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  • WWE RAW live results: John Cena and AJ Styles, Ambrose and Rollins

    The Big Takeaway: The show was built around if John Cena or A.J. Styles could win their respective singles matches, they would receive a spot in the main event of Battleground. Cena wrestled Seth Rollins. Styles wrestled Dean Ambrose. Cena and Styles both lost after each inteferred in the other’s matches. Roman Reigns was mentioned in the opening by Rollins, and is still slated for the main event of Battleground. Cena and Rollins had among the best Raw matches of the year. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn, billed as the blowoff to the program, is official for Battleground, the only match added to the card tonight. 

    Show Recap: 

    Seth Rollins came out and brought up Roman Reigns getting suspended. Reigns’ tweet from last Tuesday apologizing for his actions was shown on the TitanTron. Rollins ran down Reigns’ statement of “owing it” is appropirate because Rollins owns Reigns because he’s beaten him once. He said Reigns doesn’t deserve a second chance or to be in the main event of Battleground. Rollins wanted to face Dean Ambrose one-on-one.

    This brought out Ambrose. Michael Cole called him “the Dude.” Ambrose said we all make mistakes, and said he used to be friends with Rollins, that was a huge mistake. He said Rollins wears skinny jeans, which is another mistake. Ambrose said as far as he was concerned, the triple threat match was still on. 

    A.J. Styles came out and said he agreed Battleground’s main event should be a triple-threat match, but he should be in Reigns’ place. Fans chanted “Yes” to that. Styles brought up beating John Cena is a dream match. Ambrose said Reigns is still in the match. Styles said it should be changed to a Fatal Fourway and have him included. Ambrose said that was fine with him, but Rollins objected.

    Cena arrived and said Ambrose was a fighting champion, he was fight a friend, he will fight a foe, he will fight a fraud, but will he fight the franchise? Cena brought up today being his 15th WWE birthday and he lived the last 12 years in Tampa. Cena said the last time he faced Ambrose for a championship, he won. Cena wanted to make it a five-way match. Once again, Rollins objected. 

    Stephanie McMahon showed up. She said having Ambrose as WWE World Heavyweight Champion was an embarrassment. She announced that Shane McMahon was on vacation and wasn’t there tonight. She arranged Rollins to face Cena tonight. Styles would take on Ambrose. If Cena and Styles are victorious in their respective matches, they will be added to the Battleground main event.    

    A Brock Lesnar commercial with Paul Heyman doing the voiceover for W2K17 aired. As mentioned earlier on the website, Lesnar will be on the cover. 

    The Spanish announce team was introduced. JBL chimed in that they tried to explain how Lionel Messi could drill that free kick agains the U.S. last week but miss the penalty against Chile last night. Cole later mentioned that today was the 12th anniversary of JBL defeating Eddy Guerrero for the WWE Championship at the Great American Bash. 

    Sasha Banks & Paige defeated Charlotte & Dana Brooke via submission (8:38) 

    Sasha Banks made Dana Brooke tap out to the Bank Statement. Paige made the hot tag to Banks, who delievered a double knee drop against the ropes on Brooke. Outside the ring, Paige laid out Charlotte with a superkick. Banks hit a stiff knee to the face and the bank stabber as a prelude to the finish. 

    Lana introduced Rusev, which is really all she does now. After that, she’s background scenery. 

    Titus O’Neal defeated Rusev (C) via countout, so Rusev retained the U.S. championship. (4:08)

    They did the same finish that Rusev did with Jack Swagger a month ago, except Rusev lost this time. Titus O’Neal and Rusev clotheslined each other on the floor and O’Neal beat the count back in the ring. Once again, O’Neal showed off a more aggressive edge after what happened to his sons at Money in the Bank. Rusev pulled off a standing dropkick with plenty of air underneath. JBL said it was the biggest win of O’Neal’s career. Looks like they’re building up a blow-off match at Battleground. 

    Stephanie talked on the phone when she ran into Kane. She wanted to pretend he wasn’t there. Kane thanked her for meeting with him and asked for a chance to run SmackDown. She said she was going to be the one running SmackDown. The Miz and Maryse walked up and said they had been gone for a month and there was no red carpet and a poor limo. Kane brought up he was in a new movie called “Countdown.” Miz said Kane shouldn’t be comparing big budget released to straight to DVD featured. Miz said he was a star and Kane looked like the Devil’s favorite insurance agent. Kane suggested Miz defend the Intercontinental Championship tonight. He cited “Rule G-1 of the WWE Rulebook” and said Miz had gone nearly 30 days without putting up the strap. Stephanie thought that was a good idea, but said Miz’s opponent would be a mystery. 

    Seth Rollins defeated John Cena, denying Cena a spot in the Battleground main event (16:00)

    Cena hit the AA after reversing a crossbody block, but Rollins got his foot on the ropes. He went for another AA, but Rollins escaped, only to have Cena lock in the STF. Rollins nearly made the ropes, and Cena pulled him back into the center of the ring. He was about to clamp the STF on again until Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson came down to ringside. Cena was distracted as Styles got on the apron, but Rollins got up and hit the Pedigree for the pin. Maybe the most heat for a Raw match this year. Crowd was roaring with dueling chants before they squared off and all throughout the match. Earlier, Rollins missed a frog splash, Cena went to the top rope, but Rollins recovered to hit a superplex, then turned that into a Falcon Arrow for a great near fall. Cena got near falls after a tornado DDT and the Five Knuckle Shuffle. 

    Enzo Amore and Big Cass defeated Greg Rains and Cassidy Reynolds (:40) 

    Enzo Amore said they were riding a wave that will carry them straight to the top. The wave was the people. Amore told the fans to do the wave while the match was going on. Amore pinned Reynolds after the Rocket Launcher. 

    Social Outcasts came out. Bo Dallas said there was only word to describe Social Outcasts “HARD.” Heath Slater said they were fresh off the set of Marine 5. Curtis Axel told Enzo and Cass to get out of the ring. Cass wondered which one of the three was the hardest. Dallas wanted to get in the ring to show them who was really the hardest. Cass knocke Slater off the apron with a big boot. Dallas and Axel backed off as Cass told them they were SAWFT. 

    Life Lessons with Bob Backlund featured Backlund reviewing Darren Young’s goals. Young said he wanted to be a singles champion and headline WrestleMania. Backlund said he was a tag team champion with Pedro Morales and said his era was called the Bob Backlund era. He said he wants to make Darren Young great again. 

    There was a highlight package showing The Big Show, Kalisto, Cesaro, Banks, Becky Lynch and various other stars training with Special Olympics athletes. Those athletes came out on the ramp with Show and Renee Young handling emcee duties. Show has always been underrated as a talker and he was very good presiding over this segment. 

    Natalya came out for commentary. She said she jumped Lynch at Money in the Bank because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was tired of being a nice person because that only gets you stepped on. Lynch came out for a match with Summer Rae, but before it could start, Lynch went after Natalya, who tried to walk off. Lynch jumped on her again and had to be pulled off by the referee. Natalya went to the back and they forgot about the match. 

    Former Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston was at ringside. 

    The Highlight Reel with Chris Jericho had Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn as guests. Jericho brought up Ambrose putting 69 thumbtacks in his back at Money in the Bank. They had a long staredown. Jericho brought up that Zayn was the best man at Owens’ wedding, which must have made it hard when Owens stabbed Zayn in the back. Zayn said he wanted to end the program with Owens because it was limiting their careers. He brought up various times where they cost each other chances for championships in the past four months. Zayn wanted to put an end to the feud at Battleground. 

    Owens stood silent. Zayn said this was the real Kevin Owens, a coward who hides behind lies. Just like the lie he’s been telling for two years about why Owens stabbed him in the back. Zayn wanted Owens to tell the truth, that it drove Owens nuts that Zayn was signed by the WWE first. He told Owens to grow a set, who prompted a small chant. Owens finally said that he’s told Zayn the truth many times. He turned on Zayn because it was the right thing for his career. He said Zayn ruined their friendship because everything they’ve done since they’ve met was done to get to the WWE. Owens said he was happy for Zayn when he got to the WWE. He said Zayn was mad when he won the NXT championship, which proves he was always a better friend to Zayn than Zayn was to him. But that doesn’t matter now. Owens said he would fight Zayn at Battleground. 

    Jericho put that announcement over and said Owens was right, Zayn was a terrible friend and a terrible example of what it takes to make it in the WWE. Jericho said Owens is still trying to follow his lead, but Zayn hasn’t figured out it doesn’t matter what the fans think. Jericho said he wanted to slap Zayn in the face over it, but he was going to let Owens do it. Jericho said announcing the match on the Highlight Reel puts the match on a higher level, so they were both welcome. Jericho offered to give both men “The Gift of Jericho, Drink it in, Man.” Owens and Zayn both kicked Jericho in the face. Owens and Zayn glared at each other as Owens walked off. 

    Kane defeated the Miz (C) by countout, so Miz retains the Intercontinental Championship (3:27)  

    The Demon Kane was the surprise opponent. He was about to chokeslam Miz when Maryse jumped up on the apron. After a few seconds, Kane very audibly said to Maryse “Get down!” At that point, she took a bump on the apron though no one touched her. Maryse wound up selling her right knee. Miz attended to her at ringside and carried her to the back. No heat at all. 

    Miz and Maryse were in the back. Maryse was still limping when she started laughing. In the shock of shocks, Maryse jumped up and down to reveal she wasn’t really hurt. Miz put her over saying it was the best acting he’s ever seen and it was an Oscar winning performance. They laughed over it. No follow up to this at all, except Miz is hosting an episode of MizTv on Thursday with a guest who isn’t Kane. 

    Apollo Crews & Cesaro defeated Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio (4:58) 

    Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus broke up two months ago, but were back tagging here. They did the “faction that just broke up now tagging again” gimmick. They also did the “partners that don’t get along” gimmick. Del Rio slapped Sheamus, then gave him an enzuigiri for some reason. Del Rio watched from the ramp as Apollo Crews pinned Sheamus with the spin-out powerbomb to complete silence. 

    Ambrose did a promo with Jojo about how the last two weeks have been the best of times. Stephanie walked in and said it was appalling that Ambrose was the face of her company. Stephanie said if Styles wins tonight, she’s one step closer to ending this appaling nightmare. At least Ambrose got the last word, saying “Deep down, she really likes me.” 

    What appeared to be the Wyatt Family promo was instead the New Day dressed up as Wyatts. Kofi Kingston threw down Erick Rowan’s goal mask and wondered how he breathes in that thing. Kingston said no one wants to hear the Wyatts’ negativity anymore. They need a big ol’ bowl of Booty-Os instead. Big E, who was wearing overalls, a cowboy hat and a ZZ Top-style beard, said the Wyatts smell like a rotten piece of cabbage left beside a Tampa highway. E. said he was born in Tampa at Tampa General Hospital. Xavier Woods was noticeably quiet in all this and wanted to wrap up the segment. Kingston and Big E. wanted to keep going, but the Wyatts came out. 

    Bray Wyatt screamed “It’s a New Day, yes it is.” Wyatt said the masses line up for the New Day because they tell them everything they want to hear instead of everything they need to hear. Wyatt said his sole purpose was to tell people what they need to hear, because the world isn’t full of rainbows or unicorns. It’s a dark world full of evil. Wyatt said what would the New Day tell the man who lost his job? Kingston said the power of positivity flows through your body and Big E. said positivity was a way of life. Woods looked uncertain. 

    Wyatt asked Woods if they agreed with him, because it looked like he was shook. Wyatt said Woods could trust him. Wyatt said in this game, there are no winners or losers, there’s only malice and destruction. And in the end, New Day Falls. Woods didn’t say anything as the screen went black. 

    New Day walked in the back. Young walked up and asked if it was a good day to make fun of the Wyatts tonight. Kingston and Big E. were laughing over it, but Woods never smiled and walked off. 

    Dean Ambrose (C) defeated A.J. Styles in a nontitle match, so Styles was denied a spot in the main event of Battleground (15:32)

    Rollins was on commentary. He said he felt divided because he hated Ambrose but didn’t want Styles to win because it would make the Battleground main event a four-way. Ambrose hit a blockbuster, but came up selling his knee. Styles put on a calf crusher. Rollins was actually rooting for Ambrose to make the ropes, which he did. Ambrose knocked Styles to the floor with a forearm and followed with a tope. Styles hit a Pele kick, but Ambrose hit a rebound clothesline. At that point, Anderson and Gallows came out. Ambrose was distracted and Styles hit a brainbuster for a two count. Cena ran out to brawl with Anderson and Gallows. As Styles was distracted by Cena, Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds for the pin. Rollins stood and applauded the finish.

    Anderson and Gallows jumped Cena. Then Rollins went after Ambrose and gave him a Pedigree. The Club pounded Cena 3-on-1.  The brawled to the top of the ramp, where Anderson and Gallows gave Cena the Magic Killer on the ramp. Cena had a rough landing, too. Back in the ring, Rollins gave Ambrose another Pedigree, then stood on top of Ambrose with the championship belt. 

  • WWE Smackdown/Main Event spoilers: Seth Rollins vs Sami Zayn; AJ Styles vs Jimmy Uso

    WWE Main Event (David Otunga out on commentary) —

    – Golden Truth def. Breezango

    Big pop for Truth. Goldust hit his normal drop to the knees, punch to the face spot a couple of times. The heels worked over Truth until the hot tag to Goldust. Goldust with a spinning suplex for the win.

    – Enzo and Cass def. The Ascension

    Konnor is back after his 60-day break due to a wellness policy violation. Usual opener by Enzo and Cass, ripping the heels by asking them where their pads were and if their mommy was bringing them so they (Ascension) could go and play pee wee football after the match. Heels worked over Enzo until the hot tag to Cass. Enzo with a splash, assisted by Cass, ends the night for the Ascension returning from suspension.

    – Baron Corbin def. Sin Cara

    Corbin played football for the Arizona Cardinals but the fans did not know this as he was soundly booed. Fans tried to get behind Sin Cara with the “Lucha” chants as Sin Cara tried to attack the legs of Corbin with kicks. Corbin kept the action on the ground and finished Sin Cara with The End of Days.

    – US Champion Rusev (with Lana) def. Zack Ryder

    Lana had her hair down instead of the usual bun. Ryder and Rusev locked up and then went into a series of amateur wrestling moves. Eventually, Rusev overpowered Ryder and started stalking him around the ring dealing out punishment. Ryder, however, is like a college hoops team that is the ultimate underdog. They hang around long enough to throw a scare into the opponent. Rusev botched a climb up the ropes when he tried to knock Ryder down. Ryder had a couple of near falls teasing a title change and eventually fell to the Accolade.

    Smackdown —

    – Seth Rollins opened the show with a promo, talking about the three-way match* at Battleground.

    He railed about no one outworking him and how unfair it was that he did not have the belt. He issued an open challenge to anyone in the back for the night’s main event. Challenge accepted by Sami Zayn. At first, Rollins scoffed at Zayn but then decided that Zayn was a perfect choice.

    Both men were interrupted by the Lunatic Fringe as the new champion hit the ring. He called for the set people and the workers rushed the ring to set up an impromptu Ambrose Asylum complete with Mitch The Plant. Rollins was angered, but Zayn was excited. Ambrose played the part of a host behind the scenes asking if everyone was ready and if they needed anything like water. Rollins ad-libbed and said that he was parched before catching himself and telling Ambrose to shut up. Zayn goaded Rollins to fight immediately, and Rollins dropped the mic and left in a huff.

    *All references to the title match at Battleground were for a three-way match, so the main event seems to be continuing with Reigns in it. None of the interviews acknowledged anything about Reigns.

    – Cesaro beat Alberto Del Rio

    Good, hard hitting match between the two. Del Rio started fast and went after Cesaro’s arm. Cesaro sold the beating and eventually fought back with a string of uppercuts. Del Rio hit the Backstabber and went for the Tree of Woe stomp which Cesaro countered. Cesaro climbed up and jumped off the ropes which Del Rio countered into an attempted cross arm breaker. This was countered by Cesaro who hit Del Rio with a pump handle slam and abruptly ended the match. Cesaro climbed onto the announcer’s table and bowed to the crowd to a large pop.

    – Sheamus beat Apollo Crews via countout

    Rematch from MITB with Sheamus all over Crews at the beginning while the rookie looked timid. Eventually Crews fought back but did not hit many aerial spots other than a sunset flip off of the ring apron. Sheamus pulled the steel steps into a vertical position and kicked Crews into them for the countout victory. 

    – The Usos returned, and did an angle backstage with Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson & A.J. Styles. This set up Styles vs. Jimmy.

    – A.J. Styles pinned Jimmy Uso

    Jey was ringside and played the role that Cena did on Monday, watching the back for signs of the club. AJ seemingly had a counter for Jimmy’s moves and mocked the Uso with his Phenomenal gesture. When it looked like Jimmy finally had caught AJ and had him in trouble, the Club came through the crowd to attack Jey. Jimmy jumped over the ropes and bowled the club over only to eat a Phenomenal Forearm onto the concrete floor. AJ rolled Jimmy back into the ring and hit another Phenomenal Forearm for good measure. 

    – WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day over The Vaudevillains

    The heels worked over Kofi as Big E could only watch. Xavier Woods took the night off and just played the trombone. The heels worked together to isolate
    Kofi until he could make the hot tag to Big E. Big E preceded to suplex everyone many times and the heels could not even hide outside of the ring as Kofi stalked the outside and splashed anyone hanging around outside the ring. Big E with the pinfall. The celebration was cut short by a Wyatt family promo in which Bray promised to bring pain to the New Day and that they would fall.

    – Dana Brooke beat Becky Lynch

    This was over in about a minute after Charlotte interfered, allowing Dana to take advantage and pin Becky. Charlotte entered the ring to add injury to insult when Sasha Banks’ music hit to a huge pop. Sasha sauntered down to the ring in her inimitable fashion and removed her bling. It looked like Charlotte was going to engage but then she ducked out the ring and laughed at Banks. Brooke tried a sneak attack but was stopped by the Banks Statement.

    – Seth Rollins pinned Sami Zayn with a pedigree

    Rollins toyed with Zayn at first, slapping him, countering his moves, and resting on the turnbuckle while Zayn recuperated. Eventually Zayn started hitting his spots. The two went back and forth in an entertaining match. Zayn took a power bomb fling into the turnbuckle but hit Rollins with an “Undertakeresque” walk up the ropes into a hurrincanrana.

    Both men had near falls. Rollins went for the pedigree but Zayn reversed it into a tornado ddt. Rollins bailed from the ring and Zayn did a flip over the ropes onto Rollins. Rollins staggered back into the ring and surprised Zayn with a pedigree as Zayn re-entered the ring. 

    Rollins gave Ambrose a cheap shot and Ambrose chased him through the ring. Ambrose laid out the belt in the ring motioning for Rollins to come back but Rollins stayed at the top of the ramp.

    After the cameras stopped rolling…

    Suddenly AJ’s music hit and the Club came out to the top of the ramp. AJ told Rollins that the Club was planning on hurting Ambrose and that he could
    join them if he (Rollins) wanted to. Rollins agreed and the four heels headed to the ring. Zayn rolled back into the ring to help Ambrose but they were quickly overwhelmed. The crowd was chanting for Cena but it was the Usos for the save. The faces cleared the heels out of the ring and Ambrose grabbed the mic and challenged the heels to an 8 man tag team match.

    The Club w/ Seth Rollins vs. WWE Champion Dean Ambrose, Sami Zayn, and the Usos.

    This match was quick with the heels isolating Jey at the outset. A hot tag to Ambrose brought the house down as each man entered the match and hit his
    spots that he was known for. Eventually Anderson ate Dirty Deeds and was pinned. The faces stayed around and celebrated with fans. Ambrose stayed around for at least ten minutes signing autographs, taking selfies with fans and letting kids hold his belt.

  • WWE RAW live results: John Cena vs. The Club continues; Teddy Long returns

    With 13 days until Money in the Bank, Raw originates tonight from Oklahoma City. The WWE is promoting the Club as its new top heel group, which is new considering its a pushed faction that has no connection to the Authority. At least, not yet. A.J. Styles, as the group’s mouthpiece, will likely be relied upon to give a promo explaining his attack on John Cena last week.

    It could also be another night of returns. Bray Wyatt has been rumored to return imminently. With only two weeks to go before the show, there’s only three matches announced for Money in the Bank, and even the Money in the Bank match itself is unclear. Originally, there were seven participants announced, but only six are currently listed. 

    **********

    The Big Takeaway:

    This was a show that was full of talking and not much action. John Cena and A.J. Styles had a verbal joust full of inside references. Cena said wrestling Styles at Money in the Bank was a dream match (and was promoted that way throughout the show), then called Styles a bust because he lost to Roman Reigns twice. Teddy Long made a surprise return, booked to look like a out of touch goof who had no idea what the current fans want to see. The only match officially made for Money in the Bank is a Fatal Four-Way for the WWE tag team titles with The New Day vs. Anderson & Gallows vs. Enzo & Big Cass vs. the Vaudevillains.

    Show Recap:

    The show started with the six men involved in the Money in the Bank match already in the ring hovering on top of their own ladders.

    Kevin Owens put down Sami Zayn as being less famous than the other five. Chris Jericho said he was more famous than any of them. Owens said he would be more famous than any of them because he will be the one who will take the Money in the Bank briefcase and the other five will be in his shadow. Dean Ambrose wanted to skip the talking and get to fighting. Owens talked him down and said he would get the briefcase some more and said he would take on all comers as champion. Owens said he wouldn’t defend the title against any of the men in the ring, but he would face anyone else, including the Nation of Domination, Waylon Mercy or the Four Horsemen.

    Alberto Del Rio ignored Ambrose’s pleas to start fighting and said Zayn was a dog covered in fleas compared to him. Crowd actually started chanting “Si, si, si.” Cesaro spoke up before Jericho shouted him down and reminded everyone he created the Money in the Bank match. Cesaro then asked “How come you’ve never won a Money in the Bank match?” Jericho said he had. Zayn asked which one? Jericho mumbled something about the first one. Then he said the sixth one in Appleton, Wisconsin. Cesaro acted like had no idea what Jericho was talking about and called him a stupid idiot.

    Jericho did his new “Gift of Jericho, Drink it in, man” catchphrase. Ambrose climbed up and punched Jericho. They all started brawling.

    Then, out of nowhere, Teddy Long made a surprise return to “Teddy” chants. Long heard that SmackDown was heading to Tuesdays live. Teddy was all over the place on the mic. He said SmackDown was the longest running network wrestling show. Michael Cole had to issue a correction afterwards saying SmackDown was the 2nd longest weekly episodic series in television history. Cole had to explain the entire purpose of the Long cameo afterwards. Ordinarily, Long said he would arrange a disqualification match (that’s what he said), a six-way match and various other stipulation matches. Everyone looked confused.

    Stephanie McMahon came out acting like she had no idea Long was going to be there. She asked what Long was doing. Long said he wanted to run SmackDown. Stephanie said a decision on who would run SmackDown hasn’t been decided yet. Teddy asked to see Shane McMahon. Stephanie said Shane was on vacation and asked him to get to stepping. Long wanted to dance off the stage, but Stephanie ordered that his music not be played.

    Stephanie said Zayn would face Del Rio; Ambrose would take on Owens, and Cesaro takes on Jericho immediately. Then Stephanie ordered Long’s music to be played and she danced to the back. This was a really weird segment that Stephanie actually had to save.

    Cesaro defeated Chris Jericho via submission (12:05)

    Cesaro used a 13-rep Giant Swing then used a Boston Crab to get the tapout. Earlier, Jericho blocked an attempt at the Giant Swing and turned it into a small cradle. Some spots were mistimed, including Cesaro going for a springboard uppercut but Jericho catching him with a Codebreaker. Overall, a solid match.

    – Anybody else notice the Money in the Bank music is also Donald Trump’s WWE music from WrestleMania 23?

    – They honored Muhammad Ali by showing tribute tweets from HHH, Bret Hart, Shane McMahon and Steve Austin. 

    An amazing but perplexing video package aired focusing on Seth Rollins.

    It was basically a five-minute version of the documentary that’s airing on the WWE Network. They showed the debut of the Shield at Survivor Series 2012, where they jumped Ryback. Rollins said, in or out of the Shield, he always wanted to be the best, not one of the best. Rollins said people misunderstand his relationship with Roman Reigns. He doesn’t dislike Reigns, it’s just that Reigns is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Rollins said when he won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, it was his moment, not Reigns. 

    They replayed his injury in Dublin, Ireland. There were even videos of Rollins as an infant playing with a Hulk Hogan stuffed action figure, pinning it to win the championship. When the video of Rollins’ surgery aired, he was shown cutting a promo from his bed, slurring his speech, saying he was coming back for his championship on day one. Cameras caught him watching Reigns beat HHH at WrestleMania from a luxury suite. Rollins said Reigns was a placeholder, not a real world champion.

    Reigns is just sitting on Rollins’ throne, keeping it warm for him. Rollins said Reigns has never beaten him. It was such a good piece…so how are fans supposed to treat Rollins as a heel now? This is something straight out of Florida Championship Wrestling in the 1970s if an injured babyface sidelined for six months was rehabbing for a run against Dory Funk Jr for the NWA strap.

    U.S. Champion Rusev defeated Jack Swagger via countout in a nontitle match (3:36)

    Rusev and Jack Swagger did a double clothesline spot on the floor that looked still as hell. Titus O’Neal was on commentary. As the referee got closer to a 10 count, Rusev kicked Swagger into O’Neal and got back in the ring for the win. Postmatch, Swagger and O’Neal sent Rusev packing. Odd to see two babyfaces send one heel out of the ring. Swagger was over in his home state.

    John Cena came out.

    He said you don’t know what you got until its gone. Last week, there was energy and excitement when A.J. Styles and Cena was in the ring together. He called it a once in a generation moment. He tried to get it over like it was the 2002 staredown between the Rock and Hulk Hogan, then started doing his own dueling chants to mimmick what the crowd was doing. Cena said he’s only had electricity like that with one other Superstar, the Rock. Cena said for 15 years, people had been curious to see Styles vs. Cena. But Cena wanted to know why Styles chose the easy way out.

    Cena wanted Styles to come out and explain himself. Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson came out. Crowd had more dueling chants. Styles said he took the easy way out because he had a plan to punch Cena right in the face. And it worked perfectly. Styles said Cena insults him. He said Cena was great on his morning shows and his movies. But Cena insults him when the bell rings. And Cena knows deep inside that “You can’t beat me.” Styles says his kids ask him all the time why doesn’t he wrestle Cena. He answers because if he did, he would run rings around Cena.

    Cena said Styles’ jokes are as outdating as his jorts. Cena said he looks at Styles as someone who worked two decades to get to the Royal Rumble, and failed. He failed twice against Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Cena said Styles was a bust. Styles said attacking him was desperate. Cena said Styles didn’t know who he was dealing with because he failed twice against Reigns, and now he was going after him?

    Styles shot back that he could go back to Japan tomorrow and sell it out tomorrow. He said he nothing else to prove because he has nothing left to lose, so that makes him dangerous. Styles said after someone wrestles Cena, they get out the shovels and bury Cena’s opponent. Styles said Cena didn’t know who he was dealing with.

    The Club went to the ring and surrounded Cena. The New Day ran down to join Cena and chase them away and it ended. A trios match between the three was announced for later tonight. A strange promo by Cena. On one hand, he compared Styles to the Rock. Then minutes later, he called him a bust. Styles did a promo straight from the heart of every Internet fan, or anyone else who has paid attention over the last 11 years. It was the time for Styles to give the best promo of his life, and it was very good.

    The Vaudevillains defeated Enzo Amore and Big Cass by DQ (2:22)

    Aidan English teased throwing out Enzo Amore over the top rope the same way he did at Payback. He threw Amore to the ropes, but Amore slid under the ropes and still sold it like he suffered a concussion. Big Cass went nuts, pounding English in the corner. The referee called for the bell when Cass refused to back off. Fans booed the DQ. Cass gave Simon Gotch the East River Crossing. Enzo got back in the ring. It’s clear they want Cass to break out of the singles pack because he’s tall, but he doesn’t have the charisma that Enzo has. Big Cass quoted Ali. Enzo Amore brought up the Vaudevillains knocking him out and said he could blow a bubble with a Now-A-Later.

    Zayn did an interview saying he would have to consider himself an underdog against Del Rio tonight because ADR has captured the World Heavyweight Championship. Del Rio showed up and said if Zayn won the Money in the Bank briefcase, it would prove all those people who Zayn could never win wrong. But Del Rio said Zayn’s dream is his reality and Zayn was destined to stay in the same spot he’s in now.

    – More tribute tweets to Ali from Cena, Stephanie, Jerry Lawler and Mick Foley.

    Long walked up to Stephanie dancing to his music, which was the ring tone on his phone. Long said if he was running SmackDown, he would take Enzo & Cass, the Vaudevillains, Anderson and Gallows and the New Day in a four-way for the tag team titles. Stephanie blew off that idea and asked Long how he got back security. Long pulled out a dollar bill and said “it makes you go holla holla.” Stephanie just glared at him. Teddy showed himself out. First thing Stephanie did was arrange the Fatal Four-Way tag team match that Long suggested for Money in the Bank.

    Alberto Del Rio pinned Sami Zayn (8:18)

    Surprisingly one-sided match where Del Rio won with the diving double foot stomp off the top rope. Zayn didn’t get much of a comeback after the heat. In fact, he didn’t even get a ring entrance. Del Rio’s first attempt at the double foot stop led to Zayn throwing him off the top rope. But Del Rio was back up in no time for the finish.

    Ambrose walked backstage with Owens laughing at him. Owens said he was concerned for Ambrose, not just because of the Money in the Bank match, but because Ambrose has been more off the deep end than usual. Ambrose asked if Owens thought he was off when he beat him for the Intercontinental Championship. Owens said Ambrose needed help. Ambrose said Owens is the one who needs help.

    Reigns got a video package just like Rollins from earlier.

    They showed Reigns pinning Daniel Bryan to win the tag team titles. Reigns said Rollins thinks he’s the smartest guy on Earth. Reigns said he felt betrayed when Rollins broke up the Shield. He said being in the main event of WrestleMania against Brock Lesnar was a roller coaster by itself. When Rollins cashed in the Money in the Bank contract, Rollins took away his WrestleMania moment. His wife, father and daughter were all there.

    He felt anger, but sometimes anger is the best motivator a man can have. Reigns said Rollins has always attacked him from behind because Rollins is scared of him. Reigns said there will be a big fight feel (Cole used those exact words earlier) at Money in the Bank since it will be in Las Vegas. Reigns said he’s expecting a better Seth Rollins, and he will beat a better Seth Rollins. 

    Dean Ambrose defeated Kevin Owens (6:33)

    Ambrose won with Dirty Deeds. Before the finish, Ambrose went for a tope, but Owens caught him and rammed his back into the apron. Owens followed with a Bullfrog splash. Crowd was quiet for much of the match until Ambrose did a superplex. After the match, Ambrose pulled out a ladder and climbed to the top. Why did he do that? To show he could climb a ladder? The answer, of course, was to give Owens a chance to recover and throw Ambrose off the ladder and scream how he would win Money in the Bank.

    – Life Lessons with Bob Backlund had Darren Young saying he’s been running. Backlund said Young should always be walking and that he hasn’t run since 1978. Young said that was long before he was born. Backlund said he had Young’s car keys and he wanted him to walk eight hours to Backlund’s house. Young just walked off unhappy about walking eight hours.

    Charlotte and Dana Brooke came out.

    Cole said the world was still reeling about what Charlotte said to Ric Flair two weeks ago. I’m still reeling from Stephanie stealing her heat last week. Charlotte acted like she was going to apologize for saying what she said to her father. Charlotte said when she said Flair was dead to her, she meant professionally. She still wants to spend the holidays with her father, work out with her father, etc. But she didn’t want Flair stealing her spotlight.

    Natalya and Dana Brooke came out laughing over Charlotte’s acting routine. Charlotte said Natalya had a trainwreck of a family and they should have their own reality show on E! Lynch said Brooke would eventually get stabbed in the back by Charlotte. Natalya warned Brooke that Charlotte was a master manipulator, something she and Lynch learned the hard way. Brooke looked at Charlotte like she was concerned and started to walk over towards Charlotte and Natalya. Then Brooke punched Natalya, who fell over Lynch. Brooke gave Lynch a Samoan Driver whie Charlotte held Natalya in a Dragon Sleeper and they posed over the babyfaces bodies. 

    Primo and Epico did a promo about how great drinks in Puerto Rico are.

    Tyler Breeze and R-Truth went to a no contest (:53)

    Goldust and Fandango brawled into the ring for a quick DQ. Long came out and ordered the rematch restarted. Everyone just glared at him like he was crazy. Security ordered Long out with no more action between these four, and not a moment too soon. Breeze and Fandango did an inset promo where Breeze shaved Fandango’s back. Fandango said something about how having the right lotion on your body makes your muscles aerogigantic.

    – Long walked out before we got our weekly “Stephanie chews someone out” moment. Stephanie scolded Long and said Raw was going to be in the hands of someone young, vivacious and strong, and it was going to be her, not her brother Shane. She said Raw wasn’t going to be in the hands of old, incompetent, out of touch geezer. The irony alert was instantly activated from the local Emergency Alert System. Then she ordered Long to get the hell out of her building.

    – Ali tribute tweets from Vince McMahon, Booker T and Flair were shown. Cole introduced a tribute package to Ali, showing his knockouts of Sonny Liston and George Foreman. They showed Ali talking about how much Gorgeous George and Freddie Blassie influenced him. There was rare footage of Vince interviewing him with Blassie managing him, I assume for the buildup that aired on ABC’s Wide World of Sports that built up his match with Antonio Inoki. Plus, there was the angle with Gorilla Monsoon. Of course, there was also his appearance at WrestleMania I. Crowd gave the video package a standing ovation.

    – They announced the Ambrose Asylum next week would return with Reigns and Rollins as the guest. So it’s a Shield reunion, even though Stephanie cancelled the Ambrose Asylum a month ago. We didn’t even get Shane texting in an order to revive the show, they just advertised it with no warning.

    – New Day came out and compared The Club with the Mickey Mouse Club. Kofi Kingston said they were the WWE World Tag Team Champions, and that was the only club that mattered. It all started as a three-on-three fight that ended with Styles giving Xavier Woods the Styles Clash on the floor. Woods was carried to the back and they carried on with the bout now a 2-on-3 handicap match.

    The Club defeated The New Day in a handicap match (5:12)

    Styles pinned Kingston after the Phenomenal Firearm. Kingston got a near fall earlier after the SOS. Afterwards, Anderson and Gallows threw Big E. into the dasheboards. Cena ran out for the save and he decked Anderson and Gallows. Styles retreated. Anderson and Gallows jumped back on the apron, and Styles wallopped Cena from behind. Kingston gave Styles a missile dropkick. Big E. gave Anderson the Big Ending, and Cena gave Gallows the AA.

    During the match, Styles gave Big E the Pele Kick on the floor, and Gallows followed with the Yakuza kick. The crowd actually chanted for Cena after that. Cole mentioned it’s been 288 days since the New Day recaptured the WWE World Tag Team Titles.

    SUMMARY:

    The highlight of the show was the video package for Rollins. It was almost as good as the documentary made about him on the network. The timing of the video is the lingering question. Why didn’t they show that in the month preceding his return, then have him come back as a babyface to feud with Reigns? Rest of the show was ordinary in front of the deadest Raw crowd since WrestleMania.

  • WWE RAW live results: Seth Rollins returns; Extreme Rules fallout

    The Big Takeaway: It was a night of Money in the Bank qualfiers, returns and breakups. Of course, the big news was the return of Seth Rollins. Despite the wishes of the fans, he’s going to be a heel in his program with Roman Reigns. Those two will be facing each other in the main event of the Money in the Bank PPV for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Enzo Amore also returned. Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Chris Jericho, Dean Ambrose, and Sami Zayn all qualified for the Money in the Bank match at MITB. Charlotte broke up with Ric Flair, saying that he had been living in her spotlight for months. It was an angle that hit on various points very close to home, but Flair’s performance was fantastic. A.J. Styles also split up with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. Shane and Stephanie McMahon were limited to cameos, which was a welcome change. 

    Show Recap: 

    Seth Rollins started the show getting a huge ovation, though there were some scattered boos. He was playing up to the crowd as a babyface and got “Welcome back” chants. Rollins said he’s waited 200 days to step inside his ring once again and he’s back. He’s waited for seven months to take back the title he never lost and he fired the first shot last night when he gave Roman Reigns the Pedigree. Crowd chanted “Thank you, Rollins.” Rollins asked if the fans missed him? That got “Yes” chants. Rollins said that was interesting because when he put a chair against Reigns’ back, the fans booed him. Then when he captured the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, fans said he was the weakest champion in history. 

    Then something profound happened: his knee buckled from carrying the company for so long. That was supposed to get boos. It got cheers instead. Rollins said he got so much fan mail he didn’t know what to do with it, so he put it all in the garbage can and lit it on fire. So Rollins went heel in the interview, saying he never needed the fans when he was going after the World Championship, and he doesn’t need them now. He said there was only room on the Seth Rollins bandwagon for one dude, and it was him. Rollins claimed the fans were never with him during the process to rehab his knee for seven months, which was harder work than the fans have ever put in in their entire lives. 

    Rollins said he, and he alone, would take back the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. That got a mixed response. Reigns’ music hit. Suddenly Rollins’ response seemed like Ric Flair in Charlotte by comparison. Booed beyond belief. 

    Rollins acted like he wanted to fight, but when Reigns got in the ring, Rollins left, saying he was going to fight on his time. Shane McMahon showed up. Rollins reluctantly got back in the ring and Shane’s request so they could have a conversation. Shane brought up Rollins has had several defining moments, including breaking up the Shield and winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 32. Shane said Reigns would defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Rollins at Money in the Bank. Both men were content with that announcement. Reigns held up his title to get booed some more. 

    Later tonight, a series of Money in the Bank qualifying matches:  The Miz vs. Cesaro; Chris Jericho vs. Apollo Crews; A.J. Styles vs. Kevin Owens along with Sheamus vs. Sami Zayn. 

    Renee Young did an interview with Sheamus, who denounced the “new era” in the WWE. He made fun of Zayn’s name and the fact he was form Canada. That was a weird thing to say since Canadians have been carrying a good portion of the company’s workrate lately. Young started to mention she was from Canada before Sheamus interupted her and instructed parents to get their children out of the room because what he would do to Zayne wouldn’t be suitable for all ages. They brought up Sheamus winning Money in the Bank last year, then cashed it in at the Survivor Series and defeated Reigns for the title after Reigns had just defeated Dean Ambrose in a tournament final. 

    Sami Zayn defeated Sheamus in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match (10:02)

    Zayn won with the Helluva Kick, moments after attempting a tope which Sheamus blocked with a right hand. Lots of selling by Zayn, but the two didn’t click as well as you would think. The announcers played the result up like an upset, explaining Sheamus didn’t even qualify for Money in the Bank one year after winning it. I credit it to lousy booking last June. Sheamus was furious after the match. At one point, Zayn did satellite head scissors, which Michael Cole called a huracanrana. 

    Crews did an interview with Young. She asked him if he felt like he had an advantage after the damage Jericho suffered against Ambrose last night. For some reason, Sheamus jumped Crews from behind. Sheamus screamed about the new era as he rammed Crews’ head into a truck case. 

    The New Day came out. They’re up to 274 days as tag team champions. There was a Happy Birthday cake in the ring. Kofi Kingston said the cake was there to celebrate Raw’s 1,200th episode. Xavier Woods said Raw is over 23 years old. Big E. said a WWE ring is never safe from a cake, so they decided to take the cake out of the ring. Woods said they would never want the cake to wind up in anyone’s face. Big E. teased throwing it in someone’s face at ringside, then JBL, then Byron Saxton. Then Social Outcasts (sans Adam Rose, of course) jumped Woods and Kingston.  The Vaudevillains are out of a tag team title program after one PPV. 

    The New Day defeated Social Outcasts (1:50)

    Kingston pinned Heath Slater after the Midnight Hour. Highlight was Slater taking the Unicorn Stampede. He rolled out of the ring barely able to stand, so Bo Dallas called for a Bo Train. Slater made it about three steps before collapsing. Of course, the cake had to end up in somebody’s face before the segment could end. So Kingston and Woods threw Slater into the cake, which splattered everywhere. They showed three highlights of the cake spot. 

    Miz and Maryse came out. Miz said he was still the Intercontinential Champion and a future Money in the Bank winner. He compared himself to the movie “Rudy” by overcoming overwhelming odds to retain the championship at Extreme Rules against Zayne, Owens and Cesaro. He wondered who could play him in an underdog movie, and brought up Brad Pitt and Dwayne Johnson. Maryse pulled in for a kiss, but Cesaro came out before they could get it on. Saxton said Cesaro looked like someone from “The Professional,” a weird reference to a 1994 film featuring a 12-year-old Natalie Portman. JBL then compared Cesaro to Roger Federer because they both have genetic superiority. Roger Federer pulled out of the French Open last week because of injuries. 

    Cesaro defeated the Miz (C) in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match, as well as a nontitle match (11:16) 

    Another solid match with these two, ending when Miz jumped off the top rope into a Cesaro uppercut, leading to the Gotch Neutralizer. Miz did the usual spots working over Cesaro’s injured left shoulder. Cesaro tried the Giant Swing, but couldn’t complete it because of the shoulder. Maryse has totally revitalized Miz’s career. He’s working better than he has in years, his promos are entertaining, and it has even helped the Intercontinental Championship, which really seemed on the backburner again after WrestleMania. 

    Rollins did an interview with Young. He said it would be fitting if he defeated Reigns for the Money in the Bank championship since he won it 2 years ago, leading to him cashing it in. Rollins walked up to Stephanie McMahon. Rollins wanted to hug her, but she said things have changed around here. She just wanted a handshake, and a confused Rollins complied. 

    Chris Jericho defeated Apollo Crews in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match (7:37)

    There was a mixup near the finish. Jericho went for the Lionsault. Crews did a nip-up while Jericho was in midair, but didn’t get out of the way. Jericho’s knees hit Crews on the head and they both fell to the mat. Looked like the rest of the match had to be ad-libbed from that point. Jericho won with a codebreaker. Finish kind of buried Crews since Jericho was supposed to be less than 100% after the Ambrose match last night. Jericho was all taped up from last night’s thumbtacks bump. Crews came out without selling anything from the Sheamus beating. Crews didn’t get much of a reaction and looked disappointed.  

    The latest from Darren Young and Bob Backlund, who chastized Young for taking notes. Then Backlund ordered him to recite all the presidents in honor. Young said he couldn’t do that. Backlund started to do it, and Young said “Damn, coach!” in a way to put Backlund over. Backlund got mad at him for swearing and ordered him to do 100 jumping jacks. 

    Baron Corbin did an interview with JoJo. They showed Corbin delivering a Draymond Green-caliber low blow to beat Dolph Ziggler last night. Ziggler walked in and said Corbin couldn’t beat him in a technical wrestling match. Corbin said he wasn’t worried about technical wrestling, he was worried about handing out beatings. You haven’t heard mechanical delivery of promos until you’ve heard Corbin. Ziggler said he was going to face Ambrose tonight and do something Corbin could never do: steal the show. 

    Big Cass came out. Then he waved toward the entrance and Enzo Amore made his return to a huge pop. They did the usual routine with the fans singing along. Amore had Michael Jackson’s jacket from the Thriller video on. Amore claimed he forgot to pay his electric bill and they cut his lights out. The doctors diagnosed him with a concussion, which he calls a hard sneeze. Amore said if he had a dime for every time he got knocked down and didn’t get back up, he would have ZERO DIMES! Amore said as for Bubba Ray and Devon Dudley, “do us a favor and don’t do us no favors.” Cass said throwing his size-17 boot was going to be like throwing a basketball into a swimming pool, because he wasn’t going to miss. If 10% of Amore’s interview ability could somehow transform over to Crews, he’d headline WrestleMania before 2020. 

    Big Cass defeated Bubba Ray Dudley (2:46) 

    Devon hit Amore from behind at ringside. This led to Cass’ comeback, which spilled out on the floor. Cass threw Amore into Devon. In the ring, Bubba Ray took the Ric Flair slam off the top rope, and Cass pinned him after the Empire Elbow.

    Charlotte, Dana Brooke and Ric Flair came out for a “State of the WWE Women’s Championship Address.” JBL talked about how the Fabulous Moolah started her championship reign in 1956 in Baltimore. Flair took the mic and how proud he was of her. Flair looked emotional, which signaled something was up since this was suppsed to be a heel promo. Some fans started to chant boring. Flair compared Brooke to “Charlotte’s Uncle Arn.” Charlotte said she wanted to thank one person, “and it was obviously me.” She also thanked Brooke, who thanked Charlotte and put over Flair as the “dirtiest player in the game.” Charlotte brought up what she remembered growing up. She remembered various holidays and birthdays where her father wasn’t around for her. She had to watch him on television. Fans chanted “What” at Charlotte and she was getting really mad and appeared to lose her train of thought. Charlotte said she understood why her father missed those holidays because she was the champion. She then turned to her father and ordered him to get out of her ring. Flair didn’t understand what she was talking about. Charlotte said everyone from Flair’s generation was the same because they never wanted to leave the spotlight. Charlotte said Flair never understood how it felt to walk into a room and hear people say “There’s Ric Flair’s daughter.” She said now Flair was Charlotte’s father. Flair started to cry. Charlotte said Flair was “the 2nd dirtiest player in the game” and she doesn’t have time for people who come in 2nd place. She said she doesn’t need him anymore. 

    Charlotte accused Flair of neglecting her. Flair was in tears. Charlotte said Flair was an immortal to everyone in Baltimore, but to her he was dead. Now, Flair can watch Charlotte on TV just like she watched him through her childhood. She ordered him to leave the ring, which Flair did with remorse. Flair walked to the back and Charlotte crowed about how she was the champ. Flair’s facials were excellent. Charlotte had to work hard to get through this despite al the hecklers, but she’s very skilled on the microphone and did a good job getting this breakup over. JBL, Cole and Saxton sold this heavy, speaking in hushed tones wearing long faces like they had just seen a career-threatening injury angle. 

    For those who complain that this angle hit too close to home and was uncomfortable to watch, this isn’t the first time Flair’s parenting skills have been used in an angle. One of the few good segments of WCW Thunder in 2000 featured Flair and Arn Anderson in a microphone dual that centered around their personal lives and children. Not to mention Flair wrestling his son David in 1999 & 2000. Granted, that was among the worst booked programs in history, but it was still a subject.  Flair himself, as a shoot, called that program “a nightmare.” 

    Dean Ambrose defeated Dolph Ziggler in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match (12:10)

    Ambrose won with Dirty Deeds after blocking the Zig Zag. It was a scientific match to get over Ziggler facing Corbin in a “scientific match” next week. During an Ambrose comeback, JBL said “Can you imagine what it would be like to have two former members of the Shield fight for the championship?” How many times did we see that last year? Then Ambrose did his ricochet off the ropes into the clothesline spot and Cole belted out “How in the world did he do that?” We see that spot every week. 

    A distraught Flair walked back stage where he came across Arn Anderson, who consoled him and said he was sorry. Young walked up and asked if he had anything he wanted to say. Flair, who tried to smile, declined and left the building. 

    The Shining Stars put over their debut last week and invited everyone to Puerto Rico, “The Shining Star of the Carribbean.” 

    Styles came out and said you never know how good someone is until you get in the ring with them. Styles said Reigns is every bit the man he says he is, which got him roundly booed. Styles said Reigns was one of the best he ever got in the ring with, but he still wasn’t phenomenal. Then Styles did another subtle heel dig, saying if it wasn’t for the Usos, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, you would be looking at the new WWE World Heavyweight Championship. This brought out Anderson and Gallows. Anderson was upset that Styles would say they cost him a chance to beat Reigns. Anderson accused Styles of changing since their days in Japan. Gallows said if he and Anderson hadn’t dropped every person that wanted to fight Styles, there would be a lot of bars that Styles would have never made it out of. Styles tried to be amicable and said they needed to seperate. Styles said, for now, they were done as a team. But nothing can seperate them from being brothers. Gallows wasn’t going for it, saying they weren’t brothers anymore. Anderson said they weren’t friends anymore. Styles said if that’s the case, they don’t need to be in the ring together anymore. He said, as of right now, this was his ring. Anderson and Gallows took the cue to leave and did without shaking hands. Another breakup angle. 

    Kevin Owens defeated A.J. Styles in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match (16:30)

    Owens won with the Pop-Up Power Bomb after Styles attempted a springboard move, but Owens kicked Styles’ legs out from under him. Styles hit the Pele Kick after escaping an attempt at the Pop-Up Power Bomb. Earlier, Owens missed a moonsault and Styles nailed a springboard 450 splash for a near fall. One night after bumping all over the place for Reigns, Styles wasn’t having an off night. Biggest spot came outside the ring when Styles ran up the steps, but Owens caught him over his shoulders and slammed him across the top of the steps. Later, Styles ran towards Owens, who power bombed Styles on the steps, leading to a countout tease. It was like Styles was 30 again and was in TNA putting over Kevin Nash. And yes, that really happened. Clean. Crowd seemed to be waiting for the near falls, but got more involved towards the end. Finish seemed to catch them by surprise. 

    SUMMARY: Very solid wrestling show. Frankly, this should be a pattern for the summer because the roster is going to be as deep as ever once John Cena, Randy Orton and Neville return. It’s just a question of which programs are made and how to gain the most from them. The Reigns-Rollins program isn’t really unique. Fans have booed Cena for years and cheered various heels against him. Rather than make a new superstar out of Reigns, the WWE has just made him a Cena clone. And the fans will treat him as such, as well as whoever is in a program with him. the good news is there’s plenty of guys he can have quality matches with that won’t expose him.  

  • AJ Styles ready for PPV, works Utica house show

    A.J. Styles did work the WWE house show last night in Utica so the original reports he was going to rest up until the PPV ended up being inaccurate.

    He worked against Roman Reigns in a preview for Sunday’s show.  The house show match ended with Reigns winning via DQ due to outside interference of The Club, leading to the Usos making the save.

    Styles is advertised for Reading, PA tonight before the PPV in Newark, NJ on Sunday.

    Reigns is advertised to headline in Albany tonight so they’ll be facing different opponents.

    Styles hadn’t done a match since injuring his ankle on May 9 but he was physically active on Raw and Smackdown, in shooting angles for tomorrow Extreme rules PPV main event.

    Results:  

    Dolph Ziggler beat Bo Dallas with a super kick, Dallas was with Heath Slater and got the crowd heated early cause he kept rolling out of the ring and running around with Slater. 

    The Shining Stars came out and cut a promo on Utica, they beat the bizarre pairing of Titus O’Neil and Sin Cara. Titus took the pin. Shining stars used Kronus and Ssaturn’s total elimination as the finisher. 

    Big Cass beat Devon with Bubba Ray ringside. Bubba tried to get involved but Cass got the clean pin 

    Usos beat Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in a snoozer.

    Charlotte over Becky Lynch in a women’s title match. Charlotte won with feet on the ropes. Match of the night. 

    Sami Zayn beat Kevin Owens.  Owens worked the crowd to perfection. Even getting out of the ring and cutting a promo mid match and then starting down a guy in the front row for the entire match, yelling at him. 

    Roman Reigns and A.J. styles ended in a DQ when The Club interfered. The Usos out for the save. Again. Making the club look week but whatever. 

    Overall good show, Shining Stars match was the worst. They did not get over and the team of Titus and Sin Cara made no sense. The match was sloppy too

    Cass is a budding star. Crowd loves him. He has the look and size 

    Reigns was booed massively.

    Owens was the star, the women stole the show.   Sounds like a routine house show cause it was. 

  • WWE Smackdown spoilers: Kevin Owens vs Cesaro; Roman Reigns vs. Luke Gallows

    – Kevin Owens beat Cesaro

    The Miz and Sami Zayn were on commentary. There was a bunch of distraction and it allowed Owens to win with the dreaded distraction schoolboy pin.

    – Dana Brooke beat Paige

    Becky Lynch was on commentary for this match.

    – Dolph Ziggler beat Sheamus

    Baron Corbin came out after the match and cut a promo talking about his match on Sunday against Ziggler.

    – Chris Jericho did an interview. They had the cage lowered. A guy who was dressed like one of the people helping lower the cage revealed himself to be Dean Ambrose.  He attacked Jericho from behind, climbed up and got a Kendo stick and nailed Jericho a few times before Jericho ran out the cage door.

    – The new Bob Backlund and Darren Young video aired.

    – WWE Tag Champions The New Day & Big Cass beat Dudleys & Vaudevillains when Cass pinned Bubba with the East River Crossing.

    – The Club came to the ring for the main event which was Roman Reigns vs. Luke Gallows.  The Family came out.

    – Roman Reigns NC Luke Gallows

    Everyone got involved in the match. It ended up with the Usos brawling with Gallows and Karl Anderson. Styles and Reigns were in the ring with chairs but Styles hit Reigns with a Pele kick and laid him out with a chair shot, so he was the last guy standing as the show ended.

  • WWE RAW live results: Extreme Rules go-home show with Styles-Reigns, Ambrose-Jericho

    The Big Takeaway:

    Another show built around Shane and Stephanie ruling the roost. They ordered two separate matches, presided over a contract signing that was the main event segment and ended with Stephanie decking Ric Flair in Greensboro. The show had two very good tag team matches but lagged during the final hour. 

    Show Recap: 

    The Usos will face Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows later tonight. A.J. Styles came out and said he was tired of Roman Reigns calling him a liar, and well as various places he’s gone to and social media. Styles showed off tweets from fans who thought Styles’ relationship with Anderson and Gallows was a ploy to make him WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Styles talked about headlining the Tokyo Dome in front of 60,000 fans, and he didn’t need any help getting to the top. 

    Reigns came out. “What an ovation!” screamed JBL as thunderous boos echoed in the background and Reigns walked past a “When it Reigns, it Bores” sign. Reigns said Styles has won championship after championship, but if you ask him, it doesn’t matter unless he’s wearing THE championship. Fans chanted for Seth Rollins, which seemed to iritate Reigns. Reigns said he would be in the Usos corner, and asked Styles if he was going to be in the Club’s corner? Styles said he would.

    Styles said Reigns was THE guy who he was going to beat this Sunday at Extreme Rules. Reigns said Styles couldn’t beat him one-on-one, and the Usos would be at ringside with him to prove that the bloodline could beat the clubline. Anderson & Gallows came out. The Usos ran out from the crowd to join Reigns and Reigns punched Styles out of the ring just as Styles was about to strike. It appeared security was confiscasting anti-Reigns signs during this segment because they cut to tight shots of Reigns face while guards worked around ringside.  

    Cesaro and Sami Zayn went to a no contest (1:40)

    Kevin Owens and the Miz were at ringside. After Sami Zayn sent Cesaro out of the ring, Owens got up from the commentary table and acted like he was going to leave, but attacked Miz instead. The two ended up in the ring, where Owens and Zayn brawled, as did Cesaro and Miz. 

    This led to Shane McMahon coming out to a big pop. He arranged for Zayn and Cesaro to team against Miz and Owens. Then Stephanie McMahon came out. She changed the match to Zayn and Owens vs. Miz and Cesaro, and if Owens walked out, he would lose his spot in the Fatal Four Way at Extreme Rules. 

    Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens defeated the Miz and Cesaro (10:47) 

    Zayn pinned the Miz after the Helluva Kick. Miz and Cesaro starting arguing, and it led to Cesaro giivng him the Skull Crushing Finale. After Zayn got the pin, Owens gave him a superkick, then proclaimed himself the winner of the match. Owens was the straw that stirred this drink and was very entertaining. He even got a run wild sequence that included a Cannonball on Cesaro, which the fans went nuts for. Byron Saxton said “I can’t believe we’re seeing Zayn and Owens teaming together.” Aside from the decade they spent teaming together in ROH and other indys, I totally agree. Reminded me of watching WWE Superstars back in the day and Gorilla Monsoon would call Lanny Poffo a youngster after he had wrestled for 15 years. 

    Renee Young asked Chris Jericho in his dressing room about Dean Ambrose requesting a meeting with him tonight. Jericho said he wanted Ambrose to apologize for destroying his $15,000 jacket last week, which was as much an institution in the WWE as Andre the Giant. He talked about how the jacket belonged in the Smithsonian. 

    The Shining Stars defeated Scott Jackson and Brian Kennedy (1:33) 

    Epico pinned Brian Kennedy with the Shining Star, which is the old Total Elimination. Since they were in Greensboro, this was your basic 1980s squash match that aired on Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling every Saturday night. Even the jobbers names sounded like something that Bob Caudle would say. A word has yet to be created to adequately describe the indifference the crowd had for the Shining Stars in their debut, whose gimmick is they beat up guys from the host cities hometown to prove Puerto Rico is the most beautiful place on Earth. Before we go comparing this to the Reverend D-Von, Kane’s twin brother and Outback Jack, let’s remember the New Day was the least over thing in this company 18 months ago. 

    OK, I’m done pretending. These guys couldn’t get heat in Texas wearing Jose Bautista jerseys. 

    Ambrose came out. There was an angle on SmackDown where Jericho put Ambrose in a straight jacket, and Ambrose said he felt something in his head that snapped a little. He called Jericho out. Jericho came out and ordered Ambrose to apologize for his jacket, which he called an important part of his legacy. Jericho actually was a heel trying to get heat. And he got it. Remarkable. 

    Ambrose said he wasn’t apologizing and challenged him to a match at Extreme Rules. Jericho said he would take $15,000 out of Ambrose’s ass. Ambrose asked if Jericho was sure. Jericho said people liked to call Ambrose a lunatic, but he was a lunatic because there was no one in the company crazier than him. He’s faced every fighter the company has thrown at him for 17 years and is a 6-time world champion. Jericho said he would punish Ambrose with no remorse, with a smile on his face and without a tear in his eye. Jericho did his new catchphrase of “The gift of Jericho. Drink it in.” 

    Ambrose said he had a gift for Jericho. A cage came down from the roof with this music that sounded like the “Psycho” theme. Ambrose said he talked to Shane and Ambrose got to have the first-ever Asylum match. It was a cage match with a straight jacket, a barbed wire 2×4, the ghost of Mitch the Plant, a fire extinguisher, a strap, a mop and bucket and various other objects. Ambrose said there would be no escaping the cage and Jericho would never, ever be the same again. 

    Dana Brooke defeated Becky Lynch (3:41) 

    Brooke won when Becky Lynch attempted a sunset flip, but Brooke sat down. Weird spot early in Lynch jumped off the apron for a double axehandle that appeared to connect, but wasn’t supposed to. Brooke then had to no-sell it and threw Lynch into the dasherboards. Brooke was shown earlier being snobby to a guy, saying if he worked out and dressed better, maybe she would take him seriously. Lynch has become the jobber Diva, it appears. 

    Bob Backlund appeared as Darren Young’s life coach. Backlund asked Young what time it was. Young pulled out his phone. Backlund thought he was going to call the operator and ask what time it was. Young talked about trying to organize the Desktop on his phone. Backlund thought he meant organizing his desk by putting a calendar over it. Backlund ordered him to do 200 squats. And that’s how the second “Make Darren Young Great Again” skit ended. Well, the newest Young push is still more alive than Ted Cruz’s campaign. 

    Shane watched this unfold. Stephanie wanted to know why Shane didn’t run the whole Asylum match by her. Shane wondered why didn’t Stephanie run by changing the tag team match by him. Bubba Ray and Devon Dudley came in. Bubba Ray said they’ve heard about the New Era, but they wanted to show what guys from the Attitude era. Devon Dudley wanted to face two little guys from North Carolina and rough them up. Shane spoke up and said one of the Dudleys could face Big Cass. The Dudleys could pick out which one would get the honors. Shane got to do Enzo Amore’s catchphrase. 

    Breezango defeated The Golden Truth (1:55) 

    Tyler Breeze pinned Goldust after R-Truth accidentally hit Goldust with a flying side kick. Breezango is Tyler Breeze and Fandango, who turned on their respective partners on SmackDown. The Golden Truth got a big introduction video that was twice as long as the match, showing how this debut was six months in the making. Naturally, they lost and teased dissension, which we saw earlier from two other teams. 

    Goldust was mad at Truth afterwards. Truth said they need to get their timing together. Fandango and Breeze dropped by to laugh at them. At first, Goldust was unsure if Truth would be a good partner, but after Breezango laughed at them, he agreed they should remain a team and get revenge. 

    The New Day came out. It looked like fans had Booty-O boxes left and right. Kofi Kingston said he didn’t understand why the Vaudevillains said a bygone era was a better era. They pulled off a huge box that Xavier Woods claimed was a Delorian time machine. Big E. tried to claim it was really a large refrigerator box with a keyboard that was really sticky, but Woods wouldn’t let him finish. T

    hey got inside the box and it was pretty funny. The machine went back in time and Kofi Kingston’s old Jamacian “S.O.S’ music started playing. Kingston started doing his old Jamacian accent. Woods said they didn’t go back far enough. They got back in the box and Kofi’s smartphone had turned into a old camera with a light bulb on top. Aiden English and Simon Gotch then ran up from behind and jumped the New Day, giving Woods and Kingstgon the Whirling Dervish. 

    The Usos defeated Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows (12:46) 

    Very good match, better than the first match of the night. After the Usos hit double superkicks on Anderson and Gallows, Jey Uso pinned Anderson after a splash. Anderson hit a spinebuster on Jey for a very good near fall. Styles and Reigns were at ringside in opposing corners. A group of fans were still chanting for Rollins. Jey Uso has so much charisma, his hot tag won the crowd over, even with Reigns at ringside. 

    Postmatch, Gallows hit Reigns from behind. This led to the Usos and Anderson/Gallows brawling again, where Anderson threw Jey Uso into the steps. Styles was left in the ring trying to use the chair against Reigns, but Reigns caught Styles with an uppercut before he could. Reigns hit Styles with the chair across the back. Gallows and Anderson ran in, only to each take Superman Punches. Styles recovered to deliver three chair shots across Reigns’ back. Then Styles delivered the Styles Clash onto the chair on Reigns to sizeable cheers. 

    Big Cass defeated Devon Dudley (:59) 

    Big Cass won with the East River Crossing, or the old Chris Harris Catatonic. Cass did a prematch promo where he compared Devon to Urkel from Family Matters and Bubba Ray to Fred Flintstone. 

    Alberto Del Rio defeated Kalisto (C) in a nontitle match (11:05)

    Sin Cara watched the match from the back when Rusev jumped him with a superkick, then dragged him to ringside. That got the crowd interested because they would get to see Lana, who got chants. Once Rusev showed up at ringside, Kalisto was distracted, giving Alberto Del Rio the opening to hit the backstabber for the pin. Earlier, Kalisto tried to hit a huracanrana off the apron, but Del Rio slung him into the barricade. 

    Postmatch, Rusev attacked Kalisto, giving him the Accolade when he bent as far as humanly possible. Rusev grabbed the U.S. Championship and threw on a prone Kalisto. 

    Stephanie and Shane were in the ring for the contract signing for Charlotte vs. Natalya for the WWE Women’s Championship match at Extreme Rules. Shane got “Shane O’Mac” chants. She was about to introduce Charlotte when Ric Flair interrupted her and introduced his daughter. Michael Cole gave a rundown of Flair’s career in Greensboro, mentioning his first match in the Greensboro Coliseum was against Chuck O’Connor, who would go on to be Big John Studd. Sadly, Cole also mentioned Flair’s last match in Greensboro, in 2008 against HHH. That will forever go down as the night HHH refused to job in Flair’s last match in Greensboro, opting for a lame DQ finish where William Regal ran in to punch HHH with brass knux. 

    Natalya came out and said Charlotte was once someone she respected and had integrity. Natalya said Charlotte even defeated her for Charlotte’s first NXT championship without the help of her creepy father. Natalya said that is the Charlotte she would like to beat at Extreme Rules, but that person doesn’t exist. Charlotte replied that Natalya was delusional, and the fans weren’t there to cheer for her, they were there for Charlotte.

    It was meant to be a heel interview, as Charlotte said she could punch all of their best friends in the face and they would still cheer for her because they worship the ground that she walks on. Charlotte proclaimed herself as a living, breathing goddess. Those lines got the crowd against her, but it wasn’t genuine heat. Charlotte gave Natalya a “Whoo.” Ric started to say “Whoo,” but Charlotte told him to start because it was her ring. Charlotte said this was a waste of her time to talk about how bad she would be Natalya and asked to sign the deal. Charlotte looked at the contract, then asked “What is this?” 

    Shane included an added stipulation that if Ric even walks down to the ring, then Charlotte would forfeit the WWE Women’s Championship. Why was this news? Stephanie made that stipulation two weeks ago. 

    At that point, Shane brought security down to escort Flair away. Stephanie said if Charlotte didn’t sign the contract, then she would forfeit the championship. So Charlotte was essentially forced into the match. Charlotte signed the deal. 

    Flair got pissed at Stephanie, saying she was the worst businesswoman of all time. Shane tried to calm him down. Flair then took off his watch and his coat, acting like he was going to square off against Shane, who tried to let cooler heads prevail. Stephanie stepped between Shane and said he may have respect for Flair, but she doesn’t. Stephanie did slapped Flair, who had to take a delayed bump. This led to audible “Stephanie” chants that sure did come and go quickly. 

    Security stepped in to keep Flair out of the ring. Meanwhile, Natalya put Charlotte in the sharpshooter and Charlotte tapped out. Basically another segment to get the McMahons over. 

    SUMMARY: 

    How can a show be bad when it has A.J. Styles, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Cesaro, and some very good tag teams? When it turns into another episode of “The McMahons,” which this show became after the first hour. They just can’t help themselves. The Styles/Reigns buildup was very good. 

  • WWE RAW live results: The build toward Extreme Rules, Styles, Reigns, The McMahons

    The Big Takeaway: Vince McMahon took one look at a 7-footer the day after WrestleMania. Six weeks later, even without one singles match, he main evented Raw. That’s the position that Big Cass found himself in against Chris Jericho, though the match itself didn’t happen and Cass was only a bit player in the final segment. Show had a solid angle between Roman Reigns and A.J. Styles. Match of the night was Sami Zayn vs. The Miz. 

    Chris Jericho came out for the Highlight Reel.

    He claimed Dean Ambrose was supposed to be his guest tonight, but after Jericho attacked him with Mitch the Plant last week, Ambrose suffered whiplish, vertigo and a bulging disc.  Jericho said Ambrose may not be in the WWE for a long, long time. Jericho uncovered the remains of Mitch the Potted Plant, which got a “Mitch” chant. Let the record show a root from the dirt resting on a stool is more over than the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

    Jericho said Mitch and Ambrose had a lot in common. They both came to the WWE to entertain people, but both underestimated the tsunami known as Chris Jericho. Now, like Mitch, Ambrose is a shattered mess of dust and bones waiting for someone to put him back together again. Jericho showed tweets from fans exressing sorrow over Mitch’s death. Jericho took credit for putting Ambrose in a St. Louis hospital, and claimed Mitch had more charisma than Ambrose. Jericho could glue Mitch together, glue it back together, sell it to a flea market for $12  and it would still be worth more than Ambrose.  Jericho said he understands why fans relate to Ambrose, because Ambrose was a loser and a slob just like the fans.

    Jericho proclaimed himself the Hailey’s Comet of the WWE, because talent like him comes around once every 76 years. He invited fans to drink in the Gift of Jericho and posed. 

    Big Cass came out without Enzo Amore. Cass said if this was the Gift of Jericho, he better have a receipt because he wanted his money back. Cass said Jericho was one of the greatest of all time, but Jericho didn’t understand this was the new era. Cass said the phrase “We have arrived” wasn’t a cry for attention, it was a warning. Cass said “I have arrived” and  Jericho better get out of his way or he would run through Jericho. Jericho said Cass should run to the hospiital and check on his buddy “Enzo Annoying.” Jericho claimed he heard Enzo was staying at the same hospital as Ambrose. Too bad the New Day showed Amore checking out of the hospital last week. Cass challenged him to a fight. 

    Jericho reminded Cass he was the best in the world at what he does. Cass said he was 7 feet tall and the crowd added in “And you can’t teach that.” Jericho didn’t the usual heel routine of walking off. Cass gave him the “Sawft” catchphrase. Jericho jumped on the apron, but Cass gave him the big boot to the floor. Michael Cole and Byron Saxton couldn’t stop talking about how Cass was 7-feet tall. It looks like they’re putting the wheels in motion already for Cass to become a singles star, which is par for the Vince McMahon-owned course. 

    – Jericho walked up to Stephanie McMahon for our weekly emasculation of talent. Jericho said Shane McMahon was responsible for the new era of Raw, and he and Stephanie could help destroy it. Stephanie was a babyface this time, ordering Jericho to face Cass in the main event, then ordering him never to put a wedge between her and her brother. Like there wasn’t a wedge between them already. Are we supposed to forget Stephanie’s interviews she cut on Shane leading up to the WrestleMania match, as well as the match itself? 

    Baron Corbin did an inset promo saying he wasn’t part of the New Era, he was only out for himself. 

    Baron Corbin defeated Dolph Ziggler (8:32) 

    Corbin won with the End of Days. Earlier, Dolph Ziggler kicked out of the Deep 6. Ziggler got a near fall with a Famouser in a good match. 

    – Charlotte and Ric Flair walked up to Shane McMahon. Flair congratulated Shane for his match at WrestleMania and claimed Shane’s top of the cage elbow against Undertaker was the greatest move he had ever seen. Imagine if Shane had actually hit the move. Charlotte asked Shane to reverse Stephanie’s decision to ban Flair from ringside at Extreme Rules. Not only did Shane not reverse the decision, but said Flair was banned from ringside tonight. 

    – A.J. Styles, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, now known as “The Club,” did an interview with Jojo. Styles brought up being power bombed by Roman Reigns onto the table last week. Styles said the Club is officially back together again tonight, but made it clear he would defeat Reigns on his own at Extreme Rules. 

    R-Truth defeated Fandango (2:11)

    R-Truth won with the Truth Detector. The deal is Goldust and Fandango have formed a tag team called “Goldango.” Tyler Breeze and Truth responded by forming a team called “The Gorgeous Truth” in an attempt for Goldust and Truth to make each other jealous. Just before the finish, Fandango pushed Truth into Breeze, who didn’t look happy with Truth despite his partner winning. Announcers were so bored with the match, JBL mentioned Ozzy Osbourne’s hair stylist. Michael Cole acted like he had no idea what he was talking about and asked how Sharon would react to that, apparently oblivious to reports that Ozzy and Sharon have split. 

    – Kevin Owens, the Miz and Cesaro were backstage with Stephanie and Shane. Stephanie spoke up and said they would face each other for Miz’s Intercontinental Championship at Extreme Rules. Miz objected because he could lose his championship without getting pinned. Stephanie said no one asked him what he thought. Sami Zayn walked in and objected, saying he deserves an opportunity. Zayn challenged Miz to a match tonight, and if Zayn wins, then the Extreme Rules match becomes a four-way.

    Shane and Stephanie were fine with it, despite Miz’s objections. Stephanie then dismissed everyone. Stephanie and Shane then had a moment of togetherness, complimenting each other over how they handled the situation. I hope the babyface outsmarts the Authority before the payoff of this Stephanie-Shane angle. Otherwise,  Shane is going to look some kind of bad when Stephanie inevitably turns on him. 

    Paige defeated Charlotte (C) in a nontitle match (7:42)

    Overloaded booking at the finish. Charlotte tried to cradle Paige with her feet on the rope. Natalya jumped on the apron. Flair, despite being barred from ringside, ran out. Paige was distracted. This brought out Shane, who had a team of officials bring Flair to the back. With all of this going on, Paige pinned Charlotte with a schoolgirl cradle. Charlotte looked distraught that she may not be able to beat Natalya at Extreme Rules without her father at ringside. 

    Sami Zayn defeated the Miz (C) in a nontitle match

    A great performance by Zayn, who won with the Helluva Kick. Miz worked over Zayn’s right knee, and the crowd was right behind up, particularly after Miz put on the Figure Four. Miz tried to get the pin on a rollup using the ropes, but the referee caught him. Zayn made his comeback with the Blue Thunder Bomb. A very good match. Zayn is now in the fatal four-way for the I-C title at Extreme Rules.

    – Becky Lynch was asked by Renee Young about Emma thumbing her in the eye last week. Emma claimed it was accidental. Lynch said it was on purpose. Emma walked up and said it was just like Lynch to blame her loss on other people. Then Dana Brooke, making her Raw debut, snuck up on Lynch and jumped her from behind. Emma and Brooke talked about being a team on NXT and talked about beating up Lynch just like it was the old days. Brooke teased giving Lynch another cheap shot, but held up. 

    – Darren Young did a vignette said life is what you make it, and said he needed a person in his life to guide him. Bob Backlund popped up on a split-screen. Young asked him to be his life coach. Backlund said he would be Young’s wrestling coach. Young said he didn’t need a wrestling coach, he needed a life coach. Backlund interrupted him and said he’s never been a life coach before, but the first thing Young needs to understand is “Wrestling is Life.” Then came a onscreen promo lifted directly from Donald Trump’s campaign, entitled “Making Darren Young great again.” 

    – Xavier Woods hosted an episode of “Up Up Down Down,” featuring Ziggler. It was a product placement for Pizza Hut. Big E. took two slices, leaving Ziggler empty handed, which is a metaphor for his year so far. 

    – Zack Ryder told Shane the ladder match at WrestleMania was proof he belonged in the WWE. Owens walked in and accused Shane of handing Zayn a chance at the Intercontinental Championship, and said Shane was getting in a habit of handing title shots to people who are undeserving. Ryder mentioned he beat Owens at WrestleMania. Owens correctly mentioned that Ryder didn’t beat him. Ryder brought up being in the Fatal Fourway match at Extreme Rules. Shane ordered Owens would face Ryder in a match tonight, and if Owens lost, he would lose his spot in the Fourway at Extreme Rules. 

    – Reigns and the Usos were hanging out backstage. Reigns said tonight was about beating the Club and representing the Family (the name for their team) to the fullest in an elimination match. Reigns said they would eliminate Anderson and Gallows as a team, but Reigns would take care of Styles by himself. 

    Sin Cara defeated Rusev (3:45) 

    Sin Cara won after another distraction finish. Rusev got out of the way of a senton and hit a thrust kick. He called for the Accolade, but Kalisto jumped on the apron. For some reason, Lana jumped on the apron, as well. Rusev got distracted by all this and Cara pinned him with a schoolboy cradle for the same finish we saw in Charlotte’s match. Kalisto did a Facebook interview. It was like he was reading from the Crash Davis school of interviews. He might as well have said “I just want to give it my best shot and good lord willing, it will work out.  I’m just happy to be here.” In fact, that wasn’t far from what he did say. 

    – The final Shining Stars of the Caribbean vignette arrive. They will arrive next week to remind us that, somehow, Primo and Epico have jobs and Damien Sandow doesn’t.  

    The Family defeated The Club in an elimination match (11:39) 

    Styles was disqualified after Anderson hit Reigns with a chair outside the ring. The Club got the man advantage when Anderson pinned Jey Uso with a schoolboy cradle at 2:38. Jimmy Uso evened things up at 4:42 by pinning Anderson with a small package. Styles pinned Jey Uso during a commercial break with the Phenomenal Firearm. Reigns made it a 1-on-1 match with Styles when he pinned Gallows at 9:17. 

    The Usos ran down after the DQ and jumped Anderson and Gallows, who threw the Usos out of the ring. Reigns recovered to give Anderson and Gallows spears. This led to a terrific staredown between Reigns and Styles that was so solid, it had portions of the crowd chanting for Reigns. Reigns had a chair as he gazed at Styles, who was standing on the apron ready to deliver the Phenomenal Forearm. Reigns said he didn’t need to chair to beat up Styles and tossed it aside. Styles threw the chair back at him.

    When Reigns picked it up, Styles did a springboard, but Reigns picked up the chair, so Styles rolled out of the ring. Styles reminded Reigns the chair would be fair game when they meet at Extreme Rules. This was very well laid out. Of all the times not to have Reigns in the main event segment, it came during his best angle of the year. 

    Kevin Owens defeated Zack Ryder (4:03)

    Owens won with the Pop-Up Power Bomb. Ryder’s biggest spot was hitting the Randy Savage Elbow for a near fall. Owens retains his spot for the I-C title fourway at Extreme Rules

    – Cass did an interview with Young. More scripted crap that this company just can’t drag themselves away from. Cass dedicated the match to Amore. 

    – Former WWE writer Freddie Prinze Jr. did a promo for the new show “First Impressions,” then started chanting for the New Day. This led to New Day coming out. The Vaudevillains did an insert promo saying they would take the tag team championships from New Day at Extreme Rules. New Day did a promo where they were confused about the Vaudevillains name, they held up a giant Booty-O, and got the crowd to chant “All hail to Booty-Ohhh.” Big E. said the Vaudevillains were from a by-gone era, an era that wasn’t very good for people like us: people who used smart phones. It led to them getting the crowd to chant “New Day Rocks.” 

    The Dudley Boyz defeated the New Day (C) in a nontitle match (5:08)

    Aiden English and Simon Gotch ran down to jump Woods, leading to Big E. getting involved. In the midst of all this, Devon Dudley pinned Kofi Kingston with a short-armed clothesline. Postmatch, the Vaudevillains gave Kingston the Whirling Dervish. 

    The main event match between Jericho-Cass, which was promoted for two hours, never got going.

    Cass made his ring entrance. Jericho was in the midst of his entrance when, just as his jacket started to lite up in the dark, someone could be seen jumping him. That person put on Jericho’s jacket, it lit up, then the mystery figure got in the ring. It was Ambrose, who started to tear up the jacket. Jericho ran down and put the fists to Ambrose. Jericho was incensed his jacket was destroyed and started to leave, but Cass blocked his path and threw him in the ring. Ambrose gave Jericho Dirty Deeds, then pulled out a pair of scissors and tore the jacket into shreds. Some of the bulbs and fuses that light the jacket starting blowing, which made for an interesting visual. Jericho was left screaming at Ambrose about how his $15,000 jacket was ruined. 

    Shane and Stephanie watched this scene from backstage. They each complimented the other about how good a job they had done throughout the night. Stephanie suggested their next step should be an episode of “Ride Along,” but Shane didn’t think they were ready for that. Shane said goodnight. As Shane walked away, Stephanie looked at the framed photo of Shane as a toddler with Vince McMahon before they went to his first wrestling show in Worcester, Mass. She had a blank look on her face, then she vaguely grinned. 

    SUMMARY: 

    The main programs of Reigns-Styles and Jericho-Ambrose were built very well tonight. This was an interesting show in terms of hour structure and how it relates to ratings. Putting Cass in the main event slot is just Vince’s theory of relying on the big guys when the chips are down. It’s too early to be breaking up the Enzo & Cass tag team, and clearly the company thought building Cass for the main event was a better idea than actually having him wrestle in it. Unfortunately, the words “New era” have now entered the dreaded WWE lexicon of staged terms that come off as lame, joining such hits as “Diva Revolution,” “WWE Universe” and “WWE Superstar.” And it’s only going to grow over time. 

  • WWE Smackdown results: AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Roman Reigns and The Usos

    – Air Date: May 5, 2016 
    – Location: Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO 

    – The Big News:

    Roman Reigns and the Usos got some revenge over AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Also, The Vaudevillains vs. The New Day was made official for Extreme Rules. 

    – Show Recap: 

    Chris Jericho came out for the Highlight Reel. He said Dean Ambrose thought he could be funny and zany when tangling with him, but it got serious when Jericho smashed the 20-pound pot over Ambrose. Jericho claimed that Ambrose spent the night in a St. Louis hospital with contusions, whiplash and bulging discs. 

    Jericho said Ambrose wasn’t here tonight, wasn’t going to run out to make a surprise appearance, and he should stay home for good. Jericho said it is a new era in WWE – his era. The crowd chanted “You suck” at Jericho, who introduced his guest Sami Zayn. 

    Jericho said his good friend Kevin Owens beat Zayn fair and square but Zayn continues to attack him, which makes him a sore loser. He also called Zayn a thief for posing with The Miz’s Intercontinental title. Jericho asked Zayn what kind of human being he is, and Zayn responded, “Actually, I think I’m a pretty good human being, honestly.” Zayn thought people would agree, just like they would agree that Jericho’s scarf makes him look stupid. 

    Zayn said he didn’t have a problem with Owens beating him, he had a problem with Owens slapping him in the face after the match and tossing him out of the ring like garbage. He also wasn’t trying to steal the IC Title. Miz interrupted. 

    Miz said he’s the only one who’s earned the right to hold the IC title belt and called Zayn a serial coattail rider. Miz warned Zayn not to lay a finger on the title again, so Zayn repeatedly touched the title with his finger, which was funny. The crowd chanted for Zayn. Jericho said if someone laid a hand on his $15,000 jacket, he would do something about it, and told Miz he should do something about it. 

    Zayn couldn’t believe Jericho spent $15,000 on his jacket. Jericho started raging, tossed his stools down and left. Zayn called them jackasses. Miz said Zayn has no respect and called himself the biggest, baddest shark in WWE. Zayn touched the title again and challenged Miz to a fight, but Maryse got in his face. Zayn challenged him to a fight again but Miz bailed. 

    This segment was good enough. The biggest positive was that Sami Zayn, surprise surprise, came off very likable. 

    Non-title: Sami Zayn beat IC Champion The Miz (w/Maryse) via DQ 

    Miz tried tossing Zayn into the barricade, but Zayn leapt onto the barricade and nailed a moonsault. The highlight of that spot was the reaction of a girl in the front row. Kevin Owens came out (to his music) and joined commentary after a break. 

    Mauro Ranallo asked Owens what brought him to ringside and Jerry Lawler responded, “Obviously his legs brought him down here Mauro, don’t be an idiot!” Owens enjoyed that. Owens then mocked Miz for hitting an axe-handle off the top, calling him a great “athlete.” Zayn hit a dive to Miz on the outside, then got in Owens’ face. 

    Zayn went back after Miz, but Owens jumped Zayn from behind for the DQ. Miz and Owens double teamed him but Cesaro made the save (he stripped off his suit as he ran to the ring). Cesaro did the uppercut parade to both Miz and Owens, while still wearing sunglasses. Cesaro also caught Zayn with one by accident, which knocked him out of the ring. Cesaro tried to swing Miz but both Maryse and Owens got in the way and all the heels bailed. Cesaro posed with the title. 

    They showed a replay of the main event angle from Raw. Backstage, AJ Styles asked Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson if they were ready for round two. Anderson said Styles would have broken the chair over Roman Reigns if this was back in the day. Styles said it wasn’t, and reminded them he beat Reigns twice at Payback before Reigns beat him. 

    Styles said he would become champion, but would do it his way. Gallows and Anderson said Reigns may not see it that way after he put Styles through a table. Styles decided to go have a chat with Reigns. Anderson and Gallows were happy to hear it. 

    Promo for Primo and Epico. They also replayed the footage of Enzo Amore being knocked out, and announced The Vaudevillains vs. The New Day at Extreme Rules for the Tag-Team titles. 

    The Vaudevillains beat Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas via pinfall 

    The Vaudevillains did an inset promo, calling the New Day clowns and called themselves real men. They won in under two minutes with the Whirling Dervish. 

    Afterwards, Big Cass came out to tell the Vaudevillains they look like they came off the set of Sherlock Holmes. He said he was going to give them a whooping and called them soft. He knocked both guys out of the ring, when Axel jumped in and called them soft too. He tried to buddy up to Cass, but Cass hit him with the swinging side slam. Axel was pretty amusing here. 

    Natalya & Becky Lynch beat Emma & Women’s Champion Charlotte (w/Ric Flair) via submission 

    They worked over Natalya until she made the hot tag to Lynch, who ran wild on Emma until she was pulled out of the ring by Charlotte. They double teamed Lynch to gain control and worked her over until she made the hot tag to Natalya, who hit Charlotte with clotheslines, a low dropkick, and discus clothesline. 

    Natalya applied the Sharpshooter but Charlotte crawled to her corner and Emma tagged in. Emma knocked down Natalya and hit a running crossbody. Lynch broke up the cover and knocked Charlotte off the ring. Natalya applied the Sharpshooter to Emma who tapped. Average match that went about 10 minutes. Emma didn’t need to be in this match. 

    Backstage, Reigns and the Usos were chatting when they were interrupted by AJ Styles. Reigns told Styles he had guts coming in there. Styles told Reigns he had him dead to rights on Raw. He took the high road, but he won’t next time. Styles asked if Reigns was going to be in the Usos’ corner in the main event. Reigns called himself the champ, called the Usos family, and he would be wherever he wanted to be. Styles said he would see them out there. 

    There was a really bizarre vignette with Darren Young. Young spoke about searching for a life coach. He said the answer was right in front of him, when the screen split and Bob Backlund appeared. Young asked Backlund if he would be his life coach. 

    Backlund said yes, he would be his “wrestling coach.” Young was glad, but he wanted a life coach, not a wrestling coach. Backlund screamed that the first lesson was “wrestling is life.” The segment ended with the words “Make Darren Young Great Again” on the screen. No idea what to make of this. 

    Rusev (w/Lana) beat Zack Ryder via submission 

    Ryder didn’t get an entrance. Also, Charles Robinson was the referee. Ranallo said Rusev claimed he would eat Kalisto’s big heart, and Rusev beat Ryder in just over a minute with the Accolade. The only thing to note was Rusev developed a hematoma after being sent face-first into the steel post. Lana wasn’t happy about that. 

    Afterwards, Kalisto ran in and attacked Rusev for basically no reason. They claimed it was because Lana was mocking the Lucha chants. He hit Rusev with a few kicks, springboard corkscrew crossbody, and then he left to pose with his title on the stage. Rusev vs. Kalisto should be pretty great. 

    The announcers plugged Camp WWE by reading the same script the announcers did on Raw. 

    Backstage, Fandango taught Goldust some new dance moves. After some “comedy,” Fandango challenged Truth and Tyler Breeze to a tag match next week. This is so dumb. 

    Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson (w/AJ Styles) beat The Usos (w/Roman Reigns) via DQ 

    As Gallows and Anderson made their entrance, Ranallo put them over as one of the best teams in Japan and Lawler responded, “Who cares about Japanese wrestling?” After Jey Uso was sent outside a couple minutes into the match, Reigns went to check on him, at which point Anderson used his boot to face-wash Reigns. Reigns jumped in the ring and attacked Anderson for the DQ, which led to a big brawl. 

    A bunch of officials ran down to break it up. Styles grabbed a mic and said, “I thought this was a new era – or his that just for Raw? This is Smackdown, and we’re going to finish what we started, now!” Normally these setups to turn a singles match into a tag match (or a tag match into a six-man in this case) feels really phony, but this was done well and the crowd was into it. It was chaotic and the fans just wanted to see them fight. 

    WWE Champion Roman Reigns & The Usos beat AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson via pinfall 

    Reigns and Styles started as they did on Raw, and there were dueling chants from the crowd. Reigns seemed to be getting the better of it until Styles backed him into the corner for Anderson to make a tag. Reigns and the Usos triple-teamed Anderson but he eventually backed Jey Uso into the corner for Gallows to make a tag. The Usos double teamed him, but Gallows gained control with a big boot on Jimmy Uso. 

    Reigns made a hot tag and hit Anderson with a jumping clothesline and clotheslines in the corner. He knocked Styles off the apron with a right hand as well. Reigns superman punched Gallows off the apron. He tried to hit Styles with one as well, but Styles hung him over the top rope, and Anderson followed with a school boy for a near fall. 

    An Uso hit Gallows with a suicide dive and Reigns hit Anderson with a superman punch. Reigns went for a spear but Styles cut him off with forearm. An Uso dragged Styles out of the ring and Anderson made a cover on Reigns for a close near fall. Anderson followed with a spinebuster for another near fall, but Reigns popped back with a spear for the pinfall win. 

    Styles tried to make the save before the pinfall, but was held back by an Uso. As soon as Reigns got the 3 count, he and Styles stared at each other, perhaps acknowledging how close this was. After they showed a replay of the finish, Styles and Reigns were still in a staredown. Styles pointed at the title saying “That’s mine” and Reigns held it up to end the show. 

    – Final Thoughts: 

    This was a mostly mundane show again until the main event stuff, which I thought was really good. Not a fan of Gallows/Anderson losing already, but at least it was to the champ. 

  • WWE RAW live results: Reigns vs Styles Extreme Rules, Stephanie and Shane

    The Big Takeaway: 

    The first night of the Shane/Stephanie co-ownership of Monday Night Raw featured Shane getting about seven minutes of airtime. Stephanie got about 25. Of course, she did segements where she was a heel and a babyface, as well. The Roman Reigns/ A.J. Styles match at Extreme Rules will be a no-DQ match. Rusev is the new #1 contender for the U.S. Championship. As usual, Kevin Owens was the highlight of the show, once again having the best match of the show. Crowd was more lively than recent weeks, but Stephanie’s presence just dragged the show down. 

    Show Recap:

    Stephanie McMahon came out, introduced as one-half of “The Power of Monday Night Raw.”

    Shane McMahon came out to interrupt her. Stephanie said in the seven years that Shane was absent from the company, she learned how to accomplish a lot about business. So she offered Shane a gift to show of support in the new partnership. It was a framed picture of an infant Shane with Vince McMahon, the same picture that Vince destroyed in the buildup to WrestleMania.

    Stephanie then offered Shane the microphone to hear his ideas for tonight’s show. Shane said he was touched and offered to hear Stephanie’s ideas for the show. Stephanie polled the fans, who wanted to hear what Shane had to say. Before he could start, Kevin Owens walked down. Owens said it was a lovely sight to see Stephanie and Shane together, getting along. Owens said he had an idea of his own, to give him a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship. He talked as if his program with Sami Zayn was over.

    Owens kissed up to Stephanie saying she was a smart businesswoman, and claimed he was owed a title shot in his contract. Shane said that was a valid point. Then Cesaro came out with his 007 entrance. Cesaro said he had The Miz beat last night, but lost because of Owens interference. Owens thought he was talking about Zayn.

    Shane ordered an immediate Owens vs. Cesaro match with the winner getting a shot at the Miz.

    Cesaro defeated Kevin Owens by DQ (11:30)

    The Miz and Maryse were at ringside. Owens grabbed the Intercontinental belt to hit Cesaro, but Miz grabbed it. Miz and Owens had words. Cesaro jumped in to go after both men. This led to Miz doing a run-in for the DQ. Miz and Owens put the boots to Cesaro before Zayn ran out to give Owens the Helluva Kick. He tried to give Miz the Helluva Kick, but Maryse pulled him to safety. Zayn then grabbed the Intercontinental Championship and the crowd chanted “Yes” while Miz watched on.

    Ever notice how often Owens either opens or closes the show? I guess it says it all about how often the company wants a hot opener to start off the show because he’s the best heel they have. Cesaro did the Uppercut Train spot right away, then did a somersault bodyblock off the barricade. Later, Cesaro did a Gut Wrench Superplex that popped the crowd. Owens gave Cesaro a necksnap to the floor, then followed with the frog splash off the apron.

    Stephanie walked backstage where she came upon Dean Ambrose. Ambrose told her he didn’t believe that Stephanie had changed a bit and she was the same vindictive person she has always been. Stephanie wanted to prove she has changed and asked to be a guest on the Ambrose Asylum tonight. He agreed.

    R-Truth talked to Tyler Breeze. The idea was Truth was trying to make Goldust jealous by being friends with Breeze, but Breeze ignored Truth’s claims that Babe Ruth shot Abraham Lincoln. Or the fact that Truth had made his own selfie stick out of a tree branch. Sure, what’s next? Leicester City wins the Premier League? Goldust walked in and said he didn’t need Truth because he found a partner. Fandango. Goldust got mad at Truth and said he would never forget the name of—then Fandango said his name. This is like the Police Academy of wrestling programs. No one laughs at them, but they keep coming out with more.  

    A.J. Styles talked with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, who said he didn’t know what he was going to do with them. They told him he was phenomenal last night against Reigns, but Styles reminded them he lost. Gallows said at Extreme Rules, Styles would beat Reigns in a no-DQ match. Reigns walked in and said he respected Styles, but he didn’t respect Gallows and Anderson. Reigns said he didn’t think Styles could beat “The Guy” on his own. He then questioned whether Styles, Gallows, and Anderson could beat “the three of them” and the Usos walked in. A trios match between the three is set for tonight.

    Tyler Breeze defeated Goldust (1:47)

    JBL talked about what would Dick the Bruiser or Lou Thesz would think of Fandango. It wouldn’t be nearly as bad as what they would say if they ever saw who was in the WWE Hall of Fame ahead of them. Breeze won with a schoolboy cradle when Goldust got distracted by Fandango and Truth dancing. Breeze again ignored Truth after getting his first win of 2016, and that includes house show matches. He even lost to Titus O’Neal last week.

    The New Day came out.

    The Vaudevillains will face New Day for the tag team titles at Extreme Rules. Kofi Kingston mentioned the WWE #1 Contenders Tag Team Tournament came to an abrupt end after the injury to Enzo Amore. They replayed his severe concussion, with Michael Cole saying all over tests came back negative at a hospital. Big E. said they had a Tweet that would put a smile on the fans’ faces. Xavier Woods claimed Beyonce slid up in his DMs last night, then admitted it wasn’t true. That showed a tweet showing Enzo had been released from a hospital, which got “How U Doin’” chants. Woods claimed they sent him a box of Booty-Os cereal and a dash of unicorn magic to get better.

    The Vaudevillains came out. Aiden English said what happened last night was tragic, but it was a tough business and tough things happen. He said a real man would have gotten back up. Real men like Simon Gotch and himself, who represent the skills of a bygone era. Gotch said they made Enzo the realest guy in the emergency room, then asked him “How are you doing?”

    The Dudley Boyz came out. Bubba Ray Dudley said the Vaudevillains didn’t beat anyone last night. They just stood there and twirled their mustaches like the Monopoly man. Bubba, who did a babyface promo, said they should restart the tag team tournament right now.

    Then Enzo and Cass’s music played, but it was only Colin Cassady who came out. It’s pretty telling who has the charisma on that team because the crowd wanted to see Enzo so badly, when they got only Cassidy, the pop was a disappointment. He told “Simon and Garfunkel” to tell Mrs. Robinson they’ll be late for dinner. Cassady said the Vaudevillains messed with his family last night, and said they would finish what the Vaudevillains started last night. Cassady jumped in and everybody started brawling with each other. They just cut to a commercial. It led to Cassady and the New Day vs. The Vaudevillains and the Dudley Boyz.

    The New Day and Colin Cassady defeated The Dudley Boyz and The Vaudevillains (15:46)

    Good match with several hot tags. Cassady pinned Devon with East River Crossing. Bubba Ray had given Cassady a back suplex and called for the 3-D, but Kingston cut that off with a springboard crossbody on Bubba Ray. JBL mentioned being in a bar fight once with Devon because of a bar tab. Michael Cole asked if that was part of the show, but JBL indicated it wasn’t.

    They wished the Rock a Happy Birthday and mentioned he won his first WWE World Championship in St. Louis at the Survivor Series. Oddly enough, Rock won a tournament over Mankind in among the first of countless variations of the Montreal Screwjob, with the latest being last night. In fact, they showed a replay of Charlotte-Natalya moments later. They even showed Charles Robinson dressing up as Little Natch in 1999 WCW, the worst year for any company in wrestling history. Just seeing replays of Robinson wrestling Gorgeous George with Asya in the background made me dizzy.  

    They replayed the Reigns-Styles confrontation. Just like the WWE Website is editing negative Reigns signs off of various pictures, they cut down the nat sound where Reigns got booed again.

    Emma defeated Becky Lynch (5:42)

    Emma won after thumbing Becky Lynch in the eye, then gave her a Michinoku Driver. No idea what sense that finish made since Emma just jobbed in her Raw debut as a heel. Lynch showed some good babyface fire in her comeback.

    Primo and Epico were back with another Puerto Rico vignette. They put over the lunch they had as compared it to the lousy fast food in America. And you thought the 1-800-Sheamus vignettes were pointless.

    Ambrose came out and said his houseplant was named “Mitch.”

    Stephanie came out. Ambrose said after the main event of Payback last night, she had to be boiling mad deep inside. Stephanie was happy over the new era of the WWE. Ambrose brought up Reigns spearing Stephanie at WrestleMania, then showed a photo. He said she got speared out of her Tina Turner boots. Stephanie admitted she got too involved and Reigns taught her a vaulable lesson.

    Ambrose brought up Shane returning to Raw after seven years away to everyone’s delight. “Shane O’Mac” chants. Ambrose said Shane was running Raw better than the Authority ever did. Stephanie said the WWE Universe was loyal to Shane, and she appreciates the loyalty even after Shane abadoned them for seven years. Ambrose said Stephanie has proved her loyalty to the company, missing dance recitals, children’s birthday parties and countless other activites with her children just to attend company functions. He contrasted that to Shane, who attended all of his family’s activities, yet still maintained as much of a share of the company now as Stephanie does. That set her off, though not in a screaming fit.

    Stephanie took a moment to compose herself and said she understood why her father did what he did. After awhile, things need to change. Stephanie said she felt things need to change right now, and she announced that the Ambrose Asylum was cancelled. Stephanie asked Ambrose if that was a lesson that hurts. She told Ambrose to get to stepping and clean the set up. Ambrose said it hurts, he thought he was going to be the next Jimmy Fallon. He carried Mitch the Plant out. Crowd was begging for Ambrose to give Stephanie Dirty Deeds or something resembling a comeback, but that doesn’t exist in a company that can’t get stars over anymore. Stephanie then announced Chris Jericho was return with the Highlight Reel.

    Jericho walked down and he and Ambrose were brawling immediately. JBL said this is what Jay Leno and David Letterman always wanted to do. The fight spilled into the ring, where Jericho gave Ambrose a Codebreaker. He threw the Ambrose Asylum sign on the ground and kicked Ambrose out of the ring. Jericho took Mitch the Plant and smashed it over Ambrose’s head.

    Rusev won a battle royal to become the new #1 contender for the U.S. Championship (13:38)

    Kalisto was at ringside on commentary. Aside from mentioning Harley Race was in the back tonight, he was vanilla. The battle royal also included Konnor, Del Rio, Damien Sandow, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel, Sheamus, Zack Ryder, Sin Cara, Stardust, Apollo Crews, Darren Young, Baron Corbin, and Dolph Ziggler. Before the match, they showed the League of Nations breaking up on SmackDown. After Del Rio eliminated Cara, it was down to Rusev, Del Rio, Sheamus and Ryder. The three heels worked together to beat up Ryder, but then turned on each other. Del Rio eliminated Sheamus at 12:12. Then Del Rio was eliminated by Ryder at 12:37. Man, if Del Rio was an NFL free agent, he’d be named Dwayne Bowe. Unreal how much potential has been squandered with him. Ryder got some hope spots against Rusev, including hitting the Broski Boot. He went for the Rough Ryder, but Rusev grabbed him and threw him over. Lana came down to celebrate with Rusev. Crews was thrown out by Sheamus in 1:55. Why embarass him so early? Also, Corbin was eliminated by Ziggler. Corbin responded by throwing Ziggler into the post, leading to Rusev eliminating him. 

    Charlotte and Ric Flair came out. They replayed the double cross again. Charlotte said Natalya and Bret Hart pushed her to the limit, but she managed to retain the Women’s Championship. Charlotte was surprised to read tweet after tweet after the match about the controversy over how the Flairs screwed over the Hart Family. So Charlotte brought out Robinson to answer all questions about last night’s match. 

    Charlotte asked Robinson to tell the truth. Crowd chanted “Cheater” at her. She shouted them down saying the queen is talking. She asked if Natalya tapped out. Robinson said she did, but she was screaming “I tap out. I tap out.” Flair called Robinson “Little Naitch.” Charlotte asked Robinson if his background with the Flair family had anything to do with his decision. Robinson said “Yes,” then corrected himself and said no. Charlotte asked Robinson if the decision was final. With a smile, Robinson said Yes. 

    Natalya came out and said this wasn’t about Robinson or Charlotte, it was about Flair. She accused him of paying Robinson to screw Natalya out of the women’s championship. She said everyone knows the truth, the Harts are the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. 

    Charlotte tried to jump Natalya, who blocked her and punched her out of the ring. Natalya had a staredown with Flair, who took off his coat, Hall of Fame Ring and watch, then walked right into a Natalya slap. Natalya put Flair in the sharpshooter until Charlotte pulled him out of the ring. Segment got good heat. Natalya took Flair’s watch and ring. 

    Charlotte nursed Flair backstage where Stephanie walked up. Stephanie said Charlotte would face Natalya in a submission match, then asked Flair to be banned from ringside. Stephanie said some said that Flair was becoming a distraction to make sure that Charlotte was on her “A” game. I could make no sense out of that. Stephanie asked Flair to do a “Whoo.” Flair just glared at her. Another segment where they try to make Stephanie the biggest star in the company instead of just purely making her a heel. Why not have Shane ban Flair? 

    A.J. Styles, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows defeated Roman Reigns and the Usos (11:29)

    Styles pinned Jimmy Uso after the Phenomenal Forearm. Uso had a good near fall on Styles after a crossbody. At various points, Gallows and Anderson would do heel spots on Jey Uso, but Styles would get mad at them. 

    Before Styles got the pin, Gallows and Anderson laid out Reigns with a flying kick while Reigns was on Gallows’ shoulders. This led to the postmatch, where Gallows and Anderson wanted Styles to hit Reigns with a chair. Styles picked up the chair, then threw it down. This led to Anderson and Gallows putting the boots to Reigns. Jey used the chair on Styles, then saved Reigns by knocking Anderson and Gallows out of the ring. Styles got the chair back and hit the Usos with it.  

    As the Usos went to the floor, Reigns recovered and hit Styles with a Superman punch. Reigns, upset over seeing his cousins injured by Styles, threw Styles to the floor and gave him a running power bomb onto the announcer’s table. 

    SUMMARY: 

    The problem with heel authority figures is they make the wrestling seem secondary. Stephanie McMahon can be an effective character when she doesn’t get herself over first. But that’s not how she’s utilized, and it hurts the show in the long run. As for Reigns, he got his usual reception tonight. Dueling chants in the main event, with women and children supporting him. He’s very much the new Cena, in that regard. Styles looks like someone who fans have accepted in the main event role.