WWE has announced that Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman’s role for Raw tomorrow night in Columbus, OH will be as guests on The Highlight Reel with Chris Jericho.
That is the only thing announced for Raw other than the show will be the go-home show for the Rumble.
They are also expected to do an angle to set up a Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch Divas title rematch for the Rumble. Becky challenged Charlotte to a title match on Smackdown this week and Charlotte said she would answer the challenge on Raw.
When Raw ended last week the announcers were openly speculating that Lesnar’s post-match destruction following the main event was an indication that he had decided to be in the Royal Rumble. Jericho in his first interview back also stated that his plan was to win the Royal Rumble and go on to WrestleMania to win the WWE World Heavyweight title.
Submitted by Tim Taylor. Thanks also to Brittany Sanders.
– About 90% full in a venue that holds 5000 or so.
– WWE Champion Roman Reigns was announced as not being there and refunds were offered for 20 minutes. Of course, Kevin Owens came out to cut a promo, which brought out Dean Ambrose, who brawled with Owens in hopes no one asked for refunds.
– Strowman, Rowan, and Harper over Tommy Dreamer and the Dudley Boyz in a tables match. Rowan and Harper put Dreamer through the table for the win.
– Neville over the Miz. Miz didn’t cut a promo but had JoJo read his promo heeling on the Cleveland sports teams. Miz’s dad was in attendance.
– Becky Lynch over Tamina w/Naomi. The BAD girls worked over Lynch after the match but Natayla made the save, putting Tamina in the sharpshooter. Good pop for Lynch, but crowd wasn’t as into the match.
– R-Truth over Stardust. Crowd loved Truth.
– US Champion Alberto Del Rio over Kalisto to retain. Del Rio got a standing ovation from the production crew with the exception of agent Fit Finlay. This had to be a rib as Del Rio nearly cracked up seeing that. Guys worked hard and it was a good match.
– Social Outcasts over The Ascension and Los Matadores. Crowd didn’t know who to cheer at first, the Outcasts were the faces, and fans never got too into the match until the end. Los Matadores didn’t seem overly interested in being there. In the pre-match promo, Axel referred to them as the Social Outlaws.
– Sheamus over Jack Swagger. Sheamus with a pre-match promo. Solid match.
– WWE IC Champion Dean Ambrose beat Kevin Owens to retain. Started off with the heat and a good majority of the match was Ambrose being beat down and making small comebacks. Ambrose kicked out of the pop up power bomb and won soon after with Dirty Deeds. Ambrose was clearly the biggest star of the show in the eyes of the crowd getting the biggest pop and having the biggest chunk of merchandise sold.
– The night starts off with an announcement from JoJo about Roman Reigns not being here.
– Kevin Owens interrupts and challenges Ambrose to an IC title match later tonight. Ambrose attacks him from behind and accepts the challenge as Owens retreats to the back.
– Dudleys & Tommy Dreamer vs. The Wyatt Family (Harper, Rowan and Strowman) in a tables match
The Wyatts win with a double choke slam on Dreamer through a table.
– Neville def. The Miz
Neville wins with the Red Arrow.
– The Social Outcasts defeat The Ascenion & Los Matadors
Outcasts come out and cut a funny promo that ends with Heath Slater leading the crowd in a song of Country Roads. Really great stuff here.
– R-Truth defeated Stardust
Incredible work by Stardust who got some major boos from the crowd with his heel work. Match saw very few bumps taken by both men yet it was very well received by the audience and was really entertaining.
– US Champion Alberto Del Rio defeated Kalisto
ADR held the ropes during the pin. Crowd was pretty dead during this ainly because the previous 2 matches were so awesome.
– Becky Lynch def. Tamina (w/Naomi)
Becky wins then gets attacked by both girls after. Nattie makes the save and then celebrates with Becky.
– Sheamus def. Jack Swagger
Swagger came out to defend the honor of the West Virginia crowd in light of Sheamus’ comments against them.
– WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose def. Kevin Owens to retain
Owens stared down several small children in attendance. He also told a young teenage female that her sign looked like it was made by a blind 5 yr old. In a move that was a class act, Kevin gave a quick and discreet fist bump to a young handicapped child who was being held up by what appeared to be his mother on his way back up the ramp. Ambrose made sure to high five all those at ringside who wanted one. He made several trips around the ring and up and down the ramp. He had also gotten a haircut since he was last seen on television.
All in all, it was a really fun show and everyone who performed put forth a lot of effort. Only complaint would be the way security acted. Multiple times during the show they would motion for fans to sit down in their seats. They also wouldn’t let fans who weren’t setting ringside or along the guardrail to come up and try and get a high five before or after a match. This upset a lot of parents and children and was pretty sad to see.
Enormous pop for both of them afteward despite the match being a little sloppy.
WWE Tag Team Champions New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods) def. the Usos and Prime Time Players in a three-way to retain
Most entertaining bout of the night and cloud cheered and laughed alot. Usos did a suicide dive as well. Kofi interfered to help for the win. They all get beat down by the faces after the match. “New Day sucks” chants throughout, but the crowd loved their antics.
Love Preet def. Jason Jordan
Jason cut a heel promo about India not having talented wrestlers during the morning tryouts, but was defeated by the Indian wrestler eventually who got the crowd roaring with “Jai Hind” chants.
WWE Divas Champion Charlotte def. Summer Rae to retain
People loved Summer and crowd was completely supporting her, chanting her name since she was babyface. She used her old aggressive NXT moveset including diving cross bodies. Woos for Charlotte, though she got boo’ed for using a dirty moveset. She won with the figure 8. Physical match. Lots of “We Want Sasha” chants.
Dolph Ziggler def. Tyler Breeze
Tyler’s selfie video was not live and he didn’t get that much a reaction, but “you look stupid”: chants. Crowd erupted for Ziggler. Physical and long match with Ziggler dominating and making fun of Breeze’s narcissism throughout. Crowd loved it. “This is awesome” chants.
Rusev def. Ryback
Huge pops for both the wrestlers. Very physical match. Crowd not to Happy that Ryback lost but he got them cheering once more when he thanked them by saying, “Namaste“.
D. Raftar def Chad Gable
Gable was seeking redemption for Jordan but got squashed. Raftar was slightly stiff but was very over with the Indian crowd. Few local Haryanwi, Punjabi and Hindi sentences to end the segment.
WWE Champion Roman Reigns def Big Show to retain
Show teased the crowd by initially not getting in the ring. He ended up dominating the match. He also yelled at a kid to shut up at ringside. Reigns had the underdog comeback and tried to knock him down with superman punches and finally a spear for the win. He thanks the roaring crowd and says this was the best crowd he has ever faced.
*****
Biggest pops:
– Almost everyone: Roman Reigns, Dolph, Ryback, Big Show, both the divas, Kane, Bray wyatt and Usos. Even the others got good enough pops and people were just having a good time. Electrifying atmosphere to say the least.
Apparently the matches on the second day of the our were more physically intense, and people were surprisingly very impressed with the intensity, especially in the Divas match.
Every year during Wrestlemania, many of our members get together for various events, dinners, and other get-togethers as a lead up to WWE’s biggest event of the year. Run by longtime subscriber Ed Loredo, these are a fun way for people to get to know each other, talk wrestling, and meet up with Bryan Alvarez and other website personalities!
Here’s what’s on tap so far with all times local:
Friday, April 1st: Buffet dinner at Texas de Brazil in Dallas (5 PM)
Cost will be $63.50 will include soda & tea (alcohol can be bought at the bar). To book your spot, Paypal Ed with your name and the amount of spots you’re reserving. Be sure to send as a gift to avoid transaction fees! Spots are limited, so act soon!
Friday bus to WrestleCon?
If there is enough interest, we will look into chartering a bus (possibly $20-25 per person) to take the group to dinner from WrestleCon. Email Ed if interested.
For the second week in succession, Main Event opens with an in-ring promo instead of a match. This week, it’s wig splitter-in-chief, Mark Henry, who has something to get off his chest. Mizark begins his address by informing us that this August will mark the 20th anniversary of the inking of his first WWE contract. He reels off some of the accolades that he’s earned in that timespan (namechecking the ECW, European and Heavyweight titles in that order), before assuring us that 2016 will finally be the year that he checks the Royal Rumble off his list.
This revelation prompts The Ascension to interrupt. Konnor speculates that the World’s Strongest Man might have the World’s Shortest Memory because, as Viktor adds, it was The Ascension who eliminated Henry from the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at Wrestlemania Play Sign. Fair point. That watershed moment in the history of our sport is indelibly etched in the minds of any who witnessed it.
These history-makers refer to themselves as the World’s Sickest Tag Team and state that the “annihilation” that they will bring to bear at the Rumble starts tonight with Mark Henry. They enter the ring and begin beating on Henry, hitting him with a Fall of Man that only brings him to his knees.
Cue Jack Swagger to make the save and clear the ring, setting up a rematch of the featured contest from Superstars a couple of weeks back, in which the good guys triumphed. I wonder if this one will have the same outcome? Hmmm…
Stardust def. Fandango via pinfall
We get a typically cryptic inset promo from Rhodes beforehand, from which I can just about decipher that he thinks he’s going to win the Rumble. Who did you eliminate from the ARMBAR, Cody?!
Super short match here. What little offence Fandango managed was highlighted by a plancha and a spinning heel kick for two. The finish saw Stardust dodge a corner charge, causing Fandango to crotch himself on the second rope. This allowed the heel to drag his prey off the turnbuckle head-first and hit the Queen’s Crossbow for the victory.
Alicia Fox def. Tamina via pinfall
Oh dear. This was bad. Both girls’ entrances are notable; Alicia’s for the fact that we get to hear her own theme (rather than Brie’s or Nikki’s) for the first time in an age. Meanwhile, Tamina debuts the new Team B.A.D. theme and TitanTron video. It’s pretty meh.
We get a botched spot straight off the bat as Alicia appears to trip off an Irish whip from Tamina. Loud spot calling from Alicia then prompts a headbutt from Tamina, who moves on to some of the most boring heel diva offence imaginable; stand on hair, chinlock, clap hands for some reason, repeat.
Comeback time, and Tamina is woefully out of place to dodge Alicia’s big boot attempt. The finish sees Tamina miss a corner charge (Road Dogg!!!) and get rolled up with the dreaded school boy for the win.
After the match, Tamina gets her “heat” back by beating Alicia up. Completely pointless.
– Recap of the McMahons entertaining themselves in the opening segment of RAW and the stultifyingly dull Reigns vs. Owens/One vs. All main event.
Jack Swagger and Mark Henry def. The Ascension via pinfall
Jerry Lawler, Rich Brennan’s announcing buddy for the second successive week, reminds us that he was Henry’s first opponent in the WWE way back when. Brennan asks him how that went for The King. Lawler: “Check out The Ascension!” Hey, I smiled.
Pretty even contest before the inevitable commercial break, which is preceded by Swagger getting tripped by Konnor on the apron as he went to fetch Viktor.
To the surprise of no-one, we return with the heels still in command. This heat portion of the match is highlighted by Viktor mocking the “We The People” chant and following up by getting some insane height on a fist drop to Swagger.
Eventually Swagger cuts Viktor off with a belly to belly slam and gets the hot tag to his partner. Henry doles out big powerslams to both opponents, before joining Swagger in a celebratory “We The People” rendition. Swagger Bomb to Viktor follows, after which legal man Konnor sneaks up behind Henry to steal the win. Henry has him scouted on the Tron, however; he turns around, picks Konnor up, and puts him right back down again with the World’s Strongest Slam for the win.
Final Thoughts
Arguably the weakest edition of Main Event since I started covering the show in November. While replacing the opening match with a promo to set up the featured contest may seem like a good idea in theory, the usual poor scriptwriting has actually rendered the show weaker on aggregate since the experiment began last week. Two short matches (one of which was actively bad) and a rehash of a Superstars main event from a few weeks ago is not an attractive prospect for any potential viewer. Recommendation to skip.
– Air Date: January 14, 2016 (Jan 13 in Canada) – Location: Canjundome in Lafayette, LA
The Big News:
Alberto Del Rio regained the U.S. Championship after defeating Kalisto in a really good match. Also, Dean Ambrose will defend his Intercontinental Championship in a Last Man Standing Match at the Royal Rumble against Kevin Owens.
Show Recap:
The announcers plugged all three “main events” to start the show. Renee Young was standing outside the arena awaiting Dean Ambrose, who showed up in the passenger seat of a pickup truck. Ambrose had a statement for Kevin Owens but wanted to announce it to his face in the ring.
Ambrose came to the ring, asked for a drumroll and was surprised when he actually got one. Ambrose wanted Owens out there before making the announcement, but he didn’t show up. He asked for the drumroll again and said he was challenging Owens to a Last Man Standing match at the Rumble. (There was a funny flub when Ambrose talked into the IC Title on his shoulder instead of the mic and we couldn’t hear what he was saying for a moment.)
Sheamus came out and said Ambrose was acting like a child (he was) but the adults were tired of him. Sheamus said Roman Reigns stole the title from him and now he has to win it back in the Rumble match. He wanted to finish the brawl they didn’t finish on Raw and was pissed about the forehead scar Ambrose gave him. Ambrose was ready for a fight but Kevin Owens interrupted.
Owens accepted the challenge and said Ambrose wouldn’t be able to walk out of the Rumble. Sheamus and Owens attacked him but Neville ran out to make the save and the heels bailed. This was not a good segment and crowd was quiet. They made Ambrose do comedy to announce a Last Man Standing match and it died. Also, there was no explanation for why Ambrose didn’t come out to save Reigns on Raw.
Tables Match: The Dudley Boyz beat Luke Harper & Erick Rowan (w/Braun Strowman)
The lights went out after the Dudleys made their entrance and the Wyatts magically appeared to attack them from behind. I guess the referee thought this was fair so he started the match. The Dudleys set up a table but Harper hit D-Von with a superkick. There was a mixup between Bubba and Harper/Rowan where they just awkwardly stood around until Rowan kicked Bubba and they went to commercial.
Strowman got his team a kendo stick but Bubba grabbed it and used it to knock Rowan out of the ring. Strowman went after him but Bubba moved and Strowman went shoulder-first into the post. Eventually, Bubba and Harper had a struggle on the steps, ending with Bubba pushing Harper through a table on the floor for the surprising Dudleys win.
Afterwards, Strowman knocked down both Dudleys from behind. Strowman tossed D-Von into two different tables positioned in the corners. Then, standing on the announce table, Harper and Rowan gave Bubba a double chokeslam through two tables on the floor. Strowman was directing them a la Bray Wyatt, who was not there. The post-match was a good heat angle for the Wyatts, but I’m not sure why they didn’t just win.
Backstage, Kalisto told Jo-Jo he didn’t have much hope to get to WWE, but guys like Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio gave him hope. All he needed was one opportunity and now he’s U.S. Champion and plans for it to stay that way.
8-Man Tag: Social Outcasts beat Damien Sandow, Goldust, Jack Swagger & Zack Ryder via pinfall
Nobody got an introduction. Bo Dallas won with a Bo-dog on Ryder. As Dallas did the Bo-dog, he accidentally kicked Slater off the ring apron for comedy. The action here was totally fine, but this felt like a waste of time, and in particular, a waste of Goldust and Jack Swagger. Also, this was Sandow’s first match on Raw or Smackdown since May of 2015 when, funny enough, he teamed with Axel to beat Slater and Rose. Welcome back.
They aired a video package from Raw. Jerry Lawler again sided with the McMahons and said Reigns deserved what he got.
Backstage, Alberto Del Rio told Renee he doesn’t care what the fans think and would bring them back to reality when he regains the U.S. Championship.
U.S. Championship: Alberto Del Rio beat Kalisto via submission
Lawler started by saying there’s no way Del Rio could take Kalisto seriously. Mauro Ranallo mentioned that Del Rio main evented an MMA show he called 12 years ago. Del Rio hit a great-looking armbreaker off the ropes. Kalisto rolled to the outside trying to regroup, but Del Rio went after him, slamming his arm against the steel steps. The crowd started to get behind Kalisto after that.
After a break, Wade Barrett was at ringside. This felt like a video game where your ally just randomly shows up at ringside. Del Rio set up for the double foot stomp but Kalisto countered into a headscissors. He followed with a springboard seated senton but Del Rio sidestepped another springboard move and hit a side kick for a near fall. Kalisto made his comeback and got a couple of near falls.
Barrett distracted Kalisto allowing Del Rio to apply the armbar. Kalisto managed to make it to the ropes after a long struggle. Del Rio fell to the outside and Kalisto went for a dive, but Barrett pulled Del Rio out of the way and Kalisto crashed on to the mats. Del Rio reapplied the armbar back in the ring and Kalisto tapped out immediately.
This match was really good and Kalisto came off as well as he could here in the loss. Slight nitpick is that they moved on from this segment too quickly after Del Rio won. Also, Barrett’s involvement was pretty lame.
They played the Sting Hall of Fame video.
Backstage, Becky Lynch told Renee that Charlotte attacking her really got her down. Renee said Lynch doesn’t stay down, and they showed a replay of Lynch attacking Charlotte on Raw. Lynch said she would stay fired up until she beats Charlotte for the title and challenged her to a match at the Rumble. Lynch said Charlotte could bring the whole Flair clan and she would be ready.
Becky Lynch beat Brie Bella (w/Alicia Fox) via submission
Lynch won relatively quickly with the Disarmer. (I wrote that before the match started.)
Neville & IC Champion Dean Ambrose beat Sheamus & Kevin Owens via DQ
They went to commercial a minute into the match. After the break, they had the heat on Ambrose. Neville tagged in and ran wild but was attacked from behind by Owens and they got the heat on him. Owens called Ranallo “Four eyes” and told him to pay attention because he might learn something.
Owens went for a cannonball but Neville moved and hit a German suplex and made the hot tag to Ambrose. Ambrose ran wild on Sheamus, hitting a tornado DDT and flying elbow drop. Owens broke up the cover so Ambrose knocked him out of the ring. Ambrose went for the rebound clothesline on Sheamus, but Owens kicked him right in the head and Sheamus hit White Noise for a near fall.
Owens tagged in but Ambrose countered a powerbomb and hit a rebound clothesline followed by a suicide dive. Sheamus drove him repeatedly into the ring steps, returning the favour from Raw. Owens hit Ambrose with the light piece of cardboard that covers the announce table and that was a DQ.
The heels cleared the table but Neville took them out with a dive. Ambrose gave Owens Dirty Deeds and Neville finished him off with Red Arrow. The babyfaces posed and Sheamus seethed at them.
Final Thoughts:
This would’ve been every Smackdown show ever if not for the Kalisto vs. Alberto Del Rio title match, which I really liked. Maybe I wouldn’t have put the title back on Del Rio right away, but Kalisto looked strong so I’ll let this one play out.
They really need to stop booking “big” matches that they don’t know how to get out of. Tonight’s main event with Dean Ambrose ended in a DQ, after his match with Sheamus on Raw ended in a double count out. Last week’s Smackdown main event with Ambrose also ended in a double count out, and his tag match that main evented Smackdown the week before that ended in a DQ.
Also, this was their second week on a new network, and the second week with no Roman Reigns (among others). I know he was overseas or whatever, but it’s not like they inform the viewers of this.
Act quickly, as tickets are currently on sale for the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony on 4/2 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
The ceremony is advertised for a 6:30 p.m. local start time and will be headlined by Sting.
The pre-sale started this morning and we have received two different codes, being WWEVIP and AACVIP.
Tickets will be available until 11 p.m. Central time tomorrow night before they go on sale to the public on Friday.
Tickets for the event are expected to sell out quickly as the set up is usually about 10,000 seats and with so many people coming to the host city, the shows are a routine sellout.
As has become a yearly tradition, there is a group from this site that usually attends together. You can look for that thread on the Board~! under the Empire Get-Togethers “folder” or create your own. For more information on our website’s Wrestlemania meet-up info, you can email EdinSanantonio at F4Wfan@hotmail.com – yes, Ed is the one keeping hotmail alive.
From the Cajundome in Lafayette, LA, taped for Wednesday in Canada and Thursday in the U.S.:
– WWE Smackdown opened with Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose wanting a last man standing match with Kevin Owens at the Royal Rumble. Sheamus then came out. Owens accepted the match and he and Sheamus attacked Ambrose until Neville made the save to lead to the main event.
– Dudleys beat Luke Harper & Erick Rowan in a tables match. After the match, Braun Strowman destroyed both Dudleys.
– Heath Slater & Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas & Adam Rose beat Jack Swagger & Zack Ryder & Goldust & Damien Sandow when Dallas pinned Ryder.
– Alberto Del Rio beat Kalisto to regain the U.S. title due to distraction from King Barrett.
– Becky Lynch beat Brie Bella.
– WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose & Neville went to a double countout with Kevin Owens & Sheamus.
