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 vs. 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 vs. Mark Henry – Mark Henry answers the open challenge – Henry makes quick work of Stardust w/ World’s Strongest Slam
Cass & Enzo w/ Carmella vs. 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 vs. 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
-Intermission-
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 vs. 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.
Bryan Danielson is in Pittsburgh tonight where Raw will be tomorrow and what that means isn’t clear.
Danielson hasn’t been on Raw since his retirement speech on the February 8th Raw in Seattle.
His name was brought up on Raw last week as part of the Lana vs. Brie Bella program.
It is not confirmed he will be on the show, but he was expected to be involved in some form with WrestleMania festivities and it would make sense for him to have a part in the show in some form.
As of Sunday night there are only four matches officially announced for WrestleMania: HHH vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Title; Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar; Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks for the WWE Divas Championship; and Shane McMahon vs. Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match where if Shane wins, he gets control of Monday Night Raw.
One would expect more matches to be officially announced on Raw, but there is no guarantee of that.
They showed clips of Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels at WM25 before the show started. No dark matches. As for the house, it was pretty good. Just the top tier of the Boardwalk Hall and a bit near the Titantron was unoccupied.
– Dolph Ziggler and The Usos vs Miz and the Dudley Boys
The faces win via pin with a triple superkick on the miz. 15 mins, fun spirited little opener.
– Kevin Owens promo to remind the fans about the 30 min Ironman match for the title. He calls AJ a rookie, and vows to make AJ disappear without him ever getting to pin KO.
– Sin Cara vs Rusev w/ Lana
Lana cuts a pre-match promo on AC, calling it a knockoff of Vegas. USA chants for Bulgarian Rusev and Mexican Sin Cara. Rusev dominates most of the match and wins with the Accolade in 7 mins.
– Social Outcasts (Slate & Axel) vs Damien Sandow and Neville
Social Outcasts cut a promo before match. Bo is ringside but there’s no Adam Rose tonight. Comedy match for the most part. Neville pins Axel with Red Arrow in about 10 mins.
– Tyler Breeze vs Ryback
Ryback was a babyface in this match, which solidifies Breeze as an unloved jobber. Ryback pins Breeze with a Shellshock in a 7 minute squash match.
– Alberto Del Rio vs. U.S. Champion Kalisto
Kalisto retains with a Salida Del Sol after rana’ing ADR into an exposed turnbuckle that ADR undid himself in 10 mins.
– A short video package for WM 32 aired featuring the Rock. Chimel announced an intermission.
– Naomi and Tamina Snuka vs Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks
Paige was special guest referee. Tamina tapped to the Banks Statement in 9 mins.
– Braun Strowman and Erick Rowan vs. Big Show and Kane
No pyro. Big Show with probably the biggest face reactions of the night up to this point when he tagged in 2 mins into the march. House shows are weird. Slow big man match. Big Show was so seriously over that it weirded me out. Hot tag to Big Show and Show runs wild. Double chokeslam to Rowan by Kane and Show for the pin in 10 minutes.
– Short video thanking the fans before the final match of the evening.
– AJ Styles vs WWE Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens in a 30 minute Ironman match
Nearly three minutes were spent on Owens stalling outside until AJ plancha’d KO. The next five or so minutes were spent on chinlocks and chinlock-counters. Lots of these throughout the match.
First fall: KO via countout when AJ got superkicked ringside with 13:20 left.
Second fall: KO via pinfall with the Pop-up Powerbomb with 12:50 left.
Third fall: AJ applies an Oklahoma roll pin with 11:20 left.
Fourth fall: KO counters the rolling pin attempt by AJ with a straddling pin of his own (like Bulldog over Bret at Summerslam 92) but while grabbing the ropes for another pinfall with 9:24 left.
Fifth fall: AJ counters pop-up Powerbomb with a rana pin with 7:30 left.
AJ applies the calf crusher with a minute left but KO does not tap. KO wins 3-2.
Overall, a good house show, but it was a house show so although there was a lot of good action, there also was a lot of stalling and showboating in every match. After the show ended, KO puts over AJ on the mic post-match and then put himself over as the greatest IC champ of all time until AJ returns and hits the springboard forearm on KO to close the show and send the people home happy. I did not consider the B-show to be that much inferior to Roadblock, and the talent that appeared and the matches themselves were quite good.
Live from Ft. Pierce tonight in front of a sold out house.
– Rich Swann and Tucker Knight beat Dhinsa and Selmani
The big men put a beating on Swann early to build up the Knight hot tag. Knight ran wild with shoulderblocks and big clotheslines and then tagged in Swann for a 450 splash and the win.
– Steve Cutler beat Alex Riley
Heavy hitting match up with Riley laying Cutler down using a big spinebuster and even hit a top rope flying elbow. Cutler took control, used a side Russian leg sweep then applied a submission hold for the upset win.
– Patrick Clark and Kenneth Crawford beat Sawyer Fulton and Alexander Wolfe
The larger heels worked over the more athletic faces yet they were able to get some hope spots and showcase their abilities. Crawford stole the pin with a roll up to a good reaction.
– Manny Andrade beat Angelo Dawkins
Another very good match from Manny. He hit all his flashy spots and won over the crowd before the running knees for the win.
– NXT Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Asuka vs. Billie Kay vs. Peyton Royce went to a no-contest
The heels worked separation on the faces early, keeping it two on one and keeping Bayley away from Asuka. Once Bayley scored a flash pin on Billie, Asuka snatched Peyton up in her Asuka Lock submission leaving us with the 1 on 1 we all want to see. Asuka and Bayley went a good five minutes of great action. Asuka was laying in kicks to Bayley who fired up, hit her flying uppercut, and was trying to set up the Belly To Bayley yet the heels ran back in to cause the no contest. Asuka and Bayley fought them off and had a staredown, handshake, embrace moment.
– Mojo Rawley beat Josh Woods
Woods used his MMA style to work Mojo’s arm in this one, yet before the match could get going, the lights in the venue went off and stayed off for over a minute. Woods just held an armbar taunting Mojo during this time until they got back on. Once they came back on, Mojo ran wild and hit the big punch for the win.
– In ring interview with Chris Atkins from Australia.
– Nia Jax beat Liv Morgan
Liv had some good hope spots to show her athletic ability, an amazing handspring rotation rana, some dropkicks and good fire. Nia hit the Samoan drop and a leg drop for the win.
– NXT Champion Finn Balor and Apollo Crews beat Tye Dillinger and Baron Corbin
Very good action as expected. Dillinger worked over both faces and Baron seemed disgusted waiting for tags. Fun stuff. The big hot tag to Balor and him running wild with slingblades and dropkicks. Balor laid out Dillinger and hit the coup de grace for the win.
Yes, you read that correctly. Breeze’s descent into jobber hell continues; boy, does that season finale of Breaking Ground look ill-judged now.
Rich Brennan proclaims that his opponent, Zack Ryder, has been “on a roll” lately. Sure he is! If you call pinning Stardust on Superstars over a month ago a “roll” – Ryder’s only televised singles victory of the year. He truly is on a tear and no mistake.
These two got a lot of time here and they used it well, turning in a very good match (of which roughly ten minutes aired). The announcers gabbed about Shane McMahon throughout however, including Jerry Lawler pointing out that Vince’s baby boy has been a mere waiter for the last seven years – “Yeah, waiting for his old man to die!”.
Line of the night goes to Brennan though, who produced a piece of philosophical bullshit in reference to Breeze’s appearance that demanded transcription: “The art of combat requires artful deception to create a misleading perception of what’s to come”. He went full Striker, folks. Never go full Striker.
Back to the actual match (oh, the irony!) and both men deserve credit for some innovative spots, particularly in the near-falls section of the match. Highlights included Breeze using the ring apron to crotch Ryder off a plancha attempt and a package rib-breaker from Breeze. Ryder also busted out Big Show’s old short-lived Final Cut finisher for a two count.
The finish saw Zack bust out a new one, which he has dubbed the Elbro Drop; a close-range diving elbow drop from the top rope, would you believe. It looked pretty cool; well-executed and a big step up on the Rough Ryder.
– Renee Young was slumming it on Main Event this week. She was backstage with Paige and Natalya who assured her that their historically “rocky relationship” was behind them. Keen viewers of the product will remember that Paige once beat the tar out of Nattie backstage only for the latter to completely forget about that upon her return to TV.
Poor “Nah-eeee”, as Paige would call her, was given the task of plugging Total Divas, pointing out that her partner’s “Miley Cyrus” style antics could be perused on that show. Does Miley like to move in with bearded emos after five minutes, before freaking out and claiming that she doesn’t “do relationships” too? Naomina interrupt to tell their opponents for tonight that they’re going to step on them on the road to Wrestlemania. Best of luck with that. Oh, and they did another awkward pause at the end too, where the heels had to try not to look uncomfortable as the camera lingered on their faces.
Ryback def. Bo Dallas via pinfall
Ryback completes a full house of victories over the Social Geeks. I audibly groan when I see the latter emerge on the ramp with microphones again.
All four sit on the apron and flap their gums before Ryback’s arrival. Axel and Rose both claim that they would have beaten Ryback if they had more help. Bo tells Rose that he loves his nicknames and tells Axel that he loves his stupid chop/scream gimmick to defuse the tension.
Ryback saves the day by interrupting and finishing Bo in under three minutes with the Shellshock. My only gripe is that he did the ground-and-pound spot again, where the referee doesn’t act despite the fact that his opponent is not defending himself. If they’re going to borrow from MMA, do it properly. Ref stoppage isn’t unprecedented in wrestling and there’s nothing wrong with it. Plus, the Shellshock is a sucky finisher anyway.
Naomina def. Paige and Natalya by pinfall
I’m guessing this was booked before Nattie’s title match with Charlotte was added to Roadblock. The faces try to top “Unity!” In the dreadful stakes by nose kissing each other before the bell. Lawler, disgusted, says you should never trust anyone with cats, conveniently forgetting that he revealed he owned three earlier in the show. Rich, to his credit, reminds him of this.
Not a bad 10+ minute match here, but it was pretty boring when the heels were getting the heat on Paige. There was a very strangely executed spot to set up the heat portion of the match, when Paige chased a cowering Naomi outside, only to turn away for no reason and get nailed with a superkick from Tamina.
Naomi’s showboating eventually allows Paige to hot tag Nattie and set up the finish. Nattie runs through her usual spots, before Tamina breaks up a Sharpshooter attempt on Naomi. Nattie discus clotheslines Tamina out of the equation, only to fall victim to the Naomi Calls That The Rear View for the pinfall victory. Charlotte better watch her back! Natalya is “on a roll”!
Final Thoughts
Breeze vs. Ryder is worth a watch, for sure. Great to see Zack looking so motivated and the new finish is a good fit too. Perhaps it’s the experience of interacting with human puppy Mojo Rawley that has made him realise the grass isn’t always greener. The rest is very skippable, with the featured contest only notable for the fact that Natalya, your challenger for the Divas title at Roadblock, takes the fall. Hopefully she and Charlotte can rekindle some of the magic of their May 2014 classic regardless.
Major implications for Wrestlemania 32 are in play Saturday night as the latest WWE special, Roadblock, takes place in Toronto, Canada.
The main event of the show will have Triple H making his first defense of the WWE World Heavyweight championship he won at the Royal Rumble against Dean Ambrose. The challenger has gone on to say that he plans on completely messing up plans for Wrestlemania by winning. Considering most Wrestlemania plans still aren’t completely concrete, it’s entirely plausible the original main event of Reigns/HHH might be changed due to recent crowd reactions. It’s a longshot, but we’ll see.
Other big matches include Bray Wyatt facing off against the former WWE Champion Brock Lesnar in a match many expected to see at Wrestlemania, as well as NXT champions The Revival (Dash & Dawson) competing against perennial challengers Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady in both teams’ WWE TV debut. The outcome could also have implications on the NXT tag team title match at Takeover: Dallas during Wrestlemania weekend if the challengers were to win.
Also announced for the show: The New Day will defend their WWE tag team titles against Sheamus & King Barrett of the League of Nations.
The New Day started the show by coming out and doing a promo. They revealed that Booty-O’s are in fact real (well, there’s a box now at least) and revealed the box that said Booty-O’s on it. Big E pretended to be a child and ran down the Leauge of Nations while saying he’s going to beat Booty-O cereal so he doesn’t wind up like them. They were big time over as babyfaces.
WWE Tag Team Championship: The New Day (c) vs. The Leauge of Nations (Wade Barrett and Sheamus)
Solid match. It was a by the numbers, but everyone worked well for the most part. The New Day worked as the faces here as they started off hot, but Kofi ended up getting worked on by both Sheamus and Barrett. Sheamus had Kofi in a Cloverleaf but somehow was able to counter that into a pin for a nearfall. Big E made the hot tag. Kofi tried to jump over Barrett but there was some miscommunication or Kofi landed badly as something seemed off here. Barrett had the pin on Big E but Xavier distracted the ref. Barrett was distraced, leading to Big E hitting the Big Ending to retain the titles.
Greg Hamilton interviewed Paul Heyman. He says that Brock chose to take revenge on Wyatt tonight. After getting a pop for mentioning the Toronto Raptors, Heyman pretty much says Wyatt will be counqered by the Beast.
They recapped the Styles/Jericho angles from Raw and Smackdown.
Jericho came out for a promo, telling Toronto to shut their filthy mouths right now. They had their chance to chant for him but instead they chanted for AJ. He ran down Canadians. He’s the greatest icon in the history of this country, he says, which spurs “We Want Bret” chants. He shuts them down immediately and says he’s ashamed to be Canadian. He moved from Canada because Canada literally stinks and Toronto is the anus. He mentions how Jack Swagger beat him for the World championship, something I don’t think one person on Earth remotely remembers. He’s not the flavor of the month, or the next big thing, he’s the only thing. Jericho’s much better off in a heel role at this point as his promos have been pretty solid since turning.
Chris Jericho vs. Jack Swagger
This is a weird match to do in Canada as Swagger’s gimmick is that he’s an American patriot, and Jericho just cut a promo heeling on Canada. Work was solid, but the heat was off since they did not get into Swagger at all for obvious reasons. They chanted for AJ Styles and CM Punk. Jericho controlled a lot of the match, and the crowd booed for Swagger’s brief comeback. Swagger reversed a Wall of Jericho attempt and hit the anke lock but Jericho escaped, hit an enziguiri and went for a codebreaker but Swagger countered and took him down. Swagger got the ankle lock again, but Jericho made it to the ropes. He shoved Swagger into the turnbuckle then submitted him with the Walls of Jericho.
NXT Tag Team Championship: Dash and Dawson (c) vs. Colin Cassady and Enzo Amore
Good match with lots of cool creative spots. Both Cassady and Enzo have improved as a team and Dash and Dawson are really good in their own right. Enzo and Cass dominated early, but eventually the heels isolated Enzo. He broke free at one point and dashed toward Cassady but was shoulder tackled right out of the ring in a cool spot. Cassady got the tag as they almost got the win with the rocket launcher but Dawson cut Enzo (who got the tag) off on the top rope. Enzo hit a cool looking DDT from the top rope to ward off the heels for a bit, but the numbers were too much for him as they finished him off with the Shatter Machine for a surprisingly clean win.
Natalya deadicated her match tonight to her Uncle Bret. You know what that means. Charlotte came in, amused. You’re merely a warm up and not even on my level. Natalya said well if I’m not a threat, then put the title on the line. Charlotte said no, Wrestlemania’s only a few weeks away. Nattie said well I guess Bret was right, all Flairs are cowards. Charlotte fell for that and agreed to put the title on the line.
WWE Divas Championship: Charlotte (c) vs. Natalya
Really good match. They were given time and did some great work throughout. Nattie’s really underrated in this divison, not that it’s a secret or anything but matches like this make it even more obvious. Charlotte worked on Nattie’s leg and posted it. After a chop battle Nattie made her comeback and went for the sharpshooter but Charlotte escaped and laid Nattie out with a big boot. Charlotte applied the figure eight but Nattie fought it and reversed. They rolled over several times until making it to the outside. Charlotte escaped out of the ring but as Nattie recovered Charlotte came back in and hit Natural Selection for a nearfall. Lots of great nearfalls. Charlotte went for the figure eight again but Natalya came back with the sharpshooter. Flair helped distract Nattie while in the sharpshooter which allowed Charlotte to get a roll up win with her feet on the ropes.
Wyatt comes out for his match. He mentions how he’s counqered the Rock, John Cena and the Undertaker, but he’s never conquered me. He said he made a deal with the devil (The Authority? Vince?) and Luke Harper will now be with him for this match.
Brock Lesnar vs. Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper
Fun match while it lasted. Wyatt never tagged into the match, leaving Harper to work the match on his own. I guess he’s injured, or they didn’t want him to do yet another job. For being the new spookytime threat he hasn’t won a ton of big matches. Lesnar flung Harper around like a rag doll early, which is amazing given Harper’s size. Brock ate a big boot and Harper hit his discus clothesline for a nearfall. Brock fired back with suplexes and pinned him with the F5, clean as a sheet.
Sami Zayn vs. Stardust
An okay match overall, but it lacked heat as it went a bit too long and early parts of the match were pretty dull. Stardust dominated the early portions of the match and his offense wasn’t anything to write home about. A lot of stomps, a lot of rest holds. Sami fought back against a superplex spot but Stardust landed it and got a nearfall. Stardust ate a clothesline, which is where Sami made his comeback and eventually got the win with the helluva kick.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Triple H (c) vs. Dean Ambrose
Really great world title match. Hunter looked way better than he did at the Royal Rumble and Ambrose is an excellent main event level match kind of guy. They did everything to make you believe that Ambrose was going to pull it off, including doing a dusty finish spot, until Ambrose made one mistake and lost because of it. Ambrose was in control of the match early, working on the nose in a cute spot, fighting Hunter on the outside and eventually started to work on the leg. Hunter came back and threw him on the barricade. Hunter worked on him back in the ring, actually applying a Nagata Lock at one point. Ambrose came back and they had a pretty good back and forth match. Hunter went for the pedigree but Ambrose back body dropped him. He went for the dirty deeds, Hunter pushed him away, but Ambrose came back with the rabbit lariat. Ambrose went for a suicide dive but Triple H blasted him with a right had as he started to prepare the announce table. Ambrose made a comeback in the ring and hit a figure four, which is a good callback spot from earlier. Triple H escaped, but Ambrose came back with a sharpshooter, which was pretty funny. Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds and pinned Hunter, but the refree waived it off, saying Ambrose’s feet were under the ropes. Ambrose threw Hunter on the outside and hit a big elbow, sending them both to the floor, then mocked Hunter with the DX crotch chop. Ambrose put Hunter on the exposed table, hopped on the barricade and went for another elbow but Triple H rolled out of the way and Ambrose crashed into the table. Triple H followed with the pedigree in the ring and pinned him to retain the title.
– Enzo Amore & Big Cass w/Carmella def. NXT Tag Champions The Revival Dawson & Wilder in a non-title match
Their act wasn’t as over as in some U.S cities, but the S-A-W-F-T had a decent reaction and they got a “How you doin?” chant at the beginning of the match. Good opener. Enzo and Big Cass won with the Rocket Launcher.
– Jack Swagger b Stardust
Dead spot, but it was what it was. Swagger won with the Patriot Lock.
– Goldust b Viktor
Okay match. Viktor rolled up Goldust while holding the ropes. The referee caught him, Goldust reversed him for the pin. After the match, Ascension beat up Goldust until R-Truth did the save.
– Brock Lesnar b Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper in a handicap match
Bray did a promo saying that Brock would have to face both Bray and Luke Harper. Heyman cut a short promo and announced Brock from Saskatchewan, Canada. He sure doesn’t know much about Canadian politics!
Brock beat Harper with the F-5 in a short match, something like five minutes. Brock got a great reaction from the crowd as did Heyman especially when he took the mic from Jojo, who’s the ring announcer tonight. Crowd chanted “na na na hey hey good bye” to Harper.
– Divas Champion Charlotte w/Ric Flair b Natalya
Charlotte won with her feet on the ropes. Good match. Flair got a good pop. Crowd was into it.
– WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E) w/Xavier Woods b League of Nations (Sheamus & Wade Barrett) by DQ
Good match. The finish saw Kofi pinning Sheamus, but Barrett broke the pin with the trombone. After the match, Xavier and Big E hit the Midnight Hour on Barrett.
– Pat Patterson came to the ring and thanked the crowd for the homage he got the last time. He said that Montreal was the best wrestling town. He thanked Jojo and said she was beautiful and good!!
– Sami Zayn vs. I-C Champion Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose
Zayn got a huge “ole ole” chant when he revealed his Montreal Canadiens jersey. He was at the hockey game last night, got a 30 seconds interview on the giant screen and got a jersey from the team with his name on the back. Kevin Owens got a bigger pop than Zayn which is normal since he’s been on Raw and SmackDown for a longer time. Owens refused to shake hands with Patterson.
Owens and Zayn got a lot of time only the two of them in the ring. This is awesome chants early in the match. Package piledriver into a side suplex. Blue Thunder Bomb by Zayn for a two count. Crowd was really into it. Owens super kicked both Zayn and Ambrose before Ambrose got Owens with the Lunatic Lariat. Another this is awesome chant. Zayn got a close pin too. Dirty Deeds on Zayn. Owens broke the pin with a Senton Bomb and pinned Zayn for the win. Very good match. Best match on the card. By far.
Ambrose and Zayn stayed in the ring after the show. He said that everyone should be inspired by Zayn. Zayn was a bigger local star by the end of the match. Sami chants. He said that him and Kevin started from the bottom here in Montreal and now they are main-eventing the Bell Centre and he thanked the fans. He said that sooner or later he would beat Owens for the IC title, maybe at WrestleMania. Good babyface promo. He was just missing some French to get the crowd even more behind him.
Another match has been added to Saturday’s WWE Roadblock Network special with Charlotte defending the Divas title against Natalya.
The two reportedly had a strong match in Montreal last night.
The two turned a lot of people around on the prospect of women’s wrestling on the main roster with their May 2014 match at TakeOver in Orlando. However, the two have not been put together for a high profile long match since Charlotte won the championship.
Nattie posted the following on her Instagram page: “As I make my way to Toronto for #WWERoadBlock, I’m dedicating my match to Bret Hart. His fight against cancer has inspired me to fight even harder in my own life. @Charlottewwe is going to have her hands full AND I can’t wait.#RoadtoWrestleMania#WWENetwork“.
Here’s the full card for tonight’s show (at least everything that’s been announced for TV):
WWE Champion HHH vs. Dean Ambrose
Brock Lesnar vs. Bray Wyatt
Divas Champion Charlotte vs. Natalya
WWE Tag Team Champions New Day vs Sheamus & King Barrett
NXT Champions Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson vs. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady
Also scheduled for the show are Sheamus, Chris Jericho and Sami Zayn. The show will air at 8 PM EST/5 PM PST. Our Bryan Rose will have your coverage tonight.
Submitted by Ross Blair, live from the Maxwell Snyder Armory Thursday
– Mojo Rawley def. Alex Riley
Crowd favorite Rawley got the fans “hyped” in a decent opener against Riley. Both men had equal offense, and Mojo got the pin after he spun around and clocked Riley with a big right hand.
– Liv Morgan defeated Daria the Jersey Devil
Daria had MMA attire and the slugfest match came off more like an MMA match than a pro wrestling contest. It worked here. This was Morgan’s third consecutive appearance at this venue and, judging from the ovation she got, I’m probably not alone in saying she’s my favorite newbie in the NXT women’s division. Morgan pinned Daria after a standing moonsault…a deviation from her last two appearances, which ended with moonsaults of the top rope.
– Tucker Knight pinned Angelo Dawkins
Knight won with a Thesz press. Knight has new attire, a singlet, which greatly improves his look as it hides his gut.
Enzo got double teamed for the majority of the match, followed by a hot tag to Big Cass and a pinfall victory after the popular duo’s rocket launcher finisher.
– Levis Valenzuela Jr. pinned Riddick Moss after a wind-up knockout punch
Moss was greeted with chants of “You’re OK” and “Welcome Back” as he made his entrance. The final image of the previous Jacksonville show was Moss receiving medical attention after the 6-man main event he was in ended prematurely when he had his bell rung after a suplex-gone-wrong. Moss did some mic work to turn around the sympathy he got from the fans & regain his role as a heel: “The last few weeks haven’t been easy, but all your support has been the only thing…that has completely annoyed me! I don’t need any of you!”
– Six-foot-seven former collegiate football player Dan Matha debuted in an interview segment. He touted to announcer Tom Phillips that he is an “A+ player” and an apparent heel: “If you’re not a girl or a dumbbell, I don’t have time for you!”
– Nia Jax def. Aliyah
Jax got a big pop as she entered the ring to face the ridiculously smaller Aliyah in actually a very entertaining David & Goliath matchup. The crowd moaned in unison after Jax menacingly said “say hi to Aliyah”, followed by grabbing her by the hair & spinning her halfway across the ring. Aliyah did a good job appearing nervous during her brief moments of offense. Jax playfully said “bye bye” before finishing her with a Samoan drop.
– NXT Champion Finn Balor & American Alpha (Jason Jordan/Chad Gable) def. NXT Tag Champions The Revival (Dash & Dawson) & Baron Corbin
Balor got a huge pop in his long awaited return to Jacksonville. Excellent match. Gable got triple teamed for much of the contest. The finish came when Gable & Jordan had both Dawson & Wilder in ankle locks as Balor came off the top rope with his foot stomp to pin Corbin.
Notes:
– A return date to Jacksonville of April 23rd was announced.
– Manny “La Sombra” Andrade (joined by Mandy Rose & Steve Cutler) made his meet & greet debut. He is apparently conquering the English language as he fit right in during the NXT pre-show ritual of autographs and pictures with fans. Unfortunately, he was not on the actual card.
– Air Date: March 10, 2016 (Mar 9 in Canada) – Location: Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI
– The Big News:
Sami Zayn made his Smackdown debut and Chris Jericho explained why he turned on AJ Styles.
– Show Recap:
They announced The Wyatts vs. Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler and The Usos as the main event.
The Miz came out for MizTV and introduced Sami Zayn. He asked Zayn to tell us about himself, but as Zayn started, Miz yelled “cut!” repeatedly and asked him to get to the good stuff and make it more dramatic.
Zayn was annoyed, but continued, saying he and Kevin Owens started 13 years ago in Montreal. They traveled the world and made it this far by sticking together. They weren’t just friends, it was like a brotherhood, and Zayn was even the best man at Owens’ wedding.
Zayn said Owens debuted the night he won the NXT Title, and the powerbomb on the apron caused a lot of the injuries that led to his shoulder surgery. Zayn said the thing that hurts most is that he doesn’t understand why Owens did it.
Owens came out (but never got in the ring) and said he’s already explained why he turned on Zayn – it was all business, but Zayn made it personal when he eliminated Owens from the Rumble. Zayn said he was going to take the Intercontinental Title from Owens at WrestleMania.
Owens told him that wasn’t happening because this is the Kevin Owens show. Zayn challenged him to a fight right now since they were both there. Owens said Zayn didn’t deserve a fight with him and was about leave, but Neville interrupted. Neville said he and Owens had unfinished business, and the IC Title would look good around his waist.
Miz said Zayn and Neville don’t deserve a title shot, but he does, because he main evented WrestleMania while those two were main eventing bingo halls. Zayn informed Miz that his years main eventing Mania are far behind him. Miz attacked him from behind, but Zayn fought back and Miz bailed. Good segment. Owens and Zayn were both great.
Sami Zayn & Neville beat The Miz & Kevin Owens via pinfall
Zayn and Owens never touched. There was a bit early where Neville tagged in Zayn with Owens in the ring, but Owens quickly scrambled to tag out. The heels got the heat on Neville, but Zayn made the hot tag and hit Miz with a springboard crossbody, ten punches in the corner and tornado DDT. Zayn waited for Miz to tag Owens but Owens bailed. Zayn hit Miz with an Exploder suplex into the turnbuckle and a Helluva Kick for the win. Good match.
Toilet humour segment with Goldust and R-Truth. Goldust still doesn’t want to be his partner. Afterwards, they aired a video package for the Triple H-Dean Ambrose stuff.
Brie Bella beat Summer Rae via submission
Lana joined commentary by sitting on top of the announcer’s table, not in a chair. Saxton wanted to know why she attacked Brie on Raw and Lana told him to shut up. Brie did Yes kicks and won quickly with the Yes Lock and did the Yes chant afterwards. Summer tried to attack her, so Brie knocked her down, yelled “Brie mode!” and hit a running knee. Lana jumped in from behind and gave Brie an X-factor again, and did mocking Yes chants.
They aired the Shane McMahon highlight package from Raw.
Chris Jericho came out wearing dark maroon pants, a black blazer with no shirt, and a black scarf. He carried out a “Y2AJ” t-shirt, and the ring had a garbage can and lighter fluid in it already. Hmm I wonder what he’s planning. The crowd booed Jericho and he explained that he was mad at the fans for chanting for AJ Styles instead of him.
Jericho said they’ve forgotten that he’s the best in the world. He said he can do whatever they want – be the world champion, work the opener, invent a new idea like Money in the Bank. He said they had a classic tag match on Raw but people still chanted for AJ. He’s been told many times that a new guy was coming in and would be a future world champion, only to disappear three months later.
Jericho repeatedly admonished the crowd for chanting “AJ Styles.” He began pouring lighter fluid into the trashcan and said we were about to watch AJ’s career go up in flames. Jericho lit the shirt on the fire and tossed it in the can, which went up in flames. This resulted in a great visual, with Jericho standing the rising flames as he did mocking “AJ Styles” chants.
This was really good. The only problem – every time Jericho got mad at the crowd for chanting “AJ Styles,” they weren’t really doing that. And a few people chanted “Y2J,” which kind of ruined the effect. Still, a good segment.
They showed members of the Milwaukee Bucks at ringside and announced Big Bossman for the Hall of Fame.
King Barrett & Sheamus (w/Rusev) beat Lucha Dragons via pinfall
Barrett & Sheamus vs. New Day for the tag titles was announced for Roadblock in Toronto. Ryback was shown backstage watching the match. Kalisto took out Sheamus with a dive and Sin Cara had Barrett set up for a senton, but Rusev tossed him off the top and Barrett followed with a Bullhammer elbow for the pinfall win. Barrett did a forward roll in celebration. Backstage, Ryback called Lucha Dragons little guys and said size matters or whatever.
They aired a clip of Seth Rollins winning the title at WrestleMania last year. After a break, they plugged The Rock for this year’s Mania and aired a video package for Shane and Vince. Shane’s brawl with security featured at least a dozen camera cuts.
Backstage, Renee Young asked the Usos about the Dudley Boyz. They talked being 10 years old and watching the Dudleys in 1996, and that their recent actions were nothing new. They wanted to be like the Dudleys when they were growing up, but they no longer respect them. Ziggler and Ambrose jumped in and Renee asked if Ziggler was expecting and repercussions from The Authority.
Ziggler said there would be, but he’s going to bring the fight tonight and referred to their team as “Milwaukee’s best.” Ambrose said he would beat Triple H for the title on Saturday, but tonight they were hunting dem Wyatt boys, one of his favourite things to do, and they all ran off together. This was good.
8-Man Tag Match: Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler & The Usos beat Wyatt Family via pinfall
Saxton said the Wyatt family were like clones of Bray, because “They exude the evil that’s flowing through the veins of the eater of worlds,” to which Lawler responded, “They do his bidding alright.”
They had the heat on Ziggler until he hit Harper with a sunset flip powerbomb and jumping DDT. He made the hot tag to Jey Uso who hit Harper with a Samoan drop. Each Uso did running hip attacks to Harper and Rowan, and followed with dives. Jey tried a splash but Harper got his knees up.
Jey made a hot tag to Ambrose who hit Rowan with a running forearm, bulldog and swinging neckbreaker. He did a flying elbow but Harper broke up the cover, so Jimmy took him out with a kick. Bray gave Jimmy a uranage and Ziggler superkicked Bray. Ziggler gave two superkicks to Strowman, but Strowman no-sold it and clotheslined him.
Ambrose tossed Strowman out of the ring, and Rowan tried a school boy near fall. Ambrose ducked a spin knick and hit Dirty Deeds for the win. Bray stared a hole through Ambrose as the good guys celebrated to end the show.
– Final Thoughts:
This was a strong show, and a big improvement over the last two weeks. Zayn, Owens and Jericho were all great, and Ambrose came off like a star in the main event.
