Hey guys I’m sorry to have to do this but something has come up and I have to run to the airport tonight.  This is the review up to this point and I’ll be back the the rest tonight.  I apologize for the inconvenience but there’s no way around this.

Monday Night Raw
Date: April 14, 2014
Location: BJCC Arena, Birmingham, Alabama
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler

Tonight is going to be an interesting episode as it’s a tribute show to the Ultimate Warrior. However there’s going to be some regular stuff too, including the start of a tournament for the #1 contendership to the Intercontinental Title. In a way that’s good as I’m not sure there’s enough Warrior stuff to fill in three hours. Also given how good things are going for the WWE, it’s nice to see things continue. Let’s get to it.

We open with the roster on the stage and an In Memory graphic on the screen. Most of the people are in Warrior shirts.

First up is a music video set to a song called Catch A Falling Star. We get a highlight video of Warrior with various people, including HHH, Hogan and Stephanie, talking about how awesome he was. It also shows some shots of his Hall of Fame speech and shots of him with his daughters. There are also shots of his speech last week.

Ten bell salute.

The fans have been given Warrior masks. Nice touch. HHH starts a Warrior chant.

Here are the tournament brackets.

Mark Henry

Cesaro

Rob Van Dam

Alberto Del Rio

Sheamus

Jack Swagger

Dolph Ziggler

Bad News Barrett

Intercontinental Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Rob Van Dam vs. Alberto Del Rio

Van Dam starts with some kicks to the face and a spinning cross body out of the corner for two. A clothesline puts Alberto on the floor but he comes back in and kicks Rob down to take over. Alberto gets two off a suplex but is sent outside as we take an early break. Back with Del Rio in control and getting two each off a DDT and Backstabber.

Van Dam scores with a kick but gets caught by the enziguri off the top rope for two, frustrating the former aristocrat. Back in and the armbreaker is countered into a rolling cradle for two and Van Dam pulls Del Rio off the top, sending him head first into the buckle. The Five Star sends RVD to the semi-finals at 10:15.

Rating: D+. This really didn’t do much for me as the offense was WAY off with the kicks and punches missing left and right. On top of that a good chunck of the match was spent in the commercial so we only got about two thirds of the thing. RVD is good in the ring but he should be putting over young guys, which to be fair he might do by the end of this.

We look at the end of last week’s show with Shield officially turning face by attacking HHH, Orton and Batista.

HHH, Batista, Orton and Stephanie shake hands and have a meeting we can’t hear in the back.

We look back at a classic Warrior match. From Summerslam 1988 with Warrior winning the Intercontinental Title. Amazingly enough, it’s a thirty five second match and they show a package on it instead of the whole match.

HHH tells Orton and Batista they need to be united. They both want to be champion though, and say HHH is on his own.

Ryback/Curtis Axel vs. Goldust/Cody Rhodes

Goldust starts with Axel and we’re already on the arm work. The Brothers take turns on Curtis’ arm and Goldust gets two off a knee to the chest. Goldust is taken into the corner for the tag to Ryback and the heel beating begins. A middle rope splash from Ryback and middle rope elbow from Axel combine for two.

Off to a chinlock from Ryback for a few moments until Goldust fights up and makes the tag off to his brother. The moonsault press mostly misses and almost looked like Ryback slammed him down instead. Cody dives off the top to take Ryback down again and a springboard missile dropkick gets two. Everything breaks down and Ryback is able to clothesline the heck out of Cody for the pin at 6:00.

Rating: D+. I didn’t like this for the most part either but the right team won. Ryback REALLY needs to get away from Axel though as Curtis is just dragging him down every time they’re on screen together. Also, can we get a banning on just combining wrestler names to make a team? Be creative, like with Rhodes Scholars. That was at least thinking.

Legends House ad.

Bo Dallas is coming.

We look back at Paige winning the Divas Title last week.

Alicia Fox vs. Paige

Non-title. Paige easily takes her down to start and sends Fox out to the floor. Back in and Fox shoves the new champion around with ease, only to get chopped HARD out of the corner. A northern lights suplex with a great looking bridge gets two for Fox. Paige comes back with some clotheslines and a running kick, setting up the Scorpion Crosslock for the win at 3:29.

Rating: C-. Paige looked WAY better this week which is probably due to a lack of nerves. To be fair though, last week was only one really bad looking move. Paige is going to be something special though as she’s being given the time to get over with the audience. That finisher is going to help a lot as well.

Usos vs. Batista/Randy Orton

Non-title and the Usos are in Ultimate Warrior themed paint. The Usos quickly send them to the floor for some big dives and the Ultimate Warrior rope shake makes the fans happy. Things start properly with Orton hammering Jey into the corner and the backbreaker keeps him in trouble. Off to Batista who grabs a quick suplex for two before it’s back to Orton. A spinebuster gets the same and they head outside with Orton ramming Jey into the announce table, only to have Shield run in and massacre Randy for the DQ at 4:08.

Rating: D+. This didn’t have time to go anywhere but the Usos not losing clean is a good thing. Yeah they were in trouble but they didn’t get pinned and that’s all that matters at the end of the day. Shield going on offense is interesting as well and the match at Extreme Rules should be awesome.

Batista takes the Superman Punch to send him running.

Another Warrior Moment: winning the WWF Title from Hulk Hogan. I’d have thought they would air that match.

HHH glares at Orton and Batista after a break. Nothing is said.

Paul Heyman says he represents the man that conquered the Streak. If you think he’s going to drive that in until the end of time, it’s because he is. Heyman says it about six times in a row and shows us some photos of Undertaker walking away and of Brock destroying him last Sunday. Here’s the new next big thing: Cesaro.

Intercontinental Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Cesaro vs. Mark Henry

They lock up to start and Cesaro climbs up the ropes to shove off but still gets thrown to the mat and then to the floor. Heyman says go to plan two so Cesaro fires off uppercuts in the corner. A big running one sets up rights and lefts to the ribs but Henry keeps shoving him away. There’s a clothesline for two but Henry can barely stand up. The World’s Strongest Slam doesn’t work and a middle rope uppercut puts Henry down. Cesaro acutally Neutralizes him for the pin at 3:19.

Rating: C. At the end of the day, there’s very little more awesome than a strong man lifting up someone very heavy and throwing them around with ease. That’s the kind of stuff you can put on a highlight reel for years and it’s still going to look cool. I’m wondering when the King of Swing will swing people though.

The Thank You video from last week airs.

The Authority sends Brad Maddox to put Shield in the main event but won’t say who their opponents are.

Alexander Rusev vs. Xavier Woods

Woods has been beaten up by Rusev in NXT for awhile. Kick to the chest, spinning slam, Accolade and submission in 47 seconds.

R-Truth tries to make the save post match and gets laid out.

Another Warrior Moment is the main event of Summerslam 1990 with Warrior defending the title inside a cage.

We get a clip of a special on Daniel Bryan’s journey to Wrestlemania.

Intercontinental Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Sheamus vs. Jack Swagger

Jack takes him into the corner for some knees to the ribs but gets kicked in the face and dropped with a clothesline. A Colter distraction breaks up the ten forearms to the chest and Swagger catches Sheamus in a powerslam coming off the apron. Back in and a belly to belly suplex gets two on Sheamus but he comes back with a forearm to the head.

Some running knees and a kick to the back put Swagger down and a knee drop gets two. There are the ten forearms and a top rope shoulder for two. Sheamus misses a slingshot shoulder and gets caught in the Patriot Lock but Jack is quickly kicked away. A shoulder puts Sheamus on the floor and Jack rams the bad leg into the steps. Back in and a Brogue Kick out of nowhere is good for the pin at 6:54. It’s as sudden as it sounds.

Rating: C. Not a great match again but it did well enough. Sheamus going down into the midcard title scene is a good idea as he’s not big enough to compete for the World Title but he’s too big to beat up jokes anymore. The Intercontinental Title is a great spot in the middle there and he can bring some value to it.

Adam Rose vignette.

Clips from Warrior’s Hall of Fame speech as an advertisement for a four part special on the WWE Network this week.

Damien Sandow is talking but Big Show’s music cuts him off. He rants more anyway and says he won’t be silenced and keeps ranting about how Big Show is only popular because he shakes hands. Everyone should be trying to touch Sandow as he comes to the ring because he deserves it. Show just looks on from the corner until Sandow goes over to him. Big Show doesn’t have anything to say but Sandow says Show knows Sandow is the future of WWE. WMD and we’re done. No match even though there was a referee there.

The Wyatts pop up and Harper is whistling again. They’re next.

Monday Night Raw
Date: April 7, 2014
Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s the night after one of the best show in years and the big question is where do they go from here? For the first time ever, Undertaker is coming off a loss at Wrestlemania in what very well may be his last match. Other than that we’ve got a new WWE World Heavyweight Champion in the form of a goat man. Tonight is usually one of the most fun shows of the year. Let’s get to it.

As you might have heard, I was in the arena for the show so this is my second viewing. It’s being written the Wednesday after so a lot of things have changed.

We open with the Monster video on Daniel Bryan’s career that aired at Wrestlemania. The song fits so perfectly. The video eats up nearly five minutes but it’s awesome.

The arena is filled with the YES chant and here’s Daniel Bryan to drive it them even harder. Bryan is wearing the World Heavyweight Championship and has the WWE Championship in his hand. I wish they would just get rid of one already. Even JBL admits that Daniel Bryan is an A+ player. The music stops and the DANIEL BRYAN chant begins. They go on so long that Bryan asks if the people ever get tired. The fans switch into the NO chant and Bryan says be careful that you don’t hit the people next to you.

The YES chant starts again and Bryan joins in but says after this his shoulders need a break. Daniel talks about starting the pose two years ago and now everyone in the WWE Universe is united under one word. He’s cut off again by a YOU DESERVE IT chant and you can see Daniel is getting overwhelmed by the reaction. He says he deserves it a little bit but the fans deserve the rest. The YES stuff isn’t about a movement or anything else, but about the power the fans have to make a change. It gave him the chance to stand up to the Authority and now he is the WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION.

The fans strike up the band one more time but here are HHH and Stephanie (in a very nice black dress) to interrupt. They stand on the apron and the fans aren’t pleased with HHH. Cole: “It’s going to be one of those nights.” HHH says he isn’t going to step into the ring because he doesn’t want to do something he’s going to regret. Bryan: “You’re not getting in the ring? Hang on a second.” Bryan gets right in his face and starts another YES chant in a great bit. The boss says enjoy this while you can, because tonight Bryan is defending against HHH himself. HHH throws the mic down so hard the cube falls off and we get a final chant.

After a break HHH and Stephanie are in the back and talking about how great tonight is going to be. Batista comes in and says he wants his rematch because it’s HHH’s fault that Bryan was in the main event. He says he earned a one on one shot at the title but Orton comes in and says he wants his rematch tonight. HHH says he himself is getting the shot but the other two will at some point. Stephanie gives them a Tag Team Title shot as a consolation prize. HHH reminds them that when they work together, things go their way.

Wyatt Family vs. Big E./John Cena/Sheamus

The fans clap along to the Wyatts’ song. The good guys come out after a break, during which a video aired about WWE’s issues with cars over the years. Seeing the Wyatts stand in the ring and watch was rather odd to see. Cena is of course absolutely LOATHED by the smarky crowd but he smirks it off. In something that is going to catch on fast, the fans chant JOHN CENA SUCKS in time to his music. It’s a brawl to start until we get down to Cena vs. Bray. A big right hand drops Cena and the fans go NUTS. Cena comes back and you would think he lit Santa Claus on fire.

Sheamus comes in off the tag and stomps away in the corner to a slightly less hateful reaction. The fans chant for Bryan before chanting for Erick Rowan who comes in off the tag. A running forearm drops Erick into the corner and he hammers away with right hands, only to be shoved down to the mat. Sheamus fights back with a knee to the side of the head and it’s off to Big E.

The champ picks up Rowan for three straight backbreakers, drawing the ONLY face pop of the match for his team. Off to Harper, who accidentally runs into Rowan to knock him off the apron. Cena comes back in for a quick Protobomb and the Shuffle (minus the run). An AA doesn’t work so Harper slams him face first into the mat for two. Bray gets the tag and we take a break.

Back with Cena fighting out of a Harper chinlock as the fans chant for the Family. He still can’t get the AA though and Harper drops him with a DDT for two. Rowan comes back in for a legdrop as the fans sing He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands. Wyatt stomps a mudhole until John fights up with a hard clothesline. You can actually hear a TINY Let’s Go Cena chant but the singing drowns it out again.

Bray headbutts him down and it’s back to Harper for some uppercuts. Cena fights up and makes the tag off to Sheamus to clean house. The rolling fireman’s carry puts Harper onto Rowan but a Wyatt distraction breaks up the Brogue. Back to Big E. as everything breaks down. Big E. loads up the Big Ending on Bray but Harper breaks it up with a nice looking superkick. Harper hits a suicide dive to take out Sheamus and the place goes NUTS. Bray spider walks out of the corner (Lawler: “CALL YOUR LOCAL EXORCIST!”) and gets a Wyatt’s Gonna Kill You chant, setting up Sister Abigail on Big E. for the pin at 10:30 shown at 13:14.

Rating: C+. This would fall into the category of fun rather than good and there’s nothing wrong with that. The crowd was awesome here because of one major reason: they chanted about stuff going on in the ring. Not the announcers, not wrestlers that haven’t been on the show in years, not Justin Roberts. They were chanting about the Wyatts and John Cena and the match felt like a much bigger deal as a result. The Wyatts looked great here too.

Slam City ad.

Bo Dallas vignette, with Dallas playing something like a motivational speaker. “It’s not pronounced impossible, but I’M POSSIBLE.” The fans liked the idea of this, even though it took awhile to get to the reveal of who it was.

Fandango/Summer Rae vs. Emma/Santino Marella

Summer looks great in blue. The guys get things going with a quick dance off but Fandango quickly runs from the Cobra. Off to the girls and Summer is quickly caught in the Dilemma followed by the Emmamite Sandwich (zero need to change the name) and the Emma Lock (bridging Indian Deathlock) for the submission at 1:30. This was just a way to showcase Emma.

Here are Lesnar and Heyman for the ultimate bragging session. Heyman bows down to Brock to just drive the crowd even crazier. JBL brings up the comparison to Bruno losing the title to Koloff and that’s really the only thing you can compare the Streak to. Paul introduces himself and says he’s glad to represent the conqueror of the Streak. Brock has a nasty looking black eye.

Heyman talks about the Streak lasting nearly a quarter of a century before being broken in three seconds. The fans are LIVID which Heyman says is a lack of intelligence. He hates to say we told you so, but WE TOLD YOU SO! How could anyone doubt Heyman’s mind or Brock’s physical attributes? Brock isn’t here to make people smile. Instead he’s here to shock the WWE Universe and put tears in the eyes of children.

If that’s not great enough, Heyman wants to shoot a bit. Five seconds after Undertaker walked through the curtain, Undertaker collapsed (apparently a true story). He was taken to the hospital and Vince McMahon went with him instead of staying for the main event of Wrestlemania. Undertaker is lucky that he was pinned so soon, because Brock wasn’t stopping until the Streak was dead.

What really gets to Heyman is that after the match was over, “John Bradshaw Layfield and those other two things called announcers, plus 80,000 other people in the Super Dome Hogan, not the Silver Dome, gave Undertaker a standing ovation.” However they should have been chanting the winner. That brings him to tonight. This is supposed to be the wildest crowd of the year and every member of this audience is just like the WWE locker room: they’re all wannabes.

Everyone back there wants to be Brock Lesnar but Brock doesn’t like anyone. “He barely tolerates me!” Brock isn’t going to suck up to a bunch of people that fly in once a year for Raw after Wrestlemania. A lot of people say they could have broken the Streak, but BROCK did it. A lot of people wanted to fight in the Octagon and be the UFC Champion but BROCK did it. A lot of people wanted to be the NCAA Heavyweight Champion but BROCK did it. Everyone else is a wannabe because BROCK LESNAR is the one.

A lot of people came up to Heyman last night and said they could have broken the Streak. “Yeah? Well why didn’t you?” BROCK did, and he’s the 1 in 21-1. Heyman hears a WHTA chant so he slows down and repeats the 1 in 21-1 line. There are legends, Superstars and Hall of Famers. All of them are plural though, and there’s just one BROCK LESNAR. This was one of the best promos ever and Heyman just owned the audience and the locker room. I kept waiting for someone to come out and confront him, but I’m glad no one did. This needed to be all about Brock for the night, not setting up anything else just yet.

Adam Rose and his party bus are coming. The fans ate this up with a spoon. It’s another example of a character that is different and the fans responded to it faster than another version of “cocky heel that is better than you” or “plucky face that just wants to compete.” It’s a character rather than a gimmick and that’s always going to work.

Tag Team Titles: Randy Orton/Batista vs. Usos

The twins are defending. Something that took a little getting used to this weekend: seeing the Usos just standing there during the previous entrance. I knew they were there due to how the entrances worked but it looks odd in person. Batista draws the YOU TAPPED OUT chants but easily takes Jimmy into the corner for a tag off to Randy. Jimmy fires back with some right hands but Orton headbutts him back. The fans are already bored and start a Y2J chant, followed by one for CM Punk, Justin Roberts and JBL. The Usos are sent to the floor and destroyed until it’s a double countout at 2:15.

Orton hits an Elevated DDT on the floor to Jimmy and Batista nails a LOUD Batista Bomb to Jey on the steps. They were smart to keep this one short before the fans took things over again. I would have preferred it wasn’t against the champions though.

Damien Sandow vs. Rob Van Dam

Van Dam got a nice reaction but it wasn’t deafening. A quick kick sends Sandow outside but he comes back in with some forearms to the back and shoulders in the corner. Another kick to the face puts Sandow on the apron and a third sends him to the floor. Sandow is draped over the barricade for the spinning kick to the back and the fans think Rob still has it. Back in and Rolling Thunder sets up the Five Star for the pin at 2:49. Just a return squash.

Rey Mysterio vs. Bad News Barrett

Barrett gets one of the loudest pops of the night for his first match since late last year. The fans chant for Barrett right after the bell and he grabs the mic for the catchphrase, only to get nailed by some forearms, making Rey a heel for the night. A headscissors sends Barrett to the floor and Rey hits the sliding splash under the bottom rope. Back in and Barrett counters a headscissors and kicks Rey in the stomach to take over.

An OLE chant starts and Barrett gets two off the Winds of Change. Barrett nails him with a running knee in the corner but Rey breaks up a superplex attempt. A headscissors doesn’t work for Rey but he nails a spinning DDT for two, followed by the 619. Rey goes up but gets crotched down, setting up the Bull Hammer for the pin at 3:50.

Rating: C-. The match was nothing but hopefully the company realizes they’ve got something here with Barrett. He looked good in the ring and the fans were WAY into him. See what happens when you have a talented guy wrestle instead of just making stupid jokes that no one remembers?

Video on Alexander Rusev.

Another Adam Rose video, taking him inside his bus. “This is my current ex-girlfriend, and this is my future ex-girlfriend.” He also says you need little people to have a big party and that he loves bunnies because they hop. This is going to get over in a hurry.

Alexander Rusev vs. Zack Ryder

Lana is officially named the Ravishing Russian. That won’t last but she looks good in the short skirts. This is exactly what you would expect (plus a nice jumping kick to the face) and ends in 1:19 after the Accolade (Camel clutch) with Ryder tapping very quickly.

Hall of Fame video.

And now for the part that is hard to watch. The Ultimate Warrior comes to the ring with a rather red face. He certainly looks to be in good spirits though. Warrior puts on a coat like he used to wear back in the day and does the rope shake a few times but already looks blown up. He says it’s been hard for him to find the words to say this evening so he pulls out a Warrior mask to get into old form.

Warrior tells Warrior (yes that’s right) to shut up and let him do the talking. He talks about no one becoming a legend on their own because everyone’s heart beats their last beat and they breathe their last breath. However, no one’s memory is ever forgotten because the storytellers will carry their spirit on forever. The fans are the legend makers of the Ultimate Warrior. He sees some in the back with the Warrior Spirit and they can make those people legends as well. The spirit of the Warrior will run forever. That’s absolutely chilling as he would be gone less than 24 hours later.

We get a cool video on all of the work and equipment that it takes to broadcast Raw. However, none of it would be possible without the fans. This drew a WE ARE AWESOME chant in the arena.

Here are AJ and Tamina with something to say. AJ talks about being the Divas Champion for 295 days, which is the longest reign ever. Several months back she tore the Divas a new one and no one has been able to prove them wrong. Last night she showed why she’s the hero of this story because it was AJ Lee vs. the world and she overcame the odds again. She was a poor girl in New Jersey to being the best Diva in the world.

AJ has to pause for a CM Punk chant before saying she is the Divas division…..and here’s the debuting Paige. The fans absolutely love her but AJ wants to know why she’s here. Paige says she’s here to do what no one else would: congratulate her for her win. AJ says every Diva should be doing that but she doesn’t need the congratulations. Paige needs to go running back to NXT because AJ doesn’t need to hear this. AJ calls her sweet and offers her a match right now. Paige says she isn’t ready and gets slapped in the face for her efforts. AJ says ring the bell and let’s make it a title match for fun.

Divas Title: AJ Lee vs. Paige

AJ jumps her to start and hammers away before parading around the ring. Paige powers out of the Black Widow (despite slapping AJ’s leg which looked a lot like tapping) and mostly botches the Paige Turner (kind of a snap reverse Angle Slam) but gets the pin and the title at 1:18. The place went NUTS at the pinfall and AJ has no idea what to do.

Another Bo Dallas vignette.

Here’s Hulk Hogan for the Andre trophy presentation. He gets the building name right to an approving reaction and talks about what a great Wrestlemania moment the battle royal was. Hogan knew Andre was smiling when Cesaro won and says the battle royal will keep going every year. Apparently there were 31 men in the battle royal last night and here’s the one that survived.

Cesaro comes out in a shiny jacket with Zeb Colter by his side. Hogan shakes his hand, congratulates Cesaro and actually leaves without saying anything else. Zeb takes the mic and says a real American should do the talking. He promises to give the mic back to Cesaro in a minute so Cesaro can “say what kind of a guy he really is.” Cesaro is a guy who was invited into the Real Americans fold ten months ago. He made Cesaro a Zeb Colter Guy but Cesaro takes the mic. “I’m sorry Zeb. I’m a Zeb Colter Guy. I’m a Paul Heyman Guy.” The fans take a second to realize what they heard and start up the YES chant.

Heyman comes out with a big smile on his face and says he’s now the advocate for the King of Swing, Cesaro. Colter is livid as Heyman shakes Cesaro’s hand. Heyman calls Zeb grandpa and says this is a shocking week for Paul Heyman Guys. Paul heads outside to tell the announcers (including another JBL and those other guys comment) how to address the King of Swing. The fans chant the new nickname as Swagger hits the ring to attack Cesaro and BREAK THE TROPHY. Cesaro goes after him and we go to a break.

During the break, Brad Maddox came out and said clean up the mess so we can have a match. The crew came in to clean things up and a guy with a broom swept out the ring. The fans gave him a “Let’s go sweeper!” chant and he even gave a fist pump when he was done. It was a little thing but gave us a nice moment nonetheless.

Cesaro vs. Jack Swagger

Back with Cesaro fighting up and hitting a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Heyman is holding the Andre statue, minus its right leg. Swagger tries to leave but gets kicked in the ribs and thrown back into the ring. Cesaro goes up top but Jack runs the corner and suplexes him down to take over.

Jack cranks on both arms for a bit but gets caught by some European uppercuts. A powerslam gets two on Cesaro but the Vader Bomb hits feet (Swagger landed one during the break). Cesaro nails the superplex from the apron and some running uppercuts in the corner. He loads up the Swing but Jack runs away for the countout at 5:15.

We recap the opening segment.

Stephanie is in the back with Shield and Kane. Her orders for the night are to make sure HHH leaves with the WWE Title because this was an injustice. Rollins says that’s fine but wants to know where the Outlaws are. Ambrose thinks they’re gone for good but Kane isn’t pleased. He goes on a rant about how expendable Shield is before running his mouth too much, revealing that HHH ordered the attack on them a few weeks ago. Stephanie goes back to the injustice line and says what HHH wants, he gets.

WWE World Heavyweight Title: HHH vs. Daniel Bryan

The title now has YES plates. Instead of HHH, here are Batista and Orton. They surround the ring and beat Bryan down with both guys hitting their finishers. Kane comes out to add a chokeslam and here’s HHH. He demands the bell ring but like any villain, he takes his time and the Shield is here for the save. Why HHH didn’t cover Bryan while they were heading to the ring is anyone’s guess. The “match” officially started but we’ll call it a no contest at about eight seconds.

Shield gets on one side of the ring while Orton/Kane/Batista are on the other. The fans chant HOUNDS OF JUSTICE while HHH says don’t do it. He says this isn’t going to be a war but walks into the spear and it’s on. Rollins and Ambrose lay out Orton and Batista with dives (Ambrose’s mostly missed) and HHH is all alone. Bryan is getting up and with the YES chant going through the roof, it’s a running knee to the boss to end the show.

The post show scene was excellent as well with Shield all saying the Believe line and Bryan giving a very emotional speech about how he’s living his dream because of all the fans. WWE played a video that was made by people you’ll never see in front of a camera, but he thanked the crowd personally, nearly breaking down in tears.

Overall Rating: A. Oh yeah this worked. First and foremost, they kept the crowd from getting too out of hand. Yeah they booed Cena but there’s really no way around that. This show was very fun and a great way to introduce several new characters (or return some that we haven’t seen in action in awhile). The matches were just there as a backdrop for all of the action and for a show like this, that’s the best decision possible.

Bryan vs. HHH is amping up and there are a few options for Extreme Rules. You could go with Bryan vs. HHH II in a gimmick match with Shield taking on the other three, or you could do an eight man war with the title on the line. The key thing though is there are options. We’ve been building to matches we’ve known for months now and a change of pace is very nice. WWE is white hot right now and they’re reloading for Extreme Rules. This was an incredible weekend and if they even keep up most of this momentum things are looking great for the next few months.

Results

Wyatt Family b. John Cena/Sheamus/Big E. – Sister Abigail to Big E.

Emma/Santino Marella b. Fandango/Summer Rae – Emma Lock to Summer

Usos vs. Randy Orton/Batista went to a double countout

Rob Van Dam b. Damien Sandow – Five Star Frog Splash

Bad News Barrett b. Rey Mysterio – Bull Hammer

Alexander Rusev b. Zack Ryder – Accolade

Paige b. AJ Lee – Paige Turner

Cesaro b. Jack Swagger via countout

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

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I was in the upper deck and facing the cameras so there weren’t a ton of great options.  The review will be up tomorrow.Nothing to do with Raw but it looked cool.

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

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

The winner literally beats the entire division.We’ve been saying AJ loses the title in the big finale to Total Divas for months now, but for once I think it doesn’t happen.  Instead I see AJ hanging onto the title so Paige can win the title on Raw.  The Total Divas would rather yell at each other over their latest drama and the title has only been mentioned occasionally.  AJ winning and issuing an open challenge on Raw is a great way to go, but this is going to be completely insane no matter what happens so why bother trying to talk about the match itself?

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of Clash of the Champions at Amazon for just .99 at:

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NXT
Date: April 3, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, William Regal, Byron Saxton

The big story coming into tonight is the injury to Sami Zayn at the hands of Corey Graves. Other than that there isn’t much going on in NXT at the moment, but thankfully that’s a problem they can solve very quickly. We need a new challenger for Adrian Neville as well. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Emma vs. Sasha Banks

The Aussie grabs a headlock to start before dropping down next to Sasha who is already on the mat. It’s funny you see. A slam gets one on Sasha but Emma misses a charge into the corner. The fans tell Sasha that she’s rachet, whatever that means. Thankfully Renee Young speaks Full Sail and tells us that it’s not nice. Sasha misses a legdrop and gets caught in the Dilemma followed by the Emma Sandwich. It’s hard to not smile at that one. Charlotte gets on the apron for a distraction but Sasha accidentally knocks Emma into her, setting up the Emma Lock for the submission at 3:52. Renee: “GOOD TRUMPS EVIL!”

Rating: D+. The match wasn’t terrible but the important thing here is basic the NXT Divas are treated and how well that works. Emma is innocent, the BFFs are evil, Paige is the tough chick that destroys everyone, Natalya is the veteran. That’s very simple but it’s far better than the WWE Divas, who don’t have characters at all for the most part.

Video on Mojo Rawley.

John Vandal/Jack Hurley vs. Ascension

Non-title. Viktor runs over Hurley to start and throws him into Vandal to knock both guys to the floor. Back in and it’s off to Konor to destroy Vandal with some hard slams. Fans: “ONE MORE TIME!” A running splash crushes Vandal and the Fall of Man is good for the pin at 1:55. Can we get some challengers already?

Tyler Breeze has entered the building.

Xavier Woods vs. Brodus Clay

Brodus has new music and is all thuggish now, which fits him far better than the funk stuff. Xavier hits a quick dropkick to start and kicks Brodus down to the mat. Not that it matters as Brodus pops back up and hits a quick t-bone suplex to take over. Brodus even busts out an old school Heart Punch and another suplex for two. We hit the nerve hold for a few moments before Woods fights back with chops and kicks to the head. A Shining Wizard gets two for Xavier but Clay shrugs it off and drills Woods with a powerbomb (“BETTER THAN BATISTA!”, setting up a middle rope splash for the pin on Woods at 3:09.

Rating: D+. The gimmick change was long overdue for Brodus and I’m always happy seeing Xavier Woods get squashed. I don’t think this is going to mean much in WWE, but it’s nice for something around here. Woods continues to be nothing at all, even though he seems like a nice guy.

Post match Brodus says WWE has taken everything from him but now he’s doing the taking. His first target is the NXT Championship.

Adrian Neville says Brodus wants to just come in here and take the title before heading back to WWE. That’s not happening around here though because this is the future of wrestling. Brodus has to earn his shot and once he does, Adrian will be right here waiting.

Tyler Breeze vs. Yoshi Tatsu

Breeze is wearing Guatemalan Alpaca boots made by a hunchback hermit. He hammers away on Yoshi to start and kicks him in the back for an early two. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Tyler takes his head off with a forearm. The Beauty Shot is good for the pin at 1:43.

Sami Zayn feels fine going into the main event tonight and he’s been medically cleared. The only person that has anything to fear tonight is Corey Graves.

Graves tells a story about an underdog going into the woods and getting caught in a bear trap. The wolves came out and devoured him, just like Corey will do to Zayn tonight.

Video on Paige.

Paige says she’s coming for Charlotte next because the BFFs stole her moment at Arrival.

Corey Graves vs. Sami Zayn

Graves hides in the ropes to start and then bails to the floor. Sami finally follows him out and hammers away before throwing Graves back inside, only to knock him outside again with a hard clothesline. The big flip dive takes Graves out but he takes over with a hard knee to the head as we take a break. Back with Corey grabbing a chinlock and hammering Sami’s head into the corner.

Sami is all shaken as he swings at air and Graves takes him back down into another chinlock. The referee checks on Sami before Graves pounds at his head even more. Off to chinlock #3 which the fans say they love. Zayn gets up again and grabs a rollup for two, only to get caught in a wheelbarrow facebuster. A backbreaker gets two for Graves but he charges into an exploder suplex into the corner.

The Blue Thunder Bomb gets two more and Sami is a bit frustrated. Graves counters the running kick into the corner and they ram heads to put both guys down. Sami tries to go up top but can’t get his balance. Regal wants the match stopped and Graves gets in another shot to the head. Lucky 13 goes on and the referee stops it at 15:55 shown of 19:25.

Rating: C+. The match was good enough but why does Zayn have to lose almost every big match he’s in? Graves doesn’t do much for me either but they made the match work pretty well. Can we get Sami onto the main roster or at least a definitive win to end a feud for once though? I think he’s earned it by this point.

Sami yells at the referee to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Not a bad show here and most importantly it set up stuff for the future. That’s a big lesson WWE could take from these guys. Instead of having the matches set up the night of the show, get them ready the previous week so you don’t have to waste time on establishing the stories for later in the night.

Results

Emma b. Sasha Banks – Emma Lock

Ascension b. John Vandal/Jack Hurley – Fall of Man to Vandal

Brodus Clay b. Xavier Woods – Middle rope splash

Tyler Breeze b. Yoshi Tatsu – Beauty Shot

Corey Graves b. Sami Zayn via referee stoppage\

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NXT
Date: March 13, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Jason Albert, Alex Riley

We’re coming off a good episode last week with the debut of Adam Rose and the first appearance of Adrian Neville as the NXT Champion. He and Bo Dallas aren’t done yet though as Dallas has promised to cash in his rematch clause in the near future. The only announced match for tonight is Xavier Woods vs. Alexander Rusev. Let’s get to it.

The opening video sets up Rusev vs. Woods and talks about Dallas vs. Neville II coming soon.

Theme song.

Jason Albert is Tensai under a less bizarre name.

Paige vs. Sasha Banks

Non-title. Sasha steals Paige’s t-shirt and yells a lot before a brawl breaks out. Paige throws her down by the hair before beating Sasha with the shirt. She gets to throw it out to the crowd and sends Sasha into the corner. Sasha comes back with a hard whip of her own and chokes away at the champ. We hit a chinlock from Sasha followed by a snapmare into another chinlock with a knee in the back. Paige fights up and takes Sasha into a corner for some elbows. Sasha is sent to the mat and that scorpion cross lock gets the submission at 5:05.

Rating: C. The match wasn’t bad but the majority of the match was spent in that chinlock. That cross lock is just ridiculous looking (in a good way) and it’s a step above the Paige Turner. The problem at the moment though is Paige has cleaned out the division and there’s nothing left for her to do at the moment.

Post match Charlotte goes after Paige but Natalya makes the save.

We look at Corey Graves vs. Sami Zayn from last week.

Sami says he silenced Corey last week and if Corey wants some more, he isn’t hard to find.

Stills of Mojo Rawley destroying CJ Parker at Arrival.

Rawley is of course hyped in the back and says Arrival was just the start.

Ascension vs. Travis Tyler/Cal Bishop

Non-title again. Konor runs over both guys to start and hits a pair of HARD shoulders to crush Tyler. Viktor comes in and fires off hard chops in the corner followed by a backdrop for no cover. Viktor is sent to the apron and it’s off to Bishop who works on the arm in the corner but gets his head taken off by a hard uppercut. Back to Konor who brings Tyler in for fun. The dominance continues and a running splash nearly ends Tyler. Viktor comes back in and the champions start making fast tags. A top rope knee from Viktor (the Guillotine) sets up the Fall of Man for the pin on Tyler at 3:23.

Rating: D+. Total and complete dominance here as you would expect. Much like Paige, Ascension has cleaned out the division and they need someone else to fight. Either that or send some WWE guys down there to give them some important wins. Ascension continues to look awesome but they need something new to do.

Mason Ryan vs. Wesley Blake

The BETTER THAN BATISTA chants begin already. Ryan counters a quick sleeper attempt and drives a hard knee into Blake’s ribs. Ryan cranks on the arm but gets caught by a forearm and some right hands in the corner. Blake isn’t looking bad but Ryan takes over with kicks to the ribs. Ryan misses a charge into the post and Blake works on the arm for a few moments, only to run into a spinebuster for the pin at 5:12.

Rating: D+. This was just a squash for the most part but at least the ending looked good. Mason Ryan has been around forever but he just isn’t getting any better. I can’t imagine them putting him in the Shield as was the rumor a few months back, but stranger things have happened in WWE.

Bayley is very excited to be on the WWE Network. She got to meet Bret Hart recently but the BFFs come in to make fun of her. Bayley steals the head on a stick and imitates both of them, saying that Sasha smells like cheese. Violence is implied but Natalya comes in. The BFFs say Natayla hasn’t been champion in forever and is only known for drunk dialing her boss on a reality show. Natalya talks about her uncle beating Charlotte’s dad for the title and Flair leaving the company as a result (it was more like two and a half months later but that’s WWE history for you). The BFFs leave.

Alexander Rusev vs. Xavier Woods

Tyler Breeze comes out before Rusev and asks if he can have the chance to get revenge tonight. Lane comes out to do Rusev’s entrance and freak Rusev and Woods out. Breeze lays out Woods from behind and Rusev stalks to the ring. Woods says we can go and the bell rings, allowing Rusev to pick him apart with ease. The beating is nice and slow until Woods gets in a few kicks to the legs. He gets caught in a backdrop though and a spinebuster sets up the Accolade for the submission at 2:30.

Sheamus will be here next week.

Adrian Neville is about to talk about his rematch with Bo Dallas in two weeks when Bo comes in and says the nightmare ends two weeks. The Bo-Lievers have been the wind bo-neath his wings through this trying time. The fans are sick of Adrian and his flips and big ears. Adrian slaps him and they breathe heavily for a bit.

Colin Cassady vs. Bo Dallas

Colin shoves him down to start but Bo grabs a headlock to take over. Cassady easily shoves him away and dares him to try again. Bo charges into a slam and Cass drops some elbows, sending Bo running to the floor. Back in and Dallas tries another headlock, this time using a pull of the hair. A hard shoulder block sends Bo back outside and we take a break. Back with Bo in trouble but snapping Cass’ throat across the top rope to take over. He hammers away on Colin’s back and throws on a cravate to slow things down.

Colin fights up and buries some right hands in Dallas’ ribs to take get a breather. Bo drops him right back down with a running clothesline for two before hammering away. The fans chant Bo-Ring and Dallas has the biggest grin on his face. A running elbow to the head gets two and Dallas is getting frustrated. Bo misses a charge into the corner and Colin hammers away before doing the SAWFT Forearm. A BIG boot to the head gets two and Dallas is knocked silly. Bo gets in a quick shot to the throat though and an inverted DDT is enough for the pin at 12:25.

Rating: C+. Nice match here as Colin is getting better and better in the ring every week. He still needs Enzo out there to really make things work though. Dallas had some intensity out there that he’s been lacking in the last few months so maybe losing the title is a good thing for him. I don’t see this gimmick lasting long for him though.

Overall Rating: B-. Not quite as good as last week but it was still the normal NXT before the WWE interfered so my hope is getting stronger every week. The matches were all good and the stories are still basic but solid. Throw in some over the top characters next week and it’s the perfect balance.

Results

Paige b. Sasha Banks – Scorpion cross lock

Ascension b. Travis Tyler/Cal Bishop – Fall of Man to Tyler

Mason Ryan b. Wesley Blake – Spinebuster

Alexander Rusev b. Xavier Woods – Accolade

Bo Dallas b. Colin Cassady – Inverted DDT

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NXT
Date: December 18, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton, Tensai

Tonight is the 200^th episode celebration and believe it or not, that’s actually an accurate count for a change, assuming you consider this the same show as the original competition show. The main stories tonight are an appearance by HHH and an NXT Title defense with Bo Dallas defending against Adrian Neville in a lumberjack match. NXT has a good history of making their big shows work so this has good potential tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here’s HHH to open the show instead of Welcome Home. The boss says he loves hearing those NXT chants. We’re here to celebrate the 200^th episode of NXT which has seen people like Damien Sandow, Shield and the Wyatt come through here. The fans chant FIVE and HHH adds Big E. Langston to the list. With the new Performance Center, the next two hundred episodes are going to be even better. HHH tells the fans to give themselves a standing ovation because this is their house. The question now: are we ready?

Welcome Home.

Sami Zayn/Tyson Kidd vs. Leo Kruger/Antonio Cesaro

Leo’s Real American trials continue. The bell rings twice for some reason before Kruger knees Kidd in the ribs to start. Tyson comes right back with an armdrag into an armbar Sami gets the tag and Kruger runs straight to the corner for the tag to Cesaro. The fans immediately chant MATCH OF THE YEAR until Cesaro grabs a top wristlock. Sami shoves him into the corner but the referee pulls him down because he loves AMERICA.

Kidd comes in with a quick rollup for two but Cesaro catches his cross body in mid air and puts Tyson down with a backbreaker. We take a break and come back with Kidd fighting out of the heel corner and getting two off a rollup on Kruger. Leo stops the hot tag with a spinebuster for two of his own though and it’s back to Cesaro. The gutwrench suplex gets two and we hit a quickly broken chinlock. Cesaro kicks Sami off the apron to give Leo a two count and a chinlock of his own.

Back up and Tyson low bridges Kruger to the floor and avoids a charging Cesaro in the corner. Sami finally comes in off the hot tag to clean house and gets two on Leo off a high cross body. The Slice is countered into a sitout powerbomb for two but Cesaro makes the save. Kidd dives on Cesaro and Sami hits a running boot in the corner to pin Kruger at 8:17 shown of 11:47.

Rating: B-. Did you really expect anything other than a good match here? Sami getting a pin on Kruger is a good thing as he’s been losing way too often lately. Kidd and Cesaro could have some awesome matches if given the time, which keeps my head shaking at how Cesaro is used on the main shows.

Emma does her dance in the back and nearly pokes Natalya in the eye. Natalya gets annoyed and Emma accuses her of going Hollywood and forgetting the little people down here in NXT. Natalya says Emma got her title shot through a dance off so she has no room to talk. Emma says wrestling brought her to the dance so Natalya offers to let Emma tango into the Sharpshooter. A #1 contenders match is made and both girls walk off.

We get a clip from the first episode of NXT. Daniel Bryan used to be even smaller than he is today. That match with Jericho he had on the first show was great stuff.

There was a special meet and greet for the first 200 people at the taping. That’s a cool idea.

Sasha Banks vs. Paige

Non-title. Sasha slaps Paige into the corner to start before slamming her face first into the mat. Paige gets stomped in the corner and Banks throws in a mockery of Paige’s scream. Off to a chinlock with a bodyscissors on Paige until the champion fights up and wristdrags Sasha off the top. Summer tries to get involved but Banks accidentally kicks her in the chest, setting up the Paige Turner for the pin on Sasha at 3:38.

Rating: D+. Paige was on defense for most of this match and it didn’t work very well. She’s still miles ahead of most of the girls on Raw or Smackdown though, meaning she isn’t going to see a main show for a long time. After all, she’s not even dating one of the top guys in the company so why would the fans want to see her?

Enzo Amore (YES!) and Colin Cassady are talking lawsuits against a parking lot without handicap accessibility (Enzo is in a wheelchair due to a leg injury) when Aiden English interrupts. Enzo says Colin can out sing Aiden and an argument over the meaning of the word moi. A singing competition is set between English and Big Cass. English: “Mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi.” Cass: “Sa-sa-sa-sa-sa-SAWFT!”

Ascension vs. ???

This is the open challenge for a non-title match. The opponents are the American Pitbulls: Derrick Billington (originally John Cahill) and John Cahill (originally Eric Philbin), more famously known as Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards respectively. Thankfully their new names aren’t horrible. The fans are entirely behind the Pitbulls and actually don’t call them the Wolves. Billington grabs a wristlock on Viktor to start before it’s off to Cahill for more arm cranking. Ascension drags him into the corner and brings in Konnor but the Pitbulls take him down with a double Japanese armdrag.

Viktor is sent to the floor but Konnor takes Cahill’s head off. We get a mild Davey Richards chant as Ascension takes turns destroying Billington. Derrick backflips out of a suplex and kicks Viktor in the chest to make the tag to Cahill. A running knee to Victor’s chest gets two as everything breaks down. The champions are sent to the floor for stereo dives by the Pitbulls for a near fall. Billington goes up and howls before hitting a flying headbutt for two. Viktor will have none of that though and blasts Cahill in the head, setting up Fall of Man for the pin at 4:22.

Rating: C+. This could have been a lot worse. First and foremost, this was not a squash. The Pitbulls got in a good amount of offense and got a near fall towards the end. I’m not a fan of Richards at all and Edwards is only tolerable (I’m not big on indy wrestling at all for the most part) but they deserve jobs after this match, or at least more appearances.

Hunico and Camacho come out to talk trash so Ascension beats up Cahill a little more.

Kofi Kingston is rocking a suit and is happy to be here. Lana comes up to speak some Bulgarian before challenging Kofi to a match with Alexander Rusev for next week. One minor note here that makes NXT that much better: Kofi was shown as part of the meet and greet earlier so he has an actual reason for being here tonight instead of just showing up because the script called for him to.

Next week is a year in review special plus Regal vs. Cesaro.

NXT Title: Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville

This is a lumberjack match with Dallas defending. As a special treat, THE FINK does the announcing. The fans think Breeze is gorgeous before shifting to a Let’s Go Neville chant. Dallas has some awesomely evil pure white gear this week. Bo is quickly sent to the floor but runs back inside to avoid the lumberjacks. A rollup gets two for Neville but Dallas sends him outside. Breeze gets in Adrian’s face and earns a slap, sending the crowd into a quick freazy.

We take a break (including another NXT moment with Rollins becoming the first NXT Champion) and come back with Neville taking Dallas down for some kicks to the chest. Dallas gets in a shot to the ribs and drops some knees for two. Tyler Breeze is seated next to the barricade and looks livid. A cravate keeps Neville on the mat and a kick to the head gets two. The fans chant DROP THE TITLE as Bo drives elbows into Neville’s head. A hard clothesline flips Neville inside out for two and Dallas is frustrated.

Adrian escapes the bulldog out of the corner and scores with a running forearm. Some kicks get two on Bo and an enziguri sets up a standing shooting star for two. The fans threaten to riot if Bo wins but the champion bails to the floor before the Red Arrow launches. All of the lumberjacks stop him so Adrian dives on EVERYBODY in a great visual. Back in and Adrian loads up the Red Arrow but Breeze pulls Dallas out of the way, giving Bo the pin at 9:50 shown of 11:50.

Rating: C+. I like the story here as it keeps the belt on Dallas and sets up Breeze vs. Adrian down the line. Again, it’s the difference between booking and writing with the former almost always being better. The pop when Dallas finally loses is going to be nothing short of unholy.

Overall Rating: B. Another great show here with everything fitting perfectly and putting together an entertaining hour. As usual, NXT knows how to build to a big show and then actually deliver on the payoff, which is more than you get from any major wrestling show at the moment. Good stuff.

Results

Sami Zayn/Tyson Kidd b. Leo Kruger/Antonio Cesaro – Running big boot to Kruger

Paige b. Sasha Banks – Paige Turner

Ascension b. American Pitbulls – Ascension

Bo Dallas b. Adrian Neville – Pin after a missed Red Arrow

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NXT
Date: December 4, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Renee Young, Alex Riley

Tonight is one of their bigger shows as we have Dallas vs. Neville for the title, Natalya challenging Paige for the Women’s Title and possible Rega vs. Cesaro or at least some development for the feud. NXT has been able to pull off the big shows quite well in the past so hopefully they keep that streak going tonight. Let’s get to it.

Welcome Home.

Women’s Title: Natalya vs. Paige

Paige is defending. This is a result of Natalya being all whiny on Total Divas and Paige accusing her of going Hollywood. We get a rough handshake before Paige takes her down with a headlock. Natalya grabs the leg to counter but Paige reverses into a wristlock. Natalya rolls through into one of her own but Paige breaks it up with a headbutt. They trade rollups for two each before Paige catches Natalya’s kick to the ribs.

Natalya rolls through into a leg lock on the mat as the chain wrestling continues. Off to a headlock on the mat by Natalya but Paige gets to the ropes before the Sharpshooter goes on. Back from a break with Paige stomping away in the corner. Apparently Natalya tried to get in a cheap shot during another handshake during the break which set Paige off.

Paige puts on an abdominal stretch but is reversed into the same hold by Natalya. The blonde enhances it a bit by lifting Paige’s leg up for more pressure. Saxton: “Natalya putting some more twerk on Paige.” Paige fights out but gets leg dragged to the mat. Natalya stomps away but Paige fights up, only to have both girls try cross bodies at the same time to give us a stalemate.

Natalya is all fired up now and gets two off a snap suplex and a hard slam. Now it’s Sharpshooter time but Paige crawls over to the corner and through Natalya’s legs, sending Natalya head first into the buckle. Natalya goes for the legs again but Paige counters into the Paige Turner for the pin at 10:16 shown of 13:46.

Rating: B-. The fact that Paige isn’t on Raw is becoming more and more of a crime every day. The girl is good looking, young and can go in the ring but for some reason (allegedly age, even though JoJo is a year and a half younger than Paige) she’s stuck here while we get True Divas vs. Total Divas. The match was what we’ve come to expect from the Divas and the chain wrestling was a very nice treat.

Cesaro imitates Regal, telling him not to stick his nose into Cesaro’s business. Kruger comes in and says Cesaro took him to a place he hadn’t been in a long time. Cesaro: “A shower?” Kruger thinks he can be a Real American and Cesaro says he’ll talk to Zeb if Kruger does him a favor. It’s something related to Sami Zayn, who faces Kruger tonight.

Aiden English vs. ???

The jobber isn’t named so we get the LET’S GO THIS GUY chant. Renee talks about all the organizations Aiden is a part of, including various mime and opera groups. I love little details like that which enhance a character far better than saying the same stuff over and over again. Imagine that: making stuff up to make a character better. Total squash with English throwing the jobber around and ending him with the Director’s Cut at 1:18.

The fans chant for and receive an encore. The ring is filled with roses after English finishes in a nice touch.

Here’s Cesaro in a suit to apologize to Byron Saxton for what happened last week. We get a clip of Regal saving Saxton last week before Saxton comes up onto the stage to talk to Cesaro. They shake hands and Cesaro invites Byron to do the Real Americans pledge but Saxton isn’t too thrilled. Cesaro grabs him by the neck and slaps Saxton down before fixing his suit. No Regal.

Sami says last week was tough but if anyone is going to take the title from Bo, he’s glad it’s Adrian. Either way, he’ll get it eventually. Leo Kruger jumps him from behind to set up their match.

Tyson Kidd vs. Leo Kruger

Didn’t they say Kruger was facing Zayn tonight? Either way, this was set up when Kruger kicked Kidd’s crutches out back in February. Tyson stomps him down in the corner to start and a belly to back suplex gets two. Renee enjoys looking at Kidd’s toned body as Kruger takes him down into the corner and chokes with his boot before hitting a kind of Stunner onto the recently repaired knee. We take a break and come back with Kruger still on the knee and even putting on the Sharpshooter. Kidd is in trouble but Sami Zayn comes out for a distraction, allowing Kidd to get a rollup for the pin at 4:46 shown of 8:16.

Rating: D+. This needed a break? The match was nothing to see as it was supposed to be about revenge but I need more than a rollup for revenge. To be fair though this was hardly a feud and was really just tying up a loose end from February. It also sets up Zayn vs. Kruger even more so good booking but bad action.

Camacho and Hunico want the tag titles.

NXT Title: Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville

Neville quickly takes him down to start for two but Dallas bails to the corner. A cross body out of the corner gets the same and Dallas heads outside for another breather. Back in and Dallas takes off a buckle pad behind the referee’s back before taking Neville’s head off with a forearm for two. We hit the cravate from the champion before a corner clothesline and the bulldog gets two on Adrian.

Dallas drives some knees into the head for two more but misses a middle rope knee drop to give Neville a breather. Some running forearms to Dallas’ head have him in trouble and a big shot sends Dallas out to the floor. A huge Asai Moonsault takes Dallas out but he kicks out at two. Adrian loads up the Red Arrow but Bo bails to the floor before it can launch. Instead it’s a cross body to the outside to crush Dallas again but only Neville beats the count back in for the countout at 7:38.

Rating: C. The match was decent while it lasted but the ending was just a way to extend the feud. To be fair though this match wasn’t built up nearly as well as the Zayn vs. Dallas match so it’s not as much of a drop. This could be leading to Dallas vs. Neville vs. Zayn which could be very entertaining if given a good amount of time. Not a great match here but it did its job.

The announcers talk about Dallas being champion for nearly 200 days to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a middle of the road show for NXT but it was still entertaining. It set up some stuff for the future which continues to be one of NXT’s strong suits, but it didn’t give us anything we really needed to see tonight. The fact that this was a show to get us to the next show and was still entertaining is a really good sign though. The future is bright for these guys.

Results

Paige b. Natalya – Paige Turner

Aiden English b. ??? – Director’s Cut

Tyson Kidd b. Leo Kruger – Rollup

Adrian Neville b. Bo Dallas via countout

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NXT
Date: October 30, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: William Regal, Renee Young, Byron Saxton

We’re still in the Abu Dhabi era, meaning it’s still time for the lower level guys to shine on this show. That opens up a lot of doors as it’s hard to tell what the show is going to focus on. The strength of NXT has always been its ability to put the focus on anything at any time though, so hopefully this show holds up well. Let’s get to it.

Welcome Home.

Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady vs. Alexander Rusev/Sylvester LeFort

Enzo and Big Cass think LeFort and his Legionnaires are just like chicken tenders: SAWFT! I believe this is Sylvester’s in ring debut and the guy is in great shape. Rusev plows through Cass to start and hits a standing splash (think Vader) before pulling Enzo in as well. Sylvester wants a tag but Rusev runs him over as well before beating Cassady with the Accolade at 1:33.

The mysterious blonde comes back to look at Rusev.

The Raw ReBound is the big ending segment where Big Show returned after that whole two weeks away to have his life ruined.

Aiden English vs. Jason Jordan

English does his song on the way in and Regal admits to having a mancrush on him. Jordan jumps him to start as Renee lists off his other athletic accomplishments. For some reason they’re much easier to listen to coming from her than Cole or JR. Off to a sleeper with English singing a lullaby. Jordan fights up and gets two off a dropkick, only to get caught in the Director’s Cut (sitout cobra clutch slam) for the pin at 1:44.

English gives us an encore and has roses thrown at him.

We look at Corey Graves beating Adrian Neville last week and attacking him post match.

Neville congratulates Corey for last week but it’s just the beginning since Corey went after Adrian’s livelihood.

Video on the Abu Dhabi tour.

Paige vs. Summer Rae

Non-title. Paige stars fast by throwing Summer around by the hair and out to the floor. Summer avoids a baseball slide but hides behind Sasha to stop Paige’s momentum. Back in and Paige gets two off a sunset flip as Regal continues to awkwardly hit on Renee. Regal snaps back into reality as Paige uses a headbutt, thrilling the Brit. Sasha tries to interfere and gets thrown out as we take a break. Back with Summer sending Paige to the apron and having her legs swept out from underneath her to give Summer control.

They head back inside with Rae hooking a leg lock as Regal talks about some old girlfriend of his coming to Orlando next time. Renee goes into girly mode and Saxton reminds them that he’s here. Paige fights up and hits a standing cradle DDT for two. Some clotheslines put Summer down and a running dropkick does the same. Summer comes back with a nice spin kick to the face for two of her own, only to get caught in a quick Paige Turner for the pin at 6:12 shown of 9:12.

Rating: C-. Not bad here as I wonder why Summer didn’t have this match with Natalya on Monday. She’s more than capable of having decent matches like this but I was bored out of my mind from her Raw stuff. This was good enough but they need to mix things up with the title as Paige has held it for months now.

Post match Banks comes back and beats down Paige until Emma makes the save. Emma stomps away on Sasha in the corner and accidentally blasts Paige as the champ goes after Banks as well.

Tyler Breeze says it’s time to send CJ Parker back to the streets where he belongs.

Luke Harper vs. Kassius Ohno and Rusev vs. LeFort next week.

Tyler Breeze vs. CJ Parker

Parker chases Breeze around the ring before sending him face first into a buckle. A nice suplex gets two for CJ and a cross body out of the corner gets the same. Apparently there’s a small community in southeast Asia that worships Breeze’s hair. I’m not sure why but that cracked me up. Parker hooks an airplane spin of all things before headbutting Breeze down. He loads up a big palm strike but Breeze bails to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Parker suplexing Breeze down but getting caught in a quick powerbomb out of the corner. Breeze stomps away but stops for a picture. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Tyler goes up and gets slammed down. Parker hits some shots to the face and a side kick for two before the Third Eye (palm strike) gets the pin at 7:50 shown of 10:50.

Rating: D+. This didn’t do it for me. Breeze is great but Parker is just flat out boring in the ring. I know we’re supposed to get behind him due to the hair cutting thing last week but at the end of the day there’s nothing to him at all. The fans there don’t like him and I can’t say I disagree with them at all.

Post match Parker goes for Breeze’s hair but Tyler bails to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. If this is as bad as NXT gets, I can certainly live with it. There wasn’t much here but Aiden English is always fun and I can tolerate looking at Summer and Paige for ten minutes if you force me to. This was just a filler episode and that’s fine all things considered. Not a great episode but like I said, if this is as bad as it gets, that’s not bad.

Results

Alexander Rusev/Sylvester LeFort b. Colin Cassady/Enzo Amore – Accolade to Cassady

Aiden English b. Jason Jordan – Director’s Cut

Paige b. Summer Rae – Paige Turner

CJ Parker b. Tyler Breeze – Third Eye

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NXT
Date: October 16, 2013
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tony Dawson, William Regal, Renee Young

Tonight is a very big show for NXT as we FINALLY get the showdown between Sami Zayn and Bo Dallas. This is a match that’s been built up for months now and tonight is the blowoff. Imagine that: setting up match and building up to it for months as the fans want to see it more and more. Why is that so complicated? Let’s get to it.

The opening video sets up the title match tonight with Zayn wearing a mask and pinning Dallas a few weeks back.

Welcome Home.

Tag Titles: Ascension vs. Adrian Neville/Corey Graves

Ascension is defending and won the belts from Neville and Graves two weeks back. Corey sends Victor into the corner to start as the announcers talk about how much more aggressive Graves has been since losing the titles. Victor is knocked into the corner before putting on a headscissors choke over the ropes before bringing in Adrian. The Brit loads up a quick Red Arrow but has to kick O’Brien away, only to hurt his leg in the process.

Back from a break with Victor slamming the back of Graves’ head into the mat for two before it’s off to Conor again. Adrian quickly gets over to the corner and dives to Corey for the tag. Graves goes for Conor’s leg and puts on Lucky 13 but Victor makes the save. Adrian is still hurt but Graves tags him back in anyway. O’Brien throws Adrian shoulder first into the post but Neville comes back with a kick to Victor’s face. He goes for the tag but Victor kicks Adrian into Corey which isn’t a tag for some reason. Ascension hits the Fall of Man on Neville to retain the belts at 5:52 shown of 9:22.

Rating: C. This was all about finishing off the Graves/Neville team for good which was the right move. They never felt like anything more than transitional champions and in both matches they’ve looked outclassed by Ascension. It was a glorified squash and there’s nothing wrong with that at all.

Post match Graves yells at Neville for losing their shot before destroying him, turning heel in the process. It takes a little bit before the fans really get onto him but the YOU SUCK chant gets going after a bit.

Cena is coming back in case you didn’t know.

Post break the announcers are stunned at what they just saw.

Tyler Breeze vs. CJ Parker

As usual, the fans are entirely behind Breeze and can’t stand Parker. Renee Young continues to be awesome on commentary by saying she and Breeze get along so well because they both have blonde ponytails, shop at the same stores and are about the same size. Fans: “BREEZE IS GORGEOUS!” Parker hits a hard chop to the chest to start as the announcers debate which kind of cell phone would be the best weapon.

Breeze misses an elbow drop and gets rolled up for two, protecting his face in the process. Parker misses a dropkick and gets kicked in the face but Breeze has to go take a picture in the corner. Breeze pounds away and freaks out when CJ loads up a right hand to the face. Fans: “NOT IN THE FACE!” Breeze uses the distraction to poke Parker in the eye and hit a spinwheel kick for the pin at 3:25.

Rating: C-. If there is a more fun character out there than Tyler Breeze, I have no idea who it is. The match was nothing special but the thing that stood out the most here was Renee Young. She is so perfect as the laid back commentator and actually makes the matches a lot easier to listen to. She’s funny, she adds stuff to the match, she sounds natural and above all else, she isn’t corny at all. In short, she sounds like a normal, bright person talking about what she’s seeing and offering some intelligent thoughts to it. That’s the polar opposite from how forced most commentary is and it’s very refreshing.

Regal praises Tyler for his tactics. Breeze goes to take a picture but Parker hits him in the face and steals the phone to take pictures of himself. Regal has the right idea: “CALL THE POLICE!”

Breast cancer is bad.

Paige/Emma vs. Sasha Banks/Summer Rae

Paige insists that she gets to start and erupts on Summer to start. It’s quickly off to Emma who sends Summer running off to Banks. Emma avoids a charge in the corner and gets a quick sunset flip for two. Sasha takes her into the heel corner and brings in Summer as Renee takes jabs at Tony for calling her the foremost authority on Divas.

Summer hits a faceplant for two on Emma before pulling on Emma’s arms. Emma backflips over into a rollup for two and there’s the hot tag to Paige. The champ cleans house and fires off some knees to Summer’s ribs before getting two off a PerfectPlex. Everything breaks down and Summer hits a quick standing legdrop for the pin on Paige at 5:50.

Rating: C-. The looks of the girls made this a lot easier to get through but it still wasn’t much of a match. Much like earlier, this was there to do little more than stet up a future match, presumably with Summer finally taking the title from Paige. Still though, good stuff here as the Divas of NXT continue to be the best in the business today.

NXT Title: Sami Zayn vs. Bo Dallas

They have a ton of time for this. Bo is defending if you’re new around here. Feeling out process to start with Sami sending Bo into the ropes. Sami gets a pair of rollups for two, sending Bo into the corner. Back up and the champion grabs a headlock to take Zayn down and drops some knees for two. Dallas hooks a cravate for a few moments before Sami comes back with clotheslines and a backdrop. The running boot in the corner…..WINS THE CHAMPIONSHIP AT 4:35?????

The fans are so shocked they forget to cheer but before I can even type Rating:, here’s JBL to say it doesn’t count because Bo’s foot was on the rope, which was clearly before the bell. JBL tells the referee to not make him learn his name so restart the match. Bo elbows Sami out to the floor and we take a quick break.

Back with Sami fighting out of a cravate but getting clotheslined down for another two. Sami fights up again and low bridging Dallas out to the floor. There’s the big flip dive from Zayn followed by a high cross body for two. Dallas blocks the running boot in the corner but gets caught in a spinning blue thunder bomb for two. Bo hits a boot to the side of the head and a bulldog out of the corner for a close near fall.

A reverse DDT gets the same but Sami avoids a powerslam and spears Dallas down for two. Dallas blocks a climbing the turnbuckle armdrag and spears Sami down for two. The fans are losing their minds on the kickouts. Dallas puts Zayn on the top rope for a superplex but gets countered into a great looking sunset bomb for an even closer two. Sami rolls some German suplexes but Bo rips off the turnbuckle pad and sends Zayn face first into the steel to block the last German, allowing Bo to roll him up to retain at 14:26 shown of 17:16.

Rating: B+. Really fun match here where you genuinely didn’t know who was going to win until the end. At this point Zayn shouldn’t be in NXT for awhile as this was his big moment and he came up short. He’s more than ready for the main roster so there’s no need to keep him around in developmental anymore. Dallas’ best match ever by a few thousand miles.

Overall Rating: A. My goodness NXT is amazing. This felt like their biggest show ever and it delivered in spades. We have angle advancement in the tag title match, a challenger for Paige, a fun match with Breeze and a great match with a false finish for the title. This is by far the highlight of my wrestling week and somehow it keeps getting better. Excellent show this week and great stuff all around.

Results

Ascension b. Adrian Neville/Corey Graves – Fall of Man to Neville

Tyler Breeze b. CJ Parker – Spinwheel Kick

Summer Rae/Sasha Banks b. Paige/Emma – Standing legdrop to Paige

Bo Dallas b. Sami Zayn – Rollup

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