Submitted by Adam Kirby from the sold-out Minglewood Hall in Memphis, TN
Asuka over Emma
Solid back and forth with everyone over with the crowd which has been the case for every match. Crowd is electric for NXT’s first time in Memphis.
American Alpha over Blake and Murphy
Another very solid and competitive match. Already this show feels different from last Fall’s show in Nashville. This feels more like an ROH house show than a WWE house show, which the Nashville show in October felt like.
Alexa Bliss over Billie Kay
Not much here. Alexa worked over Billie Kay’s arm only to beat her with the sparkle splash. Alexa has definitely grown as an in-ring worker and had pretty fun crowd interactions. Alexa had most of the offense here and this was felt like a definite cool down match.
Samoa Joe over Sami Zayn
This continues the theme of the night of very competitive back and forth matches. Samoa Joe wins with the Coquina Clutch. Afterwards, extends a hand to Zayn only to flip him off instead. Very fun but short. Ready to see their next two matches on TV.
– Intermission. Dasha Fuentes is very good in her role tonight as announcer/time keeper. I’m impressed. Maybe it’s just because I was right behind her, but she was as into it as the wrestlers and ref. Great job.
NXT Tag Team Champions Dash and Dawson over Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa
Maybe the worst match of the show. Fell apart at the end with nobody knowing who was legal. Very much a whatever match. Great crowd interaction though.
NXT Women’s Champion Bayley over Nia Jax
Bayley hit the Bayley to Belly after a throw into an exposed turnbuckle. Good match, never quite reached the heights of their Takeover London match, but played off of that match with Bayley repeatedly going for the guillotine. Crowd was very into it.
NXT Champion Finn Balor over Baron Corbin
Decent and competitive match with Corbin controlling most of it. This guy was constantly getting boos and jeers about how much he sucks or can’t wrestle or is going bald. Constant interaction with all the shit talkers in the crowd. Match went outside with Balor hitting the dropkick into the barricade and then rolling Corbin into the ring for the Coup de Grace. Balor finished the show with a rendition of “Walking in Memphis” about going to the top rope and driving his feet into Baron’s throat.
Very fun show with a lot of good and interesting work up and down the card from everyone involved. Definitely catch the Nashville and Indiana shows this weekend if you can.
The Big Takeaway: The focus was building up the main event of Fast Lane. Brock Lesnar appeared at the start of the show and stood over the babyfaces at the end. Match of the night was Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler. Team BAD is caput after Sasha Banks did an interview saying she wanted to go on her own. It led to Naomi and Tamina turning on Banks during her match with Becky Lynch. Show was easy to watch and didn’t drag.
Show Recap:
Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman were out first. Heyman talked about Bray Wyatt and his family invoked the 11th Commandment, which was Thou Shall not Provoke Brock Lesnar. Heyman said Stephanie McMahon did what’s least for business when she put Lesnar in the triple threat main event at Fast Lane against Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose. Heyman said Lesnar would F-5 Reigns and Ambrose and pin both at the same time, then go on to WrestleMania and conquer the Billion Dollar Trophy Husband. Now that’s a great term for HHH. Heyman didn’t sell two-thirds of the Shield short and talked about how Ambrose rode the short bus to school because he’s a nut job.
Ambrose came out and called Heyman “Porky.” Ambrose said he had never been in the lair of the beast before, but it’s cozy. Ambrose said he didn’t want to fight Lesnar, but he would to get the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. If he’s crazy, why doesn’t he want to fight him? Ambrose said he couldn’t wait to travel to Suplex City. Lesnar joked snickered through Ambrose’s promo. Ambrose cut his promo and left. These types of segments are just a big waste of Lesnar because it really meant nothing and anyone following Heyman on the mic might as well recite the alphabet. And Ambrose isn’t that bad a promo, he just didn’t have much to talk about here.
Kalisto defeated Rusev via countout (10:06)
Kalisto and Rusev fought outside the ring. Rusev tried to throw Kalisto onto the announcer’s table. Kalisto landed on his feet on top of the table, then gave Rusev a huracanrana to the barricade. After the longest ten count in recorded wrestling history, Kalisto was announced as the winner. Kalisto is the latest person to get the Vince McMahon Cruiserweight push, where he’s demeaned in commentary, gets fluke wins, then runs when the heavyweight heel is feuding with goes after him postmatch, which in this case was Alberto Del Rio, who was on commentary. His rematch with Kalisto for the U.S. Championship is a go for Fast Lane. Lesson for anyone in NXT: when you hear you’re getting the Vince McMahon Cruiserweight push, run.
Ambrose and Reigns talked backstage while the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was framed and placed on a table. Stephanie McMahon walked up and said the championship was being held in her office. Somehow, I don’t doubt that. Stephanie tried to divide Reigns and Ambrose by comparing their partnerships to various factions that split over the years and how someone always wound up on the short end. She mentioned Marty Jannetty when Shawn Michaels turned on him, Randy Orton being dumped from Evolution (I’d say he landed on his feet) and even brought up Seth Rollins turning on Ambrose and Reigns. She said when presented with the opportunity, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Reigns and Ambrose realized what she was trying to do and said they were brothers. Stephanie said they would face the New Day later tonight to see how unified they truly are. Good promo by Stephanie and she has been a consistent heel throughout the first weeks of 2016.
They had a update on Nikki Bella neck surgery, showing an Instragram photo of her in the hospital. This led to Renee Young interviewing Brie Bella, who said he sister was looking forward to returning at some point this year. Charlotte and Ric Flair walked in. Charlotte told Brie to extend her sympathies to Nikki. Then Charlotte heeled on her saying she was on her way to becoming the new longest reigning Divas champion of all time, and she was the one who likely put Nikki in the hospital.
The Usos defeated Social Outcasts (5:11)
Lillian Garcia announced the Usos were a “Grammy award winning tag team.” They actually replayed that mistake and the announcers made fun of it. Then Michael Cole said Curtis Axel and Heath Slater would face the Usos. Slater never got in the ring and Adam Rose wrestled instead. That one said anything about that. Jey Uso pinned Rose after a double superkick and splash. Slater announced that Bo Dallas, now known as Bo Rida, wasn’t there this week because he was in a studio mixing his first album.
MizTv was with A.J. Styles. The Miz brought up Styles back story, saying Styles was the smallest of four boys and kept bringing up how people told him throughout his life that he was too small. I smell VKM cruiserweight push. Miz brought up the tired Michael Hayes line about the size of the fight in the dog. He recited Styles’ life story without bringing up TNA. Through all the years, Styles wondered what it would be like if he entered the big ship of the WWE. Styles stayed quiet throughout all this. Miz mentioned Styles survived 28:00 in the Royal Rumble and defeated Chris Jericho in his Raw debut. He asked Styles where would he go from here?
Before Styles could answer, Miz said Styles reminded him of his former protege, Daniel Bryan. (Code word for cruiserweight push). Miz said some called him the father of the Yes Movement. Crowd chanted “no.” Miz said he wanted to mentor Styles and navigate his career. Wasn’t Miz doing that for Neville? Miz got mad at the fans and said this was the WWE, and the “E” was just as big as the “W.” He said he main evented WrestleMania and who the hell is A.J. Styles? Miz said Styles may have been a big fish in a small pond, but this is an ocean full of sharks. He said Styles will drown if he listens to the fans. Miz called Styles a “rookie redneck” and said there was no chance in hell he could make it in the WWE. Styles belted Miz and threw him into a chair until Miz ran off. Miz really did a great job. He should be a manager at this point, but it’s another instance of the company not putting square pegs into square holes.
Brie Bella defeated Charlotte (C) in a nontitle match (4:35)
Brie won using the classic Flair-Ricky Steamboat finish where she turned Charlotte’s Figure Eight attempt into a small package. Flair jumped up on the apron trying to distract Brie, who had a sleeperhold on Charlotte, who broke it with a chinbreaker. Looks like they’re setting up a Divas title match between the two at Fast Lane.
The company sent out its best wishes to Bret Hart in his fight against prostate cancer. Various personalities including HHH, Nattie and Reigns tweeted their best thoughts.
The Big Show defeated Erick Rowan (1:18)
The Big Show won with a chokeslam. Postmatch, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman and Luke Harper jumped Show, who turned face again on Smackdown. It led to Show being slammed outside the ring onto ring steps. Wyatt was absent during all of this. Looks like Show will face Strowman, or some variation of the Wyatt Family at Fast Lane. The beatdown got a surprising amount of heat.
Titus O’Neal defeated Tyler Breeze (2:38)
The weekly squash match with Titus O’Neal, ending with a pin following Clash of the Titus. It’s booking straight from the 80s trying to get O’Neal over, and that’s not a criticism because it’s smart. Speaking of the 80s, Breeze was announced as having his “winter residence in Monaco,” like he was Ted DiBiase. That jobber pay must be pretty good nowadays. At least Breeze got an entrance and an inset promo.
Heyman and Lesnar were backstage when HHH walked up. HHH ordered Heyman to leave, and wondered if Lesnar was getting soft because Ambrose got in his face earlier and lived to tell about it. Lesnar said HHH would find out at WrestleMania.
Dolph Ziggler defeated Kevin Owens (11:28)
Best match on the show so far, and likely the match of the night. Kevin Owens hit two cannonballs, including one after he crotched Dolph Ziggler. He went for the Pop Up Power Bomb, but Zigger got over Owens and hit the ZIg Zag for the pin. Ziggler is a total Ricky Morton-style selling babyface now. Earlier in the match, Ziggler hit a Famouser on the floor. Owens tossed JBL’s cowboy hat to the floor afterwards.
Nice segment for Black History Month paying tribute to Mark Henry, which included various highlights from his weightlifting career as a youth. His victory over Orton to win the World Heavyweight Championship was also shown, along with his superplex on Big Show that destroyed a ring. The Rock, Kofi Kingston and Big Show all did interviews putting him over. They all but said Henry would be in the WWE Hall of Fame someday.
Sasha Banks came out and said she was on her own now, and nothing was going to stop her fro becoming Divas Champion. She didn’t say so, but basically implied Team BAD was dead. Naomi and Tamina came out and said they could be competitors and still be sisters. Banks asked Naomi if they were still going to have her back. They did the “Unity” handshake as Becky Lynch came out.
Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks went to a no contest (3:38)
Naomi and Tamina predictably turned on Banks. At first, Naomi and Tamina went after Lynch, but Banks stopped them saying she wanted to do it herself. Banks and Naomi traded words, then shoves, and then came the turn. It led to Banks and Lynch teaming up to send Naomi and Tamina away. Banks and Lynch didn’t have time to get anything going to even remotely resemble some of their great NXT matches.
Jericho was interviewed by Young about his loss to Styles. Another good promo. Two on this show. Can’t remember the last time Raw had two good promos. Jericho compared Styles to the Eagles’ song “New Kid in Town,” saying Styles has lived up to the hype. He compared Styles to a pitbull who struck again tonight against the Miz. Styles and Miz will wrestle on Smackdown on Thursday, and Jericho said he’ll be watching that with great interest.
R-Truth wondered into a bathroom, where Goldust was waiting on him inside a stall. Goldust, who stepped in the toilet, dropped the Tourette’s gimmick. He again asked Truth to be his tag team partner for a team called “The Golden Truth.” Truth said he didn’t want to tag with Goldust because he was too weird and had do-do on his little toe. Goldust reminded Truth about his previous tag team partner. I was hoping he was going to say Pacman Jones, but no such luck. Instead, Goldust said Little Jimmy, who was imaginary. He still had more in-ring ability than Jones. Truth stormed out. Goldust said he didn’t mean imaginary, he meant interplanatary, but admitted that was really his weirder brother.
The New Day came out and mentioned “Bootie-Gate,” based on comments Rock made last week. Kingston mentioned they love children and pointed out a child at ringside. They actually gave a lengthy closeup to a child wearing a “Bullet Club” t-shirt.
Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns defeated Kofi Kingston and Big E. (17:19)
Finish was Reigns giving Kingston a Superman’s punch while Ambrose pinned Big E. following Dirty Deeds. Moments earlier, Big E. gave Reigns a belly-to-belly suplex on the table, which tookforever to set up. Pretty good much with several hot tags by the babyfaces. Xavier Woods interfered several times. Heyman was on commentary.
Postmatch, Lesnar came out. As Reigns and Ambrose waited, Kingston and Woods jumped them. Ambrose fended off Woods, but Lesnar gave Ambrose an F-5. While this was going on, Reigns couldn’t get in the ring because Kingston gave him a DDT on the floor.
SUMMARY: A fine show. Good matches. Some good promos and smart booking of the main event at Fast Lane. Trying to get Reigns over with the shadow of Lesnar looming over him in the main event will be challenging. The fans clearly see Lesnar as the top face. He’s also the only larger-than-life figure the company still has remaining that isn’t from the 90s. Clearly Reigns will have to go over at Fast Lane. The question is will the WrestleMania fans’ resentment of HHH be strong enough for them to cheer Reigns?
The Rock returned for a 25-minute segment where he dueled with the New Day over the mic. He built up WrestleMania, but there were no plans for him announced for the future. He was still the most entertaining thing on the show, which had its high points. The main event of Fast Lane will be Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar in a triple threat match, with the winner facing HHH in the main event at WrestleMania for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. A.J. Styles made his Raw debut. Shock of shocks, he had the best match on the show, defeating Chris Jericho. It looks like those two are headed for another match, likely at Fast Lane, as well. Easily the best Raw of the year, so far.
Vince and Stephanie McMahon came out gloating over Roman Reigns losing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship to HHH. Vince said that, just like the fans, Reigns couldn’t rise above adversity. Instead, when adversity faced him, he whimpered and whined. Stephanie said they pulled off a coo in getting HHH into the Royal Rumble. Did she see the odds leading up to the show. She mentioned A.J. Styles, who got a huge pop and “We love A.J.” Chants. Stephanie built up her husband and introduced him.
HHH came out and said Reigns might be among the most amazing athletes he’s ever seen, but he lacks respect because he’s arrogant and cocky. He claimed Reigns lacked respect for Vince, who might as well be God because he’s the one who created all this. The man who went from 6.7 ratings in September 1999 against football to a 2.3 running unopposed? Alrighty…HHH said anyone who disrespects Vince might as well be distracting his religion because the ring was his church.
HHH then spoke to those who said his time had come and gone as a wrestler. He admitted he didn’t have to be WWE World Heavyweight Champion, but now he wanted to be because people need to show proper respect. That started a light “Roman” chant.
Stephanie said the main event for Fast Lane would be announced tonight, and the winner of that match would face HHH in the main event of WrestleMania.
Kevin Owens defeated Dolph Ziggler (8:45)
As usual, a good match between the two. Kevin Owens won with the Pop-Up Power Bomb. Ziggler went to the top rope trying to give Owens a huracanrana, but Owens crotched him. Owens looked like he was going for the F-Cinq, but they couldn’t get in position for it. The show-long storyline is wrestlers are trying to impress the Authority in order to get the spot in the Fast Lane main event.
Flo Rida is in the building.
JoJo interviewed Reigns backstage. He told her to let the Chairman and the champion know that he was here and he wasn’t leaving until he hears the Fast Lane announcement.
Social Outcasts came out. Heath Slater saw Flo Rida at ringside and ordered him to not make him mad. Bo Dallas challenged Rida to come in the ring and face the four Superfriends. He got in the ring. Slater challenged him to a rap battle against Bo Rida. Bo ran down Florida and said he had a Full House “just like Danny Tanner.” Had to use Wikipedia to find that Danny Tanner was the role that Bob Saget played on that show. It’s scary that Bo Dallas rapping was ten times more entertaining than that show that Adam Rose hosted, but it’s unlikely we’ll see Bo Rida again. Flo Rida said Social Outcasts had no skills and “Welcome to Dudleyville.” Bubba Ray and Devon Dudley came out to their nu metal song from 2000. It’s more dated than Petey Pablo.
The Dudley Boyz defeated Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel (4:27)
The Dudleys won with the 3-D on Curtis Axel. Devon got the pin. Rida was in the Dudleyz corner. There was a spot when Flo Rida dumped Slater into the ring, and the Dudleys gave him Wazzup. Dallas now has a singlet. He looks like Eric Embry in 1990 Memphis when he let himself go. There’s a spot where the four members of Social Outcasts walked around the ring together that’s called the “Bo Train” Michael Cole announced later this year, the Dudleys would celebrate their “20th year anniversary” together. Thank you, Phil Simms.
Styles did an interview with Rene Young. She asked him, for those who don’t know, tells us exactly who you are. Chris Jericho walked up, called I’m the hottest free agent in the world. Jericho derisively said “Welcome to the Big Leagues, kid.” Why do I have these images of Braden Walker floating through my head?
They announced that Nikki Bella will miss the next six months because of neck fusion surgery. It was supposedly reported by E! To promote Total Divas.
A.J. Styles defeated Chris Jericho (13:43)
A very good match where Styles won by reversing a cradle after Jericho escaped the Styles Clash. Jericho appeared to be calling the match and Styles looked like he was trying find his footing in a new ring. Some of his trademark spots, like the flying drop kicked, weren’t executed perfectly. In the final eight minutes, it was excellent. Jericho got the Liontamer and Styles had a lengthy struggle before getting to the ropes. Crowd popped big for that. Fans embraced this match from the opening bell, chanting “This is awesome” right from the outset. Styles went for a splash but missed, leading to Jericho going for a lionsault, but Styles got his knees up. Afterwards, Styles extended his hand for a handshake. Jericho shook his hand, then pulled Styles together for a face-to-face confrontation. Looks like this could be a program and that’s goodie, goodie gumdrops.
Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch went to a no contest (3:33)
Sasha Banks had Becky Lynch in the Bank Statement when Charlotte ran in for the DQ. Charlotte gave Banks Natural Selection and also sent Lynch out of the ring. BK<anks wrestled as the heel even though she got more cheers.
Goldust found R-Truth backstage. Golddust was doing a combination of his original effeminate gimmick and his Tourette’s Syndrome promo, asking R-Truth to be his partner. R-Truth showed him his wedding ring and said he was a married man. After R-Truth bolted, Goldust said he meant tag team partner and claimed they could call the team “Gold and Truth.”
Bray Wyatt defeated Kane (7:05)
Bray Wyatt won with Sistery Abigail after a distraction from Luke Harper. Crowd was dead, which isn’t a good sign since they teased Wyatt vs. Brock Lesnar at some point over the next few months. Wyatt is basically a ring entrance now. There was a fan who was dressed up as Randy Savage at ringside who took attention away from the match. Crowd started chanting for him and Wyatt didn’t look happy about it. It looked like the ushers forced to tone it down, which got the ushers more heat than the match. Later, those four men turned up away from the hard camera during the Rock’s segment. Braun Strowman gave Kane the head-and-arm choke afterwards.
A WWE reporter knocked on the door of a limo parked backstage. Crowd chanted for the Rock, but the Miz got out. He started to do an interview, but then a big black truck pulled him. And it was the Rock who got out.
Rock handed Miz the keys of his truck to park it. On his way to the ring, Rock shook hands with Rick Ross. Then Rock saw the Big Show and they talked about the Royal Rumble in 2000 where they were the last two in. They did a finish that year where they went over the top rope together and the Big Show’s feet were supposed to hit first, but it was the Rock who did it by mistake. Rock was awarded the win. Rock admitted the Show should have won that year, and said producers from the Scorpion King were going to give the role in that film to the winner of the Rumble that year. It could have been the Big Show who was in the Fast and Furious sequels, chasing Van Dielsel around. Big Show got this classic sad look on his face and broke a laptop that he was holding for no reason in two. He wasn’t mad at Rock at all, but Show had some great timing and facials here.
Rock stumbled on to Lana, where they talked about the last time Rock confronted Rusev. He claimed that after the show, Lana said she didn’t want to be with Rusev anymore. They went inside a hotel room and did special exercises like the Wisconsin Wheelbarrow, and the D.J. Mustache Ride. Rusev came up from behind. Lana informed Rock they were now engaged to be married. Rock told Rusev that Lana was flexible as all hell.
Rock continued his walk backstage, where he slapped hands with Pat Patterson, to the Gorillia Position. Finally he made his way out to the crowd to the Miami fans, who chanted “This is awesome” before he even started speaking. Rock said he was ready for WretleMania and asked the fans if they were. He pretended not to know Byron Saxton’s name.
Rock saw four guys dressed at ringside and went totally off script. He interviewed the aforementioned Savage impersonator, a Hulk Hogan impersonator, an Undertaker impersonator and someone dressed as Rock.The New Day came out doing this scripted material. Kofi Kingston said the Rock was supposedly the People’s Champion, but he didn’t have any gold around his waist. They were WWE tag team champions.
Big E. Said the Rock was like LeBron James, he bolted Miami for greener pastures. Xavier Woods did an impression of Rikishi saying “He did it for the picture.” Even Rock couldn’t hold back a smile over that one.
Rock said the New Day found a way to be entertaining with llama penises strapped to their heads. Rock said they looked like three Chocolate Cornholes running their mouths all of the time. He said Big E. Was so nerdy, he looked like what would happen if the Incredible Hulk banged Urkel.
Rock challenged them to get in the ring. New Day started to leave. Rock said he had a Plan B: family. The Usos came out. Rock gave Big E. The Rock Bottom, Kingston took a double superkick from the Usos and Woods took the People’s Elbow. Rock delivered his catchphrase and that was that. All of this shows that ther’s only Rock, and there will never be another.
Paige and Natalyia defeated Brie Bella and Alicia Fox (2:45)
Paige pinned Brie Bella with the Rampage. They had to rush because the Rock segment took over 25 minutes.
Kalisto (C) defeated the Miz (10:23) in a nontitle match.
Kalisto won with the Solida Del Sol after Miz attempted the Skull Crushing Finale. OK match, but the U.S. Title around Kalisto’s waist feels like the championship is a secondary belt again. Highlight of the match was when JBL said Rock was ” the number one international box office hit” in 2015. Box office hit as opposed to box office attraction. Even Cole couldn’t hold back a chuckle after that one. JBL launched his candidacy to win the Worst Announcer award again next January in quality fashion tonight.
Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns defeated Rusev and Sheamus (15:19)
Dean Ambrose got the heat after Rusev threw him into the timekeeper’s table. Ambrose, who had his left shoulder taped up after his match with Owens last night, took three Irish Curse backbreakers from Sheamus. Sheamus hit a Brogue Kick on Reigns, but Ambrose made the save. Sheamus shot Reigns into the ropes, but Reigns came off with a spear for the pin.
Afterwards, to get payback on the League of Nations for jumping Reigns during the Royal Rumble, Ambrose helped Reigns get Rusev up to power bomb him through the announcer’s table.
Stephanie came out to announce that the main event for Fast Lane would be a triple threat match: Ambrose vs. Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar.
SUMMARY:
It’s always so entertaining to see the Rock on Raw because he makes it feel like an event. It’s always so depressing the week after the Rock visits Raw because you know the product will never be as good as it was during his prime. And not just because of his personality and his presence, which comes along once in a generation. It’s because the fabric of what made the Rock special has changed. He would have never become the personality that endeared himself to millions with scripted interviews on weekly three hour shows. When he first appeared, Raw was an one hour show and still relied on syndication for first-run matches. The Rock was only as good as his creative ability, which might be his most underrated quality. Nowadays, most wrestlers don’t get that chance because it’s how the system is. Anyway, hate to sound old, but that’s what it feels like watching so far ahead of the modern pack. Show was largely entertaining. Styles-Jericho was worth going out of your way to see.
The 2016 WWE road to Wrestlemania begins in Orlando, Florida, where 30 men will enter the Royal Rumble match to determine the WWE World Champion! For the first time ever the WWE World Champion, Roman Reigns, will be in the match, and be forced to defend his title against 29 other participants. Roman must be the last man remaining in the ring in order to go into Dallas, Texas at Wrestlemania 32 as the champion.
The only other time something similar to this happened was at the 1992 Royal Rumble. In December 1991, the WWF title had been vacated, so it was declared that the winner of the Royal Rumble match would become the WWF Champion. Ric Flair won the Rumble that night, and he will be in attendance tonight as his daughter Charlotte looks to defend the WWE Divas championship. Could we see Flair enter the Rumble and win it again? No, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be a tremendous night of action.
We will also see a “Last Man Standing” match between Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Kevin Owens for the Intercontinental Championship. The match will only end once one competitor is unable to meet the 10 second count. Between this match and the Rumble, get ready for a whole lot of fan-count-alongs.
We are looking for your thoughts on the event, so send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to Dave Meltzer.
Coverage provided by Dave Meltzer
MARK HENRY & JACK SWAGGER VS. DUDLEYS VS. DAMIEN SANDOW & DARREN YOUNG VS. THE ASCENSION – WINNERS GET INTO THE RUMBLE
Henry & Swagger won the match to advance. The Dudleys did the 3-D on Viktor, but Swagger broke up the pin and put Bubba in the ankle lock. Henry then splashed Bubba and paused, and instead covered Viktor for the win. Nothing much to the match.
DEAN AMBROSE VS. KEVIN OWENS FOR THE IC TITLE IN A LAST MAN STANDING MATCH
Super match ending with Ambrose winning. Owens had destroyed him for a few minutes including a super falcon arrow off the top rope through a table. Owens put him on four chairs and went to the top rope to splash Ambrose, but Ambrose got up and shoved Owens off the top through two tables stacked up on the floor. Lots of highlights including Ambrose getting up from the power bomb and Owens surviving the Dirty Deeds, as well as Ambrose coming off the top rope with an elbow to the floor, putting Owens through a table.
NEW DAY VS. USOS FOR THE TAG TEAM TITLES
Good match with a hot finishing sequence. Jey sueprkicked Koingston but didn’t see that Big E had tagged in. Jey came off the top rope but E caught him with a big ending for the pin. Xavier Woods debuted a new trombone called Franseca II. Good stuff including E tackling Jimmy to the floor, and Jey doing a splash off the top rope but Kingston got his foot on the rope.
ALBERTO DEL RIO VS. KALISTO FOR U.S. TITLE
So far the odds are 100% as Kalisto won the title. For the finish Del Rio undid the padding on a turnbuckkle. Kalisto gave him a mistimed huracanrana and Del Rio went headfirst into the exposed metal and used the Salida del Sol and got the pin. Kalisto had used the Salida del Sol on Del Rio earlier but Del Rio got his hand on the ropes. This came after a missed double foot stomp by Del Rio.
Stephanie agreed to renegotiate Brock Lesnar’s contract if he took out Roman Reigns tonight in an interview segment with Paul Heyman.
CHARLOTTE VS. BECKY LYNCH FOR DIVAS TITLE
This was easily the most heated women’s title match on a WWE PPV in a long time. Crowd really wanted Lynch to win. Real good match. Lynch had the match won with the disarmer but Ric Flair threw his sports jacket over her head. She let go of the move to go after Ric. This allowed Charlotte to poke Lynch in the eye (which they were out of position to catch) and spear her for the pin. Lynch had survived the spear earlier. Funny spot with Ric kissing Lynch to set up a Charlotte advantage.
Sasha Banks is out to set up the next title match, but she kicked Lynch out of the ring after the match. Very clearly they are building this as the Mania feud. Crowd was way behind Banks. But then they acted like they were best friends. Then Banks laid her out from behind with the back stabber and Bank statement and Charlotte tapped. Huge reaction to Banks as she held up the belt.
Going into the Rumble this has been a really good show.
ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH
The crowd is booing Reigng to start. Rusev is out with Lana as No. 2. We’ll be back at certain points.
HHH won the match throwing out Dean Ambrose after he also threw out Roman Reigns. So the show ended iwth HHH, Stephanie and Vince celebrating. The match itself was great, one of the best Rumbles ever. Not really much in the way of suprises, only A.J. Styles and Sami Zayn. Reigns stared, was destroyed by the League of Nations and taken to the back. He came back near the end and started eliminating people. They put over The Wyatts a lot, particularly Braun Strowman, who along with Brock Lesnar were made the Monsters. Lesnar dumped the entire Wyatt family except Bray. Bray came out next and the rest of the Family interfered and they all through out Lesnar. Styles got a big reaction, among the biggest of anyone and came in third and lasted a long time.
A few more highlights:
*Crowd mostly booed Reigns and when he went against HHH, fans cheered HHH
*The attack on Reigns was at just over 20:00 in, with Vince out with the League of Nations to destroy him with Rusev splashing him through a table and he was put on a stretcher. He got off the stretcher and went to the back, coming back jner thje end.
*R-Truth came out, thought it was a ladder match, climbed the ladder, no belt and then he was thrown out by Kane.
*Strowman was put over as a monster, eliminating Show with a head and arm choke and throwing out Kane as well
*Kevin Owens eliminated Styles and the fans booed that more than any elimination. Styles may have been the most popular guy of all in the match.
*Sami Zayn threw out Owens and they really put over their rivalry
*Ambrose threw out Jericho who may have lasted the longest with the exception of Reigns
There was an old baseball saying with the Boston Red Sox in the 1940s when they had two decent pitchers in Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain. It went “Spah, Sain and pray for rain.” That’s the depth-challenged WWE right now. It’s Lesnar-Reigns and pray for Kane. The end of the go-home show for the Royal Rumble had Lesnar laying prone after being left for dead by the Wyatt Family, who have been stuck in the midcard since Thanksgiving. Reigns will be the #1 entrant in the Royal Rumble, which was determined in a segment that will live on through Botchamania. Vince McMahon, he of the bulging biceps at 70, failed to open two plastic balls on live television. Basically, the segment wanted you to believe the Authority rigged the drawing to make sure Reigns would draw the first spot. In other words, this was the WWE version of the 1985 NBA Draft lottery.
Show Recap:
Roman Reigns came out first to say he was going to be the first man ever to defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the Royal Rumble, but he was only concerned with Brock Lesnar tonight. He wanted Lesnar to come out. Chris Jericho walked down and said Lesnar was already booked for the Highlight Reel tonight and asked Reigns to join him. Reigns agreed. Then the League of Nations came out, with Alberto Del Rio back with the U.S. Championship around his waist. Sheamus objected to everyone assuming the Royal Rumble will just come down to Reigns vs. Lesnar. Sheamus said the WWE Championship would come home to him. Sheamus wanted to be on the Highlight Reel, but Jericho shot him down. Del Rio objected to Jerichio’s smarky remarks and bragged about how he won the Royal Rumble, unlike Jericho. Jericho declined both of their invitations. Rusev then launched into a diatribe about how hard is was to grow up in Bulgaria. Jericho quizzed Reigns about how he won the Royal Rumble last year, and Reigns recalled he threw out Rusev to win. Jericho got off a line about how Lana can attest how Rusev always comes up short in the big moments. Reigns wanted to face Rusev, and Jericho announced he would be special referee.
Roman Reigns defeated Rusev (13:53)
Match built to a spot where Sheamus pulled Reigns out of the ring and threw him into the ringpost. Even though he was distracted by King Barrett, Jericho sensed what happened and forced Sheamus away from ringside. Then Barrett protested and Jericho ordered him to the back. Jericho turned cartwheels, danced and appeared to blow himself up in the process. Del Rio protested and he also was ejected. Rusev tried to hit Jericho from behind but Reigns intercepted that with a Superman’s punch and the pin.
In the back, Stephanie McMahon (wearing the highest heels possible so she can appear almost as tall as Jericho) confronted Jericho about making himslef special referee. She said because Reigns is now part of the Highlight Reel, she would have to renegotiate with Paul Heyman and give Lesnar more money. She said if Jericho ever did anything without her approval, she would make sure Jericho would never be the same again.
Natalya defeated Brie Bella via submission (1:28)
Natalya won with the sharpshooter. Natalya was accompanied by Paige. Wasn’t it Paige who jumped Natalya in December, causing her to miss months of action? Paige just walked out like they were best friends. Announcers just talked how this match was a preview for the season debut of Total Divas.
Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan defeated The Dudley Boyz and Ryback (6:32)
Braun Strowman distracted Ryabck, which allowed Bray Wyatt to clothesline him from behind on the floor. Bubba Ray Dudley called for the 3-D, and it was sad. Crowd was so dead it couldn’t get a pop. Luke Harper pinned Bubba Ray with a clothesline. Everybody involved in this feels like they’re going nowhere. JBL and Michael Cole mentioned the death of Iron Mike Sharpe during the match.
There will be a drawing later tonight to determine the number one slot in the Royal Rumble. I thought when the Big Show entered himself in the Rumble he made himself number one, but apparently that was a screwup on his point.
The Big Show defeated Heath Slater (:55)
Show pinned Heath Slater with the Knockout punch. They took an overhead shot of the arena as Slater got in the ring, and you could see people headed to the bathrooms or concession stands. Afterwards, fellow Social Outcasts members Curtis Axel and Adam Rose got knocked out. Bo Dallas ran in the ring and ducked a punch, then started to take a victory lap around the ring thinking he got away. As he finished his lap, Show decked him as well. Byron Saxton said Big Show was “A favorite to win the Rumble.” Services for Mr. Saxton’s credibility will be held Friday at 9 AM.
Stephanie met with the League of Nations backstage. She wanted to know why they let Jericho scare them into leaving ringside back when this show had momentum…I mean during the first match. Sheamus said they weren’t scared of Jericho. She told them to prove it.
Stephanie and Vince McMahon came out to draw the numbers for the number one position in the Royal Rumble. Since it was a lottery, a representative from the Philadelphia 76ers showed up. Stephanie mentioned how her father won the Royal Rumble was the 1999 Royal Rumble champion. Vince pulled out the first plastic ball…and couldn’t open it. So he threw it back and picked up another one out of the tub, revealing the name of Reigns. So Vince wanted to make sure the drawing was legit and drew another ball. He couldn’t open that one. Keep in mind, moments earlier Stephanie had talked about what a great physical specimen her father was. Stephanie dropped in a “McMahon’s Millions” reference, at this point. So Vince pulled out a ball, which again had “Reigns” in there. They drew a third number, basically to tell the audience that the Authority had rigged the drawing to make sure Reigns would get #1, and again Reigns’ name was in there. Vince mentioned that Reigns would be the number one man on Sunday, but not after the Royal Rumble.
Becky Lynch defeated Tamina via submission (4:06)
Becky Lynch won with the Disarm-her off the top rope. Afterwards, Lynch wanted to hear from Charlotte’s mouth that they would meet on Sunday at the Royal Rumble. Charlotte said she had already beaten Lynch twice and there wouldn’t be a third match. Lynch said she only won because of Flair and said Flair never backed down from a challenge in his career. She tought Charlotte would be the same way, but perhaps the apple fell too far from the tree. Flair took the mic, called Charlotte the best of all time and said this Sunday, the third time would be the charm when Charlotte beats Lynch again. She accepted. Charlotte didn’t look happy about that.
Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio defeated Dean Ambrose and Kalisto (13:14)
Final minutes were good. Kevin Owens was on commentary, trying to make himself babyface by constantly telling Saxton to shut up. Kalisto hit Salida del Sol on Sheamus, but Del Rio hit a Superkick for the save. Dean Ambrose brawled with Del Rio at ringside, but was distracted by Owens. Del Rio hit Ambrose with an enzuigiri. In the ring, Kalisto tried another Salida del Sol on Sheamus, who threw Kalisto off and hit the Brogue Kick. In the comeback, Kalisto attempted a Tornado DDT on Sheamus that got fouled up, and it appeared Sheamus landed on his face. It’s a Last Man Standing match with Ambrose vs. Owens for the I-C title on Sunday, which could steal the show.
They showed pictures of the weekend tour from India, the company’s first tour there since 2002. Isn’t it amazing they never toured there when the Great Khali was on the roster?
The New Day had a funeral service for Franchesca the trombone, which was destroyed by Jericho last week. Big E. presided over the service and started to quote Jay Z’s “99 Problems” when Xaiver Woods stopped him. Kofi Kingston said they would buy him a new trombone. Woods said he never got a chance to say goodbye. Woods said Franchesca would want Big E. to fight Big E. and they started clapping and chanting “Fran-Ches-Ca.” JBL was clapping, as well.
They had a By the Numbers segment about the Royal Rumbles. In the 28 lifetime Royal Rumbles, 811 competitors have been eliminated, a record 42 by Kane. 46 WWE Hall of Famers have entered the Royal Rumble, but only 8 have won it, including Steve Austin 3 times. Rey Mysterio’s 82:12 is the longest single stint ever in the Rumble.
Big E. defeated Jey Uso (9:32)
Big E. won with the Big Ending after Woods provided another distraction. Jimmy Uso dove on Kingston at ringside. Kingston pushed Woods out of the way, and Woods distracted Jey as he went for a splash. Cole said Uso tweaked his knee on the landing. Pretty good match where Uso hit a tope. Big E. bumped all over the place, including missing a big splash on the apron and falling to the floor after missing a charge. Woods
R-Truth, Titus O’Neal, and Mark Henry talked about one of them winning the Royal Rumble this Sunday. Neville joined in the handshake and they all yelled “Keep the Dream Alive.”
The League of Nations talked backstage. The announcers teased they would get involved in the Highlight Reel.
Titus O’Neal, Mark Henry, Neville and R-Truth defeated the Ascension, Tyler Breeze and Stardust (6:11)
Finishing sequence was supposed to be O’Neal tossing Tyler Breeze over his head to an awaiting Henry, who would deliver the World’s Strongest Slam. Apparently, Henry lost Breeze in the lights because he dropped him. Then Breeze had to take the bump again, and it ended with Neville hitting the Red Arrow. Match really dragged until Neville and Breeze got in. The second they got in, they fell into their old rhythm like they were Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. It’s incredible how far Breeze’s stock has fallen since he defeated Dolph Ziggler at Survivor Series. Yes, that was only 7 weeks ago.
Jericho was out for the Highlight Reel when Heyman interrupted him. Jericho accused Heyman of failing his client, Lesnar, when he failed to get him out of the Royal Rumble last week. Jericho asked Heyman if he tried to get Lesnar out of the Rumble because he didn’t feel he could win. Heyman, in a very long-winded way, denied that and said Lesnar would turn the Rumble into his own Suplex City. Jericho asked what would happen if it came down to only Jericho and Lesnar at the end of the Rumble on Sunday, and what would happen if Jericho threw Lesnar out to become a 7-time World Champion. Really wasn’t much of a reaction to that line because it’s been so long since Jericho has been a champion and a regular.
This finally brought out Lesnar to a very tepid reaction. Reigns walked out after Lesnar got to ringside. Lesnar took a lap around the ring to buildup a showdown with Reigns. Once Lesnar got in the ring, Reigns immediately speared him. The League of Nations ran down to jump Reigns. Jericho vanished at this point. Lesnar gave Rusev a German Suplex. Del Rio and Sheamus ran after Lesnar. Boy did Del Rio and Lesnar have a confrontation that looked awkward. It appeared like Del Rio wanted to get a little offense in, and Lesnar wasn’t willing. Lesnar ultimately gave Del Rio another German Suplex and Sheamus the F-5. At that point, Reigns got up and hit another spear on Lesnar, which got a few boos.
Then the Wyatts came down to ringside, with Harper giving Reigns a clothesline. Wyatt gave Reigns Sister Abigail. At that point, Lesnar got up, and Harper gave him a big boot. Erick Rowan followed with a spin kick, Strowman hit Lesnar with a clothesline. Wyatt finished off Lesnar with another Sister Abigail. And that was it. No Lesnar comeback. No Reigns comeback.
SUMMARY:
The entire show was built around the main event. Certainly it was strange to see the Wyatt Family, who have been on the backburner ever since the Undertaker/Kane feud at the Survivor Series, finish off the go-home show to the Royal Rumble standing over the company’s top babyface. But beggers can’t be choosy at this point. Not when the WWE needs top heels. Since they’re unwilling to take chances on people like Breeze, they turn back to the Wyatts, though it seems like that well has run dry. It remains to be seen if the company can make Owens a money-drawing heel, or if they position him that way. It was another dead crowd tonight and a lackluster show overall.
Kalisto is the new U.S. Champion after upsetting Alberto Del Rio. Brock Lesnar, despite protests from Paul Heyman, will be in the Royal Rumble. Basically, Heyman lost a negotiation with the McMahons to have Brock main event WrestleMania and skip winning the Rumble.
Show Recap:
Various members of the roster where on the stage when Vince and Stephanie McMahon came out, so I was wrong about Vince and Stephanie wanting to avoid the CFP title game. The New Day danced to Vince’s music. Vince said one of the 29 men on stage were going to be the next WWE World Heavyweight Champion. You had people like Fandango, Damien Sandow (back in his old wardrobe), R-Truth and Stardust out there. Vince singled out Dolph Ziggler for possibly reaching out for the brass ring. You’d think he’d drop that phrase at some point. Stephanie mentioned Kevin Owens possibly concluding the best first year in company history.
Then the Wyatt Family appeared, with Bray Wyatt appearing at the announcer’s desk and repeating his “Anyone but you” Roman catchphrase. Roman Reigns came down. Reigns asked Vince “What happens if I win?” Stephanie laughed and called him delusional. Vince said he wanted to give Roman a chance in a match called a “1 vs. All” match, where Reigns would face as many as 2/3rds of the roster tonight. Stephanie mentioned Reigns could face his brother Dean Ambrose, but Vince corrected her and said Ambrose already was booked in a match. At that point, Sheamus hit Ambrose from behind, and Vince announced Sheamus as Ambrose’s opponent in a match that started immediately.
WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose and Sheamus went to a double countout (14:08)
Sheamus took the match to the outside, where he threw Ambrose into the barricade several times. Ambrose turned things around and sent Sheamus into the post twice, the last of which led to Sheamus bleeding heavily. Apparently, Brock Lesnar gave Sheamus lessons on how to run into the post entirely too hard before the show. Ambrose cleared the announcer’s table like he was going to put Sheamus through it when Owens ran out and jumped him. Owens left Ambrose laying again with punches and tried to power bomb him through the table before he was pulled off by the referees. Match was strung together well but the crowd lost interest by the end.
Rene Young went to the trainer’s room to check on Ambrose, who stormed out saying he still had a pulse and that should concern Owens.
Vince and Stephanie compared dance moves in the back when they stumbled upon Paul Heyman, who put over Vince’s 1 vs. 100 concept. Heyman didn’t want Lesnar in the 1 vs. 100 match and wanted to fight in the main event of WrestleMania. Vince asked Heyman not to change his plans again. Heyman tried to talk Vince into having Brock face the winner of the Royal Rumble. Vince didn’t like the idea. Stephanie tried to keep the peace by having the two meet in private. They all gathered in a small conference room with Vince looking pissed. This is probably a scene that unfolded countless times in the runup to the last December to Dismember.
Chris Jericho will host a Highlight Reel with the New Day later tonight.
Drew Brees was in the audience. He got no reaction at all, which was shocking unless you consider he may have played his final game as a Saint.
Titus O’Neal defeated Stardust (3:23)
JBL used the match to throw in as many David Bowie references as possible, including “Ziggy Stardust” and “The Man who Fell from Earth.” Titus O’Neal won with Clash of the Titus. I could have sworn I saw this same match last week. O’Neal celebrated with the fans until Stardust, who had his face painted like Ziggy Stardust and the Spider from Mars album cover, jumped him.
Jericho came out showed off various tweets trumpeting his return and his return to the Royal Rumble. He wore a blazer with a tie and black scarf. New Day came out, with Jericho getting a nod to Lemmy saying “Overkill” and trying to get the crowd to chant “Rooty Totty Botty.” Big E. talked until the Usos showed up with their Slammys. The Usos wanted a match. Xavier Woods said the only tag team worse than the Usos were Ricky Gervais and Mel Gibson. Jericho arranged a match with Big E. and Kofi Kingston with Woods in their corner against the Usos with Jericho in their corner.
The Usos defeated Tag Team Champions The New Day (C) in a nontitle match (15:18)
Good match with Jey Uso getting the hot tag. Jey went for the splash on Kingston, but Woods distracted the referee and Kingston crotched Jey. This led to Jericho taking Woods’ trombone and blowing it full throttle in Woods’ face. Woods took a bump. Jericho then destroyed the trombone, which brought a reaction from Woods that was absolutely priceless. He acted like his pet puppy had been thrown down a well. In the midst of all this, Jey pinned Kingston with a schoolboy cradle. In the opening minutes, Woods did some ringside banter that sounded like a takeoff of HHH’s late-90s interviews. Looks like Usos vs. New Day for the tag team belts at Royal Rumble.
Michael Cole acknowledged John Cena’s shoulder injury and that he would miss WrestleMania.
Heyman and Stephanie emerged from their meeting with Vince. Stephanie said Paul was driving her father nuts. Stephanie wanted Brock in the Royal Rumble. Paul told Stephanie to tell her father that Brock Lesnar says no. Stephanie, since she has to get the last word in with any segment involving Heyman but all characters that you see on Raw are purely fictional and in no way resembles real life, told Paul that Broke would in the Royal Rumble because her father owns Brock’s contract. Paul said that would be stupid because it would telegraph the finish of the Royal Rumble two weeks early. Well, no, he said he would handle this for Stephanie.
JBL got in the ring and announced Sting as the first member of the 2016 WWE Hall of Fame. Boy, does Sting need the WWE production team to create something for him to get into the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame. Then again, they might have just done it. They had a piece that featured Kevin Hart talking about how Sting was his favorite wrestler as a child. Cena talked about how he got a blond flattop because he loved Sting in 1989. Robert Flores showed up to put him over. Seth Rollins spoke of having a Sting t-shirt. Ron Simmons talked about how he had the “it” factor. Bret Hart, Booker T and Daniel Bryan were also featured. A great package. If that wasn’t enough, they highlighted a tweet from LeBron James, congratulating Sting and saying he was one of his favorites of all time.
The Wyatt Family started to do a promo but the Social Outcasts showed up. Heath Slater said grab your penicllin because we’re going viral. It ended with Bo Dallas saying they were together like the Four Musketeers. Curtis Axel and Adam Rose looked at him like he was a geek, as if he was supposed to say “Four Horsemen.”
The Wyatt Family and Social Outcasts went to no contest (1:19)
Ryback ran in to go after the Wyatts. Social Outcasts helped Ryback, so they’re comedy babyfaces.
Kalisto, after a nontitle victory over Alberto Del Rio on SmackDown, talked about facing Del Rio for the U.S. Championship tonight. Which leads us to our new segment: “Did Josh Norman cut a better wrestling promo than any wrestler on Raw today?” And the answer is yes.
Del Rio did a prematch promo where he took credit for Cena’s injury, forcing him to miss WrestleMania season. It was such a devastating injury that they never showed how Cena got hurt. Couldn’t they do an injury angle of some sort? Instead, nothing. And they wonder why Del Rio got total silence in this promo that should have had a lot of heat. Newsletter readers and writers used to totally massacre WCW for lapses like this.
Kalisto defeated Alberto Del Rio (C) to win the U.S. Championship (15:16)
Kalisto got the surprise win after he reversed a German Suplex attempt into a victory roll for the pin. Pretty good match, but JBL’s commentary gave telegraphed the result. Del Rio didn’t look happy about losing. It was your standard big man-little man match. Kalisto tried several attempts at the Solinda del Sol, but Del Rio blocked both of them. Del Rio went for his Sh! Kick, but Kalisto rolled out of the way and hit a Frankensteiner for a near fall, one of several in the match. Kalisto tried a tope, but Del Rio threw him against the barricades, which looked liked it sucked. They came back from a commercial and Kalisto was already up, where he took another bump after missing a crossbody block.
Charlotte and Ric Flair did an interview with JoJo. Charlotte said she beat Becky Lynch “Flair and square.” Did I mention that Josh Norman promo? Charlotte said if anything, she was the victim and Lynch the villian.
Charlotte was supposed to wrestle Brie Bella, but Lynch ran out and attacked Charlotte. Lynch had to be pulled off of her. Flair then claimed Charlotte was too injured to wrestle and left with her daughter. So basically, Brie flew to New Orleans to do a ring entrance. Good work if you can get it. Lynch did a promo saying Charlotte made a promise when they started in NXT that she would never use her father to climb to the top, but that’s what she’s done. Lynch said she’s going to make Charlotte tap out and win the Divas title. Good promo.
WWE Champion Roman Reigns vs. Owens, Del Rio, Sheamus, Kingston, Big E., Woods, Konnor, Viktor, Stardust, Wyatt, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, Luke Harper, and Tyler Breeze ended in a no contest (17:18)
For the 1 vs. All match, Stephanie and Vince came out with Owens, Del Rio (why would he be out there after losing his title?), Sheamus, Kingston, Big E., Woods, Konnor, Viktor, Stardust, Wyatt, Erick Rowan, Braun Strowman, Luke Harper, and Tyler Breeze. Stephanie explained to Reigns that he would fight every one of these men until he collpased. The heels appeared confused over the rules. They started to line up on the apron like it was a tag team match. Then Vince said it would start one-on-one, so Reigns started working against Owens.
They went for about 16:00 with Owens controlling using mainly chinlocks. Crowd was totally dead and seemed to be waiting for the Lesnar run-in. Finally when Reigns started the comeback, Konnor and Viktor jumped up on the apron to collect a Superman punch. Breeze ran in to get speared. New Day, Sheamus and Del Rio ran in to attack Reigns. Del Rio gave him a Superkick and Sheamus followed with a Brogue Kick.
Finally Lesnar’s music played. Cole, the genius, thought Lesnar was going to help the heels. Of course, he destroyed the New Day, Del Rio and Sheamus. The Wyatt Family just watched the whole time and simply went to the back. Lesnar pulled Reigns to the center of the ring, then pulled him up and gave him an F-5. Crowd didn’t seem to know how to react. Reigns recovered enough to give Lesnar a smirk as he left, and it’s clear that Lesnar and Reigns will be in the Royal Rumble for a showdown of some sort.
SUMMARY: Final hour was poorly booked. If the Kalisto title change is going to happen, it needs to happen next week when more people are watching. It also needs to last a few months in order to get him over. Del Rio is already getting a rematch on SmackDown. If they change the title right back, it was get Kalisto under. Either way, it does nothing for Del Rio. The company hasn’t clue one how to get him over, which shouldn’t be the case if they’re paying him seven figures.
The 1 vs. All concept was a bad idea because if Reigns was going with the odds stacked against him, why were most of the heels previously in matches on this show? And why were the ones who weren’t jobbers? The rules were vague and all but told the audience that Lesnar running in was going to end the show. Which was fine, as long as we didn’t have to wait through 16:00 of rest holds. First two hours were good.
Post-Show Notes (Thanks Collin Makamson):
– The two ‘trainers’ in the backstage segment were Wild Card J Spade and Luke Hawx, owner and promoter of the local Wildkat Sports.
– After the cameras went off, Roman recovered from his beatdown and laid out the New Day.
They opened with two matches taped for a show called WWE Kids. The idea is that Corey Graves announces with two kids and that kids handle the interviews and ring announcing. One of the ring announcers was Izzy, the Bayley fan who had been featured on TV during her matches the last several months.
Becky Lynch beat Natalya
Big Show beat Heath Slater
NXT for January 13, 2016:
William Regal announces a battle royal with the winner getting a shot at Bayley’s championship. Sami Zayn came out, not to enter the battle royal, but to challenge Finn Balor for the NXT title. Samoa Joe came out so this set up Zayn vs. Joe. Baron Corbin then came out and it set up a three-way for the next title shot.
Tommaso Ciampa beat Danny Burch
Dash & Dawson beat The Ascension
Elias Sampson beat Corey Hollis
Carmella won the battle royal. Eva Marie stayed outside the ring and they teased she had won, but Carmella was never eliminated and threw her out. Bayley and Carmella celebrated after the match.
NXT for January 20, 2016:
Sami Zayn beat Adam Rose
Apollo Crews beat Tye Dillinger. Crews then issued challenge to Finn Balor, saying he just wanted a match with him now and it’s not about the title.
Baron Corbin pinned Rich Swann with the End of Days
Bayley & Carmella beat Alexa Bliss & Emma. They celebrate like best friends (which they are in real life)
Samoa Joe beat Johnny Gargano
NXT for January 27, 2016:
Chad Gable & Jason Jordan came out with the new name American Alpha. they beat Blake & Murphy with the double team back suplex.
Nia Jax beat Liv Morgan. Nia Jax & Eva Marie are together as a unit.
Alex Riley (first match back after knee surgery) beat Bull Dempsey
Elias Sampson beat John Skyler
#1 contender’s match: Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin saw Zayn put Corbin the sharpshooter and Joe put Corbin in the crossface. Corbin tapped out, but the question was who did he tap out to, which will lead to a Zayn vs. Joe singles match for the shot.
NXT for 2/3
The Vaudevillains beat Mojo Rawley & Zack Ryder
Carmella beat Emma
Enzo Amore & Big Cass beat ?
Asuka beat Santana Garrett
NXT Champion Finn Balor beat Apollo Crews in a non-title match.
The newly-formed Social Outcasts open the show to successfully live down Monday night’s abysmal introductory promo. They enter to Heath Slater’s theme, which does nothing to dispel assumptions that this grouping will be 4MB in all but name. The graphic at the bottom of the screen suggests that there will be no hashtag in the faction’s title; however, one is prominently featured on their bland (and presumably placeholding) TitanTron video.
Slater beings by screaming: “Forever trending baby, Social Outcasts!” before encouraging the WWE Universe to take their penicillin…as he and his cronies are about to go viral. What chance have we got against anitbiotic-resistant bacteria when opinion-moulders like Slater are peddling misinformation like this? Shameful.
Adam Rose leans in to bring the weirdness again. He talks in floral metaphors before throwing off his spectacles and announcing to the world that he does in fact have 20/20 vision. Okay.
Slater goes to start flapping his gums again, but becomes distracted by Curtis Axel’s frantic pacing in the background. This allows Bo to jump in, telling us that poor Curtis may be very upset, but he is about to release some of that inner anger on The Usos. Bo states that he and his new jobber pals will be “walking the path of success together”. He then goes to deliver his catchphrase, only for the Usos’ theme to cut him off mid-sentence.
Jimmy shouts “Whoa!” like a million times, which somehow manages to get roughly five of this previously dead-silent Laredo crowd to chant along with him. The Usos clearly have taken issue with their names being mentioned in anger. Bo attempts to receive them with a friendly handshake as they climb into the ring, only for Axel to attack them and ruin the gesture. What a hothead. Predictably, Jimmy and Jey get the upper hand and clean house, leaving the Social Outcasts to run up the ramp and lick their wounds ahead of tonight’s featured contest. Yay.
– More promo “goodness” on an unusually talk-heavy installment of Main Event, as we get one of those “awesome” promos from the Star Room, in which Stardust says some cryptic things that may or may not be directed at his opponent for the night, Titus O’Neil.
Titus O’Neil def. Stardust by pinfall
This, of course, is a rematch from RAW the previous night, where Titus emerged victorious from a nothing match. We get an inset promo from The Big Deal as he makes his entrance, in which he tells us that 2016 will be his year. He said the same thing almost exactly two years ago – the last time the Prime Time Players went their separate ways. That didn’t go well. Remember Slater Gator?
Rich Brennan helpfully reminds us of the now-forgotten storyline of Titus attempting to get Stardust to drop this stupid gimmick. God forbid the matches have any actual motivation behind them or anything.
Titus’ weaknesses are masked by keeping this one short. Usual overhand chops in the corner to start, before Stardust works the left arm for a while for some reason. A missed crossbody off the top from Stardust leads into the comeback, as Titus hits the Pay Check, the Stinger Splash and the Clash of the Titus for the win.
Tyler Breeze def. Zack Ryder by pinfall
It’s hilarious that this aired just two days after the Breaking Ground season finale, in which Tyler’s triumphant promotion to the main roster was highlighted. What an unmitigated failure that has been. Breeze, of course, made his entrance alone here, after last week’s amicable parting of the ways with Summer Rae on Smackdown. Ugh.
These two only get three minutes to do their thing. Breeze escapes a Broski Boot by slipping under the bottom rope, only to eat a baseball slide for his troubles. Back in, and Ryder hits a running forearm in the corner. He goes up for the ten-punch, but gets crotched, which allows Breeze to – awkwardly – tie him up for the Unprettier and the win. I absolutely hate that finish, the aptness of its name in this instance notwithstanding.
– RAW Rebound: Focusing on the Roman/Vince developments and conveniently editing out Vince’s unbelievable botch before Scott Armstrong’s arrival on the scene.
The Usos def. Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel (w/ Heath Slater and Adam Rose)
Jerry Lawler, who joins Rich on commentary this week, speculates that Dallas may be the leader of this motley crew, as Dallas gets beaten on by Jimmy in the early going. Hands up who isn’t surprised that Jerry doesn’t know what Heath Slater’s music sounds like? Rich corrects him, to his credit, but of course Jerry no-sells the error.
Bo prevents getting tossed over the top rope, slipping under it limbo-style instead. He feels that this merits a well-earned victory lap. And is excitedly joined by the other three in what can only be described as a conga line of the damned. Slater air-guitars and Axel screams loudly. The crowd is silent.
Jimmy and Jey greet the completion of said victory lap with stereo dives to Bo and Axel leading into the final commercial break. We come back with Jey as your babyface-in-peril. He gets worked on for a while, also eating a cheap shot from Heath while the referee is distracted.
We eventually get what might charitably be referred to as a lukewarm tag to Jimmy, who cleans house with the usual samoan drop/hip attack/superkick offence. He goes up top to hit the Superfly Splash on Bo, only to get distracted by Slater’s presence on the apron. Jimmy chases him off, allowing Bo to catch him with an O’Connor Roll. Jimmy reverses it however, for the pinfall victory. So, the Social Outcasts’ unbeaten run lasts a whole 24 hours from inception, rendering Heath’s victory over Dolph Ziggler even more pointless. And tonight’s failed distraction finish makes Ziggler look like even more of an idiot for his part in the end of Monday’s match.
Final Thoughts:
Under ten minutes of in-ring action prior to the featured contest makes this an unusually promo-heavy edition of Main Event. The Social Outcasts opened the show with a chance to shine on the mic. They didn’t. But they did sustain their first loss as a group, only 24 hours after coalescing. 4MB it is, then. I hope Curtis, Bo and Adam have saved their money.
Smackdown spoilers from tonight in Laredo for the first show on the USA Network Thursday night:
The announcing team was Mauro Ranallo, Jerry Lawler and Byron Saxton.
John Cena came out and issued a challenge to Alberto Del Rio for the U.S. title, coming off the finish of their Raw match last week. Del Rio refused to give Cena another title match.
Kalisto pinned Del Rio in a non-title match. Said to be really good.
The Miz had a Miz TV segment. The New Day came out and they started complaining about Chris Jericho. Dolph Ziggler then came out and was backed up by Goldust, R-Truth and Neville.
This led to an eight-man tag where Ziggler & Goldust & R-Truth & Neville beat The New Day & Miz.
Charlotte beat Becky Lynch to retain the Divas title due to outside help from her father.
Dean Ambrose went to a double count out to retain the IC title in a match with Kevin Owens.
The Big Takeaway: Roman Reigns defeated Sheamus to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a match where Vince McMahon was special referee. Of course, it wasn’t Vince who counted the pinfall. Afterwards, Vince announced that Reigns would defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the Royal Rumble match itself. It’s the first time since 1992 that the championship will be on the line in the Royal Rumble match. Chris Jericho returned in a disappointing segment with New Day. Brock Lesnar returns next week.
Show Recap:
Stephanie McMahon started to come out but Roman Reigns’ music played as she was making her entrance. So they were in the ring together. Reigns said they didn’t need her out there, it was about Vince McMahon, who he called out. Stephanie said Vince wasn’t in the building yet, and the odds weren’t in his favor tonight. Reigns said the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was his life because it’s how he supports his family. Stephanie said no one competes with Vince McMahon and wins in the end. She mentioned the charges against Vince from last week have been dropped because you can’t keep a good billionaire down. Well, multi-millionaire.
Stephanie said once Reigns loses the championship tonight, she’ll use him over and over until his body wears out. Reigns said if Vince screws him over tonight, Stephanie won’t be picking him up from jail, she’ll be picking him up from the hospital.
Dean Ambrose came out to do commentary for the match with Kevin Owens and Neville. Reigns waited through a video package to slap hands with him, which may be foreboding the Ambrose turn we’ve waited months for.
Brock Lesnar is back next Monday in New Orleans. Another example of buidling things a week in advance. Next week is also the College Football Playoff National Championship game with Clemson vs. Alabama. Considering how disappointing the CFP semifinal ratings were, it’ll be interesting to see how much of a hit Raw will take.
Kevin Owens defeated Neville (9:13)
Solid match. Kevin Owens won after he crotched Neville on the top rope. He finished Neville off with the Pop-Up Power Bomb. Neville did a 450 from the apron to the floor. Neville is still carrying around his Slammy for Newcomer of the Year. Strikes me as odd since that was usually a heel move in the past, namely with Owen Hart. JBL compared Neville to Too Cold Scorpio and Owens to Otto Wanz in the span of 30 seconds.
Owens tried to attack Neville afterwards, but Ambrose stopped it with a tope. Well, it was a tope that he largely whiffed on. They fought to the announcers table, where Owens teased power bombing Ambrose through the table again. Instead, Ambrose turned the tables and gave Owens an elbow drop off the barricade through the table.
Vince walked out of a limousine where Jojo stopped him. Vince said the charges against him were dropped because he has a good attorney. The irony of it all is last week he was arrested by the law, and this week he is the law.
They showed a vignette to promote the Taratino movie The Hateful Eight counting down the eight superstars people love to hate. Number three was Owens. Number 2 was the New Day (?). And tops was Sheamus. Only if Vince was doing the countdown, which may have been the case.
Titus O’Neal defeated Stardust (4:14)
Titus O’Neal won with the Clash of the Titus. Of all the matches I’ve seen, this was the most recent one.
Charlotte approached Becky Lynch backstage. The two are wrestling tonight and Charlotte wasn’t happy about it. She asked Lynch if she asked for the rematch. Lynch said she didn’t, but she was excited about it. Charlotte said she had already beaten Lynch once on Raw. They agreed to meet again tonight in the spirit of competition. Ric Flair came up from behind Lynch and made her jump when he yelled “Whoo!” I don’t want to ask why Flair would have been waiting behind Lynch for so long, but I can speculate.
Becky Lynch defeated Charlotte (C) in a nontitle match (10:45)
They teased the finish from November where Flair tried to trip Lynch, leading to Charlotte winning via schoolgirl cradle. Except this time, Lynch escaped the cradle and pinned Charlotte with a Oklahoma Side Roll while holding the trunks. To complete the heel turn, Charlotte attacked Lynch in the postmatch, giving Lynch a spear and laying the boots to her. Flair cheered her on. They wrestled scientifically until Charlotte leveled Lynch with a punch. Charlotte was a straight heel from that point forward.
McMahon talked with Sheamus backstage to explain prefight instructions. No biting, no outside interference, no low blows and to obey his commands. McMahon added with a grin “may the luck of the Irish be with you.”
Ryback and the Big Show went to a no contest (1:04)
Ryback was tossed over the top rope by the Big Show when the Wyatt Family appeared. Braun Strowman put Ryback out with the choke. Then the Wyatts surrounded the ring on Show, who clotheslined Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. Strowman had a staredown with Show that was supposed to generate heat, but didn’t. The three heels jumped Show from behind and Harper left Show laying with a superkick. Looks like another babyface turn for Big Show, who has to hold the all-time record by now.
Rusev and Alberto Del Rio defeated the Usos (13:21)
Alberto Del Rio pinned Jimmy Uso with the top rope stomp. Very good match. Earlier, Del Rio had Jey Uso set up for the stomp, but somehow missed. Jimmy followed with a top rope splash that was broken up by Rusev in the first of several good near falls. Rusev gave Jey Uso a belly-to-belly superplex for the heat. Again, no Lana and no mention of her, except by the crowd.
Heath Slater pinned Dolph Ziggler (4:37)
Heath Slater was joined by Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas and Adam Rose. Can someone explain where Damien Sandow is and why isn’t he on my TV? Slater, who has a haircut, won after Rose and Axel distracted Dolph Ziggler, and Slater won with a rollup.
Postmatch, Rose, Axel, Slater and Dallas cut promos invidually. They’ve now started a group called “Social Outcasts.”
Ziggler cut a inset promo about being in the Royal Rumble. For a better promo, search “Josh Norman” under Youtube. The sad part is Josh Norman is not a pro wrestler. He’s a cornerback for the Carolina Panthers who cuts better promos than anyone in pro wrestling aside from Paul Heyman. That’s exhilarating and depressing all at once.
Steve Austin will have Flair on his podcast next week.
Vince approached Reigns backstage. Vince, again playing the role of John McCarthy, had a rules meeting with him. Vince didn’t wish him good luck as he left.
The New Day, which has a new video that features them in animated form riding unicorns with rainbows in the background, came out. Big E. laughed over Mike Tyson falling down while riding a Hoverboard. Then they pointed to the TitonTron, where they started to have a countdown. But the countdown was interrupted by Chris Jericho’s countdown, who came out to a good, but not great, pop.
No one remembered Jericho going heel at Night of Champions on Ambrose and Reigns. He did various catchphrases before Xavier Woods stopped him saying they’ve already saved the WWE in 2015. Jericho said live attendance, ratings and WWE Network numbers need a boost. That was weird. He called them Green Day and tried to get fans to chant “Rooty Tooty Booty.” That sounded cringeworthy but the fans chanted it as long as New Day was out there. Jericho announced that he would be in the Royal Rumble. Of all the Jericho returns, this was easily the least remarkable and felt flat. Feels like New Day needs a new spark because they’ve hit a dry spell.
The New Day defeated The Dudley Boyz and Kalisto (16:36)
Big E. pinned Devon Dudley after the Midnight Hour. Your weekly six-man match that went too long. Bubba Ray Dudley threw Kalisto onto all three members of New Day outside the ring. Kalisto was taken out by Big E. at ringside. The Dudleys tried to set up Wazzup on Kofi Kingston, but Woods broke it up by dumping Devon to the mat.
Vince came out where the tightest referee t-shirt imaginable for any 70-year-old that has the physique that he has. Apparently, he’s not counting on Al-Jazerra calling anytime soon. He did look a little skinnier. Somebody had a “Cranky Vince” sign that lasted about as long as one of Kim Kardashian’s undershirts. That twitter account hasn’t been updated in over two years.
Roman Reigns (C) defeated Sheamus to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship with Vince McMahon as special referee (18:17)
Vince played heel ref from the start, trying to fast count Reigns. Sheamus threw Reigns into the ring steps, then threw the steps at him. He later suplexed Reigns onto the announcer’s table. Sheamus used a Rolling Senton for a two count. When Reigns covered Sheamus after a Samoan Drop, Vince counted slower than the Great Kabuki’s ring entrance this morning. Then Reigns had the cover with a Backland lift, but Vince faked an eye injury. Reigns hit the Superman punch, but Vince didn’t even count. He was still faster than Bronco Lubich. Reigns told Vince “Watch this.” He teased giving Sheamus the Superman punch, but instead he punched Vince. Then Reigns speared Sheamus and pinned him, but no ref.
An incensed Reigns threw Sheamus over the announcer’s table as Vince recovered. Vince try to scramble away but Reigns threw him down and told him Vince was screwing with his life. Stephanie came out. Reigns threw Vince into the ropes, and Stephanie wound up rebounding into the ring. Reigns stalked over her but she got out of the ring. Reigns teased spearing Vince, Sheamus came back in the ring and hit Reigns with two Brogue kicks. For some reason, Vince didn’t count Sheamus out. Instead, Scott Armstrong ran out. It was explained that Armstrong was a heel referee who had worked with the Authority for years. Who remembers that? He hasn’t been on TV in years. Reigns kicked out.
Armstrong then held Reigns up for Sheamus to Brogue Kick him again. But Reigns sidestepped him, hit Armstrong with a Superman’s punch, flattened Sheamus with another Superman’s punch. Referee John Coleman (they actually identified him on TV) ran down and counted the pin for Reigns.
Vince knocked down Coleman. Vince’s physique looks great. As for his punches, all I can say his physqiue looks great. Afterwards, he announced that Reigns would defend the title in the Royal Rumble match against 29 other men.
SUMMARY: Since the horrendous show a month ago when I said that Reigns wasn’t the guy, the WWE has booked him very well. He’ll be the first man ever to defend the WWE Championship in a Royal Rumble. If he emerges with the belt, it’ll make him all that much stronger. Not sure what other option makes sense. A pretty good show.
