Paypress testing

Tag: Charlotte

  • WWE RAW Hits & Misses: Cena gets Clubbed, Rollins mimes, Golden Truth shines

    Monday night’s edition of RAW had its moments without exactly firing on all cylinders. Here’s where it went right…and where it went very, very wrong.

    — The Hits —

    Trios pow-wows

    Tag team main events are usually throwaway affairs in the WWE universe. As such, those backstage huddles featuring all six Money in the Bank ladder match entrants were very welcome. Recycling the “Sami is Canadian too” joke from last week worked well, as did Jericho’s continued brilliant use of the word “idiot”. That, of course, led to a wonderful “stupid idiot” chant during the main event, directed at the Fozzy frontman. The match itself was merely fine, but featured a hot finish and a much-needed attempt to rehab a cooled-off Dean Ambrose.

    Cena’s return and AJ’s turn

    While I’m not entirely sold on AJ’s full-fledged heel turn, it must be acknowledged that its execution was excellent here. Further, the company is quite light on the heel side at the moment. While I could have done without the cringeworthy, jingoistic intro, John Cena’s comeback promo was one of his strongest in some time. Delivered with fantastic fire, it underlined the veteran’s new role as the gatekeeper of the WWE: “The future must go through me”.

    The Golden Truth shine

    I’m as surprised as you are, believe me, but Monday night’s first hour segment involving the Golden Truth actually worked. Key to its success was allowing two of the most naturally amusing men on the roster to be themselves, free from the writers’ awful input. Truth and Goldust’s contributions on commentary during The Usos’ quick win over Breezango were often hilarious with Truth reprising his inability to distinguish Byron Saxton from Jonathan Coachman – despite the fact that “Coach has talent” as JBL helpfully pointed out.

    I must admit I’m also a big fan of Truth’s remixed rap, heard in its full form on Smackdown, but sadly cut off here by a commercial break. Credit also to Tyler Breeze for his inset promo (“The Ewww-sos”) for showing how his mastery over his character has been shamefully wasted on the main roster.

    Enzo & Cass

    They seem to be featured here every week but even though their promo ostensibly just listed cheeses at one point, everything this team touches turns to gold at the moment. Although, I could do without that double team Rocket Launcher finish as they never seem to execute it convincingly.

    –The Misses–

    Using The New Day to distract from the brand split fiasco

    Last week’s news that the debut of live Tuesday night Smackdown would usher in another brand split conjured up many appalling vistas. Chief among them was the prospect of having to watch nine hours of WWE programming in three days on PPV weeks, closely followed by the harebrained possible reintroduction of two world titles. Worries about the potential for tag teams to be forcibly separated weren’t exactly high on folks’ lists of concerns.

    But that’s the draft-related horror that New Day asked us to consider in RAW’s overlong opening segment in which their comedy was used to distract from the fact that company is figuring the detail of this guaranteed failure out as it goes. The idea that the Vaudevillains denying us the “pleasure” of Stephanie’s dancing is supposed to generate heel heat was where the real humour lay, however, as was that team’s failure to upbraid The Club for getting them disqualified from what was effectively a number one contendership opportunity.

    Rollins The Mute

    Following on from the abrupt ending to his in-ring promo on Smackdown, the returning Seth Rollins went one better on Monday night by saying absolutely nothing – for a very, very long time. I’d love to tell you what Rollins’ fakeouts were supposed to achieve, but sadly I’m not one of the 28 typewriter-armed monkeys that this company employs. On that note, every time I hear Roman’s “I’m not a good guy….” catchphrase or JBL parroting Vince’s “polarising figure” nonsense, I want to scream. Nails on a chalkboard, every time.

    Dolph and Baron play Roshambo

    Dolph Ziggler baiting Baron Corbin into a “technical wrestling match” (translation: a match) only to kick him in the cojones was extremely dumb. Not only did Dolph cost himself a third loss to Corbin, he also made himself look like a coward. Wouldn’t a real babyface pour everything he had into besting the balding one in a fair fight?

    Titus confronts the “Bulgarian Blowhard”

    Speaking of poor writing, is anyone getting tired of Zack Ryder cutting pre-match promos about overcoming the odds only to lose comprehensively? What is the point of that exactly? US Champion Rusev crushed Ryder in short order before being confronted by proud American Titus O’Neil. O’Neil nervously delivered his scripted verbiage, including the embarrassing insult transcribed above, to a relatively underwhelming response. Still, at least this means the Bulgarian won’t be dropping the strap to the returning Cena any time soon as many predicted. Finally, what was up with Lana’s accent in her pre-match introduction?

    The Charlotte follow-up

    Where do I start with this one? I could talk about how Stephanie felt it necessarily to once again verbally tear strips off one of her major champions. I could talk about the lameness of the talking heads’ contribution in the preceding video package. I could discuss how little sense it makes that Charlotte throwing off the yolk of her cheating father is being portrayed as a heelish progression for her character.

    Whichever way you look at it, Monday’s follow-up to what was a disastrous promo from the Women’s champion last week was just as crummy as the distraction finish she caused in Dana Brooke’s match against Natalya. Apparently it’s important that all these women are made to look dumb, face or heel. Dreadful.

  • At last, the WWE women will have their chance at Wrestlemania 32

    This Sunday at Wrestlemania, WWE Divas Champion Charlotte will face Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks in a three-way title match that would have served as the logical narrative bookend to the concept that was the Divas Revolution. The payoff of these three facing off against one another on the biggest stage in professional wrestling, having climbed from humble beginnings and overcome negative stigmatization in a male-dominated industry to achieve at the highest level imaginable, would have been both the ultimate testament to the success of the Divas Revolution as a long-term storyline and the proper punctuation on the statement that WWE had reached a new era in the presentation of its female talent.

    Or at least it would have been were it not for the countless fatal decisions made along the way that ultimately lead to its failure. Had WWE’s faith in branding and hashtagging been enough to sustain through incomprehensible storytelling, numerous dreadful on-screen segments (including no fewer than two disastrous episodes of Miz TV), far too many unexplained and illogical changes in the heel-face dynamic, an overwhelming sense of purposelessness, and the tasteless invoking of Reid Fliehr’s name for the sole purpose of cheap heat, the Divas Revolution concept may very well have survived to see Wrestlemania.

    But because so many mistakes made it revolting more often than revolutionary, and because WWE’s commitment to the concept seemed to run only as deep as seeing a buzzword trend worldwide on Twitter a few nights a week, the #DivasRevolution is long dead.

    When Charlotte, Sasha, and Becky step into the ring on Sunday, they will represent all that remains of that misbegotten, in-name-only revolution. Fortunately, they were the only components of it that ever mattered at all.

    The title match at Wrestlemania this Sunday is not at all about the Divas Revolution, despite any possible attempts from WWE commentators to inform the audience otherwise. Rather, it will be above all else the crowning moment for three of the major players of the very real sea change that has been going on for far longer than a hashtag-revolution. It will be a career-defining highlight for Charlotte, Sasha, and Becky, whose work in NXT between 2013-2015 with each other and the likes of Bayley, Natalya, Paige, and Emma was a major catalyst for an actual change in that audience’s perception of women’s wrestling.

    Given their immense collective and individual potential, this should be far from the last big moment these three women will experience at a Wrestlemania.

    What this match could ultimately prove to be is one that may help direct the course of women’s wrestling in WWE for years to come, and one that could help pave the way for other women to enjoy their own much-deserved moments in the spotlight at that level. Someone like Bayley, for example, who has a very real potential to become one of the company’s top money-makers, full stop. The response of the live crowd, and the social response of the worldwide viewing audience, could create enough tangible evidence to convince those who may still believe otherwise that the future of WWE’s female performers is in emphasizing in-ring prowess and performance over aesthetics and sex appeal.

    If rumors of a new WWE Women’s Championship being revealed on the Raw following Wrestlemania prove true and result in the long overdue abandonment of the obnoxious “Divas” brand, then the match between Charlotte, Becky, and Sasha may just be the final, decisive nail in a coffin that they have all worked so hard to seal.

    Or, perhaps, it won’t prove to be that at all. Perhaps the notion of sweeping change in WWE’s philosophy regarding women taking place in just eight months’ time is as ill-fated as thinking that CM Punk’s 434-day championship reign or Daniel Bryan’s Wrestlemania triumph would turn back decades of big-man fetishism. Even today, with Charlotte, Sasha, and Becky on the precipice of taking their well-earned Wrestlemania moments, the company still seems adamant to draw blood from the stone that is Eva Marie, someone who epitomizes what WWE thinks of when it uses the malapropos term “Diva.”

    The fact that the expectation was that she would be cheered when she appeared on Raw (in Brooklyn, of all places) reinforces the idea of a considerable disconnect between WWE’s beliefs and reality. Slotting Eva in as the surprise 10th participant in the pre-show tag match doesn’t quite portend that she would one day be given a run with the championship (though her reemergence on the main roster certainly makes it seem no less plausible), but it also doesn’t dissuade from the idea that there are still those in the company who see a woman’s primary contribution to the product as being her ability to look good in as little clothing as possible.

    Regardless of what the match means or doesn’t mean for the big picture of WWE today and moving forward, it can be said with a fair degree of certainty what it means to the three performers involved: quite simply, everything.

    Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks will be culmination of years of tireless effort and struggle; in one instant, together in front of the largest audience WWE has ever drawn, everything that they have sacrificed along the way will have been worth it. For as much as the concept of the Wrestlemania moment has become another in WWE’s arsenal of trite branding terms, it will be just that for the three, and it will be a moment well deserved.

    Perhaps given the uncertainty of seemingly all things creative in WWE at present, it is simply the best course of action to not worry about whether this match can atone for the failures of the Divas Revolution or set the table for the future of the women’s division. It is unlikely that Charlotte, Sasha, or Becky will be thinking in such lofty terms this Sunday or in the days leading up to it. They will probably not be concerning themselves with starting a movement, causing a revolution, or sparking long-term change.

    Instead, they are much more likely to be focused on a single moment. On appreciating it, and on seizing it. On doing their utmost to steal the show, just as they have in NXT so many times before. With their talent and drive, there is no reason to believe that they cannot deliver on that promise once again, despite the amplified lens. Given their history of pulling off show-stealing performances, it is unlikely that most fans will leave their seats until the finish if only so that they, too, can share in that moment with them. That, in and of itself, speaks to the level of change they have helped affect.

    Before the #DivasRevolution hashtag, there was #GiveDivasAChance. It sprung directly from indignation at women being given so little to work with compared to their male counterparts, rooted in the idea that female wrestlers deserve, at the least, an equal opportunity to show the world what they could do in the ring. This Sunday at Wrestlemania, Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Becky will presumably be empowered and enabled to go out in front of 85,000 fans — many of whom will be invested in the match to at least some extent – and tell a story.

    They should, and likely will, be given every tool available to put on a blow-away match in front of millions of people around the globe. It is fair to say that, despite WWE doing seemingly everything it could to get in its way, women’s wrestling is being given its chance at long last. It would be more appropriate, however, to say that it is an opportunity well earned. 

  • Charlotte vs. Natalya added to WWE Roadblock

    Another match has been added to Saturday’s WWE Roadblock Network special with Charlotte defending the Divas title against Natalya.

    The two reportedly had a strong match in Montreal last night.

    The two turned a lot of people around on the prospect of women’s wrestling on the main roster with their May 2014 match at TakeOver in Orlando. However, the two have not been put together for a high profile long match since Charlotte won the championship.

    Nattie posted the following on her Instagram page:  “As I make my way to Toronto for #WWERoadBlock, I’m dedicating my match to Bret Hart. His fight against cancer has inspired me to fight even harder in my own life. @Charlottewwe is going to have her hands full AND I can’t wait.#RoadtoWrestleMania#WWENetwork“.

    Here’s the full card for tonight’s show (at least everything that’s been announced for TV):

    • WWE Champion HHH vs. Dean Ambrose
    • Brock Lesnar vs. Bray Wyatt
    • Divas Champion Charlotte vs. Natalya
    • WWE Tag Team Champions New Day vs Sheamus & King Barrett
    • NXT Champions Dash Wilder & Scott  Dawson vs. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady

    Also scheduled for the show are Sheamus, Chris Jericho and Sami Zayn. The show will air at 8 PM EST/5 PM PST. Our Bryan Rose will have your coverage tonight.

  • WWE Main Event Results 11/24: Brie Bella w/Alicia Fox vs Charlotte

    By Alan O’Brien

    The Main Takeaway

    Your Divas champion becomes the latest idiot babyface to fall victim to the deadly distraction/schoolboy combo.

    Titus O’Neil w/Darren Young defeated Stardust by countout (3:40)

    The first of two matches on this show that were set up on RAW the previous night. Titus of course took a wrong-turn into Cody’s backstage planetarium (not a euphemism) on Monday night, before pinning Cosmic Wasteland member, Konnor, in the subsequent six-man tag.

    Very short back-and-forth TV match, with no real discernible structure to it. Usual shine stuff for Titus in the beginning where he channels the Big Show by delivering forehand chops to his foe’s chest in the corners. Stardust gets caught off a top rope cross body attempt, allowing Titus to hit his rib-breakers before tossing him with gay abandon. Speaking of which, Darren was on commentary for this one. He mentioned the “paywinda” twice. No-one laughed.

    Titus does the Gator Bark to signal the splash in the corner, but Stardust bails and walks to the back for the lame countout finish. Gotta keep Stardust looking strong, ya know?

    Ryback defeated Heath Slater by pinfall (2:58)

    We get a clip of The Ryback ruining The One Man Band’s performance in Nashville the prior evening. Hey, I know this will be a squash match, but I appreciate that they’re at least creating the illusion that this show matters in the grand scheme of things.

    Heath’s out for revenge. He dresses down Ryback before the bell, comparing himself angrily and favorably to one Garth Brooks. More like Chris Gaines, right?! Right?

    Short enhancement match. Ryback gets the win by countering Heath’s patented top-rope flying nothing into a spinebuster, followed by a Meathook and a Shellshock.

    Rusev defeated Zach Ryder by submission (4:17)

    Mild “Let’s Go Ryder! WOO, WOO, WOO!” and “USA!” chants after the bell from this Indianapolis crowd. They must be an optimistic bunch.

    A longer than expected enhancement match here, in which Rusev gave Ryder quite a lot, including two consecutive Broski Boots for a close two-count.

    Unsurprisingly however, Rusev eventually locked on the Accolade and Zach tapped like Fred Astaire.

    – No backstage segments on this week’s show, but we do get a recap of the main event segment on RAW, where Roman Reigns ran off Sheamus and his Euro buddies with a steel chair.

    Brie Bella w/Alicia Fox defeated Charlotte by pinfall (9:34)

    Yep, you read that right.

    Opening bell rings amid the now obligatory “We Want Sasha” chants. Decent match – certainly better than last week’s psychology-free Naomi/Alicia effort – in which Brie worked Charlotte’s left arm consistently throughout the contest. Although quite what submission she was setting herself up for is very much up for debate. As is persisting to use your husband’s babyface kick sequence when you’re supposed to be a heel.

    Back-and-forth finishing sequence, in which both women hit their signature moves, climaxing in a big boot and a spear from Ms. Flair.

    And then, Paige’s music hit. And Charlotte walked to the ropes to gawp at her like an idiot. Before falling victim to the most electrifying move in sports entertainment – the schoolboy – for the one, two, three. Lame.

    Final Thoughts

    A much-less focused show than last week’s offering, which was all about bigging up Titus O’Neil. And from a wrestling perspective, two awful finishes and two squashes do not a happy Main Event viewer make. Recommendation to avoid.

  • WOL 11/20: Interviews with Bas Rutten and Steve Sims, Charlotte situation, more!

    Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today with tons to talk about including interviews with both EL GUAPO BAS RUTTEN and EL GUAPO STEVE SIMS — separately, unfortunately, plus Charlotte Flair, WWE’s statement they issues yesterday and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

    Right click save

  • WWE to release statement regarding Charlotte/Paige Raw angle (UPDATED)

    WWE’s official statement:  “Subject matter this personal is only approved as a result of the strong advocacy of the talent themselves.  Notwithstanding that, WWE is ultimately responsible for what airs in its programming.”

    WWE will be releasing a statement shortly regarding Monday night’s show-closing angle involving Paige and Charlotte (Ashley Fliehr).

    The gist of the statement will be that the idea of the angle came from Ashley Fliehr, that it was taken out of the show, she was insistent that it be put in, and it was.  However, the company did take responsibility for the angle since it was ultimately their decision to put it on the show.

    The angle involved Paige referencing the death of Charlotte’s brother Reid, who passed away from an overdose on March 29, 2013, and saying clearly Reid didn’t have a lot of fight in him.  The angle has been the most-talked about story in pro-wrestling since it happened, virtually universally negative towards the company.  It was done to set up a Divas Title match on Sunday between champion Charlotte and challenger Paige at the Survivor Series PPV.

    Neither Ric Flair nor Ashley’s mother Elizabeth were alerted in advance about the angle.  Elizabeth was furious and posted publicly on Twitter.  Ric Flair on his Woo Nation podcast noted he was very upset when watching it, and indicated that Ashley didn’t have the tenure to say no to any angles or storylines presented to her.  Flair’s co-host Conrad stated publicly that the rumors it was Ashley’s idea were 100% false.  

    We will update this story with the statement as soon as it is released.

    Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discuss the angle and fallout in detail on last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio.

  • WWE Smackdown results 11/19: Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens & Alberto Del Rio

    – Air Date: November 19, 2015 (Nov 18 in Canada)
    – Location: Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN

    The Big News:

    November 19, 2015. Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose are still the best of friends.

    Show Recap:

    R.I.P. Nick Bockwinkel.

    After airing a graphic for Bockwinkel, they plugged the WWE Title tournament semi-final matches for Survivor Series and pushed the tag team main event for tonight.

    The Miz welcomed everyone to MizTV, and he did that thing where he waits for the crowd to say “MizTV” but only five people do. He was about to introduce his guests but Kevin Owens’ music hit before he could finish.

    Miz said he’s supposed to introduce the guests, but Owens said he’s turning this into the Kevin Owens Show. Owens said he would win the WWE Title and would become, as Triple H puts it, the man. Miz was about to say something but Alberto Del Rio and Zeb Colter interrupted.

    Colter called Miz a hater and isn’t going to fall for his “gotcha” questioning. Colter said it doesn’t matter what you call MizTV, it’s still crap. Owens thought that was funny, but Colter called Owens a hater too and, “Worse than that, you’re from Canada.” Crowd popped. Colter wondered if Owens snuck across the border by ice skating across Lake Michigan.

    Very Tanned Alberto Del Rio told Owens that there would be a place in MexAmerica for people like him, because they need people to clean their pools. Owens responded, “You know who missed you while you were gone, by the way? Nobody.”

    Dean Ambrose came out next. Miz was upset, but Ambrose said he was there to help him and told him to sit down. Ambrose (who campaigned against all the talking on Raw) said this was a talk show so he was going to talk. He called Del Rio one tough hombre but will go through him for the title if he has to. He said Owens can give out a beating unlike anyone else, but Ambrose can take a beating unlike anyone else and would win the title.

    Miz said there’s someone who might disagree, and smiley-faced Roman Reigns came down through the crowd. Miz was still upset that he kept getting interrupted. Reigns told him we know what happens on MizTV – Miz talks until someone shuts him up.

    R-Truth came out next and everyone appeared nonplussed. Truth called himself the underdog and a survivor and would win the title at Survivor Series. Miz told him the tournament has been going on for two weeks and Truth was never in it. Truth apologized, wished luck to the babyfaces and left.

    Miz complained about his segment going off the rails. Reigns told him to act like a director and started directing. Miz yelled “Action!” like he was on a film set, and Ambrose punched him out. Del Rio and Owens bailed. This segment started well but completely fell apart once Reigns and Truth came out.

    After a break, Miz was still in the ring, scheduled for a match. He said he shouldn’t have to compete after being disrespected and wanted his match cancelled. He was interrupted again, this time by Cesaro.

    Cesaro beat The Miz via submission

    Miz got some offense briefly but Cesaro quickly cut him off and did a tilt-a-whirl into a crossface and Miz tapped. It was short. After the match, Stardust and the Ascension came out as Cesaro walked up the ramp. Stardust and Cesaro faced off before Stardust continued on his way. Rich Brennan was excited about this face off, and he’s the only one.

    Neville & The Dudley Boyz beat Stardust & The Ascension via pinfall

    Neville ran towards the ropes but Konnor held the ropes open as Viktor distracted the referee, resulting in Neville crashing to the outside. Stardust rammed his head against the table and Bubba encouraged Neville to get up. Then, Konnor gave Neville a big boot. Presumably the referee was distracted again, but he wasn’t in the frame.

    Bubba yelled at the referee because of how stupid all of this was. The referee looked like an imbecile here and so did the Dudleys frankly. They just stood there as their partner got double teamed illegally.

    After a break, Bubba made a hot tag and took out Viktor and Stardust. They did the diving headbutt spot to Konnor and called for tables. Stardust jumped back in and gave Bubba a disaster kick, but Neville took him out with a missile dropkick. Viktor tossed Neville to the outside, sending him into Konnor. Bubba and D-Von gave Viktor 3D for the win. This was not good, and this was a poor follow-up for Neville after his great match with Owens on Raw.

    They aired a video package for Undertaker & Kane vs. the Wyatts. Jerry Lawler hopes Bray Wyatt is in the match. This is not how you promote a PPV match.

    Tyler Breeze (w/Summer Rae) beat Zack Ryder via pinfall

    Before the match, Breeze said Ryder’s fashion sense reminded him of another uggo, Dolph Ziggler. He said Summer dumped Ziggler because she wanted an upgrade. Breeze said he’s what everyone wanted and he never goes out of style. Breeze said Ziggler would do what he’s done his entire career, and Summer finished his sentence by saying Ziggler would come up short. She motioned with her fingers, intimating that Ziggler has a small penis.

    During the match, Ziggler came to ringside. He dumped one of their drinks on the floor. The distraction allowed Ryder to get a nearfall on a school boy, but Breeze won shortly after with the Beauty Shot. After the match, Ziggler superkicked Breeze and left.

    The lights went out and the Undertaker’s druids came out in sheep masks. Bray’s music hit and the Wyatts came out. (They promoted this ahead of time so the crowd knew it wasn’t going to be Undertaker.) Bray rambled. He said the demon and the deadman would fail, it was just a question of how.

    He said Erick Rowan was cast aside by society and is fueled by vengeance. He said Luke Harper shows no remorse. Strowman spoke for himself, saying he’s dreamt of making great men fall and would shatter their bones to dust. Crowd chanted “What” at Strowman.

    Undertaker’s music and pyro went off and he eventually appeared on the big screen. Taker cut a usual Taker promo and said the Brothers of Destruction will reclaim what’s theirs. Kane held up a white sheep mask, which was on fire, and Taker said the Wyatts would rest in peace. Kane did that thing with his arms and his fire explosion went off in the ring and, suddenly, all of the druids were on the floor like corpses. This was wacky.

    They showed a replay of Paige’s controversial line on Raw. They referred to this segment as the “Diva Revulsion.”

    Non-Title: WWE Divas Champion Charlotte beat Brie Bella (w/Alicia Fox) via submission

    Short, back-and-forth match that ended with Charlotte reversing an X-Factor into a spear and Figure Eight for the win. The crowd wasn’t dead, but I’m not sure how much they cared about Charlotte. They sure yelled “woo” a lot.

    Backstage, Paige told Renee Young that Charlotte can turn into the Incredible Hulk if she wants but it won’t help her retain the title. Paige called Charlotte immature for the way she acted on Monday, which is pretty funny. Paige said she would cross the line if that’s what it took to regain the title, because that’s what champions do.

    Big E (w/Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) beat Kalisto (w/Sin Cara) via pinfall

    Xavier Woods said there was a conspiracy against them because they weren’t in the tournament. They buried Ryback and Kalisto, making short jokes about the latter. Woods put on a mask and Kofi Kingston exclaimed, “He’s a luchadore! Because he’s wearing a mask!” Big E said he would show Kalisto that size does matter and began swivelling his hips.

    Once the match started, Sin Cara took out Woods outside the ring, and Kingston took out Sin Cara. Kalisto hit a dive on Kingston, but was distracted by Woods as he re-entered the ring, allowing Big E to hit a running body block and running splash for an extremely quick win. Terrible follow-up for Kalisto after his big win last week.

    After the match, Woods and Kingston held down Kalisto allowing Big E to hit another splash. Ryback ran out to make the save, taking out all three New Day members by himself, including hitting a splash of his own on Big E. He helped Sin Cara and Kalisto to their feet.

    They showed a pre-taped video interview Maria Menounos did with Paige and The Miz about their upcoming movie. This was basically a commercial, but it was the highlight of the show to this point. They were all in character. Miz tried plugging the movie, but Paige interrupted to bury Menounos, bringing up her failed attempt to become a [wrestler]. Menounos asked her what it was like working with an accomplished actor like The Miz. Paige laughed and eventually blew off the interview because she has more important things to worry about.

    They announced Ziggler vs. Breeze for Survivor Series.

    Ambrose and Reigns had a meeting backstage. Ambrose expected them both to win their semi-final matches at Survivor Series and Reigns acknowledged that this would put them against each other in the finals. Reigns patted Ambrose on the shoulder, saying he’s come too far and would have to treat Ambrose like everyone else. Ambrose expected nothing less. Basically, they agreed to give it their all and they bumped fists.

    Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose DCO I.C. Champion Kevin Owens & US Champion Alberto Del Rio (w/Zeb Colter)

    After a break, the heels took control on Ambrose after Del Rio launched him into the barricade. As Owens beat down on Ambrose, he pointed at Brennan and yelled, “You watching this Rich you idiot?” Del Rio hit an enziguri and back cracker for a two count. Ambrose blocked a superkick, hit a rebound clothesline and made the hot tag to Reigns.

    Reigns used a clothesline and apron dropkick on Owens, followed by clotheslines in the corner. Reigns hit a tilt-a-whirl slam on Owens, but Del Rio broke up the cover. Reigns sent Del Rio to the outside, and Owens hit Reigns with a superkick. Ambrose hit a suicide dive on Del Rio and clotheslined him over the announce table.

    Owens tried a powerbomb on Ambrose outside the ring, but Reigns hit him with a superman punch. Del Rio tossed Reigns into the steps and gave him a superkick. Around this point, the referee called for a double count out. Lame.

    Del Rio tossed Ambrose in the ring but Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds. Ambrose slipped out of a pop-up powerbomb and Reigns hit Owens with a spear. Afterwards, Ambrose and Reigns both went out to look at the WWE Title at ringside and eventually bumped fists again.

    Final Thoughts:

    This show sucked. Four of the matches were under five minutes, and the main event, which was promoted all night, ended in a double count out. Nothing on this show mattered.

    Enjoy Survivor Series.

  • F4D 11/18: Lance Storm talks Charlotte Raw angle, retro Nitro the start of the fall and more!

    Figure Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm returns today with tons to talk about including the Charlotte/Paige angle from Raw Monday, Lance’s alternate take on it, what he has told his students about how to handle it if he passes away, some notes on the retro Nitro for this week and how Christ Jericho saw it all coming, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

    Right click save

  • WOL 11/18: Charlotte promo, John Cena’s whereabouts, Les Thatcher talks Bockwinkel and more!

    Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today after a disastrous storm in Seattle to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA, everything from the Charlotte promo on Raw to Emma’s cooking show and the whereabouts of John Cena. Les Thatcher also joins us to talk Don Fargo, Nick Bockwinkel and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

    Right click save