On the chance that WWE won’t clear him to wrestle in WWE: “Yes, there is that chance. But I told them, regardless of them, if they won’t clear me … we’re independent contractors, in theory … and I WILL wrestle again. I am cleared by the neurologist in Phoenix that I’ve been going to see. It’s not like he’s a quack doctor. He was the neurologist for the Super Bowl … who has no problems in clearing me with no limitations. But you also have to understand that WWE is not only looking out for my best interest, but they have to look out for their company as well, and I understand all of that too. There is nothing vindictive or anything there’s just a lot of hurdles to go through at this point with getting cleared by WWE. I had a sit-down with Vince and Hunter about this and said, “Hey, this is my passion. I understand why you guys wouldn’t clear me but we only get, as far as we know, one life. And you’re not going to let me do my passion?”
On the specifics of his injuries: “Well, it’s actually not a neck issue, my neck is completely fine. It’s more of a concussion issue. And Brie was very hesitant about this whole thing and that’s why WWE is very protective over me too. Everyone is more aware of concussions and that’s why, with WWE, I don’t see what they’re doing, as far as making me go through all these hurdles, I don’t see that as a negative. They’re protecting me and especially in this era of concussion awareness. Brie at first was like, ‘Hmm, I’m not sure, given your history.’ But when we met with the neurologist in Phoenix and we went through all the testing and he said: ‘Ok, all of my testing is not just coming back good, it’s coming back excellent.’ As far as my brain right now, it’s at a level above most people who have never had a concussion my age.
“When you are looking at scores of like: Bad, poor, fair, good, great, excellent — it’s at those great-excellent levels. So all of that to say, she had gone from being very skeptical about it to being very supportive of me being able to wrestle again. And she is someone who will flat out say, ‘I’m not just interested in what happens to him 2 years from now or five years from now’ and she doesn’t care about the money or anything like that, she is interested of where I’m at 20 years from now. The deal with my arm, they told me this because I waited so long to get the surgery, my right arm might never get back to full strength of my left arm. So right now, it’s about 85 percent and it hasn’t improved much in a while. But because the nerve had been cut off for so long, there is a very good chance that that will never come back. But, it’s not like I’m feeble with my right arm. My left hand, and we’re going mostly by grip strength because my triceps strength and all that kind of stuff is equal on both sides. My grip strength on my left hand is about 150 pounds of pressure and my grip strength in my right hand is about 130 pounds of pressure. The average male my age is about 100 pounds of pressure. So it’s not like I’m ‘arrrggghhhhh poor me!’”
Eva Marie and Nikki have a sit-down chat about everything to clear the air regarding the tension in the locker room. Nikki tries to be diplomatic – in contrast to Brie, who declares she’s “done with Eva” – but once Eva says she’s coming for the Divas Title in a short while, Nikki can’t contain her bemusement and also declares herself to be done with Eva.
Nattie Gives A Speech
Nattie introduces Alundra Blayze at the Hall of Fame. Her speech is edited beforehand by WWE producers, who trim it down and remove a reference to Arn Anderson that they feel nobody would get. Nattie is unimpressed but does a great speech anyway.
The WrestleMania Tag Match
The Bellas face Paige and AJ Lee at WrestleMania. AJ is briefly mentioned but never really discussed heavily, and everything focuses on making contrasts between how respectful and hard-working Paige is (compared to Eva Marie) and Nikki’s pride in seeing how well the Divas are represented at the big show.
In a nice moment, Paige is super-emotional after her match – claiming with tears streaming down her face that it was a dream come true – and the Divas locker room all group-hug her. Afterwards, Brie tells her sister that she wants to stay. We also get some clips from the pre-show Tag Team Title match featuring Nattie and Naomi, including Naomi’s big dive over the top rope to the floor.
Brie & Bryan Can Have Babies
Also factoring into Brie’s decision is a trip to their fertility doctor, who informs them that they are super-fertile. Since she feels she can become a mom whenever she wants now, she decides to stick around in WWE.
Three weeks without John Cena, World’s Most Reasonable Man. Oddly, also three weeks without any references to John Cena on the show.
– Airdate: July 23, 2015 (July 22 in Canada) – Location: Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, NE
The Big News:
Cesaro made fat jokes about Kevin Owens so Owens beat him up.
Show Recap:
SmackDown started with the announcement of three matches: Kevin Owens vs. Rusev, Naomi and Sasha Banks vs. The Bella Twins, and Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins. Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and Jimmy Uso was the announce team because Jerry Lawler has the week off. Oh boy.
Sheamus beat Dean Ambrose via pinfall
Before the match, Sheamus called Ambrose a coward who put himself and Big Show through a table on purpose to get out of their match last week. Sheamus said he would kick Ambrose’s arse and called himself the next WWE Champion. Ambrose said Sheamus does look stupid.
Sheamus worked over Ambrose’s leg, body slamming him leg-first into the ropes, as well as using a stretch muffler and half crab. Ambrose came back with a rebound clothesline, jabs and a suicide dive. After hitting a flying elbow, Bray Wyatt came out on the stage and Luke Harper appeared on the announce table.
Ambrose went after Harper but ate a Brogue kick on the outside. Sheamus finished him off with a second Brogue kick for the win. No Roman Reigns, who wasn’t on the show at all. Perhaps they should’ve mentioned this. The crowd liked Ambrose.
They recapped what happened last week between Stardust and Neville, again using comic book graphics to tell the story. Backstage, Neville told Jo-Jo that Stardust isn’t a villain, he’s a coward. He said Stardust can’t hold him down and the Altitude Era is now. The TV behind Jo-Jo suddenly switched to a shot of Stardust who was giggling and doing that thing with his hands.
Neville beat Adam Rose via pinfall
No Rosa Mendes. Rose got the heat immediately but was caught with a forearm after trying a suicide dive. Neville followed up with kicks, an Asai moonsault and Red Arrow for the win. Not much of a match.
As Neville celebrated, Stardust showed up on the screen. I’m not sure what he said, but there were two main takeaways: One, he referenced Dusty Rhodes again when he said his hand was reaching out to Neville’s. Two, Stardust had a somewhat subtle reference to Stephen Amell. (Stardust held up green party favour and said it doesn’t matter what colour the “arrow” is — referring to both Neville’s finisher and Green Arrow.)
They aired a video package for Sasha Banks. The best part of this was that Banks was allowed to explain her side of things and why she thinks she’s the best. They should air this on Raw, and they should do this kind of thing more often in general.
King Barrett came out on the stage for a quick promo. He said if you come at the King, you best not miss. Those weren’t his exact words. Barrett finished by saying his crowning moment has yet to come. This was fine.
Rusev beat Kevin Owens via countout
One of the commentators said Owens has had an incredible week. (He lost twice in two nights.) Owens cut a promo saying that all he has heard since Sunday is “Tap Owens, tap.” Owens said that’s not what happened. Owens gave John Cena the fight of his life and decided to live to fight another day because he has a family to think about.
He moved on to the match from Raw, explaining that Rusev couldn’t decide which Lana he wanted to go to second base with, which cost them the match. Rusev came out immediately to attack Owens.
After a break, Owens had control of the match and hit a cannonball. As Owens struggled to pull Rusev away from the ropes, he yelled “Lose some weight!” Rusev eventually came back with a spinning heel kick and superkick (he was booed). Rusev went for the Accolade but Owens rolled out of the ring and took the countout loss.
Backstage, Cesaro told a male interviewer it feels right that he has a match with Seth Rollins tonight. Cesaro said he has sacrificed a lot to get here — sleeping on floors, missing his best friend’s wedding, and not spending Christmas with his family in 11 years. Cesaro said he loves this business and the American dream never dies.
Owens showed up and mocked Cesaro. Owens said nobody cares about his dreams or that Cesaro abandoned his family. Cesaro called Owens the expert on abandoning since he abandons half his matches.
Cesaro also asked Owens if he just came from catering. Owens said he was heading to catering now to watch Cesaro lose to Rollins. Cesaro told Owens not to choke on his food, like he choked against Cena. Fat joke aside, this was really good.
Bellas worked over Naomi briefly until she tagged out to Banks. Brie took Banks down easily with a single kick to the gut and Nikki followed with a low dropkick. Brie went for a running knee but Tamina pulled Banks out of the ring and superkicked Brie (she missed, actually).
After a break, Naomi and Banks worked over Brie, and Nikki got the crowd to rally behind her. What the hell? Nikki made the hot tag and used a terrible Alabama slam on Naomi.
Nikki tried a Rack Attack but Banks took her down with a “spear.” Brie knocked Banks out of the ring and Fox took out Tamina with a “spear” of her own. Naomi missed a Rear View and Nikki hit a forearm and Rack Attack for the win. Crowd cheered Nikki.
This was your average WWE women’s tag match and the finishing sequence was a mess. The Bellas were 100% babyfaces, which is dumb as hell.
They aired a good video package for Lesnar vs. Undertaker. Also, Cesaro was announced for Tough Enough next week.
Non-title: WWE Champion Seth Rollins beat Cesaro via pinfall
Rollins dodged an uppercut and hit a running knee and suicide dive to gain control. Cesaro caught Rollins off the top and hit a belly-to-belly suplex, followed by an uppercut parade. Rollins countered a superplex into a turnbuckle powerbomb, but Cesaro came back by applying a sharpshooter.
Rollins tried to get to the ropes, so Cesaro put him in a crossface. Rollins got to the ropes but Cesaro followed with a pop-up uppercut for a near fall. Rollins bailed a grabbed his title, but Cesaro cut him off with a running uppercut.
Cesaro tried a big swing but Rollins poked him in the eye, which the referee missed, and Rollins followed with a Pedigree for the win. Good match.
As Rollins left, Kevin Owens walked out to the ring. Owens attacked Cesaro and left him laying with a pop-up powerbomb.
Final Thoughts:
Not much of a show but the main event was good. Cesaro vs. Owens should be fun, assuming that’s the direction. Also, I’m glad they did a video package for Sasha Banks but the tag match was a step back. The revolution will be slow and plodding.
The Big News: Kevin Owens punched Mr. Regal during the contract signing for his match at NXT Takeover.
Show Recap:
– The show opened with the first live appearance by the new NXT Champion! Finn Balor is here, kicking off the show. It should be noted that except for Sami Zayn (due to a storyline injury) the new NXT Champion has kicked off the next show they taped. I know that reads weird, but the last two weeks’ shows were taped before Finn won the belt.
The crowd went nuts, chanting “You deserve it”. Jeremy Borash’s little brother Greg Hamilton conducted an in-ring interview. Finn said he has been competing all over the world for over 15 years and all the difficult decisions and sacrifices he had to make were made worth it when he won the NXT Championship.
The fans booed when Greg mentioned NXT Takeover: Brooklyn. Finn said Kevin Owens hurt Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville, Hideo Itami, Rusev and beat John Cena, but he did not defeat Finn Balor. He plans on making history in Brooklyn by walking in champion and leaving the same way.
– Devin Taylor interviewed Eva Marie about her re-debut tonight. Eva thanked Mr. Regal for giving her the opportunity. Eva said this is her dream and she has been training the last few months just to get the chance tonight.
Eva Marie pinned Cassie
In 2013 Eva Marie’s debut ppv match won the Worst Worked Match of the Year award (Total Divas vs Everyone Else at Survivor Series). A rematch the next night on Raw finished 3rd and then in 2014 her only match, vs Bayley, finished high in the voting. In theory she can only get better.
Eva kept it simple and looked better than she has in the past. Mind you she is still worse than everyone else on the roster, but there was nothing embarrassing. Cassie almost won with several spin kicks to Eva’s face. Eva did win with The Kendrick.
– William Regal walked into his office to find Tyler Breeze laying across his desk. Tyler demanded a match for Takeover so Mr. Regal said he is working on it.
Baron Corbin pinned A Local Competitor
We didn’t even get a “commercial break”, but come on. You can squeeze 7 Baron Corbin matches into one segment. Baron’s opponent didn’t even get a name, but was in a purple bodysuit with blue streaks in his hair. Baron won in 10 seconds with End of Days.
Samoa Joe pinned Mike Rollis
Rollis exploded out of the gate and Joe responded by punching him a dozen times quickly. Rollis went bouncing off the ropes and ran into Joe’s elbow. Like most Joe matches this was just an excuse to see all of Joe’s moves. Joe won quickly with the Muscle Buster.
– It was announced that Samoa Joe will wrestle Rhyno in 2 weeks on NXT.
– Emma laughed at the idea that Bayley is going to hurt her. She broke Bayley’s hand and now is going to break her childish spirit. Emma and Dana Brooke hugged and the segment ended with Dana patting Devin Taylor on the top of the head.
Bayley pinned Emma (w/Dana Brooke)
About a month ago Bayley broke her hand in a match against Emma. The funny thing is she is on tv so infrequently that they could have just not mentioned it and no one would have noticed her injury.
Emma got the early advantage when by attacking Bayley from behind when Bayley went to throw her slap bracelet into the corner of the ring. Emma’s offense centered around Bayley’s injured hand. The announcers never mentioned that if Bayley’s hand is injured she wouldn’t be able to use a proper grip for the Belly to Bayley Suplex.
Bayley ignored her hand pain and gave Emma a series of Polish Hammers, but couldn’t keep Emma down. Dana Brooke yanked on Bayley’s arm, which for some reason was not a disqualification. Instead the ref sent Dana to the back.
They reversed roll ups and Bayley won with the Belly to Bayley. Go figure.
– Bayley cut a post match promo saying she wants to be Women’s Champion and wants a match with Charlotte to prove she is ready.
– Some New Girl interviewed Charlotte. She enunciates her words worse than Eden ever did. Charlotte nearly cried about getting the chance to be on Raw, but did accept Bayley’s challenge. Dana walked in and said Charlotte’s gotten chance after chance but she always messes it up. Dana said she never got a chance because she doesn’t have a famous last name, but is going to make a statement by beating Charlotte.
So Charlotte agreed to wrestle Dana next week and Bayley the following week. Dana looked like she was going to pat the New Girl on the head, but didn’t.
The Vaudevillains vs Angelo Dawkins & Sawyer Fulton
The #1 Contenders are here to do battle with Dawkins & Fulton. Fulton got a haircut and a more aggressive game plan. As always, Dawkins and Fulton looked good, this time getting the heat on Gotch. Dawkins went to give Gotch a side suplex, but Gotch lifted up his own foot to kick Angelo in the head.
English got the hot tag and quickly the top contenders won with the Whirling Dervish.
– Next week: Blake & Murphy vs The Vaudevillains for the tag team titles!
– Blake & Murphy were mockingly clapping for their foes backstage. Blake actually bleached his hair so now they look different, but he needs to either shave his beard or bleach it as well.
– Up next was the MAIN EVENT CONTRACT SIGNING! William Regal oversaw the signing between NXT Champion Finn Balor and Kevin Owens. When Mr. Regal mentioned Brooklyn 398 people booed, while two people, who probably live in Brooklyn, stood and applauded.
Owens tried to intimidate Balor by pointing out he is in the position of defending the title in the biggest match in NXT history. He heeled on the crowd by pointing out it was in Brooklyn. Owens ran down all of his accomplishments that he did in his first 6 months in WWE.
In Brooklyn he is going to show all these idiots that Japan was a fluke when he becomes the first ever 2-time NXT Champion and take Finn Balor out for good. Finn’s reply is he is going to take Kevin’s words and shove them down his throat. They both signed, Mr. Regal signed, indicating he witnessed this and the match is official.
You’ll never believe what happened next. Owens attacked Balor and the signing broke down into violence. Shockingly Balor got the better of it, however Mr. Regal tried to pull Owens off, so Kevin punched him in the face. Finn sent Owens packing twice as the show went off the air.
So, that’s it for this week. What will Mr. Regal say about being punched? How much more can the crowd boo Brooklyn? Will we have new tag team champions? Only one way to find out. Until next week, make sure to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
Whatever happened to real superstars in WWE? I don’t mean “Superstars.” I mean real stars like Austin, The Rock, Hogan. Names that aren’t recognised only in pro wrestling circles.
Every once in a while in the WWE, someone comes along who looks like they just might do it. Until the WWE pulls the rug out from under them because of solid reasons like “he doesn’t have the right look” or ” he’s missing something.”
Kevin Owens had one of the greatest main roster debuts in a long time when he laid out John Cena on Raw. He went on to defeat Cena at Elimination Chamber in his first main roster match, and one of the best WWE matches of the year. A star is born, or so it seemed. He would go on to lose the rematch at Money in the Bank. Ok, even-stevens booking and all that. It’s just one loss. A small loss of steam but nothing that can’t be fixed. But wait, next he loses the NXT title in Japan to Finn Balor. That’s fine I guess. He’s on the main roster now, so he doesn’t really need that title anymore. But it doesn’t stop there, does it? Owens then loses another match to John Cena at Battleground. Goodbye, steam. The fire is out. It’s clear who we’re supposed to view as the top guy and who’s just a guy – a guy that can put on a great match when called for, but still just a guy. Oh, do you still have some hope left? Let me crush that for you. Just in case it hadn’t been made crystal clear that Owens isn’t this break out superstar we thought (I thought/hoped) he was going to be when he defeated Cena at Elimination Chamber, on Raw his “just another guy” status was cemented as he ran out with the other “just another guys” to break up the brawl between two real, legitimate superstars.
Yes, he was still in the main event of Raw. He’s not “getting buried” or anything that drastic. He’s having great matches and has a nice, comfortable spot on the roster. He’s a Superstar now, but he’s not a superstar. He’s gone from defeating the biggest name in the company, to losing consecutive big time matches, to becoming just another mid-carder (upper mid-carder for now at least) in the sea of mid-carders in the Mid-card Era. Who needs superstars, anyway?
Then there’s Samoa Joe, who came into NXT like a house on fire, stepping up to and challenging then NXT champion, Kevin Owens. They had a match. He didn’t win the title. He had another shot in a three-way match with Owens and Balor. Again, he was not successful. And with that, Samoa Joe is out of the NXT title picture. His first post title picture singles match on NXT was against Axel Tischer. Come again? Ok, it’s probably just a squash match to pass the time until his next big program. Oh, he’s feuding with Baron Corbin now. The “Lonely Wolf” himself. Hmm, that seems like a bit of a step down from a title program with Kevin Owens. By “bit of a step down” I mean a giant plunge into mid-cardery.
I see how it works now, WWE. First you give these guys exciting, big time feeling debuts. Make us believe they’re something (superstars) that they’re not. Or I should say not going to be allowed to be. Then you slot them nicely in with the other great hands/put over guys. Cesaro, Luke Harper, Rusev, you’ve got some company.
Honestly, it’s not the end of the world. Owens and Joe are playing their respective roles in the company just like everyone else. They’re getting paid and getting exposure. They’re in the “big leagues” now, and that’s neat. I think I’m just longing for the days when wrestling had superstars. Sometimes a guy like Kevin Owens comes along with all his talent and charisma and I think for a second that this guy is going to break out from the pack. That he’s not going to doggy paddle around in the pool of WWE Superstars, and instead is going to become a real life, old-fashioned star. Then I see him breaking up brawls between two real life, old-fashioned stars, and I remember that this is the WWE, and this is the Mid-card Era. No stars allowed.
Last week saw the contestants challenged to cut promos on each other, an appearance by King Barrett, and a clash between Patrick and Josh. The entire episode felt like a setup for Sara Lee to gain sympathy from the voters, and gain some fans with her passionate promo during eliminations. We also saw the re-introduction of Chelsea who was brought back from the try-outs after Dianna left the show. Gabi was eliminated, and flat out admitted she was glad and wanted to go home.
Tonight’s episode opens up with the hosts briefly speaking with the judges, and introducing Big Show who said he would be showing the male contestants what it’s like to be in the ring with a giant. We switch it up and show the reactions of the contestants at the barracks, post-elimination last week. Patrick has become quite arrogant, so ZZ takes him aside and tells him he needs dial it back because he’s changed since the start of the competition.
The first challenge is an obstacle course. Given a year, I don’t think Big Show could make through this course. The police and Natalya show up, with some of the officers to run the course with the contestants, as well as enforce the rules. Tanner ends up coming in first place for the guys, while Giorgia comes in first place for the girls. Tanner actually goes back to help Patrick who is struggling with the rope climb. Patrick turns heel when he sees ZZ struggle with the first part of the course and calls him pathetic instead of helping him. Chelsea and Amanda are the last female contestants left, and struggling with climbing the rope. The other women cheer them on, but Chelsea falls at the very top and hurts her ankle; neither finish the challenge.
Back to the judges, they comment on how everyone did, including Paige who is impressed with Sara Lee for once. Billy Gunn points out Tanner’s humility by helping the others after winning. Chelsea didn’t break her ankle, but it’s badly strained. The doctor tells her she’ll need a month to heal. The girls talk a bit of trash about Sara Lee, and are not impressed with Chelsea’s chances with how her ankle looks. Josh, a bit distraught after failing at the competition, lifts his spirits by calling to talk with his daughter. Chelsea talks to Sara Lee, confessing what the doctor told her. Patrick starts shouting at ZZ, saying if ZZ beats him, the competition is a joke. The judges comment, saying neither ZZ nor Patrick are coming off well.
Sara Lee lets Chelsea’s secret out. Giorgia blurts out that Sara Lee told her she couldn’t do any physical activity for a month, and then breaks out in some questionable crying for Chelsea. Billy Gunn asks her flat out what she’s going to do, and Chelsea sits out the next challenge. The challenge is to do body slams, with the loser doing squats while praising his or her opponents. Mada ends up winning the competition for the men, with Giorgia winning for the women.
Sara Lee gets into an argument with Giorgia over letting her secret slip. Amanda joins in to shout at Sara Lee as well. Back to the live show, Big Show is going to give each of the male contestants chops with no shirt on. Big Show takes some time to talk trash before giving each a chop; each contestant ends up with a giant red mark. Daniel Bryan asks Chelsea if she’s been cleared, which she confirms. Hulk and Paige praise Mada and Sara Lee for stepping up this week.
Picking the bottom 3, Daniel Bryan chooses ZZ, Paige chooses Patrick, and Hulk Hogan chooses Josh. They open up the voting without first giving the contestants time to plead their case, or any sort of final challenge, only giving them 15 seconds once voting is almost over. The judges decline to use their save. Josh gets 39% of the vote, ZZ gets 36% of the vote, and with 25% of the vote Patrick is eliminated.
If last week’s episode was designed to raise Sara Lee up in the eyes of the viewers, this week was the fall of Patrick. Between all the trash talk, lack of humility, and attacking fan favorite ZZ, he really came off poorly. If this vote had taken place a week or two ago, I see Josh losing the vote easily.
While not confirmed by WWE, a number of sources have noted that the company has booked NXT events on 9/17 in Houston, at the Bayou Music Theater, 9/18 in Austin at the Music Hall and 9/19 in San Antonio at the Aztec Theater.
ROH has major events scheduled on 9/18 and 9/19 in San Antonio, at the Shrine Auditorium. The head-to-head show on 9/19 is a TV taping for ROH. Austin, going against what is scheduled as a major ROH live event that will be broadcast either via iPPV or PPV, is just over one hour away.
The Raw ratings were up coming off Undertaker’s return at Battleground on Sunday night, but probably not by as much as expected.
The show did 3.79 million viewers, up 250,000 from last week, although last week was the second lowest number for a summer non-July 4th Raw since 1997.
The second hour, with the Lesnar-Undertaker angle, did the best, but once it was made clear they were gone, the audience dropped significantly.
