Well that’s certainly different. I can’t wait for them to use the obvious six people for the Intercontinental Title match though, making sure we’re never getting any elevation and with the title winding up on Ziggler or Barrett. Again.
The Tag Team Title match could be fun though.
Monday Night Raw
Date: May 11, 2015
Location: US Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Booker T.
It’s the go home show for Payback and the big story tonight is the return of the Authority, who are back after a few weeks off on vacation. Coming out of last week, the most interesting change is Cincinnati’s own Dean Ambrose being added to the main event on Sunday. Let’s get to it.
HHH arrives without Stephanie. There may be hope yet.
Opening sequence.
Here’s HHH to get things going. He talks about how his kids are so much better behaved when he says Daddy’s home, which is how things need to be around here with Kane and Seth Rollins. Seth is out first and agrees with what HHH (his daddy you see) said: they need to be on the same page. The fans want Ambrose but they get Rollins calling Kane a 7′ cancer trying to kill the Authority from the inside.
Rollins rants about Kane making the App vote to set up the triple threat, which was then turned into a fourway with Dean Ambrose. Seth: “THERE! Are you happy? I said his stupid name!” Maybe it’s time for Kane to be put aside as Director of Operations, because he’s not the same Kane that HHH used to run with. When were they EVER friends? Was that in the glorious Attitude Era when everyone was just so close in the destruction of WCW, which of course was never any sort of threat to the WWF, especially with DX around to win the Monday Night Wars totally on their own?
The argument starts again but HHH cuts them off to say he understands that Rollins can be annoying at times. However, he and Kane need to work together. Therefore, if Seth doesn’t leave Payback with the title, Kane must set himself on fire. Sorry, bit of a flashback there. If Rollins doesn’t keep the title, Kane is out as boss. HHH needs to makes sure Kane is invested in the plan though, so he makes Kane vs. Reigns and Rollins vs. Orton tonight. Noble interrupts but HHH laughs the Stooges off and makes short jokes before putting them in a handicap match with Ambrose.
Jamie Noble/Joey Mercury vs. Dean Ambrose
Ambrose beats on Mercury to start and clotheslines him out to the floor before going after Noble for a change of pace. Jamie begs off and runs to the floor to escape Dirty Deeds, allowing Mercury to sneak in from behind and pull Dean off the top and onto the ropes. Joey’s chinlock doesn’t do him much good as Dean sends the Stooges into each other. Jamie gets chopped down but Mercury breaks up the bulldog out of the corner. That earns them a double suicide dive, followed by the top rope standing elbow for two on Jamie. Dirty Deeds ends Noble at 5:23.
Rating: D+. What do you really want me to say here? It’s a total massacre with Dean never breaking a sweat to win. I’ll give them this though: the Stooges are a better option in the ring than the originals, as you could only but Patterson and Brisco as a physical threat against a handful of people. Noble and Mercury aren’t great, but they’re hardly ancient.
Cole says there’s an interesting poll on WWE.com where fans give Ambrose a 25% chance to win on Sunday. Just….yeah.
Dolph Ziggler vs. King Barrett
Sheamus on commentary and Barrett’s pre-match promo tell us that it’s Sheamus vs. Ziggler and Barrett vs. Neville on Sunday. Ziggler superkicks Barrett at the bell for two and we take an early break. Back with Barrett putting on a royal chinlock before Dolph fights up for two off a Fameasser. A dropkick gets the same for Dolph and draws Sheamus out of his chair. The distraction lets Barrett nail the Bull Hammer for the pin at 6:00. Too much in the break to rate but this was nothing to see.
Post match Sheamus yells that Dolph isn’t fit to clean his shoes and winds up eating a Brogue Kick.
Erick Rowan vs. Fandango
Harper is in Rowan’s corner and this is revenge from Smackdown where Rowan laid Fandango out. The announcers take bets on how long it takes Rowan to crush Fandango. A spinwheel kick and full nelson slam give Erick the pin at 37 seconds.
It’s Open Challenge time and Cena is surprised that there are some people here who sound like John Cena fans. Whether you like him or hate him, it’s pretty clear that everyone respects the US Title. Cena believes that this is the greatest country on earth and this title is its trophy.
There are wrestlers who will work their entire lives and never get a chance at the WWE Title, but that’s what makes the US Title special: everyone has an opportunity to take this from him. Everyone except Rusev that is, because he wants his match at Payback. People have advised Cena to cancel the Open Challenge tonight, but Cena thinks we should ask the people. The fans want a match so the challenge is on.
US Title: John Cena vs. Neville
Neville tries an armbar to start but the champ drops him with an elbow to the jaw for two. We hit the chinlock but Neville fights up and dropkicks Cena outside as we take a break. Back with Cena hitting the shoulders until he walks into a German suplex for two. Cena rolls outside and takes a huge corkscrew Asai moonsault with a big crash landing. Back in and a middle rope Phoenix Splash gets two on Cena. Neville fires off his kicks but charges into a sitout powerslam for two.
Cena can’t follow up but he can roll through Cena’s middle rope cross body into an AA, only to have Neville flip out and blast Cena with a superkick for two. The Red Arrow takes too long to set up though and Cena pulls him into the STF, only to have Neville roll over for two. Cena gets annoyed with Neville and takes his head off with a clothesline. Back up and Cena misses a charge and gets kicked in the head, only to snap off an AA for two. Cena loads up the super AA but Neville counters into a sitout powerbomb. The Red Arrow connects but Rusev comes in for the DQ at 14:47.
Rating: B+. Well of course Rusev comes in because THIS FEUD MUST FREAKING CONTINUE EVEN THOUGH NO ONE BUT THE LAZY WRITERS BECAUSE THEY DON’T WANT TO HAVE TO DO ANYTHING NEW AND JUST HAVE THE SAME STUPID MATCH OVER AND OVER UNTIL NO ONE CARES ABOUT RUSEV BECAUSE CENA BEATS HIM THREE PAY PER VIEWS IN A ROW. Great match of course but gah I’m sick of this Cena vs. Rusev feud because no one on the planet buys Rusev as having a chance save for a fluke ending.
Rusev Accolades Cena post match and we get the eternally stupid question of CAN RUSEV MAKE CENA QUIT ON SUNDAY? Allow me to put this politely: STOP BOOKING CENA IN I QUIT MATCHES BECAUSE THE IDEA STOPPED BEING INTERESTING TEN YEARS AGO!
Kane vs. Roman Reigns
Kane jumps Reigns during his entrance and destroys him before the bell. Reigns fights back and knocks Kane into the barricade, only to be sent hard into the steps. The announcers’ table is loaded up but Reigns dives over the steps and Superman Punches Kane onto the table. A spear onto but not through the table puts both guys down. No match.
Brie Bella vs. Tamina
This is basically a proxy match for Naomi vs. Nikki. Tamina takes Brie down with some hard shots, including a stiff clothesline for two. Brie flips out of a belly to back and fights back, only to screw up a ram into the buckle. How can you possibly screw up pushing someone into a buckle? The running knee in the ropes has Tamina in trouble but she comes back with a superkick for the pin at 3:22.
Rating: D. How do you screw up ramming someone face first into the buckle? It’s hard for me to say this but Nikki is so far ahead of Brie in the ring that it’s not even funny. Brie didn’t look lost out there but she didn’t look polished on offense. Granted it might be because she’s been relegated to a glorified cheerleader in recent weeks.
Curtis Axel vs. Macho Mandow
Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Mandow loads up the elbow about thirty seconds in but cue the Ascension to say this isn’t entertaining. This is now the age of total devastation so welcome to the wasteland. Ascension hits the ring at about 2:00 for the no contest…..and they’re promptly beaten down as the new Mega Powers hit the leg and load up the elbow but Ascension bails. We even get the big handshake as the Ascension is further buried. And yes, this is being buried.
Tough Enough videos.
Here’s a sad looking Daniel Bryan with something to say. He’s been in and out of doctors’ offices lately and it’s given him a lot of down time. Bryan needed to be back here with his music playing and the fans cheering for him. He can’t remember how long the fans have been cheering for him like he’s something special but it was about a year ago when he had to vacate the World Title. Stephanie McMahon told him that he couldn’t do it last year and as much as he hates to admit it, she was right.
Last year he couldn’t wrestle and give the title the respect that it deserved. That brings him to tonight, as he doesn’t know if he can defend this title regularly. He recently had an MRI and the doctors aren’t sure when he’s going to be able to get back in the ring. The fans deserve wrestlers fighting for this title in this ring, and this ring is where Bryan is going to leave it. Tonight the title is officially vacated. Daniel and the fans thank each other and he walks away.
Here’s New Day for a match but first, Woods says don’t be sad over Bryan because it’s a NEW DAY. Everyone deserves a second chance (Big E.: “Except Pete Rose.”), so they’re giving Cesaro and Tyson Kidd a second chance on Sunday in a 2/3 falls match.
Big E. vs. Cesaro
Cesaro grabs a quick slam for two before knocking E. to the floor for a break. Back with Cesaro reversing an abdominal stretch into a gutwrench suplex. Cesaro has to roll away from a Warrior Splash but gets caught by a Rock Bottom out of the corner for two. Back up and Cesaro hits a ridiculous springboard spinning European uppercut before rolling some Germans. Kidd and Woods get into it on the floor but the distraction lets Cesaro small package Big E. for the pin at 9:50.
Rating: C. This was decent enough but they needed less time in the break and more time in the match itself. Cesaro continues to thrive in this face role as we’re seeing what fans wanted to get last year instead of the Paul Heyman guy disaster. Nice little TV match here, but there’s nothing these teams can’t pull off.
Axelmania/Macho Mandow vs. Ascension on the pre-show. Well of course it is.
There’s going to be a second pay per view in May, featuring the return of the Elimination Chamber on May 30, or two weeks after Payback.
The Prime Time Players imitate the New Age Outlaws this week. If you’re not down with that, they have three words for you: millions of dollars.
Here’s Bray Wyatt to talk about the fear that is sold to us every day. Fear of a crumbling economy that will never stop. Fear of a global conflict. Fear of a dying earth. Ryback must be such an inspiration to all of you. His ankle was destroyed and he was told he might never get in this ring again. Ryback got back in though and destroys everything in his path, but he’s never seen anything like Bray Wyatt before. Sometimes the bad guy just wins. Only on C level pay per views, so Bray has a good shot on Sunday. Cue Ryback to clean house.
Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins
Non-title and Rollins is on his own. Orton runs him over to start and stomps away but Rollins sends him into the middle buckle. A knee to the back sends Orton to the floor and us to a break. Back with Orton in a chinlock before fighting up and nailing a superplex. They slowly slug it out with Orton taking over off some clotheslines but charging into an elbow to the jaw.
Rollins dives into the powerslam for two but nails the springboard knee to the jaw for two. He really likes hitting Orton in the jaw. A t-bone suplex puts Seth down but Orton rolls outside, setting up the suicide dive from the champ. They’re just trading big moves here. Back in and the RKO is countered into the low superkick (of course to the jaw) for two more. Rollins charges into the elevated DDT and the RKO is loaded up but we’ve got Stooges for the DQ at 14:15.
Rating: C. This was decent enough but they weren’t hiding the impending DQ. I’m not a fan of matches like these but the majority of the match was spent trading big moves, which at least keeps things interesting. It’s nothing great, but I don’t think this is going to be as well received as it should.
Post match Orton gets beaten down but Kane comes out to get a chair. Ambrose and Reigns come out to clean house, leaving Rollins surrounded. Kane watches as Seth takes all three finishers but Reigns spears Orton down, only to walk into Dirty Deeds to end the show.
Overall Rating: B-. It’s nowhere near as good as last week, but that’s not a fair standard to live up to. The key improvement in the last two weeks has been the pacing. They’ve cut WAY down on the amount of backstage segments and it’s made the show so much easier to sit through.
Those times in the back where Kane and Rollins bicker and the Authority cuts their stupid promos that say nothing but eat up five minute each would bring the shows to a grinding halt. However, we really, really need to get past Payback so we can get in a fresh story….which will last two weeks until the Elimination Chamber because WE MUST SELL THE NETWORK! EVEN IF THE PLAN DOESN’T REALLY MAKE SENSE!
Results
Dean Ambrose b. Jamie Noble/Joey Mercury – Dirty Deeds to Noble
Erick Rowan b. Fandango – Full nelson slam
Neville b. John Cena via DQ when Rusev interfered
Tamina b. Brie Bella – Superkick
Curtis Axel vs. Macho Mandow went to a no contest when Ascension interfered
Cesaro b. Big E. – Small package
Randy Orton b. Seth Rollins via DQ when Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury interfered
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1998 Pay Per View reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
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And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
As a Network exclusive. I guess the discussion went something like this.“We need to get people to pay for the cool stuff on the Network. Ideas?”
“LET’S GIVE THEM ALL THE COOL STUFF IN THE FREE MONTHS AND THEN NOTHING SPECIAL IN THE PAYING MONTHS!”
Because…..yeah why not.
I haven’t actually been to a live show since the Raw after Wrestlemania XXX so this had a pretty high mark to live up to. The ticket was under though and I had to drive about ten minutes instead of twelve hours so I didn’t have to invest much to get there.
I got there at about 6:30 for a 7:00 bell and the place was empty. To be fair, Rupp Arena is one of the biggest arenas in the country and it was Mother’s Day evening. The place did fill up a bit and the majority of the lower bowl was full, but there were wide gaps of empty seats. They lowered the lights for most of the arena but it still looked decent enough. The calendar probably did quite a bit of damage here but it wasn’t the only reason to blame for the low attendance. There were a ton of kids though and far more than adults.
The poll for the fan vote was should Lana be allowed at ringside for the main event. Not for a street fight or falls count anywhere, but should the hot blonde be allowed to stick around. I never saw the poll go lower than 70-30 to keep her around.
Rusev and Lana came on the screen to cut a quick promo about winning the title back. Lexington wasn’t mentioned so I’d assume this was the same video that airs everywhere.
HHH came on just after the lights went down to welcome us to the show, again with no city mentioned. This was the good version of HHH so we got an ARE YOU READY to get us going.
First up was Neville beating Barrett with the Red Arrow. This was a great choice to open the show with Barrett in the role he was born to play. Before the match he told everyone to kneel in front of the king and Tony Chimmel and the referee followed the king’s orders. Neville answered an open challenge and had one of the best matches of the night. What I like most about Neville is that he wrestles like a guy eight inches taller and 50lbs heavier than he actually is. Instead of a guy who wrestles like a small wrestler, he’s a wrestler who happens to be small.
The interesting thing here was that Neville wrestles like a superhero, kind of in the vein of the original Sin Cara, minus the botches. He comes off like someone willing to fight against anyone above him, which makes for a much more interesting character than just another cruiserweight.
Finally, Barrett said he has injured Daniel Bryan so severely that Bryan is retired. Why is it so complicated to have a wrestler injure another and then brag about causing the injury? It’s such an evil move to do but for some reason it’s taken weeks to get there. Use it to turn Barrett into an even bigger villain instead of hiding behind reality.
Damien Sandow beat Heath Slater in a short comedy match. I really don’t think you need much more of an explanation here, but Sandow has lost a lot of steam since that Miz feud ended.
Nikki Bella successfully defended the Divas Title against Naomi. This was the old Naomi in the bright green, though she was still the villain. Nikki got a big reaction from the fans, which makes sense given that she’s basically the new Kelly Kelly, if Kelly ever had a horrible feud with her sister. Naomi hit the Rear View but spent too much time dancing to cover. Later on she tried to bring in the title but had to deal with Brie, allowing Nikki to hit the Rack Attack for the pin. Nikki has the potential to be a pretty solid face champion, but the stuff before this really dragged her down.
In another lame match, Fandango beat Adam Rose with a small package. I really don’t know what else there is to say here.
We then had a Connor the Crusher video and a special Mother’s Day message from Mr. T. These received a very nice ovation and amused applause respectfully.
Next was one of the most disappointing matches of the night with Dean Ambrose defeating Luke Harper. Ambrose was fine, but Harper looked way off for some reason. He kept showing off his biceps, which isn’t exactly what you imagine coming from him. Maybe he’s trying something new, but this really didn’t need to be anything but their usual solid formula.
Intermission, meaning nachos and a water……which costs the same as a soda so it was a Sierra Mist. Seriously, charging $3.50 for a cup of water is ridiculous.
Back from the break and we had one of the most interesting matches of the night. Erick Rowan defeated Bo Dallas in something resembling a comedy match (Bo put the mask on and then Erick ran a lap around the ring like Dallas), but the interesting thing was Rowan playing the good guy after he turned heel on Smackdown. Translation: WWE doesn’t watch Smackdown either. The match was nothing special, as you would likely expect.
At this point, the show was starting to drag. After nearly two hours of some so-so matches and little worth remembering, I was feeling a bit drained. But then, something happened. I began to feel something. Oh yes, I began to feel the POWAH! The POWAH of the New Day was so strong that it knocked the fans out of rhythm on the NEW DAY SUCKS chants. Before the match, New Day talked about being similar to the Kentucky Wildcats basketball team: big, strong and athletic, but they can actually win a title and will be around for more than one year. They also sang us an original composition called We Are The Champions.
The title defense was a four way elimination match with New Day (Woods/Kofi) defending against Ascension, the Prime Time Players and Tyson Kidd/Cesaro. Kidd/Cesaro got a solid reaction but Titus was very over as well. The match was the best of the night by far with everyone getting a chance to show off. There was even an innovative spot with Woods trying a sunset flip on Viktor but not being able to get him over. With the two of them distracted, Kidd picked up Woods’ legs and catapulted him into a low blow on Viktor.
Eventually everything broke down with Cesaro and Kidd cleaning house, until Woods made a blind tag as Kidd dropped the elbow off Cesaro’s shoulders. Woods snuck in and stole the pin on Viktor to retain because the New Day is great at being sneaky. Post match Kidd and Cesaro cleaned house with the Cesaro Swing into the dropkick. Big E. eventually put Woods/Kingston on his shoulders and carried them out in a great visual. This was the match of the night by far.
The main event was Cena successfully defending the US Title over Rusev. If you’ve seen one of these matches, you’ve seen them all.
As I was walking to the car, I stopped by the parking lot and saw Neville/Bo Dallas, the Prime Time Players, Slater/Ascension and maybe Big E. leaving. Neville was the only one to wave and acknowledge the fans waiting, but to be fair he’s the only heel there.
Overall it wasn’t the best show, but for $18 I easily got my money’s worth. It didn’t help that the roster was split and the endings were mostly obvious, but still, good enough for a Mother’s Day house show.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of 1998 Pay Per View reviews at Amazon for just $3.99 at:
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And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:
Featuring me talking about a house show I went to earlier tonight, a very good opening rant on Vince Russo (the classics never die), and of course a discussion of 3 Count.
I finally sat down and watched the E:60 documentary on WWE and I’m not entirely sure what I think of it. Therefore, it’s time to ramble until I find a conclusion.
First of all, I certainly liked it. They had an interesting take by going with people who weren’t the best known, but the more I thought about it, the more that makes sense. How would a Sami Zayn section have gone here? “My name is Sami Zayn and I was one of the top independent wrestlers in the world. Now I’m headlining NXT while I wait for the inevitable call up where I’ll blow the doors off the main roster.” That’s not exactly a thrilling piece.
This show was much more for people who haven’t seen NXT and aren’t familiar with it, as they don’t mention the fact that of the three guys, Woods is by far the biggest star and he’s really nothing special. That’s the right call though as you can only get so invested in people who are lower level talent.
That being said, it’s a very entertaining look at some of what happens when the cameras aren’t on. I know we can recite what happens in every match, but a lot of the time we forget what happens when the cameras aren’t on. It’s a good look at what happens behind the curtain (I see what they did there), which isn’t something we get very often. I would have loved for this to be longer, but what we got was really fun. Check out the deleted scenes about Colin Cassady and Tyler Breeze too as they’re both entertaining.
Time for some house show discussion.I was looking at the results from an NXT house show today. It wasn’t the most in depth card in the world, but the main event was Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks. Let me say that again: the main event was Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks.
Think about this for a second: the main event of a house show was a Divas match. Yeah, that sounds like a disaster in WWE, but if you saw that as the main event of an NXT show, would you really be disappointed? The fans that I see that as the main event of a card and think “oh ok” tells you quite a bit about the way NXT runs. As I’ve said before: if you build them up properly, the Divas can work very well. That’s not what we’ve gotten anytime in the last ten years or so though and it holds them back quite a bit.
Smackdown
Date: May 7, 2015
Location: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole
We had a twist on Monday as Dean Ambrose was added to the fatal fourway at the pay per view for the World Title. While it’s likely that Ambrose was added to the match for the sake of taking the fall, he does add a fresh energy to the match that we haven’t seen so far. This show has a lot to live up to after Monday’s Raw. Let’s get to it.
We open with a recap of Ambrose being added to the title match on Monday. Tonight we have a fourway contract signing.
Opening sequence.
Jerry Lawler is in the ring to open the show with an interview with the freshly crowned King Barrett. The new king doesn’t think much of Lawler because he just likes to call himself a king. Barrett on the other hand defeated three men in twenty four hours to prove his royal worth. If Lawler wants to be in the same ring with him, he must say ALL HAIL KING BARRETT.
Lawler can’t get any responds in before Barrett says Jerry is from the trailer parks of Memphis with that other fake king Elvis Pressley. Jerry won’t say the words so Barrett threatens a Bull Hammer. Cue Dolph Ziggler to call Barrett a Renaissance fair reject. A match is set up right now.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Bad News Barrett
The King gets two off an early snap suplex and knee drop but Dolph dropkicks him out to the floor as we take an early break. Back with Dolph fighting out of a chinlock but getting kicked in the face for two more. Off to a double arm crank before Winds of Change gets yet another near fall. There’s the Fameasser for two but Sheamus runs in for the DQ at 6:29. Not enough show to rate but it was just there to set up the next match.
Neville runs out for the save and it’s time for a tag match.
Dolph Ziggler/Neville vs. Bad News Barrett/Sheamus
This is joined in progress with Sheamus driving Neville’s back into the apron and kicking him hard in the face. The Irish Curse gets two and it’s off to the King for another backbreaker. Neville tries to fight up but gets kicked in the face. There’s something so awesome about just kicking a guy in the face to put him down. We hit the chinlock from Sheamus before Neville breaks out of the ten forearms to the chest.
Sheamus is sent shoulder first into the post and it’s hot tag to Ziggler. Dolph fights off the UK contingent and hits the running DDT for two on Barrett. A superkick gets the same but Ziggler has to duck a Brogue Kick. Neville’s flip dive takes Sheamus down and Neville is right back up to break Barrett’s rollup with feet on the ropes (like any evil monarch should do). The Zig Zag gives Ziggler the pin over Barrett at 5:45 shown.
Rating: C. We were just kidding ourselves when we thought this was leading somewhere new for Barrett. He hasn’t even been king two weeks yet and he’s already getting pinned in a tag match. This is a match that really should have gone to a countout or DQ instead of having any of the four getting pinned. Let them fight another day so the pin can mean something more, or maybe have Ziggler, the most expendable of the four, take the fall.
Ambrose calls himself the chaos theory in the Authority’s equation. He’s the last guy you want in the match because he’s the last guy walking out with the title.
Luke Harper vs. Fandango
This should be painful. Harper teases some Fandangoing before the match and then boots Fandango in the face. Fandango scores with some dropkicks but Harper shrugs off a DDT. The big man nails a superkick of his own and the discus lariat is good for the pin on the dancer at 1:33.
Post match Erick Rowan comes out and beats up Fandango as well. It’s not like either has done anything in a few months so why not let them be a team again?
Here’s a smiling Lana with something to say. Before she can get there though, she takes the time to soak in a Lana chant. She asks them to stop though as the chants anger Rusev. This brings out the man himself to send Lana to the back while he gets the real work done. In this case that’s the same promo he’s done about Cena for months now, as he promises to make Cena quit at Payback. This somehow takes two minutes and various Russian to accomplish.
Roman Reigns says he’s been Orton’s rival forever and he hates Rollins, so the only person he can like in the ring is Ambrose. The quicker he signs tonight, the faster he can punch his way to the title. This is the kind of short, to the point promo that Reigns needs to stick with. There isn’t time for him to say something stupid and it stayed on point.
New Day vs. Cesaro/Tyson Kidd/???
It’s mystery partner time. Kidd/Cesaro have recruited…..Ryback. There are worse options out there. Ryback and Kingston get things going but Kofi has to stop to call off the NEW DAY SUCKS chants. They actually trade hammerlocks to start until Ryback hits an atomic drop so Kidd can nail a dropkick for two. Off to Woods but Cesaro tags himself in to nail a clothesline for two of his own.
In a cool spot, Ryback and Cesaro hit delayed verticals on Big E. and Woods. At the same time, Kidd comes in for a suplex of his own but does a snap instead. All three guys get in on the NEW DAY SUCKS stomps on Woods but he’s still able to escape the Sharpshooter. New Day winds up on the floor and all three get flattened by dives and clotheslines as the fans are WAY into Ryback and Cesaro/Kidd. Big E. finally drives Kidd into the apron and barricade a few times to take over. Back from a break with Woods jumping in with a tornado DDT for two on Kidd.
Big E. sends Tyson flying with a suplex but Xavier misses a charge in the corner. Kofi tries to break up the hot tag but Kidd gets to Ryback, who immediately cleans house. Everything breaks down and Cesaro does his running uppercuts spot and loads up the Swing, drawing in Big E. for the save. Instead Cesaro dropkicks Kofi down and the Andre/Snuka splash position sets up Kidd’s elbow drop on Kingston. Everything breaks down and Ryback stalks Woods up the ramp…..as the lights go out. No one appears but Big E. runs Ryback over. In the distraction, Kofi rolls Kidd up and grabs trunks for the pin at 12:49.
Rating: B. New Day does indeed rock and they’re really gelling in the ring. You couple that with a team like Cesaro/Kidd and someone who is figuring out how to be the wrecking ball in Ryback and you have a really solid match. The Wyatt stuff was fine as it gives you an out to end the match without anyone looking bad. Good stuff here as these guys just get better and better every week.
Orton says his strategy for the pay per view hasn’t changed because he’s going to take out anyone he has to in order to become champion. One of the members of Shield goes down tonight.
Naomi vs. Emma
Naomi and Tamina’s inset interview talks about how they’re going to remind everyone what they can do. Emma gets sent into the corner to start but does the same to Naomi for an early near fall. A neckbreaker into a nipup puts Emma back down though and a dropkick gets two. Some rollups get more near falls for Emma but the Rear View is enough for the pin at 3:26.
Rating: D+. Just a squash as Emma has somehow fallen even further down the ladder since Santino left. She’s a perfect example of someone who got over in NXT and was completely wasted on the main roster. I know there were outside circumstances, but there was no future for her when she was turned into just another smiling Diva with no distinct personality.
Tamina superkicks Emma for good measure.
Tough Enough videos.
Rollins says this is his title and thinks Kane sounds desperate when he tries to take credit for any of Rollins’ success. Seth has the mind that Kane will never have and it drives him crazy.
Los Matadores vs. Lucha Dragons
New gear for the Dragons. Kalisto and Fernando start and we’re in a chinlock 22 seconds after the bell. Thankfully Kalisto gets up after half a second and headlocks Fernando down before it’s off to Cara for a slingshot hilo. Diego comes in with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two but Cara finally comes back with a springboard double cross body. He tries a headstand in the corner but gets kicked down to the floor, allowing Torito to get in a cheap shot as we take a break. In this match?
Back with Cara slamming Fernando down and making the hot tag to Kalisto for a cross body of his own. The twisting cross body puts Diego down and the short hurricanrana does the same. Kalisto’s handspring into a spinning kick to the head stuns Fernando again, allowing Cara to small package him for the pin at 8:25. There was no need for a break in this match.
Rating: C. I would say this is a passing of the torch but Los Matadores have been in the dark since they debuted. The Lucha Dragons are far better in the role anyway and can get the crowd going with the LUCHA LUCHA LUCHA chants. Not a great or even good match but the fans were into the Dragons.
Los Matadores blame Torito for the loss.
Kane is here to emcee the contract signing. After a brief intro, he calls out all four participants as this is already taking a long time. Seth chills on the stage, prompting Ambrose to call him Justin Bieber. I really, really hope that isn’t foreshadowing the appearance of that horrible person. Seth mocks Reigns’ lack of speaking ability so Reigns has a sentence for him: He’s going to sign this contract and then take Seth’s head off. The fans chant for Randy and all three challengers sign.
Seth wants Kane to sign for him but Kane says do it yourself. Mercury is told to bring the contract to Rollins, but Seth would rather insult everyone instead of signing. Apparently Roman used to call Ambrose a Roddy Piper knockoff and Reigns can sign autographs better than he can wrestle. Orton is spoiled and only here because of his old man. Seth finally gets inside and signs and hands them to Kane, who he refers to as Mr. Obsolete.
We get the same argument for the 193rd time but Ambrose moves the table out of the way. “We all know how this is going to end anyway so I call dibs on the table.” The brawl is on with Ambrose throwing the chairs over the top, and hitting Noble in the head. Rollins dropkicks Reigns into Ambrose but has to bail from an RKO. Dean and Roman get into it but it’s the RKO to Ambrose, Superman Punch to Orton and springboard knee to Reigns to leave Rollins standing tall to end the show.
Overall Rating: C. The long ending segment didn’t do much for me, but even worse is that I can barely remember what happened on this show two hours after it started. Looking back it wasn’t bad, but there’s no staying power to this episode. When your big moments are Erick Rowan turning heel again and the Lucha Dragons splitting up with their mascot, it’s clearly just a filler show. You really shouldn’t need one of those with three weeks between pay per views.
Results
Dolph Ziggler b. Bad News Barrett via DQ when Sheamus interfered
Dolph Ziggler/Neville b. Sheamus/Bad News Barrett – Zig Zag to Barrett
Luke Harper b. Fandango – Discus lariat
New Day b. Cesaro/Tyson Kidd/Ryback – Rollup to Kidd with a handful of trunks
Naomi b. Emma – Rear View
Lucha Dragons b. Los Matadores – Small package to Fernando
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Due to a bad shoulder. He was starting to figure it out but now this stops his momentum cold. Maybe he can come back with a character though as he’ll have more time to work on his presence and talking ability.
NXT
Date: May 6, 2015
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton
We’re two weeks away from Takeover: Unstoppable where Sami Zayn (shoulder permitting) will be challenging Kevin Owens for the NXT Title. Other than that, we’re closing in on the showdown between Blake/Murphy and Enzo/Big Cass, which hinges around Carmella’s possibly changing allegiances. As usual there’s a lot of other good stuff going on in NXT so let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Emma vs. Charlotte
Emma still has Bayley’s I’m A Hugger shirt and headbands, which she won’t throw to the crowd. Charlotte gets caught in a headlock to start but gets taken down into a headscissors. A cravate with some knee lifts has Emma in even more trouble until she nails Charlotte in the knee to break up something off the middle rope. The knee gets driven into the apron and wrapped around the ropes as Emma seems to have been watching some Flair film.
Back in and something like a standing Curb Stomp to the back draws a BAN THAT MOVE chant and it’s right back to the knee with a knee drop from Emma to Charlotte’s knee. Off to a half crab for a bit before Emma tries to drive the knee into the mat, only to have Charlotte land on her feet. A spear (BETTER THAN REIGNS!) gets two for Charlotte and Natural Selection connects for the pin at 5:45.
Rating: C+. This match is a good example of the difference between the NXT girls and the WWE Divas: these girls know how to work a match instead of just doing moves in some order. This felt like it had a logical flow to it instead of going from beginning to end and filling in the gaps here and there. Good little match here, though the knee work didn’t mean much.
Bayley comes out post match and helps Emma up. They hug…..but Bayley doesn’t let go. The Belly to Bayley puts Emma down and Bayley hammers away until Charlotte breaks it up. Bayley gets her stuff back.
Video on Becky Lynch, who talks about going around the world and wrestling everywhere. She wound up here in green and dancing a jig because she’s Irish. That’s not the real Becky Lynch and she’s not going to stand for it.
We get a sitdown interview with Michael Cole talking to Kevin Owens. What he did to Sami Zayn was personal, but because Sami wants the NXT Title back. The title means a better life for his family and that’s all that matters. Cole presses him on this and Owens repeats himself but Cole still doesn’t buy it. He asks if Owens would have done the same to anyone other than Zayn. That brings Owens back to the night he won the title, when Renee Young asked him about Sami instead of winning the title.
Cole hasn’t even congratulated him on winning the title in the last two months, so Cole does just that, but asks for some respect in return. How could Kevin do what he did to someone who was close enough to him to be family? Cole asks about Sami being Owens’ best man, but Owens won’t get caught by a journalist’s question. The truth is that Owens can’t give him what he wants, but he’s a good father who provides for his family. Oh and follow him on Twitter. This was a very different kind of Cole and I can’t say I disliked him.
Bull Dempsey vs. Rhyno
This could be fun if they keep it short. The fans are behind Rhyno as the guys slug it out, followed by a quick belly to belly from Rhyno, followed by the Gore for the pin at 1:10. Smart choice there.
Post match, Rhyno says he wants Baron Corbin. That would be the next logical step.
Sasha Banks looks at a picture of Fabulous Moolah and says Moolah was the best until she came along. Becky Lynch is trying to use her to make a name for herself, but don’t forget who made Lynch in the first place.
The man formerly known as Uhaa Nation signs his contract.
We get a video on Nation, where he talks about everyone coming here and wanting to be a champion. He’s studied the great ones’ history, but now its time to begin his history. No new name is given.
Scott Dawson/Dash Wilder vs. Enzo Amore/Colin Cassady
Enzo and Cass are nowhere in sight. Fans: “WHERE IS ENZO???” We cut to the back where Enzo and Cass are destroyed by Blake and Murphy as Carmella shouts at them to stop.
Sami has his own sitdown interview with Cole where he says Owens is lying about it not being personal. It drives Sami nuts that Owens has to keep playing these games with him. Next week, Sami will be waiting in the ring so how about they look each other in the eyes and have Owens explain why he did it. If Owens is some family man, set an example for his son and say why he did it.
We get a clip from Cena vs. Sami on Raw but it’s not clear if Sami will be ready to go for Takeover.
William Regal is in the ring for the contract signing between Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks. Before signing, Becky lists off the countries she’s wrestled in over the years and still can’t believe she’s here. She’s made mistakes and sacrifices along the way but they were all worth it to get here, because she’s ready to take over. Becky signs but Sasha drops the pen and pulls out a stamp for her signature instead. Fans: “LIKE A BOSS!” Sasha strikes the first blow and puts Lynch’s face on the table with her foot on Becky’s head. The table is finally turned over and Lynch slaps on her seated armbar to make Banks tap.
Clip of Owens destroying Alex Riley after breaking up Riley’s match against Sami last week.
Riley says he’s having his second knee operation in two years. It’s a big risk, but that’s how his career has gone from leaving the Miz to leaving his commentary job to get back in the ring to demanding another match against Kevin Owens. However, last week when he was laid out, he heard a THANK YOU OWENS chant. That’s what the fans want? The last shot of last week’s show was Sami Zayn. That’s what Commissioner Regal wants? Well he saw the last time Sami fought Owens and it didn’t go well for Zayn. We’re not going to be seeing Alex Riley for a long time, because that’s what the people want.
Dana Brooke says she’s been on a role since she was born. She’s seen the new Tapout commercial and can’t believe Charlotte is in there instead of the Total Diva. She’ll run circles around Charlotte the next time she sees her. Deal with it.
Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze
Finn Balor is at ringside. They circle each other to start until a wristlock sends Breeze running to the floor. Back in and Breeze bails again at the threat of a big kick. Hideo talks to the referee for some reason and gets kicked in the ribs (by Breeze, not the referee), but he nails Breeze in the ribs with a knee to take over. Breeze takes a break on the floor and we take a regular one. Back with Itami dropping some knees to the head and taking his kneepad off for a big one, only to kick Breeze in the jaw instead. Fans: “Hideo’s gorgeous!/No he’s not!”
Tyler comes back with a variety of stomps and a legdrop for two before we hit the chinlock. A big dropkick puts Itami down again but he punches Breeze out of the air. The top rope clothesline gets two for Itami and the fans want the GTS. They fight to the floor and Itami’s Shotgun Kick hits Balor by mistake. Back in and the second Shotgun Kick puts Breeze down for the pin at 12:10.
Rating: C. Itami is getting there but it’s some of the slowest progression I’ve ever seen. Breeze didn’t seem to have his same fire tonight, but at least they did a really good job of setting up the triple threat with the misplaced kick. The false finishes in that match should be great and this was hardly torture to get through.
Breeze goes after Itami post match but Balor makes the save. That earns Balor a Supermodel Kick and Itami gets a Beauty Shot to end the show.
Overall Rating: B-. This was all about setting up the Takeover show and that was done nearly to perfection. The Title match is already set up perfectly, the Tag Title match should be fine and there’s another awesome build towards the Women’s Title match, which has become the standard in NXT. Good show here, even without a focus on the wrestling.
Results
Charlotte b. Emma – Natural Selection
Rhyno b. Bull Dempsey – Gore
Hideo Itami b. Tyler Breeze – Shotgun Kick
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