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  • WWE Fast Lane 2016 Preview and Predictions

    The biggest news of the last few weeks seems to not really revolve around WWE Fast Lane, taking place this Sunday. Titus O’Neil being suspended, Daniel Bryan retiring and a whole bunch of other news seems to have put this show in the back burner. On paper, this looks like a fun card. But in terms of presentation and execution, it feels a bit lackluster. There’s big stipulations on the line, but it seems clear who will be taking on Triple H at WrestleMania. The February PPV is always aimed to kick off the buildup towards WrestleMania. Will this card do that, or will we simply see a bunch of matches that will eventually lead us towards that build in the last few weeks before WrestleMania?

    Staff roundtable for this month (along with their current Pickem stats!):

    Bryan Rose (New Japan reporter) (4 points)

    Alan O’Brien (WWE Main Event reporter) (5 points)

    PeachMachine (Violoncelloist / Kremenologist) (0 points)

    James Cox (WWE Superstars reporter and WWE DVD reviewer) (0 points)

    Kyle S. Johnson (Columnist) (6 points)

    Steve Khan (WWE Smackdown reporter) (3 points)

    United States Championship: Kallisto vs. Alberto del Rio (2 out of 3 Falls Match)

    Bryan Rose: This feels like a nothing feud. I think Alberto del Rio has won the last two weeks in generic tags, including pinning Kallisto. For Kallisto, it’s one of these pushes where they had something, but then because he’s small, “has to fight for every win”, which is WWE code for he loses a lot. When Kallisto initially won the title it was a really cool moment because it was something WWE almost never does, and gave Kallisto instant credibility as a new guy they can move towards. A month later, Kallisto is back to feeling like just another guy on the roster. And now that Sin Cara is back teaming with him, most likely this is the match where Alberto regains the championship.

    Winner: Alberto del Rio

    Alan O’Brien: This is the toughest match on the card to call, for me. With the feud already 50/50ed at two apiece, the only booking hint one can point to is the string of losses The Lucha Dragons have sustained at the hands of Del Rio’s League of Nations in recent weeks. Beating Kalisto with this regularity might ordinarily indicate that he’s keeping the strap, given they way they think; but he’s only taken the fall himself on a single occasion. As such, I’m taking a shot in the dark here really; Del Rio to win by nefarious means, potentially leading into the Wrestlemania rematch nobody wanted. Let’s face it, he’s got nothing going on at the minute, while Kalisto has the fallback of his newly returned tag team partner.

    Winner: Alberto Del Rio

    PeachMachine: I’m taking Kalisto. I just don’t think Al of the River will have what it takes to keep the young spry luchador at bay. Plus my guess is that they are disbanding the League of Nations, and hopefully changing it to the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. They’ve already got the Beast (Rusev), the Scientist (technically chemist if you look at Del Rio’s bod), and the Invisible Man (Sheamus).

    Winner: The man under Kalisto’s mask

    James Cox: Who knows what they are planning to do with any of these League of Nations guys. It’s been enough of a ‘push’ to make Wade Barrett give notice. Does that mean they change things up? Probably not. I think they need to blow this feud off and keep the title on Kalisto for a while. 2 out of 3 falls matches tend to be a bit pointless and this one feels the same: it means they can keep Del Rio strong by having Kalisto steal a win – the ideal way to book a champion, right?

    Winner: Kalisto

    Kyle S. Johnson: I had, honest to god, completely forgotten these two were having a match until I started writing my predictions. Kalisto has already started teaming with Sin Cara again, and he’s done almost nothing of note since getting the U.S. Championship back at the Rumble, so he’s already cooled off quite a bit from the buzz he built for himself at TLC. The fact that there is at least a fallback direction for Kalisto while Del Rio suddenly feels completely without purpose leads me to believe that Alberto is just going to win the belt back here and take it into Wrestlemania. Neither guy seems to be angled to do anything different moving forward, so I wouldn’t be shocked if they just wind up wrestling again in Dallas, perhaps in a in a luchas de apuestas.

    Winner: Alberto Del Rio

    Steve Khan: I thought Del Rio would retain at the Rumble since it seemed like the long-term plan was to have the belt on him. Kalisto’s win was likely just to stretch this out until Sin Cara got back. I’m not sure why Kalisto can’t be U.S. Champion and in a good tag-team at the same time, but apparently he can’t.

    Winner: Alberto Del Rio

    Diva’s Championship: Charlotte (c) vs. Brie Bella

    Bryan Rose: I’ve actually kind of liked the build towards this. I mean yeah, alright, it’s basically piggybacking off the Daniel Bryan stuff from a week ago. But the interview segment they had on Raw was one of the better angles they’ve done in this division as of late, and it does give Brie Bella some babyface credibility at a time when she’s probably needed it the most since her character as a whole is largely inconsistent. I don’t see Bella winning since she has intentions on leaving, though they could do the swerve win to honor Daniel Bryan. I think they have plans for what’s going down at WrestleMania,  however, and I don’t think Brie fits into them.

    Winner: Charlotte

    Alan O’Brien: While it’s possible they may give Brie her pre-retirement “moment”, I think it’s far more likely that they will opt to stretch Charlotte’s reign ahead of her inevitable ‘Mania triple threat match against Sasha and Becky. Giving the strap to Brie for a cup of coffee doesn’t really do anyone any favours.

    Winner: Charlotte

    PeachMachine: I think Brie Bella will win. WWE wants to capitalize on the D. Bryan momentum. Even though Charlotte’s abs look similar to Lesnar’s, I like B. Danielson to take home the Labia title.

    Winner: Sweet D.

    James Cox: It makes sense to put the title on Brie here. They can take it off her before she leaves but her and Daniel Bryan to celebrate in the ring together seems like a good way to go. She has won it before, but they can still make it look like a big deal – especially with Nikki out injured and Bryan having just retired. If they wanted, I guess they could even build this up to a retirement match/angle at WrestleMania or this summer.

    Winner: Brie Bella

    Kyle S. Johnson: This has been an unusual month or so for the women of the WWE. All signs seemed to be pointing to building Sasha vs. Charlotte at Wrestlemania while possibly keeping Becky Lynch in the picture at the same time, and then the next thing you know, Becky and Sasha are buddying up and Charlotte is wrestling Brie on a one-week build. Giving a suddenly-face Brie a championship match out of nowhere after being beaten constantly for three months would be a mind-boggling (if not completely unsurprising) development were it not for the retirement of Daniel Bryan, but having Charlotte beat Brie and then move on to a three-way with Becky and Sasha at Mania seems like the logical end-game here.

    Winner: Charlotte

    Steve Khan: This worked out nicely as a quick program for Charlotte, who can successfully defend her belt while they set up Banks and/or Lynch for a Mania title match. There’s no reason for Brie to win. The match itself should be ok, and all the Yes chants should help.

    Winner: Charlotte

    AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho

    Bryan Rose: This is going to be pretty good. Presentation wise I’ve kind of hated this feud as they keep calling him the “Rookie Redneck” and “the Pitbull” because he’s a) short and has to fight for everything he has (sound familiar?), b) from Georgia and c) has wrestled everywhere but WWE. Aside from all that, AJ has been good, not great in his WWE run so far. Maybe with more time and a PPV atmosphere, AJ and Styles can go out there and have a fantastic match. I don’t think Jericho needs the win in this series, so I’m giving it to Styles.

    Winner: AJ Styles

    Alan O’Brien: Possible show-stealer here, given how much of an upgrade the second match was on the disappointing first. The result is in no doubt, however; Styles victory all the way, with the added potential of a post-match Jericho heel turn.

    Winner: AJ Styles

    PeachMachine: Jericho. AJ is getting over too fast. WWE hates success and money.

    Winner: The fans (sniiiiiiffffffffffff)

    James Cox: I don’t really mind what they do, this and the main event make this show worth watching. I assume that they are going to spin this feud out to WrestleMania – and so they should. 50/50 booking ‘logic’ says that Jericho gets a win here. Styles should win at WrestleMania to keep the fans happy.

    Winner: Chris Jericho

    Kyle S. Johnson: This should be great. Say what you will about the build, with the ridiculous sub-branding of AJ Styles as a “pitbull” and a “redneck rookie” and the involvement of The Miz, but this could very well be the match of the show by a wide margin if given the right amount of time and the right approach. Beating AJ doesn’t make any sense here unless the plan is to have these two wrestle again at Wrestlemania, and while I would have no complaints if that would be the ultimate direction, it would still make more sense to have Styles win and Jericho make a full heel turn after the fact to lead into their next match. I expect these two to go in with the goal of having the best match on the show, and if that’s what they have in mind, there’s no reason to suspect they won’t deliver.

    Winner: AJ Styles

    Steve Khan: Whatever the plan is with Jericho, Styles has to win this match.

    Winner: AJ Styles

    Ryback, Kane and Big Show vs. The Wyatt Family (Erik Rowan, Luke Harper and Braun Strowman)

    Bryan Rose: I fell asleep during the main event from Raw. And from what I’ve heard, I didn’t miss much. This is just not very compelling in the least bit. It’s all designed for Vince McMahon’s latest pet project, Braun Strowman. He’s tall. That’s all you need to know about why Vince likes the guy. I’m sure he’ll develop into something good, as it does seem like he has a ton of potential and has a good look, but I just think out of everyone you signed, you pushed this guy because…he’s tall. Well, whatever. I don’t have any other thoughts on this match other than I hope it’s short because as a match, it looks like it has zero potential to be anything but plodding. Wyatts win.

    Winners: Wyatts

    Alan O’Brien: The only winner here is Vince, with these six hosses bound to “set a methodical pace”, as Good Ol’ JR used to say. I cannot possibly fathom anything other than a victory for Strowman et al. Only the Edge/Christian/New Day segment could possibly be more “bowling shoe ugly” than this one is sure to be.

    Winner: The Wyatt Family

    PeachMachine: Uh, BIG SHOW! He’s got the Knock Out Punch! It’s literally the best finisher ever. He’s super big and strong and hits you super hard and knocks people out. He should be all the champions.

    Winner: The Impressive Spectacle, Kane, and Growth Hormone or whatever his name is

    James Cox: So Big Show said on the Stone Cold Podcast that he reckoned he had another two years left. What about Kane? I figure he’s only back due to all the injuries on the roster. I could see him bowing out at WrestleMania, but I don’t know who against. Wyatts don’t need to win here because they’re going to interfere in the main event, but I’ll say that they do because otherwise there are too many babyface wins on this card.

    Winner: Wyatts

    Kyle S. Johnson: Big Show was pretty great on Austin’s podcast on Monday. This feud, on the other hand, has not been great. At all. There has been absolutely nothing done in the past four weeks to make me care about anyone involved in this match, apart perhaps from Ryback’s ridiculous sunset flip thing on Luke Harper last Monday. Kane, Show, and The Big Guy have no direction whatsoever leading into Wrestlemania, so having them go over here makes no sense. I presume that the Wyatts will come out looking strong so that Bray can ultimately lose to somebody (probably Brock) at Wrestlemania.

    Winner: The Wyatt Family

    Steve Khan: This show seems awfully predictable, and with Bray not in this match, I could see this as an opening for the good guys to win and surprise everyone. That would be pretty dumb though, and this is the time of year the company does fewer dumb things than usual.

    Winner: The Wyatt Family

    Intercontinental Championship: Kevin Owens (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler

    Bryan Rose: On paper, this sounds great. Owens is a really special performer. Ziggler is great. But here is the problem: I’ve seen this. They’ve had two very long, pretty great matches on Raw in the last two weeks. Ziggler won both of those cleanly. Now, I understand all of that was build towards this match. But it doesn’t forego the fact that I’ve seen this. A lot of times. I’m sure it’ll be great, but the build towards this has been lackluster, and they haven’t given me much reason why I should care about a third outing when Ziggler’s beaten him twice. I say Owens retains, but who knows.

    Winner: Kevin Owens

    Alan O’Brien: Ziggler has beaten Owens twice; that alone, in 50/50 land, is evidence enough that Owens will be getting one of his wins back on Sunday. Add to that the fact that he will have held the strap for less than a week and you’ve got yourself a lock.

    Winner: Kevin Owens

    PeachMachine: I like Ziggler here. I feel like they put the belt on KO just because they want him to drop it to Zigs and do the double turn and the rematch at mania.

    Winner: The Z-man jr.

    James Cox: Kevin Owens to retain. Longer term, it would be good to see Owens and Styles go at it. Ziggler doesn’t need a title, but if they do give it to him, they ought to turn him heel. Owens at Ziggler at Mania would be fine but there are more exciting options. I hope they are creative with the finish; Owens’ PPV matches have always seemed to offer something fresh since he started with the company.

    Winner: Kevin Owens

    Kyle S. Johnson: These two are probably going to have a really fun match, but having seen this so many times already in the span of a month kills a lot of the intrigue, even if those matches were also a lot of fun. This match certainly would have a bigger air about it if Ziggler was booked better, but he hasn’t been, so it doesn’t. Owens just won the belt on Monday, and he’s not going to lose it here. Here’s hoping that this feud ends with the quickness and the next weeks lead to Owens vs. Zayn at ‘Mania.

    Winner: Kevin Owens

    Steve Khan: Owens should win and he probably will.

    Winner: Kevin Owens

    Becky Lynch & Sasha Banks vs. Naomi & Tamina

    Bryan Rose: I don’t really have much to say about this. Just seems like filler in between whatever the real Diva’s title match is going to be at WrestleMania. Sasha and Becky as the team that doesn’t always get along is so tired, especially after they’ve broken up all the teams they set up in the summer over the last few months. They get the win, maybe leading to a three way with Charlotte for the Diva’s title at WrestleMania. That’d be a nice story, to see the NXT women from last year headline their division at WrestleMania a year later.

    Winners: Lynch and Banks

    Alan O’Brien: This match surely only exists to build Sasha and Becky for their slated triple threat match at ‘Mania with champion, Charlotte. Anything other than a victory for the babyfaces would be a bafflingly strange outcome.

    Winner: Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks

    PeachMachine: Banks. I hate Lynch. She’s disgusting and terrible. Sasha’s entrance music is the greatest thing since declaring that you rule in 6th grade. “I’m on top of the playground! I rule!” Yes you do, Billy. You rule.

    Winner: Sasha Banks only

    James Cox: I think that Naomi and Tamina should win this to finally break up this on-again, off-again nonsense between Banks and Lynch. Banks ought to be involved at WrestleMania, in front of that kind of crowd she’ll be beloved.

    Winners: Naomi & Tamina

    Kyle S. Johnson: What can you say about this cobbled together placeholder match? Banks and Lynch should be primed for a three-way Divas Championship match at Wrestlemania, so I expect them to tease dissention as a team but ultimately get a convincing win to put them into position.

    Winners: Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch

    Steve Khan: A threeway at Mania seems likely, but even if it isn’t, Lynch and Banks should both go over strong. I can see a double submission spot as the finish (Lynch with the Disarmer, Sasha with the Bank Statement).

    Winner: Lynch & Banks

    Winner Goes to Headline WrestleMania: Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

    Bryan Rose: This is supposed to be a match that causes a lot of intrigue, but for me it’s more along the lines of…well, this is predictable. Not that predictable is bad, because when WWE is unpredictable things could be worse. But I think I mostly know how this’ll go. Wyatt will come out and allow Reigns to get the win, probably over Ambrose. What they do with Ambrose after this will be the most interesting thing coming out of this match, as they’ve been teasing a turn between him and Reigns forever. It’ll be interesting to see if it actually happens. Even though the intrigue of the match isn’t completely there, I think if they go all out this could actually steal the show.  If that actually happens or not, we’ll have to wait and see! Roman wins, though, as HHH/Reigns is the only match I see headlining WrestleMania at this point.

    Winner: Roman Reigns

    Alan O’Brien: Gotta go with the predictable outcome here, I’m afraid. Dean is in the match to take the fall. Lesnar may also be further protected by finding himself taken out of the equation by the Wyatts. Roman’s pinfall victory over his “brother” will both propel him to ‘Mania and fuel Ambrose’s future heel turn. Finally, HHH’s receipt of the Legacy of Excellence Award on Monday night will serve to restart he and Roman’s oh-so-thrilling program. Yay. Looking forward to six weeks of the insecure nerd telling Reigns he should have a bone through his nose, before hitting him with the Pedigree and pinning him after lying around for five minutes. Or not, whatever.

    Winner: Roman Reigns

    PeachMachine: Trips comes to the ring, tosses Lesnar the belt, he drills Romanowski with it for the KO and the win, and Lesnar joins the Authority and is expected to lay down for the game at Mania. And he does with no qualms. HHH is champion forever. Winner: No one.

    James Cox: WWE generally do what is obvious every year en route to WrestleMania. No difference here. Wyatts take out Lesnar and Reigns beats Ambrose. I think the tease an Ambrose/Reigns turn but save it for later. Before the interruptions and post-match shenanigans, I think this will be a great match. All I’ll say, is thank god for Brock Lesnar.

    Winner: Roman Reigns

    Kyle S. Johnson: I have to give credit where it’s due in that WWE would be doing a great job of convincing the audience that Brock or Dean might win this match…were it not for the fact that Roman winning is the only possible outcome. Granted, that’s not a bad thing: the story demands Roman against Triple H at Wrestlemania, and so that’s what we’re going to get. What will be interesting is to see how this match is constructed, and how much it teases Ambrose potentially turning heel. Roman’s win will likely be set up by The Wyatts laying out Lesnar as he is primed to win (even if that completely disregards the endless months of Bray’s “anyone but you” mantra), and it makes sense for Dean to take the pin and use the loss as fuel for a vendetta against his former partner after he takes the title back at Wrestlemania.

    Winner: Roman Reigns

    Steve Khan: So this should be interesting. They’ve done a good job of focusing on the two guys not named Roman Reigns, leading us to think maybe he won’t win. But he probably will. They’ve changed plans before, but at this point they might as well go with Reigns and Triple H. If the Wyatts cost Lesnar the match, that will cheapen Reigns’ win, so they have to be careful. The Wyatts could abduct Lesnar near the end of the match, leaving it down to Reigns and Ambrose. Reigns can pin Ambrose again, leading to Ambrose’s turn down the line.

    Winner: Roman Reigns

  • NJPW Beginnings live results: IWGP Heavyweight championship Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto

    This morning’s New Japan show puts current champion and potential new ace of the promotion Kazuchika Okada against perennial challenger Hirooki Goto. While Goto has had many opportunities at grabbing the top title in New Japan, he always seems to be just one win away from the coveted prize. He’s been on a more rebellious streak as of late, taking out Okada at every opportunity, including press confrences. Is this the edge he needs to win the gold?

    Also tonight is Katsyuori Shibata taking on Tomohiro Ishii for the NEVER title, Toru Yano and the Briscoes defending their six man NEVER titles against Bullet Club members Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi, as well as several matches aimed at building towards the next New Beginnings show, set to be held on Valentines Day.

    Coverage provided by Dave Meltzer starts at 12AM PST tonight.

    JAY WHITE VS. DAVID FINLAY

    I loved this match  Just a perfect prelim opener, technically awesome.  Like usual with New Japan openers, it was too short.  White caught Finlay doing a cannonball, turned it into a half crab, then a full crab and finally a lion tamer for the submission.  

    JUSHIN LIGER & TIGER MASK & RYUSUE TAGUCHI VS. KAZUSHI SAKURABA & YOSHI-HASHI & GEDO

    Lots of buffering issues during this match.  Liger & Tiger & Taguchi won.  I think  Gedo lost the fall, which would make sense.  During intermission they’ll probably show a replay.  It looked fine, just like a usual match in that spot on the card.

    YUJI NAGATA & MANABU NAKANISHI VS. SATOSHI KOJIMA & HIROYOSHI TENZAN

    The match was good when Nakanishi wasn’t in.  Unfortunately, he was in a lot.  About  what you’d figure from these guys in this spot.  The crowd liked it.  Kojima & Tenzan used the 3-D on Nakanishi and Kojima pinned Nakanishi after two lariats.  They all shook hands after.  Nagata then issued a challenge and Kojima seemed to accept.  They all shook hands again.  The crowd popped for the mic work and all four stood on he ropes in four corners as the crowd cheered. 

    MICHAEL ELGIN & KUSHIDA & JUICE ROBINSON VS. TETSUYA NAITO & EVIL & BUSHI

    The heels won when Bushi blew mist and nailed Kushida with a toipe and Evil used an STO on Robinson for the pin.  Before the match, Naito started bullying TV announcer Shimpei Nogami and tore his Blue Justice shirt.  Elgin’s power moves when  he tagged in for the first time got over bigger than anything.  He pressed Bushi and then held him up for one arm before dropping him.

    MARK & JAY BRISCOE & TORU YANO VS. BAD LUCK FALE & TAMA TONGA & YUJIRO TAKAHASHI FOR HE NEVER SIX MAN TITLES

    Fale & Tonga & Yujiro won the titles.  They started off doing comedy and kind of lost the crowd and never got them back.  I think they feel the need to elevate the other Bullet Club members right now.  The finish saw Fale hit the grenade on Jay.  Yano gave Fale & Yujiro both low blows, but Tonga then gave Yano a low blow and a double arm DDT for the pin.

    MATT & NICK JACKSON DEFEND IWGP JR. TAG TITLES AGAINST RICOCHET & MATT SYDAL AND BOBBY FISH & KYLE O’REILLY

    Lots of streaming issues here.  Best match so far but how good I couldn’t really tell.  Ricochet & Sydal won the titles with Ricochet doing a shooting star press on Nick and Sydal doing the same move at the same time  on Matt.  Cody Hall interfered a few times and carried Kyle O’Reilly to the back before the finish.  Ricochet seemed the most popular.  A lot of good moves and dives, a tower of doom spot.  

    KATSUYORI SHIBATA VS. TOMOHIRO ISHII FOR NEVER OPEN WEIGHT TITLE

    This was fantastic.  The usual hard chops, elbows and clotheslines, cool submissions, no sell spots that you’d expect.  They were slapping the hell out of each other, Shbiata used a choke and then the penalty kick for the pin to retain.  Ishii was bleeding from the mouth from about halfway into the match.  Ishii doing his super sell job as he was carried to the back.  They did spots early where each guy allowed the other to suplex and then the guy would get up after being suplexed.  They did this about seven times and some great exchanges.  The crowd was more into Shibata.  Shibata also did a great flying armbar and triangles and armbars on the ground.  You got the sense Shibata is going to get the position Nakamura had.

    HIROSHI TANAHASHI & TOGI MAKABE & TOMOAKI HONMA VS. DOC GALLOWS & KARL ANDERSON & KENNY OMEGA

    This sets up the IC and tag title match on Valentine’s Day in Niigata.  The Bullet Club had to win this one.  They pretty much destroyed  them  Omega worked over Tanahashi’s bad shoulder.  After the match they destroyed Tanahashi.  They used chair shots to the shoudler, Matt Jackson came off the top with a chair to the shoudler.  Omega came off the top rope with a high fly flowwhile Tanahashi’s arm was held over a garbage can with the splash on the arm.  It was a total post-match destruction  They did what they had to do to get Omega over in the spot he’s in  For the match itself, Anderson used the gunstun on Honma, then they laid out Makabe with the Magic killer and Omega used a reverse Frankensteiner on Tanahashi before Omega finally used the one winged angel on Honma for the pin.  Pretty good, not off the charts.

    KAZCHIKA OKADA VS.  HIROOKI GOTO FOR IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE

    Goto is all painted up like Hakushi. Very good match but this never got to the level of most IWGP title matches.  It’s really clear watching this show how much losing Nakamura hurts.  Okada kept going for the rainmaker and Goto kept head-butting him.  But finally Okada hit it, then followed with two more rainmakers and got the pin  Goto had nearly won with the shouten kai, but Okada barely got his hand on the rope.  I don’t think people believed Goto could win.  Gedo is now doing a promo for Okada.  Now Okada is doing the promo  One thing about this match is that the crowd was completely behind Okada but didn’t seem to care much about Goto. 

  • WWE NXT Breaking Ground Episode 9: Countdown, Bayley at a PPV

    Breaking Ground Episode 9: Countdown

    By Ryan Pike

    Key Takeaway: TakeOver: Respect draws near as we follow several NXT personalities as they prepare for the big event. The focus on TakeOver adds some much-needed urgency to the show.

    Recap: As with the past few episodes, this edition of Breaking Ground wasn’t focused on one or two competitors, but the episode’s focus on the road to TakeOver: Respect helped make up for it.

    Bayley visits Natalya at “Night of Champions” and picks her brain a bit about the upcoming Iron Man match. Natalya reassures her that she’s the right person to lead the way for the young NXT female locker room as champion. Later, Bayley shoots promos for the match and gets a bit choked up as she discusses the importance and historical nature of the bout, which they emphasize is the first time females have main-evented a live WWE special. When she arrives at Full Sail for the event, Bayley seems a bit relieved that the day has arrived – she mentions how she’s been constantly running around preparing and promoting the event (and while she does this in voice-over, she is constantly shaking hands with different people at the arena backstage who greet her) that she’s a bit wired at this point. In a cool moment in this episode, Bayley gets a chance to play with her own action figure as Mattel comes to do facial scans of other NXT stars.

    Nia Jax is getting ready for her TV debut (which was taped after TakeOver, but appears in this episode because of narratives). Her mom has flown in and helps her prepare. Nia has no idea what to do for her entrance. Her mom advises her not to over-analyze her entrance and just enjoy the moment when she walks out there. Her mom mentions what she has already overcome, and Nia tells the story of getting in an accident with a drunk driver in August 2014 (with The Rock’s mom with her in the car). In a funny moment, Rhyno and Baron Corbin joke around with her about being nervous about her debut, sharing horror stories of their past debuts. (Rhyno came out during the commercial break because he thought the generic rock music was his entrance music, advising her to “remember her music.”) She likes her new gear. Her debut happens, the crowd reacts well to her. She tears up discussing how much it all meant to her having her mom there. (Weirdly, she has a talk with her mom outside the venue wearing her more recent gear with the cool shoulder-pads.)

    Sami Zayn begins doing conditioning in-ring with Tye Dillinger. He goes through a series of holds while a trainer assesses him. He notes afterwards it’s unclear if he’s going up to the main roster or not, as it wasn’t clear to him if his Montreal match with John Cena was a full call-up or a one-off.

    In a strange quirk, last week’s cliffhanger with Dana Brooke getting injured is not really followed up on. They establish that she was hurt and injured some muscle in-between her pectoral and her shoulder, but she decided to work through it as the trainers felt whatever damage had been done wouldn’t get worse. She does get choked up a bit chatting with Jason Jordan prior to Takeover, but she gets to make her TakeOver debut with Asuka regardless.

    In lesser news: Tino Sabbatelli gets video feedback from Adam Pearce and Matt Bloom, and does extra work in the ring at the Performance Center with the hopes of working his way back up from the beginners class to the touring roster. Tyler Breeze and his girlfriend adopt a stray dog that followed him to the Performance Center. Jason Jordan and Chad Gable order custom track suits for their TakeOver match, but they don’t arrive in time.

    And the beginning of “TakeOver: Respect” is this episode’s big cliffhanger, as we’ll follow up on that event in next week’s season finale.

    Final Thoughts: A fairly strong episode of Breaking Ground, if only because of the focus on TakeOver and the time it spent with personalities like Bayley, Nia Jax and Sami Zayn who the show has spent time with and given reasons for viewers to care about.

  • WWE Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2015 Preview and Predictions

    So WWE went ahead and rebooted itself shortly after Survivor Series. They sort of had to, after all, when their long term project Seth Rollins was put out of action with a serious knee injury. Out of all the situations they could have done, they went ahead and did the one that made the least amount of sense – make Sheamus, who on that very same show was treated like a total geek in a nothing match – the WWE champion, pinning new champion Roman Reigns after cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase.

    Sheamus, now the top heel in the company (except whenever the Authority make their presence), has formed a stable consisting of him, Wade Barrett, Rusev and Alberto del Rio known as the League of Nations. Their target is Roman Reigns, who gets another title opportunity this weekend thanks to Triple H, who just gave it to him despite doing everything in his power to get the belt off Reigns. The odds are stacked against him, but he’s proven that he can win the big one, as evidenced the previous month. Will we see a new champion crowned at the final pay per view of the year, or will the Authority’s latest charge find a way to keep his title?

    Our predictors for this month’s show:

    – Bryan Rose: New Japan house show/AXS reporter

    – James Cox: WWE Superstars reporter and WWE DVD reviewer

    – Jeremy Peeples: TNA Impact Wrestling and Lucha Underground reporter

    – Steve Khan: WWE Smackdown reporter

    Chairs Match for the WWE United States Championship: Alberto del Rio (c) vs. Jack Swagger

    Bryan Rose: A main event in any arena! Or, should I say, a Main Event main event in any arena. Really, the booking is so lame here. You take Jack Swagger, who has not been on TV for months besides doing jobs on Main Event and Superstars, and now suddenly he’s number one contender just because. He has zero momentum to speak of, Alberto only has a bit more, and overall this just feels like a very lame feud that they gave zero time or effort to get over. Whether or not Zeb is involved doesn’t really matter, as with the new League of Nations gimmick he’s the odd man out, plus he and Alberto really have no chemistry to speak of. With that said, I fully expect it now to be a swerve that will allow del Rio to get the clean win. Over Jack Swagger.

    Winner: Alberto del Rio

    James Cox: It is difficult to hold out much hope for a gimmick match that has traditionally not offered up classic matches. The most intriguing thing will be how they use Zeb, though I wouldn’t be surprised if they just completely ignore that angle and move on without him at all. Swagger can never get over with this character unless they let him win, but, clearly, he’s losing here after what I would guess will be a tussle and back-and-forth between their submission moves in the finish.

    Winner: Alberto Del Rio

    Jeremy Peeples: This feud has been built up terribly on television and this match seemingly serves no purpose. Swagger is feuding with MexAmerica, which no longer exists after Raw, so why is this happening? Beyond just giving Swagger a payday, it should be a fine showcase for Alberto and perhaps they bring Swagger and Zeb together. There’s a very slim chance they give Swagger the title here to move Alberto into the WWE Title picture officially, but that seems very unlikely.

    Winner: Alberto Del Rio

    Steve Khan: I expect a lot of chairs to be used in this match. Maybe Del Rio will double foot stomp a chair into Swagger’s face. Or maybe he’ll superkick a chair into Swagger’s face. Or maybe he’ll do an armbar through a chair. Either way…

    Winner: Alberto Del Rio

    Eight Man Tag Team Elimination Tables Match: The Dudley Boyz, Tommy Dreamer and Rhyno vs. The Wyatt Family

    Bryan Rose: I guess ECW is still popular enough in 2015 that the return of Tommy Dreamer and Rhyno are going to get big reactions. Hey, that’s a testament to the power of WWE still getting over ECW 14 years after it went out of business, plus a misguided attempt to reboot it 9 years ago. I’m not sure what to expect here other than a bunch of table shots. With the Wyatts losing clean last month to the Undertaker, something tells me they’ll do just fine against Team Extreme (not to be confused with Team Xtreme).

    Winners: The Wyatt Family

    James Cox: I worry that this won’t amount to much after an initial ECW pop in Boston, but I hope that I’m wrong. In theory, you can use this to reboot The Wyatts after losing last month, but I don’t know how this company thinks anymore. You can certainly beat any of these men and I would assume they will at least protect Bray and Strowman. I really want this to be a lot of fun, on a ppv that doesn’t look that exciting as things stand.

    Winner: The Wyatt Family

    Jeremy Peeples: They haven’t been doing much with the Dudleys, although Tommy Dreamer has been shockingly over and Rhyno is a welcome sight on the main roster. With Bubba Ray being truly wasted in this ECW/Attitude Era nostalgia act, hopefully he turns heel and does his own thing. Since there is no chance of that happening, Team Extreme will just be used to put over the Wyatts and they can talk about how the Wyatts are the only team in WWE history to defeat the Dudleys at their own game. Sure, it won’t be true, but it will tell a nice story.

    Winner: The Wyatt Family

    Steve Khan: Whether or not this feud is continuing, the Wyatts should win and they probably will. Tables matches are dumb so I don’t expect much from this.

    Winner: The Wyatt Family

    Divas Title: Charlotte (c) (with Ric Flair in her corner) vs. Paige

    Bryan Rose: Does anyone care at this point? Now Charlotte’s teasing a heel turn because…I don’t know? I guess we aren’t supposed to think of the Divas as faces or heels? The only true babyface on the Divas roster at this point is Becky Lynch, who only pops up now and again. For all of this talk about a Revolution, we’re right back to square one with Divas whose one note gimmicks are that they are either heels or crazy people. Virtually nothing’s changed now and that’s probably the saddest thing about the WWE this year. Charlotte retains, I guess, but who can care at this point?

    Winner: Charlotte

    James Cox: I hope we see the completion of a double turn in this one. The muddying of the waters around who is the heel is just irritating. Flair can be either. On his own, he’s always going to get a babyface reaction, but with Charlotte I can see that they can use him in that way. But the fact that I’m writing this, after what happened last month with the Flair family name, is ridiculous. With no smoke and mirrors, they’re going to have to work hard to make a Boston crowd care much.

    Winner: Charlotte

    Jeremy Peeples: This feud has been a colossal waste of both women, but Paige’s character is more of a babyface than Charlotte’s now since she’s speaking the truth – it’s just a truth no one wants to accept. Of course, a double turn won’t do much for either of them since the commentators will just talk about how it’s okay for Charlotte to cheat because her dad did, so everything will be undercut. They had a good-ish match on the last PPV and a better one on Raw, so I expect this to have pretty good action if the match itself isn’t just a backdrop to the angle. Charlotte needs the title more than Paige, and a heel-ish win moves her cocky character forward too.

    Winner: Charlotte

    Steve Khan: Paige should really be the star of this division right now, as Charlotte has been nothing as champion, but her storyline over the last few weeks has probably bought her more time with the belt. She cheated last month by accident, so I think she cheats on purpose here to pick up the win. The match itself should be good.

    Winner: Charlotte

    Ryback vs. Rusev

    Bryan Rose: This match was added at the very last minute on Smackdown. They’ve built it up the last few weeks in a build that was, well, just a build. As for the actual match, it could go either way. This could either be a fun slugfest or a WWE-style centric match, which can produce a boring bout. Let’s hope for the latter. I say Rusev wins as he needs some heat on him following his return.

    Winner: Rusev

    Steve Khan: It seems like this show could be dominated by heels, so Ryback getting a token win wouldn’t surprise me, but they just reunited Rusev and Lana and Rusev is in the League of Nations so he should really win.

     Winner: Rusev

    Ladder Match: WWE Tag Team Championship: The New Day (c) vs. The Usos vs. The Lucha Dragons

    Bryan Rose: I think this’ll be a stunt show, but a good one. All three tag teams are probably going to go all out here, with lots of ladder shots in between. Not the best built program leading to this, but not many matches on the show were anyway. I see the New Day winning here because there really aren’t any tag teams that are over enough for them to drop the titles so.

     Winner: The New Day

    James Cox: This is a classic case of being booked into a corner by creating gimmick ppvs in advance. There’s no reason to have three teams in this match. But, I’d call this to be the match of the night, provided it isn’t just a spot-fest. Kofi, Kalisto and The Usos are all capable of doing something special here. The New Day have become bloated versions of themselves in the last few weeks, but it makes zero sense for them to lose the titles, other than just for the sake of playing hot potato with the belts.

     Winner: The New Day

    Steve Khan: This obviously has potential to be match of the night and hopefully it’s given time to produce. I would actually put the titles on the Usos. WWE is in love with New Day but too many babyface acts are coming up short lately, and that could continue on this show if Ambrose and Reigns both lose. New Day can come out of this feud as champions eventually, and they’ll probably win here despite what I Just said, but I’ll go out on a limb (?) and take the Usos.

     Winner: The Usos

    Intercontinental Championship: Kevin Owens (c) vs. Dean Ambrose

    Bryan Rose: This should be a good match if given time. I can’t say there’s a whole lot of interest here because the way it was built, which included Dean Ambrose throwing soda and popcorn at his opponent, and Owens using the walkout finish on nearly every match he’s been in leading up to this one. But again, if they are given enough time, they can go out there and steal the show. As for who wins, it could go either way, but I see Owens retaining here in some sort of finish that allows a rematch for next month.

     Winner: Kevin Owens

    James Cox: With all the bells and whistles that this show has, I feel like time could be an issue here. If they give them 15mins, they can have a great match. Less than 12 and I struggle to see this being much better than just OK. Owens is a great heel and Ambrose a great babyface, but only if the company want them to be and are prepared to invest time in them. With one eye on WrestleMania now, you’d have to think that if Ambrose wins, Owens becomes a potential for the Rumble or a high spot on the WrestleMania card. But in theory, with this weakened roster, so should Ambrose.

    Winner: Kevin Owens

    Jeremy Peeples: This match really hasn’t had much of a build to it, and Raw’s popcorn and soda usage didn’t exactly set fire to the feud. Dean Ambrose has no momentum, while Owens at least has some – so he seems like a lock to win – especially if they decide to throw him in as one of the many champions in the League of Nations. Doing so would keep this feud alive and make a Dean win in the future mean more since it showed Roman’s group could take something from Sheamus’s.

     Winner: Kevin Owens

    Steve Khan: It occurred to me that this company may not want to put a title on Dean Ambrose as long as Roman Reigns is without one himself. Imagine the Usos and/or Ambrose walking out with Reigns and they have belts but he doesn’t? That puts the odds against Ambrose and the Usos on this show. Watching the babyfaces constantly come up short is getting tiresome, so that’s probably what we’ll see. The match itself should be good.

    Winner: Kevin Owens

    TLC Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Sheamus (c) vs. Roman Reigns

    Bryan Rose: So they went ahead and did the worst possible finish they could have done at Survivor Series by making Sheamus the WWE champion again. Booking and ratings aside, Sheamus has never felt like a main event talent, and that is what causes me to have little to no interest in this match. They’ll work hard and probably have a good match. But I’m jaded enough on WWE’s product to know there will probably be a screwy finish here that leaves Roman Reign a loser for the upteenth time this year, leading to a Royal Rumble scenario that probably sees him winning the title shot again. To say this isn’t interesting television right now is an understatement. But hey, Roman Reigns has a few people cheering for him now, so I guess it all paid off, right?

    Winner: Sheamus

    James Cox: A TLC match is just the kind of match that Sheamus does well in when in the main event picture: long brawls where he ultimately stands tall, drenched in sweat. There’s so much that they can do here with the two factions that they have created around each of them, that maybe this will become just a series of run-ins. I hope not. This needs to kick start this programme and, ideally, we should know by the end of it what our Royal Rumble main event is. But Reigns losing again? That feels like one too many. In a TLC match I guess you can still keep him looking strong despite the defeat. And let’s not forget that, for whatever reason, this company likes Sheamus.

    Winner: Sheamus

    Jeremy Peeples: Sheamus is dangerous enough in a regular match, but adding at least three implements of destruction (or toys as JBL could call them) adds even more risk to Roman. With so many people out with injury, I wouldn’t put Roman in this match against Sheamus, but it’s booked and Sheamus needs to look strong. The problem is that Roman needs to as well and really can’t be losing so many title matches. With that said, Sheamus needs the win and has an entire stable to ensure a victory, so he is the likely victor and then Roman will have to overcome the entire League of Nations to get a rematch or something along those lines.

    Winner: Sheamus

    Steve Khan: The finish of the match is important (or at least the follow-up) because it potentially sets up the title picture through WrestleMania, which probably has a lot of moving parts at the moment. Reigns winning here seems unlikely. If he gets a rematch at the Rumble, he can win that and go into WrestleMania as champion. But if he loses and the Authority refuses to give him another rematch, then Reigns goes into the Rumble and probably wins that. That leaves a hole for Sheamus to be filled at the Rumble. Maybe they’ll throw Brock Lesnar or Undertaker or John Cena in there to set up a match with Reigns, but for now it doesn’t really matter.

    Winner: Sheamus

  • WWE TLC PPV 2014 retrospective: Ambrose vs. Wyatt, Cena vs. Rollins

    Tables, Ladders, and Chairs, and STAIRS… Oh My!  Part 6

    By: PeachMachine (@hendosfoodblog)

    This week…

    TLC 6: December 15, 2014; Cleveland, Ohio, Quicken Loans Arena

    (39,000 PPV Buys, lowest number since the network)

    An excellent video package opens the PPV comparing the TLC show to a demolition derby.  It was pretty rad.

    Pre Show Match: The New Day (Big E and Kofi Kingston) (with Xavier Woods) defeated Gold and Star Dust.

    JBL, Cole, and King on the cans.

    Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper (c) in a Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship

    • In TLC 4, Dolph was in the main event against Cena.  In TLC 5 he was in the pre show match jobbing to Fandango, and tonight he’s in the opener for the Kiss of Death belt.
    • Something like 20 ladders had been set up at one point.
    • Harper had about 90 seconds alone in the ring and just sort of didn’t do anything.  I feel like I personally could put up a ladder and climb it and grab the title in no more than 15 seconds. 
    • Luke pushed Dolph off the ladder twice.
    • Dolph took a Power Bomb on a ladder suspended on the second rope.
    • Dolph countered the Power Bomb and gave Harper a face buster on a ladder.
    • Harper has a gash on his arm.
    • Ziggs tosses a ladder into Harper’s face who then took a bump across another ladder set up off the apron to the announce desk.
    • “This is awesome chants,” and I agree. 
    • Dolph super kicks Harper off the ladder and wins the belt.

    The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) vs. The Miz and Damien Mizdow (c) in a Tag Team match for the WWE Tag Team Championship

    • Has anyone made more out less than The Miz?  He was a reality TV dork.  Then a reality TV star.  Then a pretend reality wrestler.   He’s been WWE Champ, Headlined WrestleMania, Made a bunch of movies.  Made millions of dollars, and is married to Maryse. Unbelievable!
    • Everyone wants Mizdow to tag in.  How can they possibly get any heat?
    • Double Rikishi ass spots by Jimmy Uso.
    • An interesting parade of finishers leading to Jimmy Uso hooking up a Tequila Sunrise.
    • Miz and Mizdow grab their belts and leave, and in doing so, Miz lays out one of the Usos for the DQ.  So the Usos win by DQ, but no title change.

    Mr. Money in the Bank Seth Rollins (with J and J Security (Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble)) talks about Sting, and then how he’s going to make John Cena pay tonight.  This is the storyline where Cena has the ability to bring back The Authority.

    We’re getting an anatomy cut away view of the Steel Stairs.  They weigh 288, and can withstand an impact of 22,000 lb.

    Big Show vs. Erick Rowan in a Stairs match

    • A loss for Rowan could really hurt his wine sales this season. 
    • This was a bad idea on paper, and an even worse idea in execution.
    • Big Show Speared Rowan through a stack of chairs.
    • Big Show Choke-Slammed him on the stairs and then gave him the Knock Out Punch, and then pinned him with the stairs. 
    • Mediocre at best.

    We get an awesome video package explaining the stips of the next match, which are if Cena loses; he also loses his number one contendership to the WWE Championship. 

    John Cena vs. Mr. Money in the Bank Seth Rollins with (J and J Security (Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury)) in a Tables match

    • Paul Heyman came to the announce booth, but is just standing near it.
    • J and J jump in and just start putting the boots to Cena.  It turns out no DQ applies to others entering the ring as well.
    • Cena goes and gets a piece of guardrail and lays out the baddies. 
    • Noble takes the Suplex from Cena on the guardrail.
    • Seth sets up two tables on the outside.
    • Now Cena tosses in some more tables. 
    • Rollins brings in the MITB case and starts whacking Johnny.
    • Ref bump and it gets crazy leading to Cena giving Seth the AA off the top through table.
    • J and J run in and clean the crime scene and pay for it with a Double AA.
    • Cena and Seth fall through a table together and Chiota comes back just in time to see it.  They take a long time to debate the results.  Chiota restarts the match.  Let’s start the 90 second clock… The announce table did NOT break but it was supposed to and that was like at 45 seconds.
    • Cena tosses another table in the ring.  It is all improv at this point.
    • Out comes Big Show and he starts punching Cena and sets up a Choke Slam, just as Roman Reigns’ music hits.  Reigns gets in and delivers a Spear to Big Show through a table.  Cena jumps in and hits an AA on Rollins for the win. 
    • Heyman and Cena make goo goo eyes at each other.

    Nikki Bella (c) (with Brie Bella) vs. AJ Lee for the Divas Championship

    • This is pre revolution, so it’s pretty boring. That’s sarcasm.
    • Nikki did a surfboard with AJ’s spine around the post.
    • A nice tornado DDT by AJ. 
    • AJ hits a pop up bulldog for a two count, and follows it up with the Shining Wizard, but Brie saves Nikki by putting her foot on the rope.  Then Brie gets booted for interfering.
    • Nikki sprayed something in AJ’s face then hits the Rack Attack for the win.  They actually send a fake doctor down to check on AJ’s eyesight, because like I said, doctors don’t mess around with life, limb, or eyesight. 

    Roman Reigns cuts a promo about doing something awesome at the Royal Rumble.  Did that ever happen? 

    Ryback vs. Corporate Kane in a Chairs match

    • Ryback’s outfit makes him look like a guy grilling meat.
    • Kane is in control and drops Ryback’s face on a chair. 
    • This match is garbage.  Just really rough spots and nothing going on. 
    • Kane gave a seated Ryback the Big Boot.
    • Ryback with a step out spining belly to belly, a la the great Scott Steiner.
    • Kane throws 15 chairs in the ring. 
    • Kane took half a Spine Buster through half a chair, and then Ryback started whipping him with chairs. 
    • Kane throws a fastball with a chair right at Ryback’s face then hits him with the Chokeslam, but Ryback kicked out.
    • Ryback wins with the Shell Shock

    Rusev (c) (with Lana) vs. Jack Swagger

    • Rusev hooked on the Accolade, right in the middle.  The ref checks Swagger to see if he’s conscious.  A lot of times I type conscience when I mean conscious.  Swagger makes a crazy comeback and grabs the Ankle Lock. 
    • Rusev fights it off and hooks on the Accolade again, and the ref calls for the bell.

    Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match with nothing on the line, so it’s basically a weapons match

    • Ambrose section shown in the crowd.
    • It’s just bad booking to not give them a reason to climb for something even if it’s just a box that contains Scott Hall’s 8×10.
    • Ambrose starts it off with a ladder launch at Bray.  Immediately they start crowd brawling. 
    • Ambrose in control after tossing in Kendo sticks. 
    • Bray comes back with a big punch that knocks Dean off the corner through a table.
    • Wyatt rams Dean’s eye into the point of the kendo stick.
    • Just a lot of wild brawling and some junk spots.  It’s a watered down hardcore match.
    • They did one of the weakest table spots ever, where Dean dropped an elbow on Wyatt on a table, from the 3rd rung of a ladder.
    • Well, now he’s making up for it by doing it again from farther away on a higher ladder.  Is it farther or further?
    • Dean goes and gets a twenty-foot ladder and lays Bray on the Spanish Announce team’s desk.  He hits a third elbow from really high up. 
    • This got weird.  Ambrose had uncovered a TV from under the ring that was plugged in and showing the PPV for some reason.  He tried to use the TV on Wyatt but the chord got caught, so he yanked at it and as he yanked, it exploded, like an electrical burst or fuse blowing.  This gave Bray the opportunity to hit Sister Abigail on Dean for the pin.
    • Yes, a pin ended a TLC match.

    In summary, this was a good show but not the best of the TLC’s.  It was near the top.  My TLC picks would go in this order 4, 5, 6, 3, 1, 2.  Let’s hope this Sunday we get something that tops the first 6.  The bar is set fairly low, but with the current match line-up, it doesn’t look good.  However, I will still be reviewing this year’s offering.  

  • WWE TLC 5 – Cena vs. Orton: World and WWE Heavyweight Unification Match

    Tables, Ladders, and Chairs… Oh My!  Part 5

    By: PeachMachine (@hendosfoodblog)

    This week…

    TLC 5: December 15, 2013; Houston, Texas, Toyota Center

    WWE Champion, Randy Orton, competes against the World Heavyweight Champion, John Cena, in a TLC match to crown a Champion of Champions.

    The show starts with a cold open where HHH and Steph come out to make an announcement and they tell us how important this unification match is to history.  Right.  Hunter gives us a Lou Thesz vs. Buddy Rogers history lesson.  This leads to a nice video package.  WWE should just make video packages.  Even when the product is terrible (read: now) they can produce the heck out of a package that will get you interested.

    Cole, JBL, and King are on the pipes tonight as usual.

    Pre Show Match:  Fandango (with Summer Rae) defeated Dolph Ziggler in a singles match. 

    • Remember last year when Dolph was in the main event? 

    CM Punk vs. The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns in a 3-on-1 handicap match

    • I have no memory of how or why this was booked.  It seems preposterous.
    • Punk is sporting the mutton chop look.
    • For a group that touted justice, The Shield sure seems willing to cheat.
    • Seth is wearing a vest he must have gotten from John Popper from Blues Traveler, as it appears to be able to hold a dozen harmonicas.
    • Reigns dove at Punk and tumbled over the announce desk.  He apparently hurt his eye, which is how Punk was able to take advantage.  The doctor checked on this, but it’s definitely an angle because every doctor knows that if it’s a matter of life, limb, or eyesight, you go to the ER right away. 
    • Reigns, suffering from impaired vision, speared Ambrose, and Punk hits the GTS on Ambrose for the pin.  The doctor must feel like a real jerk.
    • What if Punk wins his first UFC match via head and arm choke, i.e. the Anaconda Vice?  That would be sweet.  Luckily, I know the counter.
    • Ridiculous match concept, but it was good.

    AJ Lee (with Tamina) is interviewed and AJ calls the Divas division, Natalya, the Slammy Awards, and the whole WWE a joke.  Duh. 

    AJ Lee (c) (with Tamina) vs. Natalya for the WWE Divas Championship

    • This is mid AJ Lee super long title run, so I’m assuming she goes over.  Spoiler alert.
    • So is the Tamina character out of the closet?  I’m predicting that happens eventually.
    • Natalya hooks on the Sharpshooter, but AJ counters out.
    • AJ hooks up the Black Widow, but Natalya counters out.
    • AJ rolls up Natalya from another Sharpshooter attempt, and apparently grabbed the hair for the pin.
    • Good match, but nothing special. 

    We get another excellent video package showing some awesome champions.  The problem is that both Cena and Orton have been champions, many times.  Nobody is buying the validity of the unification. 

    Damien Sandow vs. Big E. Langston (c) for the Intercontinental Championship

    • Big E is doing the chalk hands gimmick.  I’d like to see more stuff with him being really strong.  It would be great if he were bench-pressing Xavier in a skit. 
    • Sandow takes a nice Electric Chair drop by Big E.  He should do that on Big Show.
    • Big E takes down the straps and hits the Big Ending for the pin.
    • A funny spot would be for a heel to take down his straps and then his trunks fall down.

    Vince McMahon Jr. walks up to Orton backstage.  The sound didn’t work.  The only thing of note is that Orton was wearing basketball shorts.  So it’s true; he does own leg coverings other than trunks. 

    Next we hear from the panel of Josh Matthews, Mick Foley, and Booker T, and they discuss what happened earlier in the night with Miz talking trash on Kofi. 

    Fatal Four Way for the Tag Team Championship:  The Real Americans (Cesaro and Swagger with Zeb Colter) vs. Rey Mysterio and Big Show vs. Rybaxel (Ryback and Curtis Axel) vs. Goldust and Cody Rhodes (c); elimination rules

    • Last team left wins the Jabroni cup.
    • Rey was gone for a year prior to this, and I guess “creative” didn’t have enough time to come up with something better for him.
    • Gold Dust rolls up Ryback for the first elimination. 
    • Cesaro hit the Gant Swing.
    • Gold Dust hit the Code Red.  What?
    • Cody hurt his knee, which put him out temporarily.
    • Big Show gives Cesaro the KO punch as Cesaro came off the second rope, then pinned him.
    • The action really picked up into quite a fun match.  Then came a nice finishing sequence where Cody hit the Cross Rhodes on Rey for the pin. 
    • Then Big Show and Rey display good sportsmanship.  Boooooo!

    The Jabroni posse gets some airtime as Titus O’Neal and Darren Young break out the Brawling Buddies for an embarrassing segment that ended with Kane walking in and scaring Vicki and Brad Maddox.  It was even dumber than it sounds.

    Brodus Clay (with the Funkadactyls and Tensai) vs. R Truth (with Xavier Woods) in a Time Fillers match

    • This was a nothing match. 
    • Why don’t they trust Xavier to wrestle?
    • Tensai and Clay get into it for some reason.  Then Tensai walks out.  Then the Dactyls peace out too for no reason.  I guess because they were about to be famous and didn’t want to be associated with such a bad idea. 
    • R Truth hits the standard WWE school-boy distraction finish.

    Miz vs. Kofi Kingston

    • Kofi kicked the steal post.  What about your kick pads bro? 
    • Have I ever mentioned I hate kickpads?  Why would you want to make your kicks less effective?  You only wear those when you’re practicing! 
    • We are really seeing the lack of start power tonight.  Nobody is over.  The crowd long since gave up. 
    • The Miz has a sweet butt-cut.  This match is worth sitting through just for that.  His head looks like a 1-up mushroom.
    • Boring chant.
    • Kofi wins with the Trouble in Paradise.

    Then they showed an AWESOME video package for the Raw 20th anniversary DVD, and in doing so completely exposed how awful the current product is with tons of awesome clips.

    Daniel Bryan vs. The Wyatts (Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan, and Luke Harper) in ANOTHER 3-on-1 handicapped match.

    • Only one of them is named Wyatt.  Rowan and Harper should stand up for themselves.
    • Someone should tell Bray that he’s wearing a fedora.  What a gimmick.  I bet he thought of it too.  “Hey creative team, I should do a gimmick wear I sit in a rocking chair instead of wrestling.”
    • JBL suggests that Bryan just join them.  Would that just end the match?  Just pull a total schoolyard job, “Nuh-uh I was on base!”  “Don’t beat me up I’m on your team.”
    • Bray finally tags in to work on a worn out Bryan. 
    • Harper’s log roll, or gator roll, move is so dumb.  The purpose of that move is solely to pin the man, not make him dizzy.  He’s faking a real wrestling hold.  I know, but it bothers me.
    • Bray offers a handshake and says it will all go away, so I guess that answers my question.
    • D Bry had a great comeback, but Bray caught him with the Sister Abigail for the pin, to end a really entertaining match. 

    Supposedly this is the first time these two titles have been competed for in the same match, but I’m pretty sure I remember that occurring as recently as 2002 and probably more recent than that.  Oh well.  At least we didn’t have a Chairs match tonight.  Then they show another excellent video package, begging you to care about the same guys who have been on top for nearly a decade.

    John Cena (c) vs. Randy Orton (c) for the Unified WWE World Heavyweight Championship (but still two belts)

    • This is the 15th TLC match and Randy Orton’s first.
    • “CUCK FENA” sign.  Ha!  I popped.
    • Early garbage leads to both guys on the floor.
    • Orton lays out Cena and goes to set up a ladder. 
    • Orton body watch:  Much improved from last time we saw him which was 2011.
    • RKO out of nowhere! 
    • Cena goes nuts with the steal steps and Orton is busted open. 
    • A missed punt was countered with an AA through the Spanish announce team.  Now Cena climbs and then Orton dumps him but Cena hangs on to the belts!
    • Randy handcuffed Cena to the bottom rope, but Cena uncoupled the turnbuckle and made a valiant effort to win, but it was too late.  Orton wins after yanking Cena off the ladder.
    • Pretty good match!

    Then HHH, Steph, and Vince all come down to celebrate. 

    Thumbs in the Middle.  So now my TLC PPV rankings go from best to worst: 4,5,3,1,2.  

  • WWE TLC 3 – A look at the new December classic

    Tables, Ladders, and Chairs… Oh My! Part 3

    By: PeachMachine (@hendosfoodblog and @parkingcone)

    This week…

    TLC 3 – December 18, 2011 – Baltimore, Maryland – 1st Mariner Arena

    I’m actually looking forward to watching this show this week, as I know it can’t be three stinkers in a row.  The hype video to open the show was a really well written WWE version of The Night Before Christmas poem.  It’s only a two man announce crew tonight with The King and Cole having to fill the void of Matt Stryker. 

    Dark Match – Drew McIntyre defeated Alex Riley

    Zach Ryder defeated Dolph Ziggler (c) (with Vickie Guerrero) in a singles match for the US Championship

    • I’m predicting Zach gets axed in the post Mania clearinghouse this year.
    • We are in the middle of the “WWE must talk about twitter all the time” horrible period. 
    • Michael Cole just made as many social media references as he could. 
    • Vicki got booted for putting Dolph’s foot on the rope.  Why do refs allow anyone at ringside at anytime, ever?  What percentage of time does the person at ringside NOT get involved? 
    • This match is pretty good.  A lot of heat actually.  Too bad Zach accidentally got popular.
    • Ryder wins with the Rough Ryder.
    • I feel bad for Cole.  No way could he actually be that big of a dork.  He must hate himself.
    • Zach celebrated with his dad in the crowd. 

    Backstage, Alicia Fox chatted up Booker T until Cody Rhodes jumped him.  

    Air Boom (c) (Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne) defeated Primo and Epico (with Rosa Mendes) for the Tag Team Championship

    • Primo and Epico wore some sweet serapes to the ring.
    • The tag belts are awful.  They’re bronze.  “I’m the best at tag team wrestling.  If you don’t believe me, check out my bronze belt.”
    • King claims that Air Boom breaks the laws of Physics.  So, either Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston are wizards, or King doesn’t understand Physics.
    • Heat on Bourne is just an excuse to focus on Rosa’s, ahem, assets. 
    • Cole, “Air Boom is trending.  People are actually talking about the tag champs.” He really said that.
    • Why don’t tag matches ever end during the time of the match where two men are kicking the crap out of one? 
    • Air Boom wins with Trouble in Paradise

    Then there was a skit with Teddy Long as Santa and Hornswaggle as an elf.  They do some awful race relation’s humor, and then Swaggy gets a gift from Teddy, which is Rosetta Stone in Ebonics. I wonder if they’ll follow up with this angle and bring Hornswaggle back as a jive talking elf.

    Randy Orton defeated Wade Barrett in a tables match

    • Orton body watch:  He’s tanned out of this world, and jacked.  Definitely the best shape of his career to this point.
    • Your pretty standard table fare with a lot of brawling.  A better than average match.
    • The finish was Orton catching a diving Barrett in an RKO through a table. 

    Then we got another Santa skit with the Bella’s arguing over who was the good one.  Santa Teddy said they both were bad so Teddy gave them his card with his number.  Then Jack Swagger showed up and griped about Mark Henry.  Then Sheamus showed up and told us a story about someone getting their head in an arse. 

    Beth Phoenix (c) defeats Kelly Kelly

    • They replay the angle from the Slammy’s with Kelly Kelly winning Diva of the year.  Very prestigious.
    • Remember when these two quit WWE for no real reason?  Do you think they regret not being around for this amazing diva’s revolution? 
    • Women wrestlers can just go ahead and not make sound when selling.  It’s unsettling to hear Kelly Kelly screaming “no” and making horrible death noises while getting beaten up. 
    • Beth Phoenix wins clean after the Glam Slam.

    Alberto Del Rio is seen yelling at Ricardo when the Miz walks up to talk about their alliance.  Del Rio admits he was playing the Miz, so Miz has to take a dig at the Baltimore Ravens.  That ought to shut up world famous Baltimore Ravens fan Alberto Del Rio.  Then Ricardo come back with a pie or something and gets it shoved in his face.  They need to teach a WWE rules class at the performance center.  I’ll start a tally.  WWE Rule 1) Don’t carry a pastry anywhere.

    Booker T. vs. Cody Rhodes

    • Cody jumps Book before Book even gets to the ring and the doctors determine he is unfit to perform.  No match.

    HHH defeats Kevin Nash in a sledgehammer ladder match

    • Home Depot must have sponsored this match.   Actually, Home Depot should sponsor the whole PPV.
    • This was the ridiculous feud where Nash murdered HHH, as he laid unconscious strapped to a gurney. 
    • “The sledgehammer can be used legally to beat your opponent.” Announcer, real quote.
    • Nash comes out to the nWo music.
    • HHH spends the opening part destroying Nash’s legs, including a figure four around the ladder.  I think a higher percentage knee-destroying move on Kevin Nash would be to run an infinite crisscross.  It would be funny just to see these two in a race.  Quads vs. Knees.
    • Nash comes back and does his side slam on a ladder. 
    • Nobody has gone after the sledgehammer, because in a ladder match, you’ve already been supplied with plenty of alternate types of sledgehammers. 
    • HHH back drops Nash over the announcers’ table.
    • Here comes the table from under the ring.  So I guess tables are allowed in a sledgehammer ladder match.
    • HHH hits Nash in the head with the hanging sledge, and Nash takes a bump through the table.  That’s a decent bump for Nash. 
    • HHH starts the sledgehammer beating.  HHH connects with the pedigree and goes back to the sledge.  Nash, in desperation, throws up the click hand sign, and HHH responds with a crotch chop and a final sledge shot.  HHH wins.

    Strkyer interviewed CM Punk about the beating he took on Raw.  Punk’s promo was great.  He ran down everyone in the match, and Cole, and John Laurinitis.  Then Big Johnny showed up and they talk about the Slammy Punk was supposed to get.  Punk get’s in a “future endeavors” line, and then Johnny has to point out that he’s taller than Punk.  This company is so petty.

    Sheamus defeats Jack Swagger (with Vicki Guerrero)

    • Good thing these guys didn’t get along backstage earlier or we would not have this buffer match.
    • I guess they’re giving Vicki a second chance to behave herself.
    • Boring match.  Sheamus wins after the Brogue kick.

    Big Show defeats Mark Henry (c) in a Chairs match for the World Heavyweight Championship.

    • This was the feud where they did the ring implosion spot.
    • Show starts the match by making it rain chairs.
    • Henry had his ankle heavily taped. 
    • Show wins the title after delivering the Knock Out Punch through a chair.
    • Then Henry comes back and lays out Big Show with a DDT on the chairs.
    • I honestly wrote, “Mark Henry defeats Big Show” before watching the match because I couldn’t remember Show having a title run.  Then I remembered why…. Daniel Bryan runs in after the match and cashes in his Money in the Bank contract and pins the Big Show.
    • We just saw two title changes.

    Josh Matthews interviews Booker T and T says he’s going to fight Cody tonight!  Oh thank heavens we get that match tonight!  

    Cody Rhodes (c) defeats Booker T for the Intercontinental Championship

    • This is the storyline where Booker T had been retired for two years.  Was anyone dying for Booker T to come out of retirement?
    • I’ve never liked Booker T in any of his roles.  Ok, King Book was pretty good, but nothing else.  Well, I really liked when he and Goldust reviewed movies.  But that’s it. 
    • Cody wins after the Disaster kick, which Cole identified as, “another kick to the head.”

    CM Punk defeats Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez), and Miz, in a three way TLC match for the WWE Championship

    • Champions usually fare pretty well in three ways.  WWE loves declaring the 33% chance of winning, which is absolutely incorrect, unless of course Roxy Roxborough actually says it.
    • Punk starts climbing and as he does, Ricardo Rodriguez manages to handcuff Punk to a ladder. 
    • Punk broke free by breaking the ladder strut, to which he was attached.  In hindsight, the handcuffing was ridiculously unnecessary.
    • Del Rio delivers an enziguri on Punk and then Punk takes a bump through a table to the floor.
    • Why does Ricardo cut his hair so he looks like a vampire?
    • Del Rio gets up alone, with enough energy to dilly dally on the floor before easily setting up a ladder.  I guess he accidentally swallowed a Qualude somewhere in there, because as he steps on to the ladder, he lost the ability to move his muscles, and could not climb.
    • Rodriguez takes a bump off the ladder through a table on the floor.
    • Oh wait, now Miz handcuffs Punk to the turnbuckle which is ridiculous, but then Punk actually tries to reach for the belt, as if, maaaaaybe he can win the match from his knees attached to the ring post. 
    • Super Punk breaks free from the handcuffs a second time, climbs the ladder and dumps Del Rio, catches Miz in the GTS and climbs again to grab the belt, in really good TLC match.

    Analysis:  This show has been the best TLC to date.  The main event was very good.  The HHH match was pretty good.  The Air Boom match was short but fun, and everything else felt appropriately placed.  Even Big Show and Henry had a decent chairs match.  We saw Z Ry and D Bry win belts, and we may have seen Booker T’s last match.  I’d call that a thumbs up show. 

  • NJPW Power Struggle live results 2015: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Karl Anderson for IC title

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

    Power Struggle from November 7 in Osaka:

    JUSHIN LIGER & TIGER MASK & RYUSUKE TAGUCHI & MASCARA DORADA VS. YOHEI KOMATSU & SHO TANAKA & JAY WHITE & DAVID FINLAY

    The match was pretty much what you’d expect it to be  Great timing.  Everyone looked good.  Too short.  Nobody had time to stand out or show their best.  Finlay got to do the most among the Young Lions since he was losing.  Several dives and Tiger pinned Finlay after a double arm suplex off the top rope.

    Liger challenged Tiger Mask for the NWA jr. title after.  He agreed to it.  First of what are likely to be several square-offs and challenges tonight

    TOGI MAKABE & CAPTAIN NEW JAPAN & JUICE ROBINSON VS. DOC GALLOWS & TAMA TONGA & CODY HALL

    Crowd was into this one more than you’d think.  Robinson hurt his right knee doing a dive.  He was hurting pretty bad when he went to the back.  Tonga pinned Captain after a Superman punch and a double arm DDT.   Glad to see Tonga get a win.

    HIROOKI GOTO VS. EVIL TAKAAKI WATANABE

    Match wasn’t much but the post-match angle got over really good.  Goto had him in a shoudlerlock when Tetsuya Naito walked slowly to the ring.  The crowd picked up big for him.  He kicked Goto low right in front of the ref for the DQ and was beating on him and beat down Jay White, Yohei Komatsu and Sho Tanaka until Katsuyori Shibata made the save.  The crowd popped big for Shibata’s save.  Shibata sat in the ring and dared Watanabe & Naito to come in.  As Naito was leaving, he knoked down the camera man shooting him visually it was like he was about to attack you through the computer screen.

    KENNY OMEGA & CHASE OWENS & YOUNG BUCKS VS. ALEX SHELLEY & KUSHIDA & BOBBY FISH & KYLE O’REILLY

    Real good. Lots of cool moves, fast paced and well timed.  Kushida got the submission on Owens with the hoverboard lock while O’Reilly had Omega in an armbar over the ropes.  Kushida should have beaten Omega since Kushida squared off with Omega after with the belt there.  Felt too short as it was just getting going when they went to the finish.

    RICOCHET & MATT SYDAL VS. ROCKY ROMERO & BARETTA FOR THE SUPER JUNIOR TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP

    Super match.  Romero is one of the most unheralded guys in the business.  Ricochet & Sydal were great here.  The finsh was a double shooting star press, Sydal pinning Baretta while Ricochet hit a benadrylller and a shooting star press at the same time to Romero.  Ricochet did a springboard shooting star press to the floor on Baretta as a highlight but the match was filled with highlight moves.  Crowd was really into it, particularly down the stretch.

    Ricochet & Sydal challenged Fish & O’Reilly for the titles.  Romero grabbed the mic.  Romero said they just beat the champions at Korakuen Hall so deserve the shot.  The Bucks came out and Nick said they were the former champions they wanted a rematch.  Fish showed the belt and said we’ve beaten all of you except New Kids on the Block.  Fish said we can do it tonight  Nick Jackson started quoting Billy Gunn if you’re not down with that.  They are setting up a four-way at the Tokyo Dome. 

    A.J. STYLES & BAD LUCK FALE VS. TORU YANO & YOSHI-HASHI

    Predictable finish with Styles pinning Yoshi-Hashi with the Styles clash after a Pele kick and bloody sunday DDT.  Good match.  Styles looked great but was holding his back when it was over.  But he was flying all over the place.  Yano did his usual undoing the turnbuckle stuff and kept his program with Fale going.  Good match.

    TOMOHIRO ISHII VS. TOMOAKI HONMA FOR NEVER OPEN WEIGHT TITLE

    A match of the year candidate.  These two just killed it, almost as good as their Feburary match.  Honma was just incredible with all these spear head-butts and even doing a diving head-butt off the top rope to the floor which is really the worst idea for a guy his age to be doing.  Ishii was at his best here.  Crowd heat was super.  They so badly wanted Honma to take the title.  I wish he had but they obviously have long-term plans.  The finish saw  Honma go for a spear head-butt but Ishii elbowed him in the face as he was coming in, then lariated him and Honma took a spin bump, before hitting the brainbuster for the pin.  Some of the match was sick, like the ram head-butts.

    HIROSHI TANAHASHI & KATSUYORI SHIBATA VS. KAZUSHI SAKURABA & KAZUCHIKA OKADA

    Super match.  Tanahashi and Okada worked it to get you to want to see the Tokyo Dome match.  Shibata’s selling was out of this world and he worked great with Sakruaba, although it was mostly Okada in for his team.   The finish saw Shibata & Tanahashi hit a double dropkick on Okada, Shibata did a low dropkick to Sakuraba, Tanahashi hit Sakruaba with the high fly flow, Tanahashi used a plancha on Okada and Shibata hit the GTS on Sakuraba for the pin.

    Big angle after the match

    Tanahashi did a promo after the match on Okada.  Okada was leaving but came back.  They went face-to-face.  Okada taunted him and Tanahashi went nuts and had to be held back.  He broke free  and they had a pull-apart brawl.  Juice Robinson was out so his knee wasn’t that bad.  The brawled outside the ring.  Okada got the briefcase and hit Tanahashi in the head and shoulder.  Now Okada is all over him.  Tanahashi broke free and went after Okada.  Tanahashi ran after him and dropkicked him on the floor.  Tanahashi broke free again.  Okada tried to tombstone him on the floor but everyone broke hat up  About a minute after it was over, Tanahashi suddenly broke free and ran to the back after Okada.

    SHINSUKE NAKAMURA VS. KARL ANDERSON FOR THE IC TITLE

    Good luck to these two trying to follow the past two matches.

    Long well worked match.  Nakamura’s selling was tremendous and Anderson domianted hitting everything under the sun including a gunstun off the middle rope and a Bernard driver.  The finish saw them exchange moves until Nakamura nailed a high kick for the pin.  Great counters in the last few minutes.  

    The surprise guy is A.J. Styles.  So that’s the Tokyo Dome No. 2 match.  They went head to head.  Styles grabbed the belt and handed it to him.  Styles told him he was taking the belt from him.   The announcers were screaming about the Tokyo Dome.  It’ll be a great match but it’s time for some outsiders to be fitted in.  Nakamura then talked about facing Styles at the Tokyo Dome. 

  • TNA vs. Global Force Wrestling match announced for Bound for Glory pay-per-view

    Barely one week after the “blow-off” of the TNA vs. Global Force Wrestling feud on television, TNA has announced a new match for the Bound for Glory PPV on October 4th in Concord, NC, as Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards will defend the TNA Tag Team Championship against Trevor Lee & Brian Myers, who are billed as GFW wrestlers.

    The teams wrestled twice on television at the last set of tapings, with Lee & Myers scoring a fluke title win, but then dropping them back before the blow-off Lethal Lockdown match that aired on 9/16.

    The two organizations seem to be maintaining an alliance, which behind-the-scenes is described as cordial but uneasy, because they both have reason right now to benefit from working with the other.

    Bound for Glory also features:

    – Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong for the TNA Knockouts Title

    – Tigre Uno defending the X-Division Title in an Ultimate X match

    – Ethan Carter III vs. Drew Galloway for the TNA World Heavyweight Title

    – Bobby Roode vs. Lashley vs. the TNA King of the Mountain Championship