Original Airdate: Saturday, November 21st, 1992
Hullman Center
Terre Haute, Indiana
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
WWF Championship Match
Virgil vs. Bret Hart
We are getting a rare WWF Championship match here on Superstars. In typical Hitman fashion, he gives Virgil a fair amount of offense, including one of the weaker monkey flips I have seen. Virgil misses a crossbody off the second rope and Hart immediately puts him in the Sharpshooter for the victory. If they were going to let Virgil get that much offense, it would have probably been better had it been a little bit longer. They shake after the match.
Match Rating: * (out of 5)
Mean Gene is here with the biggest update in recent history. Ultimate Warrior is out of the main event of the Survivor Series. They show a clip from Prime Time of Randy Savage saying Mr. Perfect is going to be his partner, as Bobby Heenan and Perfect laugh it off. We then get another interview of Savage saying he doesn't like Perfect, but he is the best partner. This turn really makes no sense, but I guess we're going for it.
Back to the arena and Heenan is furious about the news.
Todd Becker vs. Yokozuna
Vince and Heenan continue to talk about the Perfect news. Meanwhile, Yokozuna continues to impress at his much lighter weight here. The dude was incredibly agile for this era at that size. Another impressive squash here. The rocket would be strapped soon.
Match Rating: 1/4*
It's time to go to the Event Center with Sean Mooney. Yokozuna has signed an open contract for Survivor Series. The Natural Disasters and Nasty Boys do a lot of yelling while Typhoon just bobs his head like the Red Rooster. Kamala and his crew talk about the big casket match.
Now we get an Update with Lord Alfred Hayes. They show highlights of the Intercontinental match from Saturday Night's Main Event. They then show Bret Hart vs. Papa Shango. Then they show the interview of Bret and Shawn from SNME. Alfred was not good at this job at all.
Steve Walker & Mike Kramer vs. Natural Disasters
I can't even imagine wrestling Twitter during this era. The amount that has changed in the past few weeks is pretty crazy. Vince makes mention of the Survivor Series Showdown for the first time. The big guys destroy the poor jobbers, who are a bit bigger than your run of the mill jobbers.
Match Rating: 1/4*
We are in full hype mode today and it's now Survivor Series Report time. He talks about the big tag team match. Razor says nothing has changed, but Flair is furious and is a total maniac here. Nailz says it is his turn for revenge and Boss Man tells Nailz he will serve hard time. A new match is announce between High Energy and the Headshrinkers. We get a second Harvey Wippleman interview for some reason and he says this will be Undertakers last coffin match.
Bam Bam Bigelow says he will make his debut next week.
Barry Horowitz vs. Lance Cassidy
Cassidy's cup of coffee continues here. Doink is out again with a hammer. Cassidy never had a chance to make it here. He gets pretty aggressive with a series of kicks to the chest and then hits a clothesline off the top rope. Doink is shown again in the crowd and that's it.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Back to Sean Mooney and we are talking about Survivor Series again. High Energy says that the Headshrinkers have never seen anything like them before. Martel says that Tatanka will get his first loss Wednesday night. Tatanka says he will take back his eagle feathers back.
Heenan says that this will be the Perfect pay-per-view here Wednesday as Perfect will be gone. Vince says we may see the Perfect funeral, which sounds like a good selling point for parents on the fence about ordering it for their children. We go back to Undertaker's workshop to unveil Kamala's casket, which Undertaker comes out of and basically says that he is going to murder Kamala on live TV.
This was basically Superstars last gasp hype show before Wednesday night. I would have liked to have seen a little bit more impressive match in the opener, as that could have been fun. Other than that, they were in scramble mode trying to figure out what to do about old reliable Ultimate Warrior. The Mr. Perfect turn made no sense and didn't ultimately lead to much after this for him. This wasn't a horrible show, but there were a few too many interviews.
Overall Rating: 41%
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Monday, December 9, 2019
SmackDown 6-2-05 Review
Original Airdate: Thursday, June 2nd, 2005
Rexall Place
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Carlito's Cabana kicks off the show this week. He makes fun of the crowd and then introduces John Cena. Of course Cena makes fun of Matt Morgan's stutter and then compares him to Michael Cole. An almost 15 minute segment for Cena to announce that he and Big Show will take on Carltio and Morgan tonight.
Teddy Long is on the phone when Booker walks in with Sharmell. He does not want Sharmell taking on Kurt Angle tonight. Teddy says there is nothing he can do about it. Teddy tells him that it will now be Angle vs. Sharmell and Booker.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
15 Minute Iron Man Match
MNM vs. Charlie Haas & Hardcore Holly
After getting to watch the MNM entrance a few times now for the first time in years, it really was kind of lame with the exception of the paparazzi. It felt very unnatural for both Morrison and Mercury with their mannerisms. Regardless, I'm looking forward to this one, as I enjoyed both of their other matches so far. Calling a 15 minute match an Iron Man Match is kind of silly though. Holly took great pride in making sure he could chop Mercury as hard as he could. Holly has Mercury up for the Alabama Slam, but Morrison superkicks him and Mercury reverses it into a pinfall for the early 1-0 lead. Creative spot there. They do a commercial break and it takes 3 minutes out of the match and we miss a pinfall. IT IS A TAPED SHOW. Haas hits a nice dive over the top rope to the floor during the break, but then he got thrown into the ring post and they barely even mention how they got the second fall. Haas gets a pinfall and now it's 2-1 around the 5 minute mark. Down to about 2 minutes and Holly gets a hot tag. He slingshots Morrison over the top rope and a dropkick to Mercury gets a nearfall. Holly goes up top, but is knocked down by Nitro. MNM goes for the Snapshot, but Haas spears Morrison and then Holly hits the Alabama Slam on Mercury. Melina runs in and gets on top of Mercury to block the pin by Holly and time has expired. It's really a shame that they chose to eliminate about 3 minutes of the match, let alone the pinfall. With the exception of that, this was another good match in their series.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
We get a recap of the Eddie Guerrero/Rey Mysterio saga.
Kurt Angle is out and confronts Tazz about not doing commentary during his match last week. They show a clip of Angle's appearance in ECW with Tazz. He offers Tazz a chance to join him and end ECW.
Kurt Angle vs. Booker T & Sharmell
Booker T is obviously fired up, but Angle quickly counters it and knocks Booker T out. He goes right for Sharmell and sets her up for a powerbomb, which leads to some gyrations. Booker attacks him from behind and hits the Book End. Booker hits some chops and right hands, but Angle goes right into three German suplexes and gets a 2 count. Sharmell jumps on Angle's back, but he counters and puts her in a hold and this angle is just absolute garbage. Angle hits an Angle Slam on Booker and gets a 2 count. Sharmell starts slapping angle and attempts to kick him, but Kurt puts him in an Ankle Lock. Booker makes the save with a kick to the face. Booker misses with the Scissor Kick and Angle pushes Booker into Sharmell and she is out. Booker hits a superkick on Angle and goes and checks on Sharmell. Angle drills Booker with a chair twice and then pins Sharmell for the victory. He lays on top of her after the victory, but Booker chases him away with a chair. I still can't believe that these guys agreed to this.The match was actually pretty entertaining for the type of match, but the angle just leaves the most awful taste in your mouth.
Match Rating: **1/4
They show a John Cena hype video.
Heidenreich vs. Devon Nicholson
Heidenreich picks a young girl out of the crowd to be his friend. Nicholson isn't your usual looking jobber, but Heidenreich still destroys him anyways. I don't know how, but this is more over than I ever remember it being. This is such a strange time.
Match Rating: 1/4*
The Divas are in the back talking and in walks Mark Jindrak. They talk about the draft and then he makes fun of them and they throw stuff at him. Awesome television.
Nunzio vs. JBL
JBL says that he is not wearing a cowboy hat is because of the stitches and injuries he suffered and blames it on ECW for making wrestling no longer a pure sport. He then calls Paul Heyman a liar and makes fun of him for living in his mom's basement. He then says that this match will last about as long as ECW and says he will make it an ECW Rules match. Nunzio agrees and is immediately is hit with a boot to the face. Nunzio goes under the ring and comes out the other side with a kendo stick and nails JBL in the head with it. Nunzio takes out the Cabinet with it, but JBL hits him with a Clothesline From Hell and then takes a kendo stick to the skull and that is all. It was a spirited squash.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Booker is backstage with Teddy Long. He wants a match with Angle and Long tells him that as long as they are both still on SmackDown, they will have a match next week.
John Cena & Big Show vs. Carlito & Matt Morgan
Big Show tosses Carlito over the top rope and on to Morgan as we head into the commercial break. Back from commercial and we have missed nothing. We miss a pinfall on the tag match, but nothing in this inconsequential match, okey dokey. Cena is in and body slams Morgan. Big Show hits a side slam on Morgan and begins to sell the injured ribs. The heels take the advantage as the result and Morgan goes to work on the ribs. Morgan puts him in the Bear Hug, my favorite move. Show battles out and tries to put Carlito in the Chokeslam, but Morgan pushes him away, right into Cena for the tag. Cena comes in and takes control. Five Knuckle Shuffle and the FU finishes off Carlito. Pretty standard TV main event there.
Match Rating: **
Well, the Angle/Booker storyline continues to be a complete embarrassment and it appears it is going to continue next week. However, it was nice to see a 15 minute segment for the tag titles and the squashes were kept short. Not a great show, but far from a bad one.
Match Rating: 58%
Rexall Place
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Carlito's Cabana kicks off the show this week. He makes fun of the crowd and then introduces John Cena. Of course Cena makes fun of Matt Morgan's stutter and then compares him to Michael Cole. An almost 15 minute segment for Cena to announce that he and Big Show will take on Carltio and Morgan tonight.
Teddy Long is on the phone when Booker walks in with Sharmell. He does not want Sharmell taking on Kurt Angle tonight. Teddy says there is nothing he can do about it. Teddy tells him that it will now be Angle vs. Sharmell and Booker.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
15 Minute Iron Man Match
MNM vs. Charlie Haas & Hardcore Holly
After getting to watch the MNM entrance a few times now for the first time in years, it really was kind of lame with the exception of the paparazzi. It felt very unnatural for both Morrison and Mercury with their mannerisms. Regardless, I'm looking forward to this one, as I enjoyed both of their other matches so far. Calling a 15 minute match an Iron Man Match is kind of silly though. Holly took great pride in making sure he could chop Mercury as hard as he could. Holly has Mercury up for the Alabama Slam, but Morrison superkicks him and Mercury reverses it into a pinfall for the early 1-0 lead. Creative spot there. They do a commercial break and it takes 3 minutes out of the match and we miss a pinfall. IT IS A TAPED SHOW. Haas hits a nice dive over the top rope to the floor during the break, but then he got thrown into the ring post and they barely even mention how they got the second fall. Haas gets a pinfall and now it's 2-1 around the 5 minute mark. Down to about 2 minutes and Holly gets a hot tag. He slingshots Morrison over the top rope and a dropkick to Mercury gets a nearfall. Holly goes up top, but is knocked down by Nitro. MNM goes for the Snapshot, but Haas spears Morrison and then Holly hits the Alabama Slam on Mercury. Melina runs in and gets on top of Mercury to block the pin by Holly and time has expired. It's really a shame that they chose to eliminate about 3 minutes of the match, let alone the pinfall. With the exception of that, this was another good match in their series.
Match Rating: ***1/4 (out of 5)
We get a recap of the Eddie Guerrero/Rey Mysterio saga.
Kurt Angle is out and confronts Tazz about not doing commentary during his match last week. They show a clip of Angle's appearance in ECW with Tazz. He offers Tazz a chance to join him and end ECW.
Kurt Angle vs. Booker T & Sharmell
Booker T is obviously fired up, but Angle quickly counters it and knocks Booker T out. He goes right for Sharmell and sets her up for a powerbomb, which leads to some gyrations. Booker attacks him from behind and hits the Book End. Booker hits some chops and right hands, but Angle goes right into three German suplexes and gets a 2 count. Sharmell jumps on Angle's back, but he counters and puts her in a hold and this angle is just absolute garbage. Angle hits an Angle Slam on Booker and gets a 2 count. Sharmell starts slapping angle and attempts to kick him, but Kurt puts him in an Ankle Lock. Booker makes the save with a kick to the face. Booker misses with the Scissor Kick and Angle pushes Booker into Sharmell and she is out. Booker hits a superkick on Angle and goes and checks on Sharmell. Angle drills Booker with a chair twice and then pins Sharmell for the victory. He lays on top of her after the victory, but Booker chases him away with a chair. I still can't believe that these guys agreed to this.The match was actually pretty entertaining for the type of match, but the angle just leaves the most awful taste in your mouth.
Match Rating: **1/4
They show a John Cena hype video.
Heidenreich vs. Devon Nicholson
Heidenreich picks a young girl out of the crowd to be his friend. Nicholson isn't your usual looking jobber, but Heidenreich still destroys him anyways. I don't know how, but this is more over than I ever remember it being. This is such a strange time.
Match Rating: 1/4*
The Divas are in the back talking and in walks Mark Jindrak. They talk about the draft and then he makes fun of them and they throw stuff at him. Awesome television.
Nunzio vs. JBL
JBL says that he is not wearing a cowboy hat is because of the stitches and injuries he suffered and blames it on ECW for making wrestling no longer a pure sport. He then calls Paul Heyman a liar and makes fun of him for living in his mom's basement. He then says that this match will last about as long as ECW and says he will make it an ECW Rules match. Nunzio agrees and is immediately is hit with a boot to the face. Nunzio goes under the ring and comes out the other side with a kendo stick and nails JBL in the head with it. Nunzio takes out the Cabinet with it, but JBL hits him with a Clothesline From Hell and then takes a kendo stick to the skull and that is all. It was a spirited squash.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Booker is backstage with Teddy Long. He wants a match with Angle and Long tells him that as long as they are both still on SmackDown, they will have a match next week.
John Cena & Big Show vs. Carlito & Matt Morgan
Big Show tosses Carlito over the top rope and on to Morgan as we head into the commercial break. Back from commercial and we have missed nothing. We miss a pinfall on the tag match, but nothing in this inconsequential match, okey dokey. Cena is in and body slams Morgan. Big Show hits a side slam on Morgan and begins to sell the injured ribs. The heels take the advantage as the result and Morgan goes to work on the ribs. Morgan puts him in the Bear Hug, my favorite move. Show battles out and tries to put Carlito in the Chokeslam, but Morgan pushes him away, right into Cena for the tag. Cena comes in and takes control. Five Knuckle Shuffle and the FU finishes off Carlito. Pretty standard TV main event there.
Match Rating: **
Well, the Angle/Booker storyline continues to be a complete embarrassment and it appears it is going to continue next week. However, it was nice to see a 15 minute segment for the tag titles and the squashes were kept short. Not a great show, but far from a bad one.
Match Rating: 58%
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Monday Night Raw 5-30-05 Review
Monday, May 30th, 2005
Pengrowth Saddledome
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
They dedicate this edition of Raw to the veterans.
They kick off the show with Jerry Lawler in the ring saying there will be a Raw swimsuit competition. Christy Hemme, Candice Michelle, Maria, Victoria and Lilian Garcia are the competitors. Lilian is up first and out comes Viscera in a suit. He picks up Lilian and takes her to the back. The other four show off their bikinis and Jerry Lawler picks Christy to win. What an honor. Candice and Maria celebrate with her, while Victoria decides to attack them and absolutely drills Maria with a kick to the face. She finishes it off with a low blow to Lawler and a Widow's Peak to Christy. We are 14 minutes into the show and this is all we have to show for it.
After the break, we get an interview with Victoria. She is sick of Christy and she says that everything she's achieved should have been hers.
World Tag Team Championship Match
Rosey & The Hurricane vs. The Heart Throbs
Stacy is out with the champions in her superhero gear. The Heart Throbs take the early advantage and the crowd shows their interest by chanting "Stacy's hot". Hot tag to Rosey, he quickly destroys the Throbs and Hurricane hits the splash off of Rosey's shoulders and gets the victory. The Raw tag division was not treated seriously, so this match felt like nothing.
Match Rating: * (out of 5)
We get a recap of Batista's troubles from last week's show. Bischoff then informs Batista that Triple H is not here tonight. Batista accepts the challenge of a Hell In A Cell match and that he wants Triple H here next week. In walk Muhammad Hassan and Daivari, who point out that Triple H has lost to Batista twice and that he is undefeated. Batista gets in his face and Bischoff makes the match for tonight.
Intercontinental Championship Match
Shelton Benjamin vs. Robert Conway vs. Sylvain Grenier
The La Resistance members quickly begin to disagree and fight over who gets to do what to Benjamin. Shelton is able to fight back until Grenier sets Shelton up for a double team move and they fight over who gets to pin Shelton. This leads to them getting physical with each other. Shelton knocks Grenier to the outside and hits a crossbody from the top, but Grenier breaks up the pin attempt. La Resistance again starts to go at it with one another. Shelton is able to slip in and hit the T-Bone suplex and get the victory. I have to say I was surprised the crowd was in this one as much as they were, but a good win for Shelton.
Match Rating: **
Highlight Reel time and Chris Jericho's guests tonight are Kane and Lita. Jericho announces that next week he will be interviewing the first draft pick from SmackDown. Jericho is pretty much full blown heel now here, asking what it was like to be cheated on and how he has never been dumped by a woman before. Jericho then makes a Blockbuster Video reference, making me feel even older now for watching this. Edge pops up on the Titan Tron. He says that he won't put his woman in harms way, like Kane would. Lita comes on and says that she is filing for divorce and makes fun of him for being sweaty and lacking skills. She takes her ring and flushes it down a toilet. They make out while Kane looks depressed.
Eric Bischoff is out by JR and Lawler. He talks about his crusade against ECW and that the reason he is allowing the tables match tonight, he is just trying to prove that he can out-ECW ECW. Benoit will take on one of the people against ECW, Edge.
Tables Match
Edge vs. Chris Benoit
Benoit is obviously over here, being that it's in Calgary. The "You screwed Matt" chants continue. Edge attempts to pull a table out from under the ring, but Benoit hits him with a suicide dive. Edge tries to bring a table in again and this time is greeted with a baseball slide into the table. They duel on the apron in front of the table, but Benoit ends up suplexing Edge inside the ring. Benoit brings out another table and puts this one in the ring. Benoit superplexes him, but Lita moves the table out of the way to save the match for Edge. Edge grabs the briefcase from Lita, but Benoit hits him with three German suplexes. Edge sets Benoit up on the table and goes up top, but Lita pushes him off. Bischoff leaves the booth and out come Tomko and Maven to attack Benoit. Bischoff now calls out Snitsky and he hits Benoit with a big boot to the face. Lawler claims that there's nothing more extreme than Snitsky. Edge then powerbombs Benoit through a table and wins the match. Edge is bleeding from the mouth and you can see Lita shoot him down. The match was to continue the Bischoff against ECW angle and to continue to get Edge over as a top heel. It did both of that and the action was solid.
Match Rating: **3/4
They show a recap of last week between Triple H, Batista and Ric Flair. We get Triple H via satellite at the WWE TV Studios. He puts over Hell In A Cell as the most violent match in this industry and says that he has made a career of ending people in Hell In A Cell. He names Kevin Nash and Mick Foley.
Chris Masters is out for the Master Lock Challenge and offers $10,000 to anyone who can break it tonight. Instead of challenging the fans, he is challenging anyone in the locker room. Out comes Val Venis in 2005. A lucky man in the crowd catches his towel. Val surprisingly isn't really that much smaller than Masters. Masters takes a cheap shot on Venis and then slaps on the Master Lock. Val is doing everything he can to break the lock, including pushing off the turnbuckles, but eventually it's just too much. That was easily the most entertaining Master Lock Challenge.
Out comes Christian to a solid pop. He talks about the SmackDown roster, including ripping on Cena. He says that they are lacking a Canadian, which I think is actually accurate. He says that if is drafted to SmackDown, they will get an injection of the 3 C's. Charisma, Canada and Christian. That was a solid little promo there by Christian, even if it sort of telegraphed what would happen.
Next week we are getting a contract signing between Triple H and Batista and the Highlight Reel with the first draft pick.
Muhammad Hassan vs. Batista
Hassan tries to surprise Batista, but he gets nailed with an elbow. Batista is wearing a bandage on his head to sell the attack from last week. Hassan hits a DDT after a distraction from Daivari. This is an interesting test for these two, as they usually have a ring general in there with them to bring out the best of them. The result so far is a match that feels heavily scripted. Daivari gets involved again and is busted open. I have to say, I wasn't expecting a blade job in this match. Batista is repeatedly stomping Hassan in the face. He continues to stick his knee in his face and won't back off and is disqualified as a result. That felt really flat. Batista continues his attack and starts slamming Hassan's face into the concrete outside of the ring. He then hits Hassan with a chair shot to the head. Hassan is now busted open and Skinner is out to try and stop him. Batista hits Batista Bombs on both of them. Batista celebrates as we go off the air. Not a great match there and I'm not sure the ending was quite as effective as they were hoping.
Match Rating: 1/2*
That was a middle of the road episode. The main event was evidence that Batista wasn't quite ready to carry a lesser opponent yet (he'd get there) and the Victoria heel turn segment was way longer than it needed to be. The tables match was solid, even if they were capable of better and Christian shined in his short segment. Other than that, it was pretty uneventful as we continue to (kind of) promote One Night Stand.
Overall Rating: 49%
Pengrowth Saddledome
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
They dedicate this edition of Raw to the veterans.
They kick off the show with Jerry Lawler in the ring saying there will be a Raw swimsuit competition. Christy Hemme, Candice Michelle, Maria, Victoria and Lilian Garcia are the competitors. Lilian is up first and out comes Viscera in a suit. He picks up Lilian and takes her to the back. The other four show off their bikinis and Jerry Lawler picks Christy to win. What an honor. Candice and Maria celebrate with her, while Victoria decides to attack them and absolutely drills Maria with a kick to the face. She finishes it off with a low blow to Lawler and a Widow's Peak to Christy. We are 14 minutes into the show and this is all we have to show for it.
After the break, we get an interview with Victoria. She is sick of Christy and she says that everything she's achieved should have been hers.
World Tag Team Championship Match
Rosey & The Hurricane vs. The Heart Throbs
Stacy is out with the champions in her superhero gear. The Heart Throbs take the early advantage and the crowd shows their interest by chanting "Stacy's hot". Hot tag to Rosey, he quickly destroys the Throbs and Hurricane hits the splash off of Rosey's shoulders and gets the victory. The Raw tag division was not treated seriously, so this match felt like nothing.
Match Rating: * (out of 5)
We get a recap of Batista's troubles from last week's show. Bischoff then informs Batista that Triple H is not here tonight. Batista accepts the challenge of a Hell In A Cell match and that he wants Triple H here next week. In walk Muhammad Hassan and Daivari, who point out that Triple H has lost to Batista twice and that he is undefeated. Batista gets in his face and Bischoff makes the match for tonight.
Intercontinental Championship Match
Shelton Benjamin vs. Robert Conway vs. Sylvain Grenier
The La Resistance members quickly begin to disagree and fight over who gets to do what to Benjamin. Shelton is able to fight back until Grenier sets Shelton up for a double team move and they fight over who gets to pin Shelton. This leads to them getting physical with each other. Shelton knocks Grenier to the outside and hits a crossbody from the top, but Grenier breaks up the pin attempt. La Resistance again starts to go at it with one another. Shelton is able to slip in and hit the T-Bone suplex and get the victory. I have to say I was surprised the crowd was in this one as much as they were, but a good win for Shelton.
Match Rating: **
Highlight Reel time and Chris Jericho's guests tonight are Kane and Lita. Jericho announces that next week he will be interviewing the first draft pick from SmackDown. Jericho is pretty much full blown heel now here, asking what it was like to be cheated on and how he has never been dumped by a woman before. Jericho then makes a Blockbuster Video reference, making me feel even older now for watching this. Edge pops up on the Titan Tron. He says that he won't put his woman in harms way, like Kane would. Lita comes on and says that she is filing for divorce and makes fun of him for being sweaty and lacking skills. She takes her ring and flushes it down a toilet. They make out while Kane looks depressed.
Eric Bischoff is out by JR and Lawler. He talks about his crusade against ECW and that the reason he is allowing the tables match tonight, he is just trying to prove that he can out-ECW ECW. Benoit will take on one of the people against ECW, Edge.
Tables Match
Edge vs. Chris Benoit
Benoit is obviously over here, being that it's in Calgary. The "You screwed Matt" chants continue. Edge attempts to pull a table out from under the ring, but Benoit hits him with a suicide dive. Edge tries to bring a table in again and this time is greeted with a baseball slide into the table. They duel on the apron in front of the table, but Benoit ends up suplexing Edge inside the ring. Benoit brings out another table and puts this one in the ring. Benoit superplexes him, but Lita moves the table out of the way to save the match for Edge. Edge grabs the briefcase from Lita, but Benoit hits him with three German suplexes. Edge sets Benoit up on the table and goes up top, but Lita pushes him off. Bischoff leaves the booth and out come Tomko and Maven to attack Benoit. Bischoff now calls out Snitsky and he hits Benoit with a big boot to the face. Lawler claims that there's nothing more extreme than Snitsky. Edge then powerbombs Benoit through a table and wins the match. Edge is bleeding from the mouth and you can see Lita shoot him down. The match was to continue the Bischoff against ECW angle and to continue to get Edge over as a top heel. It did both of that and the action was solid.
Match Rating: **3/4
They show a recap of last week between Triple H, Batista and Ric Flair. We get Triple H via satellite at the WWE TV Studios. He puts over Hell In A Cell as the most violent match in this industry and says that he has made a career of ending people in Hell In A Cell. He names Kevin Nash and Mick Foley.
Chris Masters is out for the Master Lock Challenge and offers $10,000 to anyone who can break it tonight. Instead of challenging the fans, he is challenging anyone in the locker room. Out comes Val Venis in 2005. A lucky man in the crowd catches his towel. Val surprisingly isn't really that much smaller than Masters. Masters takes a cheap shot on Venis and then slaps on the Master Lock. Val is doing everything he can to break the lock, including pushing off the turnbuckles, but eventually it's just too much. That was easily the most entertaining Master Lock Challenge.
Out comes Christian to a solid pop. He talks about the SmackDown roster, including ripping on Cena. He says that they are lacking a Canadian, which I think is actually accurate. He says that if is drafted to SmackDown, they will get an injection of the 3 C's. Charisma, Canada and Christian. That was a solid little promo there by Christian, even if it sort of telegraphed what would happen.
Next week we are getting a contract signing between Triple H and Batista and the Highlight Reel with the first draft pick.
Muhammad Hassan vs. Batista
Hassan tries to surprise Batista, but he gets nailed with an elbow. Batista is wearing a bandage on his head to sell the attack from last week. Hassan hits a DDT after a distraction from Daivari. This is an interesting test for these two, as they usually have a ring general in there with them to bring out the best of them. The result so far is a match that feels heavily scripted. Daivari gets involved again and is busted open. I have to say, I wasn't expecting a blade job in this match. Batista is repeatedly stomping Hassan in the face. He continues to stick his knee in his face and won't back off and is disqualified as a result. That felt really flat. Batista continues his attack and starts slamming Hassan's face into the concrete outside of the ring. He then hits Hassan with a chair shot to the head. Hassan is now busted open and Skinner is out to try and stop him. Batista hits Batista Bombs on both of them. Batista celebrates as we go off the air. Not a great match there and I'm not sure the ending was quite as effective as they were hoping.
Match Rating: 1/2*
That was a middle of the road episode. The main event was evidence that Batista wasn't quite ready to carry a lesser opponent yet (he'd get there) and the Victoria heel turn segment was way longer than it needed to be. The tables match was solid, even if they were capable of better and Christian shined in his short segment. Other than that, it was pretty uneventful as we continue to (kind of) promote One Night Stand.
Overall Rating: 49%
Monday, December 2, 2019
NXT 1-23-13 Review
Original Airdate: Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
Shawn Michaels is in the ring to start things off. He announces a tournament to crown the first NXT Tag Team Championships.
Tag Team Championship Tournament First Round Match
The Wyatt Family vs. Yoshi Tatsu & Percy Watson
Yoshi's music is always good for a laugh. They get a little bit of offense on Rowan until he catches Yoshi and hits a backbreaker. Bray Wyatt is watching in the rocking chair from the ramp. The Wyatt's cut the ring in half, but Yoshi makes the hot tag to Watson. It doesn't last long, as Harper hits a clothesline and gets the pin. This is about as uninspired tag team match as you will ever see.
Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)
Dusty Rhodes tells Alex Riley and Derrick Bateman that they will be fighting Leo Kruger and Kassius Ohno in the tournament next week. Corey Graves comes in complaining that he won't be in the tournament and then Riley steps up to him and calls him a circus boy. Dusty tells Graves that no one wanted to be his partner, including Jake Carter. He then says they should have a match tonight.
Alicia Fox vs. Sasha Banks
Sasha is in full smile and wave babyface mode here. Fox has the rare ability to make every match look like it's her first match. It's funny that in 2013 they had to say without any irony that Alicia Fox was one of the best women on the roster. Sasha hits some of her now signature moves. Sasha counters the body slam and gets the quick victory. The announcers telegraphed this finish and then didn't even really sell it afterwards. Sasha looked good though.
Match Rating: 1/2*
They show a Paige promo.
Renee Young alert! Her first ever interview is Aksana, who says 2013 is going to be her year. I bet it won't be.
Jake Carter vs. Corey Graves
One of the worst quirks that WWE has is acknowledging when someone is the son or daughter of a famous wrestler, but still pretending that they have a different last name for some reason. Back and forth they go. Graves out of nowhere hits a shoulder to the knee of Carter and puts him in the 13th Step for the submission victory. This was another match with no heat at all. After the match, Graves grabs the mic and says that he was screwed out of a rematch for the NXT Championship and then he's not allowed in the tag team tournament. Since he can't be in the tournament, he's declaring anarchy on NXT.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Bo Dallas and Michael McGillicutty are backstage and Bo asks him why he helped him. McGillicutty says it's a new year and a new him. They shake hands. Absolutely fabulous TV here.
Tag Team Championship Tournament First Round Match
3MB vs. Adrian Neville & Oliver Grey
McIntyre and Slater are representing 3MB. It's amazing how much more intimidating McIntyre is in 2019 than he is here. It only takes about 30 seconds for Neville to show how talented he is. Neville does a somersault dive over the top rope which is kind of ruined because McIntyre just stood there and watched him do it. It really never made sense that McIntyre was in 3MB. Slater hits a big kick and gets a 2 count. The ref is getting out the gloves, so we must have a little bit of blood. Hot tag to Neville. Neville goes up top hits the Red Arrow and that's enough to win the match and bring the crowd to their feet. That was about as good of a match as we get on NXT in this time period.
Match Rating: **1/2
Axl Keegan vs. Big E Langston
Not that it matters, but this is a non-title match. Keegan is a big guy, so it doesn't look like your typical squash. But don't worry, it still is. Within 30 seconds he hits the Big Ending and gets the 3 count. Of course, Big E wants 5. He puts him up for the Big Ending again, but the lights go out and Konnor goes on the big screen and says that in two weeks he'll show Big E about the 5 count. Big E still hits the Big Ending and counts to 5. The crowd wants more and he gives it to him
Match Rating: 1/4*
Much like Superstars, all I ask for is one good match on each episode and this one did that. However, the rest of the show was pretty ho hum. There just isn't enough star power to the show yet and just too few wrestlers that show any real promise. The good thing is Sasha and Neville are both about to become mainstays and that can only improve the overall quality.
Overall Rating: 49%
Full Sail University
Winter Park, Florida
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Shawn Michaels is in the ring to start things off. He announces a tournament to crown the first NXT Tag Team Championships.
Tag Team Championship Tournament First Round Match
The Wyatt Family vs. Yoshi Tatsu & Percy Watson
Yoshi's music is always good for a laugh. They get a little bit of offense on Rowan until he catches Yoshi and hits a backbreaker. Bray Wyatt is watching in the rocking chair from the ramp. The Wyatt's cut the ring in half, but Yoshi makes the hot tag to Watson. It doesn't last long, as Harper hits a clothesline and gets the pin. This is about as uninspired tag team match as you will ever see.
Match Rating: 1/4* (out of 5)
Dusty Rhodes tells Alex Riley and Derrick Bateman that they will be fighting Leo Kruger and Kassius Ohno in the tournament next week. Corey Graves comes in complaining that he won't be in the tournament and then Riley steps up to him and calls him a circus boy. Dusty tells Graves that no one wanted to be his partner, including Jake Carter. He then says they should have a match tonight.
Alicia Fox vs. Sasha Banks
Sasha is in full smile and wave babyface mode here. Fox has the rare ability to make every match look like it's her first match. It's funny that in 2013 they had to say without any irony that Alicia Fox was one of the best women on the roster. Sasha hits some of her now signature moves. Sasha counters the body slam and gets the quick victory. The announcers telegraphed this finish and then didn't even really sell it afterwards. Sasha looked good though.
Match Rating: 1/2*
They show a Paige promo.
Renee Young alert! Her first ever interview is Aksana, who says 2013 is going to be her year. I bet it won't be.
Jake Carter vs. Corey Graves
One of the worst quirks that WWE has is acknowledging when someone is the son or daughter of a famous wrestler, but still pretending that they have a different last name for some reason. Back and forth they go. Graves out of nowhere hits a shoulder to the knee of Carter and puts him in the 13th Step for the submission victory. This was another match with no heat at all. After the match, Graves grabs the mic and says that he was screwed out of a rematch for the NXT Championship and then he's not allowed in the tag team tournament. Since he can't be in the tournament, he's declaring anarchy on NXT.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Bo Dallas and Michael McGillicutty are backstage and Bo asks him why he helped him. McGillicutty says it's a new year and a new him. They shake hands. Absolutely fabulous TV here.
Tag Team Championship Tournament First Round Match
3MB vs. Adrian Neville & Oliver Grey
McIntyre and Slater are representing 3MB. It's amazing how much more intimidating McIntyre is in 2019 than he is here. It only takes about 30 seconds for Neville to show how talented he is. Neville does a somersault dive over the top rope which is kind of ruined because McIntyre just stood there and watched him do it. It really never made sense that McIntyre was in 3MB. Slater hits a big kick and gets a 2 count. The ref is getting out the gloves, so we must have a little bit of blood. Hot tag to Neville. Neville goes up top hits the Red Arrow and that's enough to win the match and bring the crowd to their feet. That was about as good of a match as we get on NXT in this time period.
Match Rating: **1/2
Axl Keegan vs. Big E Langston
Not that it matters, but this is a non-title match. Keegan is a big guy, so it doesn't look like your typical squash. But don't worry, it still is. Within 30 seconds he hits the Big Ending and gets the 3 count. Of course, Big E wants 5. He puts him up for the Big Ending again, but the lights go out and Konnor goes on the big screen and says that in two weeks he'll show Big E about the 5 count. Big E still hits the Big Ending and counts to 5. The crowd wants more and he gives it to him
Match Rating: 1/4*
Much like Superstars, all I ask for is one good match on each episode and this one did that. However, the rest of the show was pretty ho hum. There just isn't enough star power to the show yet and just too few wrestlers that show any real promise. The good thing is Sasha and Neville are both about to become mainstays and that can only improve the overall quality.
Overall Rating: 49%
Friday, November 29, 2019
Saturday Night's Main Event 11-14-92 Review
Original Airdate: Saturday, November 14th, 1992
Hulman Center
Terre Haute, Indiana
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WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Money, Inc. vs. Ultimate Maniacs
Warrior and Savage run into the ring and are immediately attacked by IRS and Dibiase. Of course, it doesn't last long and they are both thrown over the top. Bobby Heenan debuts his Brain Scan and makes fun of Ross Perot. Warrior misses a shoulder tackle and Dibiase is able to tag IRS. They cut to Flair, Razor and Perfect in the back.. Both IRS and Dibiase put Warrior in a sleeper hold. Savage illegally breaks up the Million Dollar Dream and then Warrior and Dibiase hit a double clothesline. Hot tag to Savage and boy do I miss reactions from back in the day. Savage hits a top rope elbow drop, but Dibiase breaks up the pin attempt. I have to say, Warrior and Savage are kind of a fun tag team. They send IRS and Dibiase over the ropes again and Money, Inc. walks away and gets counted out. They chase them down the aisle and out come Flair, Razor and Perfect to surprise attack them. That was a fun early 90s WWF style match. It's too bad we never got the real payoff thanks to Warrior being Warrior.
Match Rating: **1/2 (out of 5)
Intercontinental Championship Match
Shawn Michaels vs. British Bulldog
They aren't wasting any time here tonight. Within the first minute, they do more wrestling than we normally see from this era. Bulldog hits an impressive press slam on Michaels and then sends him to the outside. Michaels takes the top turnbuckle behind the refs back and Heenan loves it. Michaels works on the back of the Bulldog. Bulldog makes his comeback and the crowd is loving it. Vertical suplex gets a nearfall. Michaels counters Bulldog and sends him into the turnbuckle that he loosened up. Bulldog goes for a superplex, but Michaels counters and falls on top of him. Michaels gets the pinfall and the Intercontinental Championship. That was kind of a weird ending to an otherwise good match.
Match Rating: ***
Mean Gene is backstage with Flair, Razor and Savage. Flair says that it's not about winning or losing, it's about making it out of the building in one piece.
Bret Hart is now backstage with Mean Gene. He talks about his training with his father, Stu.
WWF Championship Match
Papa Shango vs. Bret Hart
The original version of Bret's entrance is so much better than "newer" version. Bret hits a monkey flip on Shango and then a flying bodypress, but Shango sends him to the outside. Bret sends himself over the top rope to the floor, which was something you didn't see a lot of in 1992. Bret is one of the very select few wrestlers that can make anyone's offense look awesome. Bret's out there selling like crazy and Vince is acting surprised that Shango is a formidable opponent, which in turn makes Hart seem weak. Maybe I'm just over analyzing it. Hart tries to make a comeback, but Shango counters a sleeper hold and slams Bret into the turnbuckle. Shango misses a second rope elbow drop and Bret's all mad because that's his move. Bret's punches are a thing of beauty as well. Again Vince is shocked at how good Papa Shango is. Bret puts on the Sharpshooter and Shango gives up. Leave it to Bret to have a good match here. That was better than I was expecting for sure and I can't emphasize enough how good Bret was here.
Match Rating: **3/4
We go right to Paul Bearer in the Funeral Parlor. They show the footage of Undertaker making the casket for Kamala. Bearer introduces Taker and he comes out of a coffin that is part of the set. Taker talks about maggots feasting on Kamala's carcass.
Mean Gene is back with Bret Hart again. They talk about how his match with Michaels is now champion vs. champion and in walks Michaels. Michaels tells Bret that he beat the man that embarrassed him in front of 80,000 people. That was a good, quick little segment.
Back to Vince and Heenan, where Heenan is on the phone getting a scoop that Savage and Warrior will not be a team at Survivor Series. One of them will be out with a new partner, but he doesn't know who. And with that, they go off the air.
That was a really enjoyable show. All three matches were entertaining and the crowd was into all of it. They also crammed a lot into a 42 minute show with no downtime at all. It's a shame that this was the end of Saturday Night's Main Event, but it at least ended with a bang.
Overall Rating: 76%
Hulman Center
Terre Haute, Indiana
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
WWF Tag Team Championship Match
Money, Inc. vs. Ultimate Maniacs
Warrior and Savage run into the ring and are immediately attacked by IRS and Dibiase. Of course, it doesn't last long and they are both thrown over the top. Bobby Heenan debuts his Brain Scan and makes fun of Ross Perot. Warrior misses a shoulder tackle and Dibiase is able to tag IRS. They cut to Flair, Razor and Perfect in the back.. Both IRS and Dibiase put Warrior in a sleeper hold. Savage illegally breaks up the Million Dollar Dream and then Warrior and Dibiase hit a double clothesline. Hot tag to Savage and boy do I miss reactions from back in the day. Savage hits a top rope elbow drop, but Dibiase breaks up the pin attempt. I have to say, Warrior and Savage are kind of a fun tag team. They send IRS and Dibiase over the ropes again and Money, Inc. walks away and gets counted out. They chase them down the aisle and out come Flair, Razor and Perfect to surprise attack them. That was a fun early 90s WWF style match. It's too bad we never got the real payoff thanks to Warrior being Warrior.
Match Rating: **1/2 (out of 5)
Intercontinental Championship Match
Shawn Michaels vs. British Bulldog
They aren't wasting any time here tonight. Within the first minute, they do more wrestling than we normally see from this era. Bulldog hits an impressive press slam on Michaels and then sends him to the outside. Michaels takes the top turnbuckle behind the refs back and Heenan loves it. Michaels works on the back of the Bulldog. Bulldog makes his comeback and the crowd is loving it. Vertical suplex gets a nearfall. Michaels counters Bulldog and sends him into the turnbuckle that he loosened up. Bulldog goes for a superplex, but Michaels counters and falls on top of him. Michaels gets the pinfall and the Intercontinental Championship. That was kind of a weird ending to an otherwise good match.
Match Rating: ***
Mean Gene is backstage with Flair, Razor and Savage. Flair says that it's not about winning or losing, it's about making it out of the building in one piece.
Bret Hart is now backstage with Mean Gene. He talks about his training with his father, Stu.
WWF Championship Match
Papa Shango vs. Bret Hart
The original version of Bret's entrance is so much better than "newer" version. Bret hits a monkey flip on Shango and then a flying bodypress, but Shango sends him to the outside. Bret sends himself over the top rope to the floor, which was something you didn't see a lot of in 1992. Bret is one of the very select few wrestlers that can make anyone's offense look awesome. Bret's out there selling like crazy and Vince is acting surprised that Shango is a formidable opponent, which in turn makes Hart seem weak. Maybe I'm just over analyzing it. Hart tries to make a comeback, but Shango counters a sleeper hold and slams Bret into the turnbuckle. Shango misses a second rope elbow drop and Bret's all mad because that's his move. Bret's punches are a thing of beauty as well. Again Vince is shocked at how good Papa Shango is. Bret puts on the Sharpshooter and Shango gives up. Leave it to Bret to have a good match here. That was better than I was expecting for sure and I can't emphasize enough how good Bret was here.
Match Rating: **3/4
We go right to Paul Bearer in the Funeral Parlor. They show the footage of Undertaker making the casket for Kamala. Bearer introduces Taker and he comes out of a coffin that is part of the set. Taker talks about maggots feasting on Kamala's carcass.
Mean Gene is back with Bret Hart again. They talk about how his match with Michaels is now champion vs. champion and in walks Michaels. Michaels tells Bret that he beat the man that embarrassed him in front of 80,000 people. That was a good, quick little segment.
Back to Vince and Heenan, where Heenan is on the phone getting a scoop that Savage and Warrior will not be a team at Survivor Series. One of them will be out with a new partner, but he doesn't know who. And with that, they go off the air.
That was a really enjoyable show. All three matches were entertaining and the crowd was into all of it. They also crammed a lot into a 42 minute show with no downtime at all. It's a shame that this was the end of Saturday Night's Main Event, but it at least ended with a bang.
Overall Rating: 76%
Monday, November 25, 2019
Survivor Series 2019 Review
Sunday, November 24th, 2019
Allstate Arena
Rosemont, Illinois
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Women's Survivor Series Elimination Match
Carmella, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, Nikki Cross, Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair, Asuka, Kairi Sane, Natalya, Sarah Logan vs. Bianca Belair, Candice LeRae, Io Shirai, Rhea Ripley, Toni Storm
So apparently there will always be one member from each team in the ring at the same time, which could make this entire night a disaster if this idea doesn't work. I don't quite understand how the NXT women are on the same team after last night, but I guess we are supposed to ignore that. It's good to see Logan in this match, as she seems to be kind of finding her place on the roster. Storm hits a double German suplex on Logan and Cross. The women seem a little hesitant as to how to work this match. Shirai, Sane and Carmella are all tagged in. Shirai and Sane focus on only each other, so Carmella tags Brooke in, while the aforementioned two go at it. I can't remember the last time I have seen Brooke wrestle, but her new gear is a much better fit for her. I am shocked that we haven't had an elimination yet. You have to figure that one of these matches is going to have a lot of quick eliminations and I kind of thought it would be this one. We now get the obligatory "everyone run in and hit a big move" part of the match. They are now selling LeRae and Shirai as too hurt to continue, while the other competitors taunt them. So we are going with NXT with three remaining team members. Considering they announced the team after WarGames, it kind of makes their decision look pretty dumb. Belair rolls up Cross and we have our first real elimination. Belair seems to be a little hesitant tonight after tearing it up last night. Belair scores another pinfall victory by eliminating Logan. For some reason no one tries to attack her from behind as she celebrates. Carmella hits a hurrianrana from the top rope on Charlotte onto Belair, but isn't able to get a pinfall on either. Charlotte hits Natural Selection on Carmella and she is gone. Raw now has the 4-3-3 advantage. Sasha for some reason breaks up a pinfall attempt, but scores one of her own. Asuka quickly eliminates Brooke. Asuka then soves Charlotte to tag her in and they begin going back and forth until Charlotte slams her back. Charlotte starts working on Evans and then Asuka sprays green mist in the eyes of Charlotte and Asuka leaves the ring. Evans hits the Women's Right way after the fact and gets the pinfall. Natalya is now the only one left for Raw. Natalya pins Evans, leaving only Sasha for SmackDown. NXT is now up 3-1-1. Natalya puts Storm in the Sharpshooter and then Sasha comes in for the Banks Statement and Storm is gone. Then, just like that, Belair is eliminated by Banks. We are down to Natalya, Banks and Ripley. Banks and Natalya are forming an alliance to get rid of Ripley, but Banks obviously turns on Natalya and we are down to Banks and Ripley. Banks is up on the second rope and hits the Meteora, but Ripley kicks out. The crowd is heavily invested here, which is a great sign here for Ripley. Yes, I know it's Chicago, but it's still important. Banks goes for another Meteora, but Ripley hits her with a boot to the face. Sasha gets her in the Banks Statement, but here come LeRae and Shirai and they pull Ripley out of the ring. Banks hits them with a dropkick, but Ripley then drives her into the barricade and then the ring. LeRae distracts the ref and then Shirai hits a springboard dropkick and Ripley gets the victory. I'm not sure how that really fits LeRae's character, but okay. The match was cluttered to start but picked up towards the end, which I think we were all expecting to happen. The main takeaway is that Ripley is a star that they are getting behind. Where will they go from here when she will only be showcased on Wednesday nights now? NXT takes a 2-1-1 lead because all three brands won a match on the pre-show. Good opener overall.
Match Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5)
They show KO being involved in WarGames last night and then cut to him backstage. In walks Seth Rollins and the live crowd boos. They question each others loyalty.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Roderick Strong vs. AJ Styles
As a Ring Of Honor 2008 fan, it makes me so happy to see Strong in this spot. I still don't quite get what they're going for with Zayn, but he and Nakamura do have good chemistry. I'm not quite sure why they booked a three way heel match, but I guess they really didn't have a choice. Zayn fans Nakamura with his hat while he tries to recover. Strong hits his multiple running forearms and slams Styles face first for a 2 count. The crowd doesn't seem to know who to cheer for, so they are mostly just cheering spots. Styles goes for the Styles Clash on Nakamura, but Strong hits him with a dropkick from behind. Strong is going for a superplex on Styles, but Styles slides underneath and has Strong up and Nakamura kicks him off his shoulders and Strong is grabbing his knee. Zayn pulls Styles away from grabbing Nakamura, which distracts him enough for Strong to hit a knee to the face for a close call. Nakamura hits a Go To Sleep on Strong and then out of nowhere Styles hits Nakamura with a forearm. Nakamura tosses Strong over his head and he lands right on Styles. That looks like it legit may have hurt. Styles and Nakamura go after one another with Strong on the outside. This is a good example of a match where they are doing some nearfalls just for the sake of doing them. Styles hits the Phenomenal Forearm on Nakamura, but Strong throws Styles out and steals the pinfall. This is the traditional heel finish for a triple threat match in WWE, so you knew we were going to get at least one match ending this way. I thought for sure Styles was going to win this match. There was a lot of good action, but not quite as good as you would hope. NXT is now up 3-1-1.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Daniel Bryan is getting ready backstage and in walks the Miz. Miz tells Bryan that for the sake of themselves, their families and everyone, that Bryan needs to stop the Fiend. Bryan tells Miz to get out of his face.
NXT Championship Match
Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole
Cole has had quite the week. Both men are selling injuries from last night. Dunne stomps Cole's elbow and wrist into the steel steps. The crazy thing about wrestling in 2019 is that in 1989 they probably would have turned that into an injury angle and now it's just a set up spot in the first few minutes of a match. That's not a knock on these guys, it's the business as a whole. That's where we are and it wouldn't be the worst thing if we started working our way back to the way things used to be. I don't know how much they are paying Adam Cole, but he is worth every penny. Dunne hits a sit down powerbomb for the first real close call of the match. Dunne goes for a moonsault, but Cole gets his knees up. Cole hits the Last Shot, but it's not enough to keep Dunne down for 3. Dunne hits the Bitter End but Cole is able to kick out. Cole hits a superkick onto a moonsaulting Dunne, which is a spot I will never get sick of. The only thing is that it should end the match, but I'm also not complaining that we are getting more. Cole hits a Panama Sunrise on the outside of the ring apron! Both men are down and out on the mats. Cole is able to crawl back in and Dunne barely beats the count. Cole makes an incredible counter into the Panama Sunrise and hits the Last Shot for the victory. Adam Cole continues his absolutely incredible 2019. The Undisputed Era celebrates on the stage. Another really good match on a weekend full of them.
Match Rating: ****
Backstage, Team SmackDown is going over their match.
Universal Championship Match
Daniel Bryan vs. The Fiend
Yes, this is still just about my least favorite gimmick of all time. Yes, he is still wrestling under a red light. Bray Wyatt's one shining moment in a singles match was against Daniel Bryan. Bryan has had one of the most low key, underappreciated amazing years and here he is in a match that everyone knows he has no chance in. After a short heat segment that feels like a lifetime, Bryan makes his comeback and gets him down after leaping off the top rope to the floor with a flying knee. Bryan hits two missile dropkicks and then a series of Yes Kicks and finally has the crowd behind him. Matches like this are where Michael Cole is at his worst. He is trying way too hard to drive this home. Bryan hits the running knee and gets a 2 count. The Fiend puts on the Mandible Claw, but Bryan counters it with an arm bar while draped over the top rope. Bryan counters Sister Abigail into a roll up for a 2 count. Wyatt counters with the Mandible Claw and uses it to get a pinfall. That was a heck of a performance by Bryan in a pretty short match. I won't complain anymore about Wyatt than I already have.
Match Rating: ***
Rey Mysterio is backstage for an interview. Rey says he wants Dominik to watch as he destroys Lesnar tonight.
Men's Survivor Series Elimination Match
Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens, Ricochet, Randy Orton vs. Baron Corbin, Braun Strowman, Shorty G, Mustafa Ali, Roman Reigns vs. Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Damian Priest, Matt Riddle, Walter
Strowman, Ciampa and Rollins start things off. Walter got a big chant prior to the start. They then tag in McIntyre and Walter, giving us the three big men early on. McIntyre hits a Claymore Kick out of nowhere and eliminates Walter. Wow. The crowd is not happy about that. Ricochet and Shorty G are now in and give us a good segment that ends with Ricochet getting folded up like an accordion with a German suplex. Shorty G and Riddle go at it. Owens hits a Frog Splash onto Shorty G and he is now eliminated. Owens superkicks Roman and then hits a Stunner on Corbin. As he rolls him in, Ciampa capitalizes and eliminates his partner from the previous night. Orton hits a RKO on Ciampa and then Priest and eliminates Priest. Riddle then rolls up Orton and gets the quick elimination. Orton hits Riddle with a RKO for good measure and Corbin pins Riddle. Strowman is running around the ring mauling everyone over until Keith Lee gets in his way and we get a huge collision. Lee gets back in the ring, but Strowman is eliminated by countout. Riochet does his thing until Corbin catches him with End Of Days and eliminates him. Ali finally gets in the match and gets a great reaction. Corbin and Ali get in an argument, which leads to Rollins hitting the Stomp and eliminating Ali. Reigns hits a big spear out of nowhere on McIntyre and he is gone. Reigns spears Corbin and Ciampa is there to pin him. We are down to Reigns, Rollins, Ciampa and Lee. Rollins and Reigns team up on Ciampa and start clearing off one of the announcer tables. They go for the Shield powerbomb, but out of nowhere is Lee to push them over and break it up. Ciampa hits Project Ciampa on Rollins but he somehow kicks out. Rollins is getting the Roman treatment from the audience. Ciampa is in control of Rollins, but Reigns hits a Superman Punch and Rollins follows with the Stomp for the elimination. Each team has one member left. Rollins knocks down Lee and then hits a Frog Splash, but Lee kicks out. Lee counters Rollins and hits the Jackhammer and gets the surprise pinfall. Reigns hits two Superman Punches, but Lee kicks out of a really close nearfall. Upon replay, it appeared as if the ref counted 3. Lee hits a sitdown powerbomb on Reigns, but he too kicks out. Lee misses a moonsault off the second rope and eats a Spear and Roman Reigns is the sole survivor. That match was a little messy at time, but it was a lot of fun. It was great to see Lee get a big spot here and then get to see the live crowd loving every second of it.
Match Rating: ***1/2
After the match, Reigns and Lee fist bump.
Becky Lynch says that there is no one can take all of her success away from her.
WWE Championship Match
No Holds Barred
Rey Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar
Mysterio goes right under the ring and grabs a lead pipe. Mysterio and Lesnar are both so good in these types of matches. Lesnar takes Mysterio down with a couple of clotheslines and then throws him under the bottom rope. Mysterio is able to counter Lesnar and shove him into the ring post. He goes for the pipe, but Lesnar hits a German suplex with a release onto the pipe. Dominik comes into the ring and distracts Lesnar and Mysterio hits a low blow. Dominik gets in on the action and they hits a double 619. Dominik hits a Frog Splash, followed by one from Rey but Brock kicks out. Lesnar hits a German on Dominik and then catches Rey from the top rope and hits a F5 for the victory. Good sprint there and they used Dominik wisely.
Match Rating: ***
Bayley vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Becky Lynch
The crowd is silent early on here. These marathon shows are just too much and there were no come down matches tonight. Bayley gets a lot of offense in early. After so many quick paced matches tonight, this was feels slower than it probably is. Becky goes up top and hits a leg drop from the top rope on Bayley, but Baszler breaks up the pin attempt. Bayley hits Bayley-To-Belly on Baszler, but she kicks out. Baszler has Bayley on her shoulders, but Lynch comes off the top rope. Lynch and Baszler go back and forth until Bayley comes in and hits a crossbody. Lynch hits a powerbomb on Baszler, but she kicks out to little reaction. Lynch gets Baszler into the Disarm-Her, but it's not enough. Bayley misses the elbow drop off the top rope and Baszler puts Bayley in the Kirifuda Clutch and that's all? Unfortunately for these three talented women, this was not their best work. On a show that had a lot of good action, this one just didn't deserve to the be the main event. NXT wins 4-2-1. We'll see if this does anything for NXT. Baszler celebrates on top of the tables and Lynch attacks her from behind. Lynch hits a leg drop off the barricade on Baszler through the announce table.
Match Rating: **1/4
Everything was really good with the exception of the main event. I was a little surprised with some of the booking decisions, but at the same time none of them felt wrong. Say what you will about WWE, but they did deliver two really good nights of wrestling in a row in their most vocal city. I'm not sure where this leaves us with the brand split, but I'm at least more interested than I was prior to watching.
Overall Rating: 85%
Allstate Arena
Rosemont, Illinois
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Women's Survivor Series Elimination Match
Carmella, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans, Nikki Cross, Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair, Asuka, Kairi Sane, Natalya, Sarah Logan vs. Bianca Belair, Candice LeRae, Io Shirai, Rhea Ripley, Toni Storm
So apparently there will always be one member from each team in the ring at the same time, which could make this entire night a disaster if this idea doesn't work. I don't quite understand how the NXT women are on the same team after last night, but I guess we are supposed to ignore that. It's good to see Logan in this match, as she seems to be kind of finding her place on the roster. Storm hits a double German suplex on Logan and Cross. The women seem a little hesitant as to how to work this match. Shirai, Sane and Carmella are all tagged in. Shirai and Sane focus on only each other, so Carmella tags Brooke in, while the aforementioned two go at it. I can't remember the last time I have seen Brooke wrestle, but her new gear is a much better fit for her. I am shocked that we haven't had an elimination yet. You have to figure that one of these matches is going to have a lot of quick eliminations and I kind of thought it would be this one. We now get the obligatory "everyone run in and hit a big move" part of the match. They are now selling LeRae and Shirai as too hurt to continue, while the other competitors taunt them. So we are going with NXT with three remaining team members. Considering they announced the team after WarGames, it kind of makes their decision look pretty dumb. Belair rolls up Cross and we have our first real elimination. Belair seems to be a little hesitant tonight after tearing it up last night. Belair scores another pinfall victory by eliminating Logan. For some reason no one tries to attack her from behind as she celebrates. Carmella hits a hurrianrana from the top rope on Charlotte onto Belair, but isn't able to get a pinfall on either. Charlotte hits Natural Selection on Carmella and she is gone. Raw now has the 4-3-3 advantage. Sasha for some reason breaks up a pinfall attempt, but scores one of her own. Asuka quickly eliminates Brooke. Asuka then soves Charlotte to tag her in and they begin going back and forth until Charlotte slams her back. Charlotte starts working on Evans and then Asuka sprays green mist in the eyes of Charlotte and Asuka leaves the ring. Evans hits the Women's Right way after the fact and gets the pinfall. Natalya is now the only one left for Raw. Natalya pins Evans, leaving only Sasha for SmackDown. NXT is now up 3-1-1. Natalya puts Storm in the Sharpshooter and then Sasha comes in for the Banks Statement and Storm is gone. Then, just like that, Belair is eliminated by Banks. We are down to Natalya, Banks and Ripley. Banks and Natalya are forming an alliance to get rid of Ripley, but Banks obviously turns on Natalya and we are down to Banks and Ripley. Banks is up on the second rope and hits the Meteora, but Ripley kicks out. The crowd is heavily invested here, which is a great sign here for Ripley. Yes, I know it's Chicago, but it's still important. Banks goes for another Meteora, but Ripley hits her with a boot to the face. Sasha gets her in the Banks Statement, but here come LeRae and Shirai and they pull Ripley out of the ring. Banks hits them with a dropkick, but Ripley then drives her into the barricade and then the ring. LeRae distracts the ref and then Shirai hits a springboard dropkick and Ripley gets the victory. I'm not sure how that really fits LeRae's character, but okay. The match was cluttered to start but picked up towards the end, which I think we were all expecting to happen. The main takeaway is that Ripley is a star that they are getting behind. Where will they go from here when she will only be showcased on Wednesday nights now? NXT takes a 2-1-1 lead because all three brands won a match on the pre-show. Good opener overall.
Match Rating: ***1/2 (out of 5)
They show KO being involved in WarGames last night and then cut to him backstage. In walks Seth Rollins and the live crowd boos. They question each others loyalty.
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Roderick Strong vs. AJ Styles
As a Ring Of Honor 2008 fan, it makes me so happy to see Strong in this spot. I still don't quite get what they're going for with Zayn, but he and Nakamura do have good chemistry. I'm not quite sure why they booked a three way heel match, but I guess they really didn't have a choice. Zayn fans Nakamura with his hat while he tries to recover. Strong hits his multiple running forearms and slams Styles face first for a 2 count. The crowd doesn't seem to know who to cheer for, so they are mostly just cheering spots. Styles goes for the Styles Clash on Nakamura, but Strong hits him with a dropkick from behind. Strong is going for a superplex on Styles, but Styles slides underneath and has Strong up and Nakamura kicks him off his shoulders and Strong is grabbing his knee. Zayn pulls Styles away from grabbing Nakamura, which distracts him enough for Strong to hit a knee to the face for a close call. Nakamura hits a Go To Sleep on Strong and then out of nowhere Styles hits Nakamura with a forearm. Nakamura tosses Strong over his head and he lands right on Styles. That looks like it legit may have hurt. Styles and Nakamura go after one another with Strong on the outside. This is a good example of a match where they are doing some nearfalls just for the sake of doing them. Styles hits the Phenomenal Forearm on Nakamura, but Strong throws Styles out and steals the pinfall. This is the traditional heel finish for a triple threat match in WWE, so you knew we were going to get at least one match ending this way. I thought for sure Styles was going to win this match. There was a lot of good action, but not quite as good as you would hope. NXT is now up 3-1-1.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Daniel Bryan is getting ready backstage and in walks the Miz. Miz tells Bryan that for the sake of themselves, their families and everyone, that Bryan needs to stop the Fiend. Bryan tells Miz to get out of his face.
NXT Championship Match
Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole
Cole has had quite the week. Both men are selling injuries from last night. Dunne stomps Cole's elbow and wrist into the steel steps. The crazy thing about wrestling in 2019 is that in 1989 they probably would have turned that into an injury angle and now it's just a set up spot in the first few minutes of a match. That's not a knock on these guys, it's the business as a whole. That's where we are and it wouldn't be the worst thing if we started working our way back to the way things used to be. I don't know how much they are paying Adam Cole, but he is worth every penny. Dunne hits a sit down powerbomb for the first real close call of the match. Dunne goes for a moonsault, but Cole gets his knees up. Cole hits the Last Shot, but it's not enough to keep Dunne down for 3. Dunne hits the Bitter End but Cole is able to kick out. Cole hits a superkick onto a moonsaulting Dunne, which is a spot I will never get sick of. The only thing is that it should end the match, but I'm also not complaining that we are getting more. Cole hits a Panama Sunrise on the outside of the ring apron! Both men are down and out on the mats. Cole is able to crawl back in and Dunne barely beats the count. Cole makes an incredible counter into the Panama Sunrise and hits the Last Shot for the victory. Adam Cole continues his absolutely incredible 2019. The Undisputed Era celebrates on the stage. Another really good match on a weekend full of them.
Match Rating: ****
Backstage, Team SmackDown is going over their match.
Universal Championship Match
Daniel Bryan vs. The Fiend
Yes, this is still just about my least favorite gimmick of all time. Yes, he is still wrestling under a red light. Bray Wyatt's one shining moment in a singles match was against Daniel Bryan. Bryan has had one of the most low key, underappreciated amazing years and here he is in a match that everyone knows he has no chance in. After a short heat segment that feels like a lifetime, Bryan makes his comeback and gets him down after leaping off the top rope to the floor with a flying knee. Bryan hits two missile dropkicks and then a series of Yes Kicks and finally has the crowd behind him. Matches like this are where Michael Cole is at his worst. He is trying way too hard to drive this home. Bryan hits the running knee and gets a 2 count. The Fiend puts on the Mandible Claw, but Bryan counters it with an arm bar while draped over the top rope. Bryan counters Sister Abigail into a roll up for a 2 count. Wyatt counters with the Mandible Claw and uses it to get a pinfall. That was a heck of a performance by Bryan in a pretty short match. I won't complain anymore about Wyatt than I already have.
Match Rating: ***
Rey Mysterio is backstage for an interview. Rey says he wants Dominik to watch as he destroys Lesnar tonight.
Men's Survivor Series Elimination Match
Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens, Ricochet, Randy Orton vs. Baron Corbin, Braun Strowman, Shorty G, Mustafa Ali, Roman Reigns vs. Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Damian Priest, Matt Riddle, Walter
Strowman, Ciampa and Rollins start things off. Walter got a big chant prior to the start. They then tag in McIntyre and Walter, giving us the three big men early on. McIntyre hits a Claymore Kick out of nowhere and eliminates Walter. Wow. The crowd is not happy about that. Ricochet and Shorty G are now in and give us a good segment that ends with Ricochet getting folded up like an accordion with a German suplex. Shorty G and Riddle go at it. Owens hits a Frog Splash onto Shorty G and he is now eliminated. Owens superkicks Roman and then hits a Stunner on Corbin. As he rolls him in, Ciampa capitalizes and eliminates his partner from the previous night. Orton hits a RKO on Ciampa and then Priest and eliminates Priest. Riddle then rolls up Orton and gets the quick elimination. Orton hits Riddle with a RKO for good measure and Corbin pins Riddle. Strowman is running around the ring mauling everyone over until Keith Lee gets in his way and we get a huge collision. Lee gets back in the ring, but Strowman is eliminated by countout. Riochet does his thing until Corbin catches him with End Of Days and eliminates him. Ali finally gets in the match and gets a great reaction. Corbin and Ali get in an argument, which leads to Rollins hitting the Stomp and eliminating Ali. Reigns hits a big spear out of nowhere on McIntyre and he is gone. Reigns spears Corbin and Ciampa is there to pin him. We are down to Reigns, Rollins, Ciampa and Lee. Rollins and Reigns team up on Ciampa and start clearing off one of the announcer tables. They go for the Shield powerbomb, but out of nowhere is Lee to push them over and break it up. Ciampa hits Project Ciampa on Rollins but he somehow kicks out. Rollins is getting the Roman treatment from the audience. Ciampa is in control of Rollins, but Reigns hits a Superman Punch and Rollins follows with the Stomp for the elimination. Each team has one member left. Rollins knocks down Lee and then hits a Frog Splash, but Lee kicks out. Lee counters Rollins and hits the Jackhammer and gets the surprise pinfall. Reigns hits two Superman Punches, but Lee kicks out of a really close nearfall. Upon replay, it appeared as if the ref counted 3. Lee hits a sitdown powerbomb on Reigns, but he too kicks out. Lee misses a moonsault off the second rope and eats a Spear and Roman Reigns is the sole survivor. That match was a little messy at time, but it was a lot of fun. It was great to see Lee get a big spot here and then get to see the live crowd loving every second of it.
Match Rating: ***1/2
After the match, Reigns and Lee fist bump.
Becky Lynch says that there is no one can take all of her success away from her.
WWE Championship Match
No Holds Barred
Rey Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar
Mysterio goes right under the ring and grabs a lead pipe. Mysterio and Lesnar are both so good in these types of matches. Lesnar takes Mysterio down with a couple of clotheslines and then throws him under the bottom rope. Mysterio is able to counter Lesnar and shove him into the ring post. He goes for the pipe, but Lesnar hits a German suplex with a release onto the pipe. Dominik comes into the ring and distracts Lesnar and Mysterio hits a low blow. Dominik gets in on the action and they hits a double 619. Dominik hits a Frog Splash, followed by one from Rey but Brock kicks out. Lesnar hits a German on Dominik and then catches Rey from the top rope and hits a F5 for the victory. Good sprint there and they used Dominik wisely.
Match Rating: ***
Bayley vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Becky Lynch
The crowd is silent early on here. These marathon shows are just too much and there were no come down matches tonight. Bayley gets a lot of offense in early. After so many quick paced matches tonight, this was feels slower than it probably is. Becky goes up top and hits a leg drop from the top rope on Bayley, but Baszler breaks up the pin attempt. Bayley hits Bayley-To-Belly on Baszler, but she kicks out. Baszler has Bayley on her shoulders, but Lynch comes off the top rope. Lynch and Baszler go back and forth until Bayley comes in and hits a crossbody. Lynch hits a powerbomb on Baszler, but she kicks out to little reaction. Lynch gets Baszler into the Disarm-Her, but it's not enough. Bayley misses the elbow drop off the top rope and Baszler puts Bayley in the Kirifuda Clutch and that's all? Unfortunately for these three talented women, this was not their best work. On a show that had a lot of good action, this one just didn't deserve to the be the main event. NXT wins 4-2-1. We'll see if this does anything for NXT. Baszler celebrates on top of the tables and Lynch attacks her from behind. Lynch hits a leg drop off the barricade on Baszler through the announce table.
Match Rating: **1/4
Everything was really good with the exception of the main event. I was a little surprised with some of the booking decisions, but at the same time none of them felt wrong. Say what you will about WWE, but they did deliver two really good nights of wrestling in a row in their most vocal city. I'm not sure where this leaves us with the brand split, but I'm at least more interested than I was prior to watching.
Overall Rating: 85%
Saturday, November 23, 2019
NXT TakeOver: WarGames 2019 Review
Saturday, November 23rd, 2019
Allstate Arena
Rosemont, Illinois
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
WarGames
Rhea Ripley, Candice LeRae,Tegan Nox, Dakota Kai vs. Bianca Belair, Kay Lee Ray, Io Shirai, Shayna Baszler
Shirai and LeRae are the first two in here. LeRae goes for a suicide dive between the two rings, but Shirai counters and then follows it up with two 619's. Shirai dominates the rest of the time until the very end of the time period and here comes Belair to shut it down. LeRae fires back, but then eats a stiff looking forearm from Belair. Belair then hits multiple power bombs and then a power bomb into the cage. Belair puts LeRae in a Camel Clutch and Shirai gets a full head of steam and hits her with a dropkick. Up next is Ripley and she goes under the ring to grab a garbage can and then slams the cage door on Belair's head. Ripley is incredibly over with the Chicago crowd. Ripley grabs some more weapons including chairs and kendo sticks. The crowd wants tables, but Ripley doesn't oblige. Ripley slams Belair ribs first into a garbage can. WWE better be careful, these women might actually become stars. Kay Lee Ray is next and she goes right under the ring and grabs some chairs. She teases grabbing a table and pushes it back in. Nice heel work there. Ripley and LeRae try to superplex Belair through chairs, but it is blocked. Instead we get a tower of doom spot thanks to a Ripley powerbomb onto the now folded chairs. Belair is still up top and she hits a 450 splash onto Ripley. Dakota Kai is next and on her way to the ring, turns around and attacks Tegan Nox, slamming her into the smaller cage on the stage. Regal tries to break it up, but she pushes him away, all while Baszler is on the stage loving every second of it. Kai comes back again and continues to attack her. This is a nice little plot twist to help differentiate the two matches tonight. It's Baszler's turn to enter and we are going to have a 4-on-2. Baszler checks in on Nox and slowly walks to the ring. Ripley and Bayszler go right at it, but Belair breaks it up. They announce that the match is now officially started since Nox and Kai are no longer in the match. Ripley and LeRae are between the two rings and two opponents stand on both sides. Ripley and LeRae explode to try to take out their opponents. Ripley and Baszler have submission holds in the corners. Belair launches LeRae across the rings. I had no idea that she was so strong. Belair starts whipping Ripley with her hair, but in comes LeRae with a kendo stick. Shirai is now climbing up to the top of the cage, but LeRae is right behind her. Kay Lee Ray is right behind her and LeRae hits Kay Lee with a reverse hurricanrana from the top rope. Shirai is still on the top of the cage. Shirai hits a moonsault off the top of the cage onto a dueling Belair and LeRae. Baszler puts Ripley into the Kirifuda Clutch. Ripley counters and handcuffs her to herself. Ripley then hits a Riptide through the chairs and gets the victory. It's pretty safe to say they are 100% behind Ripley and for good reason. The future is bright here on NXT in the women's division between Ripley, LeRae, Belair and Shirai. All of these performers put forth an incredible effort here and they told a compelling story. What more can you ask for? Amazing opening match.
Match Rating: ****1/2 (out of 5)
Triple Threat Match To Be The #1 Contender For The NXT Championship
Damian Priest vs. Killian Dain vs. Pete Dunne
This is a fresh matchup. Priest is wearing Outsider inspired gear. Dain slams Dunne right into Priest's face in a crazy looking spot. Dain catches a leaping Dunne while carrying Priest on his back and hits a fall back slam/Samoan drop combo. Priest and Dain hit a double powerbomb. They now begin to trade forearm blows. Dunne gets in the middle of it and joins in. They hit a triple dropkick, which I don't think I have ever seen. Priest hits a Razor's Edge on Dunne onto a table. Dain then comes out hits a cannonball onto Priest into a guardrail. Back in the ring, Priest hits a Razor's Edge on Dain, but Dunne makes the save. Pretty impressive by Priest there. Priest leaps over the top rope and hits Dain and then Dunne follows up with a moonsault on Dain and Priest to the floor. Dunne has Priest in a submission, but Dain makes the save at the last second. Dain hits a cannonball into both men and then a Vader Bomb onto Priest. Dunne hits a moonsault to break up the cover. Dunne hits the Bitter End on Dain, but Priest breaks that one up. Mauro scrapes the bottom of his barrel to make a Beastie Boys reference for Pain. Priest gets a nearfall and shows his frustration. Too much action to recap here. Dain knocks Priest off the apron and heads up top. Dunne hits him with a kick to the head. Dunne hits a superplex on Dain and then the Bitter End on Priest, but it's broken up by Dain again. Dain slams Dunne onto Priest, but Dunne pushes Dain off and gets the pinfall on Priest to become the #1 contender tomorrow night at Survivor Series. All three men looked good and worked really hard. I think they did a few too many false finishes and it took the crowd out of it a little bit. All three should be stars in the near future.
Match Rating: ***3/4
They promote a February 16th TakeOver to be held in Portland, Oregon.
Matt Riddle vs. Finn Balor
This might have been the better choice to follow the first War Games match, as this will be the most unique match on the card. Balor hits a nasty looking dropkick through the ropes into Riddle and it looks even more painful in slow motion. We get some good back and forth action from these two. Balor hits a Sling Blade, but Riddle hits him with a big spear to a charging Balor. Riddle then follows it up with a Jackhammer for a nearfall. Riddle hits a Go To Sleep and goes up top for a Floating Bro, but Balor gets his knees up. Balor hits a dropkick and he heads up top, but Riddle moves. Riddle gets him in the Bromission. Balor is out of it and hits a 1916 DDT for the victory. That was a hard hitting match that gave the show something different. I do worry that Riddle is losing too much, but I think as long as he is on NXT, the crowd will accept him as a top guy no matter what. This was also Balor's best match in a long time.
Match Rating: ***3/4
WarGames
Undisputed Era vs. Keith Lee, Dominik Dijakovic, Tommaso Ciampa, ???
Ciampa walks right to the ring upon his entrance. No one knows their character better than Ciampa. Strong will start things off for the Undisputed Era. No 4th member is out yet for Ciampa's team. Strong has the crutch, but then launches it over the cage. This match has the benefit of having some of the best conditioned athletes in WWE in it. I am pretty sure Cole and Strong could wrestle for 3 hours straight. As much as we wrestling fans like to complain about most of the decisions WWE makes now, the fact that Tommaso Ciampa and Roderick Strong are main eventing a show is pretty awesome. Undisputed Era have the advantage and Kyle O'Reilly is next in. They quickly take advantage of their 2-on-1. O'Reilly holds Ciampa on the ropes and then gets hit by multiple running forearms from Strong. Dijakovic is in next and he hits some big kicks to knock out both men. Both Dijakovic and Priest would have been great opponents for Undertaker back in the day. Bobby Fish is out now to help his team out and instantly goes after Ciampa. It's Keith Lee time. I'm so glad he is finally starting to catch on. Lee leapfrogs both O'Reilly and Fish and then hits them both with a crossbody. Lee is also over big here in Chicago. It takes all three of the Undisputed Era to get him off his feet and they all attack him until Ciampa breaks it up. Adam Cole is here and he grabs a table. Some people complain that Undisputed Era are not true heels and I suppose that this helps their case. However, I would argue that they fit in a sub-category of heel, but I'm not going to get too much into that. Cole gets a handful of tables into the ring. As Cole is walking in, Ciampa pushes him and he lands into a table leaned against the barricade. All seven participants begin brawling. Lee tries a double move, but gets hit with a low blow. The clock starts counting down and the mystery opponent is...Kevin Owens, who gets a huge pop. The KO shirt he is wearing has a NXT logo on the back. Owens hits a Stunner on Cole, but Strong breaks up the pin. Lee and Dijakovic attempt to throw Strong over both sets of ropes and he lands awkwardly on the rest of his teammates. Lee hits a crossbody off the top rope, but then O'Reilly leaps on Lee's leg from the top rope and immediately puts him into a submission. Springboard moonsault by Dijakovic breaks it up. Strong hits a Strong Slam from the top rope on Lee. Cole hits a Panama Sunrise on KO into the steel between the two rings. Ciampa and Cole are up on the turnbuckles with two tables behind them. Cole climbs up to the top of the cage, while Strong and Fish work on Lee in another corner. Dijakovic sends Strong through a table. Owens then hits O'Reilly with a frog splash through a table. Lee then powerbombs Fish through a table. Back to Cole and Ciampa on top of the cage. Ciampa picks Cole up on his back and hits a Death Valley Driver through two tables. Holy crap did those explode. Ciampa gets the victory as all 8 men are shown down and out. They show Britt Baker showing concern, which is a big shocker. I have to say, it kind of amazes me that they allow that spot to happen, even with both guys being as safe of workers as there probably are. Well the previous WarGames matches were both good, but never hit great. Both WarGames matches tonight hit greatness and honestly, I'm not sure which one I liked better. Both felt different, which is a huge compliment to all of the performers. The women's match probably had more of emotion thanks to the Nox/Kai segment. This match had the wow moment to end it and one that will most likely stick with everyone who watched it. It's a tough call, but I think I'll give the women's match the slight nod.
Match Rating: ****1/4
The show was called WarGames and WarGames was exactly what we got. Both matches were fantastic and left us fans a lot to talk about. The other two matches on the show were high impact as well and would be show stealers had they been TV matches or on regular WWE pay-per-views. TakeOvers always deliver and while this one isn't in the top tier, it was another absolute classic. Let's see if they can inject some life into the Survivor Series tomorrow night.
Overall Rating: 94%
Allstate Arena
Rosemont, Illinois
Follow me on Twitter: @WorkTheNetwork2
WarGames
Rhea Ripley, Candice LeRae,
Shirai and LeRae are the first two in here. LeRae goes for a suicide dive between the two rings, but Shirai counters and then follows it up with two 619's. Shirai dominates the rest of the time until the very end of the time period and here comes Belair to shut it down. LeRae fires back, but then eats a stiff looking forearm from Belair. Belair then hits multiple power bombs and then a power bomb into the cage. Belair puts LeRae in a Camel Clutch and Shirai gets a full head of steam and hits her with a dropkick. Up next is Ripley and she goes under the ring to grab a garbage can and then slams the cage door on Belair's head. Ripley is incredibly over with the Chicago crowd. Ripley grabs some more weapons including chairs and kendo sticks. The crowd wants tables, but Ripley doesn't oblige. Ripley slams Belair ribs first into a garbage can. WWE better be careful, these women might actually become stars. Kay Lee Ray is next and she goes right under the ring and grabs some chairs. She teases grabbing a table and pushes it back in. Nice heel work there. Ripley and LeRae try to superplex Belair through chairs, but it is blocked. Instead we get a tower of doom spot thanks to a Ripley powerbomb onto the now folded chairs. Belair is still up top and she hits a 450 splash onto Ripley. Dakota Kai is next and on her way to the ring, turns around and attacks Tegan Nox, slamming her into the smaller cage on the stage. Regal tries to break it up, but she pushes him away, all while Baszler is on the stage loving every second of it. Kai comes back again and continues to attack her. This is a nice little plot twist to help differentiate the two matches tonight. It's Baszler's turn to enter and we are going to have a 4-on-2. Baszler checks in on Nox and slowly walks to the ring. Ripley and Bayszler go right at it, but Belair breaks it up. They announce that the match is now officially started since Nox and Kai are no longer in the match. Ripley and LeRae are between the two rings and two opponents stand on both sides. Ripley and LeRae explode to try to take out their opponents. Ripley and Baszler have submission holds in the corners. Belair launches LeRae across the rings. I had no idea that she was so strong. Belair starts whipping Ripley with her hair, but in comes LeRae with a kendo stick. Shirai is now climbing up to the top of the cage, but LeRae is right behind her. Kay Lee Ray is right behind her and LeRae hits Kay Lee with a reverse hurricanrana from the top rope. Shirai is still on the top of the cage. Shirai hits a moonsault off the top of the cage onto a dueling Belair and LeRae. Baszler puts Ripley into the Kirifuda Clutch. Ripley counters and handcuffs her to herself. Ripley then hits a Riptide through the chairs and gets the victory. It's pretty safe to say they are 100% behind Ripley and for good reason. The future is bright here on NXT in the women's division between Ripley, LeRae, Belair and Shirai. All of these performers put forth an incredible effort here and they told a compelling story. What more can you ask for? Amazing opening match.
Match Rating: ****1/2 (out of 5)
Triple Threat Match To Be The #1 Contender For The NXT Championship
Damian Priest vs. Killian Dain vs. Pete Dunne
This is a fresh matchup. Priest is wearing Outsider inspired gear. Dain slams Dunne right into Priest's face in a crazy looking spot. Dain catches a leaping Dunne while carrying Priest on his back and hits a fall back slam/Samoan drop combo. Priest and Dain hit a double powerbomb. They now begin to trade forearm blows. Dunne gets in the middle of it and joins in. They hit a triple dropkick, which I don't think I have ever seen. Priest hits a Razor's Edge on Dunne onto a table. Dain then comes out hits a cannonball onto Priest into a guardrail. Back in the ring, Priest hits a Razor's Edge on Dain, but Dunne makes the save. Pretty impressive by Priest there. Priest leaps over the top rope and hits Dain and then Dunne follows up with a moonsault on Dain and Priest to the floor. Dunne has Priest in a submission, but Dain makes the save at the last second. Dain hits a cannonball into both men and then a Vader Bomb onto Priest. Dunne hits a moonsault to break up the cover. Dunne hits the Bitter End on Dain, but Priest breaks that one up. Mauro scrapes the bottom of his barrel to make a Beastie Boys reference for Pain. Priest gets a nearfall and shows his frustration. Too much action to recap here. Dain knocks Priest off the apron and heads up top. Dunne hits him with a kick to the head. Dunne hits a superplex on Dain and then the Bitter End on Priest, but it's broken up by Dain again. Dain slams Dunne onto Priest, but Dunne pushes Dain off and gets the pinfall on Priest to become the #1 contender tomorrow night at Survivor Series. All three men looked good and worked really hard. I think they did a few too many false finishes and it took the crowd out of it a little bit. All three should be stars in the near future.
Match Rating: ***3/4
They promote a February 16th TakeOver to be held in Portland, Oregon.
Matt Riddle vs. Finn Balor
This might have been the better choice to follow the first War Games match, as this will be the most unique match on the card. Balor hits a nasty looking dropkick through the ropes into Riddle and it looks even more painful in slow motion. We get some good back and forth action from these two. Balor hits a Sling Blade, but Riddle hits him with a big spear to a charging Balor. Riddle then follows it up with a Jackhammer for a nearfall. Riddle hits a Go To Sleep and goes up top for a Floating Bro, but Balor gets his knees up. Balor hits a dropkick and he heads up top, but Riddle moves. Riddle gets him in the Bromission. Balor is out of it and hits a 1916 DDT for the victory. That was a hard hitting match that gave the show something different. I do worry that Riddle is losing too much, but I think as long as he is on NXT, the crowd will accept him as a top guy no matter what. This was also Balor's best match in a long time.
Match Rating: ***3/4
WarGames
Undisputed Era vs. Keith Lee, Dominik Dijakovic, Tommaso Ciampa, ???
Ciampa walks right to the ring upon his entrance. No one knows their character better than Ciampa. Strong will start things off for the Undisputed Era. No 4th member is out yet for Ciampa's team. Strong has the crutch, but then launches it over the cage. This match has the benefit of having some of the best conditioned athletes in WWE in it. I am pretty sure Cole and Strong could wrestle for 3 hours straight. As much as we wrestling fans like to complain about most of the decisions WWE makes now, the fact that Tommaso Ciampa and Roderick Strong are main eventing a show is pretty awesome. Undisputed Era have the advantage and Kyle O'Reilly is next in. They quickly take advantage of their 2-on-1. O'Reilly holds Ciampa on the ropes and then gets hit by multiple running forearms from Strong. Dijakovic is in next and he hits some big kicks to knock out both men. Both Dijakovic and Priest would have been great opponents for Undertaker back in the day. Bobby Fish is out now to help his team out and instantly goes after Ciampa. It's Keith Lee time. I'm so glad he is finally starting to catch on. Lee leapfrogs both O'Reilly and Fish and then hits them both with a crossbody. Lee is also over big here in Chicago. It takes all three of the Undisputed Era to get him off his feet and they all attack him until Ciampa breaks it up. Adam Cole is here and he grabs a table. Some people complain that Undisputed Era are not true heels and I suppose that this helps their case. However, I would argue that they fit in a sub-category of heel, but I'm not going to get too much into that. Cole gets a handful of tables into the ring. As Cole is walking in, Ciampa pushes him and he lands into a table leaned against the barricade. All seven participants begin brawling. Lee tries a double move, but gets hit with a low blow. The clock starts counting down and the mystery opponent is...Kevin Owens, who gets a huge pop. The KO shirt he is wearing has a NXT logo on the back. Owens hits a Stunner on Cole, but Strong breaks up the pin. Lee and Dijakovic attempt to throw Strong over both sets of ropes and he lands awkwardly on the rest of his teammates. Lee hits a crossbody off the top rope, but then O'Reilly leaps on Lee's leg from the top rope and immediately puts him into a submission. Springboard moonsault by Dijakovic breaks it up. Strong hits a Strong Slam from the top rope on Lee. Cole hits a Panama Sunrise on KO into the steel between the two rings. Ciampa and Cole are up on the turnbuckles with two tables behind them. Cole climbs up to the top of the cage, while Strong and Fish work on Lee in another corner. Dijakovic sends Strong through a table. Owens then hits O'Reilly with a frog splash through a table. Lee then powerbombs Fish through a table. Back to Cole and Ciampa on top of the cage. Ciampa picks Cole up on his back and hits a Death Valley Driver through two tables. Holy crap did those explode. Ciampa gets the victory as all 8 men are shown down and out. They show Britt Baker showing concern, which is a big shocker. I have to say, it kind of amazes me that they allow that spot to happen, even with both guys being as safe of workers as there probably are. Well the previous WarGames matches were both good, but never hit great. Both WarGames matches tonight hit greatness and honestly, I'm not sure which one I liked better. Both felt different, which is a huge compliment to all of the performers. The women's match probably had more of emotion thanks to the Nox/Kai segment. This match had the wow moment to end it and one that will most likely stick with everyone who watched it. It's a tough call, but I think I'll give the women's match the slight nod.
Match Rating: ****1/4
The show was called WarGames and WarGames was exactly what we got. Both matches were fantastic and left us fans a lot to talk about. The other two matches on the show were high impact as well and would be show stealers had they been TV matches or on regular WWE pay-per-views. TakeOvers always deliver and while this one isn't in the top tier, it was another absolute classic. Let's see if they can inject some life into the Survivor Series tomorrow night.
Overall Rating: 94%
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