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Tag: wwe results

  • NXT Full Sail tapings results: Bayley “injury”; Finn Balor returns; big debuts

    Photo credit @JJWilliamsWON ~!

    I was live at Full Sail University in Winter Park FL, alongside the usual sellout crowd of 450 in attendance for NXT TV.

    Dark Match –

    Manny Andrade beat Angelo Dawkins

    Dawkins made his way to the ring first, stirring it up and jawjacking with no one in particular. Huge star reaction for Andrade, wearing his vato style fedora and pants with suspenders over his normal gear. Fast paced match for the most part, Manny teased one dive, then reset himself as a teaser, then on the center so he could face hard camera he did the Tranquilo lounging on the middle ropes to taunt Dawkins. The finish saw the running double knees while Angelo was set in the corner for Manny to pick up the win.

    5/4/16 —

    Dasha Fuentes welcomes us to the show and then we have a Samoa Joe in ring promo. He says his title win was inevitable and he did exactly what he said he would. Before Joe could continue, he was interrupted by the debuting Eric Young, wearing street clothes. He says that Joe knows him and what he’s about, and points to the title on Joe’s shoulder adding I collect those. Joe then leaves but says Young doesn’t belong in his ring and the next time he sees him in it, he will beat his ass.

    Nia Jax beat Tessa Blanchard

    What you’d expect as they are building Jax up for Asuka. She won after hitting a huge leg drop center of the ring for the win directed at the hard camera.

    Austin Aries beat Tye Dillinger

    Good reactions for both men, and this is the best match Aries has had thus far in NXT as well. Dillinger seemed a little taken aback by how strong of a reaction he had as there were dueling chants for both while they had a very good match. Dillinger hit the Goto style knee to the back that AJ Styles has been using lately for a convincing near fall. Tye then lowered the knee pad to attempt his usual finisher but Aries caught him with the rolling back elbow for the win.

    Fuentes informs us that Mr. Regal has made Eric Young vs. Samoa Joe as tonight’s main event.

    The Revival beat The Hype Bros

    The Revival did an excellent job of controlling the ring and were able to get the win while not cheating, but still causing a distraction to their advantage. These two clearly study their classic tag team wrestling. Shatter machine for the strong win to get them back on track.

    No Way Jose beat Noah

    Big reaction for No Way Jose in Full Sail as you’d expect; he’s a fun personality with a lot of charm. The chants included “No Way, No Way, No Way Joseee” to the tune of the Sami Zayn “Ole’” chants and his song’s style “No Way Jose” chants as well. Salsa dance style offense and solid work before the big baseball pitch wind up punch and then a full nelson slam for the win. Post match, No Way Jose was able to convince referee Drake Wuertz to dance with him to a huge cheer. Some fancy footwork by Drake.

    NXT Champion Samoa Joe beat Eric Young

    They got over ten minutes here in our main event, hard hitting action with these as you’d expect. Joe was able to outlast Young in their battle, hit the muscle buster and instead of going for the pin Joe locks in the clutch for the choke out victory. Joe then wouldn’t release the hold for a very long time until officials were able to get the two separated.

    5/11/16 —

    In ring promo segment with Finn Balor who got great reaction, “Thank You, Finn” chants. He says he’s going to address the elephant in the room, Samoa Joe. He reminds us all that he beat Joe twice before and both matches could have gone either way. Then, we got The Drifter walking out singing a song about Finn, no words were comprehendable due to the loudest booing since Eva Marie challenging Bayley a few months back. Absolutely drowned out by booing here.

    Finn never even moved as Samson made his way in to the ring and once Samson was directly behind himm, Balor hit a Pele kick to a huge cheer. Finn then picks up the guitar and looks at the hard camera before throwing it towards the entrance way where Elias was after rolling out of the ring. Samson made the catch, saving his precious acoustic guitar. Very fun segment here as Finn was in no mood for The Drifter’s nonsense.

    NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha beat Corey Hollis and John Skyler

    Great reaction including “You Deserve It” chants for the tag champs. There was excellent wrestling early by Chad Gable before the heels were able to use distractions and take advantage. They worked Gable over for a bit before the Jason Jordan hot tag, after running wild and bringing the straps down, The Revival made their way to the ramp to get a closer look at the champs, there would be no distraction though. Jordan even raised the straps back up so he could lower them again, hit a spear in the corner, tag in Gable for the Grand Amplitude assisted suplex for the win. The champs and former champs stared at each other before making their way to the back.

    Shinsuke Nakamura beat Alex Riley

    Huge ovation for Shinsuke Nakamura who got an absolute superstar pop as you’d expect. Riley tried to trade big shots with Nakamura and that didn’t end well, big running knee to midsection by Shinsuke while Riley was set over the top rope. Kinshasa for the win and a mighty YeaOh in the center of the ring as celebration.

    Alexa Bliss beat Rachael Ellering

    Good showing by SWA’s own Rachael Ellering here, Alexa Bliss worked her match and won it with the splash off the top rope.

    Finn Balor beat Elias Samson

    The best match I’ve seen from The Drifter, a lot of fun seeing him mix it up with the top stars lately as the crowd absolutely hates him. Finn had his shoulder taped still yet was working an extra vicious style, a lot of action in between Samson headlocks, big dropkick through the ropes by Finn, strong kicks and finally hits the 1916 DDT for the win as he sits on Elias Samson and stares in to the hard camera wanting this to be Samoa Joe.

    Post match Finn continues his promo from earlier as he wants his rematch with Samoa Joe, as Joe comes out Mr. Regal runs to get between them, and standing on the ring apron with Finn still in the ring. Finn runs and dives over Mr. Regal on to Samoa Joe, then holds the NXT Championship in his hands before setting it on Joe who is laid out on the ground. William Regal then makes it official that at NXT Takeover June 8th we will in fact have NXT Champion Samoa Joe vs. Finn Balor for the title.

    5/18/16 —

    NXT Women’s Champion Asuka beat Adrien Reese

    Dueling chants as both are fan favorites to the Florida NXT fans, Asuka has some who have turned on her after dethroning Bayley so there was a light mixed reaction. Not too much but noticable. Excellent work by these two, Reese is an incredible athlete and Asuka thrives on facing great talents. Reese went for a move off the top rope but Asuka caught her arm and transitioned it in to the Asuka Lock for the win.

    Dasha Fuentes told us that Blake and Murphy would be facing Austin Aries and a partner of his choosing next, I’d expect this to be built up with backstage promos.

    Austin Aries and Shinsuke Nakamura beat Blake and Murphy w/ Alexa Bliss

    As expected, another huge superstar reaction for Nakamura. When he wrestles, everything seems like a blur because the crowd is so in to him. Aries did a lot of work with Blake and Murphy before Shinsuke got the tag and set up for the Kinshasa. Aries however had his hand out for the tag which Shinsuke did not give before hitting the move and scoring the pin. The referee raised Aries and Nakamura’s hands the victor yet Aries was still subtly talking to Nakamura as if he wanted that tag. Also after this match Alexa Bliss walked away angrily leaving her team, then Blake looked back at Murphy and left him as well. We may have seen the last of BAMF.

    Carmella beat Peyton Royce

    Carmella introduced herself as only she can and now she allows the crowd to finish her promo for her by raising the mic as everyone else says “Hottest Chick In The Ring” how you doin? Nice touch as she’s quite over. This is Peyton’s first singles match under her new Poison Ivy type persona, holding a flower, maneuvering herself through the ropes, very fluid motions. At one point Peyton hit two vertical suplexes and a third with a bridge for a near fall, Carmella then fired up for her comeback which is now a superkick, bronco buster, face first drop and her leglock submission for the win.

    Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano beat Danny Birch and Rob Rizin

    Showcase match for Ciampa and Gargano, yet some very fun strong exchanges by Danny Birch who goes by Martin Stone on the indie scene these days, laying in strikes with the always ferocious Tommaso Ciampa. Finish was Gargano and Ciampa hitting double superkicks on Rizin who was on his knees in the center of the ring.

    Nia Jax beat Bayley

    This match went about fifteen minutes, Nia was destroying Bayley at every turn. We had enough hope spots to keep us believing that Bayley could get this win like she did in London yet that was not the case. Jax would stomp on the arm of Bayley, then Bayley would try to lock in the submission that beat Nia once before, Nia would then slam her down again, Bayley mustered up the strength to make it to the top yet it was Nia’s evening.

    Towards the end of the match, Nia stomped on Bayley’s leg and after making it to her feet and fighting back some, Bayley then in the corner buckled her leg and collapsed for a moment before Jax was able to set her in the center of the ring, drop a big leg on the back of Bayley’s head, roll her over and score the convincing win. Post match the referee and two men in black shirts checked on Bayley, after a while they helped her to the back with her keeping all weight off her leg.

    NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha beat The Revival

    This was a non title match yet Revival needed this one if they had any hope of getting the titles back. Excellent work as you’d expect, yet the crowd was clearly drained by Bayley losing and being helped to the back just prior to this match. Great wrestling by four of the best tag team workers we have seen in NXT, with a new finish for the team Alpha locked in stereo Ankle Locks for the double tap out submission on both men. This was a definitive victory by American Alpha who now await their next challengers.

    This concludes three weeks of TV NXT will be back at Full Sail University on May 19th to get us to the June 8th NXT Takeover live special.

  • WWE Smackdown results: Roman Reigns and AJ Styles confrontation, League of Nations dissension

    – Air Date: April 28, 2016 (Apr 27 in Canada) 
    – Location: Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, NH 

    – The Big News: 

    There was another interesting confrontation between AJ Styles and Roman Reigns. Also, the League of Nations appear to be done. 

    – Show Recap: 

    Roman Reigns came out to heavy booing (and some cheers). Jerry Lawler even mentioned it, saying it’s fun to boo Reigns and he doesn’t mind it. Reigns said he superman-punched Styles in the mouth, and would do it again at Payback. He did it because he doesn’t believe Styles’ claim that he isn’t behind the attacks of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson.  

    Reigns wanted the truth directly from Styles, but he got The Miz and Maryse instead. Miz introduced Reigns to Maryse and people clapped for her. They kissed. Miz said he warned us about Styles, Gallows and Anderson. He made a convoluted analogy to Shawshank Redemption, called Reigns the warden, and concluded that Styles would walk out as WWE Champion. 

    Miz said he deserved some recognition for this and he kissed Maryse again. Reigns punched him in the face. Miz fell to the outside and Maryse checked on him. Reigns handed the Intercontinental title to Maryse, said “nice to meet you,” and held up his WWE title belt. 

    This was fine for what it was. I must point out that Reigns did not use his new catchphrase here or at any point during the show, thankfully. They announced Reigns vs. Miz, and that Miz is the one who requested the match. They didn’t mention who he asked, because nobody is in charge of Smackdown. 

    Backstage, Renee Young interviewed the League of Nations. Sheamus said no three men could beat them, and they proved it at WrestleMania when they beat New Day. Alberto Del Rio said they got rid of the weak link in Wade Barrett, and Rusev said you might as well call them the united nations. Goofy. 

    Kalisto, Sami Zayn & Cesaro beat League of Nations via countout 

    They announced earlier that this was basically an open challenge issued by the League. LON weren’t getting along right off the bat, as they kept blind-tagging themselves in. They got the heat on Zayn, but as Del Rio sized up a superkick, Rusev made a blind tag. 

    They argued in the ring, so Sheamus jumped in to break it up. They shoved each other for a bit until Del Rio walked out, which got a mixed reaction. Rusev held Zayn and tagged in Sheamus, who came off the top with a double axe handle, but Zayn moved and Sheamus nailed Rusev. Sheamus and Rusev then shoved for a bit until Rusev walked out, leaving Sheamus alone.  

    Zayn made a hot tag to Kalisto who hit a hurricanrana and springboard crossbody. Cesaro then tagged in and hit an uppercut and diving crossbody. Sheamus actually kicked out, so Cesaro hit a million uppercuts and dropkick. Cesaro went for the swing but Sheamus bailed and walked out. 

    Instead of going after Sheamus, they all just stood there and watched as the referee counted him out. They played Zayn’s music as the good guys posed. I have no idea why they couldn’t just pin Sheamus. 

    After a break, the League argued backstage. Rusev pushed Del Rio, then Sheamus shoved them both into a door. He yelled that the League was done and walked off. Rusev yelled, “Forget your league!” That’s one way to do a breakup, I guess. 

    They aired the Owens-Zayn video package from Raw. 

    Baron Corbin beat Damien Sandow via pinfall 

    After Dolph Ziggler attacked him on Raw, Corbin watched his back as he walked down the aisle tonight. Sandow didn’t get an entrance, if you were wondering. Some people chanted “Let’s go Sandow” as Corbin beat the crap out of him outside the ring. Corbin won in 2 minutes with End of Days. 

    Backstage, Renee caught up to AJ Styles. Styles said he doesn’t care what Reigns thinks. He’s going to take the title away and Reigns won’t be calling him a liar, he’ll be calling him champion. Styles doesn’t answer to Reigns and will step on his cape when he wants to. Styles added that he’ll be at ringside for Reigns’ match tonight. 

    Ambrose Asylum with Natalya and Women’s Champion Charlotte 

    This was the top of the hour segment. They showed a replay of Chris Jericho getting the best of Dean Ambrose on Raw. Ambrose remained outside the ring by the announce table and said he would get to his part-time position in a moment, but he wanted to talk about his full-time position first. 

    He said Jericho made a mistake by letting him go (from the Walls), because Ambrose doesn’t let go, and he was going to plant Jericho in the middle of the ring and beat him at Payback. Ambrose said he would turn Bon Jovi (Jericho) into Meatloaf. 

    It was time for Ambrose’s part-time position, so he jumped in the ring, called himself a multifaceted entertainer, popped a Tic Tac, and introduced us to the Ambrose Asylum. He brought out Natalya, who said his set reminded her of the dentist’s office. 

    Ambrose showed a clip of Charlotte tapping to Natalya but being saved by Ric Flair, and asked how things were going to be different on Sunday. Natalya said she would have Bret Hart in her corner. That brought out Charlotte and her dad (Ric Flair). 

    Charlotte called it disturbing that Natalya was parading Bret around after everything he’s been through. Natalya said Charlotte should look in the mirror and see who was standing behind her. 

    Charlotte said the difference was that Flair is legendary, but also her coach. Natalya called Flair a creepy old man who knows Charlotte isn’t good enough to win on her own. Bret would be there on Sunday to stop Flair from interfering and Charlotte will tap again. 

    “Stop me?!” said Flair, who claimed he owned Bret Hart in WWE and WCW. Flair said he would’ve beaten Bret on the moon if Vince flew them there. (This is where they cut out Flair telling Natalya to kill herself from the live taping.) Natalya told him to settle down and told Charlotte it’s time the fans get a champion they deserve. People cheered. They faced off and that was pretty much it. 

    Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady beat Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel (w/Heath Slater) via pinfall 

    New Day came out, kicked out all three announcers and took over on commentary. Enzo and Cass won quickly with the rocket launcher. The highlight of New Day on commentary was Byron Saxton being forced to sit on the floor. The Vaudevillains had come out on the stage to watch the match, and Big Cass called them soft afterwards. Again, the fans really liked Enzo and Cass. 

    Backstage, Goldust told R-Truth it felt good when they danced last week. Before he could finish, Truth said Goldust looked happy in a team with Fandango, so he got himself a different partner in Tyler Breeze, who showed up. Truth deemed them “Gorgeous Truth,” and they left. Fandango showed up to console Goldust. Breeze didn’t say or do anything. Truth used a small tree branch as a selfie stick. 

    They aired a promo for Primo and Epico who discussed Puerto Rico’s crippling economy. (Not really.) 

    Apollo Crews beat Stardust via pinfall 

    Crews won quickly with the spin-out powerbomb. 

    They aired a replay of the Shane and Stephanie stuff from Raw. Ranallo said everyone has been raving about the job Shane has done, and Lawler scoffed. 

    Non-title Champion vs. Champion Match: WWE Champion Roman Reigns beat IC Champion The Miz (w/Maryse) via pinfall  

    Styles came out before the match to sit at ringside. Reigns hit Miz with the drive-by and faced off with Styles, who tossed his chair aside. As they mouthed off, Miz attacked Reigns from behind, tossing him head first into the announce table and steel post to gain control. 

    There were some brief dueling chants for Reigns, and Styles couldn’t help but look around at the crowd. Reigns came back with a Samoan drop, fists, clotheslines and more clotheslines. Reigns sized up the superman punch but Maryse pulled Miz out of the ring. 

    Reigns went after him, but Miz dropkicked the steps into Reigns. Miz followed with a DDT in the ring for a two count. Miz went for the skull crushing finale, but Reigns fought out with elbows and followed with a spear for the win. Average match at best, about 12 minutes. 

    Styles jumped in the ring afterwards to face off with Reigns. Gallows and Anderson made their way down and Reigns went after them, as an annoyed Styles looked on. Gallows and Anderson got the better of Reigns and Styles wasn’t stopping them. 

    The Usos ran out to make the save. After Jimmy Uso superkicked Anderson, Styles got in his face, perhaps to settle things down. However, Jimmy dropped Styles with a punch and superkicked Gallows. Styles came right back with a jumping kick on Jimmy, and Gallows knocked Jimmy out of the ring. 

    Styles got in Gallows’ face, but Gallows nudged him aside and ate a spear from Reigns. Styles tried a Styles Clash but Reigns back body dropped him out of the ring. Reigns posed with his title as Styles yelled at him from ringside. This was really good. 

    – Final Thoughts: 

    This was a very bland show until the very end. The angle with Styles and Reigns wasn’t historically good or anything, but it’s so refreshing seeing two top guys feud over the title in an intriguing storyline that doesn’t involve company management in any way. 

    Also, unless I missed it (and I don’t think I did), they did not air the Chyna tribute video. 

  • WWE Smackdown spoilers: Cesaro & AJ Styles vs Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens

    Dark match:

    • Dolph Ziggler beat Stardust with a superkick

    Main Event:

    • WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) beat The Ascension with the Midnight Hour
    • Baron Corbin beat Fandango with the End of Days
    • Paige beat Emma with the Ram-Paige. Good match. They had time, much more than the three previous matches. The crowd was really behind Paige. Greg Hamilton announced the match as a women’s division match

    SmackDown:

    – WWE Champion Roman Reigns opened the show. Because it’s more of a casual crowd than the ones for Mania and Raw, he got a lot more cheers than the previous nights. Actually, it might have been 50-50, with kids and women cheering for him. He used the “I’m not a bad guy. I’m not a good guy. I’m THE guy” line again. He said what matters to him was to beat AJ Styles.

    Styles came out to a huge pop and a big chant of “AJ Styles” when he got in the ring. He shook hands with Reigns congratulating him for the title, saying Roman had a good WrestleMania, but that he had a heck of a Monday Night Raw. Reigns told him that to be THE champ, he needs to beat THE guy. He said that Styles beat guys all over the world, but he never beat him, and he will never be. He tapped him on the shoulder and left. 

    – The Vaudevillans beat Lucha Dragons with the Gentleman’s Congress

    Weird thing. The Vaudevillains’ music started, but after 20 seconds or so, it stopped. Then, after a minute, the Lucha Dragons’ theme started and they made their entrance. Obviously, someone messed up in the back and mixed up the order. Apparently, the music mess-up was not a mistake and just a teaser. The Vaudevillains got very little reaction. Those who were reacting were clapping to the sound of the music, only to realize that they were not babyfaces. Clearly, a lot of the fans didn’t know who they were. 

    – Natalya beat Summer Rae with the Sharpshooter in a short match. Charlotte and Ric were doing commentary for this match. They are building Natalya as the next contender. 

    – Intercontinental champion The Miz beat Zack Ryder 

    Maryse removed one of the bottom corners and threw it in the ring. As Charles Robinson was trying to put it back, Miz raked Ryder’s eyes and hit the Skull-Crushing Finale for the win. Good match, and the crowd got into it. 

    Maryse got her own entrance, the old one she used to have. She cut a promo, saying her name was Maryse, but that everyone should know that, and that she’s the living proof that behind every great man there’s a great woman and there’s no greater man than her husband. She then introduced The Miz. Ryder didn’t get much of a reaction during his entrance, but it got better during the match. Maryse got some heat during her promo. 

    – Social Outcasts played a game of rock, scissors and paper to decide who would face Apollo Crews. Curtis Axel had paper while the others all had scissors, but said it was actually an axe, therefore he’s in the match. 

    – Apollo Crews beat Curtis Axel with a spin-out power bombeat in a total squash match. 

    – We got two big screen interviews: Baron Corbin did a short one saying the end of days is here, and Becky Lynch saying she would be back in the title picture. Emma cut her off and made fun of her black eye. I guess that’s the next program for both of them. We also got another Colon “Greetings from Puerto Rico” vignette. 

    – Dean Ambrose beat Tyler Breeze in basically a squash match.

    – Cesaro & AJ Styles beat Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens

    Cesaro clotheslined Jericho and both ended up outside. Cesaro then hit a European uppercut on Jericho. As Owens was to throw Styles in the ropes for the pop up powerbomb, Sami Zayn made his way to the ring. He had his left elbow wrapped up and was followed by some referees trying to stop him. Styles schooled boy Owens for the pin. Following that, they did a pull apart between Owens and Zayn. 

    – The Dudleys then came to the ring and attacked AJ. Roman Reigns came to clean house. Reigns and Styles were alone in the ring and looked at each other for a long time before they finally shook hands. Jericho took the mic and asked AJ to shake his hands in apology for calling him Y2Jackass. Styles hit the Styles Clash on him, followed by Reigns’ Superman punch. 

  • WWE RAW live results: Post WrestleMania, Roman Reigns champ once again

    Tonight is the most anticipated Raw of the year, the famed Night After WrestleMania show where the fans who traveled in often take over the program, leading to a wild evening of live television. Now the question is, after building up to WrestleMania for three months, where does the company go from here and who do they trust? It’s a given that Roman Reigns will get a profoundly negative reception after his victory over HHH to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the third time. In regards to the Authority, the usual pattern is the night after they lose in a blowoff match, they get their heat back immediately. Perhaps Stephanie McMahon will return with her WrestleMania haircut as Aunty Entity from Mad Max Beyond Thuderdome as an added bonus. 

    Our coverage starts tonight at 8 ET. 

    The Big News: More than just a night after WrestleMania show, this felt like a milestone program where new stars debuted. And playing in front of a crowd that instantly got acts over, it made for as good a 3-hour Raw as possible. There were negatives, namely in the first hour. Shane McMahon was given “control” of the show by Vince McMahon, which is exactly what Vince was fighting against for weeks. There was no trace of the Authority. After winning the Intercontinental Championship last night, Zack Ryder dropped the title to the Miz after Maryse returned to distract Ryder. Apollo Crews, Baron Corbin, Enzo and Big Cass all debuted from NXT. Of that group, Enzo and Cass made a huge sensation and felt like guys who could be top faces. A.J. Styles will be the next challenger for Roman Reigns after winning an excellent four-way match against Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens and the returning Cesaro, who also came off like a potential star if the company will only let him. 

    Michael Cole said right at the top that the fans would be different from the standard Raw crowds, with JBL and Byron Saxton saying they were having fun. 

    Roman Reigns came out for his victory speech. No…..Vince McMahon came out. The fans even sang his theme song. Vince gloated over the Undertaker’s victory over Shane McMahon, but admitted when Shane climbed to the top of the Hell in a Cell, Vince thought to himself “Don’t do it.” He had no idea Shane would risk he life to achieve his goals, but it also reminded him of how foolish Shane was. Vince said this Raw would be one the fans never forgot. 

    Before Vince could leae, Shane came out. He was carried out on a stretcher last night and he gradually walked out. Vince thought Shane would be in a hospital bed. Crowd chanted “Thank you, Shane.” Shane, who had a scare on his left eye, said he was the only man in the family, he came out to shake his hand like a man and admit his father won. Shane thanked the fans and started to tear up. Fans chanted “You still got it.” Vince chastized the fans, saying it was because of them that Shane got the hell beat out of him. Shane then said goodbye. 

    Vince got mad and accused Shane of upstaging him. Vince said he thought of how crazy it would be for Shane to run Monday Night Raw. Fans chanted “Let him run it.” Vince said, to prove his point, he told Shane to run the show tonight. And with that, the point of last night’s match, in addition to five weeks worth of buildup, was largely rendered pointless. 

    The New Day came out next and the fans chanted along with Big E’s introduction routine. Big E. admitted that not everything went according to plan last night for them, but Kofi Kingston acknowledged getting to twerk with Shawn Michaels. Kingston also admitted Xavier Woods got stunned by Steve Austin. They held up the last flake of the giant box of “Booty-O’s,” and Woods held it up and sang in tongues last he was Indiana Jones holding the prized grail from “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Fans knew the catchphrases before Big E. could even say them, and everyone looked elated at the response they got. Came off like they were the modern day New Age Outlaws or Edge and Christian. 

    The New Day (C) defeated King Barrett and Sheamus to retain the WWE Tag Team Titles (8:45)

    Kingston pinned King Barrett after the Midnight Hour. Barrett collided with Sheamus before the finish. As will be the case all night long, the match was a backdrop for the crowd, who started doing the wave and chanted “We are Awesome” only a half hour into the show. Woods had to get on the PA mic and say the wave meant the fans liked Sheamus. That stopped the wave dead in its tracks. 

    Postmatch, Sheamus said the League of Nations are a group of elite athletes that should be champions, but aren’t. He said it was time to identify the weak link. Rusev and Alberto Del Rio held up Barrett, and Sheamus gave Barrett the Brogue Kick, then kicked him out of the ring. Fans chanted goodbye at Barrett. 

    Then, for whatever reason, Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman and Erick Rowman showed up and started brawling with the remaining League of Nations members, ending with Wyatt giving Sheamus Sister Abigail. 

    Vince left in a limo. He told Renee Young that he didn’t want to stay around a witness a disaster. Why the hell did he stay around last summer? He said Shane being in charge of Raw was only temporary. 

    Summer Rae did a prematch promo saying if she had been in charge of the Bad n’ Blond team, they would have won. She started running down Sasha Banks, who came out. Banks said she was still the boss and slapped Rae. 

    Sasha Banks defeated Summer Rae via submission (1:40)

    Banks beat Rae with the Bank Statement. Even at 1:40, Rae was exposed.  

    Apollo Crews will make his debut tonight, and he and Shane shook hands bacstage. So how did Shane know his father would put him in charge before the show, allowing Crews to be booked? I know these shows are frequently booked with very little time in advance, but still.

    They showed the mainstream media articles from various outlets that WrestleMania received. Every time Roman Reigns was shown, loud boos could be heard.  

    Apollo Crews defeated Tyler Breeze (1:54)

    A standard debut squash where Crews pinned Tyler Breeze with a Spinout Power Bomb. Crews got a good response, but he’s not going to fly with the standard interview procedure. 

    Reigns and Charlotte were shown on the Today show. 

    Reigns came out to get booed out of the building. I mean, when Hulk Hogan got booed on Nitro in 1995, at least there was a vocal minority cheering him. This was an unanimous negative reception. There were “Reigns is Booty” signs. Reigns, who knew it was coming, said “I’m not a bad guy, I’m not a good guy. I’m THE guy.” That only made things worse. He challenged anyone from the back to fight him for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Chris Jericho came out and tried to turn the crowd against him. He might as well have been the Philadelphia 76ers facing  the 1997 Chicago Bulls with this crew.  

    Jericho shouted down the fans, saying they weren’t going to hijack the show on his watch. He bragged about beating the “Internet favorite” A.J. Styles at WrestleMania and challenged Reigns. Then Styles came out, followed immediately by Kevin Owens (selling injuries from last night’s ladder match). Sami Zayn (not selling injuries from last night’s match). Fans sang Zayn’s theme song, which Reigns got a kick out of. Zayn got in the ring, and he and Owens immediately started brawling. Styles and Jericho also fought while Reigns hanged out by himself. Zayn did a flip tope on Owens. Jericho threw Styles out of the ring. Reigns gave Jericho a spear and got booed some more. 

    Backstage, Shane told Reigns that tonight’s main event would be a Fatal Fourway between Owens, Jericho, Styles and Zayn, with the winner becoming number one contender. 

    Baron Corbin debuted after winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Corbin stood in front of the Andre trophy and said he’s carved a path of devastation and destroyed dreams to get to Raw, and devastation awaits anyone who gets in his way. 

    Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler battled to a double countout (8:32)

    Strange way to book Corbin in his debut. They have a whole crew of Social Outcasts back there waiting, but they put a solid midcarder in Dolph Ziggler in there with him. And Corbin doesn’t even get the win. Instead, he sells for half the match, which he doesn’t do well. Ziggler kicked out of his backup finisher, the Deep Six. Then they brawl into the crowd for a countout. Corbin looked like he had never heard of a countout and screamed “You’re the cause of this” to the referee. He gave Ziggler the End of Days on the floor, which is basically Sister Abigail with a deeper dip. Crews had a simple and standard debut. Corbin had a debut where the fans chanted for a beach ball, then got mad when it was taken away. 

    Titus O’Neal, in a commercial taped before he was suspended, invited fans to register for a contest where the prize is a trip to Disneyland where they would spend the day with his family. 

    Zack Ryder came out to a nice reception. Crowd chanted “You deserve it, Wo Wo Wo.” Ryder showed a photo of him as a child where he was with Razor Ramon holding his Intercontinental Championship. Last night, he had a chance to take a picture with Ramon, this time with Ryder’s Intercontinental Championship. He thanked his father, who looks like he could make bicep curls with Vince. Seriously, if he becomes a regular character like John Cena’s father in 2009, USADA may pay a visit while he’s in the garage changing oil. The Miz came out and said Ryder was lucky to win the match last night, and said if Ryder wanted to put his name alongside Shawn Michaels, Ramon and Miz, he would put the title right now. Ryder declined, but Miz said Ryder was just all hype. That got the match started. 

    The Miz defeated Zack Ryder (C) to win the Intercontintal Championship (10:26)

    Miz won is a sequence where Maryse made her return. Miz started arguing with Ryder’s father, who shoved him down. This led to Maryse walking out of the crowd and confronting Ryder’s dad, and then slapping him. Ryder was distracted by all this, and Miz gave him the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin. Sad to see Ryder drop the title so soon, and it further devalutes the championship when it winds up back around Miz’s waist. 

    Owens did an interview blaming Zayn for him losing the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania, but Zayn wouldn’t cost him a chance for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. He said the road to KOMania 2 begins tonight. 

    The Vaudevillains will debut on this week’s edition of SmackDown. This team getting called up to the roster so soon smeels like a total Ascension job. 

    Lita was in the ring with all of the women’s wrestlers in the company. She put over the effort they put in their matches at WrestleMania, then formally introduced the first WWE Women’s Championship belt. Charlotte and Ric Flair (who, no doubt, had to be pulled away from the National Championship game, where his beloved UNC Tar Heels were playing) came down. Fans chanted for Bayley, which Cole acknowledged as saying “She isn’t here.” Fans sang soccer songs over her interview, as she was trying to put over her fellow wrestlers. She held up the title and said this was the future. Fans chanted “Women’s wrestling,” which made everyone in the ring smile. Charlotte said she wouldn’t have gone down in the history books as the new women’s champion without her father. She thanked everyone in the audience, whose energy fueled her to victory. 

    Charlotte said some of the wrestlers had been there 7 or 8 years, but she hasn’t even been here 1 year and she’s still champion. Charlotte turned her attention to Becky Lynch and Banks, saying they did it, but she did it. Lynch walked out, as did Paige, Tamina, Brooklyn, Eva Marie (not acknowledged), and everyone else. Then Nataliya told Charlotte she needs to learn something about humility. Natalya said she had given Charlotte some of her most difficult matches. Charlotte talked down to her and spoke badly of the entire Hart family. Natalya shot a double leg and briefly put her in the sharpshooter until Flair pulled Charlotte out. 

    Styles was interviewed by Young. He said this is a day of new beginnings. Shane is running Raw, Regins wants to face all challengers as WWE World Heavyweight Champion, and he came to the company not to lose one match at WrestleMania. He came to be WWE World Heavyweight Champion. 

    Another debut, this time a vignette with the artists formerly known as Los Matadores. This time, they had sans masks, outfitted in dress shirts and shorts putting over how great it was to live in Puerto Rico “unlike where you live.” No name was given for the act. 

    The Dudley Boyz defeated the Usos in a tables match (8:53)

    There was a mix-up at the finish. Jimmy and Jey Uso were ready to perform simultaneous splashes to the Dudleys on each table, but Bubba Ray Dudley and Devon Dudley moved and the Usos crashed through the wood. The bell sounded, but it wasn’t supposed to. Bubba Ray then threw Jey threw a table stationed in the corner for the official finish, and Bubba yelled at the timekeeper for the screwup. Standard spots you see in every tables match, including where the Dudleys give Jimmy a double suplex, but Jey moved the table. 

    Zayn did a promo where Young actually asked him if he had ever been in a four-way match before. I could hear Gabe Sapolsky groaning from here. Zayn said tonight was bigger for him than WrestleMania. He said he was known as the Underdog from the Underground. Owens jumped Zayn from behind and power bombed him through a table backstage. 

    The Dudleys were still out there when Enzo Amore and Big Cass made their debut to a huge ovation. Enzo Amore did his whole routine and he was over instantly. Enzo called the Dudleys a couple of haters, then said Hate was nothing but love disguised as jealousy. Enzo cut down Devon saying he would put his lazy eye back to work. He said Bubba better think twice, it would be two more thoughts than he had all day. Fans started chanting “Enzo Amore” to the tune of “Seven Nation Army.” Cass challenged them to come down to the ring. Dudleys went to the ring, then retreated.  Cass did his “Sawft” catchphrase and the fans knew it by heart. This debut couldn’t have gone any better for Enzo and Cass. 

    They’re back to doing guest stars. Next week, Dr. Phil will be featured. 

    It was announced by Cole that Zayn was out of the main event after getting attacked by Owens. Instead, Lillian Garcia announced Shane had appointed a replacement: Cesaro, who came out dressed like Bautista, then stripped down to his trunks. 

    A.J. Styles pinned Chris Jericho to win a four way for the number one contendership for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a Fatal Fourway that also included Cesaro and Kevin Owens (16:44) 

    This was a Raw match on the caliber of some of those John Cena U.S. Championship Series bouts last year. An excellent match where Styles won after hitting the Styles Clash on Jericho. Cesaro had his moments to shine, as well, and did the crowd ever love him. He threw forearm uppercupts to opposite corners with the fans eating up every one. There was a Tower of Doom spot where Styles took a bump off the top rope, which had to feel like hell after his back injury from earlier this year. Styles did a 450 Springboard Splash on Jericho. Later, Jericho attempted the Walls on Cesaro, who made the ropes. Excellent stuff. 

    SUMMARY: It felt like a new company. New faces abound with guys that are fresh acts who are already over. There was a great main event. No Authority, which seemed to make a difference in the fact that the show wasn’t built around who controls the company. It’s simply about who can get the championship from Reigns. This is a fresh start that a lot of fans have wanted for quite sometime. Can they sustain this? Or will the laziness of prior years take over, as it has done so often? We’ll see. 

  • WWE RAW live results: WrestleMania 32 go-home show

    The go-home show for Raw is from Brooklyn and predictably will feature many appearances from most of the part-timers who currently are the most over performers in the company. A week after Vince McMahon declared that the Undertaker must defeat Shane McMahon or else it would be his final WrestleMania match, it’s believed that the Undertaker will appear, possibly in a segment with Vince and Shane.

    Roman Reigns got a strong push last week, jumping HHH in the parking garage on Raw, followed by laying out both Dudley Boyz on SmackDown. He proclaimed himself “The real authority,” something that HHH and Stephanie will likely have a rebuttal towards this evening. Chris Jericho will respond to A.J. Styles challenge for a WrestleMania match tonight. Dean Ambrose, Kevin Owens, Charlotte, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks and the usual cast of characters are expected counting down to the biggest week of the year. 

    Our coverage starts at 8 ET. 

    The Big Takeaway: The go-home show for WrestleMania was a last ditch effort to get Roman Reigns over. And it failed. Possibly the biggest failure yet. In a stunning example of how out of touch the creative forces behind the company is, they had Eva Marie debut as a babyface mystery partner for a team in a ten-women tag at WrestleMania. Marie was greeted with a chorus of boos. The show was mainly promos with a scattered array of matches. Once again, the best match on the show featured Kevin Owens. There were some good segments trying to build various matches, but there’s no helping Reigns at this point. At least not as a babyface. 

    Show Recap:

    The Undertaker started the show. He said this WrestleMania will not be his last, which threw cold water on the idea he would intentionally lose to Shane McMahon on Sunday. He said he’s made it clear to Vince McMahon that Shane’s blood will be on Vince’s hands, but Vince’s blood may be on his. He realizes that Shane will fight until his last breath, but WrestleMania was his yard, Hell in a Cell was his house, and Shane will rest in peace. 

    Shane came out and cut a promo from the ramp to a very good response. Not to sound like Bobby Hennan trying to get over a repackaged star in the 1980s, but he looks in the best shape of his life. Shane said he was the instrument of change in the WWE, while Undertaker was his father’s instrument of destruction. Shane said next Monday night, whatever was left in his body would crawl down to the ring, leave Hell in a Cell in his rear view mirror because all of the WWE fans deserve better and he will be in control of Monday Night Raw. If Shane had to cement his legacy by destroying the Undertaker’s legacy, that’s what he’ll have to do. 

    Undertaker told him he needs to watch his mouth because Shane doesn’t get to talk about his legacy. Shane got in the rign in Undertaker’s face,  and this had a palpable buzz. Shane said Undertaker’s legacy died two years ago at WrestleMania. Crowd started chanting “Suplex City.” Undertaker said Shane was just like his old man, which figures, seeing how from the day he was born, he’s been his daddy’s bitch. Shane threw punches that backed Undertaker to the corner, but Undertaker threw Shane over the top rope. 

    Undertaker threw Shane into the barricade several times, then went to clear the table. Undertaker went to give him the Last Ride into the table, but Shane escaped and hit him across the head with a monitor, which Shane had to look hard to find, probably searching for the gimmicked monitor. Shane hit Undertaker with the monitor. As Undertaker was prone across the table, Shane lost his mind, climbed the top rope and jumped off the top with a diving elbow. Crowd went nuts as Shane his made to his feet. On relay, Shane may have only connected slightly on the elbow as Undertaker was laying too far away, but Shane’s vertical was amazing. Shane staggered his way to the back, but Undertaker rose up after selling for about a minute, then got up and gave Shane the throat slash as Shane watched on.  

    Zack Ryder defeated Chris Jericho (1:55)

    Before the match, they aired a promo from the Raw preshow where Chris Jericho said he wouldn’t wrestle A.J. Styles at WrestleMania and he would beat Zack Ryder tonight. Styles came out before the match, doing more micwork than ever before saying he would get his match with Jericho and wouldn’t leave ringside until he did. 

    Jericho had Ryder in the Walls of Jericho when Styles started a “Y2 Jackass” chant, which got a better response this week. It was another distraction finish as Ryder pinned Jericho after a small package. Jericho became unglued, hitting Ryder with a Codebreaker. Jericho destroyed another monitor from the remains of the Undertaker-Shane brawl, then granted Styles his match at WrestleMania. He said this would be his 12th WrestleMania, but it would be Styles worst, and it would be the worst night of his life. 

    Charlotte (C) defeated Becky Lynch (6:32) in a nontitle match 

    Charlotte won after Becky Lynch chased her into the ring, but Ric Flair held Lynch’s boot long enough for Charlotte to kick Lynch and pin her with Natural Selection. Sasha Banks was at ringside just watching. Either they have no faith in her interview abilities or they didn’t have a headset available in the wreck that was ringside, but she didn’t say anything. 

    Vince McMahon did an interview with Rene Young. Vince said he wasn’t surprised at the brutality of the battle between the Undertaker and Shane earlier, but an angry Undertaker is the type of Undertaker he wants representing him. Shane walked in and cut a good promo on his father saying on Sunday, he would take 40 years of beatings and turn it around on his father. He said the irony of Sunday would be Vince stole the WWE from his father, and this Sunday Shane would take the company from his father. 

    Social Outcasts were in the ring. Curtis Axel got enough time to chime in “Happy birthday, Dad” to Curt Henning before the Big Show and Kane came out. 

    Kane and The Big Show defeated Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas, Adam Rose and Heath Slater by DQ (:28)

    Bo Dallas, and Adam Rose ran in to attack Kane and Show. It led to Goldust, R-Truth, Konnor, Viktor, Damien Sandow, and a host of others for a preview of the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. It led to Show and Kane choke slamming Axel, Dallas, Rose and Slater at the same time. Kane choke slammed Show last week, but there was no show of malice between the two this week. 

    Stephanie McMahon and HHH came out. Stephanie told the fans to get down on their knees and grovel to the king, HHH. Then HHH said none of the fans will ever have the ability to make their dreams a reality, but Roman Reigns did. He’s one in a million, someone who could turn his dreams into a reality. Crowd started to boo the mention of Reigns quite heavily. HHH said Reigns became WWE World Heavyweight Champion for 5:15. What about the reign that started after he beat Sheamus in December? HHH said Sunday would be his 20th WrestleMania, and he’s always obessesed with being the champion, and the fame, power and wealth that came with it. He became the greatest WWE Superstar of all time. After awhile, he was OK with putting on a suit and letting that fire die. 

    But when Reigns power bombed him on the table a few months ago, it relit his obession of being the champion. Reigns has already lost on Sunday when he re-lit the fire, which meant he would destroy Reigns’ dreams. HHH got minor cheers during his promo. 

    Stephanie took the microphone. Reigns came out to heavy boos. HHH stomped on him, but Reigns made a quick comeback and sent HHH packing. Reigns got booed big time as the last man standing and the crowd chanted “Roman sucks.” Reigns had a brief staredown with Stephanie before she took off. They teased Reigns spearing Stephanie, but even that couldn’t get the crowd on his side. It just gets worse for Reigns.

    HHH and Stephanie were shown walking out. It sounded like HHH wanted to leave the building, but the microphones weren’t on. Usually, that means HHH gets his heat back before tonight ends. 

    The New Day came out to their best crowd response yet. They came out with Xavier Woods mentioning the official cereral for WrestleMania is “Booty-O’s,” which had it’s own graphic on the TitanTron. Kofi Kingston said the League of Nations would never have their cereal because no one wants to taste “Rusev’s Bulgarian Booty Flakes.” Big E. managed to pay tribute to Phife Dawg, which got a good response, saying “Can I kick it?” 

    Kofi Kingston defeated Alberto Del Rio (7:35)

    Alberto Del Rio attempted the cross armbreaker, but Kingston turned it into an inside cradle for the pin. Highlights early included Del Rio being distracted by Woods playing the Mexican Hat Dance on the trombone. With New Day going over almost every week on League of Nations, I would anticipate a title switch on Sunday. 

    Postmatch, Jonathan Coachman came out to announce SportsCenter would be live in Dallas all week long. Then he pulled out a box of Booty-Os and started dancing, which Michael Cole deadpanned “Coach, no.” Coachman got mainly cheers, even though he was a heel for most of his run. Of course, he was among the people in the uneviable position of having to replace Jim Ross at one point. 

    They showed Joan Lunden as the recipient of the Warrior Award for this year’s WWE Hall of Fame. 

    Reigns started to do a promo with Young when Bubba Ray Dudley showed up challenging him to a fight backstage. Devon Dudley walked in. Reigns belted Bubba and Devon, but HHH predictably showed up to nail Reigns from behind and they all put the boots to him. Bubba threw him into a wall. The Dudleys left, and HHH told Reigns would never get the championship again. HHH placed the belt on a cart, then slammed Reigns’ head onto it to the sound of loud cheers in the background. 

    Kalisto (C) defeated Konnor (1:49) in a nontitle match

    Kalisto won with Salida del Sol. Afterwards, Viktor ran in and took a Tornado DDT. Ryback came out and had a staredown with Kalisto, barked “Feed Me More” and left. Kalisto still isn’t over in the slightest. 

    Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman cmae out. Heyman said he serves as the advocate for the baddest beast on the planet today. Heyman said his job was to hype fans up for the fact they’re six days away from seeing a once-ever fighter do his thing, perform at a level that not one individual could ever achieve. However, there’s one goof, geek, lunatic that always strays away from the rule, who thinks he has what it takes to perform at the level of Lesnar, Dean Ambrose. Heyman gives Ambrose credit because he’s a lot smarter than a lot of people thinks. Heyman said Ambrose think that if he takes a UFC Heavyweight Champion out of his element in a street fight and use a weapon against him, it will mean bad news for Lenar. But Ambrose has to step into the ring against Lesnar, who is fully prepared to give Ambrose the defining WrestleMania moment of a lifetime. Heyman said Dr. Brock Lesnar would perform a colonoscopy with every one of those weapons on Ambrose. Heyman said he said it 2 years ago, and he will say it again: he started to announce Lesnar as the winner of the match when Ambrose came out with a wagon with his logo painted on the side.

    Ambrose pulled a crowbar, a baseball bat, steel pipe, Mick Foley barbed wire baseball bat, a fire extinguisher, a chainsaw from Terry Funk, a kendo stick and a portion of the ring steps in the wagon, then simply hauled it to the bat without saying a word on the mic as Heyman watched on in concern. Lesnar watched with his standard stoic look. 

    It was announced that HHH would come out later for yet another interview segment with Stephanie. I guess 15 minutes earlier wasn’t enough. 

    Emma defeated Paige (2:52)

    A segment that totally backfired. The Divas division is now being handled like an afterthought again. Instead of teasing her return a few weeks out, Emma just showed up tonight as a heel on Raw for the first time. She’s now part of a heel team called “Bad and Blond,” also comprised of Lana, Summer Rae, Naomi and Tamina. They’re wrestling Paige, Brie Bella, Natalya, Alicia Fox and a mystery partner at WrestleMania. All the teams were at ringside. Emma won after Tamina distracted the referee, and Lana came in and hit Paige with a barefooted kick. 

    This led to a brawl between the two groups. Then the mystery partner for the face team came out—Eva Marie. I rubbed my eyes in amazement. Vince McMahon thought she would get treated as this conquering babyface. The fans booed her more than Reigns. She might as well have been Donald Trump in Brooklyn for all this did for her. She cleaned house, but none of the babyfaces wanted anything to do with her. Apparently, getting under on your debut is contagious and they didn’t want any to get on them. The announcers didn’t explain why Eva Marie was so unpopular with her teammates, like they’ve never seen NXT before. Just a total cluster of a segment from people too out of touch to make a coherent decision about the current product. And you wonder why Bailey stays in NXT? 

    Truth approached Goldust backstage saying that he wouldn’t have his back in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal. Truth seems to think they’re tag team partners who have a tough decision to make when they square off in the battle royal. Goldust doesn’t understand what he’s talking about because they aren’t partners. Truth started to cry and blew his nose in Goldust’s handkerchief. 

    Snoop Dogg was named as the new inductee into the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame. 

    Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler and Sin Cara defeated Kevin Owens, Stardust and The Miz (21:17) 

    Sami Zayn pinned Kevin Owens after the Helluva Kick. This was a match featuring the six participants in the ladder match on Sunday for the Intercontiental Championship, so Owens didn’t want to be involved. He was more willing to let the participants to slug it out, refusing to tag in. After everyone hit their finishers on each other, Owens tagged in and tried to give Zayn the pop-up power bomb, but Zayn hit a dropkick. Miz and Stardust walked out on Owens before the finish. Crowd was big on Zayn early, but then they got bored and used the match to get themselves over. There was a thunderous chant for CM Punk, along with Rob Van Dam. and “This is Booty.” Then they chanted for New Day. Who would have imagined the most over regular babyfaces in the company would be Woods, Big E. and Kingston a year ago? 

    HHH and Stephanie came out for yet another promo to end the show. Stephanie started putting down the fans again saying more of what they said earlier about how fans lived their lives just like Reigns, and they always fail. Stephanie said HHH’s championship isn’t going anywhere, and neither are they. HHH said millions of dollars are at stake on Sunday, and people could take their morality and shove it. 

    Reigns came out again to no reaction at all. He limped outand punched Reigns in the nose, with Reigns selling it heavy from the pedigree on the steps a month ago. Reigns threw HHH into the barricade. Stephanie ordered a group of heels to come out and help HHH. with Rusev, Sheamus, Del Rio and Stardust coming out. Then the New Day, the Usos and Dolph Ziggler came out for a pull-apart. Reigns threw Miz over the announcer’s table, for some reason. HHH started to back off once a crowd formed between him and Reigns, then ran back to go after Reigns. Reigns responded by doing a tope onto a group of heels, including HHH. Bubba Ray made a catch of Reigns that would have made Andrew McCutchen proud. Fans chanted “You still suck.” 

    FINAL THOUGHTS: 

    Tonight was the final straw for a year’s worth of work. The verdict is in: Reigns is not the guy. He could have been. If he had kept the championship at Royal Rumble and carried it through to WrestleMania, there was a chance for him. But they’ve booked him poorly, putting him in a group of no-win situations. First by taking the championship from him at Royal Rumble, where HHH didn’t come off as a cowardly champion who backdoored his way to the title, instead stepping over others to get the belt, typical of his reputation. Then came Fast Lane, where he was the least favorite of the three men in the main event. At some point, Vince McMahon has to ask himself what exactly are the fans revolting against? Is it John Cena and Reigns as personalities? Or the company’s narrow view of what a top star should be? I think it’s the ladder. Now that the audience has dwindled, there’s a greater percentage of hardcore fans than in the 90s. Their mindset of who to get emotionally invested in is based on years of watching Ring of Honor, New Japan and other promotions. Inside the McMahon bubble, there’s a mentality that’s very different, as best shown tonight by somehow thinking Eva Marie would be greeted as the new Divas superstar. Instead, she was a target of scorn, the polar opposite of how the segment was geared. As WrestleMania season winds to a close, there are more questions than ever about how in touch the powers that be are with the people who watch their product, and the answers may not be pleasant. 

  • WWE Smackdown Spoilers: A.J. Styles vs Tyler Breeze, Roman Reigns vs Bubba Ray Dudley

    Sasha Banks beat Charlotte in a non-title match with a roll-up.  Becky Lynch attacked Charlotte after the match.

    Sheamus beat Kofi Kingston with the Brogue kick.

    The Usos beat The Ascension

    Sami Zayn & Dolph Ziggler beat The Miz & Kevin Owens.  After the match, everyone from the ladder match got in a brawl, which naturally included ladders.  Zack Ryder climbed to the top of the ladder.

    Roman Reigns no contest Bubba Ray Dudley.  The crowd cheered Reigns, believe it or not.

    A.J. Styles beat Tyler Breeze

    Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman were out doing an interview. The Wyatt Family came out.  Lesnar & Dean Ambrose worked together in fighting The Wyatt Family.  Lesnar and Ambrose went at it after and the show ended with Lesnar leaving Ambrose laying.

    Another key note is that during Main Event, in a Naomi vs. Paige match, Tamina, Lana, Natalya, Fox, Summer Rae and Emma all got involved.  Summer Rae and Emma were both on the heel side.  So it would appear there will be a 5th babyface to be announced and a ten person match with Brie Bella on the face side and another person.

  • WWE RAW live results: Roman Reigns and HHH, Shane McMahon and Undertaker

    The Big News: Vince McMahon announced that if the Undertaker loses to Shane McMahon at WrestleMania, then the Undertaker will never wrestle at WrestleMania again. Kevin Owens became the latest wrestler to get scolded by Stephanie McMahon, who ordered him to defend the Intercontiental Championship in a ladder match against Sami Zayn, the Miz, Sin Cara, Stardust, Zack Ryder and Dolph Ziggler. Building up Shane McMahon was the backbone of the show through a series of vignettes, and no matter how much Vince McMahon has lost his creative touch, this company will always have great videos as extra spice in their stew. But they served a cold dish, overall, tonight. 

    Show Recap: 

    The show was dedicated to the memory of Mary Katherine Stewart, who was only 21 years old. 

    Stephanie McMahon announced HHH wasn’t going to be there tonight, and fans had 60 second to get to the box office for refunds. She claimed her husband was missing the show because of front office concerns, not because of Roman Reigns attack last week. She said Reigns proved why he would never be WWE World Heavyweight Champion, because he lacks intellect. Reigns came out to mostly boos, which was not the reaction he got when he defeated Sheamus for the WWE title in December. He’s no longer walking through the crowd. 

    Stephanie started to dress down Reigns until he put his hand over the microphone. Fans booed him as he started to talking, and said HHH didn’t come to Philadelphia because he knew he would whip his ass all over Broad Street. Reigns said he would walk into Texas and take his championship back, and there was nothing Stephanie or her daddy’s money could do about it. Stephanie started to slap him, but he caught her hand and said “Now, I’m the Authority.” It was the right idea to put Reigns in there with Stephanie because he’s the only person she sells for, but the fans just aren’t willing to accept him as a headliner. Short segment for an opener, going only seven minutes. 

    Kevin Owens (C) defeated A.J. Styles in a nontitle match (19:19)

    They just can’t help themselves. A.J. Styles had Kevin Owens in the Calf Crasher, but Chris Jericho came out for the weekly distraction into a schoolboy cradle finish. Of course, it was a great match with Styles getting near falls following a Fireman’s Carry Neckbreaker and a Rack Bomb. During a commercial, Styles went for the Phenomenal Forearm, but Owens grabbed the ropes and Styles crashed to the floor. Owens pulled out a frog splash for a great near fall, and later showed off the F-Cinq. The crowd was into it, but the finish took it down a level. Styles chased Jericho to the back.

    Afterwards, Owens laughed about winning over Styles and defending his title at “KO-Mania.” Dolph Ziggler came out to challenge him, and mentioned “KOMania and Botchamania.” Ziggler, who just got crushed last week, as the top challenger spoke volumes about the depth of the midcard. Then the Miz came out and laughed over how Ziggler thought he could get a title shot after HHH slaughtered him last week. Ziggler brought up superkicking Miz on SmackDown. Sami Zayn came out and said he had waited for months to get a piece of Owens and wanted him at WrestleMania. Owens said he would talk with the Authority about arranging a three-way match among those three challengers, and the winner would get the shot at WrestleMania.   

    Dean Ambrose was taped at the Philadium bar doing a promo on Brock Lesnar when suddenly, Terry Funk popped up. Funk looked like he had lost 40 pounds since his last television appearance. Funk did a variation of his classic promos, including this one from Puerto Rico that’s the White Album or Dark Side of the Moon of wrestling interviews. He told Ambrose that if he had a son, he would be just like Ambrose. Funk gave Ambrose a chainsaw which he could use against Lesnar, and Ambrose started sawing a table to the horror of various extras. 

    Owens approached Stephanie and asked for a triple threat match tonight that he could book. Stephanie agreed. The trick was Owens didn’t say who would be in the match, with Stephanie assuming it would be Miz vs. Zayn vs. Ziggler. 

    They did a good feature on Shane McMahon and the Undertaker featuring Mick Foley, Steve Austin, Ric Flair, Edge, John Cena, Booker T, Michael Hayes and Jerry Lawler. Foley said Shane’s return was among the top three reactions he’s ever heard in the business. Cena mentioned he never thought he’d see Shane in the WWE again. The piece featured headlines from when Shane left the company in 2010 and what brought him back. 

    Alberto Del Rio, Rusev and Sheamus did promos on the New Day laughing about how they beat them up last week. New Day came out with Booty O’s cereal. Xavier Woods held up placards which spelled out “You are trash.” Kofi Kingston said Rusev had stinky feet. Kingston wondered what happened to Del Rio, he used to come out in a car with his own ring announcer, but now he’s stuck in the League of Nations. They mentioned Sheamus’ parents must have known how he would turn out to be because they put the word “Shame” in his first name. Woods mentioned the tag line “Booty-O’s: They make sure you aren’t Booty.” 

    Big E. defeated Rusev (11:06) 

    Big E. won after the Big Ending. Lots of activity outside the ring, including King Barrett and Sheamus throwing Woods and Kingston into the barricade, which they sold for several minutes. Big E. hit several Belly-to-Bootie suplexes. Rusev teased the Accolade, but Big E. escaped with an Electric Chair, which was impressive considering Rusev’s size. Match was good but was a few minutes too long. 

    Vince McMahon will make an announcement concerning Shane-Undertaker later tonight. 

    The Wyatt Family did a promo about a match tonight between Ambrose and Braun Strowman, who said the God of War watches over him tonight and he would offer Ambrose for sacrifice. 

    Aliciia Fox and Naomi did a commercial for Snickers where some male was pretending to be a drama queen. So they gave him a “Drama Rama” bar, the guy took a bit out of it, and turned into Natalya. 

    The Big Show came out for a promo for the 3rd annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Byron Saxton vowed winning the battle royal could change someone’s life. So far, the winner’s of the battle royal have been Cesaro and the Big Show. Exactly how have their lives changed for the better? Show said he once claimed to be the greatest giant of all time, but the true greatest giant was Andre, because he was the first giant and the greatest giant. That’s why it meant so much for him to win the battle royal last year and wants to win it again. Social Outcasts came out. Heath SLater said Show’s mark on the industry would soon be the Social Outcasts’ largest victim. Bo Dallas claimed they were a Cinderella story. Curtis Axel corrected him and said they were like Voltron. Adam Rose said Show was in serious trouble. Show said the only trouble he would have would be figuring out which one of them to knock out first. Slater got choked, but Axel hit Show with a Shining Wizard. They started to put the boots to him, but Kane came out, threw Dallas and Slater over the top rope, as well as Rose. Dallas tried to shake Kane’s hand with his left hand, but he was thrown out. Show hugged Kane, who didn’t return the favor. Show posed on the second rope, but Kane grabbed Show and choke slammed him off the second rope. Guess that’s what Show gets for saying he wasn’t properly booked over the years on Austin’s podcast. 

    Chris Jericho defeated Fandango (2:08)

    Nice to see Fandango back from the witness relocation program. He missed the Last Dance and Jericho started to put on the Walls of Jericho, but Styles came out and started chanting “Y2 Jackass.” Jericho must not be as easily distracted as Styles was, because Jericho kicked out of Fandango’s small package. Jericho got the pin with a codebreaker. 

    Jericho challenged Styles to get in the ring. When Styles ran in, Jericho ran out. Styles then did a promo saying he’s wrestled all over the world, but not at WrestleMania. He challenged Jericho to a match at WrestleMania, which Jericho didn’t answer. 

    Another Shane promo video, and this was very good. Of all people, they had Renzo Gracie cutting an interview about how Shane brings energy to his jujitsu workout daily. Renzo is as good a personality as you’ll find from the MMA world to get someone over on an interview, especially since he doesn’t have a script. Shawn Michaels, Edge, Road Dogg, Austin, and Booker built Shane up as someone tougher than shoe leather, but most of them picked Undertaker to win. A good hype piece, and it left the fans with a better flavor about Shane than if Shane had appeared in front of the live crowd and received a lukewarm response, which is always a danger in Philadelphia. 

    Owens handled ring announcing for the triple threat match for the Intercontiental championship. Instead of Miz vs. Zayn vs. Ziggler, Owens announced Stardust, Sin Cara and Zack Ryder. 

    Stardust vs. Zack Ryder vs. Sin Cara ended in no contest (3:41) 

    The joke here was Owens booked three jobbers for a fight for his championship. What’s scary is, after last week, Ziggler and Miz have as much credibility as the three who started this match. Zayn, Miz and Ziggler came out to confront Owens, who was on commentary. It led to Owens jumping Ryder for the DQ. Everybody started fighting with Owens, who walked away. 

    This led to our weekly segment known as “Stephanie gets to castrate talent.” Stephanie scolded Owens for misleading her about the triple-threat match, then ordered him to face Zayn, Sin Cara, Ryder, Stardust, Ziggler, the Miz and Stardust at WrestleMania in a ladder match for the I-C title. 

    Stephanie walked out of the building, where a black SUV was waiting for her. HHH came out from the backseat and kissed her. As the garage roof raised, Reigns was behind it. I guess HHH and Stephanie were making out in the backseat because the SUV didn’t move. Reigns pulled HHH out of the back and brawled with HHH, including ramming him into a set of bars. HHH got one punch in and the SUV sped off. 

    Charlotte (C) defeated Natalya (4:47)

    Charlotte won with Natural Selection. Natalya got the Sharpshooter on, but Charlotte made the ropes. Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch were on commentary doing promos on each other that succeeded in making me less encouraged to watch the match. It’s sad how far behind the WWE is from UFC in terms of using interviews to build up fights. It’s like the gap between the New England Patriots and the Cleveland Browns. 

    Bubba Ray Dudley defeated R-Truth (2:04)

    The gimmick was R-Truth was despondent about Goldust turning down his requests to be his tag team partner. Bubba Ray Dudley won with a big boot. Devon Dudley joined in to beat up Truth. So after weeks of building up the Goldust-Truth tag team, Goldust runs down for the save. And Michael Cole couldn’t have been more monotone in his delivery. Why the hell do you start the angle if you aren’t going to sell it big on the payoff? On top of that, Goldust ran in with a chair, but got laid out with a reverse 3-D. Then the Usos ran in and gave Bubba a double superkick, ditto for Devon. The Usos pulled out a table and teased giving Devon a splash through the table, but Bubba pulled his partner to safety. 

    Vince came out and he just has worn out his welcome. Total silence on his entrance. After the post-WrestleMania Raw in 2 weeks, he needs about nine months off to get fresh again. He reviewed the Shane-Undertaker stips, and said if Shane wins, it might mean he will never be on Raw again. Like anyone believes that. Then he put over Shane as a wrestler. He actually said Shane might be the most forminable opponent the Undertaker has ever faced at WrestleMania. You could a loud groan in the audience after that one. The big news is if Undertaker doesn’t beat Shane at WrestleMania, then the Undertaker will never wrestle at WrestleMania again. 

    Braun Strowman defeated Dean Ambrose by DQ (5:12)

    Paul Heyman was on commentary doing his best to sell Ambrose’s match with Brock Lesnar. Crowd was so dead, it was amazing this was only two weeks before WrestleMania and one of the top babyfaces was in the ring. It got boring chants. All Strowman could do was nerve holds. Finally Ambrose used a chair on Strowman for a DQ for no real reason. Ambrose went after Luke Harper and Erick Rowan with the chair, then hit Dirty Deeds on Strowman onto the chair. Ambrose walked over to Heyman and mouthed off to him while Heyman looked on with concern. 

    Final Thoughts:

    There is no momentum for WrestleMania at all. The event sells itself purely on its brand name. But there wasn’t one regular performer on this show who is over. As long as Raw is 3 hours, appearing on Raw is an obstacle to getting over because you’re overexposed. And there’s two types of people in this company. Those who have been castrated by HHH and Stephanie, and those who are going to be.  Tonight, Owens joined the former club after being in the latter for eight months. 

  • WWE Smackdown Spoilers: Kevin Owens vs AJ Styles

    Roman Reigns came out first and was heavily booed for a short promo.

    Renee Young interviewed A.J. Styles saying that fans can chant whatever they want.  Kevin Owens came in and they talked to set up their match later in the show.

    Dolph Ziggler beat The Miz with a superkick.

    Michael Cole interviewed Kalisto, who accepted the match with Ryback for WrestleMania.

    Dean Ambrose was heavily cheered, since he’s from Cincinnati.  He did a big promo putting over Cincinnati.

    Bubba Ray Dudleys beat Goldust with a low blow.  R-Truth tried to make the save but he was beaten down by the Dudleys until the Usos made the save.

    Next was the Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks segment.  Lynch said she was going to take the title.  Charlotte first said that they were like the Four Horsemen, except Horsewomen, but then apologized to her feather for even comparing Lynch and Banks to the Horsemen.

    New Day challenged The League of Nations to a WrestleMania match.

    Kofi Kingston pinned King Barrett.  Both sides interfered.

    They showed a clip of Dean Ambrose at a bar saying he’s going to bring Cincinnati with him for his fight with Brock Lesnar.

    The Social Outcasts came out and said they would be winning the Andre the Giant Battle Royal.  Dean Ambrose came out with a Kendo stick and beat down all four of them, and said that Brock Lesnar would be on Smackdown next week and vowed a confrontation.

    Kevin Owens beat A.J. Styles in a non-title match.  Chris Jericho distracted Styles and Owens got the pin after a pop up power bomb. Jericho then laid out Styles with a codebreaker after the match.  Owens came back out (this is probably off TV) and Ambrose then ran in and cleaned house on Owens and Jericho, ending the night by giving Owens Dirty Deeds.

  • WWE RAW live results: Roman Reigns returns for the build to WrestleMania

    Three weeks from WrestleMania and it’s all hands on deck in time for the final push towards the biggest show of the year. After a two week absence to sell his broken nose, Roman Reigns will return tonight in Pittsburgh to resume the build for his main event against HHH. Shane McMahon and the Undertaker are also scheduled. The New Day are scheduled to defend the World Tag Team titles against Alberto Del Rio and Rusev. Plus, Sami Zayn made his return last week and is expected to build for his presumed match against Kevin Owens for the Intercontinental Championship. Plus, Chris Jericho, A.J. Styles, Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks.

    Our coverage starts at 8 ET. 

    The Big News: Shane McMahon and Undertaker had their first face-to-face confrontation since the WrestleMania main event was announced. It ended with Undertaker chokeslamming Shane after Vince sacrificed his own son, but Undertaker gave Vince a mean stare afterwards. Dolph Ziggler became the latest on the long line of wrestlers that HHH buried. Stephanie buried him in an interview segment, and HHH buried him in a match. Other matches official for WrestleMania include the League of Nations vs. the New Day for the tag team titles and Kalisto vs. Ryback for the U.S. Championship. 

    The New Day started the show with a new box of Booty O’s in Kofi Kingston’s hands. No 20 minute promo tonight as Alberto Del Rio and Rusev came out for the tag team championship match. 

    WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day defeated Rusev and Alberto Del Rio to retain (13:37)

    It was Big E. and Xavier Woods representing the New Day. Woods pinned Rusev with a schoolboy cradle. Rusev hit a superkick on Woods while Big E. was laid out with a double foot stomp by Alberto Del Rio, but Woods kicked out in a good near fall. Kingston distracted Rusev for the finish. The match tried to make New Day into total babyfaces. Big E. did a good comeback sequence with repeated belly-to-belly suplexes on Rusev, which is now called the Booty-to-Belly. Pretty good match, though you would think that since the fans have wanted to turn New Day for months, they would rally around them once they finally did. But they were dead for this one. 

    Postmatch, Sheamus and King Barrett joined in for a total beatdown of the New Day. Barrett even got to pull out the Bullhammer elbow on Kingston. Rusev delivered the Accolade on Woods, and Del Rio delievered the Double Foot Stomp off the top. Sheamus gave Big E. the Brogue Kick. Appears a rematch is coming at WrestleMania. 

    Dean Ambrose came out after losing to HHH at Road Block. Ambrose admitted he ade a mistake against HHH on Saturday night, but that’s fine because he lives by his sword and he dies by his sword. He told anyone to ask how HHH how he’s feeling right now because it ain’t gonna be good. That would have made sense later in the show if HHH came out selling something. Instead, HHH came out 30 minutes later looking no worse for wear. Oh well, if he can’t change after 15 years, why start now? 

    Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman came out.

    Heyman said he was the voice of reason because that was the only thing that was saving Ambrose from a beating. Ambrose dared Heyman to let the beast off his leash. Heyman said any fight that features Lesnar is the main event, and he didn’t want to ruin the main event of WrestleMania. He got on his knees and begged Ambrose not to provoke Lesnar because if he came down to the ring, Ambrose wouldn’t make it to WrestleMania. Then there wouldn’t be anyone left for Lesnar to wrestle because Ambrose was the only one crazy enough to want to fight Lesnar. 

    Ambrose again dared Lesnar to come to the ring, but Heyman held him back and put over Lesnar with his standard platitudes. Heyman went to the back, but Lesnar didn’t. He walked down to the ring. Ambrose pulled out a crowbar. Lesnar didn’t back down despite Heyman’s objections and circled the ring. Lesnar charged the ring, but Ambrose went after him with the crowbar. Lesnar dropped down, looked menancingly at Ambrose and they cut to a break. Fans really don’t seem to know how to approach this program because they want to cheer both men. 

    Ryabck defeated Sin Cara (4:12)

    Ryback won after giving Sin Cara two shellshocks, the second of which he did staring at Kalisto at ringside. The new gimmick for Ryback is he’s a good big guy who will always win over a good little guy. He challenged Kalisto to a U.S. Championship match at WrestleMania. It would help if the good little guy was over. Instead, when he tried to get a “Lucha” chant going, the fans started chanting “We want tables.” Ryback’s turn has also fallen on indifferent ears. 

    They have a new sponsorship with Burger King grilled dogs, so they showed past promos with Mad Dog Vachon, Junkyard Dog and Road Dog Jesse James. 

    Stephanie McMahon came out to shocking little reaction.

    Like her father, she didn’t look happy about it. She introduced HHH, who she said handily defeated Ambrose at Road Block. HHH came out selling nothing and said Ambrose failed because the Authority always wins. He said hope is not a strategy, but it’s how fans relate to Ambrose and Roman Reigns, because they hope they’re the ones who can end the reign of the Authority. HHH saved his boring 20-minute promo for the 9 o’clock hour, saying people hope they get a job once they get out of high school, hope they get a promotion, hope they get a raise, but it never comes. 

    HHH said the fans were all failures and they cut to a shot of fans at ringside. You could see their boredom. HHH went on and on forever in his worst promo in recent memory. He said Reigns will fail at WrestleMania. Reigns got a mixed reaction. He said the Authority always wins. Dolph Ziggler came out wearing a pink shirt and black blazer. Stephanie said “Speaking of failures.” 

    Ziggler said he knows his place, and it’s in the ring busting his ass for the fans. Stephanie treated him like a joke, saying he was pandering “Cena-esque.” Stephanie said he wasn’t that good. Ziggler wondered if Stephanie was going to threaten to fire him. He realized he has nothing left to lose. He vowed never to quit. Ziggler said he and Ambrose were screwed by the system, the Authority’s system. But they weren’t failures. Ziggler dared Stephanie to fire him. HHH stepped in and said firing him wouldn’t be good for business. The fans loved Ziggler because he was a loveable loser, just like the fans. HHH said Ziggler didn’t have to be a loser, he could be great, but he didn’t have the right people backing him up. Maybe he could get everything he wanted out of life if he got the right advice. 

    Ziggler said he wouldn’t side with HHH and Stephanie if they were the last two people on Earth. Ziggler called Stephanie “egomanical, tyranical.” Stephanie slapped him and offered him any match at WrestleMania if he could win his match tonight. Stephanie said Ziggler wouldn’t win the match and she would break his spirit tonight. Stephanie said Ziggler would face HHH, who looked a little surprised at that announcement, but not hesistant to wrestle. On the bright side, I didn’t think I would watch anything this week more interminable and less entertaining that yesterday’s Selection Sunday show, but this segment proved me wrong. In less than 24 hours, to boot. I really miss the days when wrestling was fun. 

    Sami Zayn defeated The Miz (7:13)

    Kevin Owens was on commentary. Sami Zayn did a Somersault tope on the Miz. Owens got up and started jawing with him. Miz jumped Owens from behind. Michael Cole explained that was because Owens walked out on the Miz during a tag team match on SmackDown. Owens distracted Miz, oddly enough, which led to Zayn pinning Miz with the Helluva Kick. 

    Renee Young did a promo with the League of Nations. Del Rio said they sent a message to the New Day. Rusev said no one was laughing now. Sheamus challenged New Day to a match at WrestleMania. 

    They announced Connor’s Cure would partner with the Jimmy V Foundation t fight cancer. Daniel Bryan, Brie Bella and that dasterdly heel Stephanie were all shown. 

    Naomi and Tamina defeated Brie Bella and Alicia Fox (2:39)

    Our third distraction finish in four matches. Bella hit the Bella Buster on Naomi, but Tamina made the save.  Lana (who came out just before the opening bell) distracted the referee while Naomi ran in and did a double team stuffed Michinoku Driver on Bella, and Tamina got the pin. Alicia Fox took a double superkick from Naomi and Tamina afterwards. 

    Social Outcasts did a product placement skit for Burger King.

    Paige did an interview with Jojo when Lana walked in. Lana said Paige was a fool if she thought she was a successful diva. Lana said Paige was hanging around a lot of weak American friends. Paige said if Lana wanted to know what a real Diva does, she would show her. Naomi and Tamina backed up Lana and told Paige to watch her words more carefully. So it appears Lana, Naomi and Tamina have formed a group. 

    Charlotte and Ric Flair did a promo with Young. Charlotte said she knew Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch before they made the main roster. Charlotte said before Banks’ first match, she was holding her hair because she was throwing up in nervousness. Now, she walks around like she owns the place, but Charlotte still sees a scared little girl. Charlotte said Lynch was always the third wheel. Flair said Charlotte called him after two weeks at NXT and told him there were two girls here who are going to be great, and Charlotte said she had to be better. Charlotte said she was better, and she had the Divas Championship to prove it. Charlotte, Lynch and Banks will have a sit-down conversation at SmackDown, and Charlotte said they would learn on Thursday they couldn’t run from their past. 

    The Usos defeated Bo Dallas and Adam Rose (1:54)

    The Dudley Boyz were at ringside. Jey Uso pinned Bo Dallas after a splash. They continue the Usos-Dudleys program.

    Ambrose was in the back when Mick Foley showed up. This was the highlight of the show. Foley wanted to know why Ambrose wanted to fight Lesnar at WrestleMania. Ambrose asked Foley if he was scared when he was on top of the Hell in a Cell (right there, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) in 1998 against the Undertaker? Foley said he was. Ambrose asked him why did he keep going? Foley said because he was Mick Foley, and that’s what he does. Ambrose said he’s Dean Ambrose, and this is what he does. Foley then took the crowbar out of Ambrose’s hands and gave him a gift box, which was to symbolize a passing of the torch. Ambrose pulled out a barbed-wire baseball bat. Foley is one of the greatest talkers and actors of all time. With Foley, Steve Austin, Rock Shawn Michaels and HHH in 1998, it’s easy to see why Vince Russo could look successful. It’s hard to lose when you’re dealt a royal flush. 

    WWE Champion HHH defeated Dolph Ziggler in a non-title match (17:28)

    Good match where Ziggler got lots of near falls after a Famouser and various superkicks. HHH finally won clean as a sheet with the Pedigree because…of course he did. Largely buried Ziggler. Since it was Pittsburgh and Kurt Angle rumors were flying, the fans seemed disappointed with the finish. 

    Reigns came out afterwards. It was supposed to be his be revenge spot, but he got booed loudly. They still had one hell of a brawl, though. It started at the announcer’s table, where Reigns did the spot that HHH did to him three weeks ago of repeatedly ramming HHH’s head into the table. Charles Robinson and other referees came out to stop him, but Reigns shoved him down. HHH hit Reigns with a can of soda, which fizzed everywhere. Reigns sold it for a moment,  then came right back with a right hand.

    They brawled to the pyrotechnic area, where Reigns threw a huge toolbox and HHH that resulted in hardway blood. It ended up backstage, where Jamie Noble, Jack Swagger, the Usos and Mark Henry tried to break it up. Reigns hit HHH with a HDTV. HHH threw a trashcan at Reigns, who came back with a bigger trashcan. It finally ended when HHH and the Usos stepped in. Good brawl, but the fans still aren’t warming up to Reigns. 

    Jacqueline was announced as the newest member of the WWE Hall of Fame.

    Goldust walked around backstage when he stumbled upon someone dressed in a penguin mascot. It was R-Truth, who explained that when he grew up in the hood, the closest thing they had to a penguin as a 17-year-old pigeon with a limp. Truth heard that when penguins mate, they stay together forever. He asked Goldust to be his penguin, or his tag partner. Goldust smiled and said no. Truth said that was cold, then put the costume back on and wiggled around. 

    Chris Jericho came out and did a heel interview saying the fans chose A.J. Styles over him. Jericho said Styles wasn’t as good as fans thought he was, he was a hack, arrogant, in over his head, and last week he put Styles in his place. He had to show Styles who his daddy is, which is Jericho, who is the best in the world at what he does. Neville came out. 

    Neville defeated Chris Jericho by DQ (4:52)

    Neville injured his left leg/ankle attempting a baseball slide through Jericho’s legs coming back from break. Jericho and Robinson very vocally audibled on how to get to the finish. Jericho put Neville in a schoolboy cradle, but Robinson stopped counting for no reason since Neville’s shoulders were still down. Robinson disqualified Jericho for pushing him. It appeared Jericho didn’t look happy with Robinson at all. Afterwards, Jericho got on the mic, ran down the crowd and Styles. This led to Styles coming out and giving Jericho a punch, followed by the springboard forearm, now called the Phenomenal Firearm, which will likely be his finisher.

    Undertaker, Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon segment 

    Vince McMahon came out for the main event segment. Again, not much of a reaction. Seems that’s becoming a pattern. He even had Lillian Garcia introduce him again to get the pop he was looking for. He did the same promo he did last week about what would happen if Shane McMahon wins the Hell in a Cell match against the Undertaker. He said Shane will no longer want to be seen in public after he loses to Undertaker. The nice part is Vince won’t have to lay a glove on Shane to do his dirty work, the Undertaker will. 

    Undertaker came out. Vince told him not to put his hands on him ever again, referring to two weeks ago when Undertaker grabbed Vince by the throat. Undertaker took his jacket and hat off to big pops. Vince said Undertaker had a lapse of judgement, and Vince himself had a lapse of judgement for even bringing up the subject again so he apologized. Vince knew the Undertaker wouldn’t mind getting his hands dirty in leaving Shane in a pool of blood. Vince said some might call this an unholy alliance, but he calls it what’s best for business. 

    Shane came out to, by far and away, the most tepid reaction since his return. Shane said his father was definitely not what’s best for business anymore. Shane said he finds himself in  match of a lifetime against the Undertaker. He’s figured out a way to beat the Undertaker. He basically said he was going to stick and move, turn his body into a 230-pound weapon, and use his heart because he’s fighting for his children, the fans’ children and the legacy of the WWE.

    Undertaker said it still wouldn’t be enough. Undertaker said he has these, holding up his fists. It’s his legacy. Shane said for the last 25 years, Undertaker has carried the company on his back. That’s why he was surprised that Undertaker is dancing around like a puppet while his father controls the puppet’s strings. Undertaker said no one controls him. Shane says he sees it differently. Shane said he had the misfortune of being Vince’s son, but Undertaker was now Vince’s bitch. 

    Undertaker grabbed Shane by the throat, but Shane skipped out the backdoor and threw punches that Taker really didn’t sell at all. Shane did the Shane O’Mac shuffle, but Vince threw Shane into the Undertaker, who gave him a choke slam. Vince taunted Shane as he was laid out on the canvas, but then Undertaker looked at Vince. It’s amazing how little body movement it takes by Undertaker and Vince to get a reaction. Undertaker just turned his head at Vince. Vince moved his eyes three times realizing the Undertaker was glaring at him with bad intentions, and it got more of a reaction than anything on the show. Vince rolled out of the ring as Undertaker walked towards him. Vince smiled in delight as Shane writhed in pain, but Undertaker was engaged in a staredown with Vince. 

    Final Thoughts:

    Behind the scenes, Vince is playing Shane against HHH and Stephanie. Vince is trying to prove he’s not out of touch, even though he’s lost 75% of his audience in the last 17 years. HHH is running NXT, which has garnered the following of hardcore fans, but Vince doesn’t think he can make any of the NXT wrestlers stars. There’s internal heat on HHH for not selling the Reigns injury, and tonight he did one of his classic HHH burial jobs on Ziggler. And I’m supposed to care about WrestleMania when all this is going on behind the scenes? You tell me, which sounds like more intriguing developments to follow? As for this show, Pittsburgh has long had the reputation of being a city of dead crowds, and tonight continued that reputation. Closing hour was interesting.

  • WWE live results, Erie, PA: Luke Harper v.s. Dean Ambrose, Chris Jericho vs Jack Swagger

    By Tim Mello

    New Day (Kofi/Xavier w/ Big E) vs League of Nations (Barrett/Sheamus)
      – Pre-Match promo by Xavier giving a reason why he was not with Franceska 2; she was sick because Wade spit on her
      – New Day picked up the victory after Kofi hit Trouble in Paradise on Sheamus

    Stardust v.s. Sami Zayn
      – Big pop for Sami
      – Stardust took a while at the beginning of the match to play the crowd
      – lots of Cody chants
      – Zayn won with Helluva Kick
      – Post Match Stardust was in the ring and said he wasn’t leaving without a win in the W/L column and issued an open challenge

    Stardust v.s. Mark Henry
      – Mark Henry answers the open challenge
      – Henry makes quick work of Stardust w/ World’s Strongest Slam

    Cass & Enzo w/ Carmella v.s. Dash & Dawson (Non-Title)
      – Good match; Enzo saw the majority of the action on the Cass/Enzo side of things
      – Cass & Enzo picked up the win via Rocket Launcher

    Victor v.s. Goldust
      – Goldust won with a roll-up pinfall
      – The Ascension started with a post-match beatdown on Goldust
      – R-Truth came out for the save
      – After thwarting the beatdown Truth and Dust had a moment in the ring
      – Golden Truth chants until they left

    Natalya vs Charlotte
      – Both traded teasing the Sharpshooter/Figure Four on each other; opposing maneuvers.
      – Charlotte picked up the victory after Ric Flair interrupted a submission attempt by Nattie.

    Chris Jericho vs Jack Swagger
      – Jericho with a pre-match promo on being the best in the world and his displeasure in coming out to AJ Styles chants
      – Swagger had the ankle lock set in until Jericho reversed it into a codebreaker for the victory

    Luke Harper v.s. Dean Ambrose
      – Ambrose picked up the win after hitting Dirty Deeds twice and Bray Wyatt was ejected from ringside
      – Post match Wyatt came back out to start a beatdown on Ambrose
      – The New Day came out for the save and pushed Bray back
      – New Day & Ambrose participate in a dance off in the ring as the show ended.

    Side Notes:
      – Best reactions of the night were: Dean, Sami, Cass/Enzo, and the New Day
      – Surprising no Miz/Ziggler – they usually hit this live event due to its proximity to Cleveland.
      – Through connections I made my way backstage and a friend had an odd conversation with Bray Wyatt about him getting dreadlocks soon? Not sure the truth behind that but sounds weird for a cult leader.