A few promos for the Slammy’s tomorrow night with Lillian and Byron mentioning it in the ring.
The Miz vs Ryback (W)
Great opener with Ryback getting the crowd hot
Young crowd so Ryback was very over.
Miz was pretty outstanding in this match and really played up the heel card.
Skull Crushing Finale for a 2 count which led to the go home for Ryback to hit Shell Shock.
Wyatt Family vs Dudley Boys, Tommy Dreamer & Kane (W)
Wyatt’s and Bray in particular were very over with the older parts of the crowd. Bray seemed extra vocal on the apron during the entire match.
Kane was a surprise guest and received a huge pop when coming out.
Did the big Kane vs Strowman spot which led to a spot fest, everything landing finishers.
Ended with Kane getting the pin and the 4 raised hands in the middle of the ring.
Kevin Owens vs Dean Ambrose (W) (IC Title Match)
Owens was definitely over being in Canada.
Attacked Dean as he was getting into the ring and cut a promo while Ambrose recovered.
Brawl on the outside which led to Owens grabbing an Ambrose fan sign and ripping it up, and eventually eating it in the ring. Super heel crowd reaction to this.
Ambrose lands the DDT and gets the win. Celebrated taking photos with the barrier etc.
Team B.A.D vs Charlotte, Becky, and Brie Bella (W) (Elimination Style Match)
Sasha was over getting chants right from the walk. Quick promo in the ring about how it will be 3 vs 2 because Paige isn’t around anymore.
Becky comes out to a HUGE reaction, was definitely the most over of all the girls tonight. Charlotte follows after with Brie being the surprise 3rd.
Order of elimination was… Tamina, Becky, Naomi , Brie. We Want Becky chants started after she was eliminated.
Great final match with Charlotte and Sasha, definitely felt like NXT calibre. Felt like this is the next feud coming.
BAD rushes the ring followed by Becky and Brie for the brawl, Charlotte hits the spear into the figure 8 and gets the tap.
Match of the night for sure.
Jack Swagger vs Alberto Del Rio (W)(US Title Match)
Crowd definitely seemed a little quite for this.
Highlight was Swagger throwing Del Rio’s shirt into the crowd, followed by Del Rio hopping the barricade and snatching it back from the fan. Swagger grabbed ADR and brawl ensued at the barricade.
ADR hit the top rope stomp for the win.
Sheamus vs Roman Reigns (W)(WWE WHC Match)
Sheamus rolled out of the ring to start, Reigns grabbed him and brawled on the outside for a while
Crowd was super into Roman. Almost no boo’s. Older guys in the audience tried to get a little Roman Sucks chant going.
5:15 chant from small part of the audience seemed to get some attention.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today with your weekend wrap-up, a look at all the shows from ROH to UFC, a bunch of news, phone calls and text messages and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer returns today to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA including news on Maria and Mike Bennett being written off ROH TV, Brock Lesnar’s return on Saturday night in a US Title match, UFC on FOX with some big upsets, more on the weigh-cutting summit, tons of questions and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
*We don’t have an update on Matt Taven past the injury to his right knee was legit. Taven came off the middle rope to do a spike piledriver on Ray Rowe before the tag team title match on tonight’s ROH show started. Taven started limping badly. They only did a three minute match with War Machine winning the titles. Bennett & Taven are no longer under contract to ROH and it is possible this was their last match with the promotion.
*Charles Oliveira failed to make weight and was fined 20 percent of his purse for his fight with Myles Jury. He looked confused as to why he didn’t make weight even though he was 4.5 pounds over.
*Danny Castillo, who was two pounds over, came back about 20 minutes later and made weight.
*C.B. Dollaway somehow lost 1.5 pounds just by taking off his underwear and he also made weight.
*Yoshitatsu was announced as part of the English language broadcast team for the 1/4 Tokyo Dome show. He will be working with Kevin Kelly and Matt Striker filling in the holes needed to translate Japanese. He’s very excited for getting this shot. This was a decision made some time back but New Japan just announced it tonight.
*Every NXT non-Florida house show in the month of January is sold out except for the 1/15 show in Green Bay, and that has a strong advance.
*There are tickets remaining for the 4/1 NXT show in Dallas before WrestleMania which is the next Takeover special. They’ll be available to the public at 10 a.m. Central time tomorrow. They’ll be gone very quickly so if you have interest in tickets I suggest logging in right away.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA, plus we’re joined by Steve Sims to talk the death of Lizmark and Adam Cole to talk tonight’s ROH Final Battle show, their version of WrestleMania, which you can check out on pay-per-view! A fun show as always so check it out!
This is a FREE SHOW so please spread the word! Wrestling Observer Live airs daily at noon PT/3 ET on Sports Byline USA, available free through TuneIn Radio, iHeart Radio and more. A full affiliate list is available at sportsbyline.com Subscribers have full access to commercial-free downloads plus over 7,000 new and archived shows! Dave and Bryan do minimum three shows per week in addition to as many as 20 other weekly members-only shows. Sign up at wrestlingobserver.com for all of this new audio content, plus over 7,000 archived shows dating back to 2005!
1500 tickets for a 1/16 NXT house show in Chicago at the Portage Theater, the group’s debut in the market, sold out in one minute today.
At this writing, there are 48 tickets left on Stubhub with a cheapest ticket price at $145. There are also tickets available in other secondary market sites and through area ticket brokers, but are for well above face value and there are not a great deal of them available.
Tickets for a 1/30 NXT show in Royal Oak, MI, just outside of Detroit, sold out their pre-sale allotment on the first day as well.
Also, it appears as if the entire pre-sale allotment for the NXT event on April 1st in Dallas, TX, is also sold out. The show, set for the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, seats about 7,000. A public on-sale is scheduled for Saturday, but it’s likely only a small amount of tickets will be made available which is usually the case in these situations.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez returns today with a packed show! Notes from WWE Takeover on Wednesday night, tons of MMA and wrestling news notes with Dave Meltzer, then Jay Briscoe joins us to talk ROH FINAL BATTLE on PPV this coming Friday night! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer returns today to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA including the death of Lizmark, WWE’s NXT special from London, Smackdown tapings, Raw ratings from Monday night, ROH’s PPV this weekend, Conor McGregor and his huge UFC numbers, questions and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
WWE Smackdown results (12/17): Roman Reigns Speaks, Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler
Air Date: December 17, 2015 – Location: Prudential Center in Newark, NJ
The Big News:
Watch Raw next Monday if you would like a follow-up to Raw last Monday.
Show Recap:
Smackdown opened with a recap of the Roman Reigns story from Raw, including Stephanie McMahon slapping the crap out of him. They also included a shot of The Usos and Dean Ambrose jumping in to celebrate after Reigns won.
Reigns came out through the crowd, WWE title belt on his shoulder. He said winning the championship felt good, but doing it on his daughter’s birthday was so much better. Reigns figured he doesn’t have much time left in the company after spearing Triple H and punching Vince McMahon. The line about punching Vince got a big reaction.
He advised the people at home not to punch their bosses. Reigns said he’d face his repercussions on Monday, but tonight isn’t Raw, it’s Smackdown (and no one is in charge I guess). Reigns added that we haven’t seen Triple H since TLC. I guess they forgot Smackdown airs after NXT Takeover.
Sheamus came out and said he wants Reigns to enjoy every moment with the title because it won’t be long before he has it again. Reigns was ready to fight now, but of course Sheamus wasn’t going to. Sheamus said the Authority has launched an investigation against Reigns, which means he can’t be on Smackdown tonight.
Reigns told Sheamus he could make him leave. Sheamus put over Reigns’ fighting spirit, but Stephanie told him if Reigns didn’t leave voluntarily they’d take alternative measures, and about 10 security guards came out on stage. Reigns didn’t budge so security went after him. Most of them were tiny, so Reigns took them out easily. The best spot was after one security guard couldn’t get over the top rope, Reigns shoved him out violently and the guy splatted on the mats.
There was one larger security guard left and Reigns took him out with a superman punch. Reigns posed with the title and Sheamus frowned. Reigns was universally cheered in this segment but I wouldn’t call it a huge reaction. Of course, that could have something to do with the number of people in attendance. Nobody was booing, anyway.
Non-Title: U.S. Champion Alberto Del Rio beat Ryback via submission
They explained that Ryback requested this match. Before it started, Ryback said Del Rio is going to wish he never came back, and he’s going to eat the League of Nations (or something). Somebody in the crowd had a Mexican flag and Del Rio held it up for a moment during his entrance.
They messed up a spot where Ryback went for the Lou Thesz press but Del Rio didn’t go down, so Ryback just punched him until he did. Ryback made his comeback which actually included a missile dropkick. Ryback hit a meat-hook clothesline and went for Shellshocked but Sheamus, Rusev and Wade Barrett all ran out to the League of Nations music.
Ryback shoved Del Rio away for some reason, and the distraction allowed Del Rio to lock in the armbar. Ryback tried to fight out but eventually tapped. Afterwards, the League beat up Ryback, and Rusev applied the Accolade. The match was no good and I have no idea why Roman Reigns didn’t come out here.
Backstage, Tyler Breeze told Summer Rae that Titus O’Neil was an uggo. Goldust randomly appeared behind them and made weird noises. Summer sprayed hairspray in his face and he eventually left. Okay then.
They plugged a WWE house show at The Forum in Los Angeles on Saturday featuring Brock Lesnar. It was just a quick plug by the announcers, not a commercial.
Titus O’Neil beat Tyler Breeze (w/Summer Rae) via pinfall
No Darren Young at ringside. Goldust came out in the middle of the match and sat next to Summer in the VIP section. O’Neil made his comeback as this was happening. Goldust grabbed the selfie stick and took a selfie with Jerry Lawler. He also tried taking one with Breeze as Breeze yelled at him. The distraction allowed Titus to hit a sitout powerbomb for the win. Two straight distraction finishes.
Backstage, Dean Ambrose told Renee Young that Kevin Owens’ mind games won’t work. Ambrose said he won’t go away, and if Owens wants him all he has to do is ask. Ambrose said he puts it all on the line every night and that’s how he won the title. Ambrose wished Owens luck if his plan is to drive him crazy.
In his dark room backstage, Bray Wyatt said being extreme wasn’t enough. Each member of the Wyatt family added a stupid line. Strowman said he enjoys the feeling of someone taking their last breath in his arms. Ok.
Non-Title: Lucha Dragons beat WWE Tag-Team Champions Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods (w/Big E) via pinfall
Xavier Woods said the Lucha Dragons and Usos didn’t accept their gratitude on Monday because they’re jealous, just like everyone else. Kofi Kingston plugged their unicorn horns, which light up. Woods said when they dance, it’s not for the fans, but for themselves. They chanted New Day rocks. This was not good.
The announcers put over how great the ladder match was at TLC. (They also did this for the tables match earlier.) Like last week, Big E tried and failed to play the trombone. They had the heat on Kalisto forever. He tried to make a tag but Big E yanked Sin Cara off the apron and Kingston clotheslined Kalisto from behind.
New Day danced, very proud of themselves. As they danced, Sin Cara jumped in the ring and did a crazy dive which knocked Woods off the apron and took out Big E at the same time. With Kingston standing on the middle rope, Kalisto did a powerbomb into a pin for the victory. Crowd did the Lucha dance after the win. Not much of a match but I liked the finish.
Backstage, Renee asked Dolph Ziggler what it was like being collateral damage. Ziggler was tired of being called collateral damage and said the Intercontinental Title means more to him than anyone. He admitted that maybe he has become an afterthought and that was his own fault for not winning the big one [after just saying he was a former IC champion (also, he was World Champion twice)]. Ziggler said he worked hard and never calls in sick and never lost his smile. He dared Owens to top him tonight. Maybe this read well on the script, but this was stupid and Ziggler comes off so insincere.
Becky Lynch beat Brie Bella via submission
Before Lynch came out, Team B.A.D. were in the first row and their music played as Brie waited in the ring. Why was their music playing if they’re just spectating? And why do they have tickets if they work there?
The crowd chanted “We want Sasha” as soon as the match started. If Team B.A.D. being in the crowd wasn’t enough, Charlotte came out during the match to her music. The distraction allowed Lynch to make a comeback. Brie countered with a missile dropkick and running knee. Lynch followed with an Exploder suplex.
Lynch pushed Brie into the ropes and the referee was somehow distracted, allowing Charlotte to trip Brie. Lynch saw what happened, but applied the Disarmer anyway for the win. I didn’t mind Charlotte interfering since it plays into the story, but it would be nice if they eliminate the number of crappy finishes elsewhere on the show.
Backstage, Charlotte and Lynch argued. Lynch said they won on Raw because Ric Flair interfered, and she won tonight because Charlotte interfered. Charlotte said she just wanted Lynch to win. Lynch said she wants to do it on her own, which is why she accepted Brie’s challenge. Charlotte said she didn’t want Lynch to lose. Lynch was offended that Charlotte thought she couldn’t win on their own and she stormed off.
Elsewhere, Kevin Owens told Jo-Jo that it doesn’t matter what Dolph Ziggler wants, this was about Owens getting his IC title back from the cockroach Dean Ambrose. Jo-Jo again asked Owens about Ziggler. Owen gets that Ziggler wants revenge, but now he’s going to end up in a hospital.
They announced New Day will defend their tag titles against the Lucha Dragons on the live Smackdown on Tuesday.
Dolph Ziggler beat Kevin Owens via DQ
Ziggler tuned up the band and went for a superkick but Owens caught him and hit a belly-to-belly suplex. Owens also used a German suplex. Ziggler countered a pop-up powerbomb into a superkick for a nearfall.
Owens back body dropped Ziggler to the outside and they tried to sell it like he hurt his neck or shoulder. Owens went after him and clubbed away. The referee warned Owens to get back in the ring, but Owens tossed Ziggler over the announce table for a lame DQ. Ziggler miraculously recovered and jumped off the table onto Owens, but Owens just pushed him into the steel steps like he was nothing.
Dean Ambrose ran out to make the save. He went for Dirty Deeds but Owens bailed. Owens superkicked Ziggler as he was being helped out by referees, so Ambrose chased him off. Ambrose went to check on Ziggler but Ziggler superkicked him. The announcers debated whether Ziggler thought Ambrose was actually Owens.
Final Thoughts:
They basically told you in the opening segment that this show would be a placeholder since the main story won’t be followed up until Monday, and that was definitely the case. Besides Reigns beating up ten security guards, the opening segment was basically pointless. The Authority wanted him banned from the building, but he refused. After refusing to leave, he never showed up again anyway – even after the League of Nations attacked Ryback in the very next segment.
Also, this show featured two distraction finishes, a win by interference, and a DQ in the main event.
These matches were taped for next week’s NXT TV show.
Jason Jordan and Chad Gable vs The Hype Bros vs. The Vaudevillians vs Blake and Murphy (w/ Alexa Bliss)
Jordan and Gable might be more over than anyone in the entire company right now, at least in the UK. They came out to a humongous pop with chants from the crowd the whole way through the match. Typical overbooked opener, everyone got their spots in. Jordan was incredibly pumped up from the crowd reaction and played to the crowd alot. The other teams were booed incessantly. Vaudevillians worked over Gable for most of the match. The hot tag to Jordan got another crazy pop and he hit a number of incredible suplexes, getting a suplex city chant at one point. The finish came after Jordan his an absolutely ridiculous belly to belly over the top rope onto the other teams on the outside, spot of the match, if not the night. Jordan and Gable hit their double finisher for the win. Really really good.
Elias Sampson vs Bull Dempsey
A pretty nothing match. No one really cared about Sampson. Not much happened. This was basically a comedy match. Bull did jumping jacks which Sampson watched from the corner. A fairly botchy match at times. Sampson got “You’re just a poo poo Seth Rollins” and “You’re a hipster” chants. Sampson wins out of basically nowhere after a few minutes. Basically nothing.
After the match, “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, and now we have for you a special BONUS MATCH!” which led to immediate Ole chants.
Sami Zayn vs. Tye Dillinger
Tye Dillinger comes out first, and was very over with his 10 gimmick (10 signs were probably the most common ones I saw; there weren’t that many overall). He would’ve been a face except out comes his opponent. The crowd goes insane for Sami. He goes up the stairs and does his arm-ruining waves. Sami was incredibly over, but they’re going to have to cut this down if they show it because about half the match was them reacting to the chants, all the usual stuff you’d expect, “Welcome Back” and Oles and everything. Tye gets “poo poo Hair, No Fans” and “Topknot Wanker” chants. A good match. Sami teases his arm injury and Tye works that arm a bit, but nothing to make you worried. Great Blue Thunder Bomb out of nowhere gets a 2, and a Helluva Kick for the win.
Sami stays in the ring with a mic. Huge amount of chants; he gives up speaking a couple of times because it’s so loud. Basically just imagine every line here interspersed with one chant or another for him. He says it’s great to be back, that every time he’s on a high, like winning the title or going on Raw to fight John Cena (boos), it seems like things take a nosedive for him, but today, that trend is reversed. He talks about the tour up until this point and is hilariously dumbfounded that we boo the hell out of all the other towns he brings up, “is this some British heat thing?”. Big things are coming for NXT in 2016, and for him, he says, and makes to leave – but then comes back into the ring, because ever since Triple H got to say it, he’s wanted to. “We are NXT!” Super babyface stuff, basically, but he was beloved for it.
