Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s coverage of the 2015 Survivor Series from the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The show is headlined by the Undertaker and Kane vs. two members of the Wyatt Family alongside the semi-finals and finals of the WWE World Heavyweight Title tournament. In the semi-finals, Roman Reigns faces the newly-returned Alberto Del Rio, while Kevin Owens faces Dean Ambrose.
We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.
The undercard features Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyler Breeze, and the women’s division is represented by Paige facing off with Charlotte for Charlotte’s Divas Title. Their show-closing Raw storyline put a spotlight on the show that otherwise wasn’t there, so they’ll probably be motivated to have a great match and make people forget that whole thing ever happened.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez, Dave Meltzer and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back tonight to talk all the major stories from the weekend: Survivor Series and ISIS, what the company is saying about it, preview of the PPV with predictions on all the matches, La Sombra to WWE, TNA to POP TV, UFC results from Saturday night, Bellator notes and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Sign up for an F4Wonline.com subscription to listen to Dave and Bryan later on tonight on Wrestling Observer Radio where they will talk the aftermath of WWE Survivor Series.
*****
They announced Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels in the Stone Cold Podcast over the next several weeks.
ELIMINATION MATCH: NEVILLE & TITUS O’NEIL & GOLDUST & DUDLEYS VS. THE MIZ & BO DALLAS & STARDUST & THE ASCENSION
Decent match, nothing special. Cesaro was originally to be in this ten-man opener, but Titus replaced him.
1) Goldust pinned Viktor in 32 seconds with a powerslam
2) Bubba Ray Dudley pinned Konnor with a uranage
3) Dallas used the Bodog on Neville and then Miz tagged in and used the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin
4) Goldust pinned Miz almost immediately with a schoolboy
5) O’Neil pinned Dallas with the Clash of the Titus
6) This left Stardust against O’Neil, Goldust and the Dudleys Stardust tried to walk out for the count out. O’Neil blocked his way. He gave Goldust an elbow and then ran away from Goldust into the ring right into a 3-D by the Dudleys and Devon pinned Cody to win, so the face team won 5-1.
WWE CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT SEMIFINAL: ROMAN REIGNS VS. U.S. CHAMPION ALBERTO DEL RIO
Really good match, better than you’d think from these two. Easily Del Rio’s best match since he’s returned. A lot of near falls, including a spear into a kick by Del Rio at one point after Del Rio missed the double foot stomp and sold his knee. The finish saw Del Rio come off the top, but Reigns moved and hit him with the spear.
Reigns and Ambrose were backstage. Reigns said it’s going to be best friends fighting for the WWE title. Kevin Owens showed up and said,” Reigns always comes close and Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt stopped him from winning the title and now I’m beating your little buddy Dean and you’re going to come this close again but tonight’s the Kevin Owens show.” The crowd cheered that a lot. Reigns said Owens is a guy who runs his mouth but he’s going to go out to the ring and get his ass whipped by Ambrose.
WWE CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT SEMIFINAL: DEAN AMBROSE VS. INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION KEVIN OWENS
Another really good match. Amborse used a tope, then a second one and Owens dumped him on the announcers table. In the ring, Owens used two superkicks, went for the pop up power bomb but Ambose reversed into a huracanrana, and followed with Dirty Deeds for the pin.
So the finals, as expected is Reigns vs. Ambrose.
ELIMINATION MATCH: TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS THE NEW DAY & KING BARRETT & SHEAMUS VS. LUCHA DRAGONS & USOS & RYBACK
1) Sin Cara pinned Barrett with a senton into the ring
2) Kingston & Woods double-teamed and pinned Jimmy Uso
3) Sheamus pinned Sin Cara with a brogue kick
4) Jey Uso pinned E with a splash off the top rope
5) Woods & Kingston left with Big E, who was acting like he was injured6) This left Sheamus alone with Kalisto, Ryback and Jey. They went a long time until Jey hit a superkick on Sheamus, Kalisto used huracanrana and Ryback pinned him after the shell shock.
Match was good. Last fall went too long with the story they were telling, kind of died off. The crowd loved the New Day so that was part of it as they lost interest after they left.
DIVAS CHAMPION CHARLOTTE VS. PAIGE
They gave them time to have the kind of match they’d have in NXT. It was good. The highlight was Charlotte spearing Paige with her running on the barricade tackling Paige, standing on the barricade, to the floor. Charlotte won clean via submission with the figure eight.
Dean Ambrose said we knew this day would come and tonight I’m going to fight my brother, I’d give him the shirt off my back but he isn’t going to pay the bills Reigns came out and said usually I’d give you a hug but today’s not about hugs. They fist bumped.
DOLPH ZIGGLER VS. TYLER BREEZE
This was all about getting Breeze over. Short match that they rushed through with Breeze winning with the unprettier. As far as execution went, very good, but it felt from the start like they were rushing through.
UNDERTAKER & KANE VS. BRAY WYATT & LUKE HARPER
They took out Erick Rowan before the match. Wyatt & Harper did the match with Strowman in the corner. The match was all about putting Undertaker over. The crowd was more into this than any match on the show. Undertake & Kane choke slammed Strowman onto the announcers table. In the ring, Undertaker & Kane did a double sit up. Undertaker choke slammed Wyatt and Kane choke slammed Harper and then Undertaker pinned Harper after a tombstone piledriver. Not a great match but it was good as a showcase. They teased this may be the last time Undertaker & Kane are a tag team.
WWE CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS: ROMAN REIGNS VS. DEAN AMBROSE
They rushed through a 9:00 final. Each kicked out of the others big move until Reigns hit a second spear and got the clean pin. It’s early so we may have an angle coming. Really good while it lasted.
HHH came out while they had the pyro and confetti going, and came out to congratulate Reigns. Reigns wouldn’t shake his hand and speared him. Sheamus came out from behind, and gave Reigns a brogue kick but Reigns kicked out. He hit Reigns with a second brogue kick and pinned him so Sheamus ends the show as WWE Champion, shaking hands and hugging HHH.
Jim Ross reported on Twitter earlier today that Cesaro (Claudio Castagnoli) is having shoulders issues that will likely require surgery.
Cesaro was not advertised for a match on today’s Survivor Series but could have fit into the ten person elimination match.
Cesaro is coming off one of the better television matches on Raw in several months in the quarterfinal match in the WWE title tournament where he lost to Roman Reigns.
If he is to undergo surgery, that would be next on the list that includes Seth Rollins and Randy Orton as key performers with the company undergoing surgery and out for a significant length of time.
Ross on Twitter about an hour ago tweeted, “Hearing that @WWECesaro is having shoulder issues that will likely require surgery soon. If true, we wish him our best. Quality person.”
It has been twenty five years since the debut of the Undertaker back at Survivor Series 1990, but this Sunday will mark the twenty eighth edition of the annual November WWE event. While there will be a traditional Survivor Series 5 on 5 match, we don’t actually know it as WWE hasn’t announced the participants. I guess it’s not that important.
But what is important is the WWE title, which in the last month has been declared vacant due to Seth Rollins suffering a major knee injury. A tournament has been held in the last month to determine who will be the new champion, and it boils down to four people: United States champion Alberto del Rio, Intercontinental champion Kevin Owens, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. It’ll be interesting to see not only who walks away champion, but just how that person winds up with the belt. Will they do it the right way, or will the Authority once again have their very own champion?
Meanwhile, it is the 25th anniversary of the Undertaker, so the dead man will be in action alongside Kane taking on the team of Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman. Wyatt has rekindled his feud with Undertaker and Kane in the last month, taking away their amazing ability to summon lightning and fire and all sorts of other fun magic tricks. Will Kane and Undertaker reign supreme, or will Wyatt’s magic powers run dry?
Bryan Rose: I’m already feeling like Breeze is just a guy in the midcard. Granted, with his gimmick there’s not going to be any real opportunity at the top but in his first match against Ambrose he got pinned clean. He’s won matches since then, but I think this is an important match for Breeze. Either he beats Dolph clean and gets some momentum, or Ziggler pins him and we’re just kind of filling time on Raw from this point forward. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and go with Breeze for this one, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they go the other way either.
Prediction: Tyler Breeze
Kyle S. Johnson: The build to this match was bisected by the impromptu WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament, and everything feels pretty tepid going into Sunday. Story aside, it will be interesting to see what kind of chemistry these two have, and this could wind up being a fun little match to get the show rolling. Both guys are coming off of losses in the tournament, but Breeze could probably use the win more so as to establish some kind of footing on the main roster. I expect either Prince Pretty picking up the victory via heelishness/Summer Rae chicanery or Ziggler getting a DQ win to get more heat on Breeze, with either result extending the feud into the end of the year.
Prediction: Tyler Breeze
Jeremy Peeples: This has had a fun mid-card build, but not very noteworthy for either guy. Dolph is the established guy, and as a former World champion, it seems odd to peg him as the loser here, but Tyler needs the win more.
Prediction: Tyler Breeze
James Cox: I watched these two live at the house shows a few weeks ago and they work well together. Breeze needs to connect more with the crowd and so a win here makes a lot of sense. His start on the main roster has been stuttering so they need to keep him strong now and see what he can really do. I don’t imagine Ziggler has a problem continuing this feud or putting him over at this stage.
Prediction: Tyler Breeze
Steve Khan: WWE picks random moments to protect Dolph Ziggler and I could see this being one of them. However, they obviously need something new and Breeze is definitely that. Ziggler will get his win back later but I think Breeze does pick up the win here with help from Summer Rae. The match has potential but I worry about it getting enough time.
Prediction: Tyler Breeze
Paul Fontaine: Breeze needs the win alot more than Ziggler does. They need to make new stars and Breeze has as much of a chance as anyone else to catch on. At least the act with he and Summer is different. Don’t see any reason to think there will be anything but a win for Breeze here.
Bryan Rose: Boy, this has been the source of much chatter this week, hasn’t it? I won’t go into the details of the angle that closed off Raw Monday because it’s been talked about to death and I pretty much agree with how tasteless and stupid it was. With that said, this Diva’s Revolution they like to talk about on a weekly basis feels flatter and flatter each week. Charlotte has been bland as a face and Paige has turned so many times in the last year it’s hard to feel anything about her. I still think they’re invested in making Charlotte the big star of the division (which is kind of funny considering Sasha Banks has been called up, but there’s politics here) so I say she retains.
Prediction: Charlotte
Kyle S. Johnson: The story of this match was torched on Monday in what should go down as one of the company’s most tactless, disgusting moments of the past decade. Everything about turning this story to hinge on the very real death of Reid Fliehr leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and that taste only gets worse the more with every successive revelation of just how negligently this thing was handled. While it will by no means compensate for that horrid angle, Charlotte and Paige can turn a lot of the focus toward a positive if they are allowed to go out and put on a great match. Expect Charlotte to get a victory, hope that nothing more is done to invoke Reid’s name, and understand that the artificial Divas Revolution is done.
Prediction: Charlotte
Jeremy Peeples: Raw destroyed the buildup for this feud, which already wasn’t anything special. Paige would benefit more from having the title than Charlotte, who feels like she has no momentum even with the title – but after Monday, Charlotte is definitely winning.
Prediction: Charlotte
James Cox: I’ve gone back and forth on this one. As I have booked it, this show doesn’t have many surprises yet and, whether good or bad, this angle got attention. If they put Paige over, it would stink given the way they treated the Flair family but it could also lead to some serious heat. After the apology and statements were issued I kind of assumed that they’ll just put Charlotte over in the end.
Prediction: Charlotte
Steve Khan: Charlotte can’t lose the belt after what happened on Monday. I guess we’ll find out how stubborn they are. Either Charlotte wins or she goes nuts and it ends in a DQ or no contest. The match itself seems secondary so I don’t expect much from this.
Prediction: Charlotte
Paul Fontaine: I have a funny feeling, and I really hope I’m wrong, that somehow Charlotte is going to get punished for all of the heat for this angle involving her brother’s death. Paige would probably make a better champion than Charlotte right now anyway as she’s the more complete performer.
Prediction: Paige
The Brothers of Destruction vs. Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman
Bryan Rose: The Undertaker and Kane win. Wyatt and his group continue to be spooky time magicians for the foreseeable future. Not the most compelling feud of all time.
Prediction: Brothers of Destruction
Kyle S. Johnson: What the hell was this build? Apparently, WWE’s best idea for celebrating a quarter-century of The Undertaker was to force the audience to relieve a hodge-podge of some of his worst feuds from the past 25 years. The only thing missing here was having the entire mid-card come out to stuff ‘Taker in a casket; but then, that might have actually succeeded in making The Wyatts look like a legitimate threat. Luke Harper deserved to be in this match, but it’s understood that Strowman must be made credible, and this match theoretically gives him that rub. Undertaker and Kane should win because it’s been shown repeatedly that they are neither intimidated nor threatened by The Wyatts, but things could go the other way if someone has the bright idea to make Bray and company look strong for a change. There’s the possibility that they could feed Braun the win here to set him up for Undertaker at Wrestlemania, but good god, please no. I’ll take Undertaker and Kane in what has the potential to be a real plodder.
Prediction: Brothers of Destruction
Jeremy Peeples: It’s Undertaker’s 25th anniversary in the company and he’s been the focus of all advertising, so after a month of baffling buildup, it’s clear who’s winning this one.
Prediction: Brothers of Destruction
James Cox: They have a heel that they could do something with in Bray Wyatt and he is creating a stable around him and yet they’re going to beat him again on ppv. Let’s not forget that The Undertaker already beat him at WrestleMania. This ought to be placed halfway through the card and set up something for later down the road. I don’t see this being any good at all. What a terrible anniversary gift.
Prediction: Brothers of Destruction
Steve Khan: There’s no way Undertaker should lose to a dead act, especially on this night. The match itself should be fun. I can see Luke Harper and Bray Wyatt being the two opponents, because pretty much every other combination would be a disappointment. Undertaker can pin Harper, which would allow this feud to continue, or (hopefully) die while sort of saving Bray.
Prediction: Brothers of Destruction
Paul Fontaine: 25 years of the Undertaker, 25 months of mind-numbingly terrible Bray Wyatt storylines. This adds up to hopefully a quick and decisive win for the Brothers of Destruction. I just hope to God that they don’t have Kane turn on his brother and have them feud leading up to Mania.
Prediction: Brothers of Destruction
WWE Title Tournament Semifinal: Roman Reigns vs. Alberto del Rio
Bryan Rose: It’s so funny that one month after his big return, you can already tell by the body language that Alberto del Rio wishes he were anywhere but on WWE television with this going nowhere gimmick with Zeb Coulter. I mean, if it weren’t for this tournament they were going to put him with Jack Swagger. Seriously. I just don’t get their creative sometimes, it baffles the mind. I’m pretty sure unless something completely unexpected happens Reigns wins here.
Prediction: Roman Reigns
Kyle S. Johnson: Remember a few weeks ago when the returning Alberto del Rio was suddenly one of the hottest guys on the roster? In just a handful of shows, WWE’s insistence on booking del Rio in the most ludicrous manner possible has seemingly relegated him back to the exact same spot he was in before he left the company. He’s receiving apathetic crowd reactions, and who can blame the audience? This storyline with Zeb and MexAmerica is going nowhere, and if WWE is smart, they’ll scrap it with the quickness and set Alberto along a new path. Oh, and he has an approximate zero percent chance to win this match. Perhaps even a negative one percent chance, if that’s even possible. As long as Reigns doesn’t make the inexplicable decision to scale the top rope, he should be fine.
Prediction: Roman Reigns
Jeremy Peeples: Alberto hasn’t dropped a match since returning, but Roman’s the chosen one, so it’s Alberto destiny to lose this one.
Prediction: Roman Reigns
James Cox: The clue is in the fact that Del Rio already has a title. Having two titles at once was what Seth did and then you have to have you World Champion lose to someone – they’re not going to do that again in a hurry. Surely. Should be a good match and my interest is at least piqued by the finish, despite how inevitable the result is.
Prediction: Roman Reigns
Steve Khan: I don’t care what they have invested in Del Rio, Reigns needs to go over strong here. I expect a decent match with Reigns winning. They could do something wacky and have Del Rio advance, but they’ve basically pushed this show on the idea that Reigns is fighting for the title.
Prediction: Roman Reigns
Paul Fontaine: No reason to go against the rest of the crew here. Del Rio feels about as hot as TNA Impact right now (which is not hot at all, in case you didn’t know). Reigns is the person this whole tournament has been built around. These two are likely going to have a boring match, as seemingly every Del Rio match has been since his return and Reigns will ride the negative heat he’s surely going to receive right into the finals.
Prediction: Roman Reigns
WWE Title Tournament Semifinal: Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose
Bryan Rose: This one I’m not too sure about, unlike the other semifinal. They can do two things. One, Owens wins and goes to the finals to lose to Reigns. Two, Ambrose wins, he turns heel during the finish and wins the title. Ambrose is in a position where either of these outcomes are possible, and think about it – Triple H talked to everyone backstage during Raw except Ambrose. So I’m going to go with Ambrose, as its something unexpected and makes for a more interesting and less obvious final match.
Prediction: Dean Ambrose
Kyle S. Johnson: This oughta be a lot of fun. Owens and Ambrose were already on a collision course prior to the injury to Seth Rollins, only now they’ll be fighting for that coveted spot in the finals of the tournament. Of the established matches, this one feels the most like it could go either way–Owens could be semi-instantaneously cemented as the company’s top heel with a win here and a strong performance against Reigns, but the Reigns vs. Ambrose match has been brewing for some time now. One would like to think that WWE would opt to continue that slow build to Reigns vs. Ambrose so that they can promote it appropriately, but I fully expect that they will hotshot it for the finals of this tournament.
Prediction: Dean Ambrose
Jeremy Peeples: Owens benefits a lot more from a win here than Ambrose would, although both desperately need some momentum. After being lost in the mid-card, Owens has some traction again while Dean feels aimless. Doing Dean vs. Roman feels a bit early and hasn’t been built up at all, so I can see that happening, but Owens winning gives them more to do without blowing a potential “big” feud match without any hype.
Prediction: Kevin Owens
James Cox: Unless they’re running scared because of the ratings and Seth’s injury and are making a stupid, knee-jerk decision, then Owens wins here. The Reigns-Ambrose match or even a Shield three-way is something that needs time and build. Owens is a perfectly good heel to go with for now. This could be a really good match and they can beat Ambrose clean without having to worry.
Prediction: Kevin Owens
Steve Khan: I would go with Owens and save Ambrose vs. Reigns for another time. I think there’s a temptation to do something big on this show, and Reigns just beating Owens in the finals isn’t that (which makes it a strong possibility). Ambrose is the only guy in the final four that they never showed talking to Triple H, and that worries me a little. My gut is they go with Ambrose. The match itself should be great.
Prediction: Dean Ambrose
Paul Fontaine: This is the first match, other than maybe Breeze/Ziggler, where the result doesn’t seem completely obvious. I’m with Bryan Alvarez on this one and feel like they shouldn’t give away Reigns/Ambrose without a proper build. Plus, the way I feel they’re going in the main event leads me to believe that Owens will be a better opponent for Reigns than Ambrose. This could be the match of the night, unless it’s the tournament final.
Prediction: Kevin Owens
WWE Title Tournament Final: Who walks out of Survivor Series the WWE Champion?
Bryan Rose: Dean Ambrose, based on the situation I just gave in my previous prediction. Reigns winning the title here is fine if they want a babyface going into the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania season as champion. But Vince has always liked the “against all odds” scenario where the babyface wins the title at the biggest event of the year. To ensure that scenario is still in place, it makes the most sense for Ambrose to win here, align with the Authority and wear the title going into Wrestlemania. It sets up a nice story about Reigns wanting revenge for his friends betrayal, and you have a simple but good story leading to Wrestlemania season.
Prediction: Dean Ambrose
Kyle S. Johnson: This match could involve Kevin Owens, is more likely to feature Dean Ambrose, and is practically guaranteed to star Roman Reigns. Reigns’ involvement has been a certainty since the tournament was announced, but the direction and conclusion of the tournament final is the subject of great speculation. The story that has been created in two weeks has Triple H reaching out to everyone in the tournament in the hopes that they will accept the offer to become “his guy”–an offer that was spurned by Reigns in the wake of Rollins’ injury. Should we wind up with Dean vs. Roman, this story could play out a number of ways: Ambrose could just resort to heel tactics during the match, we get a ref bump and a Triple H walkout, and Dean takes the sledgehammer (either literally or metaphorically) and becomes The Authority’s new face. Alternately, Dean could be shown speaking to Triple H prior to the match, which could serve as a tension-building red herring that leads to Reigns turning heel (less likely) or Sheamus cashing in and taking up the offer (more likely). Then again, Roman could just win the thing outright and continue along the uphill battle of becoming the company’s new face. With so many failures behind him, it’s hard to picture a scenario where Reigns walks out without the championship that doesn’t result in another major hit to his credibility–unless they are absolutely committed to drawing out the chase in order to give him that Wrestlemania moment a year later than desired. Whatever happens, here’s hoping they have some semblance of a plan to get through the six months between now and ‘Mania.
Prediction: Roman Reigns
Jeremy Peeples: Whether Owens or Ambrose wins, they’re going against Roman here. Owens vs. Roman would probably be a better match and definitely help out Owens just from making it to the finals of the tournament. Either man being in the finals should give them at least some cache for a B show PPV main event or two, but Roman’s time is coming – whether it’s the exact right time or not.
Prediction: Roman Reigns
James Cox: Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this is the right time for Roman Reigns to be the champion, but I just hope that they strap a rocket to Reigns throughout the show and keep him strong. A failed Sheamus cash-in post match would really help that, to an extent. And I just can’t believe that they would take the title away from Reigns, like they did at WrestleMania, again. The match should be strong, to finish what will probably be a three-match show with some fairly mediocre stuff in between.
Prediction: Roman Reigns
Steve Khan: If Reigns was super over, him winning the title clean against whoever would be fine and everyone would go home happy. But that’s not the case. If he ends up facing Owens, then that’s the most likely finish. If it’s against Ambrose, which is my prediction, that’s where it gets interesting. I really feel like Reigns should turn, because even if there’s a large group of people who like him, the ceiling as a babyface is low at the moment. If it’s Ambrose vs. Reigns, one of them pretty much has to turn, either on this show or Raw the next night. Whoever turns, I’ll go out on a limb (I guess?) and pick Dean Ambrose. (I don’t expect Sheamus to cash in and win, because they would be bad.)
Prediction: Dean Ambrose
Paul Fontaine: My final is Roman Reigns vs Kevin Owens. At some point during the night, I think we see the Authority meeting with Owens with the idea that they’re going to help him. He gets by Ambrose with help from them although subtly he doesn’t seem to want their help. In the finals, they come out again, seemingly to help Owens but end up helping Reigns instead, ala Deadly Games in 1998 (so in this scenario, Owens is Mankind and Reigns is the Rock). Reigns is the new champion and holds the belt through Mania until he can feud with a returning Seth Rollins.
For those attending Survivor Series tomorrow in Atlanta, there will be extensive security at the show even though Federal, state and local law enforcement authorities have stated that there is no specific or credible information regarding a threat.
Fans are encouraged to arrive early. Doors will open one hour earlier than originally scheduled, at 6 p.m., so there can be more security precautions at the door.
Fans are encouraged to use MARTA, which is the local public transportation, to attend the event. Due to security concerns, the arena will not allow any bags to enter the building.
Earlier today a publication called the International Business Times cited the online group known as Anonymous as discovering the Philips Arena and Sunday’s Survivor Series as one of several possible worldwide ISIS threats that day.
As word of a possible target from ISIS started circulating Saturday morning, WWE is undeterred about putting on Survivor Series Sunday in Atlanta, GA.
A publication called the International Business Times cited the online group known as Anonymous as discovering the Philips Arena and Sunday’s Survivor Series as one of several possible worldwide ISIS threats that day.
PW Insider posted a short statement WWE made to them regarding the possiblity of postponing the event: “WWE Survivor Series is currently scheduled as planned while we investigate the matter with federal, state and local authorities.”
Local FBI authorities told an Atlanta TV station that they are taking the threat seriously, but do not have “specific or credible information of an attack at this time.” Local reporter Mark Winne has been tweeting updates today.
As of now, the event is scheduled as planned with the finals of the WWE World title tournament featuring Roman Reigns vs. Alberto Del Rio and Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens in the semifinals.
Its been a few weeks since we’ve had Divas action on Superstars. The Divas revolution has meant that, much to many a dismay, they’ve front-loaded Raw with this sort of stuff. And actually, this wasn’t half bad. They start off with a wristlock exchange. Naomi athletically reverses and takes Brie to her knees. Brie flips out of the hold and uses a fireman’s carry into a wristlock on the mat. She then uses her Daniel Bryan tribute kicks, but finally gets caught by Naomi and is single-legged to the mat.
Naomi runs into an elbow and then Brie goes up top. Naomi pulls her off and covers her for two. Naomi then takes over with stomps on Brie and uses a guillotine slingshot on the bottom rope into a cover for two. Naomi puts on a rear chin lock and keeps her down with knees to the back. Keeping the lock on, she uses a running bulldog into the turnbuckle but Naomi then misses the split-leg moonsault.
Brie gets the heat with forearms and clotheslines and goes up to the second rope and hits a missile drop kick. She fights off Tamina, but runs into an enzugiri. Brie uses those Daniel Bryans kicks again but runs into a high knee and gets covered for two. Naomi then misses the Rear View and Brie is able to use the Bella Buster for the win.
Titus O’Neil (w/Darren Young) beat Bo Dallas (6:05)
Dallas comes out for a promo. He tells Titus not to be so depressed for being eliminated from the WWE World Championship tournament. Dallas says the WWE Universe thinks he wasted his opportunity and that they think he should have had his spot, telling him to Bo-lieve.
They lock up and Dallas is thrown off. Then Dallas goes for a headlock, but is again thrown off. Dallas gets in a kick to the gut and capitalizes with clubbing blows and punches to the corner. Titus gets angry and turns things around with huge open palm chops. Dallas goes for a walk, which turns into a victory lap. He runs into Young on the outside and Dallas tells him to move. Young ducks a clothesline and O’Neil rolls out to clobber him with a clothesline of his own. We head to a break.
O’Neil scoop slams Dallas as we return and then applies a chin lock. Dallas works out but is scoop slammed again. Dallas hits a neckbreaker and then clubs O’Neil to the back of the neck with a running forearm. He clotheslines Titus for two and then puts the rear chin lock back on. O’Neil works his way out and slings Dallas hard into the turnbuckle. O’Neil gets the heat with clotheslines and a big boot. He throws Dallas across the ring and whips up some support from a very receptive and willing crowd and then hits a Stinger Splash. With Dallas in the middle of the ring, O’Neil hits the Clash of the Titus for the win.
Submitted by John Carey with additional notes from J.J. Williams from Winter Park, FL
These are the tapings that will make up all the TVs leading up to NXT’s TakeOver London show in mid-December.
– Dark Match: Levis Valenzuela defeat Axel Tischer
Another great showing by Levis who mixes his work with entertainment. A highlight being a cha cha cha salsa dance with the hips before dropping a big leg. The “Fiesta” gimmick is a favorite of the local Florida fans.
Wednesday, November 25:
– Greg Hamilton introduces Michael Cole to a chorus of booos before the crowd lightens up a bit, Michael informs us that William Regal is recovering from a successful surgery and management has put him in charge for the time being. Cole then calls NXT Champion Finn Balor and Samoa Joe out for their contract signing. They have a seemingly calm and non confrontational signing. Joe leaves, Finn makes his way up the ramp where Joe returns to cheap shot Balor, they brawl for a while until the refs attempt a pull apart and as usual this gives Joe the advantage as while Finn is dealing with refs, Joe can lock in the choke and leave Finn laying yet again.
– NXT Tag Champions Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder beat The Vaudevillains in an okay match. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady returned to a big pop to attack and beat down Dash & Dawson.
– Asuka vs. Dana Brooke never happened. Dana got to the apron when Emma in a black hoodie attacked Asuka from behind. Emma and Dana high five outside of the ring as Asuka is trying to get up in the ring yet stays down after her beatdown.
– Apollo Crews beat Jesse Sorenson in a squash match. They were building Crews vs. Baron Corbin for 12/16 in London which is the next Takeover show.
– NXT Women’s Champion Bayley beat Eva Marie to retain the title. We are told that Charles Robinson was assigned to keep an eye on this match by management. Big fight feel early on, in ring introductions with the spotlight. This match had a different kind of heat than anything in recent memory, every nearfall was frightening as this wasn’t something the people would accept if Eva won, there aren’t many matches to compare this too because of it. Early on Bayley hit her finish on Eva yet Nia pulled the ref out and knocked him to the floor as well, this lead to Bayley turning towards her being distracted, Eva rolled her up, Charles Robinson dove in and the count seemed a little fast and we got a long two count. Everyone bit as this wasn’t blatantly dirty yet it scared the people that he might be. A few more nearfall spots before Bayley whips Eva and knocks Robinson down again, Nia tries to get involved when Bayley set Eva on the middle rope for the finish yet Bayley fought her off, hit the move, a third ref sprinted down and counted the three to a huge ovation. After being announced as the winner and celebrating a bit, Nia then left Bayley laying. Unbelievable match for the way it was all set up, they took everyone on a rollercoaster.
– Baron Corbin beat Tye Dillinger in an okay match
Wednesday, December 2nd:
– Nia Jax destroyed Blue Pants in a squash.
– James Storm beat Adam Rose in a squash. Rose was out in his glasses and heel persona that he’s been using lately on Main Event. The crowd kept singing his theme to taunt him as he had the music turned off when he reached the stage. Another one sided match to showcase Storm.
– Jason Jordan & Chad Gable beat The Vaudevillains in a good match. It was a good match with Gable working some holds early, Jordan getting a hot tag and a firy comeback before the clean finish. Post match the Vaudevillains refused a handshake and walked away angrily.
– Emma beat Liv Morgan (the former Gionna Daddio) via submission. Physical one sided match here as Emma womanhandled the energetic Morgan, finish came when Emma did her variant of a curb stomp before locking in her submission. After the match we see a heavy bag on the tron while hearing punching and kicking noises from the opposite side, Asuka peaks her head from behind and says “See you in London.” as Emma appears slightly intimidated in the ring.
– Samoa Joe beat Tommaso Ciampa in a physical match. This match was violent, it started slow and the crowd was unsure how to react since Joe is still a big star here, the match took off when Joe unleashed Japanese style strikes and slaps to Ciampa, loud smacks. At one point Joe backed Ciampa in to the corned and connected with a loud kick to the side of Tomaso’s head. Joe hit the muscle buster and choked him out for a strong, decisive win.
Wednesday, December 9th:
– Bull Dempsey beat Riddick Moss. Dempsey’s comedy is over with the live crowd. Mostly comedy spots as at one point Moss wanted a test of strength so Bull got his hands close to Riddick’s yet instead of locking up would slowly lower and raise them as if they were doing the mirror spot. Some wacky stuff before Bull got the win.
– Enzo & Big Cass beat John Skyler & Corey Hollis in a squash. Enzo hit the big splash for the win. Post match Enzo began the promo on Dash & Dawson talking about how they are a family and taking out Big Cass was taking away from his family. Cass then did an excellent job closing the promo, strong words in challenging them for the tag titles. None of the usual routine or comedy here, intense and direct words.
– Asuka beat Deonna Purrazzo with a spinning kick knockout and referee stoppage. Emma and Dana stood on the stage trying to distract Asuka yet it only made her mad and she wiped out Deonna with a kick. The heels looked on in fear before leaving, Asuka then checked on Purrazzo.
– Mojo Rawley & Zack Ryder beat Blake & Murphy. Blake, Alexa, & Murphy wore Freddy Krueger inspired gear here and were quite entertaining playing the foils to the fired up Hype Bros.
– NXT Women’s Champion Bayley beat Peyton Royce in a non-title squash match. This was the debut of Peyton’s new gimmick off the live events, a Poison Ivy type persona, a lot of impressive flexibility worked in to her mannerisms, entering the ring, even turning almost completely upside down while her foot was on Bayley’s neck in the corner. Post match Nia Jax’s music hit, Eva Marie was with her and tried to speak first but was drowned out with booos, they’ll have to turn the mics up like they did on last week’s television, Nia was able to take the mic from Eva and speak over the booing to say she’ll take the title from Bayley in London.
– Samoa Joe & Baron Corbin beat NXT Champion Finn Balor and Apollo Crews when Joe choked out Finn yet again and the ref had to call for the bell. Crews and Corbin were fighting outside the ring during the finish. Good action, nothing we haven’t seen before as they’re all gearing up for their singles matches at Takeover. Joe stands tall holding the title up while standing over Balor to close the show.
We’re told Linda and Stephanie McMahon came out in front of the fans, but it doesn’t appear like it was for anything on-air.
WWE’s official statement: “Subject matter this personal is only approved as a result of the strong advocacy of the talent themselves. Notwithstanding that, WWE is ultimately responsible for what airs in its programming.”
WWE will be releasing a statement shortly regarding Monday night’s show-closing angle involving Paige and Charlotte (Ashley Fliehr).
The gist of the statement will be that the idea of the angle came from Ashley Fliehr, that it was taken out of the show, she was insistent that it be put in, and it was. However, the company did take responsibility for the angle since it was ultimately their decision to put it on the show.
The angle involved Paige referencing the death of Charlotte’s brother Reid, who passed away from an overdose on March 29, 2013, and saying clearly Reid didn’t have a lot of fight in him. The angle has been the most-talked about story in pro-wrestling since it happened, virtually universally negative towards the company. It was done to set up a Divas Title match on Sunday between champion Charlotte and challenger Paige at the Survivor Series PPV.
Neither Ric Flair nor Ashley’s mother Elizabeth were alerted in advance about the angle. Elizabeth was furious and posted publicly on Twitter. Ric Flair on his Woo Nation podcast noted he was very upset when watching it, and indicated that Ashley didn’t have the tenure to say no to any angles or storylines presented to her. Flair’s co-host Conrad stated publicly that the rumors it was Ashley’s idea were 100% false.
We will update this story with the statement as soon as it is released.
The Big News: NXT had a bad show. The matches were mostly bad, the audience was mostly dead. I couldn’t even get entertainment from Corey Graves’ obnoxious commentary
The Medium Sized News: Finn Balor vs Samoa Joe was made official for Takeover.
The Little Beaver Sized News: In news almost as tragic as “NXT had a bad show”, Eva Marie will be challenging for the Women’s Championship next week.
*****
Nia Jax pinned Carmella
This is Carmella’s first appearance since her boys Colin and Enzo were taken out two weeks ago. After 14 months of being aligned with the most charismatic man on NXT no one cares about Carmella at all.
Carmella looked bad in this match, seemingly unable to take a bump as even when Nia ran her over, she just fell into the ropes. Nia used that jumping bear hug that is so much cooler than her actual finish, but Carmella turned it into a front chinlock. That lasted 10 seconds. Nia did miss a jumping sitting splash, but she caught Carmella on a move, used her standing uranage and legdrop for the win.
That wasn’t Eva Marie bad, but bad nonetheless.
– Alexa Bliss is tired of hearing about the Iron Man Match at Takeover and now tonight she is going to take Bayley’s championship. Alexa said she wasn’t on NXT to make people smile or have a good time (ignore baby face run). As she was finishing up a referee came in and told her that Mr. Regal banned Blake & Murphy from ringside. Blake and Murphy were upset, but Alexa didn’t get angry.
Chad Gable & Jason Jordan defeated The Ascension
The Ascension were the longest NXT Tag Team Champions in history. Not mentioned is they held the belts forever because there were literally no other teams on NXT. When I say there were no teams I don’t mean there were 2 or 3 times. I mean there was 1 team and that was The Ascension.
The NXT fans were really into Ascension, like they always were. They were so into Konnor and Viktor they didn’t reply much to Jordan & Gable, who are normally the crowd favorites. In addition they chanted “Ya ya!” to the tune of Kurt Angle’s WWE theme, as opposed to “Gable” like they normally do.
Ascension looked better here than they have possibly ever on the main roster. Has WWE effectively used anyone from NXT since The Shield? Better yet, have they used anyone effectively in their NXT gimmick? The fans kinda got behind Gable, but only enough to do a dueling chant while the heels got the heat on him. Jordan got the hot tag and even then the fans didn’t really care until he dropped his straps like Angle.
Viktor used a beautiful flying knee from the middle rope on Jordan, but Gable broke it up and hit a flip dive onto Konnor on the outside. Finally Jordan and Gable picked up the win with their move where Jordan throws Viktor into the air and Gable catches him and hits a side suplex for the win.
– On WWE.com, they announced a Survivor Series elimination match, but literally did not list a single person in the match. So with that taken care of, I want to squash a rumor right away: I will NOT be a team captain or even a member of either team. Sorry to let everyone down.
– They aired a really good video package for Bayley vs Alexa. Too bad the match is happening tonight and not at Takeover.
– Speaking of Bayley, she cut a promo stating that becoming champion was not easy and retaining the title is just as hard. Alexa Bliss will learn that it is not easy to take the championship from her and will get the wrestling lesson of a lifetime.
Emma submitted Mary Kay
Emma is here going one on one with a pretty girl with dark hair. If you have no idea why I said that, consider yourself lucky. Anyway they didn’t bother to name Mary Kay until the match had long since begun.
This match was better than the opener, but not by a whole lot. The announcers spent the whole time building up Emma’s future match with Asuka and all I could think was I don’t want to see Emma wrestle anyone. Are my standards just too high or was Emma just never any good? Anyhoo Emma used a version of the Curb Stomp before winning with the Emma Lock.
– Last week Baron Corbin cut a promo stating he didn’t like Apollo Crews before challenging him to a match at Takeover: London.
– Next week: Dash & Dawson vs The Vaudevillians for the tag team titles
NXT Tag Team Champions Dash & Dawson defeated Corey Hollis & John Skylar
Much to my surprise Hollis and Skylar were introduced on tv. Anyway the story of this match is these four men faced off years ago, before any of them were in WWE. Dawson used a really nice Dragon Screw Leg Whip and single legged crap on Hollis as the champs got the heat on their foe. This match was longer than the other squashes on the show. I guess someone realized they needed to fill time. Anyway they destroyed Hollis’ knee until Hollis tagged in Skylar. Skylar was so fricking excited, he ran into the ring…and immediately got hit with the Toss in the air/Codebreaker combo to give the champs the win.
– Tom Phillips asked Asuka about her masks. Before she could say anything, Dana Brooke walked up and she is still offended that Asuka patted her on the head. Next week it will be a rematch. Dana patted Tom on the head and it was not nearly as great as with Devin. Emma skipped in after and they secretly spoke of their plan for Asuka.
– Finn Balor vs Samoa Joe for the NXT Championship was made official for Takeover in December, plus next week they will sign the contract for their match.
-Samoa Joe put a pre-taped promo from his home. Joe said Mr. Regal ordered him to stay home just in case Finn tried to retaliate. Joe said this was to protect Finn and next week when the match is set in stone he will hurt Finn and take his championship at London.
NXT Women’s Champion Bayley pinned Alexa Bliss
Bayley got, by far, the biggest reaction of the show so far. Like it was an entirely different crowd that came out for the main event.
Bayley blitzed Alexa at the bell, just destroying her challenger, putting her in different inopportune situations. Alexa rolled outside to breathe when Bayley followed out and got slammed into the ring apron, finally giving Alexa the chance to take over.
The fans literally got so bored during the heat they did the “Boo!” “Yay!” cheer spot even though Alexa had Bayley in a rear chinlock. This was twice as long as any Alexa singles match ever and it seemed she was not ready for a match that long as it looked like she ran out of things to do. Alexa got a near fall with a sunset flip, which turned out to be the closest she ever got. The match built and ended out of nowhere. Bayley won with a Belly to Bayley Suplex out of nowhere. I am sure the fans were a-ok with the match being over, but sure seemed like Alexa never did anything that made you think she was about to win.
Just when this week’s episode couldn’t get worse…Eva Marie came out. The fans barely had the energy to boo and chant no at her entrance. However the did not want her to talk, as soon as she opened up her yap they summoned up the energy to boo the heck out of her. Eva eventually challenged Bayley to a title match next week. May God have mercy on our soul. On Thanksgiving Eve Eva Marie may become champion.
*****
Well, that does it for another week. Until that absolutely dreadful moment, I encourage you all to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
– Usos over Alex Rose and Brad Maddox after Jimmy pinned Rose with a splash – Naomi over Alicia Fox with a submission – Titus O’Neil over Heath Slater after the pop up power bomb.
WWE Smackdown —
– Miz TV segment with I-C Champion Kevin Owens, U.S. Champion Del Rio, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns coming out one-by-one to discuss the WWE title tournament, disagree with each other, and the usual. R-Truth came out to make his claim for the title, and was told he was not in the tourney. He then apologized to the faces and left. Pretty funny. The segment ended with Reigns and Ambrose standing tall after a clear out of the heels.
– Cesaro submitted Miz after Miz complained about what happened the segment before.
– Dudleys and Neville def. Stardust and Ascension after a 3D on Viktor
– Tyler Breeze def. Zack Ryder after a promo with Summer Rae. Dolph Ziggler, who was at ringside, superkicked Breeze afterward.
– Druids out, and then all four Wyatts. Bray & Strowman talk for a bit until the Undertaker’s dong hits. He appears on the screen to cut a promo with Kane, burning a sheep mask. Kane hits the pyro spot.
– Divas Champion Charlotte submitted Brie Bella (w/Alicia Fox) in a non-title match with the Figure 8. Paige did a backstage interview afterward.
– Big E over Kalisto after a big splash. The New Day attacks he and Sin Cara. That leads to Ryback running in for the save, and gives Big E a splash.
– More ‘Santa’s Little Helper’ movie promo magic with Miz and Paige.
– Dean and Roman talked backstage.
– Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns def. I-C Champion Kevin Owens and U.S. Champion Alberto del Rio by DQ when Del Rio threw Reigns…into steel steps. The faces stood tall as the show ended.
Other Notes:
– Fandango won in a dark match versus a local opponent. – Reigns vs. Wyatt in a street fight was advertised for the dark match main event, but did not happen.
