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Category: WWE News

  • WWE RAW live results: The road to WrestleMania gets in the Fast Lane

    The Big Takeaway: The focus was building up the main event of Fast Lane. Brock Lesnar appeared at the start of the show and stood over the babyfaces at the end. Match of the night was Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler. Team BAD is caput after Sasha Banks did an interview saying she wanted to go on her own. It led to Naomi and Tamina turning on Banks during her match with Becky Lynch. Show was easy to watch and didn’t drag. 

    Show Recap: 

    Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman were out first. Heyman talked about Bray Wyatt and his family invoked the 11th Commandment, which was Thou Shall not Provoke Brock Lesnar. Heyman said Stephanie McMahon did what’s least for business when she put Lesnar in the triple threat main event at Fast Lane against Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. Heyman said Lesnar would F-5 Reigns and Ambrose and pin both at the same time, then go on to WrestleMania and conquer the Billion Dollar Trophy Husband. Now that’s a great term for HHH. Heyman didn’t sell two-thirds of the Shield short and talked about how Ambrose rode the short bus to school because he’s a nut job. 

    Ambrose came out and called Heyman “Porky.” Ambrose said he had never been in the lair of the beast before, but it’s cozy. Ambrose said he didn’t want to fight Lesnar, but he would to get the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. If he’s crazy, why doesn’t he want to fight him? Ambrose said he couldn’t wait to travel to Suplex City. Lesnar joked snickered through Ambrose’s promo. Ambrose cut his promo and left. These types of segments are just a big waste of Lesnar because it really meant nothing and anyone following Heyman on the mic might as well recite the alphabet. And Ambrose isn’t that bad a promo, he just didn’t have much to talk about here.  

    Kalisto defeated Rusev via countout (10:06)

    Kalisto and Rusev fought outside the ring. Rusev tried to throw Kalisto onto the announcer’s table. Kalisto landed on his feet on top of the table, then gave Rusev a huracanrana to the barricade. After the longest ten count in recorded wrestling history, Kalisto was announced as the winner. Kalisto is the latest person to get the Vince McMahon Cruiserweight push, where he’s demeaned in commentary, gets fluke wins, then runs when the heavyweight heel is feuding with goes after him postmatch, which in this case was Alberto Del Rio, who was on commentary. His rematch with Kalisto for the U.S. Championship is a go for Fast Lane. Lesson for anyone in NXT: when you hear you’re getting the Vince McMahon Cruiserweight push, run. 

    Ambrose and Reigns talked backstage while the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was framed and placed on a table. Stephanie McMahon walked up and said the championship was being held in her office. Somehow, I don’t doubt that. Stephanie tried to divide Reigns and Ambrose by comparing their partnerships to various factions that split over the years and how someone always wound up on the short end. She mentioned Marty Jannetty when Shawn Michaels turned on him, Randy Orton being dumped from Evolution (I’d say he landed on his feet) and even brought up Seth Rollins turning on Ambrose and Reigns. She said when presented with the opportunity, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Reigns and Ambrose realized what she was trying to do and said they were brothers. Stephanie said they would face the New Day later tonight to see how unified they truly are. Good promo by Stephanie and she has been a consistent heel throughout the first weeks of 2016. 

    They had a update on Nikki Bella neck surgery, showing an Instragram photo of her in the hospital. This led to Renee Young interviewing Brie Bella, who said he sister was looking forward to returning at some point this year. Charlotte and Ric Flair walked in. Charlotte told Brie to extend her sympathies to Nikki. Then Charlotte heeled on her saying she was on her way to becoming the new longest reigning Divas champion of all time, and she was the one who likely put Nikki in the hospital. 

    The Usos defeated Social Outcasts (5:11) 

    Lillian Garcia announced the Usos were a “Grammy award winning tag team.” They actually replayed that mistake and the announcers made fun of it. Then Michael Cole said Curtis Axel and Heath Slater would face the Usos. Slater never got in the ring and Adam Rose wrestled instead. That one said anything about that. Jey Uso pinned Rose after a double superkick and splash. Slater announced that Bo Dallas, now known as Bo Rida, wasn’t there this week because he was in a studio mixing his first album. 

    MizTv was with A.J. Styles. The Miz brought up Styles back story, saying Styles was the smallest of four boys and kept bringing up how people told him throughout his life that he was too small. I smell VKM cruiserweight push. Miz brought up the tired Michael Hayes line about the size of the fight in the dog. He recited Styles’ life story without bringing up TNA. Through all the years, Styles wondered what it would be like if he entered the big ship of the WWE. Styles stayed quiet throughout all this. Miz mentioned Styles survived 28:00 in the Royal Rumble and defeated Chris Jericho in his Raw debut. He asked Styles where would he go from here?

    Before Styles could answer, Miz said Styles reminded him of his former protege, Daniel Bryan. (Code word for cruiserweight push). Miz said some called him the father of the Yes Movement. Crowd chanted “no.” Miz said he wanted to mentor Styles and navigate his career. Wasn’t Miz doing that for Neville? Miz got mad at the fans and said this was the WWE,  and the “E” was just as big as the “W.” He said he main evented WrestleMania and who the hell is A.J. Styles? Miz said Styles may have been a big fish in a small pond, but this is an ocean full of sharks. He said Styles will drown if he listens to the fans. Miz called Styles a “rookie redneck” and said there was no chance in hell he could make it in the WWE. Styles belted Miz and threw him into a chair until Miz ran off. Miz really did a great job. He should be a manager at this point, but it’s another instance of the company not putting square pegs into square holes. 

    Brie Bella defeated Charlotte (C) in a nontitle match (4:35)

    Brie won using the classic Flair-Ricky Steamboat finish where she turned Charlotte’s Figure Eight attempt into a small package. Flair jumped up on the apron trying to distract Brie, who had a sleeperhold on Charlotte, who broke it with a chinbreaker. Looks like they’re setting up a Divas title match between the two at Fast Lane. 

    The company sent out its best wishes to Bret Hart in his fight against prostate cancer. Various personalities including HHH, Nattie and Reigns tweeted their best thoughts. 

    The Big Show defeated Erick Rowan (1:18) 

    The Big Show won with a chokeslam. Postmatch, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman and Luke Harper jumped Show, who turned face again on Smackdown. It led to Show being slammed outside the ring onto ring steps. Wyatt was absent during all of this. Looks like Show will face Strowman, or some variation of the Wyatt Family at Fast Lane. The beatdown got a surprising amount of heat. 

    Titus O’Neal defeated Tyler Breeze (2:38) 

    The weekly squash match with Titus O’Neal, ending with a pin following Clash of the Titus. It’s booking straight from the 80s trying to get O’Neal over, and that’s not a criticism because it’s smart. Speaking of the 80s, Breeze was announced as having his “winter residence in Monaco,” like he was Ted DiBiase. That jobber pay must be pretty good nowadays. At least Breeze got an entrance and an inset promo. 

    Heyman and Lesnar were backstage when HHH walked up. HHH ordered Heyman to leave, and wondered if Lesnar was getting soft because Ambrose got in his face earlier and lived to tell about it. Lesnar said HHH would find out at WrestleMania. 

    Dolph Ziggler defeated Kevin Owens (11:28) 

    Best match on the show so far, and likely the match of the night. Kevin Owens hit two cannonballs, including one after he crotched Dolph Ziggler. He went for the Pop Up Power Bomb, but Zigger got over Owens and hit the ZIg Zag for the pin. Ziggler is a total Ricky Morton-style selling babyface now. Earlier in the match, Ziggler hit a Famouser on the floor. Owens tossed JBL’s cowboy hat to the floor afterwards. 

    Nice segment for Black History Month paying tribute to Mark Henry, which included various highlights from his weightlifting career as a youth. His victory over Orton to win the World Heavyweight Championship was also shown, along with his superplex on Big Show that destroyed a ring. The Rock, Kofi Kingston and Big Show all did interviews putting him over. They all but said Henry would be in the WWE Hall of Fame someday. 

    Sasha Banks came out and said she was on her own now, and nothing was going to stop her fro becoming Divas Champion. She didn’t say so, but basically implied Team BAD was dead. Naomi and Tamina came out and said they could be competitors and still be sisters. Banks asked Naomi if they were still going to have her back. They did the “Unity” handshake as Becky Lynch came out. 

    Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks went to a no contest (3:38) 

    Naomi and Tamina predictably turned on Banks. At first, Naomi and Tamina went after Lynch, but Banks stopped them saying she wanted to do it herself. Banks and Naomi traded words, then shoves, and then came the turn. It led to Banks and Lynch teaming up to send Naomi and Tamina away. Banks and Lynch didn’t have time to get anything going to even remotely resemble some of their great NXT matches. 

    Jericho was interviewed by Young about his loss to Styles. Another good promo. Two on this show. Can’t remember the last time Raw had two good promos. Jericho compared Styles to the Eagles’ song “New Kid in Town,” saying Styles has lived up to the hype. He compared Styles to a pitbull who struck again tonight against the Miz. Styles and Miz will wrestle on Smackdown on Thursday, and Jericho said he’ll be watching that with great interest. 

    R-Truth wondered into a bathroom, where Goldust was waiting on him inside a stall. Goldust, who stepped in the toilet, dropped the Tourette’s gimmick. He again asked Truth to be his tag team partner for a team called “The Golden Truth.” Truth said he didn’t want to tag with Goldust because he was too weird and had do-do on his little toe. Goldust reminded Truth about his previous tag team partner. I was hoping he was going to say Pacman Jones, but no such luck. Instead, Goldust said Little Jimmy, who was imaginary. He still had more in-ring ability than Jones. Truth stormed out. Goldust said he didn’t mean imaginary, he meant interplanatary, but admitted that was really his weirder brother. 

    The New Day came out and mentioned “Bootie-Gate,” based on comments Rock made last week. Kingston mentioned they love children and pointed out a child at ringside. They actually gave a lengthy closeup to a child wearing a “Bullet Club” t-shirt. 

    Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns defeated Kofi Kingston and Big E. (17:19) 

    Finish was Reigns giving Kingston a Superman’s punch while Ambrose pinned Big E. following Dirty Deeds. Moments earlier, Big E. gave Reigns a belly-to-belly suplex on the table, which tookforever to set up. Pretty good much with several hot tags by the babyfaces. Xavier Woods interfered several times. Heyman was on commentary. 

    Postmatch, Lesnar came out. As Reigns and Ambrose waited, Kingston and Woods jumped them. Ambrose fended off Woods, but Lesnar gave Ambrose an F-5. While this was going on, Reigns couldn’t get in the ring because Kingston gave him a DDT on the floor. 

    SUMMARY: A fine show. Good matches. Some good promos and smart booking of the main event at Fast Lane. Trying to get Reigns over with the shadow of Lesnar looming over him in the main event will be challenging. The fans clearly see Lesnar as the top face. He’s also the only larger-than-life figure the company still has remaining that isn’t from the 90s. Clearly Reigns will have to go over at Fast Lane. The question is will the WrestleMania fans’ resentment of HHH be strong enough for them to cheer Reigns? 

  • Inside the RAW Numbers: January 25, 2016

    The January 25th post-Royal Rumble edition of Monday Night RAW did a 2.93 rating and averaged 4,098,000 viewers for the 3-hour broadcast. Other than the June 15th, 2015 RAW, which did a virtually identical 4.1 million viewers, this was the highest number for RAW since the post-Mania show’s 5.35 million, and the rating was the highest since that March 30th show did a 3.67.

    However, both numbers were significantly down from last year’s post Rumble RAW. That show had a 3.27 rating and averaged 4,410,000 viewers. For the month of January, the average viewership total was 3,624,000 with a 2.56 rating. Those numbers were down 10.51% and 13.31% respectively from the January 2015 averages. This was the 14th straight month that both numbers dropped from the previous year’s total.

    What should that mean for this week?

    The February 2, 2015 edition of RAW averaged 4.28 million viewers and a 3.01 rating. Given the pattern of how recent RAWs have been performing as compared to the same week the previous year, tonight’s show should do a rating somewhere between 2.5 and 2.7 with a viewership total between 3.7 million and 3.9 million.

  • WWE Fastlane: Will Roman Reigns become Stone Cold Steve Austin?

    This month and for only the second time ever, WWE will present Fastlane, the now yearly traditional February PPV, I guess. The show takes place on February 21 from the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, headlined by a triple threat match between Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar and Dean Ambrose for the number one contender slot to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

    This year, WWE threw tradition out the window and made the Royal Rumble match a WWE World title bout in which Reigns had to defend his title against 29 others, from the number one position no less. Of course, he got tossed by the boss (HHH), but don’t worry, he’s getting a rematch at Fastlane, sort of.

    Let’s look at how each competitor got here in storyline:

    Reigns: He lost in the Royal Rumble so he is due a rematch. One would think he would simply demand his rematch at Wrestlemania, but The Authority made this Fastlane match before he thought of that, I suppose. 

    Ambrose: He was the runner-up to HHH in the Royal Rumble, and is ALSO the current Intercontinental Champion. If this were the 80’s, that would make him the number one contender automatically. That’s valid enough to put him in the match, kinda.

    Lesnar: He had an average showing in the Rumble, and prior to that, was last seen beating the Undertaker at Hell in a Cell in October. He’s the biggest draw, so yeah, he’s in, but in storyline, he hasn’t earned it. Why did The Authority do this? It makes no sense to put the former UFC champion in this match because he’s clearly a major threat unless… he’s joining The Authority. Speculation on my part would suggest to me that Lesnar is winning at Fastlane and turning heel, and will be gifted the title from HHH on Raw. Somehow this will lead to Reigns vs. Lesnar at Wrestlemania with HHH in Lesnar’s corner and The Rock in Reigns’ corner. But that’s purely speculation…

    Prediction: Ambrose and Reigns team up to take out Lesnar early, but then both become consumed with hurting / one-upping each other and forget about Lesnar, who recovers and destroys Ambrose before turning his sites to Reigns. Reigns looks like he’s on the verge of defeat, but makes his comeback only to have HHH come to the ring and throw Lesnar the belt which he uses to put Reigns away, probably.

    My guess is that the real reason they are doing this match as a three-way is because they remember the excellent three-way match with Lesnar, Rollins, and Cena from last year’s Royal Rumble and think that this match will be able to top that one.

    I hope they are right, because the storyline is pretty stupid unless The Authority is just banking on the fact that this match will be so brutal, it won’t matter who wins because they’ll be too badly beaten to put up a fight against HHH at Wrestlemania. From The Authority’s perspective, why give Reigns a chance? They hate him! Why give Ambrose a shot? He is Reigns’ best buddy! Why put Lesnar in there? He is the most dominant force in the WWE and broke HHH’s arm! All this adds up to something fishy smelling.

    Here’s what should have happenend: the day after the Royal Rumble, Reigns should have taken Vince McMahon hostage in the ring and demanded his rematch right then. That’s what “Stone Cold” Steve Austin would have done. Instead, just like John Cena would have done, Reigns just eats his crow and gets back in line. He’s so impotent! He put HHH out for a month! He KO’d Vinny Mac! He battled the beast and got screwed at Wrestlemania last year! WHY ISN’T REIGNS MAD? If they are trying to make the next John Cena, they’re doing a good job of it by having Reigns not really care about losing the belt. 

    This guy is fighting The Authority! Yes, the storyline from 16 years ago is still happening, only instead of an ass kicking, beer swilling, bird flipping madman, we have a cool guy trying to remain cool by not caring. That’s not cool. In fact, that’s decidedly un-cool! Stone Cold didn’t care what Vince wanted. Stone Cold didn’t bother to ask. Stone Cold didn’t wait in line. He took what he wanted, and he was the coolest! Rebels are cool, not guys who take turns.

    Hey WWE, we’re not thrilled with the character development of Roman Reigns. He’s mediocre at best. Please listen to us wrestling fans. It’s not that hard. If you’re hell bent on rehashing the storyline from 16 years ago, that’s fine, but go back and look at what worked then and start from there. It’s really simple WWE, just ask yourself one question: what would Stone Cold Steve Austin do?

  • WWE Macon, GA, live results: Roman Reigns super over versus Rusev

    Submitted by Maconga Bacon

    I just got back from the house show tonight in Macon, Georgia. It was a pretty damn good show. Overall, the crowd was pretty non-smarky, very old-school when it came to heel/face alignments.

    WWE Tag Team Champions New Day vs. Usos & Ryback

    The New Day, with the first second generation trombone in WWE history opened the show. Unfortunately, they didn’t open the door until 7:15 for a 7:30 show, so most of the crowd was still coming in when they came out. A lot of “NEW DAY SUCKS” chants got going. The finish came when Ryback hit the Shellshock on Xavier Woods and tagged in Jey Uso for the top rope splash. Overall it was a very good match to start with a lot of back and forth action.

    Stardust vs. Titus O’Neil

    Stardust is incredibly charismatic. Fun fact, the Macon Centreplex where the event took place is where Cody Rhodes won some big high school wrestling championship, maybe even the state championship, I didn’t hear the people beside me clearly. Cody came out first and after he finished humping a security guard’s face, he got int he ring and laid down with his chin on his knuckles. When he heard Titus’ music, he just went limp and looked incredibly defeated. That was exactly what happened. Titus pretty much squashed Stardust. Crowd had a lot of “CODY” chants and cheered Titus, although it was a very generic face cheer out of obligation.

    – Kevin Owens promo: Good quick promo by KO. He pointed out that he had wrestled in Macon before, and hated the city. He said he was going to win back his Intercontinental Championship and and get the hell out of the city.

    Los Matadors vs. Hype Bros

    The Hype Bros were not advertised, so this was a surprise. Honestly, the Hype Bros music is so freaking loud it was hard to gauge the reaction, but I was marking out. Mojo is a freak of nature and is charismatic. Ryder seemed bored. He did his stuff, and did most of the ring work, but Mojo was the real star. Hype Bros quickly won and Mojo was amazing, taking photographs at ringside with all the fans. Seemed like an awesome dude, and I can’t wait to see what he does in WWE.

    Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens

    Dean was over with the crowd and the crowd hated Kevin Owens. This match was glorious. These two are so amazing in the ring. After some good back and forth, KO hit the pop-up powerbomb, but Dean kicked out. After that, they had some more back and forth until Dean pulled off the Dirty Deed for the pinfall. Dean Ambrose is a class act. As soon as the match was over, he walked around taking selfies and ringside with the fans and signed a ton of autographs. Dean was OVER with the crowd. I’d say his reaction was #3 of the night.

    Social Outcasts vs. R-Truth & Sandizzle

    Heath Slater and Curtis Axel came out after a quick intermission to pimp autographed merchandise and Wrestlemania. Curtis Axel cut a pretty cool promo about being sick because he ate Bacon…in Macon…He went back and forth with Slater about Macon Bacon, Macon food, Macon in general, and then culminated it by saying it wasn’t the food that made him sick, it was the people. R-Truth was out next to say WHAT’S UP and get the crowd up and going again after the break. His partner, Damien Sandow, worked as Sandizzle, wearing sunglasses and a black doo-rag. I guess Golden Truth is still on the way. Sandizzle used WHOMP THERE IT IS as his catchphrase. He wrestled in his sunglasses the whole match, which was pretty funny. After a lot of crowd hype, and a Bo run around the ring from hashtag Social Outcasts (sans Bo), R-Truth and Sandizzle got the victory.

    – Rusev Promo: Rusev cut a promo from the back stating that when this match was booked, Reigns was the champion, but he robbed him of it at Royal Rumble by putting him through a table. He put over Lana as beautiful, hot, etc.

    Divas Champion Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Paige

    I will say this…. Becky Lynch was OVER! I don’t mean kind of over. I mean, she was #2 pop of the night, and that was constant through the match. The crowd loved her. Paige worked as a face. At this point, she’s reaching Big Show levels of face/heel turns. Charlotte is pretty damn big in real life. I was surprised by how amazing she looked in person compared to how she looks on television. Paige pushed her “THIS IS MY HOUSE” which got a big reaction since she was working as a face. For a triple threat, they didn’t do much with that aspect. Charlotte got a figure four headlock on Becky and it just dragged on for way too long. Most of the time, one diva was outside of the ring recovering. While Becky was out of the ring, Paige locked in the PTO. Becky got back in and broke it up. Becky slapped on the Disarmer and the crowd went crazy, but Paige broke it up. Becky was out of the ring and Charlotte rolled Paige up with tights for the pin. BECKY. WAS. OVER. It was magical. After the match, Paige pulled Becky into the ring and told the crowd it was her birthday. Paige sang Happy Birthday to her with the crowd. Great moment. I uploaded a video of it, but potato quality, so sadface.

    Roman Reigns vs. Rusev

    Man, the place came UNGLUED when Roman came through the crowd. Easily pop #1 by an incredible margin. He got a quick upper hand and then Rusev walked out on the match. He took a microphone and said that since Roman was no longer champion, and it wasn’t a championship match, he was done. Roman ran up the stage and brought him back. Crowd loved that. Roman and Rusev went back and forth until Rusev got the Accolade on. (Remember when that move was incredible?) Roman quickly powered out, got the superman punch, got the spear, and it was over.

  • WWE Chattanooga, TN, live results: KANE VERSUS BRAY WYATT headlines

    Submitted anonymously

    U.S. Champion Kalisto def. Miz 

    Kalisto was really over and the match went really smooth. Miz was a good heel, jawing back and forth with a typical Tennessee wrasslin fan.

    Darren Young def. Fandango

    Literally ended in under 2 minutes.

    Jack Swagger def. Fandango

    Fandango grabs the mic and asks for another opponent and out comes Swagger. Also ended in under two minutes.

    Adam Rose & Bo Dallas def. The Ascension

    Weird match, but Bo was really over just as he was in ATL.

    Big Show/Dudleyz def. Wyatts

    Big match, really fun. Harper was really having fun with the crowd, and Rowan . . . is Rowan.

    Sasha Banks & Tamina def. Alicia Fox & Brie Bella

    Dolph Ziggler def. Tyler Breeze

    Fun match they went out and put on a show as expected for a Ziggler match.

    Kane defeated Bray Wyatt via DQ

    Nothing special. Bray was really eccentric and being over the top. DQ ending coming was pretty obvious.

  • NXT Royal Oak, MI, live results: Baron Corbin vs Apollo Crews vs Samoa Joe vs Finn Balor

    From the Royal Oak Music Theater in Royal Oak, MI | Submitted anonymously

    Enzo and Big Cass vs the Vaudevillians

    Enzo did a rap before the match. Vaudevillians have a new heel theme. Lots of comedy spots. Crowd LOVES Enzo. Vaudevillians were pretty over and got cheered until they got the heat on Enzo, Cass got the hot tag, and they won with the rocket launcher move. Fun tag match, crowd was into it.

    Carmella vs Alexa Bliss

    Carmella did her speech before the match. Crowd loved her. Alexa got heat for being from Ohio. Alexa did a really good job of getting the heat and Carmella did a quick comeback and won with her submission. Surprisingly good match that the crowd was pretty into, Alexa had good heat and Carmella got her chants.

    Elias Sampson vs Johnny Gargano

    Elias got a lot of heat early on for some reason. He played a song for Detroit before the match to solid boos and Johnny interrupted him. Johnny was over despite being from Cleveland, even got a “Johnny Wrestling” chant. Back and forth match. Crowd was into the heat spots. Crowd blew up for a dive from Johnny to the outside where there was almost no floor space. There was some near falls and Elias won with his neckbreaker. Crowd booed like hell. Great match. Crowd gave a standing ovation to Johnny after the match.

    Tye Dillinger vs Sami Zayn

    Crowd was into Tye’s entrance. Sami was SUPER over. The story at the beginning of the match was that Sami’s reaction made Tye jealous. The worked heel only to the extent that he wasn’t cheered. Back and forth match where the crowd was into everything Sami did. Some comedy spots with the 10 sign. Tye got the heat, Sami did a comeback and Tye got injured and carried off to the back and they rang the bell. Sami lead a 10 chant and did a speech thanking the fans. Sampson interrupted and beat up Sami and Sami fought him off with a Helluva kick.

    Intermission

    Women’s Champion Bayley vs Nia Jax

    Crowd loved everything Bayley did. The match was similar to their Takeover match. Bayley won with the Belly to Bayley. A fan threw her a Bayley Club shirt and she put it on and celebrated with the crowd afterwards.

    American Alpha vs. NXT Tag Team Champions Dash and Dawson

    Gable and Jordan got a huge reaction. Dash and Dawson were also there. Crowd loved Jordan and Gable. Match was back and forth at the beginning and then Dash and Dawson got the heat on Jordan. Gable got the heat and American Alpha did some double team stuff and then Dawson started getting the heat on Gable. Jordan exploded with the hot tag. American Alpha hit their finisher and dash pulled the ref out of the ring and got DQ’ed. Chorus of boos. American Alpha got a standing ovation after the match.

    Baron Corbin vs Apollo Crews vs Samoa Joe vs Finn Balor

    All guys got a great reception and Corbin got plenty of boos. Joe and Corbin disposed of Crews and Balor and then Balor turned on Joe. Balor and Crews disposed of Corbin and Joe and shook hands and went back and forth. Now came in and went one and one with Crews. Then Corbin and Crews. Then Corbin and Balor. Then Joe and Balor. Then Joe and Crews. Corbin and Joe double teamed Balor. Corbin turned on Joe again and then put the beat down on Balor. Joe disposed of Balor and put the beat down on Balor and them Balor got a comeback in on everyone and did the stomp to Crews’ back. Match broke down into a four way brawl. Joe had the clutch on Baron, Crews hit the standing moonsault on him and went for a pin, Balor jumped off the top and hit Crews with the Coup de Grace and pinned Corbin for the win and celebrated after the match. Great back and forth match. Crowd was into it the whole time.

    Great show with no real lowlights. Most over was probably Balor or Sami.

  • WWE Main Event results: Rusev and Ryback renew old acquaintances

    Kevin Owens def. Jack Swagger via pinfall

    Hardly a banner Royal Rumble for either of these guys. Swagger, who according to his ring introduction is still very much “a real American”, suffered the ignominy of the shortest stay in this year’s Rumble match. Meanwhile, Kevin Owens incurred the double blow of losing to Dean Ambrose and getting tossed from the Rumble by arch-rival, Sami Zayn.

    Very good TV match here, that hovered around the 15-minute mark (including commercials). The early exchanges are enlivened by a typically talkative Kevin Owens, who admonishes the referee for not letting him stay in the ropes indefinitely to escape Swagger’s ankle-based intentions: “I’m allowed to do that! What’s your problem!?”

    The mid-match commercial break is also bookended by a “WE ARE IDIOTS!” chant from Owens and a rousing rendition of “Oh Canada!”, as Swagger struggles to escape Chinlock City.

    Great workrate from both men in this one; Owens ate a running clothesline on the outside after taking a powder to avoid Swagger’s comeback, while Swagger took his face-first bump onto the ringsteps after being tossed over the top rope. Both men also nailed a German suplex apiece, with Swagger hitting his after a brilliant reversal of the Pop-Up Powerbomb into a Patriot Lock attempt.

    Owen’s second failed attempt at his finish is also reversed into a roll-up for two, before he finally nails it seconds later when Swagger drives his own shoulder into the ringpost off a dodged corner charge.

    Another excellent showing for Swagger, who has burnished his babyface credentials on this show of late; add this to his two very watchable 10+ minute outings against Stardust and The Miz in the last couple of months. Credit to Owens for giving him so much too.

    The Dudley Boyz def. The Ascension via pinfall

    I’m sure the Dudleys were delighted to see Konnor and Viktor’s names beside theirs on the format sheet; The Ascension were the last team that Bubba and D-Von defeated in a straight tag match on RAW – on November 16th of last year.

    We get the usual five-minute second match here. Very early “hot” tag to Bubba signals an even quicker ending, only for Konnor to save Viktor from the Wassup headbutt by crotching D-Von on the top rope.

    Quick heat segment (featuring Viktor’s awesome-looking STO), before the hot tag to D-Von, who runs through his usual offensive repertoire. Blind tag and a Reverse 3-D to Konnor follows, before a Bubba big boot heads off Konnor’s attempted interference. Viktor eats the regular 3-D to wrap it up for the Dudleys and compensate somewhat for last week’s unfortunate defeat at the hands of the Social Outcasts.

    – Rusev and Be-A-STAR candidate, Lana, are backstage with Jojo, who wonders if the powerbomb Rusev suffered on RAW will affect his performance against Ryback tonight. Lana responds that “nothing affects the super-athlete”, with the Bulgarian Brute adding that he intends to destroy “The Ryback” tonight.

    Rusev w/Lana def. Ryback by submission

    This, of course, is the dumb feud they dropped after Lana’s social media activity made her persona non grata in the company. Lawler briefly references her punishment – Lana’s part in The Rock’s promo on Monday night – at the beginning of the match, only for Rich Brennan to cut him off: “Should we repeat that!?…..is it family friendly?” No, Rich. It’s not.

    Decent 10+ minute match here, that was admittedly pretty boring prior to Ryback’s comeback, but picked up significantly forthwith – the turning point being a back-and-forth battle to suplex each other over the top rope. Ryback wins, bringing Rusev from the apron to the ring, before again busting out Punk’s high knee into the corner.

    The Ryback also hits a top rope missile dropkick and brings back his old backpack stunner maneuver to kick off the nearfalls segment of the match. Ryback appears to be responding to criticism of his work in a similar fashion to John Cena, by expanding his moveset – which, ironically, is arguably the least important element of what makes one a great worker.

    A failed Shellshock sees Ryback almost get pushed into Lana, who had positioned herself on the apron. He gets a slap to the face for his troubles, but the roll-up from Rusev only gets two. Ryback then returns the superkick he received earlier, as if he is now absorbing the signature moves of his opponents. This also gets two.

    A second Shellshock attempt then also fails, as Rusev grabs the ropes. Ryback’s workrate aspirations then finally cost him, as a high knee from the top misses, allowing Rusev to hit another superkick and lock in the Accolade. Ryback doesn’t tap, but is deemed to have passed out by referee, Charles Robinson. Rusev celebrates vigorously in front of the large flag bearing his own visage as the show goes off the air.

    Final Thoughts

    Unquestionably the best outing for Main Event this year, with two good-to-very good 10+ minute matches. It’s particularly worth going out of one’s way to see Kevin Owens’ match with Jack Swagger, who has turned in some truly excellent work on this show over the last couple of months.

  • NXT Pittsburgh live results: Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe; Sami Zayn vs. Johnny Gargano

    Submitted by Ryan Dunch w/additional notes from Joe Kazmer

    Stage AE was sompletely sold out, with a substantial amount of a standing room tickets sold.

    – The night started with a pre-taped intro from Triple H thanking the fans for making NXT.

    NXT Tag Champions Dawson & Wilder def. Big Cass and Enzo Amore

    People were really excited and chanted along with the whole Enzo/Cass intro. Lots of How You Doin and other chants. Wilder and Dawson won after hitting their finisher on Enzo. Enzo and Cass got a standing ovation after they were left alone in the ring. This was a theme for the night anytime someone the crowd liked lost a match.

    Nia Jax pinned Carmella after the big leg drop

    Wasn’t very good but not as bad as I was expecting. Poor Nia was cat called early on when the crowd was otherwise pretty silent. 

    Elias Sampson def. Tye Dillinger

    Sampson, who is from Pittsburgh, claimed that he wrote a special song about returning to Pittsburgh​ which was comically bad:

    “Back in my hometown of Pittsburgh for the sold out show tonight
    and I’d say it’s nice to be here but that would be a lie,
    You can all tip me money for playing my guitar
    cuz I’ll never turn it down,
    In fact I should get a lot of money for even coming back to this crappy town!”

    Met with boos and an inaudible chant, and actually was worse than it looks on paper. Dillinger was cheered, mostly just people having fun with the 10 chants. Sampson defeated Tye Dillinger after raking Tye’s eyes while the re​f was distracted, and pinned him following a swinging neckbreaker. Then he kissed his guitar and carried it over his shoulder as he exited. 

    Baron Corbin pinned Apollo Crews after the End of Days

    Baron out to good heel reaction, Apollo got a decent pop. “Boring Corbin” chants. Mostly an anti-Corbin crowd as opposed to a pro-Crews crowd.  Corbin looked strong for a lot of the match and Crews got a lukewarm response for his comeback. People were into some of his athletic spots and did react to those – including a plancha to the floor. Crowd got into the last bit with trading shots and some near falls. 

    Sami Zayn pinned Johnny Gargano

    They had a lively match, and both men were over with the crowd. A lot of singing for Zayn, and “Johnny Wrestling” chants for Gargano. Really a great final few minutes which led to Sami pinning Johnny with a Heluva Kick. After the match was over, Sami helped Johnny up and embraced him and raised his hand. The crowd gave Gargano a really nice standing ovation after the match while Zayn hopped out of the ring and applauded him on the outside. Really loud sustained “Johnny Wrestling” chant here as well.

    > Intermission

    Women’s Champion Bayley pinned Alexa Bliss with the Bayley to Belly suplex

    Bayley is very beloved by this audience. Little girls with Bayley shirts in attendance, Bayley made sure to give them hugs. There was a lot of stalling at the beginning with lots of people in the crowd screaming for hugs and Bayley hopping out to give some. There was a fun spot where she popped out and hugged a guy in the front row for a big pop and as she ran back in Alexa gave her a cheap shot. They did some mat wrestling and traded near falls in the final sequence which ended with Bayley catching Alexa with a sudden Bayley-to-Belly for the pin.

    American Alpha (Jason Jordan & Chad Gable) def. The Vaudevillians

    Gable pinned English with their back suplex finisher. Jordan and especially Gable were over huge. Good technical stuff here early on. Both teams looked sharp, all of the stuff was tight. Jordan and Gable are really impressive to see live, lots of spots I’ve never seen anyone do, and it all looked great. Big this is Wrestling chant for the earlier mat wrestling. 

    NXT Champion Finn Balor def. Samoa Joe

    They had a good match. It was quiet early. When the match went on, the show had been on for a solid 2 hours 30 minutes if you include the intermission. But they pulled the crowd in after some mat wrestling when Joe bailed to the outside. This led to brawling on the floor. Joe got some solid heel heat. He made a comeback and hit his flying kick thing in the corner. Crowd started with a “Joe Joe Joe” chant after all the boos and Joe just looked at the crowd and shook his head.

    Finn threw Joe back outside and his a baseball slide. He hit the footstomp to Joe while Joe was still standing and hunched over for a nearfall. This is Awesome chants. Joe hit a bad ass clothesline for a 2 count. Dueling punches, Joe catches Balor in a rear naked, Balor escapes, misses a corner kick. Joe went for the Buster and Balor countered it into a sunset flip pin for another near fall. Final sequence was really good. Balor ended up hitting his kick to the corner and the Coup de Grace for the win.

  • WWE injury woes continue with Sheamus arm tendonitis

    Photo: @WWESheamus

    On Twitter Thursday, former WWE Champion Sheamus released a photo of himself with a cast on his left arm.

    We’ve confirmed that the injury is legitimate, but we don’t have much in the way of details other than he has tendonitis in the arm. He isn’t expected to be out of the ring for too long, but the timing of when he’ll be able to wrestle again has not been determined. 

    As of today, the feeling is that he will likely remain on television in storylines but won’t be working matches, similar to the role Wade Barrett has been doing in the League of Nations in recent weeks. Sheamus last worked on Raw Monday night in a tag team match with Rusev as his partner against Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose. He missed considerable time in late-2014/early 2015 due to injuries, returning on the March 30th, 2015, edition of RAW.

    We are also awaiting confirmation on another upper level WWE wrestler that might be hurt.

  • NXT TV taping spoilers: a killer TakeOver Dallas card is finalized

    The big news from tonight’s NXT tapings at Full Sail University in Orlando, FL, is that Nakamura is going to debut at NXT TakeOver in Dallas, TX, as part of Wrestlemania weekend.

    The following are the tapings for March’s NXT shows with initial reports that they weren’t very good. 

    *****

    Your NXT TakeOver Dallas lineup for 4/1 based on what happened Wednesday:

    • NXT Champion Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe
    • Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn
    • Austin Aries vs. Baron Corbin
    • Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Asuka
    • NXT Tag Champions Dash & Dawson vs. Jason Jordan & Chad Gable
    • Apollo Crews vs. Elias Samson

    Results from J.J. Williams:

    Dark match saw Adrien Reese beat Billie Kay w/ Sylvester LeFort via top rope stunner. Good showing by both women, Adrien will do well on tv, personality shines through. Billie Kay and LeFort are an interesting pairing as we rarely see male managers for female competitors. 

    3/9/16 –

    Samoa Joe won 2/3 falls to become #1 Contender to the NXT Championship against Sami Zayn. I have this match going 40 minutes, the first fall didn’t occur until 20 minutes in as Joe hit the muscle buster. Crowd was super in to Sami Zayn tonight, singing his theme song, then the ole’ chants. It quieted down for those first 20 because Joe was putting a beating on Sami. Early in the second fall, Joe got busted open by a headbut, ref asked the trainer to wipe Joe’s head real quick before we got going again. During fall two, Sami took a huge dive to the outside to take Joe out, then was able to lock in the Koji Clutch for his fall victory. Fall three was of course the best and most heated action, Sami hit a sunset flip powerbomb off the top for a nearfall, Joe was then able to hit a huge powerbomb, then in to a Boston Crab, transitioned in to a Crossface for a near submission, Sami was able to lock Joe in the Clutch for a near submission. The finish saw Sami Zayn submit to the Clutch. 

    3/16/16 –

    The Hype Bros beat Angelo Dawkins and Kenneth Crawford via Hype Ryder. Crawford was making his tv debut here. 

    Emma w/ Dana Brooke beat Deonna Purrazzo via submission with the Emma Lock. Another good showing by Emma here in NXT, she just carries herself like a star. Deonna held her own yet again with a much more experienced wrestler.

    Tommaso Ciampa beat Jesse Sorensen via submission using a bridging arm bar. Quick yet physical match, Ciampa has been impressive. 

    NXT Women’s Champion Bayley & Asuka beat Eva Marie & Nia Jax when Bayley hit the Belly To Bayley on Eva Marie. As usual, huge heat on Eva, “You Can’t Wrestle” chants. After Bayley got the win, Nia carried Eva away on her shoulders. After the referee raised the winners’ hands, Mr. Regal made his way on to the stage to announce that Asuka is the new #1 Contender to the NXT Women’s Championship and would face Bayley at Takeover Dallas. The two were standing side by side during this announcement, then Asuka stepped around so she could look directly at Bayley. 

    3/23/16 –

    Chad Gable & Jason Jordan beat The Vaudevillains to become #1 Contenders to the NXT Tag Team Championships. Great action as per usual with these two teams, Jordan is the best hot tag in wrestling. Finish saw American Alpha put Aiden English up for the assisted german suplex and the win. They will face Dash & Dawson at Takeover Dallas.

    Sami Zayn is out for a promo, talked about how even though he doesn’t have a title match at Takeover Dallas he still wants to wrestle on the show, that NXT is like his baby. Mr. Regal again makes his way on the stage and says Sami Zayn will have a match at Takeover Dallas and it will be against NXT’s newest signings, one of the best competitors in the world, the tron goes to static, then Shinsuke Nakamura’s hair from behind, he turns around and the place is going wild. Loudest reaction I’ve heard in Full Sail. He said something yet the cheer was still going so nobody I know was able to catch what he said. Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura at Takeover Dallas.

    Johnny Gargano beat Elias Samson, post match Samson attacked Johnny from behind and tried to rough him up before Apollo Crews ran towards the ring to stare down Elias. 

    NXT Champion Finn Balor beat Rich Swann with the Bloody Sunday DDT in a non title match. Swann was out first to a great reaction, one of the most charismatic wrestlers to show up in quite a while. Once the people realized he was facing Finn, we had some back and forth chants but majority still for the champ. Great athletic action, Swann is the type of wrestler Finn can do amazing work with. Coup de Grace followed by the BloodySunday for the win. 

    Alexa Bliss w/ Blake & Murphy beat Sarah Dobson ( SHINE’s Crazy Mary ) with the Sparkle Splash. Short yet good match to showcase Alexa. 

    Bull Dempsey vs. Danny Burch never happened as Samoa Joe attacked Bull before he made his way to the ring, then went in the ring to attack Burch as well. Refs can’t stop Joe.

    3/30/16 –

    Asuka beat Emma w/ Dana Brooke via submission with the Asuka Lock. This match went over ten minutes, crowd wasn’t as in to it as their previous matches, of course. Emma had control most of the match before Asuka fired up and applied her chicken wing crossface.

    Austin Aries beat Riddick Moss via submission with the Last Chancery. Good reaction for Aries making his Full Sail debut, basic match to showcase Aries before getting his hold on Moss.

    Chad Gable & Jason Jordan beat John Skyler & Corey Hollis with the assisted german suplex. Showcase for American Alpha before their title match. 

    Baron Corbin beat QT Marshall with a side slam. Then post match he hit the End Of Days which lead to a “One More Time” chant, he teased it, then waved the crowd off before leaving to even more boooes. They’ve had him win a few matches with the side slam to build it up as a secondary finish. Still a lot of heat on Baron after all this time.

    NXT Tag Team Champions Dash & Dawson beat Tucker Knight & Steve Cutler and in a non title match with the shatter machine on Tucker Knight. Most of the match saw Dash & Dawson making quick tags to keep the punishment on Steve Cutler. Tucker was able to take a hot tag and run wild for a moment before the champs were able to give him the run around and a quick tag to catch the big man off guard before hitting their finish. 

    Apollo Crews beat Alex Riley with his big slam. After the match, Elias Samson made his way on the stage to sing Crews a song. They’ll face each other at Takeover Dallas. 

    Samoa Joe beats Bull Dempsey with the Clutch rather quickly and doesn’t let go of the hold, referees keep trying to get him to break the hold, Mr. Regal tries to send men out to handle Joe yet he destroys them as well, Finn Balor runs down and we have ourselves a brawl. They make their way to the commentary area, Finn even dove off the desk on to Joe, the brawl started and stopped a few times with Finn ending with the upper hand. That’s our final build up for Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor II at Takeover Dallas.

    William Regal announced that Nakamura was coming to TakeOver.