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  • WWE RAW Live results: Lots of debuts tonight and Cesaro returns

    It’s the first Raw after WrestleMania season tonight in Los Angeles, but it promises to be an intriguing show on several levels. With the debut of Enzo Amore and Big Cass, Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin, along with the return of Cesaro, how will their second week be handled? Specifically, can the debut of Enzo and Cass be sustained, or was it a one-week sensation in front of the world’s largest gathering of insider fans in Dallas last week? Tonight’s show will also start the build towards Roman Reigns vs. A.J. Styles for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. In particular, how Styles will be treated as a will be interesting. Will he be the latest person to have his weaknesses exploited by the company? Or will he built as a worthy challenger?  The Miz, after retaining the Intercontinental Championship against Zack Ryder on SmackDown, will also appear, along with the returning Maryse.

    Our coverage begins at 8 ET. Please join us. 

    The Big News: 2nd straight show that was very good. With the best workrate roster the WWE has had in years,  they focused on having good wrestling matches and delivered Sami Zayn vs. A.J. Styles & Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens, both of which were 4 stars or better. While Roman Reigns was booed once again, they did have creative booking for an intriguing main event for Bray Wyatt teamed with Reigns to defeat the League of Nations’ team of Alberto del Rio and Sheamus. Also, Karl Anderson and Drew Gallows made their debut with a run-in to attack the Usos. There’s a tag team tournament to crown the number one contenders to face the New Day at Payback, which included the Usos and the Dudley Boyz advancing tonight. They’re already teasing the Dudleys vs. Enzo and Big Cass in the semifinals. 

    Show Recap:

    The show was dedicated to Blackjack Mulligan. 

    Shane McMahon came out and was given control for last night’s show because of increased social media activity. He sounded odd like he was nursing an injured jaw or some sort of intestinal injury. He announced Natalya would face Charlotte for the WWE Women’s Championship, there would be a tournament for a new #1 contender to face the WWE World Tag Team Championship, and he congratulated A.J. Styles on winning the Fatal Fourway last way to face Roman Reigns. But Shane said Sami Zayn didn’t get a chance to fight in the fourway, so Zayn would wrestle Styles tonight. If Zayn wins, then the Styles vs. Reigns match would become a Three Way Championship match. 

    This brought out Kevin Owens, who said if Shane thinks Zayn deserves that opportunity, he must have knocked a few screws loose jumping off of the Hell in a Cell. Shane said Owens has had opportunities and lost them, like when he lost the Intercontinental Championship to Zack Ryder. Owens complained about not getting a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship and demanded it right now. Shane said Owens had to earn that shot against Cesaro, and the winner gets the Miz for the I-C belt. 

    Cesaro defeated Kevin Owens to become the new #1 contender for the Intercontinental Championship (14:47)

    Excellent match where Cesaro pinned Owens with a Neutralizer. Owens hit a frog splash for a two count. Cesaro’s left shoulder was taped, and the match revolved around Owens’ offense onto that arm. Later, Cesaro tried the Cesaro Swing, but could only do three rotations because of the injured shoulder. Owens tried the Pop-Up Power Bomb, but Cesaro escaped over Owens, rolled him into a Sunset Flip into the finish. Cesaro’s ring entrance is now a takeoff of James Bond, where he comes out in a three-piece suit with target hairs following up in the background, then he strips off the suit to reveal his wrestling trunks. Really good opener. 

    Charlotte talked to Ric Flair backstage upset she was having to defend her title tonight against Natalya. Flair said it was all Shane’s fault. It led to Dr. Phil making his first apperance. The crowd booed Dr. Phil, who told Charlotte he was disgusted that she had to rely on her father’s cheating in order to win and to stand on her own two feet. Charlotte didn’t want to hear that and walked off. Flair acted incredulous and started to shout “Whooo!” into Phil’s face. But Phil screamed “Whoo” at Flair, stunning the Nature Boy. This was so well scripted, fans were with Phil by the end.

    Owens confronted Shane backstage and threatened to go after Zayn again. Shane said Owens would be escorted out of the building by security in order to keep it from happening again.

    The New Day came out. Xavier Woods said the WWE tag team division was on fire like a game of NBA Jam. Big E. said the tag team tournament would be sponsored by Booty-Os.  

    The Dudley Boyz defeated Lucha Dragons to advance int he WWE Tag Team #1 Contenders Tournament (3:15)

    Bubba Ray Dudley pinned Sin Cara after a 3-D. Kalisto got injured legitimately when he took a terrible bump over the top rope and appeared to injure his shoulder. Trainers were by his side the whole way. It looked like one of those bad roller derby bumps from the 70s when a skater didn’t catch themselves going over the rail. 

    Enzo and Big Cass came out to confront the Dudleys. Good response for Enzo and Cass as the fans knew who they were, but it wasn’t nearly on the level of last week. Devon Dudley told them they owed their creation to the Dudley boyz. Enzo shot back they owed their creation when his mother and father got it on. Cass gave the Saft catchphrase.  

    Owens was shown being escorted out of the building by security. 

    Reigns came out to a big-time negative reception. He got mostly cheered in San Diego in December, but this crowd was nowhere near as generous. He let the boos sink in for awhile and gave the exact same line about being “The guy” he gave last week. Reigns mention of Styles got cheered. Regins said he had respect for Styles and Zayn, but neither one of them had ever won THE championship. 

    The League of Nations came out. Sheamus wondered how confident Reigns would be if he had to face a member of the League of Nations at Payback. Sheamus talked about being stronger than ever after they kicked King Barrett out of the League of Nations, and they weren’t happy about being left out of the number one contender’s match last week. Rusev said he was better looking than Reigns and he should be the face of the WWE. Reigns said Rusev just proved he was the ass of the WWE. Alberto Del Rio started talking and cheered. Reigns challenged them to all come down and get their asses kicked. 

    The heels all jumped on Reigns, but the Wyatt Family appeared. Bray Wyatt, Erick Roawn and Braun Strowman cleared the ring quickly. Reigns looked uncertain to see the Wyatts in the ring. Shane came out and ordered a match between two members of the League of Nations against Wyatt and Reigns in a tag team match. 

    Another vignette from Primo and Epico, or whatever they will be named underr this new gimmick. They sniffed hibiscus, the official flower of Puerto Rico. They said you can’t grow flowers like hibiscus anywhere in America, so come visit Puerto Rico. From Los Boricuas to Los Matadores to Carlito and Santino Morella, failing to get Puerto Rico tag teams over has been a time-honored WWE tradition for 20 years now. And the next chapter is before us. 

    Natalya defeated Charlotte (C) by DQ, so Charlotte retains the WWE Women’s Championship (10:55)

    Dr. Phil was at ringside. Another good match with Charlotte that had heat. Fans want to see her lose, which means her father’s lessons of being a heat-magnet heel for 40 years is rubbing off. Natalya nearly made Charlotte tap out with a Sharpshooter, but Flair pulled the referee out of the ring, just as Charlotte was tapping. The referee disqualified Charlotte. Earlier, Charlotte put Natalya into the sharpshooter, leading to a rope break. Phil was interviewed by Byron Saxton afterwards, saying he was disappointed that Charlotte had to rely on her father again to retain the championship. He tried putting over the women’s division, but it was clear he was just reeling off lines that were fed to him beforehand as he couldn’t name one other women’s wrestler on the roster aside from the one he was involved in the skit with. 

    Zayn did a promo with Renee Young. He got in that lame “Underdog from the Underground” line again. He said he’s been trying to get to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship all his career and he didn’t come this far to lose. Styles walked in. He looked four inches shorter than Zayn. Styles told Zayn he’s the only number one contender and he plans on keeping it that way. 

    The Usos defeated Social Outcasts to advance in the WWE Tag Team #1 Contenders Tournament (4:16)

    Jimmy Uso pinned Curtis Axel after a schoolboy cradle after Axel started doing the Bo Train with Heath Slater, Bo Dallas and Adam Rose. 

    Postmatch, Karl Anderson and Luke (not Doc) Gallows ran out of the crowd and gave Jimmy Uso the Magic Killer. They threw Jimmy Uso around 

    Maryse dressed down a stage manager who gave her and the Miz a bowl of M&Ms. Miz’s contract called for no blue M&Ms. That’s a takeoff of the old Van Halen backstage tale about having a contract that included a clause about not being served brown M&Ms before or after concerts. David Lee Roth once said he included that clause in the contact just to see if anyone read those contracts. Maryse also scolded the manager for included domestic bottled water instead of French water. Meanwhile, Miz was sitting back with cucumber slices on his eyes. Jojo came in to ask Miz about a possible rematch with Ryder. Miz said he drives to work in an Audi 5000 while Ryder goes on the Long Island subway on his father’s pass. As for Cesaro, he said he had the Swiss Superman’s Kryptonite. He tried that line in a deeper voice twice, with Maryse reeling off the take numbers. Then Cesaro showed up and said he would roll out the red carpet for all the uppercuts he would throw on the Miz at Payback. Miz and Maryse are really a great tandem. 

    A.J. Styles defeated Sami Zayn to keep the main event at Payback a singles match (16:44)

    Another terrific match. Styles won with the Phenonemal Forearm after Zayn failed to hit the Helluva Kick. Zayn hit the Blue Thunder bomb for a near fall that got the crowd involved after a bit of a lull. Fans did dueling chants as they exchanged the early holds. Styles clamped on the calf crusher but Zayn made the ropes. I guess the mindset here was to get Styles strong for the main event at Payback. Zayn had so much offense he wasn’t hurt doing the job. 

    WWE regular Seth Green was at ringside. 

    Styles and Zayn talked backstage when Shane walked in putting over both men for the previous match. Styles and Zayn slapped hands. 

    Chris Jericho hosted the latest edition of the Highlight Reel. Jericho said his guest tonight was the biggest star in WWE history…it was him. Fans would learn more about Jericho than they would ever had before. He started interviewing himself about how he became so successful. He offered fans the Gift of Jericho and offered them a chance to drink it in. He posed with his arms open. Jericho talked about being the first undisputed world champion after beating the Rock and Steve Austin in one night. Jericho’s reply mentioned beating Styles at WrestleMania, and said there was no one on the roster who could touch him right now. 

    Dean Ambrose interrupted him and came out with a potted plant and looked for a place to put it. Ambrose said it was his show now. Jericho didn’t know what he was talking about, but Ambrose pulled out a memo from Shane. Jericho said it was a speeding ticket. Ambrose took the paper back and handed him another memo. Jericho read the Highlight Reel has been cancelled and replaced by the Ambrose Asylum. Ambrose put on a clip-on tie, hung a posterboard sign over the Jeritron 5000 and introduced Jericho. Ambrose wanted to know what was up with Jericho’s scarf. Jericho got into his Javier Bardem voice, said the scarf cost $750 and said he doesn’t play by anybody’s rules but his own. Jericho said Ambrose should be smart or he would bury him. Jericho told Ambrose to get out of his ring. Ambrose said “So you aren’t going to tell us about the scarf?” Jericho slapped the microphone out of Ambrose’s hands. Ambrose gave Jericho Dirty Deeds. So the postponed Jericho-Ambrose program is on. Hopefully it will have a point, because in retrospect I have no clue what the point of the Ambrose-Brock Lesnar feud was. 

    It was announced that Goldust and R-Truth would team together for the resumption of the tag team tournament on Smackdown. Goldust confronted Truth saying Truth told him that were going to Los Angeles for an audition. Truth explained the tag team tournament was the audition. Goldust said they weren’t a tag team. Truth said he took someone’s advice, then looked over to Dr. Phil, who stated to say something. But Goldust’s outfit left him speechless and he just walked away. 

    Apollo Crews defeated Adam Rose (3:30)

    Apollo Crews pinned Rose after a Spin Out Power Bomb. Crews really needs a good promo or else he’ll be another smiling babyface. 

    Another promo from the Puerto Rico boys, the Shining Star of the Carribbean appears to be the tag team name. 

    Wyatt did a promo saying that even though he despises everything that Reigns stands for, they appear to have an unbreakable bond. Wyatt, with a eerie smile, said Reigns could trust him. 

    Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt defeated Alberto del Rio and Sheamus (11:05)

    Wyatt pinned Del Rio with Sister Abigail. It was clear the fans in L.A. wanted to turn Del Rio face. They also cheered whenever the heels got offense on Reigns. Fans were really into Wyatt as a babyface, who got the comeback after Reigns sold the majority of the match. When Reigns was setting up for the hot tag, Wyatt did a great tease of turning on Reigns, only to stick his hand out for the tag. Rowan and Strowman came out to brawl with Rusev near the end. Fans had no idea how to react to Rowan and Strowman at all. With Wyatt’s pending face turn, it appears Strowman has gone from being a potential Undertaker opponent to being the dancing hillbilly everyone thought he would eventually become. An interesting match from a booking standpoint and another good one. 

    Reigns and Wyatt engaged in a staredown as the screen faded to black as Wyatt grinned and Reigns looked concerned. 

    SUMMARY: 

    A strong show. Best top-to-bottom match quality show in quite sometime. It’s odd that the least over person on the roster holds the World Championship. The good news is the company’s depth has improved drastically since the start of the year, and it’s truly apparent now with Styles, Zayn, Cesaro, Crews, Owens and enough good tag teams to make up a tournament to face the New Day. 

  • Post-Wrestlemania RAW draws 4.08 million viewers, down from 2015

    The Raw after WrestleMania, usually the highest rated episode of the year, did 4.08 million viewers, down from 5.35 million for the same show in 2015.

    The number was the largest for the show since the day after the Royal Rumble (when Dwayne Johnson made an appearance) and was only the second show to hit four million viewers on average since June.

    However, the number is well below what would have been expected for the show. For a comparison, the audience grew 1.2 million viewers from the go-home Mania show to the day after Mania show last year, while this year, the increase was just 318,000 viewers.

    Raw was fourth for the night on cable, and all three shows that beat it were focused on the NCAA championship game on TBS. The game did 13.85 million viewers, the pregame show did 9.67 million viewers, and the postgame show did 4.97 million viewers. The basketball barely impacted ABC’s Dancing With the Stars which did 11.72 million viewers, down from 11.97 million the week before.

    RAW had a familiar pattern with the big drop in the third hour when the game was in its second half. RAW’s main event was a #1 contender’s match between AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Cesaro, and Chris Jericho.

    The three hours were:

    • 8 p.m. 4.29 million viewers
    • 9 p.m. 4.18 million viewers
    • 10 p.m. 3.82 million viewers

  • Raw ratings for the go-home WrestleMania show

    The final Raw before WrestleMania did 3.77 million viewers, an 11 percent increase from near historical lows for non-football season posted for the show on 3/21 from Philadelphia.

    A show that advertised every major character from WrestleMania appearing, including Vince McMahon, Undertaker, Brock Lesnar and Shane McMahon, from the Barclays Center, was down 10 percent from the WrestleMania go-home show last year which did a 3.03 rating and 4.19 million viewers. The 2014 go-home show did a 3.18 rating and 4.38 million viewers.

    The ratings pattern was in line with the daylight savings time season, where the peak was in the second hour. There was a third hour drop, but it wasn’t as pronounced as many weeks, even though the only thing pushed for the end of the show was a segment involving HHH and Roman Reigns, who had already done two segments earlier in the show.

    The three hours were:

    8 p.m. 3.82 million viewers
    9 p.m. 3.85 million viewers
    10 p.m. 3.64 million viewers

    Next week’s show is likely to be the highest rated Raw of the year, as that is the usual pattern for the day after WrestleMania. It is usually about two weeks after WrestleMania where the ratings settle into what ends up being the usual spring levels.

  • RAW Ratings stagnant as the Road to WrestleMania marches on

    Less than two weeks before the “biggest WrestleMania of all time”, RAW’s ratings continue to  stagnate. The show started weak but the audience remained remarkably consistent throughout  the 3 hour broadcast, with a main event of Dean Ambrose facing Braun Strowman.

    The average viewership was 3.4 million viewers, down about 2% from last week. It was down 19% from the same week last year but that’s not a fair comparison as it was the go-home show to  Mania, which was held a week earlier in 2015. Comparing to the week prior to the go-home show last year, Monday’s show was down 13% as RAW continues to be  down about 10% year over year.

    After last week’s show saw the third hour as the highest rated  of the show, things returned to normal this week as Hour 3 was down slightly from the previous 2 hours, which were almost identical.

    RAW was just underneath The O’Reilly Factor as  the most watched show on cable for the night as the FOX News show did 3,423,000 viewers. In the 18-49 ratings, RAW’s 3 hours were #2,3 and 4 on the night behind VH1’s Love and Hip Hop.

    Here are viewership numbers for all 3 hours:

    Hour 1 – 3,466,000

    Hour 2 – 3,416,000

    Hour 3 – 3,317,000

  • WWE RAW live results: Roman Reigns and HHH, Shane McMahon and Undertaker

    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. 

  • Stan Hansen WWE Hall of Fame announcement tonight on RAW

    Although this has been well known for some time and reported in WWE’s WrestleMania magazine, it will be announced on Raw tonight that Stan Hansen will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year.

    WWE used Tokyo Sports, a major daily sports newspaper in Japan, to break the story, since Hansen is best known in Japan as probably the biggest American star in that country of the last 40 years.

    The WWE later put the story up on their web site.

    Hansen was a college football star at West Texas State University, which produced a number of future wrestling superstars including Dory & Terry Funk, Bruiser Brody, Dusty Rhodes, Bobby Duncum, Tully Blanchard, Ted DiBiase and Tito Santana.

    Hansen didn’t make an NFL roster but did play pro football with the Detroit Wheels of the World Football League with Brody.  The two would go onto to becoming what is now considered the legendary tag team of Japan, as the two main evented for several years in All Japan and never lost one match via pinfall.

    Hansen’s original career break came in a 1976 program with Bruno Sammartino.  He accidentally dropped Sammartino on his head on a bodyslam, which broke Samamrtino’s neck.  Sammartino returned far earlier than he should have too save a Shea Stadium show that was part of the Antonio Inoki vs. Muhammad Ali closed-circuit, and drew 32,000 fans for the rematch.

    The success made Hansen a major star, and he for years divided his time between New Japan Pro Wrestling and Georgia Championship Wrestling.  He had a second WWF run against champion Bob Backlund, and once beat Antonio Inoki for the NWF title.  He also had what is generally considered the greatest match in the career of Andre the Giant in New Japan.

    Giant Baba then raided Hansen from New Japan, using the Funks as conduits.  Hansen was the top foreign star with All Japan for two decades, working with every top star that ever came through that promotion,  and also had runs as headliners in the AWA, where he was world champion, and WCW, where he was U.S. champion.

  • Strong third hour saves WWE Raw rating

    The Monday, March 14th edition of WWE RAW was saved from being the least watched episode of the show outside of holidays and football season by an unusually strong third hour.

    That third hour, which featured WWE Champion HHH vs. Dolph Ziggler in a non-title singles match, and a final segment with Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and The Undertaker, ended up as the most watched hour of the show when it has evolved into the hour in which the audience drops greatly. This was the first time since the July 27, 2015 edition RAW (Seth Rollins challenging John Cena for the US title) where the third hour was the highest rated of the night.

    The show did 3.46 million viewers, down two percent from the prior week. It was also down 12% from the 3.94 million the show did for the same week last year as the recent trend of RAW being down around 10% year over year continues.

    It beat only the 2/1 show for the lowest since 1997 outside of football season and holidays. The opening hour was the least viewed 8 PM hour for the show since football season and the lowest rated non football/holiday number since the Monday Night Wars. 

    In good news, RAW was still the second most watched show on cable behind the O’Reilly Factor. In the 18-49 demo that advertisers covet, the three hours were the top rated cable shows by a considerable margin at 1.36 for 10:00 1.25 for 9:00 and 1.22 for the 8:00 hour respectively. The fourth place show was Better Call Saul at 0.81.

    Household rating for the show was 2.51, down 3% from last year’s 2.59 and 8% from the Mar 16, 2015 RAW, which did a 2.73. 

    Part of the shift is also daylight savings time as historically people start the show later and stay longer when the time changes.

    The three hours were:

    • 8 p.m. 3.471 million viewers
    • 9 p.m. 3.392 million viewers
    • 10 p.m. 3.51 million viewers

  • Neville out of WrestleMania with serious ankle injury

    Adrian Neville (aka Benjamin Satterly) will miss this year’s WrestleMania after suffering a broken ankle and a broken shinbone in a match with Chris Jericho on Raw Monday night.

    Following the first commercial break, Neville went for a baseball slide and caught his foot and ankle on the canvas.  It was clear he was hurt, but it also appeared that he was going to try to continue the match. They did one quick highspot, but as Neville was trying to hop to the ropes, he collapsed.

    Jericho told referee Charles Robinson that they were going to improvise a finish and go home early. He rolled up Neville but Robinson, who like all WWE referees is instructed to call it like a shoot, apparently saw one of Neville’s shoulders up and stopped counting.

    Jericho, incensed, jumped to his feet and screamed, “HE’S HURT!” and shoved Robinson, who then called for the DQ.  Robinson and Jericho had a big argument on national TV, part of which included Jericho telling him that Neville broke his ankle and he told him that, and Robinson claiming he didn’t hear him.  Both were screaming at the other not to put their hands on them. We are told it was an awkward situation live in the ring, but that “things seemed better backstage”.

    Jericho then improvised another promo, leading to AJ Styles coming out and hitting him with his springboard forearm.

    The timing of something like this is never good, but this injury will keep Neville out of the ring for WrestleMania, the worst possible scenario.

    Other wrestlers have severely injured their ankles over the years on baseball slide spots, including Rob Van Dam during an ECW match in the 90s.

    WWE has a brief story on the injury on their website, including a photo of Neville being checked out.

    Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer also have details on the injury, plus a full Raw review for subscribers on last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio.

  • WWE RAW live results: Shane McMahon, New Day defends tag team titles

    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. 

  • WWE Raw live results: LEAP DAY and the return of Shane McMahon continues

    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.