There was a skeleton crew at tonight’s Smackdown tapings in Colorado Springs, given the injuries and half the crew on the way to Dublin, Ireland:
Alberto Del Rio & Zeb Colter opened with a promo.
Alberto Del Rio beat Neville – Jack Swagger attacked Del Rio after the match.
Usos beat The Ascension.
The Wyatt Family won a Survivor Series match in four straight falls over The Prime Time Players & Lucha Dragons. Young was counted out in the first fall. Luke Harper pinned Sin Cara to win the second fall. Erick Rowan pinned Kalisto to win the third fall. Bray Wyatt pinned Titus O’Neil when it was four-on-one.
Ryback beat King Barrett clean with the shell shock.
Natalya beat Tamina in a fast match.
Kevin Owens beat Dean Ambrose via DQ. They used a Lucha Libre finish as Owens sold a low blow that the ref didn’t see, but he sold it so well the ref DQ’d Ambrose for it. Owens ran away after the match.
Raw set yet another 18-year low in audience last night with 3.24 million viewers, down slightly from the 3.27 million viewers for the 10/12 show.
This show seemed to hit an audience base of about 3.18 million viewers, which is where the second hour fell to, with the Survivor Series match gimmick in the third hour actually increasing slightly over hour two. But the first two hours were way down from usual levels.
It wasn’t the football competition, and it was without any baseball competition. But the show didn’t have the benefit of coming the day after a PPV like last week, and had none of the big guns like John Cena, Brock Lesnar nor any special attractions.
The Carolina Panthers vs. Indianapolis Colts game did 12.40 million viewers, which is the normal level, although it was a tight game.
We open with Devin Taylor getting terminated and the episode closes with questions about Dana Brooke’s NXT future if she can’t keep improving. In-between, it’s another enthralling but unfocused edition of Breaking Ground, with the best part of the episode focusing on a three-day try-out for prospective NXT trainees.
Show Recap:
This week’s episode had three general focuses: the women’s division, a three-day try-out at the Performance Center, and Tough Enough finalist ZZ beginning his training.
The cliffhanger from last week – which NXT talent would be fired – is dealt with immediately, with Devin Taylor getting the heave-ho from Canyon Ceman, who complemented her for how she added to the “culture of the building” before having her escorted out by security. Sara Amato refers to the competitiveness and depth of the NXT women’s group as a “shark tank.” After singling out Bayley as someone who’s excellent and works really hard, the rest of the episode is spent focusing on Dana Brooke. It’s obvious she’s really focused, as she walks us through her daily routine and it’s a lot of working out and training.
She also goes to the salon with her friend to get her eyebrows and eyelashes done, as she notes talent may be contacted by Triple H at any moment for a photo shoot or another opportunity. Sarah Stock teaches the girls a specific kind of front-bump, using Nia Jax as a base – basically Jax spins them around and they do a front-bump. Dana’s tentative, and Sara Amato mentions that she’s talented but she’s worried she’s plateaued, and if she stalls out in her development she might not have much of a future.
The arguable center-piece of the episode is a three-day try-out at the Performance Center, which largely gives us a show-long glimpse at how head coach Matt Bloom and William Regal run things. The first day is mostly testing cardio with stuff like Hindu squats, drop-downs and stuff like that, trying to blow people up. The second day is a lot of basic bumps and more cardio testing, and the third day is doing forward rolls and backward rolls in the ring and landing in a fighting ready position. The rolling session led to an amazing William Regal tirade. He began criticizing some individuals for hopping to their feet rather than landing and stepping into a fighting stance. Then, after correcting a handful of individuals, he announces to the entire gym his expectations.
After watching several more individuals screw it up, he stops the entire session and goes on a tirade, singling out the person in the ring for screwing it up. Of course, this person does it again and does it correctly, and both Bloom and Regal praise him for being “coachable.” Finally, Regal leads the promo try-outs, noting that “If you have the personality of a cabbage, you won’t be here.”
Highlights include a heavy-set man doing “the worm” and a female delivering a heart-felt promo about her troubled up-bringing which earns praise from Regal for her vulnerability. After the try-outs are over, Canyon Ceman leads a meeting where he and the coaches decide which applicants will be offered contracts – pending background checks and Triple H’s approval.
Former alligator wrestler and Tough Enough male finalist ZZ arrives at the Performance Center, along with his parents – who want to make sure he’s training somewhere safe. They meet with Bloom, who’s told by ZZ that he’s been “training outside” and hasn’t been to the gym much. Tough Enough winner Josh doesn’t think ZZ has a good enough work ethic to make it, and ZZ himself admits that his cardio’s not that great. In drills, ZZ struggles. He also struggles in the gym, getting blown up, and Mojo Rawley gives him a nice pep talk about getting blown up in the gym and in the ring is how he’s going to get better.
Robbie Brookside has a chat with ZZ, saying he wants to see some commitment from him and if he sees that, he’ll do whatever it takes to help him improve. He emphasizes to ZZ that it’s a lifestyle, not a job. Later on, Brookside leads the rookie orientation. Bayley, Tyler Breeze and Sami Zayn give introductions to the Performance Center to the rookies (and Asuka, who’s there for some reasons). Zayn admits that he was scared about giving up his independent character, but learned to adapt and encourages everyone to be flexible. ZZ notes that he wants to remain a kid, and then gets scolded by Brookside for screwing around, ending with Brookside saying “Get out of my ring.” ZZ skulks out of the ring.
Final Thoughts:
I’m not a big fan of how the program skips around from story to story without following up on much. Granted, many of these stories could be compelling if told in full, but the editing of the show is too scattershot to really have much impact or to establish much of a pace to the narrative. Case in point: unless they were going to really focus on Bayley, I’m not sure what the point was of spending time with her in this episode. Similarly, they spent so little time on Brooke that the “cliffhanger” they left on doesn’t have much of an impact. That said, they really spent a lot of time burying poor ZZ and his lack of focus, maturity and fitness.
The first WWE WrestleMania pre-sale started Tuesday with a number of codes out there. You can use ‘COWBOYS’ through Ticketmaster. There will be other codes out for the next few days, but this is the earliest opportunity to get the best tickets ranging in price for $148 – $2360.
In the Dallas area, there will be a party this Thursday at AT&T Stadium with Steve Austin and a number of other former WWE wrestlers, some current wrestlers and many NXT wrestlers. For everyone who attends that party, they will also get a code to use for purchase tickets.
Not ready to buy today? The presale code for Wednesday starting at 10 AM EST is HHHVIP. Tickets for the massive April 3 event at AT&T Stadium go on-sale to the public this Friday at 10 a.m. Eastern time.
This is WWE’s first Wrestlemania in Texas since 2009’s Mania 25 at Houston’s Reliant Stadium. An announced 72,744 saw WWE Champion Triple H vs. Randy Orton, WWE World Champion Edge vs. John Cena vs. Big Show, and the Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels.
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.
WWE will be announcing at least one new championship match for the 11/22 Survivor Series on Raw tonight.
A four-way was announced for tonight’s show that puts Brie Bella vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch vs. Paige, with the winner getting a shot at Charlotte’s title.
The show takes place from the Phillips Arena in Atlanta.
The top matches on the show are The Wyatt Family vs. Undertaker & Kane, with perhaps partners to be added, and a Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns WWE championship match.
It’s notable that Nikki Bella, who has been positioned as the star of the division is not listed as one of the four.
The Bryan & Vinny Show is back tonight with a random hodgepodge of shows — the Halloween edition of WWE Smackdown, ROH on Sinclair with all sorts of fun, and TABLE FOR 3 with BO DALLAS, SAMOA JOE AND NEVILLE. A fun show as always so check it out~!
– R-Truth beat Bo Dallas in about a minute, so Bo cried about it and wanted another match, saying he’d never return to Casper if he lost (safe bet on both counts). – Jack Swagger beat Bo. – Damien Sandow, Curtis Axel & Zack Ryder beat Heath Slater & The Ascension. – Sheamus beat Fandango. – New Day beat Prime Time Players. – Intermission. – Charlotte (big pop for her) & Becky beat Sasha & Tamina – Dolph Ziggler best Tyler Breeze (good match) – Dean & Roman beat Bray & Braun In a street fight (match of the night, didn’t really become a street fight until the second half of the match).
Everyone seemed to have fun, and lots of wrestlers were great about posing for pictures and signing autographs. Good times!
There’s always something slightly sanitized about WWE documentary DVD releases — pretty much par for the course. When they finally got Warrior back, watching his sitdown after he became re-ffiliated with the company, we saw a far less angry and confrontational persona than we had seen online in the years prior. What’s obvious from Sting: Into The Light is that Steve Borden is clearly a very nice guy. But for one of the most iconic and important wrestlers of our time, there’s something really muted about the whole experience of this release.
When the documentary piece starts, it actually feels quite eerie. He’s settled in the back seat of a black SUV being taken to WWE HQ and is talking about the nerves and excitement he has for going in for the first time. He’s essentially just going through the exact same motions and emotions that Warrior was doing all of 6 months before.
Over the course of his interview, we’re shown him going from room to room, from department to department, meeting executives who tell him about what they plan to do with him now that he’s with WWE. It would seem that a performer coming in who is in the position that Sting or Warrior is in gets the same programme and agenda for the day, culminating in a meeting with Triple H. It is almost a propaganda movie for WWE, how professional they are and how they are completely unrivaled in a business sense in this industry today. It’s almost identical to the Warrior film. And, frankly, it couldn’t be more dull. Even Sting looks a little bored.
Equally lacking in excitement is footage of Sting going through boxes of old posters, ring gear, boots and other merchandise in his enormous garage. If you’re a fan of Sting, seeing him on his ranch, building a fire and mooching around on a golf kart might interest you. Certainly, seeing his parents, who talk about his athletic prowess as a college student, is the kind of colour one would normally look for in these sorts of documentaries.
Essentially, the narrative follows his return to the ring against Triple H at WrestleMania in San Jose, but in doing so, sees us do a whistle-stop tour of his break into the business, his work with WCW, his subsequent character change and his path to finding faith in real life. We see Sting watching the WWE Network in his home, watching matches that he’s not seen in full since he wrestled them. We follow him to his church where his brother, Jeff, is a senior pastor. Most entertaining is seeing him snuck in, hauled up backstage before his debut at Survivor Series in St Louis in November 2014 where you can tangibly sense his nervousness.
Talking heads from the likes of his father, Jim Ross, Lex Luger, and Ric Flair provide some insight, but a lucid performance from Scott Steiner, who shows great humility, is the most worthy of note. Everyone says, Sting included, that he was a locker room leader and a professional who got along with everyone. All note, and its entirely evident, that Steve Borden is very different to Sting. In fact, watching his WWE Table for 3 with Vader and DDP will tell that much.
Sting is humble and evidently very much at peace. You feel that there’s little to be cynical about with him. He talks openly, yet protectively, about how he was acting in the late 90s before he stopped doing so and found solace in religion. Just as honest, though, is his assessment of his character and gimmick change during the NWO-era WCW days. Some of the vignettes that the company produced for him were remarkable, but none are quite as awesome as that wonderfully cinematic, orchestral WWE 2K15 advert.
To see a full match list, you can do so here, but the stand-out matches are certainly the Ric Flair at Clash of the Champions battle from 1988 (a remarkable 45-minute commercial-free match at the time), as well as a very good match against DDP from Nitro in 1999 that Page himself is a huge fan of. Fans of Sting are never going to be disappointed by the wrestling on show in this collection.
75 minutes to tell the story of Sting is too little. But with a career that was at its peak with WCW and with a 7-8 year gap while he was with TNA (which he mentions by name), there’s little that WWE wants to tell other than the here and now. If you want to learn about his route in to the industry from Red Bastien to teaming with the Ultimate Warrior under Jerry Jarrett to Jim Crocket via Dusty Rhodes and Eric Bischoff and eventually to Vince, you’ll see an enjoyable story.
But, if you want to learn about what he really thinks about Hogan, or what he really thinks about the current product, you’re not going to get much more than a polite answer. Because, that’s really who Steve Borden is. And for all that this documentary doesn’t shine like his career in the ring has done, there’s something effortlessly charismatic and honest about the man that just makes you want to watch him.
Both WWE Hall-of-Famer and Smackdown commentator Jerry Lawler & girlfriend involved in auto accident Saturday nightJerry Lawler and girlfriend Lauryn Laine McBride have confirmed scattered reports that they were involved in a head-on automobile accident Saturday night.
The news was first reported at an independent show in Tennessee where it was announced to the crowd and said that they had gotten the information from Brian Christopher (Jerry’s son Brian Lawler). Jamie Dundee later had the same story, saying he heard it from Christopher. The word at the show was Lawler was fine but his girlfriend was banged up.
McBride posted Sunday: “Not exactly how we expected to spend our Halloween, but while on our way home from dinner (Peyton wasn’t with us, thank God) a girl ran a red light and hit us, totaling the car. The airbag deployed, hitting me in the face (hence why I look like Sandy the Squirrel from SpongeBob), causing the swelling to my face…have to wear a silly brace and crutches for my knee for the time being. Thank God we are okay other than that and I think Jerry is Superman. Not a scratch or anything. He tried to cover me to save me from the airbag before it deployed. Thank God for my sweet BFF Haley Sterling Campbell for taking good are of me at the hospital tonight.”
Lawler posted a photo on his Twitter account of the smashed up car and said “@Lauryn911 and I were in a car crash last night. She spent four hours in emergency room but is home now. We were lucky,” and then “@Lauryn911 and I were lucky things weren’t worse than they were last night. My car not so lucky.”
