Saturday, November 26th, 2022
TD Garden
Boston, Massachusetts
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
We get an Ozzy Osbourne appearance for the hype video for War Games. This is pretty sweet. The sirens are sounding and the cages are lowering. Michael Cole talks about Crockett Promotions and lists off the competitors of the debut match.
Women's War Games Match
Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Mia Yim & Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley, Nikki Cross, Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky & Bayley
Dakota Kai and Bianca are starting the match off and Bayley's team has the advantage. They go back and forth until Kai is able to hit a running boot to the face and into the cage to a seated Bianca. Bianca is able to slow her down and hits a vertical suplex. Dakota hits a handstand kick, but Bianca catches her and slams her face first into the mat. She starts using the cage and out comes Sky. Sky hits a dropkick and eventually hits a leaping headscissors. Bianca is now in between the two rings with opponents on goth sides. Sky hits a crossbody through the ropes and they hit her with a series of moves in the corner. Sky has two odd mistakes where she isn't able to hit her kick because of the cage. Even when she hit it, it looked off. Sky comes back with a springboard missile dropkick and now it's time for Asuka to make her entrance. Her and Sky battle and Sky is just off today. Asuka isn't and she hits a hip attack and a series of kicks and spinning backhands. Asuka and Dakota start to battle on separate top ropes and then Bianca press slams her into the cage. Nikki Cross is the next partner in and she grabs some kendo sticks and garbage can lids. Asuka tries to come over, but she gets her head slammed by the door. Nikki hits a tornado DDT on Bianca. They dominate until it's time for Alexa Bliss to make her entrance. She makes a quick impact and she and Asuka team up to knock out Sky and Cross. Cross grabs a stick, but Bianca takes it away and cracks it on her knee. Cross starts to climb the cage while everyone starts swinging kendo sticks. Cross hits a flying crossbody off the top rope to knock out every single woman in the ring. It's now time for Bayley to make her entrance. She goes under the ring and grabs herself a ladder. After tossing that one in, she goes ahead and grabs a second ladder. The crowd chants for tables and Bayley delivers. They set up a table in between the two rings and slide it into the midsection of Bianca. Mia Yim comes down and tosses in a couple of garbage cans. She chucks one at a leaping Kai and slams Sky on a lid to her throat. Yim hits a suicide dive through the ropes into Bayley. All 8 women are battling up on a corner and Bianca hits a superplex and then Yim, Bliss and Asuka follow. It's now time for Rhea Ripley. She catches a diving Bliss and turns it into a vertical suplex. Yim is able to kick out Ripley's legs and then hits a somersault dive into a trash can in the corner. Sky hits Yim in the head with a trash can lid and now it's time for Becky Lynch. The match has officially begun. Becky puts a trash can on Sky and hits a guillotine leg drop. Becky duels Bayley and gets the best of her, but now she tries to go after Ripley. Bayley is able to assist and we have our first pinfall attempt. Bayley is able to hit the Rose Plant on the steel between the rings for a 2 count. Sky is trying to climb up the corner and it leads us to tower of doom spot, but Cross stops it from happening with a kendo stick shot to Bianca. Bayley takes an ugly looking spot from Bianca and then Sky hits a moonsault from the top rope on Bianca and Yim. Cross grabs some handcuffs and puts them on Bliss. Bliss blocks her from putting her on the rope and handcuffs herself to Nikki before hitting an electric chair onto a garbage can. Asuka hits a Code Breaker, but then Riple catches her and slams her into the cage. Yim is on the back of Ripley and she drives her into the ladder in the corner and it breaks in a cool spot. We now have a face off between Damage Control and Becky and Bianca. They start brawling and Bianca goes for the KOD. Dakota gets out but Becky hits the Man Slam. Bianca hits the KOD on Sky and now they set up a table. Becky climbs up to the top while Bianca holds Dakota on the table. Bayley starts climbing, but Bianca pulls her off and hits a KOD into the cage. Becky hits a leg drop onto Sky and Kai through the table and picks up the victory. That was a pretty crazy spot there. The match itself was a little all over the place. They put in the effort to make this entertaining and as far as that goes they succeeded. With any match like this, there were plenty of sloppy spots and moments where it was just too unnatural. It was entertaining, but I wouldn't necessarily be dying to watch this again soon.
Match Rating: ***1/2
They show a clip of Jey Uso spying on a conversation between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens from SmackDown. Jey and Roman Reigns talk about it backstage with Paul Heyman just sitting in the background. Roman asks Heyman to bring in Zayn.
Finn Balor vs. AJ Styles
First we get a Crockett Promotions recap and now we're getting Kushida references. This match is essentially the equivalent of Roddy Piper/Hulk Hogan at Starrcade 1996 as far as their age goes. Styles goes for a sunset flip, but Balor is able to roll through and hits a dropkick. After some wearing down done by Balor, AJ hits a forearm to a seated Balor. Styles is able to snap Balor's leg on the middle rope and he's looking for the Phenomenal Forearm. Dominik Mysterio gets involved and we have a brawl on the outside. They go through the crowd and we have some pin attempts in the ring. Balor hits a Sling Blade and we get some more back and forth action. Balor goes for a Styles Clash, but Styles counters it into a Calf Crusher. We get some Pele kicks and both men are down. It's not even 9:30 yet and I'm battling to stay awake here. Balor catches Styles and hits a gut buster for a 2 count. They continue to go at it and honestly, I'm enjoying just watching this one. AJ hits the Phenomenal Forearm and that's all. I'm not sure where they are going with the story, but I am surprised that Styles won here. The match featured a lot of good action and I'm glad they got the interference out of the match.
Match Rating: ***1/2
SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Shotzi vs. Ronda Rousey
This one just feels like a time filler on a card that's already going to run long with only 5 matches. Shotzi starts off hot and goes for a dive through the ropes, but Shayna Baszler moves Ronda and takes the blow. Shotzi hits a weird looking dive off the top rope and Ronda kind of hits a suplex off of it. Ronda puts on the Ankle Lock, but Shotzi hits an enzuigiri. Shotzi hits a right hand on the apron and stuns Rousey. She then hits some sort of awkward looking move. We get some shenanigans with Baszler and Shotzi takes them both out and into the crowd. Shotzi hits a dive onto both of them and they land on some "fans" in the front row, knocking them all to the floor. I'm pretty sure Shotzi should have lost by countout there. Ronda shifts the momentum and locks in the arm bar for the victory. I don't think Shotzi will be getting many more pay-per-view title matches any time soon.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Sami Zayn is finally there to talk to Roman. He asks Sami if he was talking to KO and he confesses that he did. Roman asks why he lied to Jey and Sami says it was because he didn't want that on Jey's mind before his match. He says that it was really Owens talking to him and he was only listening and that's all. It leads to the two hugging.
Triple Threat Match For The United States Championship
Bobby Lashley vs. Austin Theory vs. Seth Rollins
It feels like Rollins may be the most over person on the roster. Lashley sends Theory to the floor instantly and we have Rollins and Lashley going at it now. Theory trips Rollins up off the apron and throws him into the barricade. Theory tries to take it to Lashley, but he ends up eating a vertical suplex. Lashley is able to take care of Rollins too and then hits a combo move on them both at the same time. We get some brawling on the outside and it leads to Theory bringing it to Rollins in the ring. He sneaks outside and makes sure Lashley is still down and out. If you didn't know that Theory had a new attitude, Michael Cole has let us know 372 times. Rollins hits a somersault dive onto both (sort of) and the crowd loves it. Rollins hits a sit down power bomb, but Theory kicks out. I'll be honest, I'm enjoying just watching this one and not really feeling like typing. We're getting lots of fun spots though where all three men are involved. Rollins runs off the back of Theory and hits the Stomp on Lashley. Rollins and Theory are up top and Rollins hits a superplex. Rollins rolls through for the Falcon Arrow, but Lashley hits the Spear. Theory falls on top and picks up the victory. Once again, I will live up to my self-proclaimed reputation of Mr. Triple Threat.
Match Rating: ****
Men's War Games Match
Roman Reigns, Usos, Solo Sikoa & Sami Zayn vs. Sheamus, Ridge Holland, Butch, Drew McIntyre & Kevin Owens
It's Jey and Butch to kick this match off and Sheamus's team has the advantage. Before I know it, the countdown is over and Ridge is in. I wonder if he played rugby with Antonio Cesaro? The Brawling Brutes are double teaming Jey and the crowd isn't really as into it as they should be. It's time for Jimmy Uso to come out, but Roman decides that it's going to be Zayn instead. The crowd starts chanting "Sami Uso", which is music to my ears. Zayn geos after Holland and hits a frantic series of stomps while basically running on him between the two rings. Zayn and Uso work together, but they don't trust each other. Butch hits a moonsault on both men and then Ridge flips both men over at the same time. Sami pulls Jey out of the way of a charging Ridge and he hits the cage. Drew McIntyre is coming out next and he is attacked by both opponents, but he fends them off and starts throwing Jey into the cage. He catches Zayn off the top rope and hits a belly-to-belly overhead suplex. He hits a big spinebuster on Jey and then sets him up top. He goes for a superplex, but Sami makes the save. Ridge throws Zayn into the cage and Drew ends up being in the tree of woe, but pulling himself up to throw Jey off the top. Jimmy Uso makes his way down to the ring now. He goes under the ring and grabs a table. Make it three. Not a whole lot happens in this segment and now Kevin Owens is out to grab some chairs. I was kind of hoping they'd go weapon free in this one. He unloads on the Usos with the chair and then hits a cannonball on Jey. He follows it up with the Swanton and then throws a chair at Jimmy. Owens slams Jimmy through a table in what feels like a premature spot. Michael Cole is having a rough time on this match with Corey correcting him a lot. Solo Sikoa is out to even the score. This is my first time watching Solo wrestle. He hits a Samoan drop and then he and Owens meet between the rings and start nailing each other with right hands. Owens slams him into the cage and then gets hit with two superkicks. Owens goes for a powerbomb, but Sikoa hits a back body drop. Drew invites Solo to come his way. McIntyre and he clash and now everyone in the ring is on the mat. Out comes Sheamus as the final member of his team. Zayn grabs the door before Sheamus can get in, but he ends up getting the door slammed on him. Sheamus hits a double clothesline off the top rope on both Usos. Sheamus hits White Noise off the second rope and now it's time for Roman Reigns. The all out brawl has begun. Roman hits a big uppercut on everyone and then hits the Superman punch on Sheamus. He goes for the Spear, but Sheamus kicks him in the face. Sheamus's team all hit the Ten Beats Of Bodhran in a fun spot. Sheamus hits a Brogue Kick, but then gets hit with a Spear for a 2 count. Butch ducks and Zayn gets hit by a superkick. The Usos hit a 1D off the second rope, but Ridge makes the save. He gets hit with a double superkick and then gets hit with a Roman Spear through the table in the corner. Solo hits a suplex through a table on Drew and Owens hits a Stunner on him for a 2 count. Now Owens and Reigns square off. They start slugging it out and Reigns hits the Superman Punch. Owens blocks a Spear and hits the Pop Up Powerbomb and Stunner, but Zayn stops the referee's count. Zayn and Owens stare each other down. He blocks an Uso superkick, but Zayn gets on his knees and hits him with a low blow. Zayn is second guessing himself, but then hits the Helluva Kick on Owens. Jey hits a top rope splash and that's all. I didn't think a turn was happening here, as the story is going too well for them to pull the trigger here. I'd really love for them to trim a little bit of time off of these War Games matches, especially if they are going to do two in one night. Sami Zayn continues to be the best character on WWE TV and he hugs Roman after the match. He celebrates with the Usos and Zayn is on fire.
Match Rating: ***3/4
This was a really good show that really was only weighed down by the Women's match and the fact that there were two really lengthy matches that were similar. The main event featured fantastic storytelling and was the more memorable one as a result. The triple threat won't get any hype, but I loved it. This was the best show of the Triple H era by quite a bit.
Overall Rating: 80%
No comments:
Post a Comment