Packed house at the Turner Hall Ballroom. Crowd was hot for the entire show.
NXT Tag Champions The Mechanics (Dash & Dawson) def. Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady
Show opened with Dash and Dawson vs Enzo and Big Cass for the tag team championships. Enzo said that tonight they would get redemption for what happened in the UK. Lots of Enzo flying around spots. Dash and Dawson ended up getting the win on a roll up after the ref was getting Cassady out of the ring when he didn’t see him tag in.
Carmella def. Alexa Bliss
Carmella got on the mic and said for tonight only she was going to be the princess of Milwaukee. Good chain wrestling from these two. Carmella gets Bliss to tap out with a choke via her leg around Alexa’s neck.
Elias Samson def. Bull Dempsey
Bull comes out with a youth cheesehead on, which gets a great reaction. Then, the lights went out. A spot light shined on the bar to the left of the ring and Samson’s music hit to which he got up from the bar and went to the ring. Pretty neat concept for an entrance, just not sure how this character sets him apart from the rest. The match takes a while to get underway after Samson is not thrilled with Dempsey’s squats. Dempsey also removed the cheesehead, but the crowd urged him to wear it while he wrestled. Samson won with a swinging neck breaker (I believe). This was a total comedy match. After the match, Samson spit on the cheesehead and ripped it into pieces. Dempsey got ahold of Samson’s guitar, took the money from it, and threw the bills into the crowd.
NXT Women’s Champion Bayley def. NIa Jax
Jax was in control for much of the match. Bayley eventually made her comeback and actually hit the Bayley to belly finisher on Jax.
INTERMISSION
Sami Zayn def. Tommaso Ciampa
Crowd was split 50/50 for this as Ciampa calls Milwaukee home. This was easily match of the night. Get, stuff match. Ciampa was chopping and slapping Zayn so hard that blood blisters were seen on Zayn’s chest and neck. Zayn hit his usual dive to the outside. Ciampa hit Zayn with a power bomb back breaker for a 2 count that had everyone fooled as the actual finish. Crowd really got into this match. Zayn won with the helluva kick.
After the match, Zayn and Ciampa shook hands out of respect in the ring. Zayn got in the mic and talked about ECW running shows in Turner Hall 15 years ago and that what NXT is doing today is exactly what ECW was doing 15 years ago. Zayn mentioned that someone told him that Turner Hall was their favorite venue to work at, and after wrestling in it tonight, he agrees….Kevin Owens!
Owens comes out and says that person was him that told him that and that Turner Hall was supposed to be the last venue he worked as an independent wrestler before he went to WWE but do to circumstances beyond his control, he never got to wrestle at Turner Hall. Owens said that Sami is probably getting a little upset at Owens, but said he knew Sami wasn’t going to do anything about it because Owens is too important. Owens said that while he’s been main eventing Raw, Smackdown, live events etc, Zayn has been sitting in his couch nursing his injuries. This lead to Zayn kicking Owens in the face. Owens retreats and Zayn says that he can have his Raw and Smackdown, because NXT belongs to Sami Zayn.
Eva Marie def. Peyton Royce
Yep, they followed up the match of the night and biggest surprise of the night with EVA MARIE. Nothing really to write home about. Royce has some great leg kicks. Eva wins with a spinning neck breaker.
NXT Champion Finn Balor vs Apollo Crews vs Baron Corbin
Corbin stayed out of the ring to start but while Finn and Crews were tied up, Corbin would trip one of the two. Finn and Crews teamed up to take out Corbin and his shenanigans. Finn and Crews had a great series of moves, counters, holds, etc. Corbin eventually got some offense on both Finn and Crews. Couple cool, fast paced spots involving all 3 competitors. At one point, Corbin had Crews in a head lock, which allowed Finn to drop kick Corbin and Corbin’s momentum caused Crews to be DDTed. Finish saw Crews hit the standing moonsault on Corbin, Finn broke up the pinball with a Cope de Grace and was able to pin Corbin. After the match, Crews and Finn posed for the crowd. They shook hands, hugged, and threw up the “2 Sweet” sign.
For the second week in succession, Main Event opens with an in-ring promo instead of a match. This week, it’s wig splitter-in-chief, Mark Henry, who has something to get off his chest. Mizark begins his address by informing us that this August will mark the 20th anniversary of the inking of his first WWE contract. He reels off some of the accolades that he’s earned in that timespan (namechecking the ECW, European and Heavyweight titles in that order), before assuring us that 2016 will finally be the year that he checks the Royal Rumble off his list.
This revelation prompts The Ascension to interrupt. Konnor speculates that the World’s Strongest Man might have the World’s Shortest Memory because, as Viktor adds, it was The Ascension who eliminated Henry from the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at Wrestlemania Play Sign. Fair point. That watershed moment in the history of our sport is indelibly etched in the minds of any who witnessed it.
These history-makers refer to themselves as the World’s Sickest Tag Team and state that the “annihilation” that they will bring to bear at the Rumble starts tonight with Mark Henry. They enter the ring and begin beating on Henry, hitting him with a Fall of Man that only brings him to his knees.
Cue Jack Swagger to make the save and clear the ring, setting up a rematch of the featured contest from Superstars a couple of weeks back, in which the good guys triumphed. I wonder if this one will have the same outcome? Hmmm…
Stardust def. Fandango via pinfall
We get a typically cryptic inset promo from Rhodes beforehand, from which I can just about decipher that he thinks he’s going to win the Rumble. Who did you eliminate from the ARMBAR, Cody?!
Super short match here. What little offence Fandango managed was highlighted by a plancha and a spinning heel kick for two. The finish saw Stardust dodge a corner charge, causing Fandango to crotch himself on the second rope. This allowed the heel to drag his prey off the turnbuckle head-first and hit the Queen’s Crossbow for the victory.
Alicia Fox def. Tamina via pinfall
Oh dear. This was bad. Both girls’ entrances are notable; Alicia’s for the fact that we get to hear her own theme (rather than Brie’s or Nikki’s) for the first time in an age. Meanwhile, Tamina debuts the new Team B.A.D. theme and TitanTron video. It’s pretty meh.
We get a botched spot straight off the bat as Alicia appears to trip off an Irish whip from Tamina. Loud spot calling from Alicia then prompts a headbutt from Tamina, who moves on to some of the most boring heel diva offence imaginable; stand on hair, chinlock, clap hands for some reason, repeat.
Comeback time, and Tamina is woefully out of place to dodge Alicia’s big boot attempt. The finish sees Tamina miss a corner charge (Road Dogg!!!) and get rolled up with the dreaded school boy for the win.
After the match, Tamina gets her “heat” back by beating Alicia up. Completely pointless.
– Recap of the McMahons entertaining themselves in the opening segment of RAW and the stultifyingly dull Reigns vs. Owens/One vs. All main event.
Jack Swagger and Mark Henry def. The Ascension via pinfall
Jerry Lawler, Rich Brennan’s announcing buddy for the second successive week, reminds us that he was Henry’s first opponent in the WWE way back when. Brennan asks him how that went for The King. Lawler: “Check out The Ascension!” Hey, I smiled.
Pretty even contest before the inevitable commercial break, which is preceded by Swagger getting tripped by Konnor on the apron as he went to fetch Viktor.
To the surprise of no-one, we return with the heels still in command. This heat portion of the match is highlighted by Viktor mocking the “We The People” chant and following up by getting some insane height on a fist drop to Swagger.
Eventually Swagger cuts Viktor off with a belly to belly slam and gets the hot tag to his partner. Henry doles out big powerslams to both opponents, before joining Swagger in a celebratory “We The People” rendition. Swagger Bomb to Viktor follows, after which legal man Konnor sneaks up behind Henry to steal the win. Henry has him scouted on the Tron, however; he turns around, picks Konnor up, and puts him right back down again with the World’s Strongest Slam for the win.
Final Thoughts
Arguably the weakest edition of Main Event since I started covering the show in November. While replacing the opening match with a promo to set up the featured contest may seem like a good idea in theory, the usual poor scriptwriting has actually rendered the show weaker on aggregate since the experiment began last week. Two short matches (one of which was actively bad) and a rehash of a Superstars main event from a few weeks ago is not an attractive prospect for any potential viewer. Recommendation to skip.
Steve Austin, WWE’s biggest peak drawing card in its history, has indicated that he will probably make an appearance at WrestleMania this year.
Austin, as a guest on Jim Ross’ 100th podcast this week, categorized it as 99 percent that he would be appearing on the show on 4/3 at AT&T Stadium. He will not be wrestling on the show. He said that he had an idea that he’s interested in but said he’s yet to talk to creative.
He indicated even if they don’t agree to do his idea, he would be at the show appearing in some form.
Austin appeared at the 2014 WrestleMania in a segment with Hulk Hogan and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Last year in Santa Clara, Austin didn’t appear.
Before starting, please check out WrestlingOutsiders.com for 5 days of free wrestling and MMA podcasts every single week.
The Big News: In two weeks Samoa Joe, Sami Zayn and Baron Corbin will square off in the triple threat #1 Contender’s match.
The Medium News: Carmella won a battle royal to become Bayley’s next challenger.
The Little Beaver Sized News: Asuka kicked Eva Marie’s head clean off her shoulders.
After a 2 week break, let’s see if I remember how to do this.
*****
Rich Brennan and Byron Saxton are gone, Tom Phillips is here and Corey Graves never left. The show starts with the return of Mr. William Regal! Mr. Regal thanked the fans for making NXT the fastest growing promotion in the world before announcing a battle royal with the winner getting a shot at the Women’s Championship.
Mr. Regal introduced Sami Zayn before leaving. This is Sami’s first appearance in the NXT Arena since NXT Takeover: Unstoppable in May. He got quite the reaction coming out, with a standing ovation and chants of “Welcome back” and an extended “Ole” song.
Sami loved being back and announced that he is here to be the first ever 2x NXT Champion, which led to chants of “two times”. This brought out Samoa Joe, who is not happy about losing to Finn Balor at NXT Takeover: London.
Joe stated that he is happy Sami is back and he can appreciate Zayn wanting to be champion, but he doesn’t deserve the title match. The last time Sami was in the ring he had to be saved by Joe after a beating by Kevin Owens. Joe pointed out that Finn Balor said he did not beat Joe, he survived. Joe finished by saying that if Sami wants to not get injured again he will leave the ring.
That brought out Baron Corbin. Corbin agreed with Joe and said Zayn belongs in the back of the line. At Takeover he beat Apollo Crews, while Samoa Joe failed in his shot at the gold. While Sami was at home he was passed by someone hungrier and more durable. Corbin proclaimed himself to be the uncrowned NXT Champion.
Joe pointed out he choked out Corbin in Brooklyn, so he doesn’t belong in this conversation. Joe threatened Sami again before leaving. Sami said he was standing in the ring and Baron attacked him from behind as Joe walked away. Baron went for End of Days, but Sami got around it and booted Corbin out of the ring. Joe teased attacked Zayn from behind, but stopped when Zayn turned around.
– Bayley cut a promo saying that she survived the match with Nia Jax and honestly didn’t know she still had all that in her. She is jealous because she loves battle royals and may give the winner a hug.
-They announced the 2015 NXT Awards:
Tag Team of the Year: Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady
Female Competitor of the Year: Bayley
Male Competitor of the Year: Finn Balor
Takeover of the Year: NXT Takeover: Brooklyn
Match of the Year: Bayley vs Sasha Banks from Brooklyn
Overall Competitor Of The Year: Finn Balor
All the winners got a plaque with a golden ring bell and hammer on it.
Tommaso Ciampa submitted Danny Birch
20 minutes in and we get the first match of 2016. Tommaso Ciampa, complete with correct spelling of his name, one on one with Danny Birch. Birch didn’t get an entrance, but he got a bit of offense. Ciampa hit a really nice draping STO, which should have been his finish, but Birch kicked out. Birch got a near fall with a punch to the face. No, really. Ciampa picked up the win with an armbar after rolling over Birch’s back. That looked really nice.
– Enzo and Cass said they will not forget being injured by Dash & Dawson. Enzo said real G’s never lose and real men don’t hide behind women. They vowed to finish the business between them.
-A promo package for Billie Kay, Deonna Purrazzo and Emma, all of whom said they would win the battle royal. The highlight was Billie starting her promo by saying “In case you forgot, I am Billie Kay”. I guarantee 90% of the people watching had no idea.
-Mr. Regal announced Sami Zayn vs Samoa Joe vs Baron Corbin in a #1 Contender’s Match in 2 weeks.
NXT Tag Team Champions Dash & Dawson defeated The Ascension
The Ascension continue to be God’s to the NXT crowd. I always think it’s funny how much they put over their Tag Title reign when there were literally no other teams for about 6 months and the gimmick was every week they would take on a different jobber team.
Viktor started the match by beating the living crap out of Dash Wilder. Honestly he probably beat the dead crap out of him too. Dash got tired of being stiffed, so he leveled Viktor with a couple blows too. The champs got the heat on Viktor while the announcers talked about Enzo & Cass being tag team of the year. Konnor got the hot tag and used the Dusty Rhodes flip, flop and fly routine on Dawson.
We had a Pier 6 break out before Dash & Dawson got the win with their finish.
– Nia Jax was being worked on by the trainer and the trainer did not clear her to compete in the battle royal. Mr. Regal refused to let her join while Eva Marie was quite happy that her largest opponent (even though she is a friend) wasn’t in the match.
– Carmella, Peyton Royce and Alexa Bliss all said they would win the battle royal. Carmella spent Christmas in a tanning bed.
Elias Sampson pinned Corey Hollis
Elias Sampson does not use public transportation. Seriously that is the tidbit we got from Corey Graves. Corey Hollis is the foe this week. Hollis looked at him like “Dude, remember when we were nameless jobbers together?”
This is Sampson’s second match since being repackaged. The first one saw him beat Bull Dempsey in a bad match no one cared about. This one saw him win with a swinging neck breaker in a meh match that a couple people cared about.
After the match Sampson announced that what NXT needs is what he is.
– Alex Reyes interviewed Finn Balor about the upcoming #1 Contender’s Triple Threat Match. Balor said the Joe match was physically and mentally draining. Joe is a monster, but as champion he never rests and faces every challenger. He said all of the three challengers plead a good case as to why they should get the title match. As far as he is concerned the title will stay with him regardless who wins.
– Cameron, Aliyah (making her debut), Liv Morgan and Asuka all said they will win the battle royal.
Carmella won the #1 Contender’s Battle Royal, last eliminating Eva Marie
Emma, Alexa, Carmella, Eva Marie and Asuka were the only ones to get an entrance. Eva pouted when her music was cut off for Asuka’s. Eva took offense to Asuka walking by her, so when the bout started Eva had something to say, so Asuka kicked her head off.
This was an over the top rope battle royal, so Eva was allowed to roll under the bottom rope and have emergency head re-attachment surgery before continuing. Aliyah, in her debut, was the first one out. That was followed by Deonna Purrazzo, who can go lose a battle royal in TNA now, Cameron, Liv Morgan, Bliss, Emma, Royce, Kay, Asuka and Eva Marie.
Morgan lifted Cameron up for a power bomb, but dropped her, so they went right back to the spot, which led to Bliss throwing them both out. Bliss should have been the favorite since she is shorter than the top rope, but she didn’t make the final four. Eva stayed on the floor the entire match until Asuka eliminated everyone else in the ring. Eva threw Asuka over the top rope to the floor, but she forgot one person. Earlier Carmella was knocked to the floor and the entire crowd knew what was going to happen. Sure enough Carmella got in and threw out Eva Marie to win!
After the match, Bayley ran down and hugged her new #1 Contender as the show ended.
So that does it for this week. Until next week, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers.
Act quickly, as tickets are currently on sale for the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony on 4/2 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
The ceremony is advertised for a 6:30 p.m. local start time and will be headlined by Sting.
The pre-sale started this morning and we have received two different codes, being WWEVIP and AACVIP.
Tickets will be available until 11 p.m. Central time tomorrow night before they go on sale to the public on Friday.
Tickets for the event are expected to sell out quickly as the set up is usually about 10,000 seats and with so many people coming to the host city, the shows are a routine sellout.
As has become a yearly tradition, there is a group from this site that usually attends together. You can look for that thread on the Board~! under the Empire Get-Togethers “folder” or create your own. For more information on our website’s Wrestlemania meet-up info, you can email EdinSanantonio at F4Wfan@hotmail.com – yes, Ed is the one keeping hotmail alive.
From the Cajundome in Lafayette, LA, taped for Wednesday in Canada and Thursday in the U.S.:
– WWE Smackdown opened with Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose wanting a last man standing match with Kevin Owens at the Royal Rumble. Sheamus then came out. Owens accepted the match and he and Sheamus attacked Ambrose until Neville made the save to lead to the main event.
– Dudleys beat Luke Harper & Erick Rowan in a tables match. After the match, Braun Strowman destroyed both Dudleys.
– Heath Slater & Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas & Adam Rose beat Jack Swagger & Zack Ryder & Goldust & Damien Sandow when Dallas pinned Ryder.
– Alberto Del Rio beat Kalisto to regain the U.S. title due to distraction from King Barrett.
– Becky Lynch beat Brie Bella.
– WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose & Neville went to a double countout with Kevin Owens & Sheamus.
The Monday, January 11th edition of WWE Raw did surprisingly well considering it went against the NCAA football national title game which drew far more viewers than any NFL game had done against Raw during the fall.
The show did 3.32 million viewers, roughly the fall season average. The Alabama vs. Clemson championship game did 25.68 million viewers head-to-head. Raw was sixth for the night on cable, but all five shows that beat Raw were ESPN shows that were related to coverage of the game itself.
The good news, in a sense, was the third hour was not their lowest rated hour, so the concept of WWE Champion Roman Reigns vs. everyone (spurred on by Vince McMahon) and the waiting for Brock Lesnar to appear led to a slight increase during a period that usually is a decrease.
It’s also the end of any kind of football hurting Raw ratings on Monday, so the hope is that numbers should increase on a regular basis starting next week.
Submitted by Josh Long from Saturday, January 10th
Chris Jericho def. U.S. Champion Alberto Del Rio in a non-title match.
JoJo announced to the house that John Cena is out due to a shoulder injury. She informed the crow refunds were available for the next twenty minutes. Before she could finish Alberto Del Rio interrupted and cut a promo on Cena. Del Rio received heat from the crowd during his promo. He even mentioned pro wrestling.
Chris Jericho interrupted Alberto to a big pop from the crowd. Lots of Y2J cheers broke out in the audience. ADR started cutting a promo on Jericho, until he took the mic. Jericho said “Welcome to Monroe is Jericho.” Jericho is majorly over with the crowd which is expected considering his resume. During the promo Jericho called Del Rio “Alberto Del Jackass” & said it was Spanish for jackass.
Fast start to the match, Jericho hits DEL RIO with mic and runs him into the corner. Jericho ripped ADR’s shirt off and started chopping him. When the action spilled outside, Jericho wiped his arm pits with the ripped shirt & rubbed it in Del Rio’s face. Alberto ran Jericho ran into guard rails and started arguing with Rick the sign guy. Del Rio doesn’t seem not to Rick very much so he took his hat and threw it. Rick even had a rubber chicken that Jericho used on Del Rio. Back in the ring, there were a few false finishes for both guys. Del Rio used the outside ropes to apply the cross arm breaker, but the ref broke it up.
Jericho tried to apply the walls but got super kicked instead on the reversal by Del Rio. Alberto got Jericho in another cross arm breaker and the crowd cheering for Y2J. Del Rio got caught in the Walls but Jericho was forced to break after Alberto managed to get the rope. Alberto used the ref as a distraction to rake the eyes. Soon after, Jericho hit code breaker for the 3 count.
Titus O’Neil def. Stardust
Titus got a good reaction from the crown on his way to the ring. A lot of people doing his signature bark or whatever it is. Sign guy has his hat stolen by Stardust, but luckily he has backup. Cody chants start to break out. Titus steals the hat back from Stardust and gives it back to Rick. The match has started but no action other than stealing & retrieving the hat. Stardust slides out of ring before any action takes place and gets some boos for his actions. More Cody chants break out among the crowd.
Titus gets upper hand early. Stardust needs a break, so he retreats into the crowd. Cody chants start again. Titus slaps Cody on the chest in the corner and the crowd wants him to do it one more time. Titus obliges and sends him into another corner and again another slap on the chest. Crowd asks for yet another so being the generous guy he is O’Neil gives Stardust another one and sends him into another corner. Stardust rolls out of the ring to escape.
Stardust gets heat from the after an eye rake & has the upper hand. Stardust goes for cover, two count. A lot of people yelling Cody. Stardust hisses at Charles Robinson after two count, Charles hisses back. Stardust has the upper hand. Titus chant breaks out. Stardust tried to use the ring post but Titus reversed. Soon after O’Neil hits the Clash of the Titus for the three count.
R-Truth def. Heath Slater
R-Truth out first for his match. He raps down the aisle. Good reaction, a lot of people saying what’s up. Leads crowd in what’s up chants. Slater out next. No social outcasts with him. Little to no reaction on his way to the ring.
Some boos when he hits the ring, Slater gyrates on the apron some. Truth does a what’s up chant with a good reaction. Slater tried one man band, only to be met with a lot of boos. After truth plays to crowd, slater tries & Immediately met with boos. Both wrestlers exchange dabs. Match has started but no action. Slater asks crowd if they want a dance off and kicks truth which got some heat. R-Truth gets win in a 5 minute match after a roll up.
Ryback def. Heath Slater
Slater demands the music be cut & requests a new opponent. The big guy accepts his request. Ryback got a good pop. Slater cuts promo saying Ryback doesn’t want to eat him because he’s filthy & he stinks like everyone from Monroe. Ryback hits spine buster followed by meat hook. Shell shock delivered for the 3 count.
Connor’s cure video package played.
Dolph Ziggler def. Tyler Breeze
Breeze doing his usual reclining in the corner. Ziggler runs towards him forcing him to move. A Tyler’s Gorgeous chant broke out. Crowd firmly behind Dolph in this match. Breeze arguing with the sign guy. Lockup around the ring to start the action. Breeze wins the exchange & reclines in the corner. Dolph working the arm pretty fast. Tosses Tyler with arm drag & mocks him. Ziggler on offense sends Tyler out & when he tries to escape Dolph brings him back. Breeze sends Dolph out of the ring. Ziggler makes it back on 9.
Tyler on the offensive. Crowd urging Dolph. He explodes for some punches but misses a splash attempt in the corner. Crowd starts chanting Ziggler while he gets worked over.ziggler explodes for a flurry & hits a spinning neck breaker after a splash in the corner. Famouser attempt misses. Breeze back on offensive. Dolph hits famouser, kick out. Both men have traded false finishes. Ziggler hits a good super kick for a two count. Zig zag off a power bomb attempt from the corner gets a 3 Count.
> Intermission
Brie Bella (w/Alicia Fox) def. Tamina with Summer Rae as ref
Tamina out first. Brie is out to a major pop, accompanied by Alicia Fox. After getting pummeled, Brie works an arm. Tamina works her over. Brie kicks Tamina with “yes” chants from the crowd. Taunts w/ happy bday. Brie rolls up Tamina for two. Tamina back on offensive. Bella manages to gain the upper hand but the running knee can only get a two count. After help from the ref, who had been barking at Tamina to get off the hair during the match, Brie gets the pinfall.
– Dean Ambrose video promo plays
Kalisto and El Torito def. Los Matadores
Lucha chants break out. Kalisto starts but tags in el torrito upon request. El torrito gets pressed by his former partner outside the ring. Kalisto gets the hot tag & cleans house. He hits his finisher for the three count.
Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose def. Kevin Owens
Owens attacks before the bell. Shows off to the crowd with the belt. Owens beats down Ambrose & teases throwing an Ambrose Asylum shirt to the crowd, but drops it on the floor. Owens chops Ambrose in the corner, but Ambrose reverses with his own chops but meets a head butt. Two count for Owens. Ambrose locked in a submission attempt and manages to escape. Owens getting great crowd heat. Owens grabs the stick and calls it the Kevin Owens show on the mic. Missed running senton by Owens & Dean is on the offensive.
Nice running bulldog by Ambrose & Owens rolls out after Ambrose climbs the ropes. Dean flies through the ropes to the outside taking out Owens. Owens back on offense after sending Ambrose throat first into the ropes. Dean gains the advantage & hits a suplex from second rope. Dirty Deeds attempt blocked.
Owens sends Ambrose into ropes for pop up power bomb. Ambrose hits his trademark clothesline from the ropes. Ambrose kicks out of popup power bomb. Owens argues it was a 3. KO takes off the turnbuckle cover and gets caught. He tries to use a chair but gets stopped by the referee. Dirty Deeds gets a three count.
Kalisto is the new U.S. Champion after upsetting Alberto Del Rio. Brock Lesnar, despite protests from Paul Heyman, will be in the Royal Rumble. Basically, Heyman lost a negotiation with the McMahons to have Brock main event WrestleMania and skip winning the Rumble.
Show Recap:
Various members of the roster where on the stage when Vince and Stephanie McMahon came out, so I was wrong about Vince and Stephanie wanting to avoid the CFP title game. The New Day danced to Vince’s music. Vince said one of the 29 men on stage were going to be the next WWE World Heavyweight Champion. You had people like Fandango, Damien Sandow (back in his old wardrobe), R-Truth and Stardust out there. Vince singled out Dolph Ziggler for possibly reaching out for the brass ring. You’d think he’d drop that phrase at some point. Stephanie mentioned Kevin Owens possibly concluding the best first year in company history.
Then the Wyatt Family appeared, with Bray Wyatt appearing at the announcer’s desk and repeating his “Anyone but you” Roman catchphrase. Roman Reigns came down. Reigns asked Vince “What happens if I win?” Stephanie laughed and called him delusional. Vince said he wanted to give Roman a chance in a match called a “1 vs. All” match, where Reigns would face as many as 2/3rds of the roster tonight. Stephanie mentioned Reigns could face his brother Dean Ambrose, but Vince corrected her and said Ambrose already was booked in a match. At that point, Sheamus hit Ambrose from behind, and Vince announced Sheamus as Ambrose’s opponent in a match that started immediately.
WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose and Sheamus went to a double countout (14:08)
Sheamus took the match to the outside, where he threw Ambrose into the barricade several times. Ambrose turned things around and sent Sheamus into the post twice, the last of which led to Sheamus bleeding heavily. Apparently, Brock Lesnar gave Sheamus lessons on how to run into the post entirely too hard before the show. Ambrose cleared the announcer’s table like he was going to put Sheamus through it when Owens ran out and jumped him. Owens left Ambrose laying again with punches and tried to power bomb him through the table before he was pulled off by the referees. Match was strung together well but the crowd lost interest by the end.
Rene Young went to the trainer’s room to check on Ambrose, who stormed out saying he still had a pulse and that should concern Owens.
Vince and Stephanie compared dance moves in the back when they stumbled upon Paul Heyman, who put over Vince’s 1 vs. 100 concept. Heyman didn’t want Lesnar in the 1 vs. 100 match and wanted to fight in the main event of WrestleMania. Vince asked Heyman not to change his plans again. Heyman tried to talk Vince into having Brock face the winner of the Royal Rumble. Vince didn’t like the idea. Stephanie tried to keep the peace by having the two meet in private. They all gathered in a small conference room with Vince looking pissed. This is probably a scene that unfolded countless times in the runup to the last December to Dismember.
Chris Jericho will host a Highlight Reel with the New Day later tonight.
Drew Brees was in the audience. He got no reaction at all, which was shocking unless you consider he may have played his final game as a Saint.
Titus O’Neal defeated Stardust (3:23)
JBL used the match to throw in as many David Bowie references as possible, including “Ziggy Stardust” and “The Man who Fell from Earth.” Titus O’Neal won with Clash of the Titus. I could have sworn I saw this same match last week. O’Neal celebrated with the fans until Stardust, who had his face painted like Ziggy Stardust and the Spider from Mars album cover, jumped him.
Jericho came out showed off various tweets trumpeting his return and his return to the Royal Rumble. He wore a blazer with a tie and black scarf. New Day came out, with Jericho getting a nod to Lemmy saying “Overkill” and trying to get the crowd to chant “Rooty Totty Botty.” Big E. talked until the Usos showed up with their Slammys. The Usos wanted a match. Xavier Woods said the only tag team worse than the Usos were Ricky Gervais and Mel Gibson. Jericho arranged a match with Big E. and Kofi Kingston with Woods in their corner against the Usos with Jericho in their corner.
The Usos defeated Tag Team Champions The New Day (C) in a nontitle match (15:18)
Good match with Jey Uso getting the hot tag. Jey went for the splash on Kingston, but Woods distracted the referee and Kingston crotched Jey. This led to Jericho taking Woods’ trombone and blowing it full throttle in Woods’ face. Woods took a bump. Jericho then destroyed the trombone, which brought a reaction from Woods that was absolutely priceless. He acted like his pet puppy had been thrown down a well. In the midst of all this, Jey pinned Kingston with a schoolboy cradle. In the opening minutes, Woods did some ringside banter that sounded like a takeoff of HHH’s late-90s interviews. Looks like Usos vs. New Day for the tag team belts at Royal Rumble.
Michael Cole acknowledged John Cena’s shoulder injury and that he would miss WrestleMania.
Heyman and Stephanie emerged from their meeting with Vince. Stephanie said Paul was driving her father nuts. Stephanie wanted Brock in the Royal Rumble. Paul told Stephanie to tell her father that Brock Lesnar says no. Stephanie, since she has to get the last word in with any segment involving Heyman but all characters that you see on Raw are purely fictional and in no way resembles real life, told Paul that Broke would in the Royal Rumble because her father owns Brock’s contract. Paul said that would be stupid because it would telegraph the finish of the Royal Rumble two weeks early. Well, no, he said he would handle this for Stephanie.
JBL got in the ring and announced Sting as the first member of the 2016 WWE Hall of Fame. Boy, does Sting need the WWE production team to create something for him to get into the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame. Then again, they might have just done it. They had a piece that featured Kevin Hart talking about how Sting was his favorite wrestler as a child. Cena talked about how he got a blond flattop because he loved Sting in 1989. Robert Flores showed up to put him over. Seth Rollins spoke of having a Sting t-shirt. Ron Simmons talked about how he had the “it” factor. Bret Hart, Booker T and Daniel Bryan were also featured. A great package. If that wasn’t enough, they highlighted a tweet from LeBron James, congratulating Sting and saying he was one of his favorites of all time.
The Wyatt Family started to do a promo but the Social Outcasts showed up. Heath Slater said grab your penicllin because we’re going viral. It ended with Bo Dallas saying they were together like the Four Musketeers. Curtis Axel and Adam Rose looked at him like he was a geek, as if he was supposed to say “Four Horsemen.”
The Wyatt Family and Social Outcasts went to no contest (1:19)
Ryback ran in to go after the Wyatts. Social Outcasts helped Ryback, so they’re comedy babyfaces.
Kalisto, after a nontitle victory over Alberto Del Rio on SmackDown, talked about facing Del Rio for the U.S. Championship tonight. Which leads us to our new segment: “Did Josh Norman cut a better wrestling promo than any wrestler on Raw today?” And the answer is yes.
Del Rio did a prematch promo where he took credit for Cena’s injury, forcing him to miss WrestleMania season. It was such a devastating injury that they never showed how Cena got hurt. Couldn’t they do an injury angle of some sort? Instead, nothing. And they wonder why Del Rio got total silence in this promo that should have had a lot of heat. Newsletter readers and writers used to totally massacre WCW for lapses like this.
Kalisto defeated Alberto Del Rio (C) to win the U.S. Championship (15:16)
Kalisto got the surprise win after he reversed a German Suplex attempt into a victory roll for the pin. Pretty good match, but JBL’s commentary gave telegraphed the result. Del Rio didn’t look happy about losing. It was your standard big man-little man match. Kalisto tried several attempts at the Solinda del Sol, but Del Rio blocked both of them. Del Rio went for his Sh! Kick, but Kalisto rolled out of the way and hit a Frankensteiner for a near fall, one of several in the match. Kalisto tried a tope, but Del Rio threw him against the barricades, which looked liked it sucked. They came back from a commercial and Kalisto was already up, where he took another bump after missing a crossbody block.
Charlotte and Ric Flair did an interview with JoJo. Charlotte said she beat Becky Lynch “Flair and square.” Did I mention that Josh Norman promo? Charlotte said if anything, she was the victim and Lynch the villian.
Charlotte was supposed to wrestle Brie Bella, but Lynch ran out and attacked Charlotte. Lynch had to be pulled off of her. Flair then claimed Charlotte was too injured to wrestle and left with her daughter. So basically, Brie flew to New Orleans to do a ring entrance. Good work if you can get it. Lynch did a promo saying Charlotte made a promise when they started in NXT that she would never use her father to climb to the top, but that’s what she’s done. Lynch said she’s going to make Charlotte tap out and win the Divas title. Good promo.
WWE Champion Roman Reigns vs. Owens, Del Rio, Sheamus, Kingston, Big E., Woods, Konnor, Viktor, Stardust, Wyatt, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, Luke Harper, and Tyler Breeze ended in a no contest (17:18)
For the 1 vs. All match, Stephanie and Vince came out with Owens, Del Rio (why would he be out there after losing his title?), Sheamus, Kingston, Big E., Woods, Konnor, Viktor, Stardust, Wyatt, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, Luke Harper, and Tyler Breeze. Stephanie explained to Reigns that he would fight every one of these men until he collpased. The heels appeared confused over the rules. They started to line up on the apron like it was a tag team match. Then Vince said it would start one-on-one, so Reigns started working against Owens.
They went for about 16:00 with Owens controlling using mainly chinlocks. Crowd was totally dead and seemed to be waiting for the Lesnar run-in. Finally when Reigns started the comeback, Konnor and Viktor jumped up on the apron to collect a Superman punch. Breeze ran in to get speared. New Day, Sheamus and Del Rio ran in to attack Reigns. Del Rio gave him a Superkick and Sheamus followed with a Brogue Kick.
Finally Lesnar’s music played. Cole, the genius, thought Lesnar was going to help the heels. Of course, he destroyed the New Day, Del Rio and Sheamus. The Wyatt Family just watched the whole time and simply went to the back. Lesnar pulled Reigns to the center of the ring, then pulled him up and gave him an F-5. Crowd didn’t seem to know how to react. Reigns recovered enough to give Lesnar a smirk as he left, and it’s clear that Lesnar and Reigns will be in the Royal Rumble for a showdown of some sort.
SUMMARY: Final hour was poorly booked. If the Kalisto title change is going to happen, it needs to happen next week when more people are watching. It also needs to last a few months in order to get him over. Del Rio is already getting a rematch on SmackDown. If they change the title right back, it was get Kalisto under. Either way, it does nothing for Del Rio. The company hasn’t clue one how to get him over, which shouldn’t be the case if they’re paying him seven figures.
The 1 vs. All concept was a bad idea because if Reigns was going with the odds stacked against him, why were most of the heels previously in matches on this show? And why were the ones who weren’t jobbers? The rules were vague and all but told the audience that Lesnar running in was going to end the show. Which was fine, as long as we didn’t have to wait through 16:00 of rest holds. First two hours were good.
Post-Show Notes (Thanks Collin Makamson):
– The two ‘trainers’ in the backstage segment were Wild Card J Spade and Luke Hawx, owner and promoter of the local Wildkat Sports.
– After the cameras went off, Roman recovered from his beatdown and laid out the New Day.
WWE officially announced today that Sting will headline its 2016 Hall of Fame Class to be inducted Wrestlemania weekend in Dallas, TX. He was expected to be the lead inductee this year given he lives near Dallas and that the timing worked out.
Steve “Sting” Borden was one of the biggest stars in pro wrestling during the 1990s with WCW, where he was a six-time WCW world champion and two time International world champion. He was also a two-time NWA champion and four time TNA champion.
Borden started his career working for Jerry Jarrett in late 1985 after only a few weeks of training under Red Bastien and Billy Anderson, as Power Team USA. He was discovered working in a Southern California gym by Rick Bassman, who was trying to put together a group of bodybuilders to capitalize on the popularity of the Road Warriors. Borden and Jim Hellwig, who became the Ultimate Warrior, left the camp and Bassman on their own after sending photos to all the different promotions. Only Jarrett responded, but the team only lasted a few weeks before Jarrett got rid of them.
Bill Watts hired the two based on potential. Watts had trouble with Hellwig, who quit and went to work for World Class wrestling, and then found his way to WWF. Sting started as a heel and was put under the wing of Eddie Gilbert, who turned him face just as the UWF was being sold to Jim Crockett Promotions. Most of the UWF talent got buried, but Sting was kept on as a prelim guy, who started gaining popularity.
His star exploded in one night when he was booked to do a 45 minute draw with Ric Flair on the first Clash of the Champions in 1988. From that day on, he was always considered a major star, and when Crockett Promotions told to Turner Broadcasting in 1989, Sting was considered the heir apparent as the company’s top star after Flair. The decision was to change the title in February 1990, ironically, on Flair’s 41st birthday in Greensboro. However, Sting suffered a bad knee injury in an angle building up the match, and the title change was moved to Baltimore and the Great American Bash that summer.
He remained as a top star with WCW until the promotion closed. He retired after not making a deal with WWF, but then came back for a lucrative deal with TNA. He agreed to come in 2006 and every year, he expected it to be his last. And every year, Dixie Carter offered him a new deal and he remained with the company until his last contract expired in early 2014. At that point, TNA could no longer afford him, and he opened up talks with WWE, later debuting at the 2014 Survivor Series in the show-closing angle.
Sting wrestled a few matches with WWE until suffering a neck injury at the 2015 Night of Champions after taking a power bomb into the turnbuckles in a match with then-World Champion Seth Rollins. He noted when talking with Ric Flair that he requires neck surgery, although has not gotten surgery yet.
