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Tag: WWE

  • WWE RAW 8/24 Live Results: Brock, Undertaker, Seth Rollins & SummerSlam fallout

    courtesy wwe.com 

    by Jeff Hamlin, WrestlingObserver.com 

    The Big Takeaway: As expected, a newsworthy show to kick off the final quarter of the year. Sting made his return in the main event segment, jumping Seth Rollins to set up the main event for Night of Champions. The Dudley Boyz made a surprising return to set up a feud with the New Day over the tag team titles. Braun Stowman debuted as the newest member of the Wyatt Family. John Cena gave Jon Stewart an AA. And there was a MizTV segment so wretched it killed the Divas Revolution momentum dead. I mean, graveyard dead.

    Show Recap:

    The show opened with HHH talking with Seth Rollins in the lobby of WWE headquarters. HHH showed Rollins the statues of Bruno Sammartino, Andre the Giant and the Ultimate Warrior. Surprisingly, the Warrior statue did a more coherent promo than the real thing. HHH told Rollins that tonight, the statue of Rollins would be unveiled.

    Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman were out first. Heyman said he was the pissed-off advocate of the ripped-off Beast of the Barclays. Heyman showed the footage of the Undertaker tapping out to Lesnar’s Kimura, then compared the myth that the Undertaker is immortal with the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.

    Heyman said Lesnar didn’t blame the referee (he couldn’t say the name Charles Robinson. More of those Vince McMahon mental gymnastics again) or the timekeeper. He brought up the Undertaker collapsing backstage. When he said he has enough material to fill up an entire 3-hour Raw, the crowd chanted “Yes.”

    Heyman said Lesnar wanted to fight the Undertaker one more time, and he didn’t want to wait until the Survivor Series or the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania. He wanted it tonight.

    Of course, that didn’t happen. Bo Dallas came out as the sacrificial lamb, complete with white tights. Dallas told Lesnar that last night, he passed out against the Undertaker. The good news was he woke up after having sweet dreams, like eventually bating the Undertaker. All he had to do was Bo-Lieve.

    Four laps around Suplex City for Dallas and Lesnar left. Then Heyman talked Lesnar into one more, which he delivered. Brock left again, then Heyman asked Lesnar for one more for him. Brock finally hit the F-5 as Heyman shouted that Brock Bo-Lieves.  

    The New Day’s ring entrance included Xavier Woods playing a trombone singing a song to the tune of “New York, New York” entitled “New Day, New Day.” They still have to be heels even though the fans are now chanting “New Day Rocks.” Michael Cole told Titus O’Neal and Darren Young to listen to the fans, who I guess were supposed to be chanting something derogatory to New Day. Instead, they chanted “That was awesome.”

    The New Day (C) defeated Lucha Dragons in a nontitle match (6:15)

    Big E. pinned Kalisto with the Midnight Hour. As Big E. got the pin, Woods started playing “Taps” on the trombone. 

    After the pin, the Dudley Boyz came out for a surprise appearance and cleaned house on each member of the New Day. Woods took the Wazzup. Cole tried to pretend it was the first time the Dudleys had done Wazzup in 10 years.  Then they did the 3-D on Woods through a table. Huge reaction for the Dudleys, who then started jawing with the Prime Time Players.  

    Jon Stewart is set to explain his actions in last night’s Rollins-Cena match tonight.  

    Cena was honored in a very nice piece granting his 500th Wish for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He was profiled on ESPN, CBS News, and the Today Show he co-hosted. The young man who was honored was shown at ringside.

    HHH and Stephanie McMahon caught a glimpse of the Rollins statue. It showed him adorned with both belts. He looked like a taller Daniel Bryan statue with a thinner beard. Rollins walked in before he could see the statue and talked about how much respect those around WWE headquarters have for the authority, feeling the company is better off with them in it. Stephanie said they feel the same about Rollins. He left as they got ready for the ceremony later tonight.  

    Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns defeated Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper by DQ (10:37)

    Roman Reigns had Bray Wyatt pinned after a Superman Punch when the Wyatt’s segue caused the lights to go on. When they came back on, a man under a black goat’s mask with a huge upper body was on the apron. The man took off the mask. He was never identified, but it was Braun Stowman, who was put over as the latest monster heel. Reigns and Ambrose kicked and punched him, but Stowman no-sold everything. He gave both Reigns and Ambrose Samuel Shaw’s old head-and-arm choke finisher. I hope his character goes a lot better than that one. Stowman posed with Bray and Luke as the Wyatt Family is a trio again.

    MizTV welcomed Paige, Charlotte and Becky as guests. Charlotte said the Four Horseman were the greatest faction in WWE history. Crowd sounded confused over that one. Miz and Charlotte traded barbs about Ric Flair.

    Paige, Charlotte and Becky Lynch had some lame attempts at comedy before Team Bella came out. This was just awful. Nikki said it didn’t matter who won or lost the SummerSlam match because she was 15 days away from becoming the longest reigning Divas champion of all time. Nikki has spent too much time copying the bad aspects of her boyfriend’s interviews. As Brie Bella and Alicia Fox spoke, crowd chanted for Lana.

    When Miz scolded the Divas that when his hand goes up, their mouths go shut, the fans actually popped. Miz scolded Team PCB for wrestling like a bunch of girls. That led to PCB ganging up on Miz. But Team Bella jumped Team PCB. JBL said they were about to have a trios match. Didn’t Nikki just say last night’s match didn’t matter? So wouldn’t I be crazy to care about this one? All I know is Vince Verhei is likely gearing up for a walk right now.

    Team Bella defeated Team PCB (14:06)

    An unmitigated disaster. Fox pinned Paige after an Ax kick following a cheap shot from Nikki. Crowd was totally dead, then started giving the match the Randy Orton-Sheamus treatment from 2 years ago. They did the wave. They chanted “We are awesome.” It went two long segments. Even worse, Charlotte appeared to be injured as she couldn’t stand up near the end. All the momentum from the NXT debut from five weeks ago is long gone.

    Just as strange, Stardust and King Barrett were supposed to team together. For some reason, Stardust turned on Barrett, giving him the Queen’s Crossbow. Neville came down and cleaned house on Stardust, teasing the Red Arrow. But Stardust escaped. No crowd heat at all as the Divas’ segment will be the death of this show until some main eventers show up.

    Stewart, complete with Stewart Section signs and “Thank you, Stewart” chants, came out. He’s growing a heel beard now, but he got a babyface reaction for turning on Cena. He said he helped Rollins because he didn’t want Cena to tie Flair’s record of 16 World Championships. This brought out Flair. Stewart did portions of the Jackie Fargo strut as Flair came down.  

    Flair told Stewart that he had messed up everything. Then Cena came out. Cena chastised Stewart for costing him the U.S. title. Stewart tried to talk him into fighting Rollins again for the U.S. title. Cena said that was for another night, but tonight he was going to have to do what he had to do. So he gave Stewart an AA. $5 will get you $10 that spot gets on Fox News tomorrow. Stewart never broke character here and was helped up to a round of applause.

    Renee Young talked with Cena, who said he felt what he did was right. Cena said he would talk to Rollins later tonight.

    Randy Orton, Cesaro, Dolph Ziggler and Ryback defeated Kevin Owens, Sheamus, The Big Show and Rusev (17:52)

    Randy Orton pinned Sheamus with the RKO after the Big Show accidentally hit Sheamus with the Knockout punch. Among the highlights were Kevin Owens and Ryback engaging in a punching exchange like they were Don Frye and Yoshihiro Takayama. Lana came out in a bleached jean skirt. I could have sworn she walked straight off the set of a Whitesnake video. In the same vein, the new, skinnier Dolph Ziggler is wearing long sequined pants with black gloves. If the territories were still around, he’d be billing himself as a cousin of Shawn Michaels.

    Postmatch, Owens and Rusev got mad at Big Show for costing their team the match, so they attacked him. Owens gave Show the Cannonball. The face team got back in the ring after Big Show got up. You would think this would lead to Show’s latest face turn. Instead, Ziggler gave him a superkick, while Cesaro and Ryback picked Show up so Orton could give him an RKO. Maybe Show really is retiring.

    Wyatt did an interview saying the latest member of the Wyatt Clan was indeed named Braun Stowman.

    Stephanie and HHH confronted Cena about slamming Stewart, a man he outweighed by 100 pounds. Cena said he was about to take a step up in weight class when he confronts Rollins tonight. Stephanie said he wouldn’t get the chance, and two security guards escorted Cena out of the building. Stephanie gave him the “You can’t see me” signal. So Stephanie was a heel tonight. Vegas should keep odds on this weekly.

    HHH and Stephanie came out. Stephanie wished her father a Happy 70th Birthday and they actually led the crowd in singing “Happy birthday to you.” Stephanie appeared a little choked up. Crowd wanted Vince to come out, and HHH joked that he’s really pissed off right now.   

    HHH did a long speech about how Rollins is a winner who can outwork and overachieve his way to success. Rollins came out as the first man to hold the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and U.S. Championship at the same time.

    Rollins said he was joining the Mt. Rushmore of the WWE. Still funny to think of the Warrior on the Rushmore. Rollins said he became a legend last night after defeating Cena, and with the unveiling of the statue, he become immortal. Rollins said Cena has reached the heights he’s reached by working every day of his life for the past ten years, but to be the man you have to be the man. Rollins proclaimed himself the man.

    When the time came to unveil the statue, underneath the curtain was Sting. HHH and Stephanie took off, while Sting sent Rollins packing after three punches. Sting closed the show by posing with the WWE Heavyweight belt. The crowd was probably tired, but the reaction to Sting was noticeably less than that of the Dudleys.

    SUMMARY: The return of Sting would have meant a lot more if he had defeated HHH at WrestleMania. Now, it’s hard to really care because we’ve seen repeated examples of the WWE creative team not knowing how to use a talent cultivated in another company. In fact, Sting fell victim to it earlier this year.

    This show had a great first hour. The announcers played the Dudleys return like it was a huge deal and Stowman like the next monster.

    However, the WWE has an ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and they’ve certainly done that with the Divas Revolution. Tonight’s MizTV segment will go down as one of the year’s worst, one that threatens to push the entire division back into also-ran category. Contrast that to the Bailey-Sasha Banks match from just 48 hours ago–in the same building, from the same company–speaks volumes about WWE creative and its inability to create new stars, much less create revolutions.   

  • WWE SummerSlam 2015 live results: Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker, John Cena vs. Seth Rollins

    By Dave Meltzer, WrestlingObserver.com

    Welcome to our live coverage of SummerSlam.  We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show and last night’s NXT show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com

    Jon Stewart and Mick Foley are opening the show.  Stewart wanted Foley to be his backup because he’s mad at Brock Lesnar for breaking the streak.  Foley referenced The Rock.  Foley said he wouldn’t have come to back him up against Lesnar because he’s afraid of Lesnar.  When Stewart brought up Foley being fearless and his match with Undertaker, Foley said that was 17 years ago.  The skit pretty much ended with both leaving the ring to start the show.

    RANDY ORTON VS. SHEAMUS

    Good match, kind of a surprise how clean Sheamus went over as he got the pin with two Brogue kicks after escaping the RKO.  It looks like the smart money may be accurate here with the long odds that usually end up correct.  They kind of telegraphed it as Orton hit the RKO early but Sheamus rolled out of the ring.  Not as good as their last PPV match.

    PRIME TIME PLAYERS VS. NEW DAY VS. LOS MATADORES VS. LUCHA DRAGONS FOR THE TAG TEAM TITLES

    The New Day sang before the match and got over huge as faces with the fans chanting “New Day Rocks” when it was over.  Xavier Woods in particular has a hell of a voice  Match was sloppy early but the last few minutes were good and crowd loved it because New Day won the title.  Kingston & Big E were the team and Woods never stopped talking at ringside.  Kingston pinned one of the Matadores, I think Fernando, doing the stealing the pin after O’Neil used Clash of the Titus on Fernando.  Right before the finish the Dragons were looking at doing a double superplex on Fernando, but O’Neil power bombed eeryone.

    Jon Stewart said he was friend with Undertaker with Neville and Stephan Amell and Stewart’s son.  Undetraker walked post with smoke following him.  Then Amell signed Stewart’s son’s shirt.

    DOLPH ZIGGLER VS. RUSEV

    Lana is out of the business suits and now wearing a jeans outfit.

    The match ended in a double count out.  Rusev had the accolade on for a while but let it go when Lana distracted him by attacking Summer Rae.  Rusev was then yelling at Lana, which distracted Lana and Summer attacked.  Ziggler had rolled out of the ring and superkicked Rusev.  Rusev was laid out and Ziggler couldn’t beat the count.  Ziggler was pounding on Rusev after the match. Summer jumped on Ziggler and Lana made the save.  The women went at it and were pulled apart by the guys.  Crowd booed the double count out a lot, but got into the women rolling around and chanted “Let them go.”  Match was okay before the finish.  Rusev did some impressive stuff for his size.

    STEPHEN AMELL & NEVILLE VS. KING BARRETT & STARDUST

    Amell dd a few good athletic things such as a leap frog ea  .  Crowd didn’t seen to care about him at first, but they popped pretty big when he did a plancha to the floor onto both heels.  Relatively short match.  Neville pinned Barrett with the red arrow right afer the plancha spot.  Neville was real good when he was in.  Amell was better than he had any business being.  Match was about what you’d think it would be overall.

    RYBACK VS. BIG SHOW VS. THE MIZ FOR THE IC TITLE 

    It’s looking like the smart money was in for this show.  Ryback retained when Show knocked out Miz but Ryback clotheslined Show over the top and pinned Miz.  Short match but lots of near falls, with Miz kept going for pins on both guys such as when Ryback used the shell shock on Show and when Show hit Ryback with a knockout punch and each time Miz tried to get the pin but they kicked out.  Actaully Miz went for about a dozen pins.  The first time people expected a change but after that they really didn’t.  Match was nothing special but it was really exactly what it shoiuld have been.  

    Jon Stewart was mad about Brock Lesnar.  He confronted Paul Heyman about Lesnar breaking the streak.  He was asking Heyman how he felt with all the people wanting to see Undertaker win at WrestleMania.  It feels like there is more to this.  Heyman looked at Stewart and said I guess they couldn’t get Letterman to do this show.

    ROMAN REIGNS & DEAN AMBROSE VS. BRAY WYATT & LUKE HARPER

    Best match so far, but shorter than you’d think.  Fast paced with a real hot open with stiff kicks by Harper, a tope by Ambrose, a tope by Harper,etc.  Reigns was superkicked over the table and sold for a few minutes and Ambrose sold.  Reigns made the hot tag and ran wild.  The crowd cheered Ambrose and booed Reigns more than anyone so far on the show.  The finish saw Ambrose use & Reigns use the Road Warrior clothesline on Wyatt, a double team power bomb on Harper, then the Dirty Deeds on Wyatt and Reigns speared Wyatt for the pin.  It felt like a blow-off of Reigns vs. Wyatt.

    SETH ROLLINS VS. JOHN CENA WWE TITLE VS. US TITLE

    An absolutely incredible match with a finish that will garner a ton of publicity.  Really for the building the company mainstream, this finish will get so much attention and Rollins will get a big rub out of this.  There was a ref bump.  Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment on Rollins but no ref.  Rollins was pinned for several seconds but when he got up, he gave Cena a knee to the nose and Cena went down  Both were down when Jon Stewart ran in with a chair.  He teased hitting Rollins, but instead, hit Cena in the gut and put the chair on the ground for Rollins to use the pedigree on the chair to win.  Before that point Rollins put on a best in the world caliber performance, doing everything under the sun.  He kicked out of the AA, Cena used the figure four with the tease that Cena would win the title with Flair’s big move.  It was a match filled with highlights, with Rollins doing everything under the sun.

    They announced a lot of new shows including the Stone Cold podcast with Edge & Christian.

    They also announced the next MSG show on 10/3 will be a live network special built around Brock Lesnar again. 

    They also pushed a Hard Knocks show and a WWE 24 show on guys training at the performance center and NXT.

    TEAM BELLA VS. TEAM PCB VS. TEAM BAD IN AN ELIMINATION MATCH

    They gave them 15:00 and it was a good match, not like some of the NXT matchds but well above the usual WWE women’s match.  Brie pinned Snuka in the first fall with the facebuster.  The crowd booed that because it meant Sasha Banks was gone and she was the crowd favorite.  There was a spot early in the match where Naomi and Banks did flip dives, the Bellas followed with a double tope and Fox took a spill into the pile ending with Fox doing a flip dive onto everyone.  The finish saw Lynch pin Brie with a pump handle uranage.  They pushed the idea that the Bellas now have to be concerned.

    KEVIN OWENS VS. CESARO

    They had a hard time this late in the show as the crowd was waiting for the main event at this point.  But the match was very good from start to finish.  Both looked great here.  Owens won clean with the fisherman buster off the middle rope and a pop up power bomb.  Owens needed the win, but Cesaro needs to have his momentum fed at this point.  Both did dives with Cesaro doing a twisting tornillo dive as well as a giant swing and the sharpshooter but Owens made the ropes.  It was a tough spot on the card for anyone and they did as well in the spot as anyone was going to tonight.

    BROCK LESNAR VS UNDERTAKER

    They immediately pushed in commentary that Brock Lesnar hasn’t lost a match clean in 2 1/2 years.  They did a disputed finish.  Lesanr had Undertaker in the Kimura and the bell rang.  Charles Robinson, the ref, said that he never called for the bell.  Lesnar celebrated like he won and Undertaker came from behind and gave him another  low blow and put him in the Hell’s gate.  Lesnar flipped Undertaker off but then passed out.  The story is the timekeeper saw Undertaker tap out, and then in the replay they showed that Undertaker in fact did tap out but Robinson was on the other side and missed the tap.  Obviously the finish is to build for a third match. 

    Really good physical match.  Undertaker took several suplexes.  Most of the match saw them kick out of big moves with Lesnar kicking out of the tombstone and then laughing at him.  Lesnar also escaped the Hell’s Gate the first time.  Lesnar did an F-5 on the announcers table but Undertaker got in before ten, and then Undertaker kicked out of two different F-5s and also escaped from the Kimura.  Lesnar was bleeding a lot from a kick to the head early.  For the most part, the crowd cheered both guys.

    Paul Heyman was screaming “No” and fans were screaming “Yes.”  Heyman said that everyone saw that Lesnar won by submission.


  • More feedback to last night’s NXT show

    Thumbs in the middleBest Match: Banks vs BayleyWorst Match: Vaudevillains/Blake & Murphy 1) Jushin Thunder Liger def Tyler Breeze: This was kind of disappointing, and I’m not saying that because the last time I saw Liger was when he was doing Shooting Star Presses in WCW. Liger has proven he can have great matches even at his age (vs Yohei Komatsu, BoSJ Night 1 this year), but this just seemed off. I guess that’s adapting to American style for you. (**1/4) 2) The Vaudevillains def Blake & Murphy: God do Blake and Murphy suck. This was a completely nothing match with a cool finishing stretch that didn’t make up for the incompetence of one half of the competitors. (**) 3) Apollo Crews def Tye Dillinger: Fun match that showcased ‘Crews’ really well. (**1/2) 4) Samoa Joe def Baron Corbin: Good big guy match. Yeah. (**3/4) 5) Bayley def Sasha Banks to win the NXT Women’s Championship: Great match, with a great moment to end it. This reminded me of a toned-down New Japan main event match where everything builds up to a crazy finish and the crowd goes wild. Extra marks for the whole presentation, really came across as a big match. (****) 6) Finn Balor def Kevin Owens: Eh. Ladder match in 2015. (**1/2) Overall a decent show but nothing really reached the level of the women’s match. The main event was literally every ladder match you’ve ever seen in WWE. What a waste of one really talented guy and one overweight good talker. Nothing else really did anything for me.

    Brian Jackson
     NXT Takeover: Thumbs UpBest Match: Baley vs. Sasha BanksWorst Match: Breeze vs. Liger (not bad at all, just by default) Great show and lots of fun from top to bottom.  Liger vs. Breeze was good, but nothing great and the worst match of the night just by default since nothing was bad.  Enjoyed the Tag Title match much more than expected.  Entertaining and fun.  Crews had a nice debut over Tye Dillinger who seems better than I recall.  Even Joe vs. Corbin was good and I am not a Corbin fan.  Women’s Championship was excellent.  The difference between the presentation on NXT and WWE even after the call up of some of the ladies recently is still a big one and WWE is not doing all it can to make it feel as important.  Finn Balor over Kevin Owens another good match and a great finish to the night as NXT delivers yet again.  Not sure how Summer Slam will measure up, but assuming at least the top few matches should be very good. Robb Block
     Overall:Thumbs UpBest Match:Sasha vs. Bayley (Not even close)Worst Match:Crews vs. Dillinger Tyler Breeze vs. Jushin Thunder Liger-Great appearance(or debut?) from Liger here. Nice intro spot for Breeze in beginning. Good little match. Liger had complete control of the crowd, like a multi-decade legend would. WWE wouldn’t be dumb if they just signed Lfor a short run. Hey, the guy is under a mask, it doesn’t matter how old he is! He gets over like crazy, and that’s all that matters. Honestly, Liger could fill role left vacant since Rey Misterio left the company. ***(3 stars)Blake &  Murphy (with Alexa Bliss) vs. The Vaudevillians (with Blue Pants)-This was a pretty good match. Easily the best Vaudevillians match I’ve seen. Blue Pants got a huge reaction. Nice build-up to a emotional title win for the Vaudevillians. ***(3 stars)Crews vs. Dillinger-Crews definitely seems like he is going to be a real player. Great athlete and a ton of charisma. Just what WWE looks for. Not much of a match. Mostly just showcasing Crews arsenal. **(2 stars)Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin-Joe is super over in Brooklyn. This is what you would expect:A Slobberknocker. Very good match, easily the best of Corbin’s NXT run. Corbin still has a ton of upside, but you gotta give Joe the push as his time is now. Joe took a beating in this match to build this thing to a fever pitch. Some really great striking exchanges between the two toward the end of the match. But ultimately, Joe is built for Main Event combat, not these mid-card feuds. Regardless, Joe continues to build onto his BAMF Reputation which will see him in the main events in WWE very soon. *** 1/2 (3 & 1/2 stars)Bayley vs. Sasha Banks(NXT Women’s Title)-The emotions were running high even from the entrances. Bayley seemed like she was stepping onto a different plane, charisma-wise. Tonight she proved to me she can be as big a star as Sasha, Charlotte, or Becky. She was like a female Dusty out there. She had the crowd in the palm of her hands. Sasha, of course, had a masterful entrance as well. Complete with Vehicle and Security leading her to the ring. This had a big fight feel and the crowd was amped. Everyone knew they were seeing excellence in that ring. The match itself was gritty, championship story-telling at it’s finest. A strong face and a strong heel, complimenting each other perfectly. . In my opinion, the best Women’s match in NXT history. I know that’s a bold statement, but this match had it all. Both ladies left it all in the ring. This match felt like a female version of Dusty-Flair. At times, you could visibly see them getting emotional as the crowd got more and more into the match. Gutsy Greatness. An emotional Bayley victory, and the crowd became unglued. Bayley again proved she can be a monster babyface on the big stage. After Bayley won and was having her moment, you could see Sasha laying on the mat and visibly crying as she stared into the rafters. I will never forget that image. Emotional scene after the match between the Four Horsewomen of NXT was the cherry on top of the match. This was easily most crowd reaction for a Women’s match I’ve ever seen. Unreal match.**** 1/2 (4 and 1/2 stars)Balor vs. Owens (NXT Championship Ladder match)-Another great performance by these men. An even more epic entrance by Balor tonight. Loved the appearing and re-appearing in the red fog. Another match with Big Fight Feel. This was tame in comparison to most Ladder Matches in terms of danger. But what the lacked in Tables and a plethora of high-impact spots, they made up for with more psychology. My favorite spots were the Powerbomb by Owens on Balor as he stood on the ladder, or the Double Foot stomp from the ladder that sealed the win. These two don’t turn in bad performances. Excellent. **** (4 stars)BTW-Can’t wait for the Dusty Tag Classic! I hope it’s similar to the Crockett Cup. NXT delivers their best show on the biggest stage. Bravo. J.C. Gethicker
      Hey Dave, No long-winded review, but since this is the first proper show I’ve seen live since Mania… Thumbs UPBest match: Bayley vs SashaWorst match: by default, I’d have to say Crews vs Dillinger If you’re the kind of fan who (for whatever reason) is ultra resistant to watching any wrestling that doesn’t have the WWE badge on it, then this show will be one of the reasons why you’d fall (back?) into love with wrestling. Bayley vs Sasha had me on the edge of my seat throughout, but in truth, this was a perfect card. Every match was different, and built up to the double crescendo of the main events. If only WWE could replicate this on their bigger shows, rather than the turgid messes we usually get every week. SummerSlam will have to be a hell of a show to even come close to topping this… and given all of the back shots, Kevin Owens took tonight, I’d be stunned if he was even able to make it to SummerSlam. No disappointments at all from the card, and with the announced UK tour, I am eagerly awaiting their night in Wembley on 12/16. Ian Hamilton@theianhamilton  Thumbs up show. Best match was Sasha vs Bayley. No bad matches. Liger vs Breeze Nice response to Liger. Liger taking selfie’s nice. Liger’s focus on the back is solid. A basic showcase for Liger. Almost booked like a newcomer to a territory who they have hopes to get over. 2 1/2* coming soon Nya Jax Vaudevillians vs Blake and Murphy Blake and Murphy are growing on me. Blue Pants is the equalizer. Vaudvillians are having a good, solid shine. Blake sets up the heat by cheating. Good heel psychology. Though the heat was lackluster. I get not wanting to outshine the faces but at least make it interesting. Like the distraction spot to keep the heat. Built to a hot finish. 2 1/2* Apollo Crews vs Dillenger Crews owned that crowd. Crews sold too much.  Regal introduces the Dusty Rhodes tag tournament. Samoa Joe vs Baron Corbin As far as prescence, best Corbin’s looked. Joe showing off his ring generalism with all the different rope stops. Heel Hook by Corbin was a game changer. Back and forth fight. Loved this finish.Where it was the vet taught the student a lesson.  2 3/4* Babyface Steph loses her milfness. Bayley vs The Boss That is an opening. Fun back and forth so far. Sasha’s charisma is off the charts. Sasha in control and playing the bully role or mean girl. Love Bayley kicking her in the mush while Sasha talked trash. Big spot was the hand getting hurt again. Sasha  all over it. Sasha has such a mean streak. Liger flip dive alla Misterio over the ref. Nice counter by Bayley and gives her some much needed seperation. Loving Bayley using her left arm. The stomping on the hand was sick. Reversal of the Bank Statement. Bayley to Belly she kicks out. Bayley took a nasty bump. Frankentoyota into a Bayley  to belly. 4 3/4* Balor vs Owen Ladder Match Balor is no Zayn so I don’t think they’ll be able to follow that. Owens mocking the Zayn chant. Balor is a believable worker, but he needs to work on his story telling. Owens getting heat was well done. Just couldn’t follow the girls. 3 1/4*  Pete Schirmacher   8/22/15 NXT TakeOver: BrooklynOverall: Thumbs UpBest Match: Bayley vs. Sasha BanksWorst Match: Vaudevillains vs Blank and Murphy This show was a great example of the problems faced when watching NXT, the great wrestlers are fantastic and the novice wrestlers are a bore. Yet this is how it should be. It’s a developmental league and by it’s nature it’s just going to have some boring newbie matches. Liger-BreezeNot as good as any of his matches in ROH but still good. Liger is immortal it would seem.Vaudevillains-Blake and MurphyZZZZzzzzzzZZZZZzzzzzz……Don’t care about these guys and the match was what it was. Bliss is undeniable, though.Crews-DillengerCrews looks and wrestles like a Dragon Gate wrestler made in a laboratory. Can’t imagine he’ll be in NXT all that long. Joe-CorbinI just haven’t been super impressed with the matches I’ve seen Joe have in NXT. Maybe they just don’t appreciate how “firm” he usually is or maybe it’s just the level of talent he’s working with but his match against Jay Briscoe in ROH was better than anything he’s done in NXT. Joe physically looked great though. Bayley-BanksSasha Banks is a genuinely good wrestler. Not just grading her on a “good for a women” curve either. Her selling is just the best. I can’t quite put it into words, and I don’t want to use the word “stiff”, but there is something about the way she moves around the ring and wrestles that is so much smoother and more intentional than the other Divas. When Nikki Bella does an Irish Whip it looks like she’s waiting for the girl to start running as she eases her arm forward, when Banks does it looks like she’s really whipping her as hard as she can. With all that said, great match and hopefully one day, after Vince is gone and they put the Diva’s belt in a metal grinder, they can be taken seriously on the main roster.Balor-OwensGood ladder spot fest. I hope Balor buys Kevin a beer or something because he did him some huge favors with the massive bumps he took. Kevin is a mad man when it comes to these kind of matches. Makes me wish they wouldn’t have asked him to do it. -Matthew Burrill@mattb425 

  • WWE NXT heading to United Kingdom for seven dates

    Alluded to by Triple H during this past week’s conference call, WWE announced an NXT tour on Saturday for the United Kingdom for December 2015.

    Dates are as follows:

    • December 10: Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, England
    • December 11: The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland
    • December 12: Sheffield Arena in Sheffield, England
    • December 13: Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, Scotland
    • December 14: Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England
    • December 15: Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales
    • December 16: The SSE Wembley Arena in London, England

    WWE announced NXT Champion Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Tyler Breeze, Emma, Dana Brooke, and more will be part of the tour.

    “On behalf of all the NXT Superstars and Divas, we are extremely excited at the opportunity to perform for the WWE Universe in the UK,” said NXT Champion Finn Bálor. “I look forward to the opportunity to return to where I started my career, giving fans new memories that they will never forget.”

    Tickets for the NXT tour of the United Kingdom will go on sale this Friday, August 28 at 9AM GMT through Ticketmaster.co.uk or Ticketmaster Charge By Phone by calling 0844 844 0444. Customers outside the UK can call +44 161 385 3211. For more information, please visit WWE.com.

    NXT is also returning to Texas for a three night tour, running from September 17-19.

  • WWE NXT TakeOver Brooklyn fan feedback

    Thumbs UP!

    Best Match: Finn Bálor vs. Kevin Owens

    Worst Match: Apollo Crews vs. Tye Dillinger

    *Fun show where all the faces were victorious.

    *Watching Liger compete for WWE was fun but his age showed in the pacing. Still, the match wasn’t bad.

    *The tag match had some fun spots that elevated it above some of Blake & Murphy’s other bouts. It wasn’t great, but I still liked it.

    *Definitely Baron Corbin’s best match to date. They laid in some good looking shots to each other. Glad Samoa Joe won clean and convincingly. Now, are we ever going to get a blow off to Joe vs. Owens?

    *Apollo Crews mostly looked good with energy and presence. I liked how the camera caught him saying “That’s so many people” during his entrance. This match was just okay though because Dillinger never really came across as a real challenger. He’s the new CJ Parker.

    *The women’s title match was really good. Not quite as good as Sasha vs. Becky from the last TakeOver. Still, they put on a good show and I popped at home when Bayley got the win. The top rope reverse rana looked great too. Sasha’s double knee dive from the second rope also looked good. On a side note, it annoyed me to hear Stephanie call this “main eventing” and I hope one day they will let the ladies actually close the show because that is the real main event.

    *The main event of this show was great. Both guys had some innovative offense I haven’t seen in a ladder match (which has to be getting difficult). Having said that, I didn’t think they were killing themselves even though I gasped multiple times. Both guys looked strong and Bálor continues his reign. My big question moving forward is who gets the title picture next considering all the heels lost tonight?

    –Christian Norman

    Atlanta, GA

    How you doin’ Dave,

    Big Thumbs Up

    Best Match: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks ****1/2
    By women’s standards I thought it was fantastic. There were some things that weren’t overly smooth, but it had a great layout and overall I thought it was a tremendous effort by the girls. Although frankly they did some stuff that I don’t think women should be doing, and on this occasion one girl could’ve broke an ankle and another their neck. In addition if this is the standard these girls are going to set work wise they’re going to have relatively short careers or end up in a lot of pain. Women’s frames aren’t meant for it. 

    Worst Match: Liger vs. Breeze **
    Didn’t think the chemistry was particularly good, there was a fair bit of sloppy stuff that had to be covered with favourable camera angles and I didn’t think the layout suited Liger.

    Vaudevillians vs. Blake & Murphy ***1/2
    Nothing overly speculator but I thought it was a real good solid match.

    Crews vs. Dillinger **1/4

    Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin *** 

    Balor vs. Owens ****
    Thought they worked very hard but after the women’s match the crowd became restless, impatient and greedy which I felt hurt it, and also the flow wasn’t quite right. I was surprised with some of the bumps Owens took as he’s got Cesaro tomorrow, hopefully they give him some time off next week, they’ve been working him into the ground lately. Also it seemed Balor got lost a couple of times and needed direction, and frankly I was a little disappointed with his performance in certain areas. 

    Thanks Dave

    Tom Griffiths
     Definitely a THUMBS UP. I would say none of the matches were bad.  The most interesting part is that sometimes when an NXT wrestler gets called up to RAW in a big arena, he just seems not to fill up the space.  However, I think the show played great in front of a big crowd.  I am very interested to see what is going to happen with NXT going forward. Baron Corbin looked the best he’s ever looked, and managed to look very strong in losing to Samoa Joe.  I had mixed feelings about the “Curtain Call” redux involving the women.  I appreciated it on one level, but I didn’t understand undermining this feud on the main roster with Sasha v. Charlotte & Becky.  I would love to see this paid off tomorrow with a re-shuffling of these false Women’s alliances that have not exactly gotten a lot of traction.  It would be the perfect time for the NXT girls to turn on the cast of Total Divas, and come full circle turn on AJ’s pipe bomb promo, heretofore the most memorable thing in Women’s Wresting on the main roster in the last 5 years. I also didn’t love Owens losing, again, but it was a great match, and a great performance by both guys. BEST MATCH: Sasha v. Bayley wins by a nose over the Ladder match.  Sasha is a great, great, great performer.  She is shaping up to have Dwayne Johnson-like charisma. WORST MATCH: I guess the tag match, which wasn’t bad at all.  I am still not fully a believer in Aiden English, but I don’t dislike him at all.

    Richard Orloski
     Thumbs Way UpBest Match: Sasha Banks vs. BayleyWorst Match: N/A A phenomenal show that could give Summerslam a run for it’s money. Best Takeover show since they started the specials. Tyler Breeze vs Jushin Thunder Liger. Good solid match. Liger got all his trademark moves but felt Breeze should’ve won and be showcased. It did feel like they were just doing moves for the sake of moves. ** 3/4 Vaudevillians vs. Blake and Murphy. Amazing how NXT can create a cult hero star named after clearance aisle pants. Best match of Blake and Murphy’s careers. Villians were very solid and this was a fun match. ***  Apollo Crews vs. Tye Dillinger. Good showcase match for Crews who I imagine Vince will want on the main roster right away. ** 3/4 Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin. Great mean guy match. Best match of Corbin’s career and Joe was really good here. *** 1/4 Sasha Banks vs. Bayley. Amazing amazing amazing. The only negatives of this match were the two semi blown spots where Sasha nearly died falling off the ropes and Bayley nearly breaking her neck on the first frankensteiner. Other than that this was a match of the year candidate. Great psychology, selling, drama. Crowd going nuts for the finish and the postmatch was great. Don’t think she’ll win but Sasha needs to be brought up as a possible wrestler of the year candidate **** 3/4  Kevin Owens vs Finn Balor. Good match but it really couldn’t follow the women’s title match and post match celebration as the crowd seemed to peak and it was downhill.  It was still a good match although a little tame by WWE standards. *** 1/2 Josh Hayes

    Thumbs way up
    Best Match: Sasha Banks vs Bayley
    Worst Match: Blake&Murphy v Vaudevillians (though nothing wrong with it)

    What a killer show- The Womens title match is must watch for anyone who may have skipped this show. I cant think of another match in recent times where you could suspend disbelief so easily and just feel that the characters badly wanted the win. The submission reversal sequence with the stomping of the hand gave me chills. Before and as it was happening I wanted to see Banks retain and elevate Bayley another level in a loss like has been done in the past. Had that occured though we would have been denied the post match which was one of the realest things we have seen in the ring. I hope once Nikki reaches 300 in their plan for her than Banks gets the big title. Theyve got something special there. The one bad part about the women? Stephanie trying to have her Hunter moment around it, really the only bad part of the show was that aspect.

    Id love to see them call up Crews right now. Havent been a Corbin fan but saw a little more tonight. Gave the tag match the lowest marks but was better than most of the stuff we see on regulat tv every week.

    Owens and Balor had another tremendous match. Owens is likely to have the best WWE two match stretch within hours of each other since Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania 30.

    Isnt it amazing how good the announcing and pacing of an event is when Vince obviously doesnt watch/care and isnt tearing scripts up or yelling into headsets?  Reminiscent of when they let Heyman just go with Smackdown since it was the “B show”.

    This was also one of those shows with a crowd that you wish you were right there for like Canadian Stampede or the night after Mania 29.

    Great job all around and looking forward even more to Summerslam now.

    Michael O’Brien

    Thumbs up
    Best: Sasha Banks vs Bayley
    Worst: Apollo Crews vs Tye Dillenger, only because I saw a house show match between Crews and Crowe a couple weeks ago that was far better.

    For all the crap that WWE gives Heyman from ECW, HHH is sure trying his best to be him.  That opening promo was right out of ECW.

    Not taking away anything from the main event, which was a tremendous match, but the women’s match was the match of the night due to presentation and the crowd being 1000% invested.  It showed the difference between the so-called Divas Revolution and NXT women’s wrestling.  Putting on better matches in a vacuum is nothing compared to the story arc of Bayley that culminated tonight.  The go-home promo between the two was great, and even the small touch of the polka dots gave you the impression that she had to win it tonight.  I haven’t seen a title win be received at that level since Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania, and probably CM Punk in 2011 before that.

    The main roster has their work cut out for them tomorrow night, and I expect them to be up for the challenge.

    – Chris
    Lakeland, FL
     Wow NXT hits yet another home run. Huge thumbs up mainly because of the last two matches.  Motn goes to Bailey v Sasha…just absolutely incredible as both women left everything in that ring and seeing the four horsewomen at the end of the match just made it that much more special.  Hate calling it the worst match of the night so the least best match was the tag team match…was still a great pop and hopi g this makes blue pants a bigger player in NXT.  ~John ChagarisDavenport, Fl

    Hi Dave,  

    Thumbs Up

    Best Match: Balor vs. Owens

    Worst Match: Crews vs. Dillinger

    The production and lighting tonight was excellent, as well as the atmosphere.

    Liger def. Breeze: Not technically great, but entertaining. The Crowd loved Liger. I was surprised to see Liger win, as I thought WWE wasn’t going to let an outside wrestler come in on a one time deal and beat one of their guys. Maybe we’ll see more of Liger/NJPW?

    Vaudevillains def. Blake and Murphy(c): Blue Pants was the mystery woman, not Mae Young. The match was ***¼, but Alexa Bliss was *****.

    Apollo Crews def. Tye Dillinger: Pretty underwhelming. Crews should’ve done more for the debut, still looked impressive. Crews won with a standing moonsault.

    Samoa Joe def. Baron Corbin: Corbin was choked out. Corbin perhaps the only heel tonight that the crowd actually disliked. The crowd was kind of cold, but the match was better than I expected. I loved that the referee called the match as soon as he was sure Corbin was out, not doing the usual three falling arms. Corbin sold post-chokeout confusion.

    They show some people in the crowd, one of which is a female Japanese wrestler. I don’t know who she is, but she intimidates me… and I like it.

    Bayley def. Banks(c): This was great. Just as good, maybe better, than Banks vs. Lynch. This match was billed as co-main, and it didn’t feel like anything less than co-main. Post match hugs between Bayley, Banks, Lynch, and Charlotte.

    Finn Balor(c) def. Kevin Owens: Balor used some black magic, voodoo, witchcraft, teleportation during the entrance. This demon gimmick may be a shoot. The crowd was good all night, but they sucked here. Random chants, not really showing the main event the respect they should’ve. Great match, Balor used the double foot stomp off the top of a ladder and grabbed the belt. The demon retains.

    Casey Goss

    @Casey_Goss

    Virginia
     Hey Dave, Overall: Thumbs way up. Solid show from top to bottom.Best Match: Both main event matches delivered. I will give a slight edge to the women’s match. It was fantastic.Worst Match: There was not one match that did not meet it’s objective. Preshow; I enjoy the interplay between Graves and Saxton. It is interesting that Saxton plays the face role, yet is the foil for everyone’s jokes.  Lita did her homework; she actually made a meaningful contribution and added a unique perspective. The Bailey video package was well done. After seeing that, it is hard not to root for Bailey. As has become the norm, this special was another example of a show where the whole is better than the sum of its parts. The undercard provided variety and good action that sustained momentum going into the two marquee matches. The two main events were fantastic. The atmosphere was electric and infectious to a degree where you could feel the energy through the television screen. Obviously the crowd was engaged, and while they did attempt to pop themselves, they did not attempt to “hijack” the show. The only chant that rubbed me the wrong way was the “Full Sail sucks” chant. But, I guess Full Sail started it.  NXT continues the trend of fun filled and thoroughly enjoyable special events. 1. Tyler Breeze vs. Jushin Thunder Liger. Another character consistent and unique entrance for Breeze only to be outdone by a huge pop for Liger. I enjoyed Liger playing to the crowd to spite Breeze. The pacing was slower than expected, but all of the action was solid and deliberate. I was somewhat surprised Breeze lost in such convincing fashion, but he did not appear outclassed by a bonafide legend. ** 2. NXT Tag Title Match: Vaudevillains vs. Blake and Murphy. I appreciated the Sherlock and Watson get up sported by the Vaudevillains. This was the best showcase of the Vaudevillains in NXT, and perhaps the best tag team match on any of the NXT specials. The match, especially the finish, was smartly booked and well executed. **1/2 3. Tye Dillinger vs. Apollo Crews. Good showcase for Dillinger’s new gimmick, nice debut for Crews. Both of these guys are capable of much, much more, but what was displayed was good. Apollo has the physique, the athleticism, and possibly the “it” factor. ** 4. Baron Corbin vs. Samoa Joe. Decent heavyweight style match with good intensity from both competitors.  Corbin did indeed show more skill and poise than he has in the past. He is not there yet, but I do think he is slowly getting there. Mostly, I am relieved Joe was victorious. **1/2 5. NXT Women’s Championship Match: Bailey vs. Sasha Banks. The storyline was reminiscent of a grunge match, and the action was consistent with the feud temperature. I loved Bank’s mean streak. Not to be outdone, Bailey’s babyface fire was fantastic. The late match submission exchange was brilliant, and the closing sequences were equally tremendous. Goosebump inducing match. ****1/4 6. NXT Title Ladder Match: Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens.  Nicely built ladder match that relied on both story and high spots.  At the onset, the crowd had comedown from the white hot women’s match and resorted to some silly chants. The contest escalated in physicality and excitement as the match progressed and the crowd engaged.  The match concluded with a memorable highlight spot. **** Derrick Hubbard
    from Utah

    Thumbs in the middleBest Match: Banks vs BayleyWorst Match: Vaudevillains/Blake & Murphy 1) Jushin Thunder Liger def Tyler Breeze: This was kind of disappointing, and I’m not saying that because the last time I saw Liger was when he was doing Shooting Star Presses in WCW. Liger has proven he can have great matches even at his age (vs Yohei Komatsu, BoSJ Night 1 this year), but this just seemed off. I guess that’s adapting to American style for you. (**1/4) 2) The Vaudevillains def Blake & Murphy: God do Blake and Murphy suck. This was a completely nothing match with a cool finishing stretch that didn’t make up for the incompetence of one half of the competitors. (**) 3) Apollo Crews def Tye Dillinger: Fun match that showcased ‘Crews’ really well. (**1/2) 4) Samoa Joe def Baron Corbin: Good big guy match. Yeah. (**3/4) 5) Bayley def Sasha Banks to win the NXT Women’s Championship: Great match, with a great moment to end it. This reminded me of a toned-down New Japan main event match where everything builds up to a crazy finish and the crowd goes wild. Extra marks for the whole presentation, really came across as a big match. (****) 6) Finn Balor def Kevin Owens: Eh. Ladder match in 2015. (**1/2) Overall a decent show but nothing really reached the level of the women’s match. The main event was literally every ladder match you’ve ever seen in WWE. What a waste of one really talented guy and one overweight good talker. Nothing else really did anything for me.

    Brian Jackson
     NXT Takeover: Thumbs UpBest Match: Baley vs. Sasha BanksWorst Match: Breeze vs. Liger (not bad at all, just by default) Great show and lots of fun from top to bottom.  Liger vs. Breeze was good, but nothing great and the worst match of the night just by default since nothing was bad.  Enjoyed the Tag Title match much more than expected.  Entertaining and fun.  Crews had a nice debut over Tye Dillinger who seems better than I recall.  Even Joe vs. Corbin was good and I am not a Corbin fan.  Women’s Championship was excellent.  The difference between the presentation on NXT and WWE even after the call up of some of the ladies recently is still a big one and WWE is not doing all it can to make it feel as important.  Finn Balor over Kevin Owens another good match and a great finish to the night as NXT delivers yet again.  Not sure how Summer Slam will measure up, but assuming at least the top few matches should be very good. Robb Block
     Overall:Thumbs UpBest Match:Sasha vs. Bayley (Not even close)Worst Match:Crews vs. Dillinger Tyler Breeze vs. Jushin Thunder Liger-Great appearance(or debut?) from Liger here. Nice intro spot for Breeze in beginning. Good little match. Liger had complete control of the crowd, like a multi-decade legend would. WWE wouldn’t be dumb if they just signed Lfor a short run. Hey, the guy is under a mask, it doesn’t matter how old he is! He gets over like crazy, and that’s all that matters. Honestly, Liger could fill role left vacant since Rey Misterio left the company. ***(3 stars)Blake &  Murphy (with Alexa Bliss) vs. The Vaudevillians (with Blue Pants)-This was a pretty good match. Easily the best Vaudevillians match I’ve seen. Blue Pants got a huge reaction. Nice build-up to a emotional title win for the Vaudevillians. ***(3 stars)Crews vs. Dillinger-Crews definitely seems like he is going to be a real player. Great athlete and a ton of charisma. Just what WWE looks for. Not much of a match. Mostly just showcasing Crews arsenal. **(2 stars)Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin-Joe is super over in Brooklyn. This is what you would expect:A Slobberknocker. Very good match, easily the best of Corbin’s NXT run. Corbin still has a ton of upside, but you gotta give Joe the push as his time is now. Joe took a beating in this match to build this thing to a fever pitch. Some really great striking exchanges between the two toward the end of the match. But ultimately, Joe is built for Main Event combat, not these mid-card feuds. Regardless, Joe continues to build onto his BAMF Reputation which will see him in the main events in WWE very soon. *** 1/2 (3 & 1/2 stars)Bayley vs. Sasha Banks(NXT Women’s Title)-The emotions were running high even from the entrances. Bayley seemed like she was stepping onto a different plane, charisma-wise. Tonight she proved to me she can be as big a star as Sasha, Charlotte, or Becky. She was like a female Dusty out there. She had the crowd in the palm of her hands. Sasha, of course, had a masterful entrance as well. Complete with Vehicle and Security leading her to the ring. This had a big fight feel and the crowd was amped. Everyone knew they were seeing excellence in that ring. The match itself was gritty, championship story-telling at it’s finest. A strong face and a strong heel, complimenting each other perfectly. . In my opinion, the best Women’s match in NXT history. I know that’s a bold statement, but this match had it all. Both ladies left it all in the ring. This match felt like a female version of Dusty-Flair. At times, you could visibly see them getting emotional as the crowd got more and more into the match. Gutsy Greatness. An emotional Bayley victory, and the crowd became unglued. Bayley again proved she can be a monster babyface on the big stage. After Bayley won and was having her moment, you could see Sasha laying on the mat and visibly crying as she stared into the rafters. I will never forget that image. Emotional scene after the match between the Four Horsewomen of NXT was the cherry on top of the match. This was easily most crowd reaction for a Women’s match I’ve ever seen. Unreal match.**** 1/2 (4 and 1/2 stars)Balor vs. Owens (NXT Championship Ladder match)-Another great performance by these men. An even more epic entrance by Balor tonight. Loved the appearing and re-appearing in the red fog. Another match with Big Fight Feel. This was tame in comparison to most Ladder Matches in terms of danger. But what the lacked in Tables and a plethora of high-impact spots, they made up for with more psychology. My favorite spots were the Powerbomb by Owens on Balor as he stood on the ladder, or the Double Foot stomp from the ladder that sealed the win. These two don’t turn in bad performances. Excellent. **** (4 stars)BTW-Can’t wait for the Dusty Tag Classic! I hope it’s similar to the Crockett Cup. NXT delivers their best show on the biggest stage. Bravo. J.C. Gethicker
      Hey Dave, No long-winded review, but since this is the first proper show I’ve seen live since Mania… Thumbs UPBest match: Bayley vs SashaWorst match: by default, I’d have to say Crews vs Dillinger If you’re the kind of fan who (for whatever reason) is ultra resistant to watching any wrestling that doesn’t have the WWE badge on it, then this show will be one of the reasons why you’d fall (back?) into love with wrestling. Bayley vs Sasha had me on the edge of my seat throughout, but in truth, this was a perfect card. Every match was different, and built up to the double crescendo of the main events. If only WWE could replicate this on their bigger shows, rather than the turgid messes we usually get every week. SummerSlam will have to be a hell of a show to even come close to topping this… and given all of the back shots, Kevin Owens took tonight, I’d be stunned if he was even able to make it to SummerSlam. No disappointments at all from the card, and with the announced UK tour, I am eagerly awaiting their night in Wembley on 12/16. Ian Hamilton@theianhamilton  Thumbs up show. Best match was Sasha vs Bayley. No bad matches. Liger vs Breeze Nice response to Liger. Liger taking selfie’s nice. Liger’s focus on the back is solid. A basic showcase for Liger. Almost booked like a newcomer to a territory who they have hopes to get over. 2 1/2* coming soon Nya Jax Vaudevillians vs Blake and Murphy Blake and Murphy are growing on me. Blue Pants is the equalizer. Vaudvillians are having a good, solid shine. Blake sets up the heat by cheating. Good heel psychology. Though the heat was lackluster. I get not wanting to outshine the faces but at least make it interesting. Like the distraction spot to keep the heat. Built to a hot finish. 2 1/2* Apollo Crews vs Dillenger Crews owned that crowd. Crews sold too much.  Regal introduces the Dusty Rhodes tag tournament. Samoa Joe vs Baron Corbin As far as prescence, best Corbin’s looked. Joe showing off his ring generalism with all the different rope stops. Heel Hook by Corbin was a game changer. Back and forth fight. Loved this finish.Where it was the vet taught the student a lesson.  2 3/4* Babyface Steph loses her milfness. Bayley vs The Boss That is an opening. Fun back and forth so far. Sasha’s charisma is off the charts. Sasha in control and playing the bully role or mean girl. Love Bayley kicking her in the mush while Sasha talked trash. Big spot was the hand getting hurt again. Sasha  all over it. Sasha has such a mean streak. Liger flip dive alla Misterio over the ref. Nice counter by Bayley and gives her some much needed seperation. Loving Bayley using her left arm. The stomping on the hand was sick. Reversal of the Bank Statement. Bayley to Belly she kicks out. Bayley took a nasty bump. Frankentoyota into a Bayley  to belly. 4 3/4* Balor vs Owen Ladder Match Balor is no Zayn so I don’t think they’ll be able to follow that. Owens mocking the Zayn chant. Balor is a believable worker, but he needs to work on his story telling. Owens getting heat was well done. Just couldn’t follow the girls. 3 1/4*  Pete Schirmacher   8/22/15 NXT TakeOver: BrooklynOverall: Thumbs UpBest Match: Bayley vs. Sasha BanksWorst Match: Vaudevillains vs Blank and Murphy This show was a great example of the problems faced when watching NXT, the great wrestlers are fantastic and the novice wrestlers are a bore. Yet this is how it should be. It’s a developmental league and by it’s nature it’s just going to have some boring newbie matches. Liger-BreezeNot as good as any of his matches in ROH but still good. Liger is immortal it would seem.Vaudevillains-Blake and MurphyZZZZzzzzzzZZZZZzzzzzz……Don’t care about these guys and the match was what it was. Bliss is undeniable, though.Crews-DillengerCrews looks and wrestles like a Dragon Gate wrestler made in a laboratory. Can’t imagine he’ll be in NXT all that long. Joe-CorbinI just haven’t been super impressed with the matches I’ve seen Joe have in NXT. Maybe they just don’t appreciate how “firm” he usually is or maybe it’s just the level of talent he’s working with but his match against Jay Briscoe in ROH was better than anything he’s done in NXT. Joe physically looked great though. Bayley-BanksSasha Banks is a genuinely good wrestler. Not just grading her on a “good for a women” curve either. Her selling is just the best. I can’t quite put it into words, and I don’t want to use the word “stiff”, but there is something about the way she moves around the ring and wrestles that is so much smoother and more intentional than the other Divas. When Nikki Bella does an Irish Whip it looks like she’s waiting for the girl to start running as she eases her arm forward, when Banks does it looks like she’s really whipping her as hard as she can. With all that said, great match and hopefully one day, after Vince is gone and they put the Diva’s belt in a metal grinder, they can be taken seriously on the main roster.Balor-OwensGood ladder spot fest. I hope Balor buys Kevin a beer or something because he did him some huge favors with the massive bumps he took. Kevin is a mad man when it comes to these kind of matches. Makes me wish they wouldn’t have asked him to do it. -Matthew Burrill@mattb425

  • WWE 8-21 Bridgeport, CT, house show results: John Cena & Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins and Kevin Owens

    By Nick Mahmood

    – U.S. Champion John Cena & Cesaro beat Kevin Owens & WWE Champion Seth Rollins when John pinned Seth. John worked early then Cesaro got the heat most of match before Cena got hot tag and AA on Seth for pin.

    – Randy Orton pinned Sheamus with RKO

    – WWE Tag Team Champions Prime Time Players beat Lucha Dragons and Big E & Kofi. Titus pinned Big E. 

    – Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose beat Luke Harper & Bray Wyatt when Roman pinned Harper

    – Dolph Ziggler w/ Lana pinned Rusev w/Summer Rae after a zig zag

    – Chris Jericho pinned King Barrett after a code breaker

    – Team Bella beat Team Bad after getting a roll up on Tamina. Natalya was guest ref.

    – I-C Champion Ryback pinned Stardust

  • WWE News: WWE promotes John Cena’s 500th wish

    WWE today promoted John Cena’s granting the 500th wish which will actually take place on Monday before Raw at the Barclay’s Center.  Since the founding of Make-a-wish in 1980, no other celebrity has granted the number of wishes as Cena.

    Make-A-Wish® Celebrates WWE® Superstar John Cena® for Granting Record 500 Wishes

    John Cena to become the first celebrity wish granter in the organization’s 35 year history to reach the milestone

    PHOENIX (August 21, 2015) – Make-A-Wish® congratulates WWE® Superstar John Cena® for granting 500 wishes through the wish granting organization. Cena will achieve the landmark wish total when he spends time with Rocco, an 8-year-old from Queens, NY, battling leukemia, before WWE Monday Night Raw® at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. For Rocco, the chance to hang out with the WWE Superstar will be a wish-come-true. For Cena, the meeting will be his 500th opportunity to bring hope and optimism to a wish child battling a life-threatening medical condition.

    Since the founding of Make-A-Wish in 1980, no other celebrity has granted as many wishes as Cena. To acknowledge Cena and his contributions to Make-A-Wish, WWE and Make-A-Wish joined together to host a party on Friday, Aug. 21, at a Dave & Buster’s in New York City. Attendees included John Cena, Make-A-Wish America President and CEO David Williams, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon, WWE Divas The Bella Twins® – Nikki and Brie, WWE Superstar Sheamus®, wish kids and their families. At the event, WWE announced a multi-year, million dollar commitment to Make-A-Wish – a symbol of WWE’s on-going support for wish granting.

    In addition to wish granting, Cena regularly goes above and beyond to support the mission of Make-A-Wish. He has personally donated more than 6 million airline miles for wishes involving travel, hosted parties for wish kids at WrestleMania® and served as a Wish Ambassador at speaking engagements. Cena is also a recipient of the Chris Greicius Celebrity Award, which Make-A-Wish awarded him in 2009. In 2012, he also received an award to mark the milestone of his 300th wish, something no other celebrity or athlete has achieved.

    “John Cena’s slogan, ‘Never Give UpTM,’ is a constant source of inspiration for wish kids and serves as a reminder to stay strong and keep pushing through the difficult times,” said David Williams, Make-A-Wish America President and CEO. “The fact that he has had the sustained success required to reach 500 wishes speaks volumes about the type of person John is and the quality of the wish experience he delivers.”

    “There is no more humbling experience than a child who could ask for anything in the world asking to meet me,” said WWE Superstar John Cena. “I have faced some of the toughest Superstars in WWE history and I’ve never encountered more bravery or toughness than I see in each wish kid that I meet. It is inspiring to see the impact that granting wishes can have and I look forward to granting 500 more.”

    WWE has been involved in wish granting since the early 1980s, beginning shortly after the founding of Make-A-Wish. The popularity of WWE has endured throughout the years with a total wish count in the thousands. Since 2001, more than 45 Superstars and Divas have individually been requested, and subsequently, granted a wish. To learn more about Make-A-Wish and the WWE relationship, visit wish.org.

  • WWE Tough Enough Episode 6 Review and Recap

    By: Kenneth Nida

    Last week saw the downfall of Patrick, whose ego got the best of him. Even fan favorite ZZ wasn’t spared when Patrick told him that if he won the competition, it would be a joke. Patrick’s elimination was the first to be shocking in any way, as it seemed he’d at least make it to the finals. It will also be interesting to see how the show adjusts with a Hulk Hogan sized void in the show’s judges panel.

    We open up the show introducing the judges with the Miz replacing Hogan. Miz says if he was a judge last week, he would have saved Patrick. We go back to the barracks where ZZ has created a Patrick “shrine”; he’s also shown working out.

    This week Cesaro joins the show to speak to the contestants about focus. This week’s contest sees the contestants using ropes to get from platforms suspended in the air. Each platform has a number on it, and the final platform has a safe, with the numbers opening the combination. When a contestant is running the course, the entire time Billy Gunn is talking to them, sometimes saying random numbers, sometimes asking questions involving numbers.

    Tanner wins for the men, with Gigi winning for the women. The winners get a copy of Chris Jericho’s book with a special inscription. The judges criticize ZZ for being praised for not coming in last. Back at the house, Chelsea and Tanner are in the hot tub together and Chelsea challenges him to cut a promo on her bikini, which is a bit awkward. The next challenge sees the contestants pairing up and doing moves that they have previously learned while crowd noise is playing loudly over the speakers, which distracts some of the contestants. Chelsea wins for the women, and Josh wins for the men.

    Amanda seems to be getting a bit paranoid, getting upset that Chelsea and Sara Lee are practicing behind closed doors and listening to their conversation through the door. Mada confronts ZZ, asking him if he thinks he can win. ZZ admits he doesn’t think he can at this moment, which upsets Mada. Back at the live show, Chris Jericho introduces “Team BAD” – Naomi, Sasha Banks, and Tamina. The female contestants are going to take a slam, followed by a splash off the top rope. Each contestant goes through with it with no problem.

    The judges grill ZZ about not going to the gym like he said he would. The bottom 3 are Amanda chosen by Daniel Bryan, Mada chosen by the Miz, and ZZ chosen by Paige, with Paige saying ZZ’s boobs are bigger than hers. They give the contestants 30 seconds to plead their case. Chris Jericho asks the competitors who should go home, with most saying ZZ. Miz uses his save on Amanda, probably because he thinks she’s hot. The votes are tallied, with Amanda getting 13% of the vote, Mada getting 39% of the vote, and ZZ getting 48%.

    This week was a repeat of last week, in that whoever attacks ZZ goes home. If the judges want someone in particular eliminated next week, all they have to do is have them give ZZ a dirty look. Amanda being saved is ridiculous, as she’s blended into the background for so long that she has no chance. This was obvious when she only got such a small portion of the vote. I can see her going home next week, to balance out the male to female ratio. 

  • WWE announces Fox suffers concussion

    WWE just released that Alicia Fox suffered a mild concussion during her tag team match on Raw last night.

    No other details were available.

    WWE has not released any updated information on the condition of John Cena.

  • WWE NXT July 8 TV results & recap: Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens replay, no. 1 tag team title contenders match

    By Emerson Witner, WrestlingObserver.com & Wrestling Outsiders Podcast

    The Big News:

    Finn Balor defeated Kevin Owens to win the NXT Title. Plus the Gentlemanly Grapplers, The Vaudevillians, were victorious in their voyage to the #1 Contendership to the Tag Team Titless.

    Show Recap:

    They started the show by airing a video package on Beast in the East and announced that they will air the NXT Title match, in its entirety, later tonight.

    The BFF’s defeated Dana Brooke & Emma

    Sasha is now a baby face for some reason. Sasha has no friends, so she was ready to go 2-on-1 with her opponents when Charlotte came down and made herself Sasha’s partner so she could get at Dana. See they could have combined the WWE and NXT story lines and had Paige come out, but WWE doesn’t think that far ahead.

    I fully expected this to turn into a 3-on-1 beat down on Charlotte, but I was wrong. Oh well. Sasha and Charlotte did some of their team moves, but the heels took down Charlotte and got the heat on the former champion. Emma and Dana did that really annoying thing The Ascension used to do where they rapidly tag in and out for like 30 seconds. That is just ridiculous.

    The fans can’t figure out if they want Sasha or not. Anyway Sasha got the hot tag and went wild on her fighting female foes and eventually won with the Bank Statement on Dana Brooke while Charlotte had the Figure Eight on Emma.

    After the match, Charlotte challenged Sasha to a title match next week, since Sasha promised it in exchange for being her partner tonight. Sasha accepted it and we have a rematch from December next week.

    – Bayley was at an NXT Live Event this past weekend and commented that Emma broke her hand. She stated that she is going to come back from injury and win the Women’s Title. This is the second injury Bayley has had in 6 months and the second time she has promised to come back and win the belt.

    Finn Balor pinned NXT Champion Kevin Owens to win the belt

    This was, obviously, the match from Saturday in Tokyo. This was an excellent match from beginning to end. The only funny thing is they literally just aired Beast in the East as the lead in to this episode of NXT. Anyway, the King is dead, long live the new King of NXT.

    Owens was asked afterwards how he feels about losing and Owens shoved the camera away.

    – Chad Gable said Jason Jordan doesn’t want to win and doesn’t want to dominate and that’s why he hadn’t agreed to be his partner. Jordan walked in and finally agreed to be his partner next week.

    – Solomon Crowe is back. He is meaner, badder and nastier than ever before.

    Solomon Crowe submitted Marcus Louis

    Marcus Louis is back too. He got his head shaved at NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way on September 11, 2014. Neither the hair on top of his head nor his eyebrows have grown back yet.

    Crowe almost won by pinfall and then by submission in the first 30 seconds of the match. Crowe went for a Springboard Something, but Louis hit the ropes and Crowe fell stomach first on the top rope. Louis locked on a kneeling Abdominal Stretch and did the claw hold on Crowe’s ribs, but Crowe fought out of it. 

    Crowe used a Twist of Fate, which was called a Unique Maneuver, the CM Punk running knee and won with the Crowe Bar.

    – The Vaudevillians vowed to be victorious over the villainous vagabonds Enzo and Cass.

    – Balor celebrated winning the title last week by standing against a wall with Cesaro and Neville until John Cena congratulated him. He looked like such a geek with a look like “OMG! He talked to me!” on his face.

    – Next week: An update on Sami Zayn.

    In a #1 Contender’s Match, The Vaudevillians defeated Enzo Amore & Colin Cassidy (w/Carmella)

    Trivia Time! The Vaudevillians were the first team to ever lose to Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy. Blake and Murphy beat them so bad that they got the confidence to win the tag titles the very next week. Also when Enzo Amore had a broken leg, Colin Cassidy’s only feud was losing over and over again to Aiden English. Now that we have had Trivia Time, it is now MAIN EVENT TIME! 

    Fast paced grappling early on with Enzo and Cass in control through the commercial break. Aiden got the heat on Enzo when Amore goofed around and ran into the feet of NXT’s resident opera singer. The Gentlemanly Grapplers had their way with Enzo until Enzo almost literally fell into a hot tag. Cass gave Aiden the big boot and Simon the Black Hole Slam. 

    Finally they went for the Rocket Launcher, but Simon tackled Colin out of the ring and Aiden rolled through a flying cross body from Enzo and scored the shocking win!

    The Vaudevillians now get their shot at redemption! They now get their show at Blake and Murphy and the Tag Team Titles. That does it for this week, until next week, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!