Tag: wwe raw

The Big Takeaway: HHH announced a 16-man tournament for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the wake of Seth Rollins’ injury that forced him to vacate the championship. HHH tried and failed to get Reigns to join the Authority, even offering him the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Kane and the Undertaker made their return for revenge against the Wyatt family, laying out Wyatt with a chokeslam to end the show. Only one good match on the three hour show. 

Show recap: 

HHH came out and put over Seth Rollins strong as a great WWE World Heavyweight Champion, but acknowledged his knee injury that will cause him to vacate the championship. The mention of Rollins’ name got a strong babyface reaction from the fans in England. HHH brought out the number one contender, Roman Reigns.

HHH said the tournament that will determine the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion will start tonight, but it seems unfair that Reigns just earned the #1 contendership, but now has to start over again in a tournament. HHH said all the other guys in the tournament could step in the ring to fight Reigns at the Survivor Series for the title. HHH told Reigns before they picked Rollins as the chosen one, they scouted Reigns first. The only thing that Reigns lacks is the willingness to do anything to be the man, which is why Reigns hasn’t been the WWE champion. 

HHH asked Reigns how it felt to watch Rollins walk out of WrestleMania as the WWE Champion, and that Reigns will never know if he could have defeated Brock Lesnar. He said Reigns has run into wall after wall, then asked him if he wanted to be the man. HHH offered Reigns the chance to join the Authority. Reigns asked if that meant he had to sell out. 

HHH said Reigns will never be liked by everybody and he was offering Reigns everything he ever wanted. HHH talked about setting up Reigns’ grandchildren for life in exchange for Reigns being his man. Reigns said everything he’s ever done he’s earned, he didn’t need a handout. He told HHH to take his offer and to shove it. 

HHH thanked Reigns for reminding him why he didn’t chose him in the first place and said Reigns’ first round tournament match would start immediately against the Big Show. It sounded like there was some crowd sweetning at work in this segment and Reigns got some boos when he spoke, which wasn’t much. 

Roman Reigns defeated the Big Show in the first round of the WWE World Heavyweight Title tournament (14:32) 

Reigns kicked out of a choke slam. Show teased the knockout punch, but Reigns blocked it with a punch of his own, followed with the Superman’s Punch and pinned the Big Show with a spear. Boring match where the crowd wasn’t behind Reigns’ comeback. He sold most of the way. 

Reigns faces either Cesaro or Sheamus, who wrestle later tonight. It’s a 16-man tournament. 

Michael Cole announced that Bray Wyatt will eulogize the Undertaker and Kane later tonight. 

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney was showed at ringside.

Kevin Owens did a prematch promo encouraging fans to buy his entrance music on iTunes. Owens ran down the fans for believing the Royal Family and said he was going to bring about the change the company needs, and said he was doing it for himself. Fans cheered him anyway. 

Kevin Owens defeated Titus O’Neil in the first round of the WWE World Heavyweight Title tournament (6:52)

Owens escaped the Clash of the Titus and pinned Titus O’Neil with the Pop-Up Powerbomb. Owens advances to face the winner of the Neville/King Barrett match, which takes place on Thursday’s Smackdown. 

Paige did an interview with Renee Young. Paige is wrestling Becky Lynch tonight. Paige called Lynch a rat. What the hell does that imply?

They showed highlights of the Undertaker’s WrestleMania 13 main event against Sid Vicious. Isn’t it amazing the Bret Hart-Steve Austin I Quit match wasn’t the main event of that show? Surprisingly, they didn’t mention the fact that WrestleMania drew about 70,000 fewer PPV buys than the WCW Uncensored show later that same month in 1997. If you recall, WCW Uncensored headlined with a horrendously booked Team NWO vs. Team Piper vs. Team WCW match. I guess that says all you need to know about how deep a hole the WWE was in at that point.   

Becky Lynch defeated Paige (4:57)

Paige hit the Rampage but Lynch grabbed the ropes. Paige tried the PTO, but Lynch again grabbed the ropes. So Paige tried a Rolling Reverse Cradle, but Lynch reversed it to get the pin. I guess it was Paige’s turn to job in her home country. Paige attacked Lynch afterwards and put her in the PTO on the table, to which Cole screamed “NOT ON THE TABLE!” What difference did doing the PTO on the table make? Is Paige the new Sabu or something? 

Next week is the Undertaker week on the WWE Network, which will include a Legends Roundtable with JBL, Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels and HHH talking about their memories of the Undertaker. Wonder if Bryan Clark will be invited for memories of Kronik vs. the Brothers of Destruction? 

There was a package highlighting the first day of ticket sales for WrestleMania in Texas last Friday. They claimed there was a record-breaking amount of tickets sold. There was also an NXT show where Samoa Joe walked out. Booker T. and Austin did brief interviews. 

Dolph Ziggler pinned the Miz in the first round of the WWE World Heavyweight Title Tournament (4:59)

Dolph Ziggler pinned the Miz with a Superkick out of nowhere. Miz had just used the Figure Four leglock. Ziggler faces either Dean Ambrose or Tyler Breeze in the round of 8. Ziggler sold his leg great.  

They continued the flashbacks of the Undertaker and Kane, which included Daniel Bryan and Kane winning the WWE World Tag Team championships over Kofi Kingston and R. Truth when Bryan threw Kane off the top rope, only to have him land on Kingston and score the pin. 

Alberto Del Rio and Zeb Coulter came out. Coulter said MexAmerica believes Mexico and America should band together as two countries but band together as one. Coulter says Germany tells England what to do and even Scotland doesn’t want anything to do with England anymore. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if Vladimir Putin tells England what to do in the future. Del Rio said England is only populated by haters. Coulter said Del Rio was given an opportuniy by HHH to be in the WWE World Title Tournament and become the first MexAmerica world heavyweight champion. 

Natalya defeated Naomi (2:06)

Natalya threw Naomi into Tamina and scored the pin with a schoolgirl cradle. Naomi appeared to injure her leg while rolling out of the ring in the opening seconds. Fans chanted “We Want Sasha” to taunt Naomi. So they’re teasing dissension with Team BAD. That’s two Divas groups who will break up within three months of forming. What is this, TNA? 

Postmatch, Banks jumped Natalya, which the crowd cheered. Natalya turned the tables and put Banks in the Sharpshooter. Fans booed the babyface. Tamina jumped Natalya and Banks put her in the Bank Statement. Natalya tapped repeatedly while Naomi put Tamina’s sunglasses on her face. 

Cesaro defeated Sheamus in the first round of the WWE World Heavyweight Title Tournament (15:28) 

Easily the best thing on the show so far. Cesaro pinned Sheamus with the Inverted Chikara Special. Sheamus was distracted when Barrett got slapped by Rooney at ringside. Earlier, Cesaro hit Sheamus with a European Uppercut on the floor and high-fived Rooney. Best Sheamus match in a while. It’s Reigns vs. Cesaro next week so Cesaro fans can get back to reality. On the WWE website, under the caption of Sheamus winning the Money in the Bank briecase last June is the caption “Can we get a booking mulligan on this move?” 

Barrett ran down Rooney during a prematch promo, challenging him to get in the ring. Barrett said he would hate to see Rooney’s son watch his father fail, but then again his son does that every Sunday on the football pitch. Rooney had a slight grin on his face, but this was the English equivalent of Lebron James shooting an angle. 

They congraulated Sheamus for “Spectre” being the #1 movie in the world this weekend. 

Breeze did a promo saying Prince Pretty would send Ambrose back to the trash heap he came from. Summer Rae said Breeze would be a blessing for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Breeze said he would be the new face of the WWE at Survivor Series. 

Dean Ambrose defeated Tyler Breeze in the first round of the WWE World Heavyweight Title Tournament (11:07) 

Ambrose won with a small package in a pretty good match. Finish was abrupt. Ambrose sold his left arm after hitting a missile dropkick. Breeze promptly rammed Ambrose’s arm into the ringpost three times and clamped on a Fujiwara Armbar. Ambrose teased a tope but Breeze moved. Ambrose stopped before he hit Rae, who let out a scream worthy of the next Friday the 13th sequel. Rae and Breeze have the potential to be a great act. 

It’s Ambrose vs. Ziggler next week. 

The next Undertaker-Kane flashback was Undertaker winning over HHH in their final WrestleMania match. Kane’s highlight was the 2001 Royal Rumble, when he eliminated 11 men. It was the final Rumble won by Austin. 

New Day came out to a good pop. Kingston was unhappy that the New Day was left out of the tournament. Xavier Woods bragged about New Day laying out John Cena and the Dudley Boyz. Woods dedicated tonight’s match to their fallen captain, Seth Rollins, who again got cheered. Woods said European magic is garbage, to which Kingston added “And so is Harry Potter.” 

The New Day defeated Neville and the Usos (8:43)

Woods pinned Neville with a cradle with his feet on the ropes after Big E. tripped Neville, who was going for the Red Arrow. How the ref missed Woods feet on the rope was unbelieveable. Big spot was Neville doing a twisting moonsault plancha onto all five other men. The spot where the New Day takes turns stomping on an opponent in the corner has now been renamed “The Unicorn Stampede.” JBL called them “The Gleebirds.” 

Main Event segment was Wyatt coming out. Crowd in England was still singing “He’s Got the Whole World in his Hands.” Wyatt said change wasn’t easy, but it was inevitable. And how you deal with change is how you tell who you really are. He wanted to celebrate the spirit of Kane and the Undertaker tonight. They have been the benchmark of power for over two decades, and they reigned supreme. 

He told everyone watching to bow their heads and pay respect to the legends of Kane and the Undertaker. After a moment of the fans chanting “Undertaker,” Wyatt laughed at them saying there will be no more respect paid for them. Wyatt said he owns the spirits of Undertaker and Kane, because their power is now running through his veins. 

Wyatt says the apocalypse is here. He got down on his knees and said “Follow…” Before he could finish, a video of Kane and Undertaker played on the TitonTron, ending with the Undertaker saying “Rest in Peace.” Thunderbolts shot down into the ring and from the stage. Then the Undertaker’s music played as Wyatt looked confused and uncertain. Undertaker’s video played and the fans reacted like he was coming out. And he did come out with Kane. Wyatt was stunned. 

Undertaker looked like he had spent too much time under a tanning bed. Wyatt’s flash music played, and Braun Strowman, Eric Rowan and Luke Harper appeared. Fans chanted “This is awesome.” Wyatt charged at Undertaker, who decked him. Rowan and Harper were quickly taken out. Strowman approached the Brothers of Destruction. Rowan and Harper ran in to get destroyed with chokeslams. Strowman clotheslined the Undertaker and Kane, but both rose up and clotheslined Strowman over the top. Strowman was thrown over the announcer’s table. Wyatt was left alone in the ring, and Undertaker and Kane gave him a double chokeslam, then stood over him. 

SUMMARY: Considering how newsworthy the last week has been, this was a disappointing show. There isn’t anyone who stands out as a larger than life star ready to be the next superstar. The tournament just felt like a series of matches, with only Cesaro’s standing out as anything special. Giving Reigns a win over the Big Show is understandable since he’s now in the legends emeritus role, but it was hard to get a good match out of Show when he was in his 20s. Imagine what it was like tonight, going 14 mintues to boot. Crowd was dead most of the way.  

The Big Takeaway: 

Another step forward in getting Roman Reigns over as the company’s next big star. This time, it was a Survivor Series main event where Reigns was the captain of a team that included Dean Ambrose, Ryback and the returning Usos. Fans supported Reigns as a top guy. Also, Bray Wyatt did an interview where he claimed to have inherited the magical powers of the Undertaker and Kane. 

Show Recap: 

Roman Reigns came out to another good reaction and said Seth Rollins was good at kissing the Authority’s ass. He said there was no one that could stop him from beating Rollins and becoming the next WWE World Heavyweight Champion. 

Rollins walked out and said he didn’t believe Reigns. He admitted Reigns was very good, otherwise he wouldn’t have recruited him to join the Shield. He credited Reigns with standing toe-to-toe with Brock Lesnar, but that night ended with him winning the World Heavyweight Champion when he pinned Reigns. Rollins said Reigns would always be second-best to him and the guy who used to carry Rollins bags. 

Reigns challenged him to carry himself to the ring and see who the real man is. Rollins walked down, but Stephanie McMahon and HHH came out. Stephanie asked the fans if they wanted to see Rollins vs. Reigns. See said they weren’t going to get it tonight and laughed at them. HHH asked how high were they? Instead, she said the match would be at the 29th annual Survivor Series. Why did they take out counting the number of WrestleManias but announce the 29th annual Survivor Series? 

Instead, HHH announced a five-on-five Survivor Series match where a team chosen and captained by Rollins would face a team chosen and captained by Reigns.

Kevin Owens (C) defeated Dolph Ziggler in a nontitle match (10:59) 

Midway through, Tyler Breeze and Summer Rae came out and took a seat at their new VIP spot by the announcer’s table. Breeze distracted Ziggler by taking a Selfie at ringside, which led to Owens hitting the Pop-Up Power Bomb in another distraction finish. Breeze went into the ring to take a Selfie over Ziggler’s prone body, but Ziggler kicked him. Breeze responded with a spin kick, otherwise known as the Beauty Shot. Breeze and Summer took the Selfie over Ziggler. Weird to see Rae hanging out with Breeze and taunting Ziggler when she was pretending to shack up with him six weeks ago. 

They showed footage from the very first Survivor Series match. Talk about a hot crowd in Cleveland. It was the babyface team captained by Randy Savage (which included Ricky Steamboat, Jake Roberts, Brutus Beefcake and Jim Duggan) beating a team captained by the Honky Tonk Man (comprised of Danny Davis, Ron Bass, Hercurlez and Harley Race). Since Hogan is in the doghouse, this was presented as the main event of the show, and the crowd was in such a fervor, you would think it was. 

Rollins approached Owens about joining his team. Owens looked wary of Rollins, who wanted Owens on his Survivor Series tonight. Rollins teased giving him a title shot at WrestleMania. Owens agreed to join his team, but said Rollins owed him one. 

Becky Lynch did a promo about Paige. Brie Bella walked in and said Lynch was nothing more than Charlotte’s sidekic. Lynch shot back that Brie was nothing but Nikki Bella’s little sister. One of those terribly scripted interviews that does no one any good. 

Cesaro defeated the Miz by submission (4:49) 

Cesaro won after a 25-rep Giant Swing and a Sharpshooter, which forced the Miz to tap out. Fans haven’t given up on pushing Cesaro even if creative has him headed straight for an undercard program. Stardust and the Ascension were planted in the crowd holding up signs saying “Stardust Section.” 

The Wyatt Family did another promo in the ring. Bray Wyatt said he was going to give the people something they would never forget tonight. Wyatt said he and his brothers have carted out the rotting carcasses of the Undertaker and Kane. He said they didn’t want the body, because after a while it’s useless. But a soul lives forever, unless the soul is consumed by a higher power. Bray has become that higher power. He said his family has harvested the souls of Undertaker and Kane. 

To prove it, Wyatt said he summons the thunder. Flashing lights and thunder went out. Wyatt summoned the lighting, and Kane’s pyro went off along with cheesy looking lightning bolts. Wyatt said he is the eater of worlds, and it is well within his power to take your world and burn it straight to hell. He laughed as lighgtning and thunder went off in the arena. 

Then a video of Kane and Undertaker highlights from when they were a tag team played on the TitanTron. It went off and Bray shouted “Follow the Buzzards.” I take it that Bray now has the magical powers the 1990s Undertaker had. 

Lucha Dragons defeated King Barrett and Sheamus (13:17)

Very good match where Kalisto pinned King Barrett with Solina del Sol. Barrett and Sheamus were great as the oversized heels beating up on the smaller babyfaces. Sin Cara took out Sheamus with a crossbody to the floor. Strong match and there was also a prematch package putting over the Dragons like they’re in line for a push. Good heat segments by the heels and the crowd responded. Michael Cole dropped Rey Mysterio’s name during the match. 

Jack Swagger met with Zeb Coulter backstage. Swagger wanted to know what was the deal with Coulter joining up with Alberto Del Rio. Coulter said it was time for two great countries to unite. Del Rio walked in and told Swagger to back off. 

Alberto Del Rio defeated R. Truth (3:22) 

Del Rio got the pin with the stomp off the top rope while R. Truth was tied to the tree of woe. The Del Rio-Coulter pairing has zero chemistry. 

The latest flashback to the Survivor Series was the Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown match. It included a very young looking Randy Orton and Mysterio pinning the Big Show. Shawn Michaels got to work with Mysterio and it ended with Orton being the Sole Survivor for Smackdown. Imagine if they had actually done something with that Brand Split. 

Big E. and Kofi Kingston walked up to Rollins and volunteered to be on Team Rollins. Seth wondered who would be the fifth person on the team. Big E. and Kingston threw up their unicorn horns, and Xavier Woods popped up fresh from his honeymoon (which they didn’t acknowledge). Rollins grimaced but agreed to let Woods join the team This led to this week’s New Day Moment of the Week where they chanted Team Rollins in the same cadence as “New Day Rocks.” Even Seth started to dance. 

Jo Jo asked Sasha Banks if there was any pressure on her in the four-way match tonight. Banks said she always delivers and Charlotte was going to learn that she was the boss. Banks said the boss was takingover. 

Paige defeated Becky Lynch to become the number one contender to the Divas Championship in a four-way that also included Sasha Banks and Brie Bella (13:15)

Paige won by pinning Lynch after the Rampage. Moments earlier, Banks had delivered a Bank Statement on Lynch, but Paige threw Lynch into the post. Crowd came alive following a stacked up Superplex spot, which I think every four-way is obligated to have now. It was Banks who took the big bump, and the crowd chanted “This is Awesome.” Well, it was pretty good. Paige did a total heel interview afterwards saying anyone who pulled for Banks, Brie or Lynch is a loser, just like they are. With Paige and Banks doing heel interviews, it was tough for the fans to rally behind Lynch because she was in such a lame segment earlier. 

They showed highlights from last year’s Survivor Series, where the Authority was out of power if their team lost. A lot of good that did. They showed Ziggler pinning three men to give the babyfaces the win and send HHH and Stephanie out of the company for four whole weeks. 

Charlotte did a promo saying Paige would learn she earn the Divas Championship not by being Ric Flair’s daughter, but because she worked hard to reach the top. 

It’s funny to watch the fans chant New Day Rocks and have the New Day pretend they’re chanting New Day Sucks. Kofi claimed that the New Day’s favorite band is Survivor, their favorite reality show is Survivor, their Destiny Child’s song is Survivor, their favority book is “Lone Survivor,” and their favorite movie was also “Lone Survivor.” Woods then admitted it was really the Last Unicorn. The unicorn horns are already getting over, as well. 

Roman Reigns, The Usos, Dean Ambrose and Ryback defeated Seth Rollins, The New Day and Kevin Owens in a Survivor Series match in 30:07. 

The Usos made their return to a big pop. Jimmy Uso pinned Woods in :33 with a splash off the top rope to give them momentum right away.

Jay Uso eliminated Kingston with a big splash at 7:10 to make it 5-on-3,

 Big E. pinned Jay Uso with the Big Ending at 8:32 to make it 4-on-3. 

Owens pinned Jimmy Uso after a Pop Up Power Bomb at 9:00 to make it even. 

Great action between falls where Reigns got the heat, then started a comeback after Rollins got backdropped over the top rope to the floor. Ryback escaped a Big Ending from Big E. and pinned Big E with the Shellshock at 21:33.  

Immediately, Rollins hit the Pedigree on Ryback and pinned him at 21:49 to even the match again.

Dean Ambrose eliminated Owens after Dirty Deeds at 27:36. Rollins and Owens double teamed Ambrose until Ambrose accidentally kneed Owens off the top rope. 

Rollins tried to run away from being on the wrong end of a 2-on-1 situation. Reigns and Ambrose stopped him. Rollins and Ambrose tried to give Rollins the Doomsday Device, but Rollins ran out of the ring and hit Ambrose with a chair, leading to a DQ and the end of the match at 30:07. 

Postmatch, Rollins laid out Ambrose with chair shots across the back. Rollins rolled Reigns back in the ring and teased laying him out with the chiar, but Reigns gave him a Superman’s Punch and Rollins ran off. It was the second straight week where the fans rallied behind Reigns as a top guy. Ambrose got a good response, as well. 

SUMMARY: The shows without Cena and Orton have been a positive so far, ratings be damned. The match quality has been good, even with the depths of the roster tested. Del Rio can be a main event player if given the right partner, which isn’t the case right now. The Divas Division booking is still the biggest disappointment in the company, with Paige playing the rogue heel who some fans like anyway. Another good show.