The go-home show for Raw is from Brooklyn and predictably will feature many appearances from most of the part-timers who currently are the most over performers in the company. A week after Vince McMahon declared that the Undertaker must defeat Shane McMahon or else it would be his final WrestleMania match, it’s believed that the Undertaker will appear, possibly in a segment with Vince and Shane.
Roman Reigns got a strong push last week, jumping HHH in the parking garage on Raw, followed by laying out both Dudley Boyz on SmackDown. He proclaimed himself “The real authority,” something that HHH and Stephanie will likely have a rebuttal towards this evening. Chris Jericho will respond to A.J. Styles challenge for a WrestleMania match tonight. Dean Ambrose, Kevin Owens, Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks and the usual cast of characters are expected counting down to the biggest week of the year.
Our coverage starts at 8 ET.
The Big Takeaway: The go-home show for WrestleMania was a last ditch effort to get Roman Reigns over. And it failed. Possibly the biggest failure yet. In a stunning example of how out of touch the creative forces behind the company is, they had Eva Marie debut as a babyface mystery partner for a team in a ten-women tag at WrestleMania. Marie was greeted with a chorus of boos. The show was mainly promos with a scattered array of matches. Once again, the best match on the show featured Kevin Owens. There were some good segments trying to build various matches, but there’s no helping Reigns at this point. At least not as a babyface.
Show Recap:
The Undertaker started the show. He said this WrestleMania will not be his last, which threw cold water on the idea he would intentionally lose to Shane McMahon on Sunday. He said he’s made it clear to Vince McMahon that Shane’s blood will be on Vince’s hands, but Vince’s blood may be on his. He realizes that Shane will fight until his last breath, but WrestleMania was his yard, Hell in a Cell was his house, and Shane will rest in peace.
Shane came out and cut a promo from the ramp to a very good response. Not to sound like Bobby Hennan trying to get over a repackaged star in the 1980s, but he looks in the best shape of his life. Shane said he was the instrument of change in the WWE, while Undertaker was his father’s instrument of destruction. Shane said next Monday night, whatever was left in his body would crawl down to the ring, leave Hell in a Cell in his rear view mirror because all of the WWE fans deserve better and he will be in control of Monday Night Raw. If Shane had to cement his legacy by destroying the Undertaker’s legacy, that’s what he’ll have to do.
Undertaker told him he needs to watch his mouth because Shane doesn’t get to talk about his legacy. Shane got in the rign in Undertaker’s face, and this had a palpable buzz. Shane said Undertaker’s legacy died two years ago at WrestleMania. Crowd started chanting “Suplex City.” Undertaker said Shane was just like his old man, which figures, seeing how from the day he was born, he’s been his daddy’s bitch. Shane threw punches that backed Undertaker to the corner, but Undertaker threw Shane over the top rope.
Undertaker threw Shane into the barricade several times, then went to clear the table. Undertaker went to give him the Last Ride into the table, but Shane escaped and hit him across the head with a monitor, which Shane had to look hard to find, probably searching for the gimmicked monitor. Shane hit Undertaker with the monitor. As Undertaker was prone across the table, Shane lost his mind, climbed the top rope and jumped off the top with a diving elbow. Crowd went nuts as Shane his made to his feet. On relay, Shane may have only connected slightly on the elbow as Undertaker was laying too far away, but Shane’s vertical was amazing. Shane staggered his way to the back, but Undertaker rose up after selling for about a minute, then got up and gave Shane the throat slash as Shane watched on.
Zack Ryder defeated Chris Jericho (1:55)
Before the match, they aired a promo from the Raw preshow where Chris Jericho said he wouldn’t wrestle A.J. Styles at WrestleMania and he would beat Zack Ryder tonight. Styles came out before the match, doing more micwork than ever before saying he would get his match with Jericho and wouldn’t leave ringside until he did.
Jericho had Ryder in the Walls of Jericho when Styles started a “Y2 Jackass” chant, which got a better response this week. It was another distraction finish as Ryder pinned Jericho after a small package. Jericho became unglued, hitting Ryder with a Codebreaker. Jericho destroyed another monitor from the remains of the Undertaker-Shane brawl, then granted Styles his match at WrestleMania. He said this would be his 12th WrestleMania, but it would be Styles worst, and it would be the worst night of his life.
Charlotte (C) defeated Becky Lynch (6:32) in a nontitle match
Charlotte won after Becky Lynch chased her into the ring, but Ric Flair held Lynch’s boot long enough for Charlotte to kick Lynch and pin her with Natural Selection. Sasha Banks was at ringside just watching. Either they have no faith in her interview abilities or they didn’t have a headset available in the wreck that was ringside, but she didn’t say anything.
Vince McMahon did an interview with Rene Young. Vince said he wasn’t surprised at the brutality of the battle between the Undertaker and Shane earlier, but an angry Undertaker is the type of Undertaker he wants representing him. Shane walked in and cut a good promo on his father saying on Sunday, he would take 40 years of beatings and turn it around on his father. He said the irony of Sunday would be Vince stole the WWE from his father, and this Sunday Shane would take the company from his father.
Social Outcasts were in the ring. Curtis Axel got enough time to chime in “Happy birthday, Dad” to Curt Henning before the Big Show and Kane came out.
Kane and The Big Show defeated Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas, Adam Rose and Heath Slater by DQ (:28)
Bo Dallas, and Adam Rose ran in to attack Kane and Show. It led to Goldust, R-Truth, Konnor, Viktor, Damien Sandow, and a host of others for a preview of the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. It led to Show and Kane choke slamming Axel, Dallas, Rose and Slater at the same time. Kane choke slammed Show last week, but there was no show of malice between the two this week.
Stephanie McMahon and HHH came out. Stephanie told the fans to get down on their knees and grovel to the king, HHH. Then HHH said none of the fans will ever have the ability to make their dreams a reality, but Roman Reigns did. He’s one in a million, someone who could turn his dreams into a reality. Crowd started to boo the mention of Reigns quite heavily. HHH said Reigns became WWE World Heavyweight Champion for 5:15. What about the reign that started after he beat Sheamus in December? HHH said Sunday would be his 20th WrestleMania, and he’s always obessesed with being the champion, and the fame, power and wealth that came with it. He became the greatest WWE Superstar of all time. After awhile, he was OK with putting on a suit and letting that fire die.
But when Reigns power bombed him on the table a few months ago, it relit his obession of being the champion. Reigns has already lost on Sunday when he re-lit the fire, which meant he would destroy Reigns’ dreams. HHH got minor cheers during his promo.
Stephanie took the microphone. Reigns came out to heavy boos. HHH stomped on him, but Reigns made a quick comeback and sent HHH packing. Reigns got booed big time as the last man standing and the crowd chanted “Roman sucks.” Reigns had a brief staredown with Stephanie before she took off. They teased Reigns spearing Stephanie, but even that couldn’t get the crowd on his side. It just gets worse for Reigns.
HHH and Stephanie were shown walking out. It sounded like HHH wanted to leave the building, but the microphones weren’t on. Usually, that means HHH gets his heat back before tonight ends.
The New Day came out to their best crowd response yet. They came out with Xavier Woods mentioning the official cereral for WrestleMania is “Booty-O’s,” which had it’s own graphic on the TitanTron. Kofi Kingston said the League of Nations would never have their cereal because no one wants to taste “Rusev’s Bulgarian Booty Flakes.” Big E. managed to pay tribute to Phife Dawg, which got a good response, saying “Can I kick it?”
Kofi Kingston defeated Alberto Del Rio (7:35)
Alberto Del Rio attempted the cross armbreaker, but Kingston turned it into an inside cradle for the pin. Highlights early included Del Rio being distracted by Woods playing the Mexican Hat Dance on the trombone. With New Day going over almost every week on League of Nations, I would anticipate a title switch on Sunday.
Postmatch, Jonathan Coachman came out to announce SportsCenter would be live in Dallas all week long. Then he pulled out a box of Booty-Os and started dancing, which Michael Cole deadpanned “Coach, no.” Coachman got mainly cheers, even though he was a heel for most of his run. Of course, he was among the people in the uneviable position of having to replace Jim Ross at one point.
They showed Joan Lunden as the recipient of the Warrior Award for this year’s WWE Hall of Fame.
Reigns started to do a promo with Young when Bubba Ray Dudley showed up challenging him to a fight backstage. Devon Dudley walked in. Reigns belted Bubba and Devon, but HHH predictably showed up to nail Reigns from behind and they all put the boots to him. Bubba threw him into a wall. The Dudleys left, and HHH told Reigns would never get the championship again. HHH placed the belt on a cart, then slammed Reigns’ head onto it to the sound of loud cheers in the background.
Kalisto (C) defeated Konnor (1:49) in a nontitle match
Kalisto won with Salida del Sol. Afterwards, Viktor ran in and took a Tornado DDT. Ryback came out and had a staredown with Kalisto, barked “Feed Me More” and left. Kalisto still isn’t over in the slightest.
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman cmae out. Heyman said he serves as the advocate for the baddest beast on the planet today. Heyman said his job was to hype fans up for the fact they’re six days away from seeing a once-ever fighter do his thing, perform at a level that not one individual could ever achieve. However, there’s one goof, geek, lunatic that always strays away from the rule, who thinks he has what it takes to perform at the level of Lesnar, Dean Ambrose. Heyman gives Ambrose credit because he’s a lot smarter than a lot of people thinks. Heyman said Ambrose think that if he takes a UFC Heavyweight Champion out of his element in a street fight and use a weapon against him, it will mean bad news for Lenar. But Ambrose has to step into the ring against Lesnar, who is fully prepared to give Ambrose the defining WrestleMania moment of a lifetime. Heyman said Dr. Brock Lesnar would perform a colonoscopy with every one of those weapons on Ambrose. Heyman said he said it 2 years ago, and he will say it again: he started to announce Lesnar as the winner of the match when Ambrose came out with a wagon with his logo painted on the side.
Ambrose pulled a crowbar, a baseball bat, steel pipe, Mick Foley barbed wire baseball bat, a fire extinguisher, a chainsaw from Terry Funk, a kendo stick and a portion of the ring steps in the wagon, then simply hauled it to the bat without saying a word on the mic as Heyman watched on in concern. Lesnar watched with his standard stoic look.
It was announced that HHH would come out later for yet another interview segment with Stephanie. I guess 15 minutes earlier wasn’t enough.
Emma defeated Paige (2:52)
A segment that totally backfired. The Divas division is now being handled like an afterthought again. Instead of teasing her return a few weeks out, Emma just showed up tonight as a heel on Raw for the first time. She’s now part of a heel team called “Bad and Blond,” also comprised of Lana, Summer Rae, Naomi and Tamina. They’re wrestling Paige, Brie Bella, Natalya, Alicia Fox and a mystery partner at WrestleMania. All the teams were at ringside. Emma won after Tamina distracted the referee, and Lana came in and hit Paige with a barefooted kick.
This led to a brawl between the two groups. Then the mystery partner for the face team came out—Eva Marie. I rubbed my eyes in amazement. Vince McMahon thought she would get treated as this conquering babyface. The fans booed her more than Reigns. She might as well have been Donald Trump in Brooklyn for all this did for her. She cleaned house, but none of the babyfaces wanted anything to do with her. Apparently, getting under on your debut is contagious and they didn’t want any to get on them. The announcers didn’t explain why Eva Marie was so unpopular with her teammates, like they’ve never seen NXT before. Just a total cluster of a segment from people too out of touch to make a coherent decision about the current product. And you wonder why Bailey stays in NXT?
Truth approached Goldust backstage saying that he wouldn’t have his back in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. Truth seems to think they’re tag team partners who have a tough decision to make when they square off in the battle royal. Goldust doesn’t understand what he’s talking about because they aren’t partners. Truth started to cry and blew his nose in Goldust’s handkerchief.
Snoop Dogg was named as the new inductee into the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame.
Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler and Sin Cara defeated Kevin Owens, Stardust and The Miz (21:17)
Sami Zayn pinned Kevin Owens after the Helluva Kick. This was a match featuring the six participants in the ladder match on Sunday for the Intercontiental Championship, so Owens didn’t want to be involved. He was more willing to let the participants to slug it out, refusing to tag in. After everyone hit their finishers on each other, Owens tagged in and tried to give Zayn the pop-up power bomb, but Zayn hit a dropkick. Miz and Stardust walked out on Owens before the finish. Crowd was big on Zayn early, but then they got bored and used the match to get themselves over. There was a thunderous chant for CM Punk, along with Rob Van Dam. and “This is Booty.” Then they chanted for New Day. Who would have imagined the most over regular babyfaces in the company would be Woods, Big E. and Kingston a year ago?
HHH and Stephanie came out for yet another promo to end the show. Stephanie started putting down the fans again saying more of what they said earlier about how fans lived their lives just like Reigns, and they always fail. Stephanie said HHH’s championship isn’t going anywhere, and neither are they. HHH said millions of dollars are at stake on Sunday, and people could take their morality and shove it.
Reigns came out again to no reaction at all. He limped outand punched Reigns in the nose, with Reigns selling it heavy from the pedigree on the steps a month ago. Reigns threw HHH into the barricade. Stephanie ordered a group of heels to come out and help HHH. with Rusev, Sheamus, Del Rio and Stardust coming out. Then the New Day, the Usos and Dolph Ziggler came out for a pull-apart. Reigns threw Miz over the announcer’s table, for some reason. HHH started to back off once a crowd formed between him and Reigns, then ran back to go after Reigns. Reigns responded by doing a tope onto a group of heels, including HHH. Bubba Ray made a catch of Reigns that would have made Andrew McCutchen proud. Fans chanted “You still suck.”
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Tonight was the final straw for a year’s worth of work. The verdict is in: Reigns is not the guy. He could have been. If he had kept the championship at Royal Rumble and carried it through to WrestleMania, there was a chance for him. But they’ve booked him poorly, putting him in a group of no-win situations. First by taking the championship from him at Royal Rumble, where HHH didn’t come off as a cowardly champion who backdoored his way to the title, instead stepping over others to get the belt, typical of his reputation. Then came Fast Lane, where he was the least favorite of the three men in the main event. At some point, Vince McMahon has to ask himself what exactly are the fans revolting against? Is it John Cena and Reigns as personalities? Or the company’s narrow view of what a top star should be? I think it’s the ladder. Now that the audience has dwindled, there’s a greater percentage of hardcore fans than in the 90s. Their mindset of who to get emotionally invested in is based on years of watching Ring of Honor, New Japan and other promotions. Inside the McMahon bubble, there’s a mentality that’s very different, as best shown tonight by somehow thinking Eva Marie would be greeted as the new Divas superstar. Instead, she was a target of scorn, the polar opposite of how the segment was geared. As WrestleMania season winds to a close, there are more questions than ever about how in touch the powers that be are with the people who watch their product, and the answers may not be pleasant.
The Big News: Vince McMahon announced that if the Undertaker loses to Shane McMahon at WrestleMania, then the Undertaker will never wrestle at WrestleMania again. Kevin Owens became the latest wrestler to get scolded by Stephanie McMahon, who ordered him to defend the Intercontiental Championship in a ladder match against Sami Zayn, the Miz, Sin Cara, Stardust, Zack Ryder and Dolph Ziggler. Building up Shane McMahon was the backbone of the show through a series of vignettes, and no matter how much Vince McMahon has lost his creative touch, this company will always have great videos as extra spice in their stew. But they served a cold dish, overall, tonight.
Show Recap:
The show was dedicated to the memory of Mary Katherine Stewart, who was only 21 years old.
Stephanie McMahon announced HHH wasn’t going to be there tonight, and fans had 60 second to get to the box office for refunds. She claimed her husband was missing the show because of front office concerns, not because of Roman Reigns attack last week. She said Reigns proved why he would never be WWE World Heavyweight Champion, because he lacks intellect. Reigns came out to mostly boos, which was not the reaction he got when he defeated Sheamus for the WWE title in December. He’s no longer walking through the crowd.
Stephanie started to dress down Reigns until he put his hand over the microphone. Fans booed him as he started to talking, and said HHH didn’t come to Philadelphia because he knew he would whip his ass all over Broad Street. Reigns said he would walk into Texas and take his championship back, and there was nothing Stephanie or her daddy’s money could do about it. Stephanie started to slap him, but he caught her hand and said “Now, I’m the Authority.” It was the right idea to put Reigns in there with Stephanie because he’s the only person she sells for, but the fans just aren’t willing to accept him as a headliner. Short segment for an opener, going only seven minutes.
Kevin Owens (C) defeated A.J. Styles in a nontitle match (19:19)
They just can’t help themselves. A.J. Styles had Kevin Owens in the Calf Crasher, but Chris Jericho came out for the weekly distraction into a schoolboy cradle finish. Of course, it was a great match with Styles getting near falls following a Fireman’s Carry Neckbreaker and a Rack Bomb. During a commercial, Styles went for the Phenomenal Forearm, but Owens grabbed the ropes and Styles crashed to the floor. Owens pulled out a frog splash for a great near fall, and later showed off the F-Cinq. The crowd was into it, but the finish took it down a level. Styles chased Jericho to the back.
Afterwards, Owens laughed about winning over Styles and defending his title at “KO-Mania.” Dolph Ziggler came out to challenge him, and mentioned “KOMania and Botchamania.” Ziggler, who just got crushed last week, as the top challenger spoke volumes about the depth of the midcard. Then the Miz came out and laughed over how Ziggler thought he could get a title shot after HHH slaughtered him last week. Ziggler brought up superkicking Miz on SmackDown. Sami Zayn came out and said he had waited for months to get a piece of Owens and wanted him at WrestleMania. Owens said he would talk with the Authority about arranging a three-way match among those three challengers, and the winner would get the shot at WrestleMania.
Dean Ambrose was taped at the Philadium bar doing a promo on Brock Lesnar when suddenly, Terry Funk popped up. Funk looked like he had lost 40 pounds since his last television appearance. Funk did a variation of his classic promos, including this one from Puerto Rico that’s the White Album or Dark Side of the Moon of wrestling interviews. He told Ambrose that if he had a son, he would be just like Ambrose. Funk gave Ambrose a chainsaw which he could use against Lesnar, and Ambrose started sawing a table to the horror of various extras.
Owens approached Stephanie and asked for a triple threat match tonight that he could book. Stephanie agreed. The trick was Owens didn’t say who would be in the match, with Stephanie assuming it would be Miz vs. Zayn vs. Ziggler.
They did a good feature on Shane McMahon and the Undertaker featuring Mick Foley, Steve Austin, Ric Flair, Edge, John Cena, Booker T, Michael Hayes and Jerry Lawler. Foley said Shane’s return was among the top three reactions he’s ever heard in the business. Cena mentioned he never thought he’d see Shane in the WWE again. The piece featured headlines from when Shane left the company in 2010 and what brought him back.
Alberto Del Rio, Rusev and Sheamus did promos on the New Day laughing about how they beat them up last week. New Day came out with Booty O’s cereal. Xavier Woods held up placards which spelled out “You are trash.” Kofi Kingston said Rusev had stinky feet. Kingston wondered what happened to Del Rio, he used to come out in a car with his own ring announcer, but now he’s stuck in the League of Nations. They mentioned Sheamus’ parents must have known how he would turn out to be because they put the word “Shame” in his first name. Woods mentioned the tag line “Booty-O’s: They make sure you aren’t Booty.”
Big E. defeated Rusev (11:06)
Big E. won after the Big Ending. Lots of activity outside the ring, including King Barrett and Sheamus throwing Woods and Kingston into the barricade, which they sold for several minutes. Big E. hit several Belly-to-Bootie suplexes. Rusev teased the Accolade, but Big E. escaped with an Electric Chair, which was impressive considering Rusev’s size. Match was good but was a few minutes too long.
Vince McMahon will make an announcement concerning Shane-Undertaker later tonight.
The Wyatt Family did a promo about a match tonight between Ambrose and Braun Strowman, who said the God of War watches over him tonight and he would offer Ambrose for sacrifice.
Aliciia Fox and Naomi did a commercial for Snickers where some male was pretending to be a drama queen. So they gave him a “Drama Rama” bar, the guy took a bit out of it, and turned into Natalya.
The Big Show came out for a promo for the 3rd annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Byron Saxton vowed winning the battle royal could change someone’s life. So far, the winner’s of the battle royal have been Cesaro and the Big Show. Exactly how have their lives changed for the better? Show said he once claimed to be the greatest giant of all time, but the true greatest giant was Andre, because he was the first giant and the greatest giant. That’s why it meant so much for him to win the battle royal last year and wants to win it again. Social Outcasts came out. Heath SLater said Show’s mark on the industry would soon be the Social Outcasts’ largest victim. Bo Dallas claimed they were a Cinderella story. Curtis Axel corrected him and said they were like Voltron. Adam Rose said Show was in serious trouble. Show said the only trouble he would have would be figuring out which one of them to knock out first. Slater got choked, but Axel hit Show with a Shining Wizard. They started to put the boots to him, but Kane came out, threw Dallas and Slater over the top rope, as well as Rose. Dallas tried to shake Kane’s hand with his left hand, but he was thrown out. Show hugged Kane, who didn’t return the favor. Show posed on the second rope, but Kane grabbed Show and choke slammed him off the second rope. Guess that’s what Show gets for saying he wasn’t properly booked over the years on Austin’s podcast.
Chris Jericho defeated Fandango (2:08)
Nice to see Fandango back from the witness relocation program. He missed the Last Dance and Jericho started to put on the Walls of Jericho, but Styles came out and started chanting “Y2 Jackass.” Jericho must not be as easily distracted as Styles was, because Jericho kicked out of Fandango’s small package. Jericho got the pin with a codebreaker.
Jericho challenged Styles to get in the ring. When Styles ran in, Jericho ran out. Styles then did a promo saying he’s wrestled all over the world, but not at WrestleMania. He challenged Jericho to a match at WrestleMania, which Jericho didn’t answer.
Another Shane promo video, and this was very good. Of all people, they had Renzo Gracie cutting an interview about how Shane brings energy to his jujitsu workout daily. Renzo is as good a personality as you’ll find from the MMA world to get someone over on an interview, especially since he doesn’t have a script. Shawn Michaels, Edge, Road Dogg, Austin, and Booker built Shane up as someone tougher than shoe leather, but most of them picked Undertaker to win. A good hype piece, and it left the fans with a better flavor about Shane than if Shane had appeared in front of the live crowd and received a lukewarm response, which is always a danger in Philadelphia.
Owens handled ring announcing for the triple threat match for the Intercontiental championship. Instead of Miz vs. Zayn vs. Ziggler, Owens announced Stardust, Sin Cara and Zack Ryder.
Stardust vs. Zack Ryder vs. Sin Cara ended in no contest (3:41)
The joke here was Owens booked three jobbers for a fight for his championship. What’s scary is, after last week, Ziggler and Miz have as much credibility as the three who started this match. Zayn, Miz and Ziggler came out to confront Owens, who was on commentary. It led to Owens jumping Ryder for the DQ. Everybody started fighting with Owens, who walked away.
This led to our weekly segment known as “Stephanie gets to castrate talent.” Stephanie scolded Owens for misleading her about the triple-threat match, then ordered him to face Zayn, Sin Cara, Ryder, Stardust, Ziggler, the Miz and Stardust at WrestleMania in a ladder match for the I-C title.
Stephanie walked out of the building, where a black SUV was waiting for her. HHH came out from the backseat and kissed her. As the garage roof raised, Reigns was behind it. I guess HHH and Stephanie were making out in the backseat because the SUV didn’t move. Reigns pulled HHH out of the back and brawled with HHH, including ramming him into a set of bars. HHH got one punch in and the SUV sped off.
Charlotte (C) defeated Natalya (4:47)
Charlotte won with Natural Selection. Natalya got the Sharpshooter on, but Charlotte made the ropes. Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch were on commentary doing promos on each other that succeeded in making me less encouraged to watch the match. It’s sad how far behind the WWE is from UFC in terms of using interviews to build up fights. It’s like the gap between the New England Patriots and the Cleveland Browns.
Bubba Ray Dudley defeated R-Truth (2:04)
The gimmick was R-Truth was despondent about Goldust turning down his requests to be his tag team partner. Bubba Ray Dudley won with a big boot. Devon Dudley joined in to beat up Truth. So after weeks of building up the Goldust-Truth tag team, Goldust runs down for the save. And Michael Cole couldn’t have been more monotone in his delivery. Why the hell do you start the angle if you aren’t going to sell it big on the payoff? On top of that, Goldust ran in with a chair, but got laid out with a reverse 3-D. Then the Usos ran in and gave Bubba a double superkick, ditto for Devon. The Usos pulled out a table and teased giving Devon a splash through the table, but Bubba pulled his partner to safety.
Vince came out and he just has worn out his welcome. Total silence on his entrance. After the post-WrestleMania Raw in 2 weeks, he needs about nine months off to get fresh again. He reviewed the Shane-Undertaker stips, and said if Shane wins, it might mean he will never be on Raw again. Like anyone believes that. Then he put over Shane as a wrestler. He actually said Shane might be the most forminable opponent the Undertaker has ever faced at WrestleMania. You could a loud groan in the audience after that one. The big news is if Undertaker doesn’t beat Shane at WrestleMania, then the Undertaker will never wrestle at WrestleMania again.
Braun Strowman defeated Dean Ambrose by DQ (5:12)
Paul Heyman was on commentary doing his best to sell Ambrose’s match with Brock Lesnar. Crowd was so dead, it was amazing this was only two weeks before WrestleMania and one of the top babyfaces was in the ring. It got boring chants. All Strowman could do was nerve holds. Finally Ambrose used a chair on Strowman for a DQ for no real reason. Ambrose went after Luke Harper and Erick Rowan with the chair, then hit Dirty Deeds on Strowman onto the chair. Ambrose walked over to Heyman and mouthed off to him while Heyman looked on with concern.
Final Thoughts:
There is no momentum for WrestleMania at all. The event sells itself purely on its brand name. But there wasn’t one regular performer on this show who is over. As long as Raw is 3 hours, appearing on Raw is an obstacle to getting over because you’re overexposed. And there’s two types of people in this company. Those who have been castrated by HHH and Stephanie, and those who are going to be. Tonight, Owens joined the former club after being in the latter for eight months.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 85: Hunt vs. Mir from the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Australia. The event is headlined by a five-round bout in the heavyweight division as former title challenger Mark Hunt takes on former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir. In the co-main event, it is a battle of welterweights looking to get closer to a title shot as Neil Magny takes on Hector Lombard. Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 7 PM eastern time with preliminary action all the way thru the main card.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- ALAN PATRICK (12-1, 2-1 UFC) VS. DAMIEN BROWN (15-8, 0-0 UFC)
First round: Brown is a late replacement from Brisbane. It’s 9 a.m. in Brisbane as this show starts. Patrick took him down right away. Patrick has a guillotine but gave it up. Patrick with some elbows from the top. Brown reversed to the top and landed punches. This picked the crowd up. Patrick escaped and up. Brown took him down into side control and is riding him Patrick backup. Brown with a left hook but Patrick took him down and has his back. Brown working for a Kimura. Crowd liked the round. 10-9 Patrick but close..
Second round: Patrick took him down. Brown with elbows from the bottom. Not much happening this round. Patrick landing some punches Brown again tried or a Kimura from the bottom. Patrick’s round so 20-18 after two.
Third round: Patrick took him down immediately off a kick. Patrick trying for a choke but isn’t close. Now he’s trying an arm triangle but Brown out of trouble. Patrick moved to side control. Patrick now has his back. Patrick with some punches, but he’s more controlling him on the ground. Fans are booing. Brown got up. Patrick took him down again. Patrick 30-27 but could be 29-28, but Patrick has to win.
Scores: 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 for Patrick.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- ROSS PEARSON (18-10 1 NC, 10-7 1 NC UFC) VS. CHAD LAPRISE (10-1, 3-1 UFC)
First round: Low kick by Pearson. Low kick by Pearson. Low kick by Pearson. Laprise missed a high kick. Slow round. Left by Pearson. Low kick by Pearson and Laprise back with a low kick. Laprise’s left thigh looks bad. Laprise landed a left and right. Body kick by Pearson. Body shot by Laprise. Action picked up late in the round. Pearson 10-9.
Second round: Another low kick by Pearson. Low kick by Laprise. Body kick by Laprise. Low kick by Pearson. Pearson with another low kick. Head kick by Laprise. Left by Pearson. Low kick by Pearson, Laprise with a left. Pearson with a right. Laprise with high kick. Low kick by Pearson. Laprise with a left. Laprise with some punches. Left by Pearson. Low kick by Pearson. Spin kick by Laprise. Left by Pearson. Pearson’s left leg is giving him trouble. Laprise with two kicks. Another close round, very good round. Laprise barely so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Low kick by Pearson. Right by Pearson. Pearson is the guy moving forward. Low kick by Pearson. Laprise landed a series including a body kick. Laprise with a left. Head kick by Laprise. Another high kick by Laprise. Low kick by Pearson. Laprise with an elbow. Pearson went for a takedown but didn’t get it. Left by Pearson. Both throwing like crazy late. Laprise’s round close. 29-28 Laprise. First two rounds were close enough to where this could go either way.
Scores: 30-28 Laprise, 30-27 Pearson 29-28 Pearson. The 30-27 score for Pearson was bad as Laprise won the third.
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
WELTERWEIGHTS- RICHARD WALSH (9-3, 2-2 UFC) VS. VISCARDI ANDRADE (18-6, 2-1 UFC)
First round: Andrade knocked Walsh down, although some of that was as much a slip. Andrade landing more punches. Walsh landed. Andrade trying for a takedown but Walsh defending well. Andrade got him down. Andrade landing some punches. The ref warning Andrade about not being busy enough from the top. The ref stood them up. Right by Andrade. Andrade 10-9.
Second round: Big right by Walsh knocked him down. Walsh landing punches on the ground. Walslh brought him up against the cage. Walsh landing elbows. Andrade back to his feet. Knee and punches by Walsh. Left by Walsh. Andrade with a right. Andrade with a takedown but Walsh right back up. Walsh landing punches. Elbow by Walsh. Knee by Andrade. Andrade looks tired. Andrade took him down. Andrade working for a choke. Walsh survived the round. The choke made it close but Walsh’s round so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Walsh landing punches early. Andrade took him down. Walsh took him down. Andrade got another takedown. Andrade throwing punches from the top. Andrade 29-28.
Scores: All three had it 29-28 for Andrade.
WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHTS- LESLIE SMITH (7-6-1, 1-2 UFC) VS. RIN NAKAI (16-1-1, 0-1 UFC)
First round: Smith landing punches. Smith landing more. Nakai couldn’t get the takedown when she tried a hip throw. Crowd is pretty dead at this point. Smith landing more punches. Nakai got the takedown right as the round ended. 10-9 Smith.
Second round: Smith landing some punches. Nakai got the takedown. Nakai keeping her down but doing no damage. Nakai is in side control. Smith working for a triangle but Nakai got out. Nakai working for a head and arm choke. She doesn’t have it. Smith escaped with 1:16 left. Smith landing a hard uppercut. Smith kicked her in the face and Nakai got another takedown. Nakai landing punches from the top. Close round. Smith 20-18.
Third round: Smith landing punches. Nakai has the clinch. Knee and uppercuts by Nakai. Smith landing several punches. Sloppy but the crowd is enjoying this. Right to the body by Smith. Left uppercut by Smith. Nakai working for a takedown but didn’t get it. Nakai got the hip toss into side control. Nakai is trying to get her back. Smith 30-27 but I could see round two and perhaps three going to Nakai because of the ground control. .
Scores: 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 for Smith.
FEATHERWEIGHTS- DAN HOOKER (12-6, 2-2 UFC) VS. MARK EDDIVA (6-2, 1-2 UFC)
First round: Hooker is fighting at 145. He has fought as a heavyewight before which is crazy. Hooker going for a guillotine. He’s squeezing. Eddiva tapped. Finally a finish.
WELTERWEIGHTS- BRENDAN O’REILLY (6-1 1 NC, 1-1 UFC) VS. ALAN JOUBAN (12-4, 3-2 UFC)
First round: O’Reilly with a foot sweep and got his back. Jouban right back up. Jouban with knees and and elbows. Now Jouban landing all kinds of punches and kicks. O’Reilly also throwing. This was tremendous. Knees and elbows by Jouban. A couple of elbows put him down and it was stopped after punches on the ground. Short explosive great action fight.
MAIN CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHTS- BEC RAWLINGS (6-4, 1-1 UFC) VS. SEOHEE HAM (16-6, 1-1 UFC)
First round: Han is undersized for this weight class but a good fighter. Han landed a couple of punches. Both landing punches. Crowd is into this one. Han landing more. Big size difference. Rawlings with a nice right and hurt her with another right. Both trading punches. Rawlings landing harder punches. Han landing more again. Good right by Rawlings. Nice left by Rawlings Han 10-9
Second round: Both landing punches. Both landing a lot of punches. Rawlings stating to land but Han right back and landed a good body kick. Rawlings took her down off a punch. Han tried a triangle but Rawlings got her back and is working for a choke. Rawlings with an armbar. Han landing nice punches and a body kick. Rawlings so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Rawlings took her down and Han trying for a triangle. Rawlings throwing knees to the back. Rawlings escaped and on top. Rawlings landed a good punch but Han back up and landed a punch. Han landing a lot of punches. Knee by Rawlings. Knee and punches by Han. Rawlings with a knee to the body. Nice right by Rawlings. Han 29-28. Good fight.
Scores: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 Rawlings. Please.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- JAMES TE HUNA (16-8, 5-4 UFC) VS. STEVE BOSSE (10-2, 0-1 UFC)
First round: Te Huna from Australia, Bosse was a cult favorite in Montreal as a former hockey enforcer years back. In other words, if they were on skates, Bosse would have a great advantage. Bosse knoked him out in seconds. He threw some solid shots and Te Huna went down hard. He stopped fighting immediately before Marc Goddard stopped it. Bosse should be getting a bonus. It was a short right that did the job. :52
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- DAN KELLY (10-1, 3-1 UFC) VS. ANTONIO CARLOS JUNIOR (5-1 1 NC, 2-1 1 NC UFC)
First round: Carlos with a takedown and has his back. Now he’s got the body triangle. He tried a neck crank. Carlos warned for hitting to the back of the head. Carlos throwing punches from that position. Carlos landing more punches from back position. Carlos working for an armbar as time ran out. 10-8 Carlos.
Second round: Carlos with low kicks. Carlos tried a takedown but Kelly stopped it. Kelly with an uppercut. Kelly bleeding from the nose. Jumping knee by Carlos. Kelly with lefts. Carlos shot and Kelly caught him and landed a knee. Right by Carlos. Left by Kelly. Carlos landed a few shots back. Carlos shot in and Kelly sprawled. Kelly got his back. Kelly landing punches from that position and a knee to the butt. Kelly landing a lot of punches. Carlos got up. Takedown by Carlos. Carlos has his back now. Carlos dropped down but he ref ordered him to stand up. Carlos landing punches. Kelly’s round so 19-18 Carlos.
Third round: Knee and punch by Carlos. Carlos with a low blow and Kelly went down hard. A time out was called. Kelly almost threw him and landed a knee. Kelly took him down, got his back and is pounding on him. Kelly is hurting him now. Kelly throwing tons of of punches and it’s over. Great come from behind win by Kelly.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- JAKE MATTHEWS (9-1, 3-1 UFC) VS. JOHNNY CASE (22-4, 4-0 UFC)
First round: Matthews in with punches. Case with a body kick. Case landed a nice punch. Matthews caught a kick but couldn’t get the takedown. Low kick by Case. Both landing big shots. Matthews tried for a takedown but Case ended up on top. Case with a knee. Matthews landed a right. Big left by Matthews. Matthews with a kick to the butt. Left by Case hurt him. Matthews 10-9.
Second round: Body kick by Matthews. Case went for a takedown. Case on top but Matthews working for a triangle. Case out and on top and landed some punches. Case landing punches . Knee to the body by Case. Matthews hurt him with a body shot but Case took him down into side control. Case’s round so 19-19 after two.
Third round: Body kick by Case. Body kick by Matthews. Knee by Matthews. Body kick by Matthews. Matthews with a hard left. Trading knees form the clinch. Case going for a takedown but blocked. Left by Case. Body kick by Matthews. Now they are in a clinch against the fence. Knee by Matthews. Matthews has his back. Matthews throwing punches from back position and working for a choke. Case escaped. Matthews is in mount. Matthews has his back again. Matthews got the choke and Case tapped. Good third round.
WELTERWEIGHTS- (#13) HECTOR LOMBARD (34-4-1 2 NC, 3-2 1 NC UFC) VS. (#9) NEIL MAGNY (17-4, 10-3 UFC)
First round: Still the same body. Lombard landed hard punches up close. Lombard pounding him on the ground. Lombard with hard punches and elbows. Lombad throwing hard punches from back position. Magny back up and thrown down and Lombard is landing more punches. Lombard in side control. Lombard with an elbow. Hard elbow by Lombard. Magny back up. Magny with a jumping knee and punches but Lombard landed a hard shot. Lombard looks tired. Magny tried a takedown, which was a bad idea as Lombard landed on top. Magny up and started to land. Left by Magny. 10-8 Lombard.
Second round: Magny starting to land. Low kick by Magny. Low kick by Lombard. Knee by Magny. Good right by Magny. Magny landing jabs. Lombard working for a takedown but Magny blocked. Lombard dropped him with a left. Lombard on top. Lombard went for a leglock which wasn’t smart. That allowed Magny to get on top and could cost him the round. Magny moved to mount and is working for a triangle. Magny holding the triangle and punching from the bottom. Magny also working for an armbar. Lombard escaped. Magny now in mount and pounding him. Lombard gave up his back and Magny is throwing a lot of punches. Now Lombard is in real trouble. Lombard is taking a lot of punches. Ref Steve Percival is letting this go way too long. Magny landing a ton of punches, and now elbows. This was ridiculous that it wasn’t stopped. The fans were booing like crazy in the closing seconds because it wasn’t stopped . 10-8 Magny.’
Third round: Lombard is bad shape. Magny landing punches and Lombard is exhausted. Knees and elbow by Magny. Magny with an elbow took him down into the mount. Lombard is bleeding. Magny with more punches and it was stopped. :46
HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#9) MARK HUNT (11-10-1, 6-4-1 UFC) VS. (#10) FRANK MIR (18-10, 16-10 UFC)
First round: Mir looks heavy. He weighed in at 260. Hunt is soft like usual but smaller than usual. Hunt landed punches and blocked a takedown. Big right by Hunt. Antoher right by Hunt. Hunt dropped him and walked away and it was over.
Three weeks from WrestleMania and it’s all hands on deck in time for the final push towards the biggest show of the year. After a two week absence to sell his broken nose, Roman Reigns will return tonight in Pittsburgh to resume the build for his main event against HHH. Shane McMahon and the Undertaker are also scheduled. The New Day are scheduled to defend the World Tag Team titles against Alberto Del Rio and Rusev. Plus, Sami Zayn made his return last week and is expected to build for his presumed match against Kevin Owens for the Intercontinental Championship. Plus, Chris Jericho, A.J. Styles, Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks.
Our coverage starts at 8 ET.
The Big News: Shane McMahon and Undertaker had their first face-to-face confrontation since the WrestleMania main event was announced. It ended with Undertaker chokeslamming Shane after Vince sacrificed his own son, but Undertaker gave Vince a mean stare afterwards. Dolph Ziggler became the latest on the long line of wrestlers that HHH buried. Stephanie buried him in an interview segment, and HHH buried him in a match. Other matches official for WrestleMania include the League of Nations vs. the New Day for the tag team titles and Kalisto vs. Ryback for the U.S. Championship.
The New Day started the show with a new box of Booty O’s in Kofi Kingston’s hands. No 20 minute promo tonight as Alberto Del Rio and Rusev came out for the tag team championship match.
WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day defeated Rusev and Alberto Del Rio to retain (13:37)
It was Big E. and Xavier Woods representing the New Day. Woods pinned Rusev with a schoolboy cradle. Rusev hit a superkick on Woods while Big E. was laid out with a double foot stomp by Alberto Del Rio, but Woods kicked out in a good near fall. Kingston distracted Rusev for the finish. The match tried to make New Day into total babyfaces. Big E. did a good comeback sequence with repeated belly-to-belly suplexes on Rusev, which is now called the Booty-to-Belly. Pretty good match, though you would think that since the fans have wanted to turn New Day for months, they would rally around them once they finally did. But they were dead for this one.
Postmatch, Sheamus and King Barrett joined in for a total beatdown of the New Day. Barrett even got to pull out the Bullhammer elbow on Kingston. Rusev delivered the Accolade on Woods, and Del Rio delievered the Double Foot Stomp off the top. Sheamus gave Big E. the Brogue Kick. Appears a rematch is coming at WrestleMania.
Dean Ambrose came out after losing to HHH at Road Block. Ambrose admitted he ade a mistake against HHH on Saturday night, but that’s fine because he lives by his sword and he dies by his sword. He told anyone to ask how HHH how he’s feeling right now because it ain’t gonna be good. That would have made sense later in the show if HHH came out selling something. Instead, HHH came out 30 minutes later looking no worse for wear. Oh well, if he can’t change after 15 years, why start now?
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman came out.
Heyman said he was the voice of reason because that was the only thing that was saving Ambrose from a beating. Ambrose dared Heyman to let the beast off his leash. Heyman said any fight that features Lesnar is the main event, and he didn’t want to ruin the main event of WrestleMania. He got on his knees and begged Ambrose not to provoke Lesnar because if he came down to the ring, Ambrose wouldn’t make it to WrestleMania. Then there wouldn’t be anyone left for Lesnar to wrestle because Ambrose was the only one crazy enough to want to fight Lesnar.
Ambrose again dared Lesnar to come to the ring, but Heyman held him back and put over Lesnar with his standard platitudes. Heyman went to the back, but Lesnar didn’t. He walked down to the ring. Ambrose pulled out a crowbar. Lesnar didn’t back down despite Heyman’s objections and circled the ring. Lesnar charged the ring, but Ambrose went after him with the crowbar. Lesnar dropped down, looked menancingly at Ambrose and they cut to a break. Fans really don’t seem to know how to approach this program because they want to cheer both men.
Ryabck defeated Sin Cara (4:12)
Ryback won after giving Sin Cara two shellshocks, the second of which he did staring at Kalisto at ringside. The new gimmick for Ryback is he’s a good big guy who will always win over a good little guy. He challenged Kalisto to a U.S. Championship match at WrestleMania. It would help if the good little guy was over. Instead, when he tried to get a “Lucha” chant going, the fans started chanting “We want tables.” Ryback’s turn has also fallen on indifferent ears.
They have a new sponsorship with Burger King grilled dogs, so they showed past promos with Mad Dog Vachon, Junkyard Dog and Road Dog Jesse James.
Stephanie McMahon came out to shocking little reaction.
Like her father, she didn’t look happy about it. She introduced HHH, who she said handily defeated Ambrose at Road Block. HHH came out selling nothing and said Ambrose failed because the Authority always wins. He said hope is not a strategy, but it’s how fans relate to Ambrose and Roman Reigns, because they hope they’re the ones who can end the reign of the Authority. HHH saved his boring 20-minute promo for the 9 o’clock hour, saying people hope they get a job once they get out of high school, hope they get a promotion, hope they get a raise, but it never comes.
HHH said the fans were all failures and they cut to a shot of fans at ringside. You could see their boredom. HHH went on and on forever in his worst promo in recent memory. He said Reigns will fail at WrestleMania. Reigns got a mixed reaction. He said the Authority always wins. Dolph Ziggler came out wearing a pink shirt and black blazer. Stephanie said “Speaking of failures.”
Ziggler said he knows his place, and it’s in the ring busting his ass for the fans. Stephanie treated him like a joke, saying he was pandering “Cena-esque.” Stephanie said he wasn’t that good. Ziggler wondered if Stephanie was going to threaten to fire him. He realized he has nothing left to lose. He vowed never to quit. Ziggler said he and Ambrose were screwed by the system, the Authority’s system. But they weren’t failures. Ziggler dared Stephanie to fire him. HHH stepped in and said firing him wouldn’t be good for business. The fans loved Ziggler because he was a loveable loser, just like the fans. HHH said Ziggler didn’t have to be a loser, he could be great, but he didn’t have the right people backing him up. Maybe he could get everything he wanted out of life if he got the right advice.
Ziggler said he wouldn’t side with HHH and Stephanie if they were the last two people on Earth. Ziggler called Stephanie “egomanical, tyranical.” Stephanie slapped him and offered him any match at WrestleMania if he could win his match tonight. Stephanie said Ziggler wouldn’t win the match and she would break his spirit tonight. Stephanie said Ziggler would face HHH, who looked a little surprised at that announcement, but not hesistant to wrestle. On the bright side, I didn’t think I would watch anything this week more interminable and less entertaining that yesterday’s Selection Sunday show, but this segment proved me wrong. In less than 24 hours, to boot. I really miss the days when wrestling was fun.
Sami Zayn defeated The Miz (7:13)
Kevin Owens was on commentary. Sami Zayn did a Somersault tope on the Miz. Owens got up and started jawing with him. Miz jumped Owens from behind. Michael Cole explained that was because Owens walked out on the Miz during a tag team match on SmackDown. Owens distracted Miz, oddly enough, which led to Zayn pinning Miz with the Helluva Kick.
Renee Young did a promo with the League of Nations. Del Rio said they sent a message to the New Day. Rusev said no one was laughing now. Sheamus challenged New Day to a match at WrestleMania.
They announced Connor’s Cure would partner with the Jimmy V Foundation t fight cancer. Daniel Bryan, Brie Bella and that dasterdly heel Stephanie were all shown.
Naomi and Tamina defeated Brie Bella and Alicia Fox (2:39)
Our third distraction finish in four matches. Bella hit the Bella Buster on Naomi, but Tamina made the save. Lana (who came out just before the opening bell) distracted the referee while Naomi ran in and did a double team stuffed Michinoku Driver on Bella, and Tamina got the pin. Alicia Fox took a double superkick from Naomi and Tamina afterwards.
Social Outcasts did a product placement skit for Burger King.
Paige did an interview with Jojo when Lana walked in. Lana said Paige was a fool if she thought she was a successful diva. Lana said Paige was hanging around a lot of weak American friends. Paige said if Lana wanted to know what a real Diva does, she would show her. Naomi and Tamina backed up Lana and told Paige to watch her words more carefully. So it appears Lana, Naomi and Tamina have formed a group.
Charlotte and Ric Flair did a promo with Young. Charlotte said she knew Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch before they made the main roster. Charlotte said before Banks’ first match, she was holding her hair because she was throwing up in nervousness. Now, she walks around like she owns the place, but Charlotte still sees a scared little girl. Charlotte said Lynch was always the third wheel. Flair said Charlotte called him after two weeks at NXT and told him there were two girls here who are going to be great, and Charlotte said she had to be better. Charlotte said she was better, and she had the Divas Championship to prove it. Charlotte, Lynch and Banks will have a sit-down conversation at SmackDown, and Charlotte said they would learn on Thursday they couldn’t run from their past.
The Usos defeated Bo Dallas and Adam Rose (1:54)
The Dudley Boyz were at ringside. Jey Uso pinned Bo Dallas after a splash. They continue the Usos-Dudleys program.
Ambrose was in the back when Mick Foley showed up. This was the highlight of the show. Foley wanted to know why Ambrose wanted to fight Lesnar at WrestleMania. Ambrose asked Foley if he was scared when he was on top of the Hell in a Cell (right there, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) in 1998 against the Undertaker? Foley said he was. Ambrose asked him why did he keep going? Foley said because he was Mick Foley, and that’s what he does. Ambrose said he’s Dean Ambrose, and this is what he does. Foley then took the crowbar out of Ambrose’s hands and gave him a gift box, which was to symbolize a passing of the torch. Ambrose pulled out a barbed-wire baseball bat. Foley is one of the greatest talkers and actors of all time. With Foley, Steve Austin, Rock Shawn Michaels and HHH in 1998, it’s easy to see why Vince Russo could look successful. It’s hard to lose when you’re dealt a royal flush.
WWE Champion HHH defeated Dolph Ziggler in a non-title match (17:28)
Good match where Ziggler got lots of near falls after a Famouser and various superkicks. HHH finally won clean as a sheet with the Pedigree because…of course he did. Largely buried Ziggler. Since it was Pittsburgh and Kurt Angle rumors were flying, the fans seemed disappointed with the finish.
Reigns came out afterwards. It was supposed to be his be revenge spot, but he got booed loudly. They still had one hell of a brawl, though. It started at the announcer’s table, where Reigns did the spot that HHH did to him three weeks ago of repeatedly ramming HHH’s head into the table. Charles Robinson and other referees came out to stop him, but Reigns shoved him down. HHH hit Reigns with a can of soda, which fizzed everywhere. Reigns sold it for a moment, then came right back with a right hand.
They brawled to the pyrotechnic area, where Reigns threw a huge toolbox and HHH that resulted in hardway blood. It ended up backstage, where Jamie Noble, Jack Swagger, the Usos and Mark Henry tried to break it up. Reigns hit HHH with a HDTV. HHH threw a trashcan at Reigns, who came back with a bigger trashcan. It finally ended when HHH and the Usos stepped in. Good brawl, but the fans still aren’t warming up to Reigns.
Jacqueline was announced as the newest member of the WWE Hall of Fame.
Goldust walked around backstage when he stumbled upon someone dressed in a penguin mascot. It was R-Truth, who explained that when he grew up in the hood, the closest thing they had to a penguin as a 17-year-old pigeon with a limp. Truth heard that when penguins mate, they stay together forever. He asked Goldust to be his penguin, or his tag partner. Goldust smiled and said no. Truth said that was cold, then put the costume back on and wiggled around.
Chris Jericho came out and did a heel interview saying the fans chose A.J. Styles over him. Jericho said Styles wasn’t as good as fans thought he was, he was a hack, arrogant, in over his head, and last week he put Styles in his place. He had to show Styles who his daddy is, which is Jericho, who is the best in the world at what he does. Neville came out.
Neville defeated Chris Jericho by DQ (4:52)
Neville injured his left leg/ankle attempting a baseball slide through Jericho’s legs coming back from break. Jericho and Robinson very vocally audibled on how to get to the finish. Jericho put Neville in a schoolboy cradle, but Robinson stopped counting for no reason since Neville’s shoulders were still down. Robinson disqualified Jericho for pushing him. It appeared Jericho didn’t look happy with Robinson at all. Afterwards, Jericho got on the mic, ran down the crowd and Styles. This led to Styles coming out and giving Jericho a punch, followed by the springboard forearm, now called the Phenomenal Firearm, which will likely be his finisher.
Undertaker, Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon segment
Vince McMahon came out for the main event segment. Again, not much of a reaction. Seems that’s becoming a pattern. He even had Lillian Garcia introduce him again to get the pop he was looking for. He did the same promo he did last week about what would happen if Shane McMahon wins the Hell in a Cell match against the Undertaker. He said Shane will no longer want to be seen in public after he loses to Undertaker. The nice part is Vince won’t have to lay a glove on Shane to do his dirty work, the Undertaker will.
Undertaker came out. Vince told him not to put his hands on him ever again, referring to two weeks ago when Undertaker grabbed Vince by the throat. Undertaker took his jacket and hat off to big pops. Vince said Undertaker had a lapse of judgement, and Vince himself had a lapse of judgement for even bringing up the subject again so he apologized. Vince knew the Undertaker wouldn’t mind getting his hands dirty in leaving Shane in a pool of blood. Vince said some might call this an unholy alliance, but he calls it what’s best for business.
Shane came out to, by far and away, the most tepid reaction since his return. Shane said his father was definitely not what’s best for business anymore. Shane said he finds himself in match of a lifetime against the Undertaker. He’s figured out a way to beat the Undertaker. He basically said he was going to stick and move, turn his body into a 230-pound weapon, and use his heart because he’s fighting for his children, the fans’ children and the legacy of the WWE.
Undertaker said it still wouldn’t be enough. Undertaker said he has these, holding up his fists. It’s his legacy. Shane said for the last 25 years, Undertaker has carried the company on his back. That’s why he was surprised that Undertaker is dancing around like a puppet while his father controls the puppet’s strings. Undertaker said no one controls him. Shane says he sees it differently. Shane said he had the misfortune of being Vince’s son, but Undertaker was now Vince’s bitch.
Undertaker grabbed Shane by the throat, but Shane skipped out the backdoor and threw punches that Taker really didn’t sell at all. Shane did the Shane O’Mac shuffle, but Vince threw Shane into the Undertaker, who gave him a choke slam. Vince taunted Shane as he was laid out on the canvas, but then Undertaker looked at Vince. It’s amazing how little body movement it takes by Undertaker and Vince to get a reaction. Undertaker just turned his head at Vince. Vince moved his eyes three times realizing the Undertaker was glaring at him with bad intentions, and it got more of a reaction than anything on the show. Vince rolled out of the ring as Undertaker walked towards him. Vince smiled in delight as Shane writhed in pain, but Undertaker was engaged in a staredown with Vince.
Final Thoughts:
Behind the scenes, Vince is playing Shane against HHH and Stephanie. Vince is trying to prove he’s not out of touch, even though he’s lost 75% of his audience in the last 17 years. HHH is running NXT, which has garnered the following of hardcore fans, but Vince doesn’t think he can make any of the NXT wrestlers stars. There’s internal heat on HHH for not selling the Reigns injury, and tonight he did one of his classic HHH burial jobs on Ziggler. And I’m supposed to care about WrestleMania when all this is going on behind the scenes? You tell me, which sounds like more intriguing developments to follow? As for this show, Pittsburgh has long had the reputation of being a city of dead crowds, and tonight continued that reputation. Closing hour was interesting.
Major implications for Wrestlemania 32 are in play Saturday night as the latest WWE special, Roadblock, takes place in Toronto, Canada.
The main event of the show will have Triple H making his first defense of the WWE World Heavyweight championship he won at the Royal Rumble against Dean Ambrose. The challenger has gone on to say that he plans on completely messing up plans for Wrestlemania by winning. Considering most Wrestlemania plans still aren’t completely concrete, it’s entirely plausible the original main event of Reigns/HHH might be changed due to recent crowd reactions. It’s a longshot, but we’ll see.
Other big matches include Bray Wyatt facing off against the former WWE Champion Brock Lesnar in a match many expected to see at Wrestlemania, as well as NXT champions The Revival (Dash & Dawson) competing against perennial challengers Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady in both teams’ WWE TV debut. The outcome could also have implications on the NXT tag team title match at Takeover: Dallas during Wrestlemania weekend if the challengers were to win.
Also announced for the show: The New Day will defend their WWE tag team titles against Sheamus & King Barrett of the League of Nations.
The New Day started the show by coming out and doing a promo. They revealed that Booty-O’s are in fact real (well, there’s a box now at least) and revealed the box that said Booty-O’s on it. Big E pretended to be a child and ran down the Leauge of Nations while saying he’s going to beat Booty-O cereal so he doesn’t wind up like them. They were big time over as babyfaces.
WWE Tag Team Championship: The New Day (c) vs. The Leauge of Nations (Wade Barrett and Sheamus)
Solid match. It was a by the numbers, but everyone worked well for the most part. The New Day worked as the faces here as they started off hot, but Kofi ended up getting worked on by both Sheamus and Barrett. Sheamus had Kofi in a Cloverleaf but somehow was able to counter that into a pin for a nearfall. Big E made the hot tag. Kofi tried to jump over Barrett but there was some miscommunication or Kofi landed badly as something seemed off here. Barrett had the pin on Big E but Xavier distracted the ref. Barrett was distraced, leading to Big E hitting the Big Ending to retain the titles.
Greg Hamilton interviewed Paul Heyman. He says that Brock chose to take revenge on Wyatt tonight. After getting a pop for mentioning the Toronto Raptors, Heyman pretty much says Wyatt will be counqered by the Beast.
They recapped the Styles/Jericho angles from Raw and Smackdown.
Jericho came out for a promo, telling Toronto to shut their filthy mouths right now. They had their chance to chant for him but instead they chanted for AJ. He ran down Canadians. He’s the greatest icon in the history of this country, he says, which spurs “We Want Bret” chants. He shuts them down immediately and says he’s ashamed to be Canadian. He moved from Canada because Canada literally stinks and Toronto is the anus. He mentions how Jack Swagger beat him for the World championship, something I don’t think one person on Earth remotely remembers. He’s not the flavor of the month, or the next big thing, he’s the only thing. Jericho’s much better off in a heel role at this point as his promos have been pretty solid since turning.
Chris Jericho vs. Jack Swagger
This is a weird match to do in Canada as Swagger’s gimmick is that he’s an American patriot, and Jericho just cut a promo heeling on Canada. Work was solid, but the heat was off since they did not get into Swagger at all for obvious reasons. They chanted for AJ Styles and CM Punk. Jericho controlled a lot of the match, and the crowd booed for Swagger’s brief comeback. Swagger reversed a Wall of Jericho attempt and hit the anke lock but Jericho escaped, hit an enziguiri and went for a codebreaker but Swagger countered and took him down. Swagger got the ankle lock again, but Jericho made it to the ropes. He shoved Swagger into the turnbuckle then submitted him with the Walls of Jericho.
NXT Tag Team Championship: Dash and Dawson (c) vs. Colin Cassady and Enzo Amore
Good match with lots of cool creative spots. Both Cassady and Enzo have improved as a team and Dash and Dawson are really good in their own right. Enzo and Cass dominated early, but eventually the heels isolated Enzo. He broke free at one point and dashed toward Cassady but was shoulder tackled right out of the ring in a cool spot. Cassady got the tag as they almost got the win with the rocket launcher but Dawson cut Enzo (who got the tag) off on the top rope. Enzo hit a cool looking DDT from the top rope to ward off the heels for a bit, but the numbers were too much for him as they finished him off with the Shatter Machine for a surprisingly clean win.
Natalya deadicated her match tonight to her Uncle Bret. You know what that means. Charlotte came in, amused. You’re merely a warm up and not even on my level. Natalya said well if I’m not a threat, then put the title on the line. Charlotte said no, Wrestlemania’s only a few weeks away. Nattie said well I guess Bret was right, all Flairs are cowards. Charlotte fell for that and agreed to put the title on the line.
WWE Divas Championship: Charlotte (c) vs. Natalya
Really good match. They were given time and did some great work throughout. Nattie’s really underrated in this divison, not that it’s a secret or anything but matches like this make it even more obvious. Charlotte worked on Nattie’s leg and posted it. After a chop battle Nattie made her comeback and went for the sharpshooter but Charlotte escaped and laid Nattie out with a big boot. Charlotte applied the figure eight but Nattie fought it and reversed. They rolled over several times until making it to the outside. Charlotte escaped out of the ring but as Nattie recovered Charlotte came back in and hit Natural Selection for a nearfall. Lots of great nearfalls. Charlotte went for the figure eight again but Natalya came back with the sharpshooter. Flair helped distract Nattie while in the sharpshooter which allowed Charlotte to get a roll up win with her feet on the ropes.
Wyatt comes out for his match. He mentions how he’s counqered the Rock, John Cena and the Undertaker, but he’s never conquered me. He said he made a deal with the devil (The Authority? Vince?) and Luke Harper will now be with him for this match.
Brock Lesnar vs. Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper
Fun match while it lasted. Wyatt never tagged into the match, leaving Harper to work the match on his own. I guess he’s injured, or they didn’t want him to do yet another job. For being the new spookytime threat he hasn’t won a ton of big matches. Lesnar flung Harper around like a rag doll early, which is amazing given Harper’s size. Brock ate a big boot and Harper hit his discus clothesline for a nearfall. Brock fired back with suplexes and pinned him with the F5, clean as a sheet.
Sami Zayn vs. Stardust
An okay match overall, but it lacked heat as it went a bit too long and early parts of the match were pretty dull. Stardust dominated the early portions of the match and his offense wasn’t anything to write home about. A lot of stomps, a lot of rest holds. Sami fought back against a superplex spot but Stardust landed it and got a nearfall. Stardust ate a clothesline, which is where Sami made his comeback and eventually got the win with the helluva kick.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Triple H (c) vs. Dean Ambrose
Really great world title match. Hunter looked way better than he did at the Royal Rumble and Ambrose is an excellent main event level match kind of guy. They did everything to make you believe that Ambrose was going to pull it off, including doing a dusty finish spot, until Ambrose made one mistake and lost because of it. Ambrose was in control of the match early, working on the nose in a cute spot, fighting Hunter on the outside and eventually started to work on the leg. Hunter came back and threw him on the barricade. Hunter worked on him back in the ring, actually applying a Nagata Lock at one point. Ambrose came back and they had a pretty good back and forth match. Hunter went for the pedigree but Ambrose back body dropped him. He went for the dirty deeds, Hunter pushed him away, but Ambrose came back with the rabbit lariat. Ambrose went for a suicide dive but Triple H blasted him with a right had as he started to prepare the announce table. Ambrose made a comeback in the ring and hit a figure four, which is a good callback spot from earlier. Triple H escaped, but Ambrose came back with a sharpshooter, which was pretty funny. Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds and pinned Hunter, but the refree waived it off, saying Ambrose’s feet were under the ropes. Ambrose threw Hunter on the outside and hit a big elbow, sending them both to the floor, then mocked Hunter with the DX crotch chop. Ambrose put Hunter on the exposed table, hopped on the barricade and went for another elbow but Triple H rolled out of the way and Ambrose crashed into the table. Triple H followed with the pedigree in the ring and pinned him to retain the title.
Tonight’s Raw from Chicago will be highlighted by Shane McMahon’s 2nd Raw appearance since his surprise return. It’ll be interesting to see if the huge reception he received in Detroit was just a one-week pop or something sustainable until WrestleMania. Tonight’s show will serve a dual purpose of building WrestleMania along with Road Block this Saturday, where HHH will headline against Dean Ambrose for the WWE title. The WWE website has teased Kevin Owens not having a match set for WrestleMania, so he may factor into that finish to resume his program with Ambrose. Also tonight, the New Day will defend the tag team titles against Y2AJ. Now that the Divas Championship is a three-way match with Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks, there will likely be an angle to start that build, as well.
Our coverage starts at 8 ET.
The Big Takeaway: Shane McMahon returned to continue the buildup for WrestleMania with a verbal dual with his father. Highlight of the show was the New Day beating Y2AJ to retain the World Tag Team Titles in an awesome match. Afterwards, Chris Jericho turned heel on A.J. Styles by giving him three Codebreakers and stuffing a Y2AJ t-shirt down his mouth. The show should have ended at that point, but they had another 75 minutes to fill.
Show Recap:
Shane McMahon came out to another big reception. He said he heard what Vince McMahon had to say last week, and he’s lost respect for his father after he renounced his son. Shane said Vince had lost his touch with his business, his fan base, with reality, with him and his grandsons. Shane said it was his destiny to be in control of Monday Night Raw. That got “Yes” chants. Shane said the backstage politics would stop with him. And also, every baseball umpire will have the same strike zone. (I added that last part).
He mentioned guys who get breaks who have no talent would end. He repeated that it was his destiny to defeat the Undertaker and start a new legacy in the WWE in control of Raw. Then the Undertaker’s gong hit, but Vince came out. After getting no reaction last week, Vince got lots of heat. Then they chanted for C.M. Punk. Vince said Shane looked scared when the Undertaker’s gong hit, and he would feel terror at WrestleMania. Vince mentioned writing Shane out of his will and Stephanie McMahon would get everything. Vince stumbled on a picture of him and a little Shane just before they went to their first WWE event in Worchester, Massachusetts. He held up a framed copy of the picture, then threw it down and smashed on the ramp.
Vince said Shane grew up thinking his father was invincible. He was Vince McMahon, and Shane was just Vince’s son. Vince turned his attention to his grandsons, who would watch their father fail them. Vince said Shane’s dreams would be shattered, and so would theirs. The only solace would be once Shane is placed on a stretcher and taken to the hospital, Vince would take Shane’s children, hug them and say “At least you have one father figure you can be proud of.” Vince said its totally ironic his greatest creation will put to rest his greatest failure.
Vince then brought out security and escorted Shane out of the building. Four guys came down Shane told security not to touch him because he was amped up. One of the security guys got in the ring on Vince’s orders. Shane threw some bad looking punches on the guy. Then other three ran in, but Shane cleared house with knees and punches. The stuff didn’t look good, but Shane was so over it didn’t matter. Shane’s music just started to end the segment.
Kevin Owens (C) defeated Neville in a nontitle match (10:19)
Another very good match where Neville had the crowd thinking he had it won after a Flaming Star Press from the second rope. Kevin Owens kicked out in a great near fall. Neville turned to do the Red Arrow, but Owens grabbed his trunks and held them for the pin with a schoolboy cradle. Earlier, Owens avoided a Neville dive out of the ring and threw Neville into the steps. Neville made the comeback with an enzuigiri. Michael Cole mentioned Owens boasting about being the greatest the Intercontiental Champion of all time and wanting to have a better WrestleMania match then Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat.
Owens jumped Neville after the match, throwing his shoulder into the post. He was about to give Neville a power bomb on the floor when Sami Zayn made his return, running out for the save. Zayn got a big reaction. Owens took a few punches and tried to walk out, but Neville kicked him in the head and Zayn sent him packing. Crowd was elated with the segment. Byron Saxton mentioned the possibility of Neville vs. Owens at WrestleMania, but this segment teased otherwise.
They aired a video tweet from the Rock (I guess Touts have gone the way of the WBF, the World and the XFL) promoting WrestleMania for free on the WWE Network.
Stephanie walked up to Dolph Ziggler. Stephanie mentioned a tweet that Dolph made putting down the authority that was deleted. Dolph brought up the Survivor Series from November 2014 when he fought back from a 3-on-1 deficit after the Big Show’s 2014 heel turn to put the Authority out of action forever. Well, for four weeks. And we’re supposed to take the stipulations at WrestleMania seriously because…? Anyway, Stephanie ordered Dolph to face three members of the League of Nations in an elimination match tonight by himself.
Summer Rae defeated Brie Bella (2:05)
Summer Rae won when Lana came out to distract Brie Bella, and Rae pinned her with a schoolgirl cradle in a finish we saw 15 minutes ago. Lana was wearing her 1988 Whitesnake video blue jean skirt outfit. She gave Brie a Bella Buster, trying to get heat for giving Brie her own finisher.
Dean Ambrose came out and said he has overthrown all plans for WrestleMania when he beats HHH at Road Block and becomes the new face of the WWE. He mentioned the new face of the WWE, going to be on Oprah (She’s off the air now), being on the cover of People magazine and going to various charity functions with HHH. Ambrose said he would make HHH buy him a new shiny suit, then said he would never wear a suit. He rambled on in this scripted rant when HHH came out.
HHH showed up and said reality is he would be WWE World Heavyweight Championship as long as he wanted. He said Roman Reigns thought he could take the championship, but his face is getting glued back together. HHH said maybe Ambrose should take another trip to the announce table to understand he can’t beat HHH. Ambrose said after he beats HHH for the championship, he’ll stand on the table, hold the championship up high and HHH could suck it. HHH said Road Block was something some idiot in marketing came up with. Ambrose was nothing more than a speed bump or a pot hole. HHH said Ambrose was just like Reigns, they both had problems with authority. And how is that working for Reigns? HHH told Ambrose should stop with delusional thinking.
They bickered back-and-forth until Ambrose demanded HHH come to the ring. HHH said he doesn’t fight on Ambrose’s time, just on his time. HHH said Ambrose would face Bray Wyatt tonight. He said Ambrose would come face-to-face with reality on Saturday, and reality is the Authority always wins. Well, that’s reality more than HHH even knows.
Sheamus, Rusev and King Barrett defeated Dolph Ziggler in an elimination match (6:33)
Sheamus pinned Ziggler after a Brogue Kick following a roundhouse kick by Rusev. Earlier, Ziggler pinned King Barrett at 5:45 with a Superkick to narrow the odds to 2-on-1, briefly. The tweet from Ziggler than Stephanie brought up earlier was shown where Ziggler welcomed Shane back and said he would send the Authority out of power just like he did at Survivor Series 2014, but the Authority punished him again.
They showed a video package of Shane’s wrestling career with the Big Show, JBL, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins putting over how tough he is. The videos were mostly from the late 90s-to-early 00s, and the majority of the highlights were Kurt Angle selling for him.
Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks were backstage bickering. They’re tagging tonight but argued over who would win in their triple threat match against Charlotte at WrestleMania. Lynch talked about somebody getting an Lass kicking.
Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks defeated Tamina and Naomi via submission (1:52)
Lynch made Naomi tap to the Bank Statement. Charlotte and Ric Flair were at ringside. Charlotte ran in and attacked both of her opponents, including an exploder suplex on Lynch.
R-Truth walked in to the building dressed as a pizza delivery man and walked past Mark Henry, who wondered what he was up to. Truth told Goldust he wanted to do dress like someone crazy and gave Goldust a Chicago deep dish pizza. Goldust wondered “What in the Blue Blazer are you thinking?” Goldust said he was lactose intolerant and if he had any pizza, his butt would explode. Goldust walked off. Truth said he had no idea about Goldust’s exploding butt and left the pizza sitting so Henry could help himself, proclaming his love for Chicago.
The New Day came out. Kofi Kingston mentioned they had held the WWE tag team titles for 197 consecutive days. Xavier Woods said Y2AJ would never last as a team and end up as the zombies in “Left For Dead.” Big E. mentioned they each got matching tattooes. Kingston and Woods acted like they didn’t know what he was talking about. Big E. said he was just kidding (though he wasn’t), saying he never got a blue and white tattoo on his butt cheeks. Chris Jericho came out with a Y2AJ t-shirt.
The New Day defeated Y2AJ to retain the WWE Tag Team titles (11:30)
Big E. pinned jericho after the Big Ending. Jericho tried a Codebreaker, but Big E. caught him and placed him on his shoulders. The best tag team match on Raw in ages. Jericho had Kingston in the Walls of Jericho and the crowd was begging for a tapout. Woods tried to push the bottom rope closer for Kingston to grab, but A.J. Styles knocked Woods down. Big E. took out Styles by slamming him into the barricade, then tagged in. Earlier, Jericho hit a lionsault on Kingston. Styles made a blind tag and followed with a springboard 450, but Big E. pulled Kingston out of the ring. Even better than Owens-Neville.
Postmatch, Styles helped Jericho to his feet. After Jericho got up, he turned heel on Styles by giving him a codebreaker. Styles barely got up before Jericho gave him another Codebreaker, then followed with another one. Jericho, who got good heat for this turn, then got the Y2AJ t-shirt and stuffed it down Styles’ mouth as he was down. Excellent execution from all parties involved.
They announced that the Rock would appear at WrestleMania.
Jericho did an interview with Renee Young saying everyone in Chicago, the town where Y2J was born, was doing but chanting for Styles. Now, they won’t be chanting his name anymore.
Kalisto (C) defeated Tyler Breeze in a nontitle match (2:11)
Kalisto pinned Tyler Breeze with Salida del Sol. Kalisto really doesn’t come across as anything special as U.S. Champion. He’s just feels like another Luchador that doesn’t stand out. At least Breeze got to do his ring entrance.
JoJo interviewed Kalisto. She was almost as tall as he was. Kalisto brought up Rey Mysterio and Eddy Guerrero as legends he saw at WrestleMania. Ryback stepped in and wondered how he doesn’t have a match in WrestleMania, or isn’t in the main event. He put Kalisto over as one of the best in the WWE pound-for-pound, but he doesn’t understand why people go to Superhero movies like Deadpool and think little guys can go around and save the world. Ryback said he makes Ryan Reynolds and Robert Downey Jr. look like Antman. He makes Nate Diaz and Connor McGregor look like Antman, too. However, Diaz’s PPV paycheck from Saturday night compared to Ryback makes his look like Little Beaver. Ryback went on forever about how being in a tag team only holds you down, which does wonders for putting over the tag team titles that just stole the show.
Social Outscasts came out. They’ve added a group cheer like “Wooo Bundy” from “Married with Children.” Bo Dallas said Ryback doesn’t want to be part of a team, which mean he can’t be one of the new Ghostbusters. Adam Rose said you have to be a woman to be a Ghostbuster. Curtis Axel screamed “Tonight, the Axeman cometh” and started chanting “Ye” like he was Mark Lewin. Rose, Heath Slater and Dallas started doing it and they danced in a circle until Ryback came out.
Ryback pinned Curtis Axel (2:06)
Ryback won with a Shell Shock. His new psuedo-heel gimmick where he brawls like a MMA Superheavyweight looks DOA as the crowd spent the match chanting for Punk again.
Vince was backstage on the phone saying how the old WrestleMania record was 93,000. Too bad he wasn’t on the subpoena list in St. Petersburg, Florida today. Stpehanie wondered in expressing concern that Shane would win at WrestleMania. Vince calmed her by saying “Don’t worry. I got this.” She said “But what if you don’t?”
Bray Wyatt did a prematch promo about his match against Brock Lesnar on Saturday at Road Block.
Dean Ambrose defeated Bray Wyatt by DQ (11:47)
Crowd was dead again as this show peaked at the tag title match and the Jericho turn. Ambrose gained the upper hand with his flying elbow when Luke Harper, Braun Strowman and Erick Harper showed up. They jumped Ambrose, and Wyatt gave him Sister Abigail.
HHH came out for an odd sequence. He nooded in approval at the Wyatt Clan for taking out Ambrose. Then as HHH was about to start pounding on Ambrose, Wyatt got in HHH’s face and they had a staredown that got the crowd’s attention. Wyatt smiled, rubbed his hands on HHH’s championship belt and left with his group. Sure did seem to tease a potential program between the two, which may finally get Wyatt to turn face. Then again, if that happens, we’ll be seeing Strowman do Hillbilly Jim spots in no time.
HHH cleared the announcer’s table teasing another beatdown of Ambrose. But Ambrose recovered and gave HHH Dirty Deeds, and a babyface was left standing at the end credits for a change.
SUMMARY: Ambrose has run out of top guy capital with the fans. They’ve seen him lose too many big matches to take him seriously as someone who can win the big one, especially the month before WrestleMania. Last year, at least his top matches had heat. That hasn’t happened recently. I understand JBL has to be a heel announcer, but his rant about what a travesty it would be if Ambrose became world champion sounds exactly the same every three months. It’s beyond monotony. Considering the main event of this show featured Lesnar’s next two major match opponents, it doesn’t feel like the company is maximizing his potential box office.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is a much anticipated event headlined by UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor taking on Nate Diaz in a welterweight bout after Diaz replaced the injured Rafael Dos Anjos, who was scheduled to defend the UFC Lightweight Championship against McGregor on this card. In the co-main event, it will be UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm making her first title defense since defeating Ronda Rousey as she defends against Rousey’s long-time rival, top contender Miesha Tate. Also on the card is our very own “Filthy” Tom Lawlor as he takes on Corey Anderson. Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 6:30 PM eastern time with preliminary action all the way thru the main card.
We are looking for your thoughts on tonight’s event, so send a thumbs up, a thumbs down or a thumbs in a middle along with a best fight and worst fight to dave@wrestlingobserver.com?subject=UFC%20196%20Feedback”>Dave Meltzer.
First round: Trading body kicks. Erosa front kick knocked Ishihara down. Nice high kick by Ishihara. Punch and knee by Ishihara and Erosa was down but quickly up. Low kick by Ishihara. Front kick by Erosa put Ishhara down. Now they are in a clinch against the fence. They were quickly separated. Left high kick and big punches by Ishiara. Ishihara hurt him with a left. Erosa took him down. Erosa’s left leg looks horrible. Close round. 10-9 Ishihara
Second round: Ishihara knocked him down and finished him with punches from the top right away. It was a left counter behind the ear that put Erosa down and good punches on the ground that finished him.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- JASON SAGGO (10-2, 1-1 UFC) VS. JUSTIN SALAS (12-6, 3-3 UFC)
First round: Salas took him down off a kick. Saggo reversed to the top. Salas has a cheering section. Saggo working for an armbar. Now he’s got Salas’ back. Saggo is punching. Saggo continued punching him from that position until it was stopped.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- DIEGO SANCHEZ (25-8, 14-8 UFC) VS. JIM MILLER (25-7 1 NC, 14-6 1 NC UFC)
First round: Sanchez ran across the ring in and grabbed Miller’s leg and threw him down. Miller back up. Mlller started to land. Miller with counter right. He land some more. Sanchez took him down. Short slam by Sanchez while in guard. Sanchez landing some punches from the top. Sanchez landing some elbows. 10-9 Sanchez.
Second round: Miller made him stumble with a low kick. Miller continues to land low kicks. Miller with a body punch. Body kick by Miller but Sanchez took him down off it. Miller back up. Sanchez bleeding from the left ear from elbows by by Miller. Head kick by Miller. Nice left by Miller. Spin kick by Sanchez didn’t land solid. Miller went for a takedown but Sanchez sprawled. Sanches went for a takedown, Miller grabbed a guillotine and threw a knees. More knees by Miller. Sanchez popped out. Sanchez went for a takedown and Miller spun behind him. Miller’s round so 19-19.
Third round: Sanchez grabbed his leg for a takedown but Miller blocked. Miller with a right. Fans chanting for Sanchez. Sanchez is more active. Sanchez went for a takedown but it was blocked. Miller went for a takedown but didn’t get it but land a body kick. Left landed by Sanchez. Sanchez got a quick takedown but Miller up Body kick by Miller. Both swinging wildly at the end. Close fight but I’ve got Sanchez 29-28.
Scores: All three had it 29-28 Sanchez
Sanchez cut a promo putting over Miller and Fight Pass, as well as Jesus Christ and Yoga.
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 7 PM ET/4 PM PT)
FEATHERWEIGHTS- (#11) DARREN ELKINS (19-5, 9-4 UFC) VS. CHAS SKELLY (15-1, 4-1 UFC)
First round: Elkins on top punching and Skelly going for heel hooks. Skelly continues going for a heel hook. Elkins throwing knees. Left by Elkins. Elkins landing a lot of uppercuts. Skelly with a right. Elkins with knees. Punches and knees by Elkins. Both swinging. Elkins 10-9.
Second round: Elkins landed punches. Elkins with a right and slammed him down. Elkins with knees to the body in the clinch on the fence. Elkins tripped him down and into side control. Skelly regained guard. Elkins landing punches from the top. Elkins 20-18.
Third round: Elkins took him down and got his back. Skelly back up. Takedown by Elkins. Elkins is working for a choke. Skelly out and back up. Both landing. Takedown by elkins and more punches on the ground Elkins connected on some good shots. Elkins 30-27.
Scores: 30-27, 29-27 and 30-26 for Elkins
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- VITOR MIRANDA (11-4, 2-1 UFC) VS. MARCELO GUIMARAES (9-1-1, 2-1 UFC)
First round: Guimaraes has him against the cage. They were separated. Both landing punches. Body kicks by Miranda. Guimaraes in with punches and going for a takedown. Los of elbows by Miranda as Guimaraes went for a takedown. Guimaraes fighting hard for a takedown but not getting it. The ref separated them again. Miranda starting to land and Guimaraes is tired. Guimaraes 10-9 but he’s the one tired at the end.’’
Second round: Guimaraes going for a takedown. Miranda landing a ton of elbows from that position and then separated, landed a head kick which stunned Guimaraes. After three solid punches standing it was called off. Good stoppage.
First round: Spin kick to the body by Silva. Silva with a low kick. Spin kick to the body and low kick by Silva. Silva missed a high kick. Takedown by Taleb and few punches. Silva wanted to touch gloves and then threw a hard right. He turned himself heel with that one. Taleb landed some punches. Low kick by Silva. Tale back with a calf kick. Silva shot in but the round ended. Close round 10-9 Silva.
Second round: Body kick by Slva. Taleb countered with a right that knocked Silva silly and it was immediately waved off. The place went bananas. That one should score 50G’s.
First round: Body kick by Thatch. Body kick by Thatch. Siyar moved in and landed punches. Body kick by Siyar. Siyar landing a lot of punches. Pretty wild action. Spinning elbow by Thatch and Siyar landing more punches. Siyar wth punches. Thatch with a knee and a takedown. Thatch went for a guillotine as Siyar reversed to the top. Thatch is working for a triangle but Siyar cleared it. Siyar landing punches on the ground. Good round 10-9 Siyar.
Second round: Thatch with a front kick and head kick. Siyar then took him down. Siyar landing punches. John McCarthy ordered a standup. Thatch landed punches. Siyar with knees and a takedown. Siyar landing punches. Siyar 20-18.
Third round: Siyar with punhes and took hij down again and hurtring him with punches on the ground. Siyar with more punches. McCarthy stood them up again. Takedown by Siyar. Siyar landing good punches on the ground. Siyar moved to side position and used a head and arm choke to finish.
First round: Body kick by Nunes while Shevchenko threw a punch. Nunes with a head kick. Shevchenko with punches. Body punch by Nunes. Shevchenko with more punches. Low kick by Nunes. Body kick by Nunes. Nunes with a takedown. She’s throwing weak body punches. Nunes 10-9.
Second round: Body kick by Nunes and Shevchenko went for a takedown and kick to the body but Nunes scrambled to the top. Nunes landing punches and elbows from the top. More elbows by Nunes. Nunes moved to side control. Shevchenko is bleeding. Nunes is working for a choke but doesn’t have it. Nunes with a body triangle. Shevchenko turned and got on top. Crowd loved this. Nunes 20-18.
Third round: Shevchenko took her down into side control. Shevchenko is working for a wristlock. Nunes out and up. Nunes is tired . Chevchenko with two hard knees. Left by Shevchenko. Nunes ent for a takedown, Shevchenko blocked it and threw some punches. Reality is Nunes could get a title shot but he way she fades in the third doesn’t bode well in a five round fight. Nunes 29-28.
Scores: 29-28, 29-27 and 29-27 for Nunes
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#12) COREY ANDERSON (7-1, 4-1 UFC) VS. TOM LAWLOR (10-5 1 NC, 6-4 UFC)
First round: Low kick by Anderson. Lawlor landed a lot of shots early. Andeson back with punches. Low kick by Anderson. Lefts by Lawlor Anderosn back with one. Low kick by Anderson. Anderson with another low kick. Action slowed midway through the round. Anderson with a right. Both landing. Right and left by Lawlow. Anderson with aleft. Both traded late. Very close round. 10-9 Lawlor.
Second round: Anderson slipped and went down but back up. Nice left by Lawlor. Both punched from close range. Right by Lawlor. Anderson back with a right. Low kick by Anderson. Anderson landing punches. Right by Anderson. Low kick by Anderson. Andeson with a low kick. Nice left by Lawlor. Front kick by Lawlor. Lawlor with a right. Lawlor with a good flurry late. Anderson tried a takedown and landed a knee late. Lawlor 20-18 but these rounds are close.
Third round: Body kick by Anderson. Right by Anderson. Anderson takedown into side control. Anderson landed a punch from the top. John McCarthy ordered a standup with 1:05 left. Right by Anderson and a low kick. Anderson’s round. Crowd lightly booed. 29-28 Lawlor but this could easily go either way.
Scores: 30-27, 30-27 29-28 Anderson. Fans booed the decision a lot and through his promo.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#13) GIAN VILLANTE (14-6, 4-3 UFC) VS. ILIR LATIFI (11-4 1 NC, 4-2 UFC)
First round: Villante out with good body kicks. Latifi exploded for a takedown attempt that he didn’t get. Latifi landed a big left. Latifi landing several punches. Latifi on two had Villante hurt and then went for the takedown, which allowed Villante to recover. Latifi 10-9.
Second round: Villante landing kicks. Latifi with a German suplex. Left by Latifi. Latifi trying for a takedown. Villante was holding the fence bad and Yves Lavigne didn’t see it. He actually did use his body to shield it but it was really blatant. Crowd booing because they are just standing there. Latiifi with a spin kick. Left by Latifi. Latifi again has him against the fence going for a takedown. Latifi slammed him but Villante back up. Latifi 20-18.
Third round: Latifi with a body shot. Latifi again going for the takedown. Tried a belly to belly but didn’t get it. Big left by Latifi. Another left by Latifi. Side kick by Latifi. Body kick by Villante. Another slam by Latifi with 20 seconds left. Latifi 30-27
Scores: All three judges have it 30-27 Latifi. Really he won all three rounds solidly.
They showed Jon Jones, Joanna, GSP, Diaz and Conor and GSP got by far the biggest reaction, even above Conor.
First round: Holm got a really big reaction. Tate was cheered a ton but not at the level of Holm. This has a very intense feel about it, very much like a world title fight. Crowd really psyched. Miesha chant. Left and a kick by Holm. Tate tried a takedown and didn’t get it. Holly chant. Much louder than Miesha chants. Now loud Miesha chants unti Holm shoved her backwards. Left by Holm. Very little happening and crowd is still into it. Holm forward with punches. Holm with a flurry ending with a side kick. Tate landed some punches. Head kick by Holm. Tate missed on a big kick. Side kick by Holm. Holm 10-9.
Second round: Tate took her down. She’s in side controil. Place popped huge for that. Holm got guard. Tate with a punch. Miesha chants super loud. Elbows to the body by Tate. Hard elbows by Tate. Another good elbow by Tate. Tate has her back She’s working for a choke. She gave it up. Tate working for it agan. Crowd going nuts. Holm survived the round. 10-8 round for Tate so 19-18 Tate. This crowd is going nuts like few fights I’ve seen.
Third round: Head kick by Holm. Big shots by Holm. Tate tried a takedown but didn’t get it. Side kick by Holm. Body kick by Holm. Kick and punch by Holm. Left by Holm. Right by Holm. Tate landed some punches and Holm with a body kick. Tate tried a takedown but couldn’t get it. Holm tried a head kick but it was blocked. Holm’s round so 28-28 after three.
Fourth round: Tate with a left. Holm with a combo. Tate again tried a takedown but couldn’t get it. Holm threw her off. Tate shot in but Holm blocked her. Holm with punches and threw an elbow when she let her up. A series of punches by Holm. Front kick by Holm and more punches. Holm 38-37 going into the final round.
Fifth round: Left by Holm. Holm with two side kicks. Holm with a left. Tate pushed her against the fence. Holm turned her. Holm threw an elbow to break the clinch. Holm with punches and a high kick. Tate is too slow to grab the leg when Holm is throwing her side kicks. Tate got her down and got her back again. Tate is working for a choke. Holm flipped her over but Tate held on and got the choke tighter. Holm went out without tapping. Unreal. This is one of the best finishes you’ll ever see. This match was so intense live. 3:30
WELTERWEIGHTS- (FTW C) CONOR MCGREGOR (19-2, 7-0 UFC) VS. (#5 LW) NATE DIAZ (18-10, 13-8 UFC)
First round: The place is still electric. Not nearly the Irish contingent as in the past but McGregor is still the big crowd favorite. Big left by McGregor. Diaz has him against the fence. McGregor out and landed a left and a right. McGregor landing punches. Good body punch by Diaz. Diaz starting to land. Spin kick missed by McGregor. Diaz is starting to land. Both are landing good shots. Diaz with a body kick. Diaz bleeding from the right eye. McGregor is targeting the eye. Diaz took him down but McGregor is on top. McGregor landing punches from the top. McGregor 10-9.
Second round: Spin kick by McGregor. Spin kick landed by McGregor. McGregor landing to the body. Left by McGregor. McGregor with a spin kick. Big fight by McGregor. Diaz is bleeding badly now. Big right by McGregor. Diaz tied him up against the fence. McGregor is really going to work on him now. Diaz’s face is a mess. Diaz slapped him in the face. Right by Diaz. Knee by McGregor. Uppercut by McGregor. McGregor landing a lot of shots and Diaz back with punches. Diaz actually missing most but now he’s landing. Diaz is starting to take over. Diaz has McGregor in trouble Diaz landing a ton of punches. Diaz with a ton of lefts. McGregor now coming back with punches. Diaz back with punches and has him hurt. McGregor went for a takedown and is on top. Diaz is punching the hell out of him and he’s got the choke and McGregor is not getting out of this. 4:20
Welcome to our live coverage of Bellator 151: Warren vs. Caldwell from Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. The event is headlined by a bantamweight bout as former Bellator Featherweight and Bantamweight Champion Joe Warren takes on undefeated rising prospect Darrion Caldwell. The event airs on Spike TV at 9 PM eastern time and prelims will air on Spike.com at 7 PM eastern time. Join us for full coverage of the main card.
Coverage provided by Ryan Frederick
PRELIM RESULTS: Ray Wood def. Chris Jones by TKO (punches) at 3:10 of Round 1 Justin Patterson def. Chance Rencountre by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) Ricky Turcios def. Steve Garcia by split decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27) Neiman Gracie def. Roger Carroll by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27) Jermayne Barnes def. Derek Palmer by TKO (punches) at 1:17 of Round 2 Treston Thomison def. Aaron Roberson by submission (guillotine choke) at 2:20 of Round 2
BANTAMWEIGHTS- JOE TAIMANGLO (21-6-1, 4-2 BFC) VS. SIRWAN KAKAI (12-3, 0-0 BFC)
ROUND 1- Taimanglo starts with a leg kick. Right hand from Taimanglo lands. Taimanglo lands a big flying knee and they start trading punches. Kakai lands a right hand. They trade punches. Taimanglo lands some right hands. Kakai lands a solid right hand in return. Taimanglo drops Kakai for a moment with a right hand. Kakai goes for a takedown and pushes against the fence. Taimanglo has the neck looking for a choke. Kakai is trying to scrmable out but Taimanglo turns it into a D’arce choke. Kakai escapes that but finds himself in a guillotine. Kakai gets out of that and starts landing from the top in the guard. Kakai moves to half-guard but they scramble to their feet. Back to the mat and Kakai lands from the top as the round ends. 10-9 Taimanglo.
ROUND 2- Taimanglo looks to set up a flying knee but Kakai sees it coming. Taimanglo with some leg kicks. They clinch against the fence but break quickly. Kakai misses some punches but then they each land inside the pocket. Taimanglo lands a leg kick but eats a big punch from Kakai. Kakai with a high kick. Taimanglo fakes a takedown attempt and lands a right hand. They trade punches. Taimanglo keeping his hands low but landing more. Kakai with a leg kick. They trade punches. Kakai has a takedown attempt blocked. Taimanglo stuffs a takedown attempt and lands a nice punch. They clinch against the fence as the round ends. 10-9 Taimanglo, 20-18 Taimanglo.
ROUND 3- Taimanglo comes out with a body kick. Kakai getting aggressive with his kicks and lands a nice left hook. Taiamnglo lands a solid combo. Kakai buckles him with a leg kick. They trade punches. Kakai with a leg kick. Kakai with a big takedown against the cage but they bounce right back to their feet. They break. Taimanglo looks ehausted. Kakai gets the body lock against the fence and lands some knees. They battle in the clinch against the fence. They break. They each land some punches as the fight goes the distance. 10-9 Kakai, 29-28 Taimanglo.
Official Result- Joe Taimanglo def. Sirwan Kakai by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
ROUND 1- They trade leg kicks to start. Jenkins with another. Jenkins with a body kick and Yamauchi lands one himself. They are tangled against the fence and Yamauchi jumps on the back of Jenkins. Yamauchi looking for a standing choke. Yamauchi has it nearly locked in but lets go. Jenkins with some back punches. Yamauchi still working for the choke but takes some elbows from Jenkins. Yamauchi goes back for the choke. He’s not quite getting it under the neck and he’s had three minutes in this position. Jenkins keeps fighting it off. Yamauchi gives it one last big attempt but Jenkins gets out as the round ends. 10-9 Yamauchi.
ROUND 2- They trade kicks to start off the round. Jenkins shoots in and gets a big takedown. They are against the fence with Jenkins in the guard. Yamauchi looking for the arm from the bottom but fence is in the way. Jenkins with some body punches from the top. Yamauchi lets go of the arm and Jenkins is in the full guard. Jenkins passes to half-guard and is smothering from top but not doing a lot. Jenkins then starts to land a little. Jenkins gets to his feet but goes right back into the guard after missing a big right hand. Round ends with not a lot of action going on during that five minutes. 10-9 Jenkins, 19-19.
ROUND 3- They trade kicks and Jenkins goes high. Yamauchi lands a big leg kick and misses a spin kick. Jenkins shoots in and scores the takedown. They are against the fence. Jenkins looking to pass guard. Not much happening here. Jenkins doing just enough to keep it from being stood up as Yamauchi looks for the arm. Yamauchi has the arm looking to extend but Jenkins defends it. Jenkins gets back into full guard. Jenkins with some punches from the top but he looks more like he is stalling. Yamauchi looks for one last armbar attempt as the fight ends. Boring fight. 10-9 Jenkins, 29-28 Jenkins.
Official Result- Bubba Jenkins def. Goiti Yamauchi by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-27)
WELTERWEIGHTS- FERNANDO GONZALEZ (24-13, 4-0 BFC) VS. GILBERT SMITH (12-4, 0-0 BFC)
ROUND 1- Smith comes out with a combo. Smith ducks under a punch from Gonzalez and scores a big takedown. Gonzalez reverses position and gets on top but Smith has his neck. They scramble up for a moment but go back to the mat. Gonzalez is in side control against the fence and landing punches. They get to their feet but go back down against as Smith looks for the takedown. Gonzalez lands some elbows as Smith works to the top. They get back to their feet. Smith works for another takedwn but Gonzalez sprawls and lands punches and ends up on top in side control. Gonzalez with body punches. Gonzalez gets the neck and looks for a guillotine choke. He had it in but Smith escaped. They get back to their feet and hit the mat again. 10-9 Gonzalez.
ROUND 2- They come out trading punches. Smith scores a takedown and is on top. Smith landing punches against the fence on top. Gonzalez is able to reverse position by sweeping. They scramble to their feet and Smith drags the fight back down. Smith landing soft punches from the top and Gonzalez is not doing much in return. Gonzalez has the neck but looks like he is just holding on with nothing. They are stood up. They trade shots as the round ends. 10-9 Smith, 19-19.
ROUND 3- Gonzalez with a combo as Smith shoots for a takedown but is stuffed. Smith lands a big left hand and has Gonzalez hurt and turns it into a takedown. Smith has him againsyt the fence. Gonzalez landing elbows from the bottom. Smith tries to posture up but loses the position. They scramble back to their feet. Smith lands punches and goes for a takedown and Gonzalez falls to the mat before Smith can even land it. Smith smothering from top and lands a knee as they get to their feet. They scramble and Gonzalez ends on top in half-guard as is landing elbows. Gonzalez in full guard now and landing from top. They get up to their feet.Smith lands some big punches. Smith with a nice combo but Gonzalez lands a solid body kick as the fight ends. 10-9 Smith, 29-28 Smith.
Official Result- Fernando Gonzalez def. Gilbert Smith by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
BANTAMWEIGHTS- JOE WARREN (13-4, 11-3, BFC) VS. DARRION CALDWELL (8-0, 5-0 BFC)
ROUND 1- Caldwell with a head kick and he gets Warren to the mat. Caldwell takes the back and looks for a choke. He has the back against the fence. Caldwell with punches from the back as he has Warren pinned against the fence. Caldwell still has the back and is landing some punches. They get to their feet and Caldwell with a huge German suplec and he has the back of Warren again on the mat. Caldwell looking for the choke and he has it in. It is deep and Warren is out cold! Caldwell stays undefeated as he choke Warren out cold and gets the submission win.
Official Result- Darrion Caldwell def. Joe Warren by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:23 of Round 1
After doing a quick internet search, I believe this is the first time in RAW’s history that it has aired on LEAP DAY, which would be today, February 29th.
With the major matches for WrestleMania set, tonight’s RAW in Nashville is headlined by the return of the Undertaker, in his first appearance since the Survivor Series. His appearance itself isn’t the curiosity. Rather, it’s how far the company will go to make him a heel for his match with Shane McMahon.
Will he be a full-fledged heel? If so, how? Will he be a reluctant heel grudgingly going against Shane at the behest of The Authority? Will he be a subtle heel like the one Bret Hart portrayed to perfection during the 1997 Canada-USA feud? Perhaps of more importance will be the return of Shane McMahon, and whether the remarkable reaction to his return in Detroit will be just a one-week pop, or something sustainable. Some of the undercard matches for WrestleMania could also be set into motion on tonight’sshow, including Charlotte’s challenger for the Divas championship.
Our live coverage starts at 8 ET.
The Big Takeaway: HHH will wrestle Dean Ambrose for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at some point before WrestleMania. Show was prominent for who wasn’t there. Shane McMahon, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman were all absent. The Undertaker returned for a very brief apperance, telling Vince McMahon that when he wrestles Shane at WrestleMania, Shane’s blood would be on Vince’s hands, not his. Undertaker was a babyface acting like he going into this match vs. Shane against his will.
Show Recap:
HHH started the show and talked about how everyone has an authority figure in their lives. They may hate they authority figure, but they’re afraid to speak out against it. The figure is there for people to understand their place in life. Roman Reigns should know that place, but he chose to challenge and disrespect authority. Crowd chanted for Reigns, but HHH played up that Reigns suffered a broken nose and he was home breathing through his mouth hoping that his place at WrestleMania is still safe.
Dean Ambrose came out and told HHH he just got off the phone with Reigns, who told HHH he was coming for HHH. Then HHH introduced Ambrose as an Academy Award winner for Best Supporting Actor in a Bromance. Ambrose laughed it off and turned his attention to being jumped by Brock Lesnar last week, along with Shane McMahon returning and HHH jumping Reigns. Crowd chanted for Shane. Ambrose asked HHH who did he want to win the Triple Threat match at Fast Lane. More to the point, who did HHH NOT want to win at Fast Lane. HHH refused to answer, but said it was clear Ambrose wasn’t a factor in that match. Ambrose got in HHH’s face and said he was the last guy HHH wanted to face at WrestleMania. HHH laughed and thought Ambrose was crazy. Ambrose said HHH was smart enough to know he would never want to get in the ring with Ambrose. Ambrose said he could see that HHH doesn’t think he could beat Ambrose. Crowd started chanting “You can’t be him.”
This was a long-winded way of Ambrose challenging HHH for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. HHH said he would take it under advisement and give him an answer by the end of the night. Ambrose wanted to know how, by text or phone call. HHH said Ambrose was going to get the night off tonight, but since Ambrose decided to confront him, Ambrose would face Alberto Del Rio while the rest of the League of Nations would be at ringside.
This was your classic boring HHH 20-minute opening segment.
HHH started the show and talked about how everyone has an authority figure in their lives. They may hate they authority figure, but they’re afraid to speak out against it. The figure is there for people to understand their place in life. Roman Reigns should know that place, but he chose to challenge and disrespect authority. Crowd chanted for Reigns, but HHH played up that Reigns suffered a broken nose and he was home breathing through his mouth hoping that his place at WrestleMania is still safe.
Dean Ambrose came out and told HHH he just got off the phone with Reigns, who told HHH he was coming for HHH. Then HHH introduced Ambrose as an Academy Award winner for Best Supporting Actor in a Bromance.
Ambrose laughed it off and turned his attention to being jumped by Brock Lesnar last week, along with Shane McMahon returning and HHH jumping Reigns. Crowd chanted for Shane. Ambrose asked HHH who did he want to win the Triple Threat match at Fast Lane. More to the point, who did HHH NOT want to win at Fast Lane. HHH refused to answer, but said it was clear Ambrose wasn’t a factor in that match. Ambrose got in HHH’s face and said he was the last guy HHH wanted to face at WrestleMania. HHH laughed and thought Ambrose was crazy. Ambrose said HHH was smart enough to know he would never want to get in the ring with Ambrose. Ambrose said he could see that HHH doesn’t think he could beat Ambrose. Crowd started chanting “You can’t be him.” This was a long-winded way of Ambrose challenging HHH for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
HHH said he would take it under advisement and give him an answer by the end of the night. Ambrose wanted to know how, by text or phone call. HHH said Ambrose was going to get the night off tonight, but since Ambrose decided to confront him, Ambrose would face Alberto Del Rio while the rest of the League of Nations would be at ringside.
This was your classic boring HHH 20-minute opening segment.
Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks went to a double pin draw (9:40)
This was the best women’s match on Raw in awhile. Finish was Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch were battling on the top rope. Banks went for the Sunset Flip Power Bomb and hit it. For some reason, Banks layed back on the mat while Lynch’s feet over her, leading to a double pin. Charlotte and Ric Flair watched from ringside. Fans chanted “Triple Threat,” but we’re supposed to wonder who Charlotte will now face at WrestleMania. Charlotte and Flair smugly walked to the back as Banks and Lynch looked confused.
Bray Wyatt did a promo from the back. He said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. Wyatt said he thought maybe he was insanity. On the other hand, Wyatt said maybe his mind was the key to saving the entire world. It starts with an idea, which becomes a plan, which becomes a beautiful symphony. He can give the world enternal paradise. If you don’t join him, you will find yourself exactly as the rest as everyone else. Conquered.
There was a segment from SmackDown where the Miz and Dolph Ziggler argued about past WrestleMania accomplishments. Ziggler said he wondered if Miz deserved to even be a WWE Superstar.
The Miz defeated Dolph Ziggler (1:04)
Miz won after whipping Ziggler face first into the corner and a schoolboy cradle. Ziggler has done clean jobs to Kevin Owens, Heath Slater and Miz so far in 2016. What did he do?
Stephanie McMahon came out to finish her speech from the Vincent J. McMahon Spirit of Excellence Award last week that was interrupted by Shane. Crowd booed her and chanted for Shane. She dropped her preapred remarks and opted for the remarks the writers prepared for her. She tipped over the podium and tore into the fans about cheering Shane after he vansihed for seven years. Stephanie said if Shane really cared about his family, he would have shown up to a WrestleMania or a Raw, which he hasn’t done. He accused him of abadoning his family.
Stephanie said it kills Shane that HHH and she are in power. Stephanie said Shane’s sons would have to fight for control over the company with her daughters. She said the Undertaker would defeat Shane at Hell in a Cell, and dismember him. And Shane could take a permanent vacation. Stephanie said the fans were lazy and entitled. Sooner or later, reality would come around and slap them right in the face. She said sooner or later, the fans would have to bow down to the Authority, and bow down to the Queen, her. Stephanie had excellent delievery on her promo, but I’m not sure if the family dynamics are something that will draw money. I bet a reality show about the behind the scenes interaction among the McMahons would be straight money, though.
Rusev and Sheamus defeated Lucha Dragons (5:04)
Rusev pinned Kalisto with a spin kick after Del Rio distracted Kalisto. Sheamus laid out Sin Cara on the floor with a Brogue Kick. Afterwards, Del Rio hit his Diving Double Foot Stomp on Kalisto. Michael Cole is still playing up the Kalisto-Del Rio program. League of Nations have started waving their arms in unison like they’re all calling for the DDT.
Natalya did a product placement promo with Renee Young talking about how Subway sandwiches help her keep fit. Well, Subway does need a new spokesperson.
Ryback did one of those awful inset promos saying how Spotlight may have won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. But if the Spotlight doesn’t shine on him, then he’s going to take it.
Ryback defeated Adam Rose (2:02)
Ryback won with vicious ground and pound and pinned Adam Rose with Shellshock. Announcers tried to get over that Ryback was being more aggressive. With his G&P, it feels like Ryback came along 20 years too late. He would fit in doing a UFC gimmick in 1996, which was basically what Goldberg was doing. Earlier, Rose attempted some of the worst crossfaces in recorded wrestling history.
The New Day did a promo comparing themselves to the great three-man units in history. I thought that was going to lead to Michael Hayes coming out to announce the Freebirds Hall of Fame induction. Instead, it led to Y2AJ.
Y2AJ defeated The New Day (C) in a nontitle match (8:56)
Good match where Chris Jericho made Kofi Kingston tapout to the Walls of Jericho. A.J. Styles got the heat taking the Unicorn Stampede and a big splash from Big E. They aired highlights of a six-man match between YUAJ and Mark Henry vs. New Day from SmackDown, where Kingston hit Jericho with the Trouble in Paradise. Jericho had a legit black eye from the spot. After the win, Y2AJ challenged New Day to a match for the championships next week in Chicago. Feels like the right time for New Day to drop the straps. Or it could be a heel turn for Styles in order to make way for Karl Anderson and Drew Gallows and form a group. Styles has become the new Cesaro, as fans held up signs reading “You Don’t Want None,” which is the title of Styles’ music.
Vince McMahon came out. He came out to a flat reaction and didn’t look happy. Vince then said “Do you know who I am?” Whew, he’s stealing Bully Ray’s catchphrase. Or the Mountie’s. Vince brought up the possibility of Shane running Monday Night Raw if he defeated the Undertaker, which meant Stephanie and HHH would effectively quit the business. I’m sure.
Vince said Shane would lead Sports Entertainment into a different era than ever before if he won. But only fools believe in miracles. Vince said he loves Shane, but he loves him enough to teach him a lesson he’ll never forget. He loved Shane enough to put him in the ring against the Undertaker, who he introduced.
Time will go on and the industry will continue, but there will never be an entrance like the Undertaker’s again.
Vince started to put Undertaker over, but Undertaker grabbed him by the throat. Undertaker said Vince knew what would happen when he closes that door behind him at WrestleMania. Undertaker said the blood of Shane would be on Vince’s hands, not his. And he left. The ring entrance was ten times longer than the actual apperance.
Vince said the reality is he would stand in the ring after WrestleMania, saying Shane has failed to defeat the Undertaker, failed him as a son and he would lose his inheritance. He vowed to write Shane out of his will and give it all to Stephanie. Vince said he would renounce Shane as his son and Shane will no longer be his son, he will be just a son of a bitch. One can question Vince’s creative decisions, but the fact is he’s so gifted as a non-wrestling performer, if he wasn’t in the WON Hall of Fame as a promoter, it would be necessary to include him as an on-screen character.
Bubba Ray Dudley defeated Jey Uso (2:11)
Bubba Ray Dudley pinned Jey Uso after a Full Nelson Slam. After saying for weeks that the fans would never see them use tables again, Devon Dudley pulled out a table. Jimmy Uso, like a total geek, ran after Devon, who simply tossed the table into Jimmy.
Goldust approached R-Truth again backstage. Before he could say another word, Truth told Goldust they would never be a tag team and he didn’t need a partner. Goldust appeared to have tears in his eyes and walked off without saying anything. Truth looked remorseful.
The Big Show defeated Kevin Owens (C) via countout in a nonitle match (2:37)
They teased a countout finish with Owens giving the Big Show a tornado DDT on the floor. Show beat the count, then gave Owens a choke slam onto the ropes, where Owens was crotched. The story is Owens did the same thing to Big Show on SmackDown Thursday, which means the only thing worse than parity pinfall booking is parity countout booking.
Brie Bella did an interview with Young. Lana showed up and started talking about how Daniel Bryan left her out in the old while her man is still competing and gives her everything she wants. Brie shot back that Rusev was a great double for a grizzly bear in the Revenant, and Lana could talk once she has the guts to get in the ring.
Naomi defeated Brie Bella via submission (4:07)
Naomi won with a Crucifix as a submission hold after Tamina interfered. Naomi’s finisher is she does a crucifix while grabbing her opponet’s arm, but the way she applied it, she could have done it to my grandmother and she wouldn’t have sold it. Lana came out afterwards and laughed at Brie.
The Fabulous Freebirds were named as the new inductees as the WWE Hall of Fame. Michael Hayes, Buddy Roberts, Terry Gordy…and Jimmy Jam Garvin. Sort of like Van Halen getting inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame and they include Gary Cherone.
Lynch and Banks argued about who would have won their match earlier tonight if a draw hadn’t been declared when Charlotte and Flair walked up. Charlotte told them they would meet again on SmackDown on Thursday night. The winner would face her at WrestleMania. The loser of the match would fade into oblivion. The other would be the answer to a trivia question: “Who was the person Charlotte defeated at her first WrestleMania?” She and Flair laughed and left as the babyfaces stewed.
Dean Ambrose defeated Alberto Del Rio by DQ (9:07)
Ambrose spent the entire match selling. He had his right armed taped selling Brock Lesnar’s F-5 on the floor last week. At one point, Del Rio gave him the cross armbreaker against the ropes. Ambrose barely sold it before giving Del Rio a neckbreaker. But please, tell me more about how Ring of Honor guys don’t understand psychology.
It led to HHH coming out and ordering the League of Nations to attack Ambrose. Since HHH peaked in 1999, can we just call the LON the NWO Black and White and be done with it? The League beat down Ambrose. HHH started to talk down to him about how he would never understand Ambrose couldn’t stand up to authority. Ambrose rose up and punched HHH, which quickly made a comeback ending with a pedigree. HHH told Ambrose that he would get his title match.
Ambrose got the microphone while still selling and said “Hey Hunter! Thanks.” HHH looked pissed, rolled up his sleeves as the League disappeared and proceeded to beat the hell out of Ambrose with numerous punches delievered on the announcer’s table. The camerawork here resembled the end of ECW where they zoomed in quickly during every punch, and zoomed out afterwards. It was enough to give you motion sickness. But not as bad as seeing the heels stand tall over the babyfaces for the 88th time out of the past 93 shows. That’s a totally made up figure, by the way. But if you looked it up and found that it really was the case, would you be surprised?
SUMMARY:
A flat show. I’m unclear what the Undertaker’s motivation is for wanting to wrestle Shane at WM. It was never explained tonight. I know that HHH has to get heat in order for WrestleMania to have something special, but it’s clear the fans like Ambrose more than Reigns. I’m not sure either can be the flagbearer for the company. But seeing HHH out there as the top heel at 46-years-old reminds me of seeing Hulk Hogan in WCW 2000 still main evening PPVs against Ric Flair long after his star had faded and well past his drawing peak. And what’s the end result? To put over Reigns, who isn’t the answer either.
Welcome to our live coverage of UFC Fight Night 84: Silva vs. Bisping from The O2 Arena in London, England. The event is headlined by a five-round bout in the UFC’s middleweight division as former UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva returns from a year-long layoff to take on Michael Bisping in a highly-anticipated fight, and the biggest fight to air on the UFC’s digital network, UFC Fight Pass. The co-main event is another bout in the middleweight division as Gegard Mousasi takes on Thales Leites. Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 12:45 PM eastern time with preliminary action all the way thru the main card.
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 12:45 PM ET/9:45 AM PT)
LIGHTWEIGHTS- DAVID TEYMUR (3-1, 0-0 UFC) VS. MARTIN SVENSSON (14-5, 0-0 UFC)
David Teymur knocked out Martin Svensson at one minutes twenty seconds of the 2nd round
David Teymur dominated the overwhelming majority of this fight, picking apart a diffident Martin Svensson with a variety of kicks. Particularly effective were those to the body in the first round. Svensson struggled to adjust on the feet and quickly tried to take the fight to the ground. Unfortunately for him his takedown attempts were ineffective and he was reduced to falling onto his back in a desperate attempt to trick his fellow Swede into following him. Unsurprisingly Teymur wasn’t tempted, and even managed some clever kicks to the upper body as Svensson was falling back. The end came when Teymur connected with a high kick early in the second round. He quickly followed up on a stunned opponent to end the fight at 1:20 of the second round. Afterwards he delivered an emotional promo, where after breaking down into tears, he talked about how much the victory meant to him.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- TEEMU PACKALEN (7-1, 0-1 UFC) VS. THIBAULT GOUTI (11-0, 0-0 UFC)
Teemu Packalen submitted Thibault Gouti at twenty-four seconds of the 1st round
Very much a blink and you’d miss it fight. In the first exchange, Packalen sneaks in an uppercut on the inside. Gouti never saw it coming and crumpled to the floor. Packalen swarmed all over him with ‘donkey kong’ style hammerfistsm, before taking his back and applying the rear naked choke for the win at 0:24 of the first round. Afterwards Packalen struggled through some stilted exchanges with Dan Hardy in English before cutting what seemed a fiery promo in Finnish.
HEAVYWEIGHTS- DANIEL OMIELANCZUK (17-5-1 1 NC, 2-2 UFC) VS. JARJIS DANHO (6-0 1 NC, 0-0 UFC)
Daniel Omielanczuk defeated Jarjis Danho by majority technical decision
Round One
The fight begun with Jarjis Danho winning the early exchanges, landing some strong punches on the inside. The fight then stalled up against the fence until Daniel Omielanczuk forced the separation. Omielanczuk pushed Danho back with some good kicks and punches of his own, but Danho regrouped to alnd some solid punches. At one point the big Pole seemed to be struggling but Danho didn’t press the advantage. Omielanczuk tries to take the fight to the ground a coupel of times but nothing comes of it. Towards the end of tbhe round they tie up against the fence again, with Danho doing a better job of stying active, working over Omielanczuk’s body. Danho’s round, 10-9.
Round Two
Omielanczuk opens the round with a series of leg kicks, followed by an oblique kick. Both fighters seem very tired. Danho rushes wildly with an overhand right. Danho noticeably slower than in the first round. They have a sloppy grappling exchange after an attempted takedown fails. Omielanczuk lands a good straight right. They trade leg kicks whilst circling each other. They kept off the fence this round but there striking exchanges have been noticably slower and less dramtic. Danho lands a nice right cross. Omielanczuk throws a heavily telegraphed overhand right – very sloppy.
Danho tries to charge forward but doesn’t have the energy. They exchange in the middle of the Octagon, and either a glancing blow knocks Danho down or he loses his footing. Omielanczuk tries to captialise with ground and pound, but Danho gets to his feet. Omielanczuk lands some good knees but alas before one of them Danho had his hand on the ground. Referee stops the fight to give Danho time to recover from the illegal blow – Omielanczuk believed the stoppage was due to him winning. Danho still doesn’t seem himself after the restart, with Omielanczuk pushing the action, backing up the big Syrian and landing numerous blows. It’s all even going into the final round at 19-19.
Round Three
They exchange kicks early on with Danho looking more dynamic than his sluggish second round performance. Omielanczuk controlling the distance with leg kicks. Referee is telling to them to up the ante. Danho tries to land a couple of overhand punches, but Omielanczuk blocks them. Danho barrels forward, trying to grab a Muay Thai clinch, and Omielanczuk counters with the most blatant low blow you will ever see. It was literally a punch on the inside to the balls. Danho goes down like he’s been shot, and Omielanczuk tries to capitalise with punches to the head. Danho struggling in the corner and the referee is ultimately forced to bring the doctor in. The fight is waved off.
Afterwards, Omielanczuk physically gestures to Danho that the problem is in his head not his balls. We go to a technical decision with Daniel Omielanczuk getting the nod by majority decision.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- NORMAN PARKE (21-4-1, 5-2-1 UFC) VS. RUSTAM KHABILOV (17-3, 3-2 UFC)
Rustam Khabilov defeated Norman Parke by unanimous decision
Round One
Both men start cautiously, with Norman Parke throwing the jab from range while Rustam Khabilov fights from range. A couple of shots at the body but neither man seems willing to engage. Parke lunges forward with an overhand punch. Khabilov goes for a throw, gets Parke off his feet but the Northern Irishman does a good job of landing on his knees. Parke escapes back to his feet. Parke counters the jab with a overhand right that just grazes Khabilov. Parke lands a good right cross, and once again goes for widly telegraphed overhand punches. Its stuff like that which drives boxing fans nuts, sloppy technique. A short stoppage due to an illegal blow, both men throw kicks that don’t quite connect. Khabilov goes for a takedown, and once again gets Parke up only for the Northern Irishman to land on his knees. Parke maintains position, gets back to his feet and forces the break. A welcome increase in tempo after the sluggish heavyweight fight but not much more happened. In such a low action fight the judges could pick either man but the two takedowns probably make it Khabilov’s, 10-9.
Round Two
Parke shows aggressive intent at the start of the second round, positively moving forward and backing up Khabilov. He’s however not actually achieving very much of not, with few of his shots landing. Best shots include Parke landing a right hand that seems to startle Khabilov and working over Khabilov’s body and legs with kicks. Alas fundamentally the action in the first four minutes is meaningless, Parke stalking Khabilov, potshotting him at best or missing at worst. Parke deviates from his strategy, attempting to take his opponent down. It’s a decision to engage that is a mistake, with Khabilov countering and finally completing a takedown. He however does nothing from top position despite having a full minute to do so. Given how little he had done in the preceding four minutes that’s not enough to steal the round. It’s all even at 19-19.
Round Three
We could do with something actually happening in this round. Khabilov is moving forward more in this round, looking to land counter punches. Parke goes forward and actually completes the takedown! He quickly takes Khabilov’s back, and works for the rear-naked choke. Khabilov doing a good job of protecting his neck. Khabilov manages to sit up, Parke readjusts and almost gets the choke applied, only for Khabilov to sweep him and escape. Khabilov then takes Parke down, and starts working over him with half-hearted ground and pound. Khabilov sloppily allows Parke to scoot away from him, but quickly grabs Parke again and slams him down. Khabilov has his back but never threatens with the submission. Very even round where both men got into dominate positions but the proceeded to do nothing. I guess I go with Parke as he had the dominate position for longer and did actually work for a submission, but either man could be judged the winner. And indeed all three judges disagree, giving the fight to Khabilov.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- BRAD SCOTT (10-3, 2-2 UFC) VS. KRZYSZTOF JOTKO (16-1, 3-1 UFC)
Krzysztof Jotko defeated Brad Scott by unanimous decision
Round One
Krzysztof Jotko looking to land kicks to begin with but Brad Scott is doing a good job of blocking them. Not doing quite so well at providing his own offence. Scott now backing Jotko up by moving forward. They trade straight punches to the body. Scott with a high knee. Jotko has a very odd technique, constantly moving his body even when standing still. Scott comes move into the fight as the round goes on, landing more as his hands become looser. He probably does enough to steal a round that had been drifting towards Jotko, stunning his opponent with a solid punch and following up with strong shots up against the fence. 10-9 to Scott.
Round Two
Jotko tries to impose himself in the early striking exchanges but Scott quickly ties him up against the fence. They separate, and proceed to have a bad kickboxing match, with neither man throwing much let alone landing anything of note. Jotko goes for a takedown after landing a straight punch to the body, but Scott is able to block it. Alas its not a clean separation, with Jotko holding onto the clinch for a prolonged period, without really doing anything. They disengage and Scott resumes walking down Jotko all over the Octagon without ever landing a significant punch. The noteable thing is that neither man is willing to throw a meaningful combination which is reducing their ability to catch their opponent. As I write that Jotko does put some shots together, with a nice sequence that ends with a spinning back fist. I guess that is enough to take the round 19-19.
Round Three
Jotko comes out with more intent, moving forward and looking to land shots on the inside. Jotko follows a front kick to the body with a straight punch. Jotko lands a low kick after Scott blocked a punch. Jotko looks exhausted, fighting with his mouth open. Jotko lands a clubbing blow to the back of the head that causes Scott to stumble. Jokto starting to look the more impressive, working Scott over with kicks. He stumbles slightly but quickly recovers. Jotko lands a high kick and then follows with a kick to the body. Scott really isn’t being active enough, seemingly content to maintain centre position whilst blocking Jotko’s shots. Jotko actually gets a straight punch through Scott’s defences. Jotko counters a legkick with a takedown that may well win him the fight. Scott tries to get back up but Jotko drags him back down. Jotko then rests in top position until a couple of big punches at the very end. On my scorecard that was Jotko’s round, and therefore he takes the fight 29-28. All three judges agree, with one judge actually having him ahead on all three rounds. The winner then proceeds to breakout some dance move.
FEATHERWEIGHTS- ARNOLD ALLEN (10-1, 1-0 UFC) VS. YAOTZIN MEZA (21-10 1 NC, 2-3 1 NC UFC)
Arnold Allen defeated Yaotzin Meza by unanimous decision
Round One
Energetic start as both men seek to land up close. Arnold Allen stuns Yaotzin Meza with a straight punch taht connects cleanly. Allen looking the cleaner striker, comfortably landing from range, whilst Meza repeatedly looks to barrell in and land short punches. Meza goes for a takedown, and Allen tries to counter with a trip. Meza blocks, and continues with the takedown attempt. Meza pushes Allen up against the cage, holding there for a prolonged period. Allen reverses the position, and trips Meza to the ground. Meza starts to work for a triangle choke, but Allen is doing a good job of defending. Allend escapes Meza’s guard, stands up, starts kicking the legs of a prone Mesa. The referee forces Meza to stand up. Round closes with Allen landing a left hook. Good, even round. I think Allen did enough to take the round, 10-9.
Round Two
Meza throws a high kick, Allen evades it, and trips Meza. Allen kicks the legs of the prone Meza, but decides not to go to ground. A wise call in all likelihood. They mvoe away from the fence, and Allen is using his jab to dominate ring positioning. He connects with a solid straight right. Meza throws a uppercut without success. Meza lands a leg-kick and has to move backwards quickly to prevent Allen connecting with a superman punch. Meza charges in for a takedown but doesn’t get it. Meza claims that he was poked in the eye by Allen during the grappling exchange. Not much happens after the restart with Allen pushing the action without actually connecting with anything until the very end. There he does land a right cross but Meza is able to avoid taking further damange. However on my scorecard is in trouble, as I have Allen winning 20-18.
Round Three
Allen starts the third round by winning a left hook. Meza blocks a high kick. Meza goes for the takedown, which Allen defends well. The defensive wrestling in British MMA has improved but where British fighters are still week is escaping after a successful brawl. Allen is no exception, needing the referee to separate him from a Meza who had pushed him up against the cage. Allen decides that now he wants the fight to go to the ground, looking to trip Meza. Meza defends and again goes for the takedown. Allen defends the initial shot, but doesn’t separate, and they grapple for an extended period up against the cage. Meza finally gets the takedown but Allen rolls through and gets top position. Allen has Meza’s back but doesn’t do anything with it. Allen defends another takedown attempt from Meza but again lets himself get sucked into a clinch against the cage. Meza goes for another takedown, Allen lands a high knee, and again with up against the cage. Allen now tying Meza up against the cage. And out of nowhere, Allen lights Meza up. He connects with a straight punch, follows up with a kick to the body and then knocks Meza down with wild right-left combinations up against the cage. Meza goes down and is very much saved by the bell. Indeed to begin with it seems like there had been a last-minute knockout, with Meza’s cornerman Benson Henderson remonstrating with the referee. Not being knocked out is alas a distinction without a difference for Meza, as he’s clearly lost the fight. That is indeed the view of all three judges.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- SCOTT ASKHAM (13-2, 1-2 UFC) VS. CHRIS DEMPSEY (11-3, 1-2 UFC)
Scott Askham knocked out Chris Dempsey at XX:XX of the first round
This was a fun fight. Chris Dempsey is mauling Scott Askham due to the usual reason that Englishmen can’t wrestle. From the very first exchange he’s got Askham on the ground and is working for a submission. The crowd is living and dying with every desperation escape Askham makes, especially as its quickly followed by being taken down quickly. They separated, and Askham lands an overhand right that badly stuns Dempsey. The American is literally dancing in the middle of the Octagon. Askham is then ice-cool, connecting with a perfect high kick to secure the victory.
BANTAMWEIGHTS- DAVEY GRANT (9-2, 0-1 UFC) VS. MARLON VERA (7-2-1, 1-1 UFC)
Davey Grant defeated Marlon Vera by unanimous decision
Round One
Davey Grant is the agressor to begin with, landing several kicks to the body. Vera catches one, and traps Grant in the clinch. Grant escapes, and they trade kicks. Grant lands a particularly good leg kick that caused Vera to wince. Grant catches Vera on the inside with a couple of short punches. Vera drops down to attack Grant’s legs, but is too close to the cage. The referee moves them slightly always from the fence, Grant escapes the leglock and then proceeds to start kicking the hell out of Vera’s legs much to the amusement of the crowd. Vera almost grabs Grant’s legs but the Englishmen escapes. Vera has more luck when he jumps up and takes Grant’s back, securing the rear-naked choke. Grant however escapes, sweeps into top position and ends the round striking from top position. Grant’s round, 10-9.
Round Two
There’s the hint of a cut on the top of Grant’s head which soon gushes blood after its clipped by Vera in the opening exchanges. Grant is the aggressor but both men are landing very good shots – including some good kicks to the body. The bigger man, Grant bullies Vera up against the cage, landing several clubbing short-punches. Vera backs away, and Grant takes the fight to the ground. Grant struggles to impose himself, with Vera’s defensive grappling frustraing the Englishman. The referee eventually stands them up due to Vera grabbing the fence. Grant lands a strong kick to the body and then once again takes Vera down. Not sure this is the wisest strategy, Grant is dominating the standup yet doesn’t seem to be able to do anything on the ground with Vera. Grant stands up to kick Vera’s legs and then dives back in to his guard. Another good round for Grant. 20-18
Round Three
Grant follows up some early success on the feet with a strong takdown attempt. Vera seeks to roll with the and end up on top, but Grant is able to counter this. They’re up against the cage, but Grant isn’t really able to do anything due to Vera’s guard. Grant stands up but then decides to dive back in for no reason. Vera trying to go for armbars but doesn’t particularly threaten with them. Vera throwing some elbows off the bottom. Grant isn’t excelling on top, just seeking to throw punches from inside guard rather than improve position. The referee stands them up. Grant immediately looks so much better on the feet, lighting Vera up with solid punches and a good kick to the mid-section. Vera tries to counter with a running high-knee! Grant goes for another takedown (why!) but doesn’t get it. Even exchanges to the end. Another clear ound for Grant who’s won 30-27 on my scorecard.
All three judges score it 30-26 for Grant due to a Vera having been deducted a point due to grabbing the fence in the third round.
FEATHERWEIGHTS- MIKE WILKINSON (9-1, 2-1 UFC) VS. MAKWAN AMIRKHANI (12-2, 2-0 UFC)
Makwan Amirkhani defeated Mike Wilkinson by unanimous decision
Round One
This rivalry has become increasingly heated over the past week, especially after their controntation yesterday at the weigh-ins. They quickly go to ground, with Wilkinson trying to secure a submission from the bottom. Even grappling exchanges with Wilkinson’s guard doing a good job of keeping Amirkhani quiet. Amirkhani stands up, only to dive back in with a punch. Amirkhani escapes the guard, and moves to side control. He briefly moves to mount but Wilkinson hip escapes back to guard. This has been quite a good technical grappling exchange but Amirkhani seems to be getting frurstated as he just starts throwing big punches from the top. Wilkinson briefly threatens with the armbar towards the end but Amirkhani’s round. 10-9 to Mr Finland
Round Two
Amirkhani starts the round with a bang, landing a great jumping knee. He immediately gets Wilkinson back on the ground, working over him in side control. Once again he looks to trap the arm of Wilkinson, so giving the Englishman the chance to escape back to his feet. It’s then Wilkinson’s turn to take the fight to the ground, securing a great choke that very nearly steals the fight from the hitherto dominate Finn. Amirkhani escapes only to almost succumb to a guillotine. He escapes that, assumes top position and quickly moves. Wilkinson does a good job of stifling him. Wilkinson with elbows from the bottom. Amirkhani gets to his feet and kicks Wilkinson’s legs, but quickly gets back on top. Very fun round. Amirkhani has the 20-18 advantage and Wilkinson will need to do something special to avoid defeat.
Round Three
Both men look tired after what has been a very fast paced ten minutes. They quickly end up back on the ground, with Amirkhani once again looking to push the action from top position. They briefly get up, Amirkhani lands a straight punch and takes Wilkinson down, but in the scramble its the Englishman who secures control. Wilkinson looking to push the advantage, landing good shots from top position. Not threatening with any submissions however. Amirkhani sweeps Wilkinson, stands-up, tries to hit Wilkinson as he stands-up, Wilkinson then trips him down and tries to him on the way down. Wilkinson on top, in half guard. Wilkinson connecting with some elbows and punches from the top. Amirkhani again reverse position, pushing Wilkinson onto his back, and quickly moving to the mount. Amirkhani rides out the remaining thirty seconds, despite Wilkinson best attempts to buck him. At one point, Wilkinson even tries to choke him from the bottom! Good end to what was a very fun fight. That round could have gone to either man but the fight was clearly Amirkhani’s. All three judges agree, with Mr. Finland getting the decision on all three judges’ scorecards, with one judging giving him all three rounds.
MAIN CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 4 PM ET/1 PM PT)
BANTAMWEIGHTS- (#15) FRANCISCO RIVERA (11-5 1 NC, 4-4 1 NC UFC) VS. BRAD PICKETT (24-11, 4-6 UFC)
Brad Pickett defeated Francisco Rivera by split decision
Round One
Brad Pickett looking to keep it tidy in the early exchanges, leading with his jab and keeping his guard high. They exchanges leg kicks. Pickett keeps ducking down as if to throw an overhand punch, but Rivera si doing a good job of keeping his boxing guard high. A couple of jabs from Rivera land. Pickett tries to chase Rivera down but to no avail. Pickett lands a straight punch to the mid-section. Rivera lands a glancing blow and a much more solid high kick. Rivera knocks Pickett down with the type of ‘didn’t see it coming’ short punch on the inside that caused him to lose to Renan Barao in his UFC UK debut. Rivera getting the better of the striking exchanges, causing Pickett’s head to snap back with a jab. Good exhange with Pickett successfully fighting fire with fire although he does still seem to be the less durable of the two men. The fight ends with Pickett trying for a takedown after a GREAT boxing exchange, that some both men landing solid shots. This is such a breath of fresh air after the dearth of quality striking combinations in the undercard. Rivera’s round, 10-9.
Round Two
Rivera gets the better of enough fast exchange of punches, and then lands a solid overhand right. Rivera throws several overhand punches at the slightly shorter Pickett, although none of them quite land. Both men are moving noticeably slower and throwing few punches after their efforts in the first round. Pickett goes for a takedown, gets it, does nothing, decides to stand back up. Fair enough. Rivera lands a good leg kick, then counters Pickett’s leg kick with a straight punch. Rivera lands enough solid punch. This round is there for the taking in the final minute. Both men miss with shots, including a nice spinning back kick from Pickett. Rivera gets a flash takedown but Pickett gets straight back up. Pickett puts together a left-right combination that has Rivera backing and covering up. The follow-up shot lands low, way low, much to Rivera’s discomfort. And the restart a slightly disappointing rond flares back into life, with both men throwing down as the round comes to an end. Yeesh….you really could score that either way. Neither man dominated, but while Pickett got the better takedown, Rivera’s striking was the better of the two. 20-18 to Rivera. Pickett needs the finish on my card.
Round Three
Pickett goes for the takedown, Rivera drops down to defend. Pickett eventually completes the takedown. Pickett is in side control but Rivera is controlling his head. Pickett pops his head out but Rivera escapes back to guard. The referee stands them up. It would be fair to say that this round has not been as frenetic as the first. Both men are still throwing, but because they’ve stopped putting together combinations they’re landing a lot less. Rivera grabs a kick from Pickett, and punishes him with a couple of quick punches to the head. Rivera gets a quick takedown, but Pickett gets back up quickly. Pickett then slams Rivera to the ground. Pickett moves to side control but his not really doing anything with the position. The fight drifts to an end. That was Pickett’s round but I think he’ll lose the decision. A fun fight even if neither man could maintain the pace set in the first round.
And the judges…disagree! All three score the fight 29-28 but two of them give it to Pickett. The swing round must have been the second (will confirm when I see the scorecards later), which was genuinely close with there being a perfectly justifable argument that Pickett’s superior grappling should have counted for more than Rivera’s greater success standing. Pickett collapses to the floor upon hearing the result, saying that if he had lost then he would have retired. He talks about how much the sport means to him and pledged to continue with the win.
WELTERWEIGHTS- TOM BREESE (9-0, 2-0 UFC) VS. KEITA NAKAMURA (31-6-2 1 NC, 1-3 UFC)
Tom Breese defeated Keita Nakamura by unanimous decision
Round One
Tom Breese is a top British prospect. They word in that phrase is ‘British’ as he quickly gets taken down by Keita Nakamura. Breese does nicely escape from the bottom and get to his feet however. Not much happens, with both men seemingly content to pick their spots and let the fight drift. Breese is the much bigger man, and his strikes do seem to have more power than his opponents but at no point was he able to have Nakamura in trouble. Nakamura did seem to startle the Englishman on one occassion and he did get the takedown, so its probably his round. But again, nothing much happened so it was something of a crap shot. 10-9 Nakamura.
Round Two
The round starts with Breese quickly ending up on his back but again he manages to reverse, this time sweeping into top position. This is the bizarre thing with British fighters, their grappling has generally improved to a high standard but there are still problems with takedown defence. Nakamura ties Breese up, Breese escapes and seeks to improve his position. Nothing much is happening, and I think that says more about Breese’s rather mechnical offensive grappling than Nakamura’s defence. Breese finally sees the opportunity to land some hard punches, but in doing so creates the space for Nakamura to escape from under him. Nakamura seeks to go on the offensive but Breese defends well against what looked like an attempted omoplata. The crowd is losing patience with what has been a bloodless battle. Breese’s round, and so we are all square going into the final round.
Round Three
This lifeless bout does not pick up with the third round, with the much of the opening exchanges being taken by Nakamura struggling to get Breese to the ground. He finally does so, only for Breese to roll through for a leg-lock. Of course Breese doesn’t actually do anything with the leg-lock, that’d be silly. Nakamura escapes and gains top position. Breese tries to stand up but Nakamura doing a good job of holding him. Breese eventually does escape but they are still entagled in a never-ending, slow-motion scramble that isn’t going anywhere. In fairness, Breese seems to be trying to go for a reverse triangle but it takes so long to apply that Nakamura was never in danager. As for who won the round, I guess that I would say Breese as he ‘threatened’ with two submissions.
The judges agree, with all three giving Breese the nod. Indeed two of them gave him all three rounds. Afterwards Breese apologised for his performance, saying that he felt lacked energy and was frustrated about not being more impressive inside the Octagon.
Gegard Mousasi defeated Thales Leites by unanimous decision
Round One
Leites goes immediately for the takedown but Mousasi blocks. They are up against the cage as Leites tries to complete the takedown. Leites successfully pulls Mousasi down, only for Mousasi to end up on top, so Leites has to get back to his knees and try for the takedown again, all without letting go. They finally disengage. The key for Leites is not to be too aggressive, Mousasi is a counter striker with the technique to capitalise on any openings left by rushing in. Mousasi throwing out the jab, some leg kicks from Leites. Leites misses with a wild cross. Leites ducks under a punch, tries for the takedown but Mousasi blocks. Leites as Mousasi up against the cage but can’t get him down. Leites connects with some good counter punches but Mousasi seems unphased. The round ends. I do not envy the judges on that one. Leites tried to do a lot of stuff but succeeded at next to nothing. Mousasi tried hardly anything but successfully passed the very low bar he set himself. Hmmmm…I gues Leites but let’s be honest nothing happenbed. Leites, 10-9.
Round Two
Mousasi is stalking Leites, although the Brazilian to throw whatever he wants from a safe range, whilst he finds the opening for the perfect punch. This is not the most eye-catching tactic. Leites does not connect with a couple of solid punches but nothing really seems to be working. Leites does go for the takedown but Mousasi easily blocks the attempt. Leites is clearly getting frustrated, restorting to wild crosses and overhand punches in an attempt to force the issue. Mousasi is starting to land more, with his jab proving particularly effective. Well relatively speaking. Leites is increasingly leaving himself open to counters from Mousasi by throwing crosses right in front of him. Mousasi picking the tempo up ever so slightly, landed a normal couple of good straight punches. Leites now noticeably bleeding. Leites tries to charge in but Mousasi evades. Leites tries for the takedown, Mousasi escapes, then Leites tries to goad him into a grappling battle. Mousasi kicks the prone Leites legs – I fear tonight’s agents are overusing that spot. Mousasi’s round, and it is now 19-19.
Round Three
Leites again comes forward positively to start the round but somehow ends up on his back with Mousasi on top position. I’m suddenly getting King Mo vs. Mousasi flashbacks. Mousasi lets him up after doing nothing from top position. Mousasi throws out the jab, and then actually puts togther a combination! Leites lands a punch to the mid-section, tries to throw a kick there but Mousasi catches it. Mousasi goes forward to land a straight punch but almost leaves himself open for the takedown. Ooops. Leites actually lands some clubbing blows as an actually fight threatens to break out. Unfortunately his swinging blows leave so much space for Mousasi to counter that Leites is soon forced to fall back. Mousasi gets the takedown, lays on top of Leites and the crowd are not happy. They stay in that position for a full minute until the buzzer goes to tell the fighters to stop fighting. Not sure that’s possible if they never started. Mousasi’s round, making him the winner on my scorecard, 29-28. The judges agree with a couple giving him all three rounds. Mousasi defends himself from the implication that he’s boring, saying that he dominated two rounds and wasn’t going to throw it all way in the last thirty seconds. He then adds that he took risks in his last fight and paid the price. I actually think we all paid the price for being to watch that fight but I take the point.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- (#5) ANDERSON SILVA (33-6 1 NC, 16-2 1 NC) VS. (#7) MICHAEL BISPING (27-7, 17-7 UFC)
Michael Bisping defeated Anderson Silva by unanimous decision
Any doubt about whether we would have a partisan crowd is quickly dismissed. Thunderous cheers for Michael Bisping are matched by the loud and nearly universal booing of Anderson Silva as he walked to the Octagon. Remember that as the O2 Arena was sold out before Silva was announced as Bisping’s opponent we don’t have the ususal contingent of Brazilian fans. The reaction becomes more mixed as he enters the Octagon but there’s no doubt about it – people want Bisping to maintain his perfect home record and secure the biggest win of his career.
Round One
Bisping starts positively, following Silva around the Octagon. Silva moving around well, avoids a high kick from Bisping. Silva with a jab. Bisping gets one through as well. Silva moving his hands in front of Bisping to distract him. Silva takes a clean punch from Bisping. Silva lands a leg kick, and then an oblique kick. Bisping misses with a high kick. Bisping lands a jab. Bisping lands a high kick. Silva lands a punch. Silva backs Bisping up against the cage, and seems to start getting loose with his striking but Bisping manages to force him back. Silva puts together a good kicking combination. Silva and Bisping dancing around each other, Silva beckons Bisping to come forward. Silva starting to get cocky. Evades three high kicks from Bisping in quick succession by just moving his head. Silva on the offensive, Bisping clips him with a punch that wobbles him but Silva comes back strong. Too men square off after the round ends. Bisping’s round but Silva starting up the band.
Round Two
Bisping has Silva up against the cage. Silva is taunting Bisping; Bisping is now Stephen Bonnar throwing punches to a SIlva who is keeping his back rooted to the Octagon cage. Silva smiles at Bisping when he lands a punch. Bisping backs off and tells SIlva to fight properly. Bisping tries to force the issue but Silva responds by dancing in the centre of the Octagon. SIlva charges forward with a straight punch that seems to hurt Bisping. Bisping storms back but can’t land anything. Silva starts dancing in the Octagon again. Lands a good back fist, and then a kick. Bisping tries to land an overhand punch but SIlva counters. Big “Let’s Go Bisping” chant, the home crowd can sense he’s in trouble. Silva moving his head to evade the punches. And then it gets even weirder. Bisping lands a solid punch and knocks Silva on his ass. Bisping goes for the kill but Silva looks surprisingly alert and tries to hit the incoming Brit. It doesn’t work, he’s overwhelmed and does well to not be finished. Bisping’s round, could easily be a 10-8. It’s certainly 20-18 for Bisping.
Round Three
The O2 Arena is buzzing now, they sense the upset victory is on. Nothing of note happens early on as both men keep each other at distance by throwing their jab out. Bisping is doing a good job of not falling back, always looking to come forward. Bisping throws a kick to the body. Bisping throws another kick and Silva catches it. Trips Bisping, throws kicks at his legs. Silva lands a kick of his own. The round ends with Silva picking up steam. He’s throwing with real intent. And then all hell breaks loose. He lands a picture perfect Muay Thai knee either on the buzzer or just after. Bisping goes out like he’s been shot, Silva thinks he’s won, people are all over the Octagon. Silva has to be coaxed off the top of cage. Bisping is deserately put back together whilst the Octagon is clear. Absolutely crazy scenes. If we can accept the knee as legitimate then that’s a possibe 10-8 round to Silva. If its not a legitimate blow then that could easily be Bisping’s round. Let’s split the different and give it to Silva 10-9. That makes it 29-28.
Round Four
Bisping comes out surprisingly strongly in the fourth, to which Silva responds by kicking him low. We restart. Silva is again standing right in front of Bisping, with his back to the cage, and only moving to evade the punches. He goes mock limp. Silva starting to throw punches at Bisping. Silva’s reflexes even now are so fast, moving his head all over the place to avoid these punches. We’re back in the centre of the Octagon. Kick to the body by Silva. This is getting an increasingly bad tempered fight. Silva complains about being poked in the eye. Doctor takes a look at him. The fight restarts. Bisping lands a clubbing overhand right. Silva lands a kick to the knee. Bisping charges forward and connects. Bisping puts some punches to gether in the corner. Silva goes for a kick but it leaves him off balance. Silva lands an elbow, it hurts Bisping. And at the very end of the fight he connects with a picture perfect Superman punch. This fight is absolutely nuts. Silva’s round, 10-9. The fight is 38-38.
Round Five
This fight is on a knife edge, with either man capable of winning the decision. The question is does Anderson go for the finish earlier than in the previous two rounds. Silva starts with a high kick. Bisping comes in but Silva counters with a right hand. Silva lands another high kick. Silva noticeably more aggressive. Silva with a kick to the mid-section. Silva misses with a wild overhand punch. Ther referee calls the doctor in to take a look at Bisping’s eye. The crowd is going absolutely crazy. Silva misses with a elbow. Bisping threatening with punches and Silva hits him with a front kick square to the face. Bisping is doing remarkably well to not wilt under this bombardment, he’s not taking a single backward step. Bisping is a bloody mess. Bisping goes for a takedown but Silva easily stops it. Silva lands a jab straight to the jaw of Bisping. Bisping lands a punch, Silva spins round with a kick to the mid-section. They go the distance. Incredible fight.
I have it 48-47 for Anderson Silva. You really could have a wide range of scores after all that. What we know is that Silva clearly won the final two rounds 10-9. I feel fairly confident that Bisping won the first round 10-9 too. Its rounds two and three are key. If the knee strike wasn’t a legal blow then that would mean the round could be scored for Bisping. If round two was a 10-8 then Bisping could secure a majority draw even after losing the final three rounds.
The judges all give the fight to Bisping 48-47. Hmmmmm, we’ll need to look at the scorecards when they come. Emotional scenes as Bisping embraces his parents and then talks about how much Anderson Silva meant to him. There was some booing of the decision. Bisping talks title shot. Silva does not talk retirement.
