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  • WWE Smackdown results: Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho

    – Air Date: June 9, 2016
    – Location: Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, KS

    – The Big News:

    Chris Jericho beat Dean Ambrose.

    – Show Recap:

    The Club Speaks

    The Club came out to start the show as the announcers plugged Money in the Bank. Both Ranallo and Lawler said it was shaping up to be the greatest MITB ever. That was followed by AJ Styles saying the same thing moments later.

    Styles said people were comparing Money in the Bank to WrestleMania, not just because Gallows and Anderson are fighting for the tag titles, but because of the dream match between himself and John Cena. He reminded us this could be the last time we see it because of the brand split. The crowd chanted “Cena” and there was no anti-Cena chant in response.

    Styles said the past decade has been the Cena era, but it was time for a change, and the new era will begin when he takes out Cena. Styles said when he came to WWE, he let the company know that the Club was a package deal (revisionist history). He said they have dominated everywhere, he would beat Cena, and Gallows and Anderson would become the new tag champions.

    They were interrupted by Enzo and Cass. Enzo did his usual promo. Cass said they would be the ones to win the titles, and he called Gallows and Anderson the “Mr. Clean dream team.” Anderson cut them off and said they’ve been all over the world for years proving that they’re the best. Anderson asked Enzo what he was doing all that time and mocked him for being the manager of a Hooters.

    Enzo said yeah, of course he managed a Hooters, he’s a G. Gallows mocked him for going to sleep the last time they had a big match, and Styles actually started dancing like Enzo. Enzo said he risks it all every time he steps in the ring, he and Cass are all-in, they came here to get money, and at Money in the Bank they would beat the crap out of the Club. Cass called them soft.

    Side note: There was a graphic on the stage for MITB, saying it was “a week from this Sunday.” They can’t just put the date?

    Gallows & Anderson (w/AJ Styles) NC Enzo & Cass

    The match started after a break, and New Day were at commentary. Big E said they brought a broom because they were going to clean up the tag division, which they called a mess. The Club worked over Enzo for a while when the Vaudevillains walked out on stage as they went to commercial.

    Enzo nailed a tornado DDT on Gallows and made the hot tag to Cass, who hit Anderson with a fallaway slam, big boot and elbow drop. Gallows broke up the cover, so Cass booted him out of the ring. Anderson dumped out Cass and the Vaudevillains made their way down the ramp, so New Day left commentary to go after them.

    The fight spilled into the ring, all four teams brawled, and the referee called for the bell. The segment ended with Enzo and Cass knocking the Vaudevillains out of the ring and standing tall, while New Day stared down the Club as they slowly backed away up the ramp.

    They played the Muhammad Ali tribute video. Before it aired, Mauro Ranallo put over Ali as a three-time champion and called him a paragon of philanthropy. Jerry Lawler was grateful to have Ali in Memphis and said he told Lawler that he was the greatest of all time.

    Renee Young asked Rusev and Lana about Rusev backing down from Titus O’Neil. Lana thought that was ridiculous. Rusev called himself the greatest of all time, not Muhammad Ali. Lots of heat. O’Neil interrupted, offended Rusev compared himself to Ali. O’Neil quoted Ali and told Rusev he was taking the U.S. Title.

    Kevin Owens & Alberto Del Rio beat Cesaro & Sami Zayn via pinfall

    Owens started with Zayn when Del Rio tagged himself in. Del Rio worked on his own for a while, but when he went to tag out, Owens told him he was doing a great job and left. As Owens walked backwards up the ramp, giving Del Rio two thumbs up, Zayn ran after him. Owens then sprinted to the back, which was funny.

    That left Cesaro alone with Del Rio. Cesaro gave him a cannonball off the apron, jumped on the announce table to celebrate, and high-fived Ranallo. After a break, Lawler called Ranallo a homer for high-fiving Cesaro. After Cesaro hit a suplex, Zayn and Owens brawled back down the ramp. Zayn rolled Owens in the ring and he got into an argument with Del Rio.

    Del Rio was about to leave, so Owens cut him off. Zayn used the opportunity to hit Owens with a dive. Del Rio tossed Zayn into the barricade, Cesaro gave Del Rio a running uppercut and suplex on the black mats. Cesaro followed with a flying crossbody for a near fall. Cesaro went for the big swing, but Owens superkicked him, Zayn suplexed Owens, Del Rio kicked Zayn, and Cesaro uppercut Del Rio.

    Cesaro did the uppercut train on Del Rio and applied the sharpshooter, but let go to get rid of Owens. He tried a superplex on Del Rio, but Owens tripped him off the top. That allowed Del Rio to hit the double foot stomp. As soon as he did, Owens pulled Del Rio out of the ring, tossed him into the barricade, and pinned Cesaro for the win. Really good match that went about 14 minutes.

    Becky Lynch (w/Natalya) beat Dana Brooke (w/Charlotte) via submission

    Quickly into the match, Brooke slapped Natalya, but before Natalya could retaliate, Charlotte tackled her. The referee kicked them out. Lynch was distracted, so Brooke got a near fall with a school boy. Brooke tried her finisher, but Lynch rolled through and applied the Disarmer for the tapout win. Match was 3 minutes and was the only women’s segment on the show.

    Life Lessons with Darren Young

    Bob Backlund wanted to see how Young would celebrate a win. Young thought maybe the millions of dollars dance, or a moonwalk. Backlund told him to be down to earth and save his money. Young agreed to save his money, and asked Backlund how he’s saved his money. Backlund deadpanned, “This is my only pair of clothes.” This segment was… slightly better than usual.

    Baron Corbin beat Kalisto via pinfall

    Corbin won in 3 minutes with the End of Days. Dolph Ziggler was on commentary and kept calling Corbin “kid” and also a millennial.

    Throughout the show, they aired about 3 or 4 clips from the Ambrose-Jericho feud to hype tonight’s main event. Before the main event, the announcers again put over MITB as a huge show, calling the two main events WrestleMania caliber.

    Backstage skit with Sheamus and friends

    Sheamus was watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on TV (or a trailer anyway), as Zack Ryder, Goldust, R-Truth and Summer Rae stood there too for some reason. Sheamus informed them that he plays a giant rhinoceros, and Ryder joked it must’ve been hard for Sheamus to get into character. Sheamus had a funny comeback, saying Ryder dresses up in his bedroom like a Ninja Turtle, but he was actually in the movie.

    Sheamus put himself over as a star, like the new Rock, when Apollo Crews joined and got in his face. Sheamus asked if he was starstruck, so Crews punched him in the face, putting Sheamus on his ass. Crews left, Truth made a joke, and they all laughed. Sheamus threw boxes at them and yelled.

    Chris Jericho beat Dean Ambrose via pinfall

    Jericho was pissed about the thumbtacks, so he slapped Ambrose. He then ran away from Ambrose who chased after, eventually hitting a clothesline and chops. As Jericho got some offense, he yelled some more, claiming it was 69 thumbtacks pulled out of him. Ambrose came back with a suicide dive and tried a Dirty Deeds on the announce table, but Jericho countered and catapulted him off.

    Jericho had control after a break as the crowd chanted “Let’s go Ambrose.” Ambrose made a comeback but Jericho cut him off with a flying enziguri. Ambrose used a la magistral cradle for a near fall.

    They countered each other’s finishers, when Jericho whipped Ambrose toward the turnbuckles. However, Ambrose had to stop himself from running into the referee, and when he turned around, Jericho hit the Codebreaker for the win. Huh.

    The match was about 14 minutes. Jericho set up a ladder in the corner and tried to toss Ambrose into it, but Ambrose reversed and tossed Jericho into it instead. Ambrose then dropped the ladder onto Jericho’s back. Ambrose was about to leave but stopped as the crowd chanted “one more time.” Ambrose stood up the ladder, climbed it, and hit Jericho with an elbow drop. Ambrose stood tall.

    – Final Thoughts:

    The first half of the show was pretty good, as the tag match with Owens/Del Rio vs. Cesaro/Zayn was actually before the top of the hour. The main event was good enough, but I hated the finish.

    Ambrose and Jericho feuded for months, leading to Ambrose getting the big win in the finale. They’ve protected Ambrose since losing to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, and not only did Ambrose beat Jericho in their blow-off match, he won the first one too.

    Having Jericho beat Ambrose randomly a few weeks later is pretty dumb, and a sign that they can’t handle a feud with 6 guys. They just keep fighting each other on every show and none of the results matter. They’re all still in the ladder match at MITB no matter what the result of any of these matches.

    They could’ve had Ambrose beat Del Rio, and put Jericho in the tag match instead. Or, Ambrose could’ve just beaten Jericho again. I certainly don’t think Jericho should be “putting over” everyone, but there’s nothing wrong with the story that Chris Jericho simply cannot beat Dean Ambrose.

  • WWE Tulsa, OK, live results: Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens

    Submtted by Ron Brooks

    – Dudleyz vs Enzo and Cass

    Bubba took a little boy’s sign and threatened to tear it up pre-match. Enzo saved the day and grabbed it, returning it. Fairly basic tag match. Enzo and Cass win with the big splash.

    – Viktor vs Jack Swagger

    Big pop for the hometown hero. Back and forth standard offensive the whole match. Pretty lengthy. Swagger wins with a Swagger Bomb.

    – Darren Young vs Apollo Crews

    Only big move Crews hit was the standing moonsault. Darren attempted a somersault pin which Apollo reversed to get the pin and win.

    – Video of Kevin Owens backstage trash talking Ambrose saying he’s going to beat him. He gets a call from his mother who says Ambrose will beat him. In a fury, KO says Ambrose doesn’t stand a chance.

    – The Wyatt Family vs Kane and Big Show

    Rowan and Braun dominated the whole match until they both tried to get involved. Kane tossed out Braun and Show KO Punched Rowan for the win.

    – Lana and Dana Brooke vs Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch w/Summer Rae as special ref

    Glad to see the ladies getting time. The only thing that didn’t make much sense was Summer Rae as ref. Becky locked in the Disarm-her on Lana for the win while Sasha had Dana in the Bank Statement.

    – WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day vs The Vaudevillians

    Both sides got in good offense. The Vaudevillians hit the Whirling Dervish but New Day still pulled it off with Big E hitting the big ending with the assist from Xavier.

    – Dean Ambrose vs Kevin Owens

    Fun match. For a night where not a lot happened outside the ring, both went out a couple of times. KO teased Byron Saxton and even took his chair to use but  Dean hit Dirty Deeds for the win.

  • WWE Winnipeg, MB, live results: Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose street fight

    Submitted by Rohan Unrau

    Byron Saxton was our host/ ring announcer.

    – Big Show def. Erick Rowan

    The Vintner came to the ring accompanied by Braun Strowman. Roughly 5 minutes of clumsy power spots with interference from Stroman backfiring, leading to the knockout punch on Rowan for the pin.  Show chokeslammed Stroman after.  Basically a squash with some quick heat spots.

    – Epico def. Sin Cara

    Both Colons came out and did some old-school local city trash talking, saying how great Puerto Rico is. Another quick match, Sin Cara botched a rana within the first 20 seconds, but no one seemed to care. Epico won with a distraction roll-up. A bit more entertaining than the opener.

    – Cesaro def. Baron Corbin 

    Uppercuts, swing, sharpshooter.  Not much else to this.

    – WWE Tag Champions The New Day def. The Vaudevillians

    New Day was the 2nd most over act of the night after Jericho. This match was almost an exact duplicate of the Extreme Rules match.

    – During intermission, Saxton plugs Money In The Bank on the Network, and didn’t mention $9.99 since in Canada, it’s $11.99.

    – Paige, Becky Lynch & Sasha Banks vs. Dana Brooke, Lana and Summer Rae 

    Babyfaces win when Sasha tapped out Summer with the Bank Statement.

    – U.S. Champion Rusev vs. Kalisto vs. Alberto Del Rio

    ADR was quite over and got the “Ci” chant going a few times. ADR hits the Tree Of Woe stomp on Kalisto, Rusev throws ADR out of the ring and instantly slaps on the Accolade and torques back for the immediate tap.  My favorite match of the night. Both Lucha Dragons lost, leading to a “Loser Dragons” chant.  Get that t-shirt ready.

    – Street Fight: Chris Jericho vs. Dean Ambrose

    Jericho comes out first to a huge pop, and was a total babyface the whole match. He got on the mike immediately and put over Winnipeg, talked about growing up here, gave a backhanded compliment to Winnipeg’s old crappy arena that was torn down years ago.  He told the story of the origins of “I’m from Winnipeg You idiot.”  In the middle of his catchphrase, Ambrose’s music hit.  He has a great heel run in him as he embraced the heel role. 

    They did a few kendo stick and chair spots. That’s about as hardcore as it got. They had about 15 minutes, and Jericho won with a chair-assisted codebreaker.  After, he got back on the mike and finished his ‘neeeever eeeeeever’ catchphrase.

    Pretty entertaining, albeit predictable show. I estimate the house was probably around 6000 people, about 60-65% were children, so of course, all the babyfaces were super over.

  • WWE Reading, PA, live results: AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens; Dean Ambrose vs. Rusev

    Submitted by Danny West (Thanks to Joe Collins as well)

    – WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day over Vaudevillians

    New Day warmed up the crowd well. Also, the sky is blue. This was the epitome of face/heel work. People loved New Day, hated Vaudevillians. Was a fun start to the show.

    – Apollo Crews over Curtis Axel

    Crews got a lot more love here than he’s been getting on TV, but still a little lukewarm for someone of his ability. Axel worked the crowd very well as a cowardly heel. Amazing how much better he is when he isn’t surrounded by the rest of the Outcasts.

    – Jack Swagger over Viktor

    Reading is a working class bunch, so they get onboard with an American even if he’s pretty irrelevant in the big picture these days. Short, predictable, but functional

    – Goldust over Tyler Breeze

    Fandango interfered at one point, but Goldust still prevailed. Decent contest. After the match, Fandango and Breeze beat on Golddust. R-Truth (of course) came to the rescue. Crowd chanted “Golden Truth.”

    – Big Show/Kane over Rowan/Strowman

    Big Show got the 2nd biggest pop of the night. Kane got the 3rd biggest. This was a very playful affair with lots of Big Show goofiness. Crowd was obviously appreciative of his tenure in the business. The older guys were super super over. It was a nice change of pace from the “Please retire” chants they sometimes get.

    AJ Styles over Kevin Owens

    KO was messing with kids, ruining signs, etc. Styles did his usual amazing stuff, You would never know his ankle isn’t 100%. Phenomenal Forearm won it after a long and strong bout. AJ brought a previously heckled KO kid from the aisle into the ring to introduce him. Kid had a Roman Reigns shirt, but AJ Styles gloves. He told AJ on the mic that he liked both of them. AJ said, “That’s alright with me.” Great moment.

    Intermission

    – Becky Lynch over Summer Rae

    Yay for Becky winning something. Armbar tap out. She got a great crowd reaction.

    – US Champion Kalisto over Alberto Del Rio and Cesaro

    Crowd was into all three of these guys. Lots of antics out of Cesaro. Lots of Kalisto’s usual “whoa” moments. Finish was especially good. Kalisto’s finish happened after he used his feet to rebound Cesaro out of the ring and over Del Rio’s head. Great match.

    – Dean Ambrose over Rusev (w/Lana)

    Lana introduced Rusev and did some promo for Extreme Rules. Dean’s pop was huge — by far the biggest of the night. Rusev didn’t get a ton of heat until he berated America. “USA” chants were straight out of 1991. Rebound lariat, Dirty Deeds, pin. Lana was ejected from ringside for being a nuisance.

  • WWE Roanoke, VA, live results: Kalisto vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Rusev title match

    Submitted by Chris Cawley

    – Kane and Big Show over Erik Rowan & Braun Strowman

    Crowd was real hot for Big Show face to face to Strowman. Strowman screwed up slightly setting up hot tag with Kane. Match went about 15 minutes nothing special but crowd was hot. Show pinned Rowan for the win. Afterward Kane and Show double choke slammed Strowman.

    – Sin Cara over Viktor of the Ascension

    More than expected from these two. Crowd was real hot for Sin Cara.

    – Titus O’ Neil and Jack Swagger over Social Outcasts (Bo Dallas/Curtis Axel) w/Heath Slater ringside.

    Match went about 15 minutes.

    – Becky Lynch, Paige & Sasha Banks over Dana Brooke, Lana & Eva Marie

    Finish came with all 3 face women making the heel women tap out at the same time with their respective submission finishing holds. Crowd popped huge for finish.

    Intermission

    – Goldust over Fandango

    Finish of the match came when Tyler Breeze came down to interfere, R Truth came to even odds. Goldust then got pin on Fandango.

    – WWE Tag Team Champions New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods) over Vaudevillians 

    Crowd had probably biggest pop so far for New Day entrance. Solid match. No Kofi Kingston.

    – US Champion Kalisto vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Rusev

    Ambrose got the biggest pop of the night by far when he came out. A lot spots outside the ring. Lana was ringside to start the match. At one point, Rusev got on microphone during match and got great heat from crowd. Match was spot fest from beginning to end. Ambrose hit dirty deeds, Lana distracted ref, Ambrose got slapped, Rusev super kicked Ambrose then Lana got tossed. Kalisto then pinned Rusev. Afterwards, Ambrose and Kalisto shook hands and celebrated together.

    Overall, a fun show. Bray Wyatt and Kevin Owens were heavily promoted to be here but weren’t. 

  • WWE Smackdown results: Cesaro & Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens & The Miz

    – Air Date: May 12, 2016
    – Location: Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, IA

    – The Big News:

    Chris Jericho laid out Dean Ambrose, Rusev laid out the Lucha Dragons, Gallows and Anderson laid out The Usos, and Fandango and Tyler Breeze laid out Goldust and R-Truth. Also, the main event ended with some guys getting laid out.

    – Show Recap:

    They announced The Usos vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson for tonight, with Roman Reigns and AJ Styles banned from ringside.

    Dean Ambrose came out to start the show.

    Ambrose said he has owed a lot people money before, but Jericho wanted $15,000 for his jacket and he’s not getting it. They’re even as far as Ambrose is concerned after Jericho destroyed his plant.

    More importantly, Ambrose was pissed about Jericho trying to take his career away. Ambrose’s wrestling career is all he has because he won’t be interviewing Carrot Top on some podcast. Ambrose wondered if he should destroy more of Jericho’s clothes or shave his hair, but instead would destroy his ego. When Ambrose is done with him, Jericho is going to wonder if wrestling is even for him anymore.

    Jericho’s music hit and the lights went out for his entrance, but when they came back on, Ambrose was laid out as Jericho stood over him. Jericho pulled a straight jacket out of a bag and strapped on Ambrose. Ambrose tried struggling out of it as Jericho mocked him for being “crazy.”

    Jericho then beat down a helpless Ambrose as the crowd booed. Ambrose tried fighting back, but Jericho resorted to an eye poke and hit a Codebreaker. Officials finally ran down to assist, but as Ambrose slowly got to his feet, Jericho gave him another Codebreaker.

    Jericho stood on the announce table and gave the crowd the gift of Jericho. Really good angle. My only nitpick was that Ambrose suddenly being laid out when the lights turned on felt pretty fake.

    Backstage, Rusev yelled and pushed stuff over, and Lana yelled too while following behind.

    Rusev (w/Lana) beat Sin Cara via submission

    Lana did Rusev’s introduction, and Kalisto was on commentary. As they showed a replay of Sin Cara defeating Rusev on Raw, Kalisto said Rusev is always relying on Lana and he’s tired of it. Oh really? Kalisto continued about Rusev’s anger and was just awful. It was beyond stupid putting him back on commentary.

    As Sin Cara made his comeback, Lana chucked water in Kalisto’s face, so Kalisto got up to confront her. Rusev (the hero) left the ring, ran up behind Kalisto and kicked him, jumped back in the ring, hit a side kick on Sin Cara, and applied the Accolade for the win. Rusev single-handedly picked apart the Lucha Dragons. The match itself was over in about 2 minutes. Rusev stood over Kalisto with the US title.

    Backstage, Renee Young asked Emma about Dana Brooke, who suddenly showed up. Brooke said Renee obviously doesn’t watch the Network and called herself a bodybuilding champion. Renee wanted to know why she attacked Becky Lynch. Brooke basically said the fans don’t appreciate Emma even though they adore Lynch. Brooke told Renee that after tonight, she wouldn’t be asking who Dana Brooke was, but would be asking “Whatever happened to Becky Lynch?” This was fine.

    Dana Brooke (w/Emma) beat Becky Lynch via pinfall

    Jerry Lawler was happy to hear that Brooke is from Cleveland. With Lynch draped over the bottom rope, Brooke distracted the referee, allowing Emma to poke Lynch right in the eye. Brooke followed with a jackknife cover for the win after about 3-4 minutes. This wasn’t good, and the finish was weak even with Lynch’s eye injury. Still, Emma deliberately poking Lynch in her bad eye was pretty damn funny.

    Backstage, Styles told Gallows and Anderson that he’ll be out there if Reigns decided to show up at ringside. He told them to take care of club business.

    New Day came out for a promo. Kofi Kingston said the Vaudevillains put their noses where they didn’t belong on Monday. Big E was about to say they put their noses up their asses, but Kingston and Woods stopped him from swearing. He tried to swear later and they stopped him again.

    New Day tried to make jokes about Kanye West and the crowd was dead silent. They were interrupted by the Vaudevillains who said they would outsmart their loudmouth opponents, and Aiden English sang that they would be the new champions. This came off really poorly for New Day, and this has to be the least a crowd was into them in a long time.

    Aiden English (w/Simon Gotch) beat Kofi Kingston (w/Big E & Xavier Woods) via pinfall

    As Kingston made a comeback, there were some light “New Day rocks” chants. Big E and Woods stopped Gotch from interfering, so the referee tossed them all out. Moments later, Kingston tried a sunset flip, but English dropped down for the cover while grabbing the rope for the pinfall win. Lame.

    Backstage, Roman Reigns told the Usos to represent the “bloodline” and said he would be there if Styles showed up.

    The Usos beat Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson via DQ

    As they worked over Jimmy Uso, Mauro Ranallo did a terrific job putting over Gallows and Anderson and their accolades. Jey made a hot tag and ran wild, but was cut off by a Gallows big boot outside the ring as Anderson distracted the referee.

    After a break, the Club worked over Jey as some young fans chanted “Let’s go Usos,” which was met with an “Usos suck” chant by a different segment of the audience. Jey caught Gallows with a superkick and made the hot tag.

    Jimmy ran wild on Anderson and hit a superkick and splash. He had the match won but Gallows pulled him out of the ring (just barely on time). Gallows tossed him over the announce table for the DQ, so the Jey hit him with a dive.

    Anderson tossed Jey into the steps and followed with a rocket kick. Jimmy jumped him from behind, but Gallows nailed him with a chair. Anderson followed by hitting Jey with the chair. With both Usos down, the Club posed and Gallows yelled, “This is what the club is all about!”

    There was no explanation for Reigns not coming out here to save his family. It didn’t matter that he was banned because the the match was over. Otherwise, this was good for Gallows and Anderson.

    There was a new vignette with Darren Young and Bob Backlund.

    Backlund asked Young what time it says on his watch. Young pulled out his smartphone to get the time, which Backlund couldn’t comprehend.

    Young said he has everything on his phone (email, alerts, calendar) and nobody wears watches anymore. Oh, come on. Backlund said Young should put his mail in the mailbox and his calendar on the wall. Young reiterated he has it all on his phone, so Backlund made him do squats. This is still really bizarre, but Backlund yelling about the mail was amusing.

    Tyler Breeze & R-Truth beat Goldust & Fandango via pinfall

    A few sad fans still do the Fandango dance during his entrance. Truth tagged in immediately, so Fandango tagged in Goldust. Goldust reluctantly got in the ring as the crowd chanted “Golden Truth.” They faced off but didn’t touch, as Tyler Breeze yelled at Truth to hit Goldust.

    Truth tagged in Breeze, who pushed Truth out of the ring. Breeze was about to go after Goldust, who had his back turned, but Fandango saved him. It was a swerve though, as Fandango blindsided Goldust with a clothesline. Breeze seemed surprised, but smiled and covered Goldust for the pinfall win.

    Afterwards, Fandango and Breeze beat down Goldust. Truth tried to make a save, but they cut him off immediately and beat him down too. Goldust tried to cover Truth to take the brunt of the beating. Fandango and Breeze stood tall as the crowd booed. This was a perfectly acceptable low-card angle.

    They announced “The Shining Stars,” Primo and Epico, would debut on Raw.

    Backstage, Charlotte told Renee that what they did to her father (Ric Flair) on Raw was a travesty. Flair said he’s taught Charlotte everything she knows, that he would be there in spirit (at Extreme Rules), and she would go on to another Flair victory. Flair was perfect here, reminding us this match is to be taken seriously.

    Kevin Owens & IC Champion The Miz (w/Maryse) beat Cesaro & Sami Zayn

    The Miz came out last. Lawler really hates Zayn’s hat. Also, Lawler quipped that Owens hates to lose so much that he doesn’t even want to lose weight. As Miz made his entrance, Owens grabbed Byron Saxton’s headset and said he was giving Miz one last chance to be a good tag partner, but at Extreme Rules, he was taking his title back. He then demanded Saxton talk good about him.

    Cesaro and Zayn both wanted to start the match. Cesaro got his wish and immediately used some impressive offense on Miz. Owens told Miz he could do better, so he tagged in, but Cesaro tagged in Zayn. Owens tried to tag out but Miz jumped down and told him to do better.

    Zayn hit punches in the corner but Miz tagged himself in. Zayn got the better of him too so Miz escaped the ring. Owens and Miz argued, so Cesaro hit Owens with a cannonball off the apron and Zayn nailed Miz with a dive.

    After a break, Zayn went after Miz on the outside but Maryse got in his way, allowing Owens to knock him down from behind. They worked over Zayn until he came back with a big clothesline and blue thunder bomb on Miz.

    Cesaro made the hot tag and hit Owens with uppercuts, uppercuts, a dropkick and crossbody for two. Miz jumped in to attack Cesaro. Zayn tried to hit Miz with the Helluva kick, but Miz moved and Zayn caught Cesaro instead. Miz pulled Zayn out of the ring, and Owens hit Cesaro with a Frog Splash for the win. Good match and I liked the finish.

    Afterwards, Owens gave Zayn the pop-up powerbomb and Miz gave Owens the skull crushing finale. Miz stood tall with the Intercontinental title to end the show.

    – Final Thoughts:

    Not a bad show. It reminded me a bit of Raw in that there was good action but the angles were repetitive, just in a different way.

  • WWE Paris, France, live results: HHH & Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose & Sami Zayn

    Submitted by Pierre Froide from the Accors Hotel Arena

    – WWE Intercontinental Champion MIz (w/ Maryse) def. Dolph Ziggler 

    – Alberto Del Rio def. Damian Sando

    ADR won with the cross armbreaker in a squash. After the match, ADR asked for a better opponent and issued an open challenge. Well…

    – Fandango def. Alberto Del Rio via roll up in approximately 60 seconds

    – Natalya, Alicia Fox, Eva Marie and Paige def. Team BAD (Naomi and Tamina), Summer Rae and Lana

    End came when Paige got the pin on Tamina

    – AJ Styles def. Chris Jericho with the Styles Clash

    – Goldust def Curtis Axel

    Accompanying Axel tonight? “Honorary Social Outcast member” Viktor. After the match, Outcasts attacked Goldust. R-Truth made the save and offered a handshake to Goldust, who accepted it.

    – Big Show and Kane def. Erick Rowan & Braun Strowman

    Strowman recieved a double chokeslam after the match.

    – WWE US Champion Kalisto def. Ryback with the Salina del Sol

    – Dean Ambrose and Sami Zayn def. Triple H & Kevin Owens

    Ambrose pinned Triple H.

    Biggest pops: 

    • Ambrose
    • Triple H
    • Big Show

    Biggest boos:

    • Miz
    • Del Rio
    • Eva Marie

  • WWE Smackdown results: Dean Ambrose turns water into wine against The Vintner

    AJ Styles def. Heath Slater w/ Social Outcasts by pinfall

    The Outcasts truly are the Caucasian New Day; pre-match promos are absolutely obligatory even when there is nothing funny or interesting to say. The Andre The Giant Battle Royale fodder babble about how there is only one of AJ and four of them. Curtis Axel creatively dubs his group the “Phenomenal Four” (Rose: “You must have really racked your brains for that one…”), before Bo Dallas one-ups him with the pun-derful (Mauro’s words) “Four-nomenal”.

    These two only got five minutes to do their thing, but the so-called Crimson Werewolf managed to get in plenty of offence in that time. AJ’s shine was quickly cut off by interference from Axel, who tripped him on the apron to allow Slater to assume control.

    Slater’s heat drills home why the company only sees him as enhancement talent and nothing more; all kicks, knees, chinlocks and stomps. Unfortunately this offensive offence takes up the majority of the match; AJ’s comeback is as brief as his shine and most notable for Jerry Lawler’s excitement prior to Mauro Ranallo’s inevitable call of the ushigoroshi.

    The finish saw AJ hit the Pele Kick to a meddling Adam Rose on the apron (which Lawler later refers to as the “miso soup dropkick” during the replays), followed by the unfortunately monikered Phenomenal Forearm for the three count.

    – We then cut live to Renee and Robo-Byron at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, where they are primed to hit us with all the hype and video packages we can handle. Renee asks Byron if he ever thought that Shane McMahon would make his return to the WWE. Someone then presses the button to enact Byron’s pre-programmed response, thus leading us into the talking heads hype video for Shane/Taker on Sunday night.

    – A very brief mention of NXT’s Takeover show on Friday night prefaces another Renee/Byron discussion, where the latter bleeps and bloops about Ambrose’s lack of fear. Quoth the Robot: “Imagine you’re in a neighbourhood, right? And you know Brock Lesnar’s coming to town and you turn off the lights….you hide under the bed! Ambrose is the guy sitting under his porch saying ‘Hey, come to my house, Brock! Come over here!’”. Gremlins in the system, I guess.

    – Props to Motorhead (now sans head) are delivered for the use of their “Sympathy For The Devil” track for ‘Mania. Robo-Byron opines that listening to it is likely to get one’s “HEAD in the game”. Data trying to understand humour springs to mind.

    – A recap of the Reigns/Authority capers from RAW airs, followed by a video package seeking to explain Snoop Dogg’s induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. WWE is now truly a “doggy dogg world” apparently. Yes, that was the actual last line of the package.

    D-Von Dudley w/Bubba Ray def. Jey Uso w/Jimmy by pinfall

    Another five minute match here, with the aim of teeing up Sunday’s pre-show match for “tag team supremacy” (presumably). Jey starts us off by punching D-Von “like he’s full of candy” in the corner, according to Mauro.

    Quickly into the heat as Jey gets posted and cracked with a Bubba right hand while the ref is distracted. D-Von lays down his usual offence, before missing a top rope diving headbutt to allow Jey back into the contest.

    Said comeback culminates in a superplex attempt from the Uso. Jimmy dives off the steps to prevent Bubba from meddling again, but can’t stop D-Von from clumsily escaping, tripping Jey and hitting Ron “Damn” Simmons’ spinebuster for the pin. Mauro tells us that D-Von has dubbed the move the RDS in Simmons’ honour. Nice.

    – Renee and Byron stay hyped by previewing the Divas title match and bigging up the WWE 24 documentary on Daniel Bryan’s final day as a professional wrestler. They then throw to a recap video of Kofi Kingston’s victory over Alberto Del Rio on RAW, followed by Coach’s appearance to hype Sportscenter’s all day ‘Mania coverage.

    – Final video package of the night centres around the oh-so-cold WWE title program, culminating with a match graphic that does not yet reflect the rumoured no-DQ stipulation; a well-established crutch for the most insecure man in professional wrestling. Hey, at least he can say he main evented the biggest Wrestlemania of all time…

    Dean Ambrose def. Erick Rowan by pinfall

    The Vintner enters the arena with his pals Bray and Braun, who rather confusingly disappear to the back before the match starts. This is a good tune-up match for Dean on paper, given Rowan’s extensive no holds barred experience against the legendary Brody Hoofer back in the day.

    This, for my money, was unquestionably Rowan’s best singles match in the WWE; comfortably outstripping anything from his unfortunate babyface run two years ago. It went 15 minutes, if you include the action during the commercial break, and remained engaging throughout.

    Dean has the advantage leading into said break courtesy of a flying clothesline from the apron, but Rowan is in control when we get back; channeling Lucha Underground’s Matanza with a big spinning powerslam.

    Dean’s comeback starts off the back of Erick’s deadly signature double noogie, but he’s quickly cut off by a big boot and a spinning forearm from the second rope. Alas, Rowan is silly enough to go to the well a second time, which allows Dean to scurry over and hit a massive superplex!

    The workrate continues as Rowan bumps to the outside off a dropkick, before eating a tope suicida and a top rope elbow. There’s also a nice spot in the nearfalls segment where Dean escapes a pumphandle slam attempt and looks for his stupid seesaw clothesline, only to get creamed with a uranage sideslam for two.

    The finish sees Rowan get frustrated after his spinning heel kick fails to put the lunatic away. He slaps Dean repeatedly, ordering him to stay down, until Dean eventually hits the ropes, pops back with the seesaw clothesline and then finishes with the Dirty Deeds to send him on his way to Dallas.

    – The show closes with Stone Cold Steve Austin flapping his gums backstage with a member of WWE staff ahead of his impending live podcast with Mick Foley.

    Final Thoughts

    Pretty lame show if you watched it live, given that it only contained 20 minutes of actual wrestling and served to function mainly as a two-hour Wrestlemania hype vehicle. The main event was surprisingly good though; credit to Dean for pulling a good match out of such an opponent and to Rowan for playing his part.

  • WWE Smackdown results: Sami Zayn & Neville vs. Kevin Owens & Miz

    – Air Date: March 10, 2016 (Mar 9 in Canada)
    – Location: Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI

    – The Big News:

    Sami Zayn made his Smackdown debut and Chris Jericho explained why he turned on AJ Styles.

    – Show Recap:

    They announced The Wyatts vs. Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler and The Usos as the main event.

    The Miz came out for MizTV and introduced Sami Zayn. He asked Zayn to tell us about himself, but as Zayn started, Miz yelled “cut!” repeatedly and asked him to get to the good stuff and make it more dramatic.

    Zayn was annoyed, but continued, saying he and Kevin Owens started 13 years ago in Montreal. They traveled the world and made it this far by sticking together. They weren’t just friends, it was like a brotherhood, and Zayn was even the best man at Owens’ wedding.

    Zayn said Owens debuted the night he won the NXT Title, and the powerbomb on the apron caused a lot of the injuries that led to his shoulder surgery. Zayn said the thing that hurts most is that he doesn’t understand why Owens did it.

    Owens came out (but never got in the ring) and said he’s already explained why he turned on Zayn – it was all business, but Zayn made it personal when he eliminated Owens from the Rumble. Zayn said he was going to take the Intercontinental Title from Owens at WrestleMania.

    Owens told him that wasn’t happening because this is the Kevin Owens show. Zayn challenged him to a fight right now since they were both there. Owens said Zayn didn’t deserve a fight with him and was about leave, but Neville interrupted. Neville said he and Owens had unfinished business, and the IC Title would look good around his waist.

    Miz said Zayn and Neville don’t deserve a title shot, but he does, because he main evented WrestleMania while those two were main eventing bingo halls. Zayn informed Miz that his years main eventing Mania are far behind him. Miz attacked him from behind, but Zayn fought back and Miz bailed. Good segment. Owens and Zayn were both great.

    Sami Zayn & Neville beat The Miz & Kevin Owens via pinfall

    Zayn and Owens never touched. There was a bit early where Neville tagged in Zayn with Owens in the ring, but Owens quickly scrambled to tag out. The heels got the heat on Neville, but Zayn made the hot tag and hit Miz with a springboard crossbody, ten punches in the corner and tornado DDT. Zayn waited for Miz to tag Owens but Owens bailed. Zayn hit Miz with an Exploder suplex into the turnbuckle and a Helluva Kick for the win. Good match.

    Toilet humour segment with Goldust and R-Truth. Goldust still doesn’t want to be his partner. Afterwards, they aired a video package for the Triple H-Dean Ambrose stuff.

    Brie Bella beat Summer Rae via submission

    Lana joined commentary by sitting on top of the announcer’s table, not in a chair. Saxton wanted to know why she attacked Brie on Raw and Lana told him to shut up. Brie did Yes kicks and won quickly with the Yes Lock and did the Yes chant afterwards. Summer tried to attack her, so Brie knocked her down, yelled “Brie mode!” and hit a running knee. Lana jumped in from behind and gave Brie an X-factor again, and did mocking Yes chants.

    They aired the Shane McMahon highlight package from Raw.

    Chris Jericho came out wearing dark maroon pants, a black blazer with no shirt, and a black scarf. He carried out a “Y2AJ” t-shirt, and the ring had a garbage can and lighter fluid in it already. Hmm I wonder what he’s planning. The crowd booed Jericho and he explained that he was mad at the fans for chanting for AJ Styles instead of him.

    Jericho said they’ve forgotten that he’s the best in the world. He said he can do whatever they want – be the world champion, work the opener, invent a new idea like Money in the Bank. He said they had a classic tag match on Raw but people still chanted for AJ. He’s been told many times that a new guy was coming in and would be a future world champion, only to disappear three months later.

    Jericho repeatedly admonished the crowd for chanting “AJ Styles.” He began pouring lighter fluid into the trashcan and said we were about to watch AJ’s career go up in flames. Jericho lit the shirt on the fire and tossed it in the can, which went up in flames. This resulted in a great visual, with Jericho standing the rising flames as he did mocking “AJ Styles” chants.

    This was really good. The only problem – every time Jericho got mad at the crowd for chanting “AJ Styles,” they weren’t really doing that. And a few people chanted “Y2J,” which kind of ruined the effect. Still, a good segment.

    They showed members of the Milwaukee Bucks at ringside and announced Big Bossman for the Hall of Fame.

    King Barrett & Sheamus (w/Rusev) beat Lucha Dragons via pinfall

    Barrett & Sheamus vs. New Day for the tag titles was announced for Roadblock in Toronto. Ryback was shown backstage watching the match. Kalisto took out Sheamus with a dive and Sin Cara had Barrett set up for a senton, but Rusev tossed him off the top and Barrett followed with a Bullhammer elbow for the pinfall win. Barrett did a forward roll in celebration. Backstage, Ryback called Lucha Dragons little guys and said size matters or whatever.

    They aired a clip of Seth Rollins winning the title at WrestleMania last year. After a break, they plugged The Rock for this year’s Mania and aired a video package for Shane and Vince. Shane’s brawl with security featured at least a dozen camera cuts.

    Backstage, Renee Young asked the Usos about the Dudley Boyz. They talked being 10 years old and watching the Dudleys in 1996, and that their recent actions were nothing new. They wanted to be like the Dudleys when they were growing up, but they no longer respect them. Ziggler and Ambrose jumped in and Renee asked if Ziggler was expecting and repercussions from The Authority.

    Ziggler said there would be, but he’s going to bring the fight tonight and referred to their team as “Milwaukee’s best.” Ambrose said he would beat Triple H for the title on Saturday, but tonight they were hunting dem Wyatt boys, one of his favourite things to do, and they all ran off together. This was good.

    8-Man Tag Match: Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler & The Usos beat Wyatt Family via pinfall

    Saxton said the Wyatt family were like clones of Bray, because “They exude the evil that’s flowing through the veins of the eater of worlds,” to which Lawler responded, “They do his bidding alright.”

    They had the heat on Ziggler until he hit Harper with a sunset flip powerbomb and jumping DDT. He made the hot tag to Jey Uso who hit Harper with a Samoan drop. Each Uso did running hip attacks to Harper and Rowan, and followed with dives. Jey tried a splash but Harper got his knees up.

    Jey made a hot tag to Ambrose who hit Rowan with a running forearm, bulldog and swinging neckbreaker. He did a flying elbow but Harper broke up the cover, so Jimmy took him out with a kick. Bray gave Jimmy a uranage and Ziggler superkicked Bray. Ziggler gave two superkicks to Strowman, but Strowman no-sold it and clotheslined him.

    Ambrose tossed Strowman out of the ring, and Rowan tried a school boy near fall. Ambrose ducked a spin knick and hit Dirty Deeds for the win. Bray stared a hole through Ambrose as the good guys celebrated to end the show.

    – Final Thoughts:

    This was a strong show, and a big improvement over the last two weeks. Zayn, Owens and Jericho were all great, and Ambrose came off like a star in the main event.

  • Wrestling Weekly: Shane Returns, Dean should’ve left, Roman gets graded

    There are a few things dominating most wresting conversations this week, and we’re all over them. Les and Vic start with Shane McMahon’s return to WWE, the myriad of directions this storyline can go, whether or not that’s a good thing and more. Vic gets on his soapbox about the match at Wrestlemania he has absolutely no interest in (18:58), and it involves someone who most people are big fans of. We then turn our attention to Roman Reigns (28:52); the show closing segment Monday night, whether or not Les believes a run as top babyface can be salvaged, could anyone have possibly believed Roman was going to get babyface sympathy when that segment was laid out, and what grade would you give Roman since he’s been a solo act for the last 20 months. Yes, this thing with him has been going on for 20 long months now. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!

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