Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today to talk all the news in pro-wrestling, tons of notes from Raw last night, the ratings collapse of both Raw and Smackdown, WWE’s reaction to the problem, plus your calls and emails on a variety of different topics! A fun show as always so check it out~! Best of all, this show is FREE, so please post elsewhere and help spread the word about the FINAL DAY of our ONE MONTH OF UNLIMITED ACCESS FOR $3.99 SALE!
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back tonight to talk all the news in pro-wrestling including, YES, the RAW REPORT from Monday’s compelling show, thoughts on all the matches and segments, the build to TLC and more! Plus, notes on Tanahashi’s DDT tag team match on New Japan World, AJ Styles, Tomoaki Honma and his girlfriend, emails and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
The Big Takeaway:
At least it was a newsworthy show, which had some good ideas on paper. In practice, they weren’t executed well tonight. Sheamus has formed a new heel unit with King Barrett, Rusev and Alberto Del Rio called the League of Nations. They won in the main event, which needlessly also included the New Day on its side to beat Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and the Usos. Charlotte teased a heel turn after faking a knee injury to beat her friend Becky Lynch. And Lana reemerged as a heel, doing a complete reset of her character since February.
Show Recap:
The New Day came out with confetti and red carpeting like they were going to throw a party. They were there to introduce Sheamus as WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Of course, Sheamus thanked the Authority. He also thanked Roman Reigns. New Day pretended they couldn’t remember Reigns’ 5-minute championship reign, with Xavier Woods mentioning they were playing Street Fighter and heard something about it.
Sheamus said if Reigns’ hadn’t savored the moment after winning the belt, he would have seen Sheamus coming. They all laughed over Reigns’ being champion for 5 minutes and 15 seconds, which I think is the average length a Raw viewer stays around before they turn to the football game. Sheamus said you can have Austin 3:16, because Sheamus 5:15 said I just kicked your arse. Not much heat for Sheamus as a top heel, probably because he’s booked as the new Seth Rollins.
As Sheamus held up the belt, Reigns showed up, gave him the Superman punch and took the championship belt. Michael Cole and JBL had moments of awkward silence trying to get this angle over without saying the word “belt.” It’s like a game of “Password” on national television where “belt” is the clue but the announcers can’t say it. Somebody get these people a thesaurus.
Reigns showed off the belt to Dean Ambrose and the Usos when HHH and Stephanie McMahon showed up. HHH wanted the belt back. Reigns gave the belt back. Well, that gimmick was great. HHH said Sheamus wanted to face Reigns for the title tonight. Reigns jumped at that chance. Stephanie said the catch was Reigns could only win the title if he beats Reigns in under 5:15. Maybe they could call that a Quadrophenia Death Match. (Only fans of the Who will get that. Hate to go all Dennis Miller on you.)
Dolph Ziggler defeated Tyler Breeze (10:33)
There traded a series of about ten cradles in a row, all for two counts. After Dolph Ziggler kicked out of a schoolboy cradle by Tyler Breeze, Ziggler hit a Superkick for the win. Once again, Breeze’s ring entrance didn’t air in lieu of Cole talking about the main event. If they aren’t going to give Breeze the full trappings of his character, why bring him up from NXT? Pretty good match.
MizTV featured Rusev with Lana, making her return after her engagement to Rusev was publicly acknowledged. This was weird. Miz said Rusev had to be upset nursing injuries that forced him to miss the WWE World Heavyweight title tournament. Rusev missed the tournament because of injury? When was this acknowledged? Rusev said there was one person who had been there for him while he was injured, and it was Lana.
Lana came out dressed like she was a heel again. She lost her 1980s Great White video wardrobe. Even stranger, Miz said Rusev made Lana “Summer Rae 2.0.” Wasn’t it the other way around? Lana said she never went all the way with Ziggler. Crowd chanted “Yes, you did.” Lana said all the turmoil only made them a stronger couple. Rusev said he never went all the way with Summer. Crowd…ibid. Rusev said from now on, he will break people apart in the ring, but out of the ring his heart belonged to Lana. They started making out in the ring for a very long period of time unti Ryback came out.
Ryback said this wasn’t an episode of “Teen Wolf” and the big guy was hungry. This set up a match.
Ryback defeated Rusev via countout (1:44)
Ryback shoulder blocked Rusev into the ring steps, which slammed into Lana’s leg. Lana went down immediately. Even though he realized the count was on by the referee, Rusev stopped to check on Lana and got counted out. Rusev screamed at Ryback afterwards. A reminder that Rusev is supposed to be the heel here.
Ambrose met with HHH backstage. On Smackdown, Ambrose earned an Intercontinental Championship match by beating Kevin Owens in a nontitle match. HHH said if Reigns doesn’t beat Sheamus tonight in 5:15, then Ambrose would lose his title shot with Owens. Ambrose looked mad. I’m not sure why since I-C champions usually job all the time.
The Dudley Boyz came out. Bubba Ray Dudley said last week was a tough one for them as they were beaten up twice by the Wyatt Family. By doing what they did to the Dudley’s, Ray said the Wyatt Family had put their names on tables. Bubba unveiled tables with the names of each Wyatt Family member on them. Bubba challenged them to come out.
The Wyatts came out. Bray Wyatt accepted the Dudleys challenge, but said they should be careful to invite the devil into your backyard because he might like it and decide to stay.
Devon Dudley said the Wyatts had his family and they have theirs. This brought out Tommy Dreamer from the crowd. He brought out the typical trash can filled with weapons. Crowd chanted “ECW.” Dreamer looked tanned and looked younger than earlier this year when he was in TNA.
The Dudley Boyz and Tommy Dreamer went to a double DQ with Eric Rowan, Luke Harper and Braun Strowman (3:30)
They got a six-way brawl going after Dreamer made the hot tag. Then the bell just sounded, which got the most heat in the match and not in a good way.
Braun Strowman put Dreamer in the head-and-arm choke while Rowan and Harper laid out the Dudleys. Wyatt ordered the heels to get the tables. As they did so, Bubba Ray got up and pushed Wyatt off the apron and through a table at ringside. Crowd popped and the heels were incensed their leader had gone through a table.
Zeb Coulter cut a promo before the match saying the fans were more concerned with Anne Hathaway’s baby bump and social media than the country. Alberto Del Rio said Goldust was out of date and full of hate. Goldust popped him across the jaw. What is the purpose behind the Del Rio/Coulter pairing?
Alberto Del Rio (C) defeated Goldust in a nontitle match (1:57)
Del Rio pinned Golddust after the double stomp off the top rope as Golddust was on the Tree of Woe. Del Rio put Goldust in a flying armbar afterwards, leading to Jack Swagger coming out for the save and the “We the People” pledge.
Charlotte and Becky Lynch talked backstage. Lynch suggested they go to the Authority and ask for a singles match. Charlotte wasn’t hot on the idea. Lynch suggested they have a match like they were on NXT again. Charlotte agreed. Ric Flair walked in for a cameo to trade catchphrases with his daughter.
Lucha Dragons and the Usos went to a Double DQ (2:53)
The New Day were on commentary. Big E. was funny as hell. He tried to talk like Michael Cole. He sounded like Tony Gwynn. Jey Uso did a tope on Sin Cara that nearly ended his career. Then Big E. and Kofi Kingston ran in for another Double DQ. Xavier Woods explained that since neither team won, the New Day wouldn’t have to defend the tag team titles at TLC. Third screw job finish within an hour. On the other hand, it’s really scary that Big E. was more entertaining on commentary in 2 minutes than Cole and JBL have been all year.
Stephanie met with Lucha Dragons and the Usos backstage. They wanted a three-way match with the New Day. Stephanie agreed to put Lucha Dragons in the match. She also agreed to include the Usos, but only if Reigns defeated Sheamus tonight.
Sasha Banks defeated Brie Bella via submission (4:58)
Sasha Banks pinned Brie Bella after a distraction from Naomi. Banks got the tapout with the Bank Statement after a Bakc Stabber. Earlier, Alicia Fox got laid out by a superkick from Naomi and was taken to the back. Announcers explained that Nikki Bella was at home nursing an injury, so Team BAD had Team Bella outnumbered.
Roman Reigns defeated Sheamus (C) by DQ so Sheamus retains the WWE World Heavyweight Championship (4:37)
Sheamus now has a “Sheamus 5:15” shirt to get heat. Crowd got into the match as the time ran down. To his credit, Sheamus played the time-killing heel very well. Sheamus constantly grabbed rest holds and rolled out of the ring whenever Reigns was on offense. Reigns finally got Sheamus in the ring set up for the spear, but Rusev showed up to jump Reigns for the DQ while Del Rio and King Barrett helped Sheamus out of the ring.
Sheamus fell all over Lillian Garcia’s lap, and she didn’t look happy about it at all. He introduced Del Rio, Barrett and Rusev as a heel stable called the League of Nations. Ambrose and the Usos hit the ring. Reigns delivered an uppercut on Sheamus to knock him into the League of Nations. They set up a eight-man tag for the main event.
For the record, since Reigns won, Ambrose and the Usos will get their title matches at TLC.
New Day did a commercial introducing New Day t-shirts as part of Cyber Monday. This was during the final hour of the show, which gave viewers two hours to get to their computers in time to take advantage of the discounts.
Charlotte (C) defeated Becky Lynch in a nontitle match (4:37)
Charlotte teased a heel turn by faking a knee injury after a float over in the corner. Flair distracted Lynch, which led to Charlotte doing a nip up and pinning Lynch with a schoolgirl cradle. Lynch acted like she didn’t know what Charlotte was doing, but Flair strutted after his daughter proved the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Paige was on commentary saying she knew all along that Charlotte was someone who would win at all costs. It also proves Charlotte is a big UNC fan.
Lynch confronted Charlotte backstage. Charlotte said she didn’t cheat to beat Lynch, she lured Lynch into letting her guard down. Charlotte said it was just tough love and trying to teach her something and talked her into giving her a pinkie swear. Paige walked up to Lynch and said at least her friendship wasn’t affected.
Next came a segment called the Rosebush with Adam Rose. It’s meant to be a takeoff of Entertainment Tonight. I haven’t seen a segment like this since ODB’s old Trailer Park talk show when she had Magnus on one night. His closing line was “The dirt is always blooming,” which seemed like a shot at newsletters.
Stardust held up a Christmas star and called for the Ascension to rise. Instead, Titus O’Neal showed up and started singing Christmas carols like “Stardust got Run Over by a Reindeer.” Stardust starting hissing at him, but O’Neal threw a present in his throat and wished everyone a Merry Christmas.
Before the eight man main event could begin, the New Day came out again and announced they joined the League of Nations team to make the main event 7-on-4. They were selling merchandise 15 minutes ago and now they’re heels again? And shouldn’t the League of Nations establish themselves as a quartet before they receive extra help?
The League of Nations and the New Day defeated The Usos, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns (25:10)
Crowd was dead to begin with, but the weird booking just killed it dead. Plus, they went 10 minutes too long. Crowd was more into Ambrose than Reigns. Jimmy Uso started selling his knee from getting the heat and had to leave the match, leaving the babyfaces down 7-on-3. Didn’t we just see Charlotte fake the same injury in the previous match? Ambrose did a plancha onto five of the heels, and later took out Sheamus with a tope. Reigns hit Del Rio with a Superman Punch and gave Big E. a clothesline on the floor. As Ambrose took out Barrett, he walked into a Brogue Kick by Sheamus and was pinned.
Heels picked apart Ambrose until Reigns tried to make the save. Reigns got laid out with a Brogue kick and the heels posed.
SUMMARY:
I feel like using a facepalm emoji. Need a new heel unit? Great idea. Why water them down in the main event with three more heels? Main event was overbooked. Why does Ambrose continue to do more jobs when he’s the most over babyface they have? Becky Lynch could be a great babyface. This company doesn’t know how to make babyface stars anymore because she came off looking like an idiot on this show. Almost all the matches were too short, and the only one that wasn’t was too long. If this one does a 2.0 against a bad MNF game, who will Vince blame? He needs to start with the face in the mirror.
Ric Flair is scheduled to appear on tonight’s WWE Raw show in Pittsburgh, PA.
Flair is in Pittsburgh now, but he is at a lot of WWE shows backstage because of daughter and current Divas Champion Charlotte being in the promotion. However, he was scripted into the show as of earlier today. Most likely, his role will be something to do with Charlotte’s angle with Paige, but as we know, WWE can change on a dime when it comes to scripts.
With a weak NFL Monday night game as competition (Baltimore Ravens vs. Cleveland Browns), as far as the competition goes, Raw should rebound over last week’s 18-year-record low in the ratings. A number approximating last week’s would indicate the problem is deeper than NFL competition.
No matches have been announced at this time for the show, which, given the three weeks between shows, should include announcements of most of the top matches for the 12/13 TLC pay-per-view show.
The Bryan & Vinny Show is back today with a special THANKSGIVING episode of the show, and we’ve got tons to talk about! First, it’s the epic NXT show with BAILEY VS. EVA MARIE, the Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor NXT Title angle and more! Then, Granny joins us to take your comments on what you’re thankful for on this Thanksgiving night. And finally, the Raw report from this past Monday night! A fun show as always so check it out~!
It is a MIGHTY edition of the Bryan and Vinny and Craig Show tonight as it’s time to crown a winner in our WWE2K16 ODE TO VINNY V CONTEST~! Some amazing, AMAZING entries, almost too close to call. And, of course, it’s Retro Tuesday so we have reviews of Raw and Nitro from 19 years ago this week! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer returns today with our post-Raw wrap-up show! Thoughts on all the matches and angles, the Roman Reigns follow-up, the road to TLC and more, plus your mailbag questions and assorted good times. A fun show as always so check it out~!
The Big Takeaway:
Sheamus faces Roman Reigns in a TLC match at the TLC PPV. Since Seth Rollins is on the shelf, the overriding buildup of HHH vs. Rollins has now turned into HHH vs. Reigns, as that was the tease during the 20 minute opening segment. A long show and a cold one, though Reigns got a good response.
Show Recap:
Superstars matches:
R-Truth beat Adam Rose
The Miz beat Zack Ryder
Raw will be returning to the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on 2/29.
Tickets are on sale now at ticketmaster with the code word TICKETS.HHH and Stephanie McMahon are first out, which is one hell of a way to get the new champion over. HHH said he gave Roman Reigns an opporutnity of a lifetime several times, but Reignss told him to shove it. HHH introduced Sheamus as a man who knew how to seize an opportunity.
So out came the James Hetfield look-a-like who dropped 9 of his previous 10 matches before he beat Reigns last night. He got some good heat. Sheamus said Reigns’ “Roman Empire” lasted only a few minutes. Sheamus mentioned how Reigns cried at the end of the match. If they want to get Reigns over as a babyface that fans won’t boo, I think they need to obscure that part of history ASAP.
This brought out Reigns, who got “Roman” chants. Reigns said he wanted his rematch tonight, which got “Yes” chants. Stephanie stepped in front of HHH and said any chance Roman had to dictate terms to them was lost when Reigns speared HHH. Roman asked HHH if Stephanie was standing in front of him because he was scared.
What followed was exactly why WWE finds themselves in the predicament they’re in. HHH and Reigns had a long staredown while the new champion was just a background piece. It was supposed to get monster dual chants going, but it got a mild reaction. So with Rollins out of the picture, it’s going to be HHH vs. Reigns at some point down the line until Vince changes his mind again. HHH said Reigns wasn’t getting his rematch tonight. At that point, Rusev ran out of the crowd and hit Regins with a thrust kick. Sheamus followed up with a Brogue Kick.
As the heels retreated up the ramp, HHH announced that Reigns would face Shemaus in a TLC match at the TLC PPV. Stephanie ordered Reigns to face Rusev tonight.
Luke Harper and Bray Wyatt defeated the Dudley Boyz (7:49)
Luke Harper pinned Bubba Ray Dudley after a clothesline. Bubba looked like a geek at the finish, because he got distracted by Bray who…was standing on the apron. Then he got pinned with a transitional move. Braun Strowman came in afterwards and gave Bubba the Head-and-Arm Choke, which Michael Cole is now calling a bearhug. Wyatt left Devon Dudley laying with Sister Abigail. Wyatt in a tag team ruins his aura, but not any more than his two programs with the Undertaker.
They continue to run the 25 years of Undertaker vignette, which ran twice last night.
Sasha Banks defeated Becky Lynch (4:06)
Becky Lynch didn’t even get a ring entrance. Lynch got the Disarm-her, but Tamina took the referee while Naomi pulled Sasha Banks to the ropes. Lynch went after Naomi, allowing Banks to get the pin with a schoolgirl cradle. 2 distraction finishes in 2 matches. Banks is a star on NXT. On the modern day Raw roster, she gets McMahoned/Dunned. (That’s a good name for a heel tag team, BTW) Same applies to Lynch.
Cole built up Banks as a future contender when Paige appeared on the big screen to shout him down. Paige claimed that Charlotte cheated to win last night at Survivor Series because when Charlotte applied the Figure Eight, her hand was under the ropes. Paige claimed Charlotte was just like her father, the dirtiest player in the game.
They showed the trailer for “Santa’s Little Helper,” starring the Miz. I’d like to remind everyone Mystery Science Theater 3000 is launching a campaign to return to TV.
The New Day came out to celebrate its 1st birthday. They came out with stick rocking horses and toy cowboy hats. Big E. got the DieHard “Yipee Ki Ay.” Kofi Kingston talked about how country music sucks, which actually got a pop. Kofi and Big E. sang with the thickest twang they could about losing dogs, girlfriends, and tractors while Xavier Woods played the trombone, then sang “Mamas Don’t Like Your Babies Grow up to be Bootee.” Woods has a great voice. He issued an open challenge for the WWE World Tag Team championship. Lucha Dragons came out.
Kalisto spoke about being serious about facing the tag champs. Sin Cara, for the first time I can recall, talked and wished them a happy birthday.
New Day started to leave when the Usos came out to stop them. Sin Cara told the Usos they were out there first and suggested a triple threat match. Big E. got mad at them for ruining their jamboree. Woods said the open challenge had been canceled. So Jey Uso decked Woods. The Usos gave Kingston a double superkick while Big E. was sent over the top rope. Rare New Day segment that died after the first few minutes.
Renee Young did an interview with Charlotte and she built up her match with Paige later tonight, which really made me glad I missed their match last night since it’s now rendered meaningless. Of course, the company rendered their own world title tournament they had built for 3 weeks meaningless last night in about 2 minutes, so we’ve got a theme going.
Neville defeated Mark Henry (2:25)
This one did one no one any favors. Mark Henry gave Neville a Beal from the corner, then acted like he didn’t want to hurt Neville as he rolled out of the ring. So Henry distracted himself and didn’t see Neville get in the ring. Neville hit a kick to the head, Henry sold it like he was dead and Neville got the pin with the Red Arrow. Cole called it a huge upset. Hasn’t Henry done nothing but jobs for months? Henry met Neville and shook his hand afterwards. So Neville was the only babyface eliminated in the Survivor Series match last night, and won tonight. 3 segments in a row that made last night meaningless.
Stardust was backstage in his liar going crazy about Cesaro being out when Titus O’Neal showed up. O’Neal mentioned taking a wrong turn, then noticed a titanium figure in Stardust’s room. Titus claimed it was in the shape of the Florida Gators. When Stardust looked, Titus did his dog bark to scare Stardust. Something about seeing Titus taking a wrong turn was amusing.
The Prime Time Players and Golddust defeated The Ascension and Stardust (6:11)
O’Neal pinned Viktor after a Spinebuster. Darren Young got the heat. It was OK.
Zeb Coulter and Alberto Del Rio came out. Coulter ripped the crowd saying the borders of MexAmerica were now closed because people weren’t listening to their message. People tend to do that with dead gimmicks. Jack Swagger returned saying Coulter had turned his back on the people and his country. He said Coulter used to stand for something. Yeah, xenophobia. He didn’t mention that part.
Del Rio shouted him down. Swagger promised to defend his country against all doubters, foreign and domestic. He dared Del Rio to do something about it. They had a staredown. Del Rio held up the U.S. title and walked out to boos. Swagger led the people in a “We the People” chant.
Charlotte (C) and Paige went to a double countout (14:56). Charlotte retains the Divas Championship.
They exchanged holds for most of what aired. Paige tripped Charlotte off the second rope with her head hitting the back of the turnbuckles. Paige used various leglocks and a Bow and Arrow. Unfortunately, Charlotte didn’t sell her leg as much as she should have. Charlotte speared Paige through the ropes, leading to a double countout, a finish the crowd booed. That didn’t help matters since the fans were dead for most of the night. Afterwards, Paige continued her gimmick of doing submission holds on the announcer’s table by giving Charlotte the PTO. If Cole could explain what difference it makes when Paige does the PTO on the announcer’s table, I’d really appreciate it. Charlotte has great facials selling submissions, showing the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
Heath Slater came out. Swagger. Slater. It’s like the Witness Relocation Program all-stars came out in full force tonight. He ran down Dirks Bentley, Johnny Cash and teased singing. Ryback came out to total silence. Slater busted his guitar over Ryback’s back, but Ryback didn’t sell out. Crowd did start a “Feed Me More” chant as Ryback gave Slater a spinebuster, Meat Hook Clothesline and the Shellshock. Same segment you’ve seen 100 times with Slater, which I guess is better than getting released.
Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler defeated Tyler Breeze and Kevin Owens (5:27)
Dean Ambrose pinned Tyler Breeze with Dirty Deeds. Already, Breeze is in the 50/50 club. None of these men got a ring entrance. So much of Breeze’s routine is the entrance. How can you not fit that in on a 3:15 show? Fortunately, they made up for it with Breeze and Kevin Owens doing the tag partners who don’t get along gimmick, which got old in TNA around 2006. Dean Ambrose hit a tope where Breeze tookd a nasty fall. Looks like they’re setting up Owens vs. Ambrose for the Intercontinental championship.
Cute product placement for Tex/Mex Chicken Sandwiches at Carl Jr’s./Hardees with JBL, El Torito and Henry. It showed Torito coming out in JBL’s gear getting a huge pop from a crowd that was edited to look live. This was a trip. An acid trip.
As Sheamus came out for the main event, they showed a tweet from Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly congratulating him. That’s apropos, because one person has backdoored into a championship opportunity they had no business getting. And the other person was Sheamus.
Roman Reigns defeated Rusev by DQ (18:46)
Sheamus interfered freely, which led to him being sent to the back. Rusev pulled off a cool spin kick that caught Reigns across the forehead. Reigns escaped an Accolade attempt and hit a Superman’s punch, but Rusev kicked out. Reigns gave the sign for the spear, but Rusv rolled out of the ring. Reigns teased the Drive By, but Rusev hit the thrust kick. Rusev repeatedly rammed Reigns’ head into the table, but again, Reigns barely sold it. Reigns hit a Superman’s Punch while Rusev was on the apron, and Rusev took the Nestle Tea bump on the floor. Reigns caught the Drive By. King Barrett ran out, for some reason, to attack Reigns for the DQ. Both men really worked hard and it was the best match of the night with a bad finish.
Barrett pulled out a chair. Rusev teased hitting him with it, but Reigns got it and hit Rusev with it repeatedly. Sheamus ran down, only to take a chair shot to the back. They teased Rusev, Barrett and Sheamus as a new heel trio.
SUMMARY:
There’s little hope for this company to build a new star if they keep going back to 1999 in order to find big matches. With HHH as the de facto top heel, that makes Sheamus look like his understudy. In other words, they learned nothing from how poorly Rollins was booked. This show had too many bad finishes and the crowd was lifeless most of the way.
Figure Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm returns today with tons to talk about including the Charlotte/Paige angle from Raw Monday, Lance’s alternate take on it, what he has told his students about how to handle it if he passes away, some notes on the retro Nitro for this week and how Christ Jericho saw it all coming, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
The Bryan & Vinny Show is back tonight amidst HIGH WINDS in Seattle. A massive windstorm knocked out Bryan’s power at noon Tuesday, and as of the time this is being posted he still has no power. So it’s a POWER-FREE PROGRAM, meaning no songs, no drops, and, sadly, NO CRAIG CONTEST. Next week. But we do have retro Raw and retro Nitro, and those were two fun shows! And this is still a fun show as always so check it out~!