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Tag: dean ambrose

  • WWE Fastlane 2016 live results: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose

    Welcome to the F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of WWE FastLane! Tonight’s show takes place at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland Ohio, which traditionally means bad news for The Miz.  The last stop before WWE Wrestlemania is here with the winner of tonight’s triple threat main event going to the big show to face WWE World Champion Triple H.   

    We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show as well as Friday’s Bellator show, so you can leave a thumbs up thumbs down or thumbs in the middle plus a best and worst match to Dave Meltzer.

    Your main card:

    • Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose
    • WWE Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler
    • WWE Divas Champion Charlotte vs. Brie Bella
    • Sasha Banks/Becky Lynch vs Tamina Snuka/Naomi
    • Chris Jericho vs. AJ Styles
    • Big Show/Ryback/Kane vs. The Wyatts (Braun Strowman/Erick Rowan/Luke Harper)
    • WWE U.S. Champion Kalisto vs. Alberto del Rio (2/3 falls, kickoff show)

    Also, Edge and Christian will interview WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day to help promo the debut of their new show after Fastlane.

    This is just the second ever Fastlane after last year’s debut show at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN. On that show, Reigns took on the recently retired Daniel Bryan in a no. 1 contender’s match. Also on that show. then-U.S. Champion Rusev downed John Cena by DQ, and Sting had a confrontation with HHH.

    KALISTO VS. ALBERTO DEL RIO FOR THE U.S. TITLE 2/3 FALLS

    Del Rio was disqualified in the first fall for hitting Kalisto with a chair as Kalisto went for a springboard move.  Del Rio won the second fall with a double foot stomp.  The third fall saw Del Rio miss the double foot stomp after doing it outside the ring.  Kalisto flipped Del Rio into the corner and schoolboyed him to take the third fall and retain.  This was a good match.

    SASHA BANKS & BECKY LYNCH VS. NAOMI & TAMINA

    Banks & Lynch won with a double submission with Banks with the bank statement on Tamina while Lynch used the disarmer on Naomi.  The first part of the match was pretty sloppy with Lynch getting beaten on but it got good when Banks was in.  Banks kicked out of the rear view and was also saved by Lynch when Tamina used a superkick.  The impression with the double win to me would be a three-way at Mania, but we’ll see.

    KEVIN OWENS VS. DOLPH ZIGGLER FOR THE IC TITLE

    Good match.  The crowd was pretty hot with it being in Cleveland which is Ziggler’s home town.  Owens retained and they said they were on the road to KO Mania.  There was some commentary talking about how Owens never beat Ambrose to win the title.  The finish was clean with Ziggler missing  a superkick and Owens using the pop up power bomb.

    BIG SHOW & KANE & RYBACK VS.  BRAUN STROWMAN & ERICK ROWAN & LUKE HARPER

    Show & Kane & Ryback won when Ryback pinned Harper clean with the shellshock.  The match was better than it sounds as it was solid even when Strowman and Rowan were in.  Show pressed Harper overhead and three him out of the ring on Rowan & Strowman.  It wasn’t a complete press.  Show then gave Strowman a great looking spear on the floor.

    Roman Reigns did a promo with JoJo.  The fans booed him a lot.  He vowed to win and said a lot of things will change with he and Ambrose.  Ambrose showed up and was cheered heavily.  Ambrose said one of them will be on the road to WrestleMania and the other will have to hitchhike.  Amborse said he’s already booked his travel on Priceline.  Amborse said that Lesnar won’t win but one of us will.  

    CHARLOTTE VS. BRIE BELLA FOR THE DIVAS TITLE

    The crowd was super behind Brie because of the Daniel Bryan sympathy.  In fact, they were super into this late, more than anything on the show so far when she got a near fall with the X-factor, as well as near submissions with the Yes lock and a half crab.  The story is that Brie hurt her left leg doing a missile dropkick, and she couldn’t continue the half crab and Charlotte powered out and Brie caught her neck on the roipes.  Charlotte then won with the figure eight.   Again, better than you’d think.  Rough early but the last few minutes were quite good.

    Chris Jericho did an interview and said Styles’ future rides in his hands because if he loses review to him it’ll be his second straight loss and it could derail him.   He made the wins and losses aspect of this match feel important.  

    A.J. STYLES VS. CHRIS JERICHO

    As far as the layout and intensith at the finish, this was great.  The crowd was super into it with dueling chants early as well as into it big the last few minutes.  Some spots were scary, some in a good way and just being off on a couple of spots inlcuding a Jericho power bomb spot where he dropped Styles in a scary way.  Some good innovative spots including a Styles plancha into a dropkick by Jericho on the floor.  The finish saw Jericho kick out of the Styles clash, which was weird doing it this early, and then Styles put him in the calf crusher and Jericho.  Jericho did a tremendous job selling the submission before he tapped.

    After the match Jericho stared him down and teased attacking him.  Jericho pulled back his fist and AJ respohnded but then Jericho offered his hand. 

    Edge & Christian were out with The New Day.  Edge & Christian plugged their TV show and Edge said he wanted to get serious for a minute and referenced Lance Storm.  The crowd chanted “JNew Day Rocks.”  Edge said when you showed up at first I’ve never seem so much chocolate sound so vanilla.  Said they copied every Edge & Christian segment, replacing awesomeness with booty, sunglasses with unicorn horns.  Said we don’t rip on sports teams and then said LeBooty James will never win a title in this city.  They made fun of Kingston dropping his Jamaican accent.  Who is better than the New Day.  Made fun of Ascension, Usos, Dudleys and the League of Booty.  Seemed to push League of Nations vs. New Day.  Woods said say they’re trying to stir the pot but we already cooked the meal  Woods called the League of Nations are hot garbage.  Woods said we’ll say it to their face if they were here.  Then all four of them came out and we’ve got a new program.  The New Day left.  King Barrett then threatened Edge & Christian.  Sheamus called them hip replacement candidates and Justin Beiber candidates.  Del Rio said I kicked your ass an forced you to retire.  Edge joked he did more  in the last five years than Del Rio.  Edge & Christian left the ring and called them the International House of Dumbassees.  They plugged their show right after Fast Lane.  Edge & Christian had some great lines in this, but it went way too long.

    R-TRUTH VS. CURTIS AXEL

    The other three Outcasts were running around the ring.  Goldust came out.  Goldust threw Slater into the barricade and threw Adam Rose into the ring.  Rose being in the ring distracted R-Truth and Axel pinned him with a schoolboy with tights.  R-Truth was mad at Goldust when it was over.  It was over in 2:00.

    The Vince face on the award makes it seem like it’s an angle to show up Vince.

    BROCK LESNAR VS. ROMAN REIGNS VS. DEAN AMBROSE

    Crazy great match.  Lesnar destroyed both of them with German suplexes early until he made a mistake and then The Shield power bombed Lesnar through a table.  When Lesnar started to recover they put him through a second table.   The crowd was super into Ambrose vs. Reigns and they were great working together.  The crowd was completely behind Ambrose of course.  Reigns was booed heavily here and Lesnar was cheered the most of the three.  Reigns kicked out of Dirty Deeds.  Reigns had Ambrose up for the Samoan drop when Lesnar German suplexed both.  Ambrose landed right on Reigns’ head.  The finish saw Reigns hit the spear on Lesnar, but Lesnar, who was booked as a Super monster, grabbed a Kimura.  Reigns was about to tap but powered Lesnar up. Ambrose came in and nailed both guys with about five chair shots each.  Lesnar rolled out of the ring.  Reigns then hit the spear on Ambrose for the pin.

    The show ended with Reigns and HHH in the ring doing a staredown with the Mania sign in the background.

  • WWE RAW live results: Daniel Bryan Retirement, Brock, Roman, Dean & the drive to Fastlane

    The Big Takeaway: Daniel Bryan announced his retirement in one of the most emotional segments in the 23-year history of Raw. Bryan made a memorable speech where he came off as the most normal person ever to achieve stardom. The theme of the speech was all the things he had been grateful for over his 15-year career. It’s amazing to think that someone perfectly content with being the world’s biggest cult wrestler could become the biggest star in the biggest company in the world, but that’s what happened. In terms of storyline, the biggest news was the Dudley Boyz turned heel on the Usos, which was overdue.

    Show Recap: 

    Right away, a Daniel Bryan package aired, starting with his early days as American Dragon competing in the Texas Wrestling Alliance. It continued until the culmination at WrestleMania. They showed his tweet from earlier today announcing his retirement. 

    Stephanie McMahon opened the show in the ring for a contract signing. Crowd chanted for Bryan. She appeared to have a tear in her eye while trying to maintain a straight face. She was out there for a contract signing for the Fast Lane main event with Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar. Ambrose got the jump on her,  and demanded to move things along. Stephanie started to say there would be no physical altercations between the three of them when Reigns walked down. Someone had a sign that said “Can we trade Roman for Cesaro?” Lesnar and Paul Heyman were introduced by Stephanie, who interrupted Heyman during his ring entrance. Everyone signed the deal and Stephanie left, leaving the three men alone in the ring. 

    Heyman referred to Ambrose as “little brother” as said he should ask his “Big brother Samoan” what the difference is between a beatdown by the authority and an authoritative beatdown by Brock Lesnar. Ambrose was set off by that and got in Lesnar’s face. Lesnar threw Ambrose across the table and into Reigns like a rag doll,threw the table onto Reigns,  then gave Ambrose an F-5. Lesnar left the ring. HHH walked out for a staredown with Lesnar. Reigns looked upset at Ambrose, for some reason. Ambrose is being booked like a cruiserweight in this program and it’s done nothing but get him under. 

    There was a theme for the night entitled #thankyoudanielbryan, highlighting moments from his WWE career. It started with his first match at NXT, where he wrestled Chris Jericho in 2010. It’s so funny to think Bryan is getting a hero’s sendoff tonight when the company did everything they could to get him under during his first six months in NXT. 

    Ambrose told Reigns backstage he would get even with Lesnar tonight. 

    Dolph Ziggler defeated Kevin Owens (11:02)

    Dolph Ziggler won when Kevin Owens missed a Cannonball, and Ziggler rolled him up in a cradle while his feet were on the ropes. How the ref missed that one was unreal. He looked right at Owens shoulders and Ziggler’s feet were in plain view unless he has no sight in his left eye. Michael Cole then acted like he didn’t notice anything unusual. Apparently, Cole is going for Mike Carey’s job on CBS next football season. A good match where they teased a double countout after Ziggler hit a Famouser on Owens from the apron onto the floor. 

    The next #thankyoudanielbryan moment was from 2011, when Bryan defeated the Miz to win the U.S. Championship. 

    The Usos talked with the Dudley Boyz tonight. The Usos wrestle the New Day tonight in a tables match. Devon Dudley said if anyone should get a tables match tonight, it should be them. Bubba Ray Dudley said the entire WWE Universe didn’t like the New Day. The crowd responded by booing. Bubba Ray told the Usos they should team tonight for a 4-on-4 match against the New Day, where they New Day would have to get themselves a partner. Usos agreed. 

    Charlotte defeated Alicia Fox via submission (5:14) 

    Charlotte won with the Figure Eight. Crowd elected to entertain themselves by chanting for Lana (which Charlotte didn’t look happy about) and the Seattle Seahawks. Alicia Fox’s only offense were one-legged drop kicks like Velvet McIntyre. 

    MizTV with Chris Jericho started with Miz replaying him getting pounded by A.J. Styles last week. Miz said he could have made Styles an A-lister. Jericho interrupted him and said the fans would rather see a Highlight Reel instead of MizTv. So they overhauled the set instantly with roadies bringing in the JeriTron 5000, a new rug and new lighting. Even a potted plant. So it became the Highlight Reel. Jericho started interviewing Miz and brought up Styles’ victory over Miz on SmackDown. Crowd chanted “You look stupid” at Miz, who claimed he had a meeting with Stephen Spielberg last week, putting himself over as an A-lister. Somehow, Jericho said that reminded him of the Chipmuncks song “All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth.” Some fans sang along. 

    Miz ran a clip of his own, which was Styles beating Jericho. Miz said losing to Styles was eating him alive. Jericho said he was right, it has been eating him alive. Crowd chanted for Styles. Jericho knew Styles was good, but he asked if he was great. Jericho said we would find out on SmackDown, but he highly doubted it because he was the best in the world at what he did. Styles came out, but Miz jumped Jericho from behind . Styles ran down to take care of Miz. Jericho gave Miz a clothesline out of the ring, then had a brief staredown with Styles. Miz ran back in, only to get discarded again, leading to another staredown that got physical and turned into fisticuffs. Miz dragged Jericho out of the ring, only to have Jericho throw him across the announcer’s table. And it ended with Styles and Jericho traded words going to the back. Styles vs. Jericho is such an effective program by itself, potentially feud of the year-caliber if handled right. Putting the Miz in the midst of it is like having Al Pacino and Robert Di Niro star in a Goodfellas sequel, but instead of Joe Peschi or Ray Liotta as the third-billed star, it’s Rob Schneider.  

    The next Bryan highlight was the 2011 Money in the Bank, where Bryan kicked Wade Barrett off the ladder to take the briefcase. 5 months later, he cashed in the briefcase to beat the Big Show and win the World Heavyweight Championship. 

    Bray Wyatt defeated Ryback (6:55) 

    Bray Wyatt won when Ryback attempted a spear. Wyatt stopped him dead in his tracks with Sister Abigail and the three count. You can always tell when Ryback is jobbing based on the inflection he uses when he says “Wake up, it’s feeding time” during his ring entrance. Lately, he’s had a downward inflection. To punctuate that, Wyatt, Erick Rowan, Luke Harper and Braun Strowman laid waste to him postmatch, ending with Wyatt giving him Sister Abigail on the floor. Wyatt cut a promo to no one in particular afterwards, saying people can ask for mercy, mercy they will not receive. 

    Daniel Bryan flashback to his days with Kane in Team Hell No. 

    Tweets to Bryan from various WWE personalities included Vince McMahon, Kalisto, Paige and the Ultimate Warrior’s widow were shown. 

    Big E. was polishing up tables in the back when Renee Young walked in wondering who their mystery partner for the tables match was going to be. Xavier Woods wouldn’t say, and Kofi Kingston said New Day were like the Denver Broncos, world champions that everybody loved. 

    Ambrose told Reigns he wanted to have a one-on-one confrontation with Lesnar tonight. 

    Adam Rose defeated Titus O’Neal (3:17) 

    Prematch, Adam Rose did micwork where he proclaimed himself “The Radical Mongoose.” Curtis Axel couldn’t believe how horrible that sounded. Bo Dallas said he had great friends that would turn into great trends. Rose won when Hath Slater distracted Titus O’Neal, leading to Rose getting the schoolboy cradle pin. O’Neal immediately clotheslined Rose over the top rope. So Rose didn’t go over, O’Neal lost and no one got over. So what was the point of this? 

    Next Bryan flashback was him winning the WWE Heavyweight Championship from John Cena at SummerSlam 2013. 

    Ambrose came out and said Lesnar must have hit him with a F-2 or an F-3 earlier, because he thought an F-5 was supposed to hurt. He called out Lesnar, who came out chuckling at the thought of Ambrose calling him out. Lesnar quickly laid Ambrose out beating him up around the ring, then laying him out with an F-5. At this point, Ambrose had the booking cred of Adam Rose on the show. That only slightly changed when Ambrose called Lesnar back to the ring with a wild look in his eye. Lesnar stepped back in the ring, but then Reigns stepped out on the ramp. As Lesnar was distracted by Reigns, Ambrose snuck up from behind and gave Lesnar a low blow. And then Ambrose left. Reigns smiled like Ambrose had won the battle over Lesnar. Crowd stayed totally silent, as if Ambrose was the heel in that scenario. At the very best, Ambrose looks like Reigns’ tag-along in this setup, which isn’t how you make a new star. 

    Alberto Del Rio and Rusev defeated Lucha Dragons (5:37)

    Alberto Del Rio pinned Kalisto with the world’s most elaborate finisher where ADR jumps off the top rope onto the chest of Kalisto. Sin Cara returned and gave Rusev a tope to take him out. Lana was missing again after reemerging from oblivion last week. 

    In footage from earlier, R-Truth was on his way to the Jimi Hendrix Museum when he stumbled onto Goldust dressed as Hendrix, playing a guitar while singing an offshoot of “Purple Haze.” Goldust smashed the guitar on a sidewalk. Security led Goldust away. An attempt at comedy the same way recent Adam Sandler movies have been an attempt. 

    Next Bryan moment was from March 2014, the Occupy Yes movement which led to Bryan’s victory over HHH at WrestleMania. I loved the bitter, old wrestlers criticism of that angle, one of whom claimed it was “contrived.” As if all the angles from the 1970s were shoots. The irony was Bryan’s push to the top in 2014 was a series of spontaneous events spawned by the fans, which led to contrived angles that got over.   

    Tamina defeated Becky Lynch (3:38) 

    Sasha Banks was on commentary. Tamina started mouthing off to Banks in the ring. That led to Naomi hitting Banks with a forearm, and it looked like she stuffed Banks good. Lynch saw this, left the ring and gave Naomi an Exploder suplex. Lynch got back in the ring and ate a superkick by Tamina, who got the pin. Earlier, Naomi got some heat with outside interference. That was kind of different seeing a heel actually break the rules. 

    The New Day talked to its mystery partner and gave him a unicorn horn to place on his head. It was Mark Henry, who started playing Woods’ trombone. Henry and Big E. began dancing, with Henry bringing up his days as Sexual Chocolate in 1998. 

    Nikki Bella, Owens, Cena and Natalya tweeted salutes to Bryan. 

    The Dudley Boyz and the Usos defeated the New Day and Mark Henry in a tables match (7:31)

    The match was rushed. Henry walked out when the New Day ordered him to splash Jimmy Uso. It ended with the Dudleys giving Big E a 3-D through the table. It appeared that Jey Uso had a hard time putting weight down on his left leg. 

    The Dudleys then turned heel, jumping the Usos. First, they put Jimmy Uso through a table, then Jey took a super bomb through a table. Crowd chanted “ECW.” Bubba reeled off some of his catchphrases from his Bully Ray days, asking Jimmy if he knew who they were. Overdue move turning the Dudleys because the company needs a strong heel tag team act, as opposed to the New Day as a comedy heel act. 

    The company profiled all of the major mainstream publications that broke the Bryan retirement news. It was even on ESPN’s bottom line all day, which is incredible if you watched how that network treated wrestling during the boom period. 

    Bryan came out with his trimmed beard and a haircut. He looked like he really didn’t want to give this speech. He stood in the ring with his eyes closed and head down as everyone chanted “Yes” around him, looking like he was going to break down. The expression only got more cheers and chants, which made him crack a smile. Bryan said he was able to close his eyes and feel the reaction the way he had never got to feel it before, and he’ll never forget it. 

    He said that he had to address the elephant in the room…he really wanted to shave his beard. He said he shaved his head called “Wigs for Kids,” which makes wigs for kids that have cancer. Bryan said he had been wrestling since he was 18 and within 5 months, he had 3 concussions. After that, he would get a concussion here and there, which adds up after 16 years. It gets to a point where doctors say you can’t wrestle anymore. He fought that for a long time, after receiving EKGs and various evaluations. He wanted to come back and wrestle in the WWE because he’s loved wrestling more than anything. 

    A week and a half ago, a test indicated perhaps his brain wasn’t as OK as he thought it was. He has a family to think about, he and Brie Bella want to start having kids soon (which got Yes chants). Bryan joked that’s what Brie says all the time. That got Holy Shit chants. Bryan announced his retirement with the heaviest of hearts and the utmost sadness. 

    For the last year, Bryan said he’s been sad, frustrated, and angry. But when he woke up today he felt gratitude. He got to do what he loved for 16 years. He loved the Seahawks, which got a huge pop. He loved hearing the fans react just as his music hits. He loved diving through the ropes, which makes him feel like Superman. He loved wrestling in the parking lot of gas stations and wrestling in front of 70,000 fans in New Orleans. He loved getting to know people like Kane, who looks like a monster but is among the smartest people he knows. 

    He got to know Steven Regal, who has been his mentor. He got to know children like Connor. He said he was very grateful because wrestling doesn’t owe him anything, nor does the WWE or the fans. The wrestlers do this because they love to do it. He neer dreamed the fans would get behind him the way he did, since he was 5’8, 180 pounds. He came close to breaking down here. He was grateful for two years ago when the fans in Seattle hijacked Raw. And the WWE was trying to arrange a program between Cena and Randy Orton, and the fans still chanted for Bryan. 

    Bryan said that wasn’t why he was grateful. He was grateful because his father was sitting in the crowd and got to see that. Bryan started crying as he remembered his father, who passed away shortly after WrestleMania. It was the last time his father got to see him wrestle. 

    Because of wrestling, he got to meet the most wonderful woman in the world. She’s beautiful, smart and completes him in a way that he didn’t think was possible. He was grateful to announce his retirement in front of his mother, his sister, his family and friends. He. Was. Grateful. 

    Tomorrow morning, he starts a new life, where he is no longer a wrestler. But that’s tomorrow, not tonight. He asked for one more Yes chant and he would really appreciate it. Brie came out as the fans chanted yes and his music played. They kissed in midring as Michael Cole said the company was thankful for having his talent under their employ. 

    SUMMARY: #thankyoudanielbryan

  • Dean Ambrose and Luke Harper talk to Chad Dukes at Smackdown

    Last week on CBS Radio from Washington DC, Chad Dukes interviewed Dean Ambrose and Luke Wyatt before the Smackdown tapings for the Chad Dukes Wrestling Show. The show airs live at 7pm on Wednesdays on 106.7 The Fan Washington DC and the full show is also available as a podcast on iTunes, Play.it, and chaddukeswrestlingshow.com

    Luke Harper on his career ambitions and the opinion that the Wyatt Family “doesn’t need championships”:

    I want to win every title that this promotion has. I want to be the World Heavyweight Champion, on my own, I want to be the Intercontinental Champion, want to be the U.S. champion, wanna be a Tag Champion, I personally want all of that for myself. But at the same time, I have brothers at arms that we are very successful together and I understand that part of it too.

    I don’t know why I would be here if I didn’t want a championship. We’ve dominated lots of people, we’ve beat up lots of people, we’ve sent a lot of messages, we’ve been successful, but there’s another level of success that we have yet to attain and that we want to attain.

    Dean Ambrose on his current role in WWE:

    Lenny Harris was a utility player for the [Cincinnati] Reds, he’s on my favorite players because he literally played every position on every night he played a different position. First base, short stop, whatever, but he was a beloved guy because he was always there and could do anything.  I think I’m one of the only guys here, I mean we have so much great talent here, but I can do anything.  I can literally do anything. That’s not me being like, “oh I’m so great,” I’m just like. I know what I’m doing.  I’m not some schmuck they just hired and threw down in the Performance Center and gave him an entrance or anything that like.  I’ve been around enough and have enough experience, I know what I’m doing pretty much.  I like to think I’m a good mechanic for the company. “Oh well, we sprung a leak? Call Ambrose, throw him in there.” I like that because I think it has really upped my value with the company and I think that they realize nowadays too another Dean Ambrose isn’t going to walk through the door anytime soon or ever. So. I kind of exist in my own little space, I kind of got my own little corner of the room carved out for myself which I like.

    Dean Ambrose on comparisons to Roddy Piper and his favorite Piper moment:

    I don’t know how you can not take it as a compliment. I was able to have a lot of good conversations, spend a good amount of time with him through the last couple years which was, that’s a rare opportunity and I don’t think a lot of guys got that.  Me and him really just kind of clicked because he just kind of sensed that we had a similar outlook on stuff.  The thing I like about him, I’ve been asked about him since he passed away a few times, the thing I always say is my favorite Roddy Piper moment was one of the nights he was wrestling Hogan it was in WCW. He’s wrestling Hogan and he’s the big hero finally going to go up against the NWO or whatever and just the entrance makes you go, “Man, that’s what wrestling, that’s where you captivate people.”  ‘Cause they just went out there and back raked each other for fifteen minutes, they’re both like fifty five by that point, but the entrance he just walks down, Roddy Piper music, and he just walks to the ring, down the ramp, with like this death stare at the ring, like this thousand yard, like he’s in a different mental place. He’s doing nothing but doing everything. The way he walks the ring, you know that Roddy Piper is ready to die in the ring fighting the NWO that night, he does not care, he will fight to the death. This is the end of the world fight.  It’s so hard to capture that anymore because it’s such a fun, entertainment thing nowadays. We have so many shows and so much content.  When is there an end of the world fight to the death anymore?

  • WWE Smackdown results: Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens & Sheamus

    – Air Date: December 31, 2015

    – Location: Verizon Center in Washington, DC

    The Big News:

    Tyler Breeze and Summer Rae are no more.

    Show Recap:

    A Raw recap opened the show, which included Vince McMahon’s line about Roman Reigns’ ancestors. It also made the return of John Cena seem secondary. They announced Reigns and Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens and Sheamus for tonight.

    The New Day came out and they showed a replay of Sin Cara separating his shoulder at the hands of Big E on Raw. Xavier Woods said they don’t have a New Year’s resolution because they’re perfect. They’re still upset about not being voted Tag-Team of the Year and Kofi Kingston said the fans don’t appreciate them. They had a list of resolutions for the fans, like the fans should wear glasses and hearing aids, and they’re required to keep a New Day journal so they don’t forget anything. This wasn’t good.

    Lucha Dragons interrupted. Sin Cara wore a sling. Kalisto called New Day a cute tag-team and Sin Cara challenged all three of them to a match. New Day laughed at him. Woods said Sin isn’t hurt, he’s injured. Kalisto said they had friends of their own and the Dudleys came out with a table that had “Happy New Year” spray painted on it.

    Throughout the night they aired pre-taped segments with guys giving their New Year’s resolutions. Ryback wished everyone a happy new year and his resolution was to help those less fortunate.

    6-Man Tag Match: Kalisto & The Dudley Boyz beat The New Day via pinfall

    Dueling chants for New Day. Bubba and D-Von held Kingston’s legs apart so Kalisto could hit a diving headbutt to the groin. Kalisto went after Kingston on the outside but Big E yanked him down onto the ring apron, trying to injure the shoulder. As they worked over Kalisto, Woods played the trombone to loud “New Day sucks” chants.

    Big E hit Kalisto with an impressive big splash, but Kalisto kicked out and hot tagged Bubba. Kalisto eventually tagged back in and hit a sitting senton off of Bubba’s shoulders followed by a tornado DDT. Dudleys gave Big E a 3D, and Kalisto used Salida Del Sol on Kingston for the win. After the match, Bubba put Woods through a table with a powerbomb. This was good and the crowd was into it. I like that Woods is the one New Day member always getting beat up.

    Tyler Breeze (w/Summer Rae) beat Goldust via pinfall

    Booker said Goldust debuted in 1988, the same year Breeze was born. Booker then reminisced about tagging with him. Goldust took most of the match and was begging the crowd to get into it, but they didn’t. Breeze won on a crap finish, sending Goldust face-first into the middle turnbuckle pad and getting the pinfall win with his feet on the rope.

    Afterwards, Summer said they had a huge announcement for 2016. Breeze announced that he and Summer are (amicably) going their separate ways. They gave the crowd one last selfie together. Well, that’s one way to break up a duo.

    The announcers talked about The Rock and WrestleMania and drooled over all the news coverage.

    Backstage, Bo Dallas found Curtis Axel somehow. Dallas said Axel had a bad year and should make a New Year’s re-bo-lution. Ugh. Axel told him he was never eliminated from the Royal Rumble and wouldn’t be eliminated this year either. Dallas told him to start using deodorant. Dallas continued walking and autographed some woman’s hand, which she rubbed off as soon as he walked away.

    He then ran into Dolph Ziggler, who told him to stop dressing like the New Year’s baby. Dallas had an amazing comeback, telling Ziggler: It always sounds like you’re telling a joke, but you never actually say anything funny. Ziggler said he should get ready for his match, because its against him. Ziggler psyched out Dallas with a fake superkick and told him to Bo-lieve.

    Luke Harper & Braun Strowman (w/Erick Rowan) beat The Usos via submission

    Bray Wyatt wasn’t there, so they came out to Harper’s music. Wyatts had the heat almost immediately, working over Jimmy Uso. Jey made a hot tag and ran wild on Harper and nailed him with a suicide dive. I assume Jimmy tagged himself in as Jey went out on the dive, but they didn’t really show it. Jimmy hit two superkicks on Strowman and superkicked Rowan off the apron. Jimmy tried a third superkick on Strowman, but Strowman caught him and choked him out for the win. Surprisingly quick loss for The Usos.

    They announced John Cena would return to Smackdown next week.

    Brie Bella & Alicia Fox beat Naomi & Tamina via pinfall

    Light “We want Sasha” chants. She wasn’t there. After Tamina hit a superkick, Booker said the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, but never mentioned Snuka by name. Brie made this match’s version of a hot tag and hit Yes Kicks and an X-Factor on Naomi for the win. If they don’t forget about this match by Monday, they can tell the story that Team B.A.D. lost here without Sasha Banks.

    Backstage, they wanted Miz to make a New Year’s resolution but he laughed at them, called his manager and walked away.

    They’re plugging The Hateful Eight movie by essentially counting down the top eight heels in the company. They started with the first four tonight: 8. The Miz, 7. Paige, 6. Rusev & Lana, 5. Kevin Owens. Final four will be shown on Raw.

    Dolph Ziggler beat Bo Dallas via pinfall

    Dallas did a victory lap around the ring after getting the heat less than a minute into the match and Jerry Lawler said he really does look like the New Year’s baby. Rich Brennan reminded us that he’s the longest reigning NXT Champion, something they might want to ignore. In short: Bo Dallas dominated for five minutes and Ziggler won with a superkick. Ziggler looked like such a loser getting beat up by Bo Dallas.

    New Day does have a resolution after all: to get the patriarch Kofi Kingston the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. That seems unlikely.

    They aired the same Raw recap that opened the show and plugged Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus with McMahon as referee for Monday.

    WWE Champion Roman Reigns & I.C. Champion Dean Ambrose beat Kevin Owens & Sheamus via DQ

    They showed a replay of Owens powerbombing Ambrose through the announce table on Raw as Ambrose walked to the ring looking like he always does. Reigns hit some moves on Sheamus and tagged in Ambrose who nailed a suicide dive. Owens tagged in and Ambrose sent him to the outside to set up for a powerbomb through the announce table, but Owens drove him into the side of the ring.

    Heels beat up Ambrose for a while until he hit Owens with a rebound clothesline and tagged in Reigns. Reigns hit Sheamus with clotheslines in the corner, a Samoan drop and superman punch. He readied for the spear, but Owens tripped him from behind and pulled him groin-first into the ring post for a lame DQ.

    They attacked Reigns and sent him over the announce table. Ambrose dove on Sheamus but Owens cut him off with a superkick. Owens set up Ambrose for a powerbomb through the announce table but Reigns hit him with a superman punch. Ambrose tossed Sheamus into the ring post and Reigns finished him off with a spear. Reigns and Ambrose stood tall on the announce table holding their titles to end the show.

    Final Thoughts:

    The opening match was fun but the show dragged like crazy after that. A good main event on paper ending with an abrupt DQ is the perfect way to end the final Smackdown of 2015.

  • WWE Smackdown results (11/26): I.C. Title Number One Contender’s Triple Threat

    – Air Date: November 26, 2015 
    – Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

    The Big News:

    Dean Ambrose became number one contender for Kevin Owens’ Intercontinental Title after defeating Tyler Breeze and Dolph Ziggler. They also set up the Dudleys vs. Wyatts for a tables match and Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger for a chairs match. 

    Show Recap: 

    Former WWE Champion Roman Reigns came out to start the show as they recapped the story from Survivor Series and Raw. Reigns entered the ring which had tables and ladders and chairs set up inside already, so I guess he cleared this talking segment with the Authority. 

    Reigns said he and the Usos used to wrestle all over the house until they were banned from doing so after one Uso broke a coffee table with the other Uso. Reigns said they wrestled all over the yard and dreamt about becoming WWE Champion, but it always felt like just a dream – until Survivor Series when he won the title. The dream got shattered when Sheamus crushed his face (that’s the phrase he used) with a Brogue kick. 

    Sheamus came out. (They did another bad edit here, like a few weeks ago, where you could hear Sheamus’ entrance start, but on camera the lights didn’t change, and there was no reaction from the crowd or Reigns.) Sheamus told Reigns to get over it because he’s a walking, talking Adele song. He said Reigns has been talking about being champion longer than he actually was champion. 

    Sheamus made bad jokes about how short Roman’s title reign was and said the title looks better on him anyway. He put over Reigns’ effort in the tournament but Reigns’ moment became Sheamus’ moment, and yelled about how great it felt to become champion. Reigns challenged Sheamus to come to the ring so he could show him what he can really do in under five minutes. 

    Sheamus acted like he would go to the ring, but he didn’t. He’s the champion and all Reigns has is broken dreams. Reigns said he would break Sheamus’ jaw with a superman punch, break his back with a chair, powerbomb him through a table, climb the ladder and become champion. This wasn’t good. Sheamus in particular came off like a clown. 

    The Dudley Boyz beat Braun Strowman & Erick Rowan (w/Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper) via DQ

    In an inset promo, Bubba said the Wyatts would “taste some Dudley wood.” Tons of piped in booing during the Wyatts’ entrance. An early highlight in the match was Rowan screaming in D-Von’s face and D-Von just smacked him. Wyatts got the heat on Bubba with help from Harper who superkicked his arm with the referee distracted. 

    D-Von made the hot tag and took out Rowan. It seemed like the Dudleys had the match won but they dumbly went for tables instead. They set one up in the ring but Harper superkicked Bubba for the DQ. Strowman took out D-Von was his standing choke and they put Bubba through the table. Strowman was noticeably bad in this match. 

    Paige beat Becky Lynch via pinfall 

    They showed Charlotte watching the match on TV backstage. Her entire body was facing the camera with her face turned to the TV. They always do this but it looked even dumber than usual here. Becky made her comeback which included an Exploder suplex. She went for the Disarmer but Paige bounced her off the ropes and rolled her up for the pinfall win. 

    Paige tried to get her feet on the rope for leverage but she was too far away. I’m not sure if that was a screw up or not, but Becky basically lost clean. Lawler made sure to mention that Paige tried to use the rope. Match was fine but the crowd didn’t care. 

    Backstage, Big E, Kofi Kingston, Naomi, Sasha Banks and Tamina were at the “1st Annual New Day Potluck Dinner.” Better trademark that one. Big E said he was thankful for tricep meat. Kofi was thankful for the tag-team titles and Big E chanted “Thanks to us” to the tune of “New Day rocks.” Naomi and Sasha danced along. 

    Heath Slater joined and brought some Slater Slaw. Big E noticed a bandaid in his dish. They freaked out and pushed Slater aside. Adam Rose gave them rabbit stew and left. Big E freaked again, thinking it was made of The Bunny, and Kofi yelled “We don’t want this!” (That was the highlight of the segment.)

    Ascension showed up but they didn’t have any food so they got kicked out. Big E and Kofi said Xavier Woods would be bringing the turkey. The Gobbledy Gooker showed up. It was Woods. They chanted “turkey tail” as Woods shook his tail back and forth. 

    Non-Title: Jack Swagger beat US Champion Alberto Del Rio (w/Zeb Colter) via DQ

    Colter called Swagger ungrateful and said he has blind American loyalty. Del Rio said Swagger would be thankful that he let him walk out of the ring after their match. Lame promo. 

    With the match barely under way, Swagger clotheslined Del Rio over the barricade into the timekeeper’s area. He began walking toward Zeb, allowing Del Rio to hit him from behind with a chair for the DQ. Del Rio hit him one more time with the chair and tossed him in the ring. 

    Swagger came back and attacked Del Rio with the chair, getting him about four times in the back. Del Rio ran away, selling his back. This was obviously just an angle to set up a chairs match at TLC. I didn’t really like how little of an effect the chair shots had on both guys. Swagger was fine after getting hit twice and Del Rio walked away on his own and posed with the title on the stage. 

    Backstage, the Usos said they didn’t want to know what “Slater slaw” was. Woods in his Gobbledy Gooker outfit ran by them. The Usos had an idea. 

    Non-Title: Lucha Dragons beat WWE Tag-Team Champions Kofi Kingston & Big E (w/Gobbledy Gooker) via pinfall

    They showed the debut of Gobbledy Gooker in 1990. Lawler made sure to remind everyone that this sucked. Kingston seemed to have the match won on a pinfall attempt with his feet on the rope, but the Gobbledy Gooker pushed him off. Kingston yelled at him and the distraction allowed Kalisto to hit Salida Del Sol for the win. 

    After the match, Kingston and Big E continued to yell at Gobbledy Gooker, who remained outside the ring. An Uso came out on stage blowing an airhorn to the tune of “New Day sucks” and Xavier Woods was with him – in his boxers, hands and legs tied up, and mouth taped shut. Woods tried to say something, so Uso ripped off the duct tape and blew the air horn in his face. This caused Woods to fall and roll down the ramp. 

    They cut to the Gobbledy Gooker outside the ring and the commentators tried to act like they didn’t know who it could be. It was the other Uso. The four babyfaces took out the New Day, concluding with an Uso superkicking a helpless Woods and the other Uso finishing him off with a splash. Lawler was happy to see the Gobbledy Gooker finally get over. 

    They aired a video package for the Undertaker. 

    Backstage, Renee Young asked Dean Ambrose about his luck potentially changing tonight. Ambrose said he pinned Kevin Owens at Survivor Series and that wasn’t luck. Reigns pinned him and that wasn’t luck either – Reigns was the better man on that night. He said Sheamus cashing in wasn’t luck, it was right place, right time. Luck was winning the lottery, and Ambrose said he never won a buck off a scratch card. Ambrose intimated that if he were a betting man, he would bet on himself over Ziggler and Fuzzy Boots McGee. 

    I.C. Title #1 Contender’s Triple Threat Match: Dean Ambrose beat Tyler Breeze (w/Summer Rae) & Dolph Ziggler via pinfall 

    Kevin Owens came out for commentary and faked out a young fan who wanted a high five. Lawler told Owens that Breeze was suing People magazine for naming David Beckham as sexiest man alive. Owens said he almost fell asleep as Lawler said that because he couldn’t care less. As they plugged Raw in Pittsburgh, Ambrose tossed his hoodie at Owens and Owens responded, “I guess he thought he was insulting me, but I’m keeping it, so joke’s on him.” 

    Booker asked Owens who he matches up with best. Owens said he and Ambrose are both brawlers, he and Breeze are both gorgeous, but he has nothing in common with Ziggler and is proud of that. 

    Ambrose hit a rebound clothesline on Ziggler and Breeze tried to steal the pin, but Ziggler kicked out. Ambrose followed with a flying elbow on Breeze for a two count. Ziggler and Ambrose did the double running crossbody spot but they sandwiched Breeze who was caught in the middle. That was cool. 

    Breeze superkicked Ambrose and Ziggler superkicked Breeze for a near fall. Ziggler caught Ambrose with a Zig Zag but Breeze broke up the cover. Breeze hit Ziggler with the Beauty Shot and went for the Unprettier but Ambrose nailed him with Dirty Deeds for the win. Owens seemed displeased. Good match, and Owens was great on commentary. 

    After the match, Ambrose went out to face off with Owens. Ambrose pushed Owens back into his chair. Owens popped up like he was ready to fight but just walked away. 

    Final Thoughts: 

    Really lame show until the main event. 

  • 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.

  • WWE Belfast house show results (11/10): Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose

    Submitted by Barry Sheppard

    – From the SSE Arena in Belfast

    – Night begins with guest General Manager Ric Flair. Crowd predictably went nuts for Flair.

    – WWE Tag Team Titles Elimination Match: New Day def Dudleys, New Day, and Prime Time Players

    Prime Time eliminated first. New Day win with a pin on Devon. Very little actual wrestling. Poor match. Woods put through a table with a power bomb after the win. 

    – Zack Ryder def. The Miz 

    Ryder gets the pin in uneventful match.

    – Sheamus def. Cesaro

    Good reactions for both. Sheamus wins with brogue kick in an entertaining match.

    – WWE Divas Champion Charlotte vs. Paige vs. Alicia Fox

    Charlotte made Fox tap out to retain title. Paige was noteworthy for generating good heat with crowd. 

    – Kane def. Big Show in a no-DQ match

    Kane wins by chokeslam through a table after Show tried coming off the turnbuckle.

    – Curtis Axel def. Bo Dallas

    Axel pins Dallas in less than a minute.  Dallas protests he wasn’t ready, challenges anyone in the back to a match. R-Truth answers. After some stalling and a pointless dance-off, Truth pins Dallas in the less than a minute. Crowd less than impressed. 

    – Dolph Ziggler def. Tyler Breeze with Summer Rae

    Decent match with quite a few back and forth pin attempts. Summer Rae banished from ringside by referee. Ziggler gets pin with a superkick. 

    – WWE Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose

    Decent enough match. Owens gets himself disqualified with a chair shot.  Attacks Ambrose with chair after the bell. Ziggler runs in and makes the save, Sheamus comes in attacks Ziggler. Cesaro runs in and gets Sheamus with Cesaro Swing, New Day run in to attack Cesaro, closely followed by Dudleys who join the melee. Dudleys, Ambrose and Cesaro corner Owens and Ambrose exacts revenge.

    All in all and average enough house show. 

  • WWE Smackdown results (11/5): Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens, Survivor Series Elimination Tag Match

    – Air Date: November 5, 2015 (Nov 4 in Canada)
    – Location: World Arena in Colorado Springs, CO

    The Big News:

    Kevin Owens escaped a non-title match with Dean Ambrose by tricking the referee.

    Show Recap:

    They announced two matches for tonight – a “traditional” four vs. four Survivor Series tag match, and Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens non-title (as usual, they didn’t mention that it was non-title).

    Alberto Del Rio and Zeb Colter came out to start. Colter said there was no room for hate in MexAmerica and he called the people haters. He said everyone has people they hate, and he called those people black hearts. Ok? Del Rio said Viva MexAmerica. Jerry Lawler and Rich Brennan were both confused. Me too. Why are they heels if they want to bring people together and eliminate hate?

    Non-Title: U.S. Champion Alberto Del Rio (w/Zeb Colter) beat Neville via pinfall

    Lawler said he wasn’t sure if Neville has faced anyone with the experience of Del Rio. Neville almost beat John Cena a few months ago. Neville hit a hurricanrana and had control early until Del Rio used a back stabber. During a commercial break, Del Rio launched Neville into the barricade. Neville fought out of a headlock and used kicks and a moonsault to the outside, followed by a rana into a pin attempt for a near fall.

    Del Rio was able to knock Neville off the top and hit a weak-looking double footstomp for the win. After the match, Del Rio jumped back in the ring and superkicked Neville and applied the arm bar. Neville tapped wildly until Jack Swagger ran out to make the save. The two men faced off but Del Rio wagged his finger and left. Neville sat up at this point and I wondered why he didn’t just run after Del Rio. The match was alright.

    The Usos beat The Ascension via pinfall

    The Usos got a good reaction and people were doing their chant as the match started. Ascension worked over Jimmy briefly until he made the hot tag. Jey used a Samoan drop and running hip attack on Viktor but Konnor broke up the cover. Jimmy hit Konnor with a superkick, but Konnor bounced off the ropes, so Jimmy and Jey did a double superkick to knock him out of the ring. They also did a double superkick to Viktor and Jey finished him off with a flying splash for the win. Booker called the Usos the most exciting tag-team in history.

    8-Man Elimination Tag Match: The Wyatt Family beat Prime Time Players & Lucha Dragons

    The Wyatts took turns working over Darren Young. Eventually, Braun Strowman applied the head-and-arm choke, with the ropes separating himself and Darren. Strowman let go after the referee counted to four, and Darren dropped to the outside where he was counted out. Titus went to check on him so Strowman attacked him from behind. The Lucha Dragons just stood there and watched.

    After a break, they worked over Titus until he made a tag to Sin Cara, who used a hurricanrana on Harper and suicide dive to Rowan. Sin Cara did a rana into a pin for a two count and a tornado DDT, but Rowan broke it up. Harper came back with a discus clothesline for the pinfall.

    Kalisto used kicks on Harper but got nailed with a suplex and the Wyatts took over again. Kalisto crawled for a tag but two Wyatts took Titus off the apron. Kalisto came back anyway with a spike hurricane on Harper and springboard kick to Bray. Titus was still out, allowing Rowan to hit a tackle and full nelson slam. Rowan pinned Kalisto.

    Titus made his comeback on Harper, including a power slam for two. He followed with a sitout powerbomb but Bray and Rowan broke up the cover. Strowman put him in the head-and-arm choke, Bray tagged himself in and hit Sister Abigail for the win. Clean sweep for the Wyatts.

    Recap: Braun Strowman eliminated Darren Young via countout, Luke Harper eliminated Sin Cara via pinfall, Erick Rowan eliminated Kalisto via pinfall, Bray Wyatt eliminated Titus O’Neil via pinfall. This wasn’t much of a match outside of Kalisto’s offense.

    Backstage, Dean Ambrose told Renee Young that he prepared for tonight by waking up early, around 11:00 AM, taking in some fresh Colorado air and by speaking with John Denver (who’s dead.) Owens walked up asking what Ambrose was talking about. Owens said he was annoying Renee and told him that he’d be facing the greatest Intercontinental champion of all-time. Ambrose laughed and said he can pin Owens tonight just like he did on Raw. Owens said tonight wouldn’t be a 10-man circus like Raw and Ambrose said we’ll see. Owens walked away.

    Ryback beat King Barrett via pinfall

    Barrett had the heat for a few minutes but Ryback won with a shell shocked.

    Backstage, Sasha Banks told Renee that they gave Natalya the attention she wanted by attacking her. Renee said Natalya challenged the “leader of Team B.A.D.” tonight. Naomi said that stuff might work on Team P.C.B. but it won’t work on them, because they know who their leader is. Sasha intimated that it was her who would accept the challenge and walked off. Naomi gave her a look before following. Tamina gave Renee a look, but Renne just smirked because she’s not intimidated I guess.

    Natalya beat Tamina (w/Naomi & Sasha Banks) via pinfall

    Tamina stepped in and took the challenge. Naomi and Sasha were just fine with this. Tamina had the heat for a while until Natalya came back with a clothesline. She went for a sharpshooter but Sasha distracted her, allowing Tamina to hit a Samoan drop. Tamina went for a splash but Natalya got her legs up and followed with a school boy for the win. Tamina is bad so this was not good. The crowd didn’t care either, outside of some light chants for Banks.

    Non-Title: IC Champion Kevin Owens beat Dean Ambrose via DQ

    After a break, Owens had control after tossing Ambrose into the barricade twice, hitting a senton and gutbuster. Ambrose came back with a superplex and tornado DDT for a near fall. Owens tried a pop-up powerbomb, but Ambrose jumped over him. Owens hit a superkick, but that sent Ambrose into the ropes and he bounced back with a clothesline.

    Ambrose kicked Owens in the gut (to set up Dirty Deeds) but Owens dropped down and sold it like he was kicked in the nuts. The referee checked on him and called Ambrose for the DQ. They showed two replays and Ambrose clearly kicked him in the gut. The referee saw the replays and began yelling at Owens, who grabbed his title and began leaving since the match was over.

    As Owens left, Ambrose nailed him with a suicide dive, then hit another one on the other side of the ring. Ambrose went after him but Owens bailed through the crowd. Ambrose was pissed but posed in the ring as the show ended. Match was good while it lasted.

    Final Thoughts:

    Thanks to a skeleton crew, this was basically a straight wrestling show with only two backstage interviews and the usual Raw highlights. And not a particularly good one. 

    Since not much happened, a minor point: The Lucha Dragons should not have been fed to the Wyatts. They just come off two big wins in a row (Smackdown last week and Monday’s Raw) and this was a total setback. The Wyatts winning their match in a clean sweep is perfectly fine, it just should’ve been against some other team with PTP.

    Also, if you care, at least five different wrestlers used superkicks tonight.

  • WWE Halloween Smackdown results (10/29): Wyatt Family vs. Dean Ambrose, Cesaro & Ryback

    – Air Date: October 29, 2015 (Oct 28 in Canada)
    – Location: Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, AZ

    The Big News:

    Cesaro got pinned again as the Wyatts defeated him, Dean Ambrose and Ryback in the main event. Also, Natalya returned unceremoniously, and the U.S. Title might have a new name.

    Show Recap:

    “Halloween Smackdown” means pumpkins on the stage and orange graphics and lighting instead of blue.

    The show started with a ridiculous recap of the Wyatts taking out Undertaker and Kane. Rich Brennan did the voiceover, claiming that the Wyatts escaped with the souls of Taker and Kane. I know it’s Halloween, but this is still a real storyline that will continue beyond October 31st.

    Bray Wyatt did a promo backstage, claiming to own the souls of Taker and Kane. He had what looked like Taker’s hat. Bray challenged any three brave souls to go against his three monsters. Rowan said he couldn’t dress up for Halloween as a kid because he was told it was too sinful. Ok. Harper said they weren’t costumes, evil is very real. Bray gave his condolences to whoever takes the challenge, and pulled out Kane’s mask. Strowman told them to run.

    Roman Reigns came out and they recapped his win over Bray at Hell in a Cell, as well as the fourway win on Raw. Reigns said he’s had one goal since day one, to win the WWE Title. He’s been knocked down along the way but he’s back in the fight and now he’s the number one contender. He said Rollins is the only man in his way, and there’s no one who wants him to fail more.

    That brought out Kevin Owens. (There was a sloppy edit here. Owens’ music hit and the crowd reacted audibly as they usually do for him, but the camera was still on Reigns who didn’t react and the crowd didn’t budge. Most likely, they cut out some of Reigns’ promo and just didn’t put this together properly.)

    Owens said Reigns stole one from him on Raw and sarcastically encouraged the fans to cheer for him. Owens said Reigns didn’t overcome any odds, it was a fluke, because Owens was a split second away from hitting a pop-up powerbomb and winning the match, “and you can believe that.”

    Reigns, who just talked about getting screwed earlier this year by Rollins and Bray, said Owens was just making excuses. He said his win on Raw was all skill and challenged “Talk Owens Talk” to a fight. Owens got in the ring and went face-to-face with Reigns. He hesitated but accepted the match.

    Non-Title: Roman Reigns beat IC Champion Kevin Owens via countout

    There were dueling chants of “Let’s Go Roman” and “Fight Owens Fight.” After a break, Owens gained control after hit a fallaway slam into the barricade. Damn. Reigns came back with clotheslines in the corner and a big boot. Lawler pointed out that the boot was something new from Reigns. Owens hit a back drop and superkick for a two count, but Reigns popped back with a leaping clothesline.

    Owens bailed so Reigns went after him and tossed him back in the ring. Owens was able to hit a German for a two. Reigns then knocked Owens to the outside of the ring with a superman punch. Owens was able to get up well ahead of the 10 count, but grabbed his title and walked out through the crowd for the countout. The match was fine but the walkout finish was telegraphed from the beginning. The crowd was into Reigns.

    Backstage, Renee Young, dressed as Tinker Bell I think, got ready to interview Dean Ambrose. Ambrose introduced himself as “ruggedly handsome Dean Ambrose” before Renee could say anything. Renee froze, so Ambrose asked himself a question, “Are you going to accept Bray Wyatt’s challenge?” Ambrose answered yes. He said he exorcises demons and smashes zombies, and was going to take down the Wyatt family.

    Bo Dallas, dressed as a ghost, tried to scare Renee Young but it didn’t work. He said someone would be scared by the end of the night. He said “boo-lieve” instead of “bo-lieve.” Because it’s Halloween.

    Fatal Four Way Tag-Team Match: Lucha Dragons beat Ascension, Dudley Boyz and Sheamus & King Barrett via pinfall

    Big E and Kofi Kingston came out before the match wearing unicorn horns on their foreheads and shamed the competitors in the ring because they weren’t wearing costumes and don’t believe in magic. They joined commentary and Kingston told Booker he could be old school Kofi Kingston. Booker did a bad Jamaican accent, so Kingston told him to go back to being Booker T.

    The faces sent the heels to the outside and, in his generic play-by-play voice, Big E said, “The good guys are rallying!” After a break, New Day begged Brennan to take off his headset, and he did. Sin Cara came in on a hot tag and made a nice comeback but Barrett and Sheamus broke up a pin attempt. Bubba and D-Von held down the heels for the “whassup” headbutt spot, with the Lucha Dragons hitting the diving headbutts.

    The Dudleys then launched the Lucha Dragons over the top onto the Ascension. Sheamus and Barrett ran away, so the Dudleys dumbly ran after them, allowing the Kalisto to get the pin on [Ascension member] for the win. It wasn’t a number one contender’s match, but they made it seem like the Lucha Dragons would be next in line. New Day danced to the Lucha Dragons’ theme.

    Backstage, Dean Ambrose ran into somebody who was off-camera. He asked if they were dressed as Lex Luthor, the Transporter or James Bond. It was Cesaro, who said that’s just how he dresses. He compared Ambrose to Mad Max and Ambrose responded “This is a nice jacket, alright?” Ambrose wanted him to swing the Wyatts, unless he’s afraid. Cesaro said he’ll be the scariest guy out there. They made some Halloween movie references before Ambrose left. Bo Dallas tried to scare Cesaro, but Cesaro put on his shades and walked away.

    Trick Or Treat Street Fight: Dolph Ziggler beat The Miz via pinfall

    Jack-o’-lanterns surrounded the ring apron and they had some other decorations around the ring. Miz grabbed a toy lightsaber so Ziggler grabbed a kendo stick and got in a couple of shots. Ziggler also made Miz bob for apples and put a pumpkin over his head. Ziggler then superkicked the pumpkin which shattered.

    After all the comedy, we had to get serious for a minute, because Miz pushed Ziggler into the steel steps and used the kendo stick and a chair on his leg. Miz tried a figure four but Ziggler countered into a small package for the win. Nothing match. (Ok, Ziggler superkicking the pumpkin off Miz’s head was funny.)

    As Ziggler sold his leg, Tyler Breeze came out with Summer Rae. Ziggler attacked him, but Breeze used the kendo stick and stomped away until referees broke it up. Breeze broke through and attacked him again until the refs broke it up one more time. No heat for this.

    Paige beat Natalya via pinfall

    Uh, so I guess Natalya’s fine. She did an inset promo saying she doesn’t know who attacked her, but Paige can’t treat people the way she has and Natalya would make her pay. The bell rang and Paige immediately hit a superkick. Natalya came back with a clothesline and German, sending Paige to the outside.

    Team B.A.D. came out to Sasha Banks’ music. Banks did all the talking, mocking Nattie for getting attacked and said she has their attention. The distraction allowed Paige to hit RamPaige for the win. Team B.A.D. attacked Natalya after the match, concluding with a Bank Statement. Natalya tapped. Booker T, who has two working legs, said someone should go in there and do something about this.

    Backstage, Ryback told Ambrose he’d join their team.

    Non-Title: U.S. Champion Alberto Del Rio (w/Zeb Colter) beat R-Truth via pinfall

    Before the match, Alberto Del Rio and Zeb Colter basically said the U.S. Title is now the MexAmerica Title. Colter called it official. This didn’t get much of a reaction. Del Rio won quickly with a double foot stomp off the top. Meh.

    Backstage, Bo Dallas (still in ghost costume) hid in a box. Mark Henry walked by and Bo popped out of the box to scare him. It worked, so Henry knocked him out. The box closed on Bo, who is presumably (hopefully) dead. Henry picked up his phone and walked away. This was amusing.

    The Wyatt Family (w/Bray Wyatt) beat Dean Ambrose, Cesaro & Ryback via pinfall

    Ryback ripped Luke Harper’s shirt, which seemed to annoy Harper, so he tagged in Strowman. Ryback attacked him but Strowman managed to hit a vertical suplex. After a break, Wyatts had the heat on Ryback. Ryback hit a spinebuster and made the hot tag to Ambrose. Ambrose went wild, sending both Harper and Rowan to the outside, followed by a top rope elbow drop.

    Rowan cut off Ambrose with a spinning kick, but he made the hot tag to Cesaro who hit uppercuts and a dropkick to Harper. Cesaro then did uppercuts outside the ring to Rowan and Harper as the crowd cheered. Cesaro applied a crossface on Harper, but Strowman pulled him out of the ring. Ambrose caught Strowman with a suicide dive but he remained on his feet. Ryback then flew in and took Strowman out over the announce table.

    Ambrose hit Rowan with a rebound clothesline and Harper took out Ambrose with a superkick. Cesaro nailed a spinning springboard uppercut on Harper and went for the swing, but Strowan rose from the dead and tossed the table on its side. This distracted the referee, so Bray punched Cesaro and Harper finished him off with a discus clothesline for the win.

    Final Thoughts:

    A pretty normal Smackdown show that also had pumpkins.

    The main event was good but they should probably find something more productive for Dean Ambrose.

  • WWE Smackdown results (10/15): Dean Ambrose & Dudley Boyz battle The New Day

    – Air Date: October 15, 2015 (Oct 14 in Canada)

    – Location: U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, OH

    The Big News:

    In Dean Ambrose’s hometown, The New Day stood tall over Ambrose and the Dudleys.

    Show Recap:

    They announced two matches for tonight and Roman Reigns came out. They recapped his match with Braun Strowman on Raw, and plugged his match with Bray Wyatt at Hell in a Cell.

    Roman Reigns beat Bo Dallas via pinfall

    Bo Dallas said there is nothing wrong with Reigns being scared just because he is facing a man he continues to come up short against. Dallas said, unlike Roman, he survived Suplex City and Reigns would leave on a stretcher. (Bo never mentioned Bray Wyatt by name.)

    Bo got some offense on Reigns which was completely unconvincing. Fortunately, Reigns turned Bo inside out with a clothesline and followed with clotheslines in the corner. Bo called for a timeout and offered a handshake. Reigns shook his hand and Bo kicked him. Reigns no-sold that and hit a Samoan Drop, superman punch and spear for the win. Besides Bo’s few moments of offense, this was fine.

    After match, Reigns said Bray Wyatt calls himself the devil and Reigns believes it. I normally don’t write everything out word-for-word, but this is really what Reigns said next: “When I look into Bray Wyatt’s eyes, I see nothing but pure evil. I can see him in the depths of hell, screaming that he’s the devil!”

    Reigns said he would bring the fight to the devil in the cell. He went on, “Because the only way to stop the devil, is to ride straight into hell.” This was so dumb. Bray appeared on the screen humming, “He’s got the whole world in his hands.” Bray said Reigns has his virtues, but his sins will do him in. Bray said he would deliver Reigns a prophecy on Raw. Reigns looked concerned.

    King Barrett & Sheamus beat Cesaro & Neville via pinfall

    Stardust and Ascension were in the front row and Stardust held up a small “Stardust Section” sign. Neville sent the bad guys to the outside and Cesaro launched him over the ropes to knock them down. Heels had the heat after a break. Booker said Sheamus was Scottish and nobody corrected him.

    Neville eventually made the hot tag to Cesaro who hit Sheamus with running uppercuts and a dropkick. Cesaro took out Barrett with an uppercut on the outside and hit Sheamus with the spinning springboard uppercut for two. Cesaro went for the big swing but Sheamus brought the briefcase in the ring. As the referee tossed it out, Barrett hit the Bull Hammer from behind and Sheamus rolled up Cesaro for the win.

    Backstage, Summer Rae said Monday wasn’t the first time she had to put a man in his place and it won’t be the last. Summer said, unlike some people, she can keep her personal and professional life separate. (She was talking about being referee, not posting stuff online.)

    They showed a video from earlier today of Byron Saxton interviewing Dean Ambrose, who was unpacking his bag in the locker room. Saxton said he asked the fans who the most unconventional superstar or [women’s wrestler] was and Paige beat out Ambrose in the voting.

    Ambrose said it would be nice to win a contest, but Paige really is crazy. As this was happening, Ambrose unpacked a Slammy, keys (perhaps dungeon keys), a slinky, balloon animal, a globe and an 8-ball from his bag. He couldn’t find something and left. Saxton saw a [corporate sponsor] candy bar and Ambrose came back, grabbed it, and took a bite with the wrapper still on. The product placement was lame but Ambrose was good here.

    Non-Title: IC Champion Kevin Owens beat Zack Ryder via pinfall

    Ryder got some offense but Owens won quickly with a pop-up powerbomb. Ryback was at ringside and they essentially explained that he was too pissed off to do commentary. As soon as the match was over, Ryback jumped in the ring and Owens bailed. Ryback couldn’t leave the ring once he got inside for some reason, so they just stared down as Owens held up his title.

    They aired a 3-minute video recapping the Seth Rollins/Kane stuff from Raw.

    Backstage, Paige tried to apologize to Natalya. Paige was practically in tears, explaining that she won the title right away, which set expectations too high and brought a lot of pressure. Then Charlotte became champion and Nattie started teaming with Charlotte and Becky and Paige was sad.

    Natalya sarcastically asked if Paige wanted a hug. Paige said she wanted to make things right, like back at NXT when they were friends. Natalya seemed to believe her and went into her locker room. (Yes, Natalya has her own locker room.) Both women were good here, particularly Paige.

    Dolph Ziggler beat Rusev via pinfall (Special Referee: Summer Rae)

    Rusev got the heat immediately and had control for a while. Ziggler countered a fallaway slam into a school boy and Summer fast-counted, but Rusev kicked out anyway. Rusev argued with her and Ziggler caught him with a dropkick.

    Rusev rebounded with a superkick but Summer took her sweet time to make the count. Ziggler kicked out at 2.5, which made him look pretty weak considering how long it took for the count. Rusev got in Summer’s face again, so she slapped him and Ziggler hit a Zig Zag for the win, with Summer fast-counting again. So the heel got screwed and the face looked like a geek.

    After the match, Summer told Ziggler that they both got screwed by Rusev and Lana. She reminded Ziggler that the two of them had chemistry and tried flirting with him. Ziggler said he has chemistry with a lot of girls. He said he doesn’t want to play games and he left.

    Backstage, Renee Young asked the Dudleys and Dean Ambrose if they could work as a team to overcome New Day tonight. Bubba reminded her who the Dudleys are, and called Ambrose a combustible element on his own. Bubba told Renee to touch Dean’s arm to prove it. She hesitated, but touched his arm and all three yelled “Boom!”, which the crowd found amusing.

    D-Von said they would celebrate their 10th tag team title win at Hell in a Cell. Ambrose said New Day took a wrong turn and ended up in Dudleyville, the kind of place where you’d get your wallet and shoes stolen, just like his hometown of Cincinnati. Ambrose said they would 3D the New Day and Bubba said they’d get sent straight to the Lunatic Fringe (perhaps he should’ve said “Ambrose Asylum”?). They yelled “Boom” again in Renee’s face and left. She was not amused.

    Luke Harper & Braun Strowman beat Prime Time Players via submission

    Wyatts got the heat on Titus who hot-tagged Darren Young. Young gave Harper a neckbreaker on the ring apron, which I’m sure is as fun as it sounds. Young tried to knock Strowman off the apron, but he didn’t budge, and Harper caught Young with a superkick. Strowman used The Hug on Young for the submission win.

    Non-Title: Divas Champion Charlotte (w/Becky Lynch) beat Alicia Fox (w/Nikki & Brie Bella) via submission

    The pinky swear thing that Charlotte and Becky do needs to stop. Charlotte doesn’t appear to enjoy doing it either. Fox had the heat until they each did a big boot. Charlotte came back with chops, neckbreaker, spear and Figure Eight for the tap-out win.

    After the match, the Bellas jumped Charlotte and Becky. Paige ran out to make the save and cleared the ring with help from her old team. The crowd cheered and a small “Paige” chant started. Charlotte and Becky appeared nonplussed.

    After a break, Paige caught up to Becky and Charlotte backstage and said how great it was for Team PCB to be back together. Becky said Paige did some horrible things but Paige just wanted to make up for it. Charlotte said they’d take it one day at a time and Paige was fine with that. Some officials ran by and Paige left. Becky and Charlotte followed the officials into Natalya’s personal locker room and she was laid out, selling her mid-section.

    They aired a video package for Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar.

    Dean Ambrose & The Dudley Boyz beat The New Day via DQ

    New Day said they’ve dropped everyone they’ve faced — John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Randy Orton, D-Von Dudley, Booty Ray Dudley, and Cincinnati’s own filthy street urchin Dean Ambrose. Kofi Kingston said the power of positivity was science. He said you could even call it geology because New Day “rocks” and they started chanting.

    Ambrose was really over and had a new t-shirt specifically for Cincinnati. New Day used a referee distraction to take control on D-Von and did their usual stomping spot in the corner. It went on for even longer than usual. D-Von hit a neckbreaker on Woods and made the hot tag to Ambrose.

    Ambrose took out Kingston with a suicide dive and clotheslined Woods and Big E. Ambrose hit a flying elbow on Woods for two and followed with a double underhook suplex off the ropes. Big E knocked him down but Ambrose avoided a splash and tagged in Bubba. Everyone took turns hitting moves, but Woods pushed Ambrose off the top to the outside.

    Dudleys hit Kingston with a 3D but Woods broke up the cover using the trombone for a DQ. New Day attacked the Dudleys, and Woods used the trombone as a weapon, destroying it in the process. Woods, who had a bloody nose, gave Bubba a shining wizard and Kingston followed with Trouble in Paradise. They finished off D-Von with Midnight Hour.

    Everyone, including myself, was expecting Ambrose — a human cockroach who beat Seth Rollins a few weeks ago — to jump back in at the end but that never happened. New Day posed with the titles and the trombone and the show ended.

    Final Thoughts:

    Pretty much an average show. I would’ve put Ambrose over in his hometown. That being said, one positive for this show was that featured acts all got wins: Reigns, Owens, Harper & Strowman and Charlotte. The first two in squash matches and the latter two in convincing fashion. The New Day got put over strong as well and were positioned to be taken seriously. I know it’s sad that WWE needs to be given credit for simple booking, but here we are.