I’m live in Cocoa Beach, FL, tonight, where they are expecting approximately 250 people.
Asuka and Liv Morgan beat Mandy Rose and Daria
Liv wowed the crowd early with some fun spinning headscissor spots and rolling pin attempts. The heels then took control and put a beating on Liv in their corner until she escaped for the Asuka hot tag. Bayley’s future challenger ran wild with kicks to Daria before applying the Asuka Lock for the win.
Dan Matha beat Alexander Wolfe
I believe this is Matha’s first Florida show, yet he did work the Arnold Classic. He looked good and is a big, fit guy. Wolfe got the upper hand and Matha had to fight back before hitting a side slam of sorts. Nice debut.
Patrick Clark and Kenneth Crawford beat Dhinsa and Selmani
The big men were menacing, taunting the crowd, saying they couldn’t be beat. Yet, the more popular and athletic upstarts stole the win with a slick roll up. Very impressive stuff from Clark and Crawford lately.
Levis Valenzuela beat Steve Cutler
Levis and the fiesta were very over with the crowd tonight. Cutler tried to keep Levis down with armbars and headlock, but Levis ran wild with chops and his big wind up punch for the win.
– In ring interview with ZZ and Sara Lee. ZZ tried to say one of his charming lines, but Sara said she was sick of it and put him and this town down before storming out.
Austin Aries beat Wesley Blake
Good match here, big reaction for Aries as he was somewhat of a surprise. Big dropkick and a spinning back elbow off the ropes for the win.
Mojo Rawley beat Sawyer Fulton
The usual Mojo antics: dancing, taunting and getting the crowd to say “He Ain’t Hype” to Fulton. Fulton used his power to wear Mojo down before the comeback. Mojo ran wild and hit his big wind up punch for the win.
Apollo Crews beat Chris Girard
Early respect as a handshake before the lock-up. Girard kept this match grounded with a lot of mat work, later hitting a couple uppercuts to keep the advantage. Big stinger splash, dropkick, kipup, and the spinning slam for the win.
Enzo & Big Cass beat The Vaudevillains
Good early work between Enzo and Aiden before Cass got in the match to showcase his power. Some impressive single arm lifts of Alden English all the way up to Cass’ shoulder got the crowd really in to it. Heels worked over Enzo until the series of false finishes. Big Cass ran wild yet again and tagged in Zo for the rocket launcher splash and win.
I am live in Tampa tonight where they’re expecting approximately 450 people.
– Asuka and Liv Morgan beat Mandy Rose and Daria
Daria and Liv took turns working over Liv with a lot of basic mat work, headlocks and armbars, all leading to the hot tag for Asuka. Asuka ran wild, knocking Mandy off the apron, transitioning an arm bar into the Asuka Lock for the win.
– Dylan Miley beat Bronson Mathews
The former Tough Enough Josh made his in-ring debut. Big diving headbutt from Miley for the win. Short strong guy match here.
– Levis Valenzuela beat Elias Samson
Pre-match, Samson barely got his song out due to vicious heat from the crowd: “You Need Lessons” “Your Song Sucks” “Drift Away” chants. He attempted to mock the town but Levis made his entrance. Match was a lot of headlocks and control by The Drifter. Levis made a comeback and hit some big axe handles and hit his windup punch finish for a big win.
– Patrick Clark and Kenneth Crawford beat Blake and Murphy
BAMF was without Alexa Bliss. They took control early, cutting off the ring and working over Kenneth. Patrick took the hot tag and did some amazing drop kicks and midsection kicks. Blake & Murphy tried to cheat and run distraction yet Patrick got a flash pin roll up on Blake for the surprise win.
– Austin Aries beat Steve Cutler
Aries began with a promo. He says he’s prepared for Baron Corbin in Dallas and is proud to be here in Tampa. Cutler interrupts him and says he’s been here for two years.Showcase match for Aries who hit a dive to the outside, his spinning elbow, and the win.
– Mojo Rawley beat Chris Girard
Girard hit variations of his uppercut throughout this match, Mojo would try to taunt him yet get caught up fighting rather than goofing around. Girard worked a chinlock and Mojo fought out of it, got hyped up and ran wild before scoring the win with his shoulder blocks, and front slam.
– Apollo Crews beat Angelo Dawkins
The usual Dawkins jawjacking, taunting Apollo, and talking about the Curse Of Greatness. Apollo was able to get Angelo’s headband at one point which upset Dawkins greatly. Apollo for the win and celebrated with the fans.
– Enzo and Cass beat The Vaudevillains
Pre-match promo with Enzo and Cass saying it is good to be back in Tampa and they aren’t happy with the results of Roadblock. They challenged anyone who wanted a match and out came the Vauds. Good match here with Enzo and Cass each getting the shine early on. The heels used distractions and cheating to take the advantage behind the ref’s back to work over Enzo.
After a long beating by the heels on Enzo, he was able to get the hot tag to Cass who ran wild with big slams and clotheslines. He hit a Stinger Splash and big boot for a near fall. Enzo kicked out of a big powerbomb late. Cass cleared house and Enzo got the splash and pin for the win.
Notes from Ernie Quincosa from University of Miami’s BankUnited Center
– Sami Zayn beat Baron Corbin
They kicked this house show off with a match that could have been near the top of the card. Crowd was pretty hot for Sami and heckled Baron throughout. Typical Sami Zayn match, Baron got quite a bit of offense in, more than Sami, and looked much much more experienced than he has recently, he came across to me as a main event of NXT caliber heel for the first time. Sami won with a Heluva Kick to the corner and a pin.
– Carmella and Aliyah beat Emma and Billie Kay
Match was flat. People tried to get behind Carmella and booed Emma, but this was the quietest they were all night. Everything looked very soft and not very stiff, but all the women in the match did look like great athletes. Emma and Billie Kaye worked over Aliyah and Carmella got the hot tag and submits Billie Kaye with her neck choke finisher.
– Rich Swann beat Riddick Moss
Crowd liked Rich Swann but kept heckling through the match. Very back and forth match, and Swann won with a 450 splash. Riddick Moss seems to be improving, and Rich Swann seems like a solid baby face.
– NXT Tag Champions The Revival vs. American Alpha ends in a draw
This felt like a dry run of a pay-per-view match. Match started slow with Chad Gable getting a lot of shine. Revival tries to cheat, start cutting the ring in half with Gable. Jordan gets a very hot tag and goes to town with the spot where he pulls his singlet straps down, pulls them up, and pulls them back down. Crowd loses it. Match ends with pinning trade-off between Dawson and Gable, ending in a double pin. Referee calls the match a draw, Jordan asks The Revival to go five more minutes and they refuse and try to jump American Alpha. Jordan and Gable get a come back and hit Grand Amplitude, then soak in the applause from the crowd.
– NXT Women’s Champion Bayley beat Nia Jax
Big contrast between this match and the earlier women’s match. Every time Nia hit Bayley, the crowd gasped. Nia dominated Bayley for most of the match, until Bayley had a comeback and hit the Bayley-to-Belly suplex and pinned Nia.
– Manny Andrade beat Tye Dillinger
Surprisingly, it seemed like a good amount of the crowd knew of La Sombra, and there were multiple Sombra chants during the match. Manny seemed VERY popular with the crowd, which garnered multiple chants in Spanish. A lot of the crowd was Latino, but it’s also important to remember Miami has a lot of Cubans and Central Americans, and not so many Mexicans specifically. This match got the first (and possibly only) “This is Awesome” chant of the night. Dillinger and Andrade went back and forth, lots of chops and reversals in this match. Much more high-flying than I’ve seen in an NXT match before. Andrade won with a very impressive moonsault from the corner to standing into a standing moonsault.
– NXT Champion Finn Balor beat Samoa Joe
This was more or less the same match these two have had before. The pacing was a little different, however. Samoa Joe seemed like a monster throughout the match, dominating Finn early with a very physical style. Finn won with a brainbuster, however he was not able to lift Joe all the way up and so it ended up being more of a face slam. Samoa Joe was very popular with the crowd, who sang happy birthday to him during the match without prompting. After the match, Finn led the crowd into singing happy birthday to Joe again, and then sang “Danny Boy” for the crowd, it being St. Patrick’s Day.
TMZ reported today what has been pretty well known for some time, that Sting is retired as a pro wrestler due to the neck injuries suffered in the Night of Champions match with Seth Rollins.
Sting was diagnosed with spinal stenosis and told that he needed surgery, which is it believed he has not yet gotten. According to the story, Steve Borden has seen several doctors who all agreed that he shouldn’t return to the ring.
Sting was injured twice in the match with Rollins in September, both times taking power bombs into the turnbuckles. He went limp briefly the second time but was able to finish the match.
The story said Sting may officially announce his retirement at the Hall of Fame ceremony on 4/2 in Dallas, where he is the main event inductee.
Due to the injury, Sting vs. Undertaker was never under consideration for this year’s WrestleMania nor was he ever talked about after September for a spot on the show.
The story at www.tmz.com stated Sting would be open to a non-physical role with the company.
Borden, who turns 57 later this month, started wrestling in 1985 after being discovered by Rick Bassman working at a Gold’s Gym. He began his career in Tennessee working for Jerry Jarrett as a tag team with Jim Hellwig, who became the Ultimate Warrior. The pair were then hired by Bill Watts, where they split up when Hellwig wasn’t happy with the company. Sting remained and became part of Eddie Gilbert’s Hot Stuff International heel group, often teaming with Rick Steiner.
Gilbert turned him babyface just as the UWF was being purchased by Jim Crockett, and Sting came over in the purchase but wasn’t used well until a 45 minute draw on the first Clash of the Champions with Ric Flair. The last 15 minutes of the match peaked with a 7.8 quarter hour, and the match itself did a 7.1 rating, both records for post-1983 TBS wrestling that were never broken, and Sting remained one of the top stars in wrestling since that time.
The BIG News: Sami Zayn will face the debuting Shinsuke Nakamura at Takeover: Dallas
The Medium News: Bayley will defend her championship against Asuka at the afore-mentioned Takeover: Dallas show
The Little News: American Alpha became the new #1 Contender’s to the NXT Tag Team Title and will theoretically face The Revival at Takeover: Dallas
Sami Zayn is out to kick off the show. I wonder when they taped this segment since theoretically it was taped minutes after the last show ended, but Sami looked refreshed.
Zayn put Joe over, but said his focus is still the same and his goal is to still become a 2x NXT Champion. One thing does bother Zayn and that’s that he does not have a match at Takeover: Dallas.
This brought out Mr. William Regal, who agreed that Sami deserves something special at Takeover and he deserves to face one of the best in the world. Mr. Regal announced Sami Zayn vs Shinsuke Nakamura for Takeover. Now I can officially say how much I am marking out.
They had a video with Nakamura saying he will see Zayn at Takeover. The fans chanted “Holy sh*t” as the announcers put over Nakamura huge.
The Hype Bros defeated Angelo Dawkins & Kevin Crawford
They announced American Alpha vs Vaudevillians for later. They did that last week and instead the opening match went 45 minutes. I will go out on a limb and say this match will not go that long.
Dawkins and Crawford looked good working with Ryder. Mojo still hasn’t improved to do more than just the basic Mojo spots. Mojo did break out a discus punch to the face and the Bros won with a Hype Ryder in decidedly less than 45 minutes.
-Dana Brooke and Emma were walking backstage when Deonna Purrazzo suddenly appeared. Emma told her the beating she’s going to get tonight is worst than the one Asuka gave her. Deonna said she would win and the heels laughed at her.
Emma submitted Deonna Purrazzo
Could they please change Deonna Purrazzo’s name? This match was not very good and downright clumsy at times. I know it’s important to get new girls on tv, but I feel bad if Purrazzo is the best of the next group of girls.
The entire match seemed to telegraph a flash pin for Purrazzo. Emma hit several big moves and wouldn’t go for falls and act so cocky. Plus the announcers were blatantly pointing this out. It was all set up for Purrazzo to pin Emma, but before that happened Emma submitted her with the Emma Lock.
Tommaso Ciampa defeated Jesse Sorensen
Ciampa stampeded to the ring and got there before the ring announcer even introduced him. Ciampa ran across the ring and hit move after move on Sorensen. Ciampa hit a running knee in the corner and a discus clothesline for a 2 count.
They went to the mandatory rest hold before Sorensen made his comeback. Sorensen went for the 10 punches of doom, but Ciampa tripped him up and kneed him in the head. On the mat Ciampa hit several knees to the head before submitting Jesse with a rolling armbar.
Bayley & Asuka defeated Eva Marie & Nia Jax
Izzy, the little girl who dresses like Bayley, was now moved to dead center in the front row, as opposed to by the ramp. I only noted that because Bayley didn’t go over near her and the announcers didn’t even bring it up. Nia started the match, Eva tagged in and quickly got caught in the ring with Asuka. I never felt so bad for Eva as Asuka beat the heck out of her.
Nia blind tagged herself in and they got the heat on the champ when Nia laid her out with a Samoan Drop. Eva did that wacky stretch where you pull your opponents arms behind her back with your knee pressed into the back, but Eva forgot the second part.
Eva slapped Asuka on the apron and then Nia accidentally legdropped Eva. This was not Eva’s night. Eva got a kick to the back of the head by Asuka before being pinned with a Belly to Bayley Suplex.
– After the match Mr. Regal walked out, congratulating both Bayley and Asuka on winning before booking them against each other for Takeover.
– We had a split screen interview where the announcers interviewed Austin Aries. Aries said he is happy to be here, but it’s too bad his debut got ruined by Baron Corbin. Aries said he told Mr. Regal, who apologized, that he should feel sorry for Baron. Aries said Baron will soon find out why Aries is the greatest man who ever lived.
In a NXT tag team #1 Contender’s Match, American Alpha defeated The Vaudevillians
Main event time! One of these two teams will become the #1 Contender’s to the NXT Tag Team Championship while the other team will move to the back of the line. Corey Graves alerted us to Dan Gable recently giving props to Chad Gable.
Gable and Gotch worked really well together and made me wish I could see a match just between the two of them. Coming back from commercial the heels had cut off Gable and were wearing him down. The crowd wasn’t dead for this match, but they weren’t as psyched as they have been for Gable in the past.
Jordan hot tagged in and suplexed everyone on their heads. Gable tagged himself in and had English pinned with Chaos Theory, but Gable broke it up. Jordan gave Gable a belly to belly overhead suplex on the floor and American Alpha won with Grand Amplitude.
That does it for this week! Takeover is now 16 days away and the card is fricking amazing. Until next week when Asuka faces Emma, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers.
Roman Reigns came out first and was heavily booed for a short promo.
Renee Young interviewed A.J. Styles saying that fans can chant whatever they want. Kevin Owens came in and they talked to set up their match later in the show.
Dolph Ziggler beat The Miz with a superkick.
Michael Cole interviewed Kalisto, who accepted the match with Ryback for WrestleMania.
Dean Ambrose was heavily cheered, since he’s from Cincinnati. He did a big promo putting over Cincinnati.
Bubba Ray Dudleys beat Goldust with a low blow. R-Truth tried to make the save but he was beaten down by the Dudleys until the Usos made the save.
Next was the Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks segment. Lynch said she was going to take the title. Charlotte first said that they were like the Four Horsemen, except Horsewomen, but then apologized to her feather for even comparing Lynch and Banks to the Horsemen.
New Day challenged The League of Nations to a WrestleMania match.
Kofi Kingston pinned King Barrett. Both sides interfered.
They showed a clip of Dean Ambrose at a bar saying he’s going to bring Cincinnati with him for his fight with Brock Lesnar.
The Social Outcasts came out and said they would be winning the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. Dean Ambrose came out with a Kendo stick and beat down all four of them, and said that Brock Lesnar would be on Smackdown next week and vowed a confrontation.
Kevin Owens beat A.J. Styles in a non-title match. Chris Jericho distracted Styles and Owens got the pin after a pop up power bomb. Jericho then laid out Styles with a codebreaker after the match. Owens came back out (this is probably off TV) and Ambrose then ran in and cleaned house on Owens and Jericho, ending the night by giving Owens Dirty Deeds.
The Monday, March 14th edition of WWE RAW was saved from being the least watched episode of the show outside of holidays and football season by an unusually strong third hour.
That third hour, which featured WWE Champion HHH vs. Dolph Ziggler in a non-title singles match, and a final segment with Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and The Undertaker, ended up as the most watched hour of the show when it has evolved into the hour in which the audience drops greatly. This was the first time since the July 27, 2015 edition RAW (Seth Rollins challenging John Cena for the US title) where the third hour was the highest rated of the night.
The show did 3.46 million viewers, down two percent from the prior week. It was also down 12% from the 3.94 million the show did for the same week last year as the recent trend of RAW being down around 10% year over year continues.
It beat only the 2/1 show for the lowest since 1997 outside of football season and holidays. The opening hour was the least viewed 8 PM hour for the show since football season and the lowest rated non football/holiday number since the Monday Night Wars.
In good news, RAW was still the second most watched show on cable behind the O’Reilly Factor. In the 18-49 demo that advertisers covet, the three hours were the top rated cable shows by a considerable margin at 1.36 for 10:00 1.25 for 9:00 and 1.22 for the 8:00 hour respectively. The fourth place show was Better Call Saul at 0.81.
Household rating for the show was 2.51, down 3% from last year’s 2.59 and 8% from the Mar 16, 2015 RAW, which did a 2.73.
Part of the shift is also daylight savings time as historically people start the show later and stay longer when the time changes.
Adrian Neville (aka Benjamin Satterly) will miss this year’s WrestleMania after suffering a broken ankle and a broken shinbone in a match with Chris Jericho on Raw Monday night.
Following the first commercial break, Neville went for a baseball slide and caught his foot and ankle on the canvas. It was clear he was hurt, but it also appeared that he was going to try to continue the match. They did one quick highspot, but as Neville was trying to hop to the ropes, he collapsed.
Jericho told referee Charles Robinson that they were going to improvise a finish and go home early. He rolled up Neville but Robinson, who like all WWE referees is instructed to call it like a shoot, apparently saw one of Neville’s shoulders up and stopped counting.
Jericho, incensed, jumped to his feet and screamed, “HE’S HURT!” and shoved Robinson, who then called for the DQ. Robinson and Jericho had a big argument on national TV, part of which included Jericho telling him that Neville broke his ankle and he told him that, and Robinson claiming he didn’t hear him. Both were screaming at the other not to put their hands on them. We are told it was an awkward situation live in the ring, but that “things seemed better backstage”.
Jericho then improvised another promo, leading to AJ Styles coming out and hitting him with his springboard forearm.
The timing of something like this is never good, but this injury will keep Neville out of the ring for WrestleMania, the worst possible scenario.
Other wrestlers have severely injured their ankles over the years on baseball slide spots, including Rob Van Dam during an ECW match in the 90s.
Three weeks from WrestleMania and it’s all hands on deck in time for the final push towards the biggest show of the year. After a two week absence to sell his broken nose, Roman Reigns will return tonight in Pittsburgh to resume the build for his main event against HHH. Shane McMahon and the Undertaker are also scheduled. The New Day are scheduled to defend the World Tag Team titles against Alberto Del Rio and Rusev. Plus, Sami Zayn made his return last week and is expected to build for his presumed match against Kevin Owens for the Intercontinental Championship. Plus, Chris Jericho, A.J. Styles, Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks.
Our coverage starts at 8 ET.
The Big News: Shane McMahon and Undertaker had their first face-to-face confrontation since the WrestleMania main event was announced. It ended with Undertaker chokeslamming Shane after Vince sacrificed his own son, but Undertaker gave Vince a mean stare afterwards. Dolph Ziggler became the latest on the long line of wrestlers that HHH buried. Stephanie buried him in an interview segment, and HHH buried him in a match. Other matches official for WrestleMania include the League of Nations vs. the New Day for the tag team titles and Kalisto vs. Ryback for the U.S. Championship.
The New Day started the show with a new box of Booty O’s in Kofi Kingston’s hands. No 20 minute promo tonight as Alberto Del Rio and Rusev came out for the tag team championship match.
WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day defeated Rusev and Alberto Del Rio to retain (13:37)
It was Big E. and Xavier Woods representing the New Day. Woods pinned Rusev with a schoolboy cradle. Rusev hit a superkick on Woods while Big E. was laid out with a double foot stomp by Alberto Del Rio, but Woods kicked out in a good near fall. Kingston distracted Rusev for the finish. The match tried to make New Day into total babyfaces. Big E. did a good comeback sequence with repeated belly-to-belly suplexes on Rusev, which is now called the Booty-to-Belly. Pretty good match, though you would think that since the fans have wanted to turn New Day for months, they would rally around them once they finally did. But they were dead for this one.
Postmatch, Sheamus and King Barrett joined in for a total beatdown of the New Day. Barrett even got to pull out the Bullhammer elbow on Kingston. Rusev delivered the Accolade on Woods, and Del Rio delievered the Double Foot Stomp off the top. Sheamus gave Big E. the Brogue Kick. Appears a rematch is coming at WrestleMania.
Dean Ambrose came out after losing to HHH at Road Block. Ambrose admitted he ade a mistake against HHH on Saturday night, but that’s fine because he lives by his sword and he dies by his sword. He told anyone to ask how HHH how he’s feeling right now because it ain’t gonna be good. That would have made sense later in the show if HHH came out selling something. Instead, HHH came out 30 minutes later looking no worse for wear. Oh well, if he can’t change after 15 years, why start now?
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman came out.
Heyman said he was the voice of reason because that was the only thing that was saving Ambrose from a beating. Ambrose dared Heyman to let the beast off his leash. Heyman said any fight that features Lesnar is the main event, and he didn’t want to ruin the main event of WrestleMania. He got on his knees and begged Ambrose not to provoke Lesnar because if he came down to the ring, Ambrose wouldn’t make it to WrestleMania. Then there wouldn’t be anyone left for Lesnar to wrestle because Ambrose was the only one crazy enough to want to fight Lesnar.
Ambrose again dared Lesnar to come to the ring, but Heyman held him back and put over Lesnar with his standard platitudes. Heyman went to the back, but Lesnar didn’t. He walked down to the ring. Ambrose pulled out a crowbar. Lesnar didn’t back down despite Heyman’s objections and circled the ring. Lesnar charged the ring, but Ambrose went after him with the crowbar. Lesnar dropped down, looked menancingly at Ambrose and they cut to a break. Fans really don’t seem to know how to approach this program because they want to cheer both men.
Ryabck defeated Sin Cara (4:12)
Ryback won after giving Sin Cara two shellshocks, the second of which he did staring at Kalisto at ringside. The new gimmick for Ryback is he’s a good big guy who will always win over a good little guy. He challenged Kalisto to a U.S. Championship match at WrestleMania. It would help if the good little guy was over. Instead, when he tried to get a “Lucha” chant going, the fans started chanting “We want tables.” Ryback’s turn has also fallen on indifferent ears.
They have a new sponsorship with Burger King grilled dogs, so they showed past promos with Mad Dog Vachon, Junkyard Dog and Road Dog Jesse James.
Stephanie McMahon came out to shocking little reaction.
Like her father, she didn’t look happy about it. She introduced HHH, who she said handily defeated Ambrose at Road Block. HHH came out selling nothing and said Ambrose failed because the Authority always wins. He said hope is not a strategy, but it’s how fans relate to Ambrose and Roman Reigns, because they hope they’re the ones who can end the reign of the Authority. HHH saved his boring 20-minute promo for the 9 o’clock hour, saying people hope they get a job once they get out of high school, hope they get a promotion, hope they get a raise, but it never comes.
HHH said the fans were all failures and they cut to a shot of fans at ringside. You could see their boredom. HHH went on and on forever in his worst promo in recent memory. He said Reigns will fail at WrestleMania. Reigns got a mixed reaction. He said the Authority always wins. Dolph Ziggler came out wearing a pink shirt and black blazer. Stephanie said “Speaking of failures.”
Ziggler said he knows his place, and it’s in the ring busting his ass for the fans. Stephanie treated him like a joke, saying he was pandering “Cena-esque.” Stephanie said he wasn’t that good. Ziggler wondered if Stephanie was going to threaten to fire him. He realized he has nothing left to lose. He vowed never to quit. Ziggler said he and Ambrose were screwed by the system, the Authority’s system. But they weren’t failures. Ziggler dared Stephanie to fire him. HHH stepped in and said firing him wouldn’t be good for business. The fans loved Ziggler because he was a loveable loser, just like the fans. HHH said Ziggler didn’t have to be a loser, he could be great, but he didn’t have the right people backing him up. Maybe he could get everything he wanted out of life if he got the right advice.
Ziggler said he wouldn’t side with HHH and Stephanie if they were the last two people on Earth. Ziggler called Stephanie “egomanical, tyranical.” Stephanie slapped him and offered him any match at WrestleMania if he could win his match tonight. Stephanie said Ziggler wouldn’t win the match and she would break his spirit tonight. Stephanie said Ziggler would face HHH, who looked a little surprised at that announcement, but not hesistant to wrestle. On the bright side, I didn’t think I would watch anything this week more interminable and less entertaining that yesterday’s Selection Sunday show, but this segment proved me wrong. In less than 24 hours, to boot. I really miss the days when wrestling was fun.
Sami Zayn defeated The Miz (7:13)
Kevin Owens was on commentary. Sami Zayn did a Somersault tope on the Miz. Owens got up and started jawing with him. Miz jumped Owens from behind. Michael Cole explained that was because Owens walked out on the Miz during a tag team match on SmackDown. Owens distracted Miz, oddly enough, which led to Zayn pinning Miz with the Helluva Kick.
Renee Young did a promo with the League of Nations. Del Rio said they sent a message to the New Day. Rusev said no one was laughing now. Sheamus challenged New Day to a match at WrestleMania.
They announced Connor’s Cure would partner with the Jimmy V Foundation t fight cancer. Daniel Bryan, Brie Bella and that dasterdly heel Stephanie were all shown.
Naomi and Tamina defeated Brie Bella and Alicia Fox (2:39)
Our third distraction finish in four matches. Bella hit the Bella Buster on Naomi, but Tamina made the save. Lana (who came out just before the opening bell) distracted the referee while Naomi ran in and did a double team stuffed Michinoku Driver on Bella, and Tamina got the pin. Alicia Fox took a double superkick from Naomi and Tamina afterwards.
Social Outcasts did a product placement skit for Burger King.
Paige did an interview with Jojo when Lana walked in. Lana said Paige was a fool if she thought she was a successful diva. Lana said Paige was hanging around a lot of weak American friends. Paige said if Lana wanted to know what a real Diva does, she would show her. Naomi and Tamina backed up Lana and told Paige to watch her words more carefully. So it appears Lana, Naomi and Tamina have formed a group.
Charlotte and Ric Flair did a promo with Young. Charlotte said she knew Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch before they made the main roster. Charlotte said before Banks’ first match, she was holding her hair because she was throwing up in nervousness. Now, she walks around like she owns the place, but Charlotte still sees a scared little girl. Charlotte said Lynch was always the third wheel. Flair said Charlotte called him after two weeks at NXT and told him there were two girls here who are going to be great, and Charlotte said she had to be better. Charlotte said she was better, and she had the Divas Championship to prove it. Charlotte, Lynch and Banks will have a sit-down conversation at SmackDown, and Charlotte said they would learn on Thursday they couldn’t run from their past.
The Usos defeated Bo Dallas and Adam Rose (1:54)
The Dudley Boyz were at ringside. Jey Uso pinned Bo Dallas after a splash. They continue the Usos-Dudleys program.
Ambrose was in the back when Mick Foley showed up. This was the highlight of the show. Foley wanted to know why Ambrose wanted to fight Lesnar at WrestleMania. Ambrose asked Foley if he was scared when he was on top of the Hell in a Cell (right there, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) in 1998 against the Undertaker? Foley said he was. Ambrose asked him why did he keep going? Foley said because he was Mick Foley, and that’s what he does. Ambrose said he’s Dean Ambrose, and this is what he does. Foley then took the crowbar out of Ambrose’s hands and gave him a gift box, which was to symbolize a passing of the torch. Ambrose pulled out a barbed-wire baseball bat. Foley is one of the greatest talkers and actors of all time. With Foley, Steve Austin, Rock Shawn Michaels and HHH in 1998, it’s easy to see why Vince Russo could look successful. It’s hard to lose when you’re dealt a royal flush.
WWE Champion HHH defeated Dolph Ziggler in a non-title match (17:28)
Good match where Ziggler got lots of near falls after a Famouser and various superkicks. HHH finally won clean as a sheet with the Pedigree because…of course he did. Largely buried Ziggler. Since it was Pittsburgh and Kurt Angle rumors were flying, the fans seemed disappointed with the finish.
Reigns came out afterwards. It was supposed to be his be revenge spot, but he got booed loudly. They still had one hell of a brawl, though. It started at the announcer’s table, where Reigns did the spot that HHH did to him three weeks ago of repeatedly ramming HHH’s head into the table. Charles Robinson and other referees came out to stop him, but Reigns shoved him down. HHH hit Reigns with a can of soda, which fizzed everywhere. Reigns sold it for a moment, then came right back with a right hand.
They brawled to the pyrotechnic area, where Reigns threw a huge toolbox and HHH that resulted in hardway blood. It ended up backstage, where Jamie Noble, Jack Swagger, the Usos and Mark Henry tried to break it up. Reigns hit HHH with a HDTV. HHH threw a trashcan at Reigns, who came back with a bigger trashcan. It finally ended when HHH and the Usos stepped in. Good brawl, but the fans still aren’t warming up to Reigns.
Jacqueline was announced as the newest member of the WWE Hall of Fame.
Goldust walked around backstage when he stumbled upon someone dressed in a penguin mascot. It was R-Truth, who explained that when he grew up in the hood, the closest thing they had to a penguin as a 17-year-old pigeon with a limp. Truth heard that when penguins mate, they stay together forever. He asked Goldust to be his penguin, or his tag partner. Goldust smiled and said no. Truth said that was cold, then put the costume back on and wiggled around.
Chris Jericho came out and did a heel interview saying the fans chose A.J. Styles over him. Jericho said Styles wasn’t as good as fans thought he was, he was a hack, arrogant, in over his head, and last week he put Styles in his place. He had to show Styles who his daddy is, which is Jericho, who is the best in the world at what he does. Neville came out.
Neville defeated Chris Jericho by DQ (4:52)
Neville injured his left leg/ankle attempting a baseball slide through Jericho’s legs coming back from break. Jericho and Robinson very vocally audibled on how to get to the finish. Jericho put Neville in a schoolboy cradle, but Robinson stopped counting for no reason since Neville’s shoulders were still down. Robinson disqualified Jericho for pushing him. It appeared Jericho didn’t look happy with Robinson at all. Afterwards, Jericho got on the mic, ran down the crowd and Styles. This led to Styles coming out and giving Jericho a punch, followed by the springboard forearm, now called the Phenomenal Firearm, which will likely be his finisher.
Undertaker, Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon segment
Vince McMahon came out for the main event segment. Again, not much of a reaction. Seems that’s becoming a pattern. He even had Lillian Garcia introduce him again to get the pop he was looking for. He did the same promo he did last week about what would happen if Shane McMahon wins the Hell in a Cell match against the Undertaker. He said Shane will no longer want to be seen in public after he loses to Undertaker. The nice part is Vince won’t have to lay a glove on Shane to do his dirty work, the Undertaker will.
Undertaker came out. Vince told him not to put his hands on him ever again, referring to two weeks ago when Undertaker grabbed Vince by the throat. Undertaker took his jacket and hat off to big pops. Vince said Undertaker had a lapse of judgement, and Vince himself had a lapse of judgement for even bringing up the subject again so he apologized. Vince knew the Undertaker wouldn’t mind getting his hands dirty in leaving Shane in a pool of blood. Vince said some might call this an unholy alliance, but he calls it what’s best for business.
Shane came out to, by far and away, the most tepid reaction since his return. Shane said his father was definitely not what’s best for business anymore. Shane said he finds himself in match of a lifetime against the Undertaker. He’s figured out a way to beat the Undertaker. He basically said he was going to stick and move, turn his body into a 230-pound weapon, and use his heart because he’s fighting for his children, the fans’ children and the legacy of the WWE.
Undertaker said it still wouldn’t be enough. Undertaker said he has these, holding up his fists. It’s his legacy. Shane said for the last 25 years, Undertaker has carried the company on his back. That’s why he was surprised that Undertaker is dancing around like a puppet while his father controls the puppet’s strings. Undertaker said no one controls him. Shane says he sees it differently. Shane said he had the misfortune of being Vince’s son, but Undertaker was now Vince’s bitch.
Undertaker grabbed Shane by the throat, but Shane skipped out the backdoor and threw punches that Taker really didn’t sell at all. Shane did the Shane O’Mac shuffle, but Vince threw Shane into the Undertaker, who gave him a choke slam. Vince taunted Shane as he was laid out on the canvas, but then Undertaker looked at Vince. It’s amazing how little body movement it takes by Undertaker and Vince to get a reaction. Undertaker just turned his head at Vince. Vince moved his eyes three times realizing the Undertaker was glaring at him with bad intentions, and it got more of a reaction than anything on the show. Vince rolled out of the ring as Undertaker walked towards him. Vince smiled in delight as Shane writhed in pain, but Undertaker was engaged in a staredown with Vince.
Final Thoughts:
Behind the scenes, Vince is playing Shane against HHH and Stephanie. Vince is trying to prove he’s not out of touch, even though he’s lost 75% of his audience in the last 17 years. HHH is running NXT, which has garnered the following of hardcore fans, but Vince doesn’t think he can make any of the NXT wrestlers stars. There’s internal heat on HHH for not selling the Reigns injury, and tonight he did one of his classic HHH burial jobs on Ziggler. And I’m supposed to care about WrestleMania when all this is going on behind the scenes? You tell me, which sounds like more intriguing developments to follow? As for this show, Pittsburgh has long had the reputation of being a city of dead crowds, and tonight continued that reputation. Closing hour was interesting.
New Day (Kofi/Xavier w/ Big E) vs League of Nations (Barrett/Sheamus) – Pre-Match promo by Xavier giving a reason why he was not with Franceska 2; she was sick because Wade spit on her – New Day picked up the victory after Kofi hit Trouble in Paradise on Sheamus
Stardust v.s. Sami Zayn – Big pop for Sami – Stardust took a while at the beginning of the match to play the crowd – lots of Cody chants – Zayn won with Helluva Kick – Post Match Stardust was in the ring and said he wasn’t leaving without a win in the W/L column and issued an open challenge
Stardust v.s. Mark Henry – Mark Henry answers the open challenge – Henry makes quick work of Stardust w/ World’s Strongest Slam
Cass & Enzo w/ Carmella v.s. Dash & Dawson (Non-Title) – Good match; Enzo saw the majority of the action on the Cass/Enzo side of things – Cass & Enzo picked up the win via Rocket Launcher
Victor v.s. Goldust – Goldust won with a roll-up pinfall – The Ascension started with a post-match beatdown on Goldust – R-Truth came out for the save – After thwarting the beatdown Truth and Dust had a moment in the ring – Golden Truth chants until they left
Natalya vs Charlotte – Both traded teasing the Sharpshooter/Figure Four on each other; opposing maneuvers. – Charlotte picked up the victory after Ric Flair interrupted a submission attempt by Nattie.
Chris Jericho vs Jack Swagger – Jericho with a pre-match promo on being the best in the world and his displeasure in coming out to AJ Styles chants – Swagger had the ankle lock set in until Jericho reversed it into a codebreaker for the victory
Luke Harper v.s. Dean Ambrose – Ambrose picked up the win after hitting Dirty Deeds twice and Bray Wyatt was ejected from ringside – Post match Wyatt came back out to start a beatdown on Ambrose – The New Day came out for the save and pushed Bray back – New Day & Ambrose participate in a dance off in the ring as the show ended.
Side Notes: – Best reactions of the night were: Dean, Sami, Cass/Enzo, and the New Day – Surprising no Miz/Ziggler – they usually hit this live event due to its proximity to Cleveland. – Through connections I made my way backstage and a friend had an odd conversation with Bray Wyatt about him getting dreadlocks soon? Not sure the truth behind that but sounds weird for a cult leader.
