches a charging Dolph in the AA but Ziggler counters into the Fameasser in midair for two. Now the STF goes on in the middle of the ring but Ziggler makes the rope again.

The cross body off the top sets up the roll into the AA but Ziggler rakes the eyes and superkicks Cena down for two. They slug it out and Ziggler headbutts him into the Zig Zag for a very close two. I thought that might have been it. Back up and the AA ends Ziggler at 17:40. It’s as quick as it sounds.

Rating: B+. This was the standard formula for the US Open Challenge and it still works. I’m really curious where they’re going to go with Cena as he’s due off right after the pay per view and he doesn’t really have anything to do aside from the New Day fallout (is he going to mention that tonight?) and I’m not sure how they get the title off of him before then.

HHH calls Kane from the plane and asks how things are going. Kane doesn’t mention the main event.

Dudley Boyz vs. Ascension

Ascension jumps them to start and Viktor hits a nice jumping knee to D-Von’s face. D-Von avoids an elbow and makes the tag off to Bubba, who talks trash as he beats Viktor up. The Doomsday Device (you knew they were busting that one out in Chicago) sets up the 3D to pin Viktor at 2:41.

Neville/Cesaro vs. Sheamus/King Barrett

This could be fun. Neville speeds things up on Barrett to start before it’s off to Cesaro, who gives Neville a boost for a (partially botched) standing Phoenix splash of all things. Sheamus comes in for a slugout but the battering ram is countered by another uppercut. Cesaro throws Neville down onto Sheamus and Barrett, only to have Sheamus’ kickout send Neville into the Bull Hammer to give Sheamus the pin at 3:56.

Rating: D+. Neville is officially in free fall. He’s still there and in some stories, but he’s falling through the cracks in a hurry. I don’t remember the last time he won a big match and the Stardust story just kind of ended with no real blowoff. Hopefully he bounces back and it’s certainly not too late for him, but this isn’t a good sign.

Video on Braun Strowman.

Here’s Roman Reigns for his match against Braun Strowman but he has something to say first. He recaps the entire Bray Wyatt feud while stopping to ask if the fans can’t hear him when they keep chanting WHAT. The fans aren’t interested in the recap of the ANYONE BUT YOU but Reigns says this isn’t boring. Imagine if someone tried to keep you from making a future for your family because Bray Wyatt is trying to hold Reigns back from building a life for his daughter.

That’s the biggest mistake Bray could make and he’ll get what’s coming to him at Hell in a Cell. This was MUCH better than Reigns’ normal stuff and he didn’t stumble once. Cue the Wyatts with Bray asking who Roman is trying to convince. Bray will take the blame for Roman’s lot in life but it all ends in the Cell. Roman says when that door is locked, Bray is going to wish that he’s inside there with anyone but him. Good line there.

Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman

Roman is quickly sent out to the floor so he tries to hit and move a bit more. Strowman easily powers him into the corner and slams Reigns down as Roman can’t do anything with him here. Off to a neck crank for a bit until Reigns fights up and starts with the clotheslines. Bray is getting worried but Reigns can’t Samoan drop Strowman.

Reigns punches away from the floor and the apron boot has Strowman staggered. The second attempt is blocked with a clothesline though and Braun comes out to play. Reigns sends him into the announcers’ table several times but Roman has to Superman Punch Harper. There’s another one to knock Strowman over the table and Braun is counted out at 7:58.

Rating: D+. Pretty ugly brawl here and I’m really not wild on having Strowman lose in any way this early. The fact that he wasn’t pinned helped but as usual WWE has no idea how to book someone beyond from pay per view to pay per view. Strowman is looking more and more like a plot device to get us to Reigns vs. Wyatt again and that’s a shame.

The Wyatts surround Roman but he gets to the floor just in time. Bray kneels in front of Roman and says follow the buzzards so Reigns pops him in the jaw.

The Authority calls again and they’re on the way to the arena. This time Kane tells him the main event but HHH can’t hear him due to bad reception. HHH: “I know Rollins but who is he facing?” Kane: “It’s me.” HHH: “I know it’s you Kane but who is he facing?” Full House had better plot devices than this.

Ryback vs. Rusev

No entrances for either guy. We recap the Summer story from last week and Cole casually mentions that TMZ reported Lana and Rusev got engaged over the weekend. So yeah, screw storylines because a gossip site told the truth about your story. You could always NOT SAY ANYTHING ABOUT IT but that would be ignoring the internet and that might mean a downgrade in your social media score or whatever.

JBL asks why Summer is here. Cole: “Maybe she’s not into social media?” The Meathook looks to set up the Shell Shock but Rusev slips out. Rusev’s charge hits the post though and now the Shell Shock is good for the pin at 3:07. So much for Rusev meaning much after Wrestlemania.

Rating: D+. What do I even say here? The entire story has been thrown out because we need to report on TMZ. It’s another example of just taking the easy way out of a storyline instead of actually writing your way out of it. I can’t stand that sort of laziness but it’s what we’re stuck with in modern wrestling.

Post match Summer shows us photos from TMZ and rips into Rusev for leading her on. She slaps him in the face and walks off as Rusev shouts a lot. My loose Russian translation thinks he said “I’ll take em both, I’m hardcore.”

Kalisto vs. Kevin Owens

Non-title. Owens shrugs off the early kicks and punches Kalisto in the side of the head. Some more kicks have little effect and Owens sends him to the floor. Owens teases a dive of his own but opts for a running slide to the floor instead. We get the Lucha Dragons pose from Owens but Kalisto comes back with a rolling kick to the head and the hurricanrana faceplant for two. A tornado DDT gets the same but Kalisto’s hurricanrana is countered into the Pop Up Powerbomb for the pin at 3:45.

Rating: C-. I still really like the booking here as Owens gets to have this meaningless mini feud with the Dragons but still gets to build towards his rematch with Ryback without the usual tropes WWE is so obsessed with. Good stuff here and again Kalisto is an incredibly fun act who could be something special going forward.

Brie Bella/Alicia Fox vs. Becky Lynch/Charlotte

Paige is on commentary and isn’t happy that Natalya is now part of Team NBC. Paige: “They’re just going through a phase.” Becky works on Brie’s arm to start before it’s off to Charlotte who helps with stereo legdrops onto Brie’s arms. The spear gets two but Natalya goes to argue with Team Bella, causing Paige to get up and shove her a few times. Back inside and Charlotte walks into a middle rope dropkick from Brie for the pin at 3:07.

Rating: D. BRIE BELLA??? Now they have Charlotte losing to BRIE BELLA??? Charlotte’s reign is reaching Zack Ryder territory now as they’re having her lose everything and then expect her to still be over while the Bellas are the dominant looking ones. Nikki is one thing but BRIE BELLA???

The Authority finally finds out who Rollins is facing because Kane couldn’t just text them the match earlier tonight. HHH says there’s no way that match can happen. Anyone can replace Kane but he can’t face Rollins. I smell a loophole coming. Fans: “CM PUNK!”

Rollins appeals to Big Show and says he sees him as family. Show laughs it off and leaves with Kane taking his place. He’s going to find a suitable replacement though.

Another Lesnar vs. Undertaker video.

Seth Rollins vs. ???

Non-title lumberjack match and the opponent is…….of course it’s Demon Kane. Did you really expect anything else? They’ve even managed to calm down the Chicago crowd and Kane keeps throwing Rollins out to the lumberjacks who are more than willing to throw him back in. Kane gets low bridged to the floor but the lumberjacks just stand back. Seth’s suicide dive is caught by the throat so Seth runs away, only to get caught by Cesaro.

Back in and a clothesline knocks Kane over the top but he lands on his feet. Kane starts beating up New Day but stops to stare at Big Show. Gah anything but that. Kane slaps him in the face so Show knocks Kane out but he’s still able to kick out at two. The springboard knee to the face gets the same as the announcers keep calling him Demon Kane.

A frog splash gets two more for the champ but Kane pulls him off the top with a superplex. Both guys are down and New Day pulls Kane to the floor, triggering a big brawl between all of the lumberjacks. Back in and the lumberjacks come in but Kane sits up to stop Big E.’s Warrior splash. Everything breaks down again and the Pedigree is countered, followed by a tombstone to pin Rollins at 8:21.

Rating: D. BUT HOW CAN ROLLINS POSSIBLY KEEP THE TITLE NOW??? I knew Kane was going to win the second his music hit because that’s how you build to a match on pay per view: by having the same match on free TV just a few weeks beforehand. Kane doing his same schtick that he was doing twelve years ago doesn’t do much for me, especially since he has no chance at winning in the title match.

Overall Rating: C+. This show had a lot more energy than usual and it helped things out quite a bit. They’ve got most of the show set for the pay per view and I’m actually intrigued by the card. Naturally there are some holes in this show such as the “let’s ignore stories because TMZ said so” and the stupid swap for the main event, but did anyone not see that coming? I had a good time with this one though and it flew by, which is always a good feeling on Raw. I’m not sure that’s a good thing though as it means you can’t wait for it to be over and it’s not as bad as it could have been. Take that for what you will.

Results

New Day b. Randy Orton/Dean Ambrose – Rollup to Orton

Nikki Bella b. Naomi – Rack Attack

John Cena b. Dolph Ziggler – Zig Zag

Dudley Boyz b. Ascension – 3D to Ascension

Sheamus/King Barrett b. Neville/Cesaro – Sheamus pinned Neville after a Bull Hammer

Roman Reigns b. Braun Strowman via countout

Kevin Owens b. Kalisto – Pop Up Powerbomb

Brie Bella/Alicia Fox b. Becky Lynch/Charlotte – Missile dropkick to Charlotte

Kane b. Seth Rollins – Tombstone

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

This is a weird spot for WWE as they’re building up to a house show before they start building up to Hell in a Cell. Unfortunately that means we’re going to be in for a lot of Big Show, though fortunately it means we’re in for a lot more of the New Day and there’s nothing wrong with that. Let’s get to it.

They got right to the point with the US Open Challenge. Cena said anyone could come get some and it’s Xavier Woods taking the challenge. Of course this led to some hilarious shenanigans from all three members of New Day which I can’t do justice by just typing them up here. Cena no sold most of this and looked more like a villain who was being all serious. That being said, I really like the idea of Cena treating the title like the most important thing in the world and not something worthy of joking about.

As you might expect, Cena gave Woods the best match of his career before New Day came in for the DQ. That brought out the Dudleyz for a six man, which New Day actually won when Cena was knocked to the floor. This was entertaining and a good way to kill some time. Just like last week, it’s a better idea to start a show with action rather than spending twenty minutes setting up the night’s action.

Here’s the big story of the first half of the night: Kane gets a performance evaluation despite being creepy. Thankfully this was mostly done off screen so we didn’t have to go through a bunch of lame and unfunny comedy. The closest thing was Kane giving Seth the head of his statue back in a good bit. Kane was eventually declared competent and Rollins whined a lot, eventually Pillmanizing Kane’s injured ankle.

Corporate Kane would be taken to an ambulance but Demon Kane came back out and destroyed Rollins. I’m not loving this idea but at least it’s something different. Also, they have to do Kane vs. Rollins at some point so why not do it on a show where they know the main event is going to carry everything else?

Big Show squashed Mark Henry to set up Saturday. Short and harmless. Well except to Henry.

One of the big segments of the night was Team PCB on MizTV. This is where I really started losing interest in the show. Paige came out and it turned into this big whining fest between the three of them plus Team Bella about who started the Divas Revolution. This felt like WWE was copying the Kardashians or some Real Housewives show with all the whining and cattiness.

Aside from trying to find a reason to care about who started this Revolution, this made every person involved in this story look like they were about 17 years old. It’s a bunch of whining and people sounding stupid as the title is forgotten again. I don’t want to see the division going in this direction, but unfortunately this is the kind of “entertainment” that dominates pop culture these days and it’s likely going to be more prominent in this division going forward.

Oh and Team PCB reformed for a match but Paige walked out, allowing Nikki to pin Charlotte for the title. Charlotte’s reign as champion is making Rollins look great by comparison.

The Wyatts squashed the Prime Time Players. This was fine.

King Barrett beat up Neville and Stardust. I’m glad he’s back but I don’t buy for a second that Barrett is going anywhere.

Bray Wyatt babbled a lot.

Randy Orton squashed Bo Dallas.

Ryback started a fight to break up Rusev vs. Kevin Owens in less than a minute. Dolph Ziggler ran out to superkick Ryback.

Let’s look at this set of segments for a bit. There was maybe ten minutes spent on these, but I’m not sure if I like that or not. The matches being short helps as there’s no reason to have something like Orton vs. Dallas go anywhere, but it’s kind of hard to care about matches that don’t get any time and everything goes flying by. It felt like they were trying to fill time and I can’t stand it when a show feels like it’s there for no reason. I can see both sides of this, but I’d really like something with more depth to it than what we got here.

Heyman came out to talk about Big Show vs. Brock so Big Show came out and scared him. No one with a brain who has seen five minutes of WWE believes Show has a chance here and it’s really annoying to have to sit through all these promos and matches building up what is going to be one sided.

The main event was a big brawl between Bray Wyatt vs. Roman Reigns. This was barely a match and that’s exactly what it should have been. They fought into the crowd and the highlight was the aftermath with Bray picking up a PERSON and throwing him at Reigns. Reigns speared Wyatt through a table to end the show in a brawl clearly designed to set up a match inside the Cell. Nothing wrong with that. Again though, Bray threw a PERSON at Reigns. That’s awesome on a whole different level.

Raw was……yeah this week. It feels like they’re spending more time setting up the house show on Saturday than the pay per view, which made for some uneven moments tonight. There are parts of it that I liked but at the same time it still feels like they’re searching for their next idea instead of knowing where they want to go and that’s never a good thing. Things should change a lot next week with the MSG show out of the way, but they should have already started some more of the build towards the pay per view.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Smackdown
Date: October 1, 2015
Location: Times Union Center, Albany, New York
Commentators: Booker T., Jerry Lawler, Rich Brennan

Oh joy it’s another Smackdown. We’re getting closer to the show moving to USA in January, meaning the show is the same lame duck that it’s been for years now. I’m really hoping this show gets a new life on the new network but for some reason WWE is perfectly happy to have the show just exist on Fridays with nothing important happening. Let’s get to it.

On a sidenote: today is five years to the day since Smackdown debuted on SyFy.

We open with a recap of Kane and Rollins on Monday. I’m still trying to figure out if I’m supposed to cheer for the demon who tried to drag Seth down to whatever was beneath the ring or the guy who cheats all the time and attacked Kane because he couldn’t handle someone disagreeing with him.

Here’s Rollins to open the show. He has the belt with him, even though Kane was last seen with it on Raw. Rollins is livid and demands that Kane get out here so here’s Corporate Kane on crutches. Kane is glad to be back at his job, even if it includes dealing with Rollins acting like a spoiled brat. It’s time for exposition mode (that should be Rollins’ finisher as it puts more people out than the Pedigree) as Rollins recaps the entire story and explains everything again before they argue over who needs psychiatric evaluations.

Kane is just a corporate boss and the demon is a figment of Seth’s imagination. Maybe Rollins is just trying to get out of his US Title match this Saturday in Madison Square Garden. I certainly would want to get out of another loss because someone was stupid enough to have the World Champion feud with the US Champion and lose every match.

Kane says there’s a demon chasing Rollins but it’s not him. He could use a pick me up though so how about Rollins teams with the New Day against the Dudley Boyz and Demon Kane. You mean the figment of his imagination? So it’s a handicap match? Rollins says no, but Kane says he’ll be at ringside to make sure the demon is in action. Lawler: “This proves that Kane is smarter than the average bear!” Well we were running low on Hanna-Barbera references so thanks for covering us King.

Team Bella vs. Team BAD

Before the match, BAD brings up the obvious point: no one cares who started the Divas Revolution. I do love how they keep arguing about this when it’s a rare occasion where you can point to the night Stephanie started it but no one brings her up in the whole thing. Sasha says the only thing anyone is going to remember is Team BAD taking over. Booker: “That’s hot.”

Brie kicks at Sasha to start and is actually getting close to figuring out the timing on those YES Kicks. It’s off to Naomi vs. Alicia but Tamina makes a blind tag and takes Fox down with a clothesline. Nikki bounces off Tamina and gets taken over in the Samoan drop. The Bellas are sent to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Nikki sending Naomi to the apron and Alicia offering a distraction so Nikki can hit the big forearm. Fox puts on the chinlock but the fans want Sasha. A double clothesline finally allows the hot tag to Banks for some house cleaning. The double knees in the corner get two on Nikki as everything breaks down. The Rack Attack is broken up and Sasha grabs the Bank Statement to make Nikki tap at 11:11. Booker: “THAT WAS SMOKING HOT KING!”

Rating: C+. This got going by the end but as usual they seem to have no idea how the story goes. As best as I can tell, at least Sasha is a face now but Naomi and Tamina are somewhere in the middle but closer to face than heel. Of course this all happened without a turn of any kind and we’re just supposed to figure it out as we go. At least Sasha got to beat Nikki, who hopefully moves away from the title soon enough. Then again this match isn’t likely to ever be referenced again.

New Day teaches Seth Rollins the virtue of clapping, with Woods tying it into saving the tables of the world. Seth needs to drop the Cross Fit training and believe in the power of being positive. Rollins joins in and dances away to some to some trombone playing. Kane limps in and smiles. They’re even making Rollins entertaining again.

Charlotte and Becky are getting annoyed at Paige for being whiny when Paige pops in. Paige doesn’t want to hear it so Charlotte says you’re with us or against us. Becky and Charlotte leave but are replaced by Natalya, who threatens Paige if she ever disrespects her again. It’s amazing how much more interesting these basic stories (like the ones they use on NXT) are than some team battle series which overshadows the title.

Intercontinental Title: Kevin Owens vs. Ryback

This is Ryback’s rematch after Owens took the title from him at Night of Champions. Kevin bails tot he floor to start but Ryback goes right after him. Back inside and the fight over a suplex with Ryback lifting him up for a nice delayed vertical. Ryback is sent into the post though, setting up a DDT for two from Owens as we take a break. Back with Owens elbowing him in the face and dropping a backsplash for two.

Time for the standard chinlock because that big build up to the chinlock had to be killed before it got over. The FEED ME MORE chants get Ryback to his knees and a swinging belly to belly puts Owens on the mat for a change. A sitout powerslam gets two on the champ so he comes out of the corner with some slaps to the face. Ryback is ticked off so he charges into a boot for two. The Meathook connects but Owens rolls outside again and takes the countout at 11:28.

Rating: C-. They had a decent power match going but it was clearly just a matter of killing time until they got to the ending. I mean, there hasn’t been a title change on Smackdown in over two and a half years and I really didn’t expect them to change anything tonight. I’m sure we’ll see this again at the pay per view.

Ryback escapes the apron powerbomb and Shell Shocks Owens post match.

Video on Lesnar vs. Big Show.

Lucha Dragons/Neville vs. Ascension/Stardust

Well they had to have a rubber match before people started taking the shows hostage without knowing who the better team was. Viktor takes Cara down to start but an attempt at a slingshot powerbomb (like Blanchard’s slingshot suplex) is countered into a hurricanrana. Stardust comrs in but gets kicked down by Neville, followed by a standing shooting star press for two. Everyone goes to the floor for a staredown and we take a break.

Back with Neville firing off his kicks to Viktor, who slugs Neville off the ropes and hits a middle rope falcon’s arrow of all things for two. Stardust misses a charge out to the floor though and the hot tag brings in Kalisto to really speed things up. The Queen’s Crossbow is countered into a tornado DDT and Cara dives through the ropes to take Viktor down. Stardust and Neville fight to the floor, leaving Kalisto to hit a quick Salida Del Sol to end Konor at 8:48.

Rating: C. Take a fun feud and then drag it out until there’s nothing left to do with it and the matches start going nowhere. I’m assuming Neville or Stardust move on to fight Barrett now and the feud ends because the idea of pushing a feud beyond a best of three series is unthinkable in WWE. I mean, it was a rubber match and rubber is like, impressive.

We recap Reigns and Wyatt’s brawl on Monday. Bray using a person as a projectile is still awesome.

Here are the Wyatts in the arena to address Reigns. Bray has fought many men over the years but he’s never met anyone like Reigns. On Monday, they created complete chaos but it’s still anyone but you Roman. Cue Reigns on his own but Bray tells the monsters to step to the side. Roman slowly gets in the ring and stares Bray down.

Bray raises the mic but Roman cuts him off, making Bray’s eyes open wider than they have in a long time. Reigns: “Hell in a Cell.” Bray, not on the mic, says what looked to be like “I would be delighted.” Reigns leaves and Bray says he hopes Roman is willing to sacrifice everything and die. Cool stuff here, as is usually the case when Reigns plays it serious. This is the logical way to blow off the feud too, as it’s a match culminating inside the Cell instead of just having a match inside because the calendar says so. In other words: it’s what people have been saying since they started the Cell PPV.

Kane/Dudley Boyz vs. New Day/Seth Rollins

It’s Demon Kane in the mat and Corporate Kane (who claps along with New Day’s entrance) sitting at ringside. Translation, we’re starting with a handicap match. Woods is on the floor and it’s Big E. vs. D-Von to start as Booker is giving shoutouts to his old band director. All five come in for a staredown and we’re off to a break about a minute and a half in. Back with D-Von getting stomped down in the corner.

Woods plays the trombone and New Day does some dancing on the apron until D-Von is tossed to the floor. Rollins busts out a suicide dive and takes out Kane in the process, damaging the leg again. Seth freaks out over Kane going to the back and follows him up the ramp, leaving us with a regular match for a bit. Kane gives Rollins an evil smile and you should know what’s coming.

Reality sets in on Seth as D-Von suplexes Big E., allowing for the tag off to Ray. Bubba splashes Kofi in the corner and knocks Rollins out to the floor. D-Von dives on New Day and here’s Kane. Destruction begins and Rollins bails, allowing the 3D to take Kofi out for the pin at 10:37.

Rating: D+. There wasn’t much to the match aside from an obvious ending. I’m actually digging the idea of Kane going back and forth like this, but I really don’t need Michael Myers Kane as a face, or in a title shot for that matter. It’s a cool enough idea but I’m not a fan of sitting around waiting on a twist that everyone knows is coming.

Kane grabs the title again and lays out New Day and the Dudleyz. Rollins comes out on the stage to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. What was with all the six man tags tonight? This show felt more energetic than usual but most of the wrestling brought it back to earth. I like the idea of having Reigns vs. Wyatt made for the pay per view here as it felt like an important moment for a change, even if it’s something that will likely be mentioned on Raw half a dozen times in the first hour. Still though, fun enough show that felt bigger than most weeks.

Results

Team BAD b. Team Bella – Bank Statement to Nikki

Ryback b. Kevin Owens via countout

Lucha Dragons/Neville b. Ascension/Stardust – Salida Del Sol to Konor

Kane/Dudley Boyz b. New Day/Seth Rollins – 3D to Kingston

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B015IN12I2

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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