Bryan’s Still Injured: So Brie’s husband, Bryan Danielson, is still injured and vacates his Intercontinental Title in the ring to open the episode. He gets medically cleared later, leading to a series of circular discussions – doing their best not to use the word “concussion” – between Bryan and Brie about his future. He wants to wrestle so he can make them a nest-egg to retire on (and to help them with kids). She wants him to retire now so he doesn’t have health problems later on. In the end, WWE is nervous about him wrestling and it’s left up in the air, with very little resolved. And bear in mind, this was taped in the summer.
Paige Gets Engaged: Paige and her boyfriend Kevin end up in a ring store and he asks her a million ring-related questions, while she is too dense to realize what they mean. Later on, Emma goes snooping (with Paige’s permission) and finds an engagement ring. Paige panics while everybody else presumes she’ll get engaged by the end of the episode – it’s like they’re aware of Chekov’s Gun or something. Anyway, after freaking out all episode about not being ready to get married, she says yes when he proposes (via a tattoo on his arm that says “Will you marry me.”) It’s cute, but you get the impression that there’s trouble coming.
Jon Uso Does Stand-Up: Everyone keeps telling Jon Uso that he’s hilarious, so Dolph Ziggler sets up a set for him at a local comedy club. Jon tries out a set at home that’s basically him making fun of his wife. He comes up with a better set, which contains him making jokes about how handsome and ripped Ziggler is. Naomi is happy he was able to get out of his comfort zone a bit and have fun.
I swear, I think Nikki might end up being the last unmarried, childless person on this show the way cast members keep getting married off.
1. Enzo & Big Cass vs Chad Gable & Jordan. The ring isn’t lit for shit. Enzo pinned Gable after a rocket launcher.
2. Bull Dempsey pinned Tye Dillinger with a flying teabag. Comedy match.
3. Apollo Crews beat Solomon Crowe. Crews did some nice spots.
4. Samoa Joe vs Baron Corbin. “Joe’s gonna kill you” chant to start. Lackluster offense by Corbin. Joe won by KO/submission with the clutch.
Intermission
5. Dana Brooke pinned Carmela. Not good. Was wishing the ring was even more poorly lit.
6. Tag title: Vaudevillains beat Blake & Murphy. Best match so far. Vaudevillains are fantastic.
7. NXT women’s: Bayley beat Emna. Bayley got THE pop of the night. Seeing her live, her charisma and ability to connect with fans is practically palpable.
8. Main, NXT title: Finn Balor beat Tyler Breeze. Good back and forth, with NXT & the overused Awesome chants late in the bout. After, Balor took selfies with Breeze’s phone.
Lighting got better later in the show. Overall, a fun event, definitely a thumbs up.
One of the most interesting names signed by WWE this year is Asuka, the new name of top joshi wrestler Kana who was signed recently to a WWE developmental deal. At 33, it’s a surprising signing as WWE usually signs women about ten years younger, but during these last ten years, Kana has made herself into one of the top women’s wrestlers in Japan, despite the fact that joshi wrestling is nowhere near the popularity of its heyday 20 years ago.
Right now, despite some satellite TV play, it’s pretty much under the radar in Japan, and even more so in the United States, to the point that when she was signed, not a lot of people had heard about her.
What’s funny about that is that despite all of the above, she’s carved herself quite a formidable career as a joshi wrestler in a unpopular era, and even just as an individual she is very unique.
Here are five things about Asuka/Kana that you might not know:
1) Her favoritest wrestler of all time is Triple H…but she’s had other inspirations growing up.
Sure, it’s a mandatory requirement whenever a indy name signs with WWE, they say that Triple H is awesome, he’s so great, etc. But in other interviews not mandated by WWE, Kana has stated her inspirations include Keiji Muto, Akira Maeda, Volk Han, and Minoru Suzuki. Even though their rise was during a period where women’s promotions such as AJW were building momentum, she was never a fan of women’s wrestling growing up.
2) She is a product of a post AJW world.
Well, many women wrestlers in Japan are. But she broke into the business in 2004, right as AJW was on its last legs. Whereas in the early to mid 90s, All Japan Women’s wrestling was at its peak, by the late 1990s, financial issues and talent defections took their toll, and once their television was taken away from them in 2002, it was only a matter of time before the promotion closed down. Joshi wrestling obviously still exists in Japan as there were a number of promotions to come out in the wake of AJW’s downfall, but none are more than a blip on the radar when it comes to the wrestling scene in Japan.
One of the promotions that would rise under AJW’s downfall would be AtoZ, founded by former AJW star Mariko Yoshida. Although they had a mix of both new talent and known AJW talent, they didn’t last long, with Yoshida leaving a couple of years after its inception. However, this is where Kana would break into the business, wrestling there until 2006, when she had to retire. The promotion folded shortly after.
3) She’s had to retire before.
Kana might not even have been close on WWE’s radar if she had decided to continue her retirement. She announced her retirement way back in 2006 due to recurring bouts of nephritis, which inflames the kidney area. This didn’t last long, however, as she came back as a free agent in 2007 and has worked for various promotions include Pro Wrestling Wave, Shimmer, Reina, SMASH (where she had a memorable feud with former WWE star Serena), and it’s successor promotion New Wrestling Classic.
4) This isn’t her first time working in North America.
Although joining NXT means she’ll be leaving Japan for a long period of time, this isn’t the first time Kana will be wrestling outside of Japan. Before signing with WWE, she was a regular with Shimmer, working as a heel against the likes of now WWE trainer Sara Del Rey, Cheerleader Melissa, Lufisto and more. She’s also worked a bit in Chikara, defeating people just as Jessie McKay, who is also in NXT as Billie Kay. Her most recent match in the United States was against Kay Lee Ray and Courtney Rush at a Shimmer taping last October.
5) She’s really into video games.
Interestingly enough, Kana has been a freelance video game writer when not wrestling. Favoring western developers such as Ubisoft and EA, she has previously written for Xbox Magazine in Japan and has even been sponsored by Microsoft in the past, sporting the logo on her gear for matches. She’s also been a graphic designer, working games for both the Nintendo DS as well as mobile titles.
*****
It’s very interesting to see how Kana will do in the WWE. It’s a completely new style she’ll have to get used to, and she’ll also have to learn English. I keep thinking about Hideo Itami’s run so far, and although he’s not a failure by any means, he’s had his struggles. Kana might have these same struggles when she reports to the Performance Center later this month, but with the experiences she has been through, it might be an easier transition.
– Air Date: September 17, 2015 (Sept 16 in Canada) – Location: Verizon Arena in Little Rock, AR
The Big News:
Big Show beat Cesaro clean, and they teased big dissension between Seth Rollins and Sheamus.
Show Recap:
Smackdown started with a video package of Sting’s first Raw match(es). They also announced Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins & Sheamus for tonight.
Seth Rollins came out and said he would make history at Night of Champions when he successfully defends both of his titles against two legends. Crowd chanted “We want Sting.” Rollins said he would crush John Cena’s spirit and show why Sting is the past.
Rollins moved onto tonight’s tag match. He’s fine with teaming with Sheamus because he’s the man and isn’t that worried. Rollins said he keeps his friends close and his enemies closer (zzz), which brought out Sheamus. Sheamus said Rollins doesn’t want him as an enemy.
Sheamus claimed Rollins won’t see it coming when he cashes in. Rollins laughed and said it would hard not to see him coming. The crowd chanted “You look stupid,” and Sheamus yelled “R.T.H.!” — Respect the Hawk.
Sheamus said he just wants them to be friends and would love a fight with Reigns and Ambrose. Immediately after saying he wanted to be friends, Sheamus said he would be scouting Rollins and would be the next WWE Champion whether Seth sees it coming or not.
If this sounded like every opening segment ever, that’s because it was.
Team BAD came out to Naomi’s music. Rich Brennan plugged the upcoming NXT Iron Man match with Banks and Bayley. After a break, Team BAD had the heat on Lynch. Naomi and Banks did the Benjamin and Haas leapfrog guillotine spot, except they used the bottom rope.
Lynch kicked away both heels and made the hot tag to Paige. Paige used knees and a superkick but was momentarily distracted by Banks on the outside allowing Naomi to roll her up for the win. Paige was pissed and the commentators discussed how poorly things are going for Paige lately.
Backstage, Stardust said he and The Ascension would defeat Neville and the Lucha Dragons. He didn’t quite phrase it that way.
The New Day came out with their usual protest signs. Big E had a sign that said “Wait for it…” on one side and “Booty!” on the other. Jerry Lawler seemed concerned by the “Broken Wood is No Good” sign.
Xavier Woods said a table is a terrible thing to waste. He emphasized that the Dudleys were “boys” and they were disrespecting every man and wo-man. Woods said they were disrespecting one wo-man in particular — Mother Nature.
Big E wanted to help the Dudleys by having them sign a petition to save the tables. The petition was on a wooden clipboard, which Kingston said was like a mini table. They chanted “Save the tables” but the Dudleys interrupted.
Kofi Kingston (w/New Day) beat D-Von Dudley (w/Bubba Ray Dudley) via pinfall
D-Von broke the clipboard over his knee and hit a flapjack on Kingston. Big E pulled out a table but Bubba tossed him down. Woods distracted D-Von so D-Von went after him. Kingston used the distraction to apply a school boy for the win. (Yes, this was basically the finish of the previous match.) New Day ran off with a table. New Day were entertaining as usual but the match was just an angle and it didn’t really get over.
Backstage, Alicia Fox, Brie and Nikki Bella prepared for their “Bellabration.” Brie went over the checklist and Alicia said they got 298 champagne bottles shipped from France. That’s a lot of bottles. Brie said they would end up in Brie Mode. Nikki exclaimed “I’m such a queen!”
Nikki had a few crazy demands, including the attendance of “Kim and Kanye.” Brie tried to tell her they weren’t coming but Nikki wouldn’t hear it. Nikki said they should be able to handle any issues and left. Brie and Alicia looked on concerned. All three were good in their roles as vacuous ninnies that nobody could possibly like. So this was… good, I guess?
As Big Show walked backstage, The Miz handed him a confidential document. Miz politely asked him to looked at it and walked away. Show looked at the document, rolled his eyes, groaned, and tossed it away. Show’s total disgust towards Miz was amusing.
Big Show beat Cesaro via pinfall
Cesaro immediately hit a dropkick and proceeded to work over the arm. Show was able to overpower Cesaro and tossed him aside. Booker called Show “a giant guy” and Lawler said Show used Google Earth to take a selfie. Booker added something a bit more insightful when he said he’s known Show since he started and hasn’t lost a beat.
Cesaro came back with uppercuts, a running knee and flying crossbody for two. Show went for a chokeslam but Cesaro countered and tried a Neutralizer, but Show used a back body drop and a KO punch for the win.
As painful as it sounds, I can see why they protect Big Show, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of Cesaro. We know this already, and they obviously don’t care.
Reigns and Ambrose were backstage and were interrupted by Renee Young, which seemed to annoy Ambrose. Renee said she was just doing her job and asked who their partner would be. Reigns wasn’t going to tell her but did say it was Ambrose who made the call. Ambrose said she would find out when the Wyatts do and they won’t be outgunned anymore. Reigns said they would beat Rollins and Sheamus tonight to prepare for war on Sunday.
Kevin Owens beat Dolph Ziggler via DQ
Rusev did an inset promo, calling Ziggler a sissy. He said Summer wasn’t impressed by skinny abs or gift bags but she would be impressed when he crushes Ziggler in half. Speaking of getting crushed, Owens gained control after hitting a senton to Ziggler’s back. Owens taunted Ziggler who tried to make a comeback, but Owens cut him off with a DDT.
After a break, Ziggler fought out of a headlock and used a backslide for two and a Fameasser for two. Ziggler blocked a superkick and hit a jumping DDT for a near fall. Outside the ring, Owens used a fallaway slam, sending Ziggler into the barricade. Ziggler beat the 10-count so Owens tossed him into the post and over the barricade into the timekeeper area. Ziggler again beat the 10-count.
Owens followed with a superkick and went for a powerbomb on the apron but Ryback ran out for the save. Ryback tried to get him with shell shocked but Owens bailed. They announced Owens as the winner by DQ and he seemed content.
Brie and Alicia went over the guestlist for the Bellabration but realized that nobody was showing up. They blamed it on traffic.
They plugged Connor’s Cure and played a video package.
Outside of an arena boardroom, Nikki showed up for her Bellabration. Brie and Alicia tried to stop Nikki from going in, but she went in the room, opened her champagne and realized nobody was there. She freaked out and Brie/Alicia said they tried to warn her. They said they would try to fix it and left.
Charlotte, Paige and Becky showed up (the latter two in party hats). Charlotte said Nikki wouldn’t be able to pull any crap at NOC and Paige told her not to eat too much cake. Team PCB left and Adam Rose showed up to tell Nikki that her party sucked. He left and Nikki tossed away her cake, which landed on Brie and Alicia.
Elsewhere, Summer Rae asked if Ziggler was okay and asked about the expensive earrings he got her. Ziggler said he was done with the drama and wanted to let bygones be bygones. He said sometimes a rose is just a rose, but added, “sometimes it’s more.” So he’s not done with the drama.
Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose beat WWE & US Champion Seth Rollins & Sheamus via pinfall
Rollins was sent to the outside and Ambrose was about to go for a drive, but Rollins comically ducked. Ambrose just stopped at the ropes and Reigns clotheslined Rollins instead. That was funny. Ambrose then hit a dive on Sheamus and they went to commercial.
Sheamus and Rollins argued during the break but were able to gain control after each tossed Ambrose into the barricade. As they worked over Ambrose, Booker said he would not be their mystery partner at NOC and wouldn’t answer the phone if they called.
Ambrose came back with a swinging neckbreaker and made the hot tag to Reigns, who hit Rollins with a clothesline, shoulder block, Samoan drop and ten clotheslines in the corner. Rollins tried a school boy but Reigns countered into a one-armed powerbomb.
Rollins used a chop block and superkick and tried to tag out, but Sheamus jumped off the apron. Rollins grabbed his briefcase so Sheamus went after it, allowing Rollins to tag him. Sheamus stalked Rollins on the outside, so Ambrose hit a suicide dive. Reigns hit Sheamus with a superman punch and Ambrose followed with Dirty Deeds for the win.
The lights went out and they showed a Wyatt video package that emphasized on Strowman. Bray said it doesn’t matter who was foolish enough to join Ambrose and Reigns because they all fall down. This bit was good.
Final Thoughts:
This show was perfectly fine even if nothing terribly newsworthy happened. Paige turning seems like a lock unless they decide to swerve us.
Welcome to my wonderful, stupendous, one of a kind coverage of NXT! A forgotten reality show that eventually became the hottest brand in WWE.
Here are the second round brackets in the Dusty Rhodes Classic:
– Samoa Joe & Finn Balor vs Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady – Dash & Dawson vs The Vaudevillains – Hype Bros vs Jason Jordan & Chad Gable – Rhyno & Baron Corbin vs Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano
The Big News: William Regal announced that the main event of Takeover on October 7 will be Bayley vs Sasha Banks in a 30-minute Iron Man Match.
The Medium Sized News: Baron Corbin and Rhyno advance to the final four of the Dusty Rhodes Classic, which will take place at Takeover as well.
The Little Beaver Sized News: Next week Blake & Murphy get their rematch for the NXT Tag Team Championship against The Vaudevillians.
The match between Tyler Breeze and Adam Rose never got started
Tyler’s seasonal residence has taken him to Cairo, Egypt this fall. Rose walked out wearing short trunks and eyeglasses. He vowed to take a big, hot, steaming poop on NXT like the WWE Universe took one on him.
Before the match began, Bull Dempsey came out and announced he is going to beat Breeze so bad. Before Bull could attack him, Tyler cut a promo about how them being partner’s was the real accident. The other accident was the day Bull was born. Bull laughed it off. Breeze went on to say he would love to beat Bull, but he’s in the middle of a match.
Bull asked Adam Rose to leave so he could wrestle Tyler. Adam told him no, called him tubby and slapped Bull. Bull responded by attacking Rose. Adam got sent packing with a Full Body Attack. He tried to do the same to Breeze, but Tyler stopped his momentum and left the ring.
-Next week it is Tyler Breeze vs Bull Dempsey
Tye Dillinger pinned Danny Birch
Dillinger is the Perfect 10 if you haven’t heard. He also lives on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Tye is supposed to be a heel, but the fans really enjoy chanting 10.
Corey Graves and Byron Saxton argued over what it meant to be a Perfect 10 while Birch had him locked in a wristlock. Dillinger made his comeback and won with a move where he rolled Birch’s body around to smash his head off of Tye’s knee.
-Backstage Rhyno and Baron Corbin stated they are not worried about another upset from Gargano and Ciampa.
-Asuka is coming next week. She’ll get here before Nia Jax.
Apollo Crews pinned Solomon Crowe
My brother’s favorite wrestler is back, this time to lose to Apollo Crews. They started the match with a handshake and Crowe was offended when Crews offered another handshake after being schooled on the mat.
At one point Crowe was sitting on the mat and Crews lifted him up from that position into a suplex. Crowe was outside and Crews went for a baseball slide, but Crowe lifted up the ring apron, catching Crowe in it. Corey Graves could not shut up this entire match about Solomon Crowe being on Google.
Crews made his comeback and hit a whole bunch of impressive, athletic moves, before winning with the standing moonsault.
-Ciampa and Gargano cut their promo backstage saying they belong in NXT and will show why later tonight.
-Dana Brooke and Emma cut a promo with Devin. They noticed that the champion is back and a bunch of new people are debuting and it’s pushing them into the background. They plan on introducing themselves to the newbies.
-Sasha Banks arrived at the arena.
-Kyle Edwards updated us on the Dusty Rhodes Classic. He announced that the Final Four teams will face off at NXT Takeover on October 7.
In a 2nd round match in the Dusty Rhodes Classic, Rhyno & Baron Corbin defeated Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano
I swear I am going to start kicking my wall if Corey Graves keeps ranting about the internet.
Ciampa and Rhyno worked wonderfully together. I know they were both in ROH at the same time, but don’t know if they wrestled each other. If they did I guarantee it was good, just based on their interaction here.
Gargano gave both men a Suicide Dive and Ciampa dove off the top rope onto both of his massive foes. The heels finally cut off Ciampa to get the heat. Speaking of heat the fans generally like Rhyno, but they hate Corbin due to him not being at the same level in the ring as the others on NXT. With that in mind Corbin wasn’t in the ring as much as his partner.
Gargano got the hot tag and looked really good working with Corbin. Go figure. The heels went for a double team Gore, but Gargano leaped over Rhyno. After a little more, Corbin caught Gargano and dropped him with End of Days for the win.
-The Vaudevillains cut a promo building up their tournament match this weekend in Texas. In walked Blake, Murphy & Alexa who announced that they are invoking their rematch clause for a tag team title match next week.
-Nia Jax is still coming soon. It’s only been what? 4 weeks now? She does have like 2 more months to reach Glacier levels.
-The new NXT Women’s Champion is here to end the show. Bayley got a standing ovation and people chanting her name. She stepped inside the barricade and did a lap around the NXT Arena, climbing up the bleachers to get slapped on the back by everyone. She brought Izzy (the little girl who dresses like her) into the ring to do the Bayley entrance.
NXT Women’s Champion Bayley pinned Sara Dobson
Dobson took most of the match and got Bayley in a front face lock. Bayley lifted Dobson up and rammed her into the turnbuckles. Bayley picked up the win with the Bayley to Belly.
-After the match Bayley grabbed the mic to cut a promo when she was interrupted by The Boss. Sasha had a smirk on her face as she sauntered to the ring. I got a laugh that she just arrived at the building 20 minutes earlier and then put her gear on before coming out.
Sasha was here to congratulate Bayley and said that all she has heard in weeks is how they stole the show at Takeover with the best women’s match this company has ever seen. The fans chanted “Match of the Year”, which Sasha said that was great for everyone but her. She is here to be the best. Bayley is good and at Takeover she was great, but Bayley is still not her.
Bayley’s entire comeback was accepting a challenge for a rematch that Sasha never made. Sasha didn’t want a match tonight or next week. She is here to prove a point and send a message. Sasha turned down the challenge for 2 out of 3 falls and the fans caught on, chanting “Iron Woman”.
This brought out William Regal who announced the match that was announced on Twitter last week. Bayley vs Sasha at Takeover in a 30-minute Ironman Match.
-The girls shook hands and the show ended with Bayley standing in the ring holding the strap. Until next week say your vitamins and take your prayers.
Notes for Thursday’s show, taped in Little Rock, AK:
– WWE Champion/U.S. Champion Seth Rollins came out for a promo and said on Sunday he would be beating two first ballot Hall of Famers. He pushed the main event on the show: he and Sheamus against Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose. Sheamus noted that he could cash in his briefcase at any time.
– Naomi & Sasha Banks b Paige & Becky Lynch when Naomi pinned Paige with an inside cradle.
– Brie Bella and Alicia Fox were backstage preparing for the “Bellabration” of Nikki Bella’s setting the record as the longest reigning Divas champion of all time.
– WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day cut a promo regarding their match with the Dudleys.
– Kofi Kingston b Devon Dudley
– Big Show b Cesaro with the knockout punch
– Kevin Owens b Dolph Ziggler via DQ when Ryback attacked Owens
– Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose b WWE Champion/U.S. Champion Seth Rollins & Sheamus when Ambrose pinned Sheamus with Dirty Deeds.
This is one of the few episodes of TNT that feels really modern, like it could have been shot today or in the last few years. Maybe it’s the live Las Vegas crowd, or just about the time McMahon felt comfortable enough to be himself, but he’s in full Mr. McMahon mode here, yes more than a decade before this man and the character would merge on national television.
For starters, he’s wearing an off-white suit, a dramatic change from the purple, red and orange jackets he typically wears. It’s a good color for him, definitely less game show-hostish.
There really is a live crowd this week, not a make-believe one like the every other episode of TNT. Our first guest is Jesse “The Body” Ventura. Man this guy was freakin’ amazing during this time. No one could have ever predicted that he would become a governor one day, and get recognized as one of the most prominent pop culture icons of our time, but it is clear here that he has something extra.
This is the Ventura at the height of his glam phase. He’s wearing red Lady Gaga glasses, a tan jacket, tie-dyed shirt and tight black jeans. Ventura gets booed as he walks out and McMahon says “somewhat of an unfriendly welcome, but you are accustomed to that.” McMahon is such a jerk, even trying to play a face.
Ventura takes the CM Punk approach to his A-holeness and says “I don’t care.” McMahon continues the bullying: “What about your sunglasses? That’s unusual even for you.”
Ventura is done with McMahon games and goes into business for himself.
“I am a new idol for the kids,” Ventura says. “You look at Rock ‘n’ Roll today and you got all these rock stars who think they are big, tough guys, like David Lee Roth and Billy Idol and all these little pipsqueaks who don’t weigh 150 pounds soaking wet. “
Ventura I believe was injured around this time and his time in the ring was about to come to an end, so McMahon and the WWE were thinking of ways to keep him around, rather than send him back to the AWA. So he became this rock star character, complete with a song and video, that actually didn’t sound that bad.
“I got the power, I got the speed. You want to trouble you’ll be sorry if you mess with this body. I got the body, the body rules tonight. “
Ventura sounds at least as good as John Cena, and The Rock, but not quite as good as Lillian Garcia. He’s playing the role well, even if he is technically talking and not singing.
Later in the video he says: “I got the fist, made of iron, I got the body that never tires.” McMahon back in the studio says, “I think you wrestle considerably better than you sing.”
Ventura was never as witty as Bobby “The Brain” Heenan when he was insulted. He typically just barked back, like he did here: “I gave you the opportunity to debut this rock video right here on TNT and this is the kind of shabby treatment I get?”
McMahon cuts him off and says, “We thank you very much for joining us and we wish you well in your career.” Ventura looked stunned that McMahon ended the segment, and McMahon, the ultimate heel, says to Ventura: “What do you want to talk about?”
Ventura responds: “I am the greatest broadcaster in the world today. I tell it like it is. I don’t play favorites.” That’s pretty funny considering Ventura pretty much hated on Hulk Hogan and most of the other good guys as a color commentary.
McMahon then abruptly asks Ventura if we can see “the body.” Ventura popped up and walked off the set, saying “you pay to see the body.”
The live crowd, by the way, booed Ventura with every word, which was Ventura’s greatest gift. He was the ultimate heel and played it well.
Up next is Lisa Sliwa, the Guardian Angel who tried to become a WWF wrestler. We met Sliwa a few weeks ago. Clearly McMahon had big plans for her, but she eventually just sort of disappeared. She was also a fashion model.
McMahon takes us to the gym and Sliwa training with jobber Mario Mancini. God Bless Mancini. Sliwa was demonstrating her wrestling skills and flipped Mancini with a snap mare that looked about 99 percent Mancini and 1 percent Sliwa. Mancini’s lucky he didn’t permanently injure his neck with this botched hold.
Mancini did walk out of the ring after the move, leaving Mean Gene Okerlund to interview Sliwa, who said she had a black belt in karate and jiu-jitsu. Okerlund, always excellent at straddling the line between seriousness and absurdity, asked her what the differences between the martial arts and professional wrestling. Sliwa said she would be disqualified in a second if she performed some of the jiu-jitsu karate in the wrestling ring.
From the brawn we go to the beauty and Sliwa’s modeling shots. Did McMahon think that associating with Sliwa would bring the WWF positive national exposure or did he just see something in her and wanted to try to make her a star.
When they return to the couch and the live crowd, Hayes said “Wendi Richter is going to have to look out.” Maybe Moolah got ahold of Sliwa and scared her away, or Sliwa realized the WWF was not for her, but she disappeared after this.
From one major push to another and Bruno Sammartino as a guest on TNT. Sammartino is appearing the show yet again not to promote himself, but to try to get his son David over as superstar. The problem was that the fans cared more about Bruno than David. But good for Bruno for trying. Bruno sits down and McMahon doesn’t waste a lot of time: “Your son is attempting to follow in your footsteps,” and Bruno takes over.
“For a young fella, he’s really strong,” Bruno says. He claims that David can bench press 545 pounds.
Bruno came back to the WWF to get his son over and even took part in several tag team matches with David against Brutus Beefcake and his manager “Luscious” Johnny Valiant.
We go to Madison Square Garden and the tag match and the crowd is going crazy for Bruno as he’s pounding on Valiant and Beefcake. This was supposed to be a segment that got David over, but it’s not happening. Even the announcers are confused.
“David hasn’t been in the ring yet,” Lord Alfred Hayes says.
“I don’t know if his dad is going to let him in or not,” Gorilla Monsoon says. “He certainly doesn’t need the help.” Just as Bruno finally makes the tag to David, they cut back to the TNT studios, in what certainly must have been a rib on Bruno and David.
Luscious Johnny Valiant them came out on the set wondering why McMahon didn’t show the part of the match where Valiant allegedly threw Bruno into the audience. As Valiant creeps toward Bruno calling him an old man, Bruno says “This old man would have taken you 10 years ago and this this old man would wipe the floor with you today.”
Valiant then throws a blow and Sammartino who blocks it and then throws a John Cena-like right hand that connects on Valiant’s shoulder, sending Valiant over the TNT chair in somewhat of a sloppy bump. Guess it went with the Cena-like right hand.
Valiant was supposed to clear the chair like Capt. Lou Albano did when Rowdy Roddy Piper hit him, in a the same exact segment, but he didn’t sending the chair down with him. McMahon had nothing to say, except “We’ll be back with more TNT.”
Bruno and David would stick around a little while longer, but David never went anywhere, and Bruno would spend much of the next 20 years badmouthing Vince McMahon and the new era of the WWF, including a memorable segment on the Phil Donahue show, until Triple H greased his palm and finally convinced him to forgive and forget and join the WWE Hall of Fame.
Next up is Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and Big John Studd. Poor Studd Heenan just overshadowed everyone he managed and here, the 6 foot 11 Studd just faded into the background. Heenan sits down and McMahon says “you hold the distinction of being the first manager in the World Wrestling Federation ever to be fired.”
Heenan kills it with a response of “Had Orndorff stayed out here on TNT another 30 seconds I would have fired him.” The Orndorff turn was no small feat. He was a natural heel, but Heenan was so good that he made the face turn work.
Heenan says he showed Orndorff how to comb his hair and how to work out and took a “ham-and-egger” and turned him into “Mr. Wonderful.” Without him, Heenan says, he’s now “Mr. Pitiful.” Around this time, Heenan put a $25,000 bounty on Orndorff for anyone who “puts Paul Orndorff out of wrestling for good.”
Orndorff would spend the next few months teaming with Hulk Hogan against the Heenan family, setting up the ultimate heel turn, when he turned on Hulk Hogan.
His heel run against Hogan probably wouldn’t have worked as well without Heenan success and turning him face. The show ends with an odd segment held up only by Heenan and Ventura. Heenan and Studd stood on a stage ready to gong anyone from the audience whose questions they didn’t like.
Ventura and Valiant roamed the audience asking questions, but not really. Valiant’s whole schtick was to cut off any of the audience members from actually asking the questions. Ventura was just there to insult the audience.
Ventura asked one guy where he was from and when he responded “New York” Ventura asked if it is as “filthy” as everyone says. The guy didn’t know how to respond and he got the gong from Studd.
The live show really boosted TNT’s relevancy. For the first time, it made the show feel like an actual wrestling talk show, not a staged fake WWF talk talk show.
It’s amazing to watch the WWF in 1985 and 2015. In 1985, the crowd is 100 percent behind the faces and against the heels. If this show were happening in 2015, the live crowd would have been 100 percent behind guys like Ventura and Heenan. Bruno and David would have been booed out of the building.
The WWF in 1985 was a time, as odd as it sounds, of a bit of wrestling purity. The internet had not yet killed every angle before it played out. The fans followed the storylines and generally rooted for the good guys and booed the bad guys.
Lisa Sliwa is cheered here, but would have been absolutely destroyed in 2015. McMahon, however, is still the thread between 1985 and 2015. As much as everything else has changed, McMahon has been the glue behind it all.
2015’s Q4 may be a long one for WWE as the Monday, September 14th edition of Monday Night Raw did 3.39 million viewers, almost identical to the record non-major holiday low of the past 18 years of 3.37 million the prior week.
The rating should have been up because last week’s rating was caused by a show that caused massive audience tuning out late, and was also hurt by Labor Day.
This week’s show went against the regular season doubleheader debut of ESPN’s Monday Night Football which did big numbers. The early game (Falcons vs. Eagles) that ended at 10:17 p.m. did 13.56 million viewers while the late game (49ers vs. Vikings) that started at 10:17 p.m. did 14.33 million viewers.
The Big Takeaway: Sting wrestled his first Raw match ever tonight. He actually wrestled two. The first against the Big Show ended with a Seth Rollins run-in after all of 1:43. The subsequent tag team match saw him defeat Rollins with the Scorpion Death Lock. Much of the discussion on this show will center around the Dusty Finish in the Nikki Bella-Charlotte match, where Charlotte appeared to have won, only to have it reversed when Stephanie McMahon ruled Twin Magic couldn’t count as a title change. This show was billed as the “Season Debut” of Raw. If this was the first Raw you ever watched, you would have thought Stephanie McMahon was the most pushed personality in the company.
Show Recap:
The Authority came out to welcome fans to the new season of Raw. Stephanie McMahon put over the new stars they’ve created over the past year like the New Day, Neville, Rusev, and others. HHH promoted Seth Rollins vs. John Cena & Rollins vs. Sting at NOC.
Stephanie talked about Nikki Bella defending the Divas title against Charlotte. HHH announced Sting would compete tonight for the first-time ever on Raw against The Big Show.
Stephanie brought out the New Day, then started clapping them. This led to HHH joining them, which was amusing.
The New Day (C) defeated the Prime Time Players to retain the WWE World Tag Team Titles (12:10)
Kofi Kingston pinned Titus O’Neal after the Midnight Hour. O’Neal got distracted by Xavier Woods playing the trombone on the apron. Among the newest Woods spots was playing the Pink Panther theme while Big E. struts and Woods playing notes in cadence while Langston and Woods stomp an opponent in the corner. Decent match.
They showed portions of Sting’s past, including a tag team match with Dusty Rhodes against The Road Warriors at Starrcade 1988, which was Dusty’s final NWA bout before his departure for the WWE. He was wearing a striped shirt that was barely more flattering than the polka dots he would be wearing a year later.
Rollins walked in to talk to the Authority. HHH arranged Sheamus vs. Cena for tonight just in case Sheamus thought about cashing in the briefcase tonight.
Ric Flair showed up with Charlotte to do an interview with a now short-haired Renee Young. Charlotte talked about what a dream it would be to win the Divas title. Flair said he’s now living vicariously through his daughter and wants to see her win tonight.
Sasha Banks defeated Paige via submission (5:15)
Sasha Banks won with a backstabber into a Bank Statement. Tamina moved Banks out of the way of a Paige charge into the corner. At one point, Paige delivered a facebuster that appeared to knock the hell out of Tamina. It appeared referee Charles Robinson was concerned momentarily.
There was a very nice tribute to Connor Michalek to start a program the company has launched called “Connor’s Cure” during September, which is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month
The Wyatt Family came out for MizTV. They continue the gimmick that Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose can’t find a third partner for the trios match at Night of Champions. Miz was basically a babyface trying to get a word out of Bray Wyatt, who said he wanted everyone to understand regardless of who shows up at Night of Champions, they will all fall down.
Ambrose and Reigns came out. Ambrose threw the Miz out of the ring while the five men had a stare down. Reigns acknowledged Jimmy Uso was his cousin and Wyatt took him out, which he would pay for. Reigns said they have found a third partner. Reigns vowed to win a war against the Wyatts on Sunday. Wyatt’s flash went off and the scene just ended.
Sting’s next flashback moment was the Great American Bash 1990 where Sting defeated Flair to win his first NWA/WCW World Championship.
John Cena defeated Sheamus (14:43)
Good match with some good selling by Sheamus. Cena won after he no sold the Rolling Senton by Sheamus and immediately hit the AA for the pin. Earlier in the match, Sheamus attempted the Brogue Kick but Cena countered with a clothesline. Crowd was very negative towards Cena, but he delivered in another good match.
Ryback did an interview where he had to sing lyrics to “All Shook Up” that was greeted by crickets. Kevin Owens came out as part of their fledgling program. Owens talked about how Ryback read the book “The Secret” to get him past a low point. Owens brought out his own copy of “The Secret,” said he read it and said he felt sorry for anyone who believes in that garbage. Owens called the book a crutch for weak people. Owens said Ryback was the strongest man in the locker room, but also the weakest mentally.
They were arguing over a book. Then Ryback recited these scripted lines and started repeated “Feed Me More.” Ryback said he respected Owens’ path to the WWE. Ryback admitted that he fell on his face when he first arrived in the WWE, but brushed himself off and won a championship. Ryback said he went to the Authority earlier today, and said they arranged an Intercontinental Championship match between the two at NOC. Ryback wanted to how a showdown, but Owens did his usual walkaway. All I can say is don’t ever watch NWA or Memphis promos via youtube on days leading up to Raws, because you’ll be very depressed after segments like these.
What was supposed to be Neville vs. Stardust turned into a six-way fight. The Ascension are now henchmen for Stardust. Lucha Dragons accompanied Neville and cleared the ring of the heels.
There was a package putting over Nikki Bella as the Divas champion who carried the entire Divas division on her back for the last 295 days. Bella pompously asked viewers have they started their year because she spent the year started a Divas Revolution.
Charlotte defeated Nikki Bella (C) by DQ in 9:55, so Bella retains the Divas Championship to become the longest reigning Divas Champion in history.
It’s only fitting that they showed a clip of Dusty Rhodes from 1989 earlier because they booked a Dusty Finish that killed the crowd tonight as much as it did 26 years ago. They went with Twin Magic as Alicia Fox tried to interfere, which allowed Brie Bella to run-in. Charlotte immediately pinned her with an inside cradle. Flair ran down like his daughter had won the title. Then Stephanie came out and announced that the integrity of the championship must be retained, telling the referee what happened and Charlotte won by DQ, but Bella would still be champion. However, Stephanie ordered a rematch at Night of Champions where if Nikki lost by DQ, countout, pinfall or submission, she would lose the title.
You might wonder why Stephanie didn’t make this ruling when they did this same finish at Money in the Bank. The answer is Stephanie wouldn’t get a chance to stand out as the company’s main star on a June PPV as much as the “season debut” of Raw. The sad part is they had a really good match going where Charlotte sold her arm great and the fans didn’t need to be coerced to emotionally invest in the match. It’s going to be tough trying to recreate that atmosphere on Sunday.
Cesaro defeated Rusev (4:03)
Dolph Ziggler came down and tried to offer Summer Rae a package. Rusev got distracted, allowing Cesaro to get the pin with an Inverted Chikara Special. Ziggler gave Rusev a superkick afterwards. Nothing match. Rusev was backstage furious about losing and slammed the door in Rae’s face. While Rusev was inside, Rae opened up the gift to find a gorgeous piece of jewelry. She started to smile when Rusev screamed at her to come inside.
The Big Show met with the Authority, who gave him a pep talk trying to beat Sting. Before every Authority segment, do they flip a coin to determine if they’re heels or faces?
Sting defeated The Big Show via DQ (1:43)
Rollins ran in for a DQ and I was getting flashbacks to 1999 Nitro the way this last hour went. Thank God Cena came out and joined Sting in clearing the ring. HHH then did the same routine they’ve done at countless Raws after they went off the air where they ordered an immediate tag team match between the four.
Sting and John Cena defeated Seth Rollins and The Big Show via submission (9:13)
Sting got the hot tag and made Rollins tap out to the Scorpion Death Lock after Cena gave the Big Show the AA. Cena spent most of the match trying to lift Show for a slam or the AA, only to fall under the weight. Sting did a good hot tag sequence, but the aura of Sting wrestling his first match on Raw seemed lost on the crowd.
SUMMARY: The company lost a lot of fans to football tonight, if they didn’t beforehand. For starters, the Authority appeared on seven segments on this show, and was mentioned in eight. If they’re role is clearly defined, more power to them. However, it’s impossible to emotionally invest in them as characters when they’re constantly flopping between babyfaces and heels. The effort to promote the company’s efforts to fight pediatric cancer are great. However, HHH is the same person who was negative on Kurt Angle doing PSAs because Angle was a heel in the mid 00’s, so it reeks of hypocrisy. As long as Rollins is the world champion subservient to the Authority, he’s not going to get over strong.
