Saturday, October 5, 2024

WWE Bad Blood 2024 (10/5/24)



WWE Bad Blood
State Farm Arena
Atlanta, GA
October 5, 2024


Commentators: Michael Cole and Corey Graves

Ring Announcer: Samantha Irvin


Its the return of Roman Reigns to active duty as he teams with WWE Champion Cody Rhodes to take on his cousins Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu. The story to this one is pretty simple. After Cody Rhodes defeated Roman at Wrestlemania, Roman disappeared. In his absence, Solo Sikoa assumed the role of "tribal chief" and took out both Jimmy Uso and Paul Heyman with his new squad of Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa and Jacob Fatu. At Summerslam, Roman Reigns made his first appearance since Wrestlemania to help Cody defeat Solo and announce the real tribal chief was back. Now Cody and Roman battle the Bloodline tonight. Also, we got Hell in A Cell with Drew McIntyre and CM Punk. At the Royal Rumble Drew McIntyre injured CM Punk's shoulder (in real life it was an accident) and put him out for six months. McIntyre bragged about it and Punk cost him not only the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania but a failed Cash-In after Drew won Money In The Bank. McIntyre won the first match at Summerslam with Seth Rollins the guest referee, CM Punk took the rematch in a strap match at Bash in Berlin. This final battle for bragging rights should be epic. Also the big rematch from Summerslam with Bayley taking on WWE Women's Champion Nia Jax. Finally the Terror Twins/Judgment Day feud continues with two singles matches. Liv Morgan puts the Women's World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Rhea Ripley while Finn Balor goes one on one with Damian Priest. Also Triple H has a big announcement....yay.


We open the show with Samantha Irvin introducing our hosts, Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair and Naomi. Social media pointed out how there hadn't been a black singles winner in over a year so HHH responded by having these three as our hosts. Naturally people were upset that they weren't wrestling. The trio stand in the ring and tell us up first is Hell in a Cell. During the entrances we see a shot of Goldberg and his son Gage in the crowd. Next to him is Atlanta rapper Killer Mike....yeah.



Match 1

Drew McIntyre vs CM Punk in a Hell in a Cell Match

As mentioned in the intro, this is the rubber match. McIntyre won at Summerslam, Punk won in Berlin. Cole before the match says it was 27 years ago tonight that the first Bad Blood took place featuring Hell in A Cell. Drew McIntyre also made his debut 15 years ago the day before at 2009 Hell In A Cell. McIntyre tweeted earlier in the day that he match would be mutually assured destruction. Bell's gone and they stare at each other in the corner to start before walking slowly to the center of the ring. They slug it out before Drew punches Punk in the corner. They trade corner punches before Drew block a kick and heaves Punk in the other corner. Drew chops Punk then throws him through the ropes to the outside. Cole says that Punk has gotten to McIntyre so bad that even Drew's wife says she's not as important as revenge on Punk. Punk goes back first into the Cell but they both fail to ram heads into the Cell. They slug it out on the floor before Punk whips Drew into the cell. Punk shoulderblocks Drew twice before ramming the back of Drew's head into the cell twice as well. Punk goes under the ring for a table as the crowd cheers. He grabs a chair too but Drew takes it and hits Punk in the back with it. Cole gets a shot at Dave Meltzer by saying this won't be a 5 star wrestling classic....of course, its not in AEW or Japan. Drew throws Punk into the steel steps and stands on him to a chorus of boos. Drew grabs a toolbox and empties it in the ring. He swings and misses with a wrench and Punk punches Drew down before driving the wrench into the forehead of Drew. Cole says Shawn Michaels vs Triple H was 47 minutes long in 2004 (don't remind me). Back inside McIntyre boots Punk in the forehead and goes to set up the table but he rips the legs of it by accident. He goes to hit punk with the broken legs but gets booted in the mid-section. Punk drops Drew throat first into the table and chokes him with the broken table legs. Punk rams Drew back first into the table legs still attached twice as the crowd chants "One more time". Drew has noticeable back bruises and blocks Punk's attempt to ram the legs into his eyes. Outside the ring Punk goes for the GTS but Drew grabs the cell to block it. Drew hits a Claymore Kick on the outside and torpedoes Punk face first into the cell. Punk is busted wide open and Drew cracks an evil grin. Drew grabs the steel steps and rams Punk in the head with them then rams CM's head into them. Drew stomps on Punk's head and says he's going to end his career and his wife will leave him. McIntyre grabs a wrench and rams it into Punk's open wound. McIntyre goes outside and grabs another table from under the ring. Drew punches Punk in the head and stares at the blood on his hand as Cole says he's a psychopath. Punk hits the running knee in the corner but McIntyre dumps him on the apron. Punk goes to the top rope and hits an axehandle smash. Punk grabs a wrench and goes back to the top but McIntyre catches him on the way down. Drew hits a Taz-plex and sits in the corner just staring at Punk. He nips up and calls for the Claymore Kick but Punk rolls out of the ring. Punk waffles Drew with the toolbox itself and Drew is now bleeding like crazy. Punk cracks Drew in the face again and goes up to the top with the box. Punk smashes  Drew with the box as Drew's face is a mess. Punk hits three running knees in the corner and the bulldog. Punk calls for the GTS but Drew rolls out of it. Punk then counters a backslide with another GTS attempt, hitting this one. Unfortunately for Punk, Drew rolled out of the ring. Punk laughs as he throws Drew back in the ring. Punk rolls in and Drew hits the Claymore before covering for 1...2...nooooo. Quick strike by McIntyre almost worked. Drew calls for another Claymore but misses it. Punk goes for a modified sharpshooter but Drew grabs a wrench. Drew hits Punk with the wrench to break the hold then rams it into Punk's face. Punk and Drew slug it out in the center of the ring as Drew goes for Future Shock. Punk blocks it and goes for another GTS but Drew rolls out of it. Drew chops Punk but gets kicked in the head. McIntyre rolls to the apron and Punk hits another running knee. Drew then suplexes Punk from the apron through the table below. Drew goes for the ring steps as Graves says Punk isn't moving and he's concerned. Drew doesn't even have the strength to put the ring steps in the ring to show how brutal this match as been. Drew finally gets the steps in the ring as Punk is rolled into the ring. Punk hits the GTS out of nowhere and covers for 1..2.....noooooo. Cole "Somebody win this damn match and end this brutality." Graves "Both of them are flirting with career threatening injuries." Drew hits White Noise on the steps on Punk and covers for 1..2....noooooo. Drew counters a tilt-a-whirl with the anaconda vice as Drew grabs a wrench. Punk grabs the wrench away and pummels Drew with it. Drew begs off as Punk screams "You're gonna beg?" Drew then hits a low blow and grabs a black sack....you know what that means! Referee Shawn Bennett goes to wipe the blood off McIntyre's face with a white towel but Drew shoves it away. Drew dumps the bag.....of beads on Punk. Ahhhhhhahahaha, what a troll move. Drew finally wipes himself off with a white towel and goes for the Claymore. Punk moves and Drew lands back first on the side of the ring steps...ow. Punk wraps a metal chain around his left leg and grabs a handful of beads. Punk rams the beads in Drew's mouth and hits the GTS. Punk covers for 1....2....3 to end the war. Punk's prediction of Drew begging came true as Graves says the ring looks like a crime scene. This was never supposed to be a wrestling match, this was a a brutal war and it delivered on that. Punk wins the war as Bennett has to hold Punk up to raise his hand. Cole "Tonight the second city saint is the second city devil" as Punk symbolically slams the door on his way out, collapsing in the aisle. Great match and feud ender, hats off to both guys.


Time of match: 31:24

Winner: Punk by pinfall


Adam Pearce and Gregory Helms rush the ring to tend to McIntyre after the match as the EMT's tend to Punk sitting on the ground. McIntyre stares at Punk in agony as Punk rips the mask off his face, standing up with Pearce's help. Punk poses on the ramp victorious as we cut to commercial of the Firefly Funhouse for WWE2K24....damn I miss Bray. Back from break Cole says Kurt Angle won Gold here in the 1996 Olympics. Then we get a graphic for Nia Jax vs Bayley up next. How the hell do you top HIAC? They're going to try. 

Before the match, Samantha Irvin introduces WWE Hall of Famers Jacqueline who looks as great as ever, Lilian Garcia who hasn't aged a day in 20 years, and Booker T. Then we go over to Cathy Kelley in the VIP Suite. There's a party going on with the hosts along with WWE Intercontinental Champion Jey Uso, Diamond Dallas Paige, Tully Blanchard, X-Pac and Mickie James in the background. Jade wants to see Rhea vs Liv while Naomi wants to see Nia vs Bayley. Onto the next match.



Match 2

Bayley vs Nia Jax for the WWE Women's Championship

After Bayley defeated Iyo Sky at Wrestlemania to become the Women's Champion, Nia Jax was pushed as a monster heel. Nia won Queen of The Ring in Saudi Arabia to earn the title shot at Summerslam. Nia then beat Bayley to become the new women's champion. Since then, she's employed the MITB winner Tiffany Stratton and Pretty Deadly as stooges. With Bayley's unlikely allies up in the VIP Suite, she's kind of on her own against the monster. Bayley rushes Nia at the bell and they slug it out. Nia shoulderblocks Bayley in the corner and throws her to the otherside. Nia hits an avalanche in the corner and another splash. Nia takes Bayley's head off with a clotheslines and covers for 1...2....no. Nia locks in a chinlock then slaps at Bayley. Nia hits another corner splash then the running ass bump. Nia hits another bulldozer and slaps Bayley around. Nia locks in a bearhug before Bayley rolls out of it for a sunset flip for 1...2..no. Nia rolls on top and applies a single leg crab as Corey says this is unlike her to go for a submission. Nia splashes Bayley against the ropes then goes for a modified camel clutch. Bayley gets to her feet then goes and up and over, sliding under Nia. Nia charges but Bayley sends her through the ropes to the outside. Nia slides in only to eat a leg drop. Bayley runs off the ropes but Nia slides outside the ring. Bayley hits a baseball slide and punches away on her. Bayley rolls Nia inside and covers for 1...2...no. Bayley snaps Nia off the second rope and hits a suicide dive through the second rope. Problem is she damn near missed and Nia had to bend down to take some of it. Back inside Nia lands a headbutt and rams Bayley onto the top rope before landing another avalanche. Nia lands another ass bump and goes for the banzai drop. Bayley punches away at Nia and they totally botch a hurracarana. Nia took the powerbomb bump and Bayley took the hurracarana bump anyway....whoops! Nia hits a belly to belly suplex and covers for 1...2...no. Nia throws Bayley on the top rope and goes for another ass bump, but misses. Bayley hits a running knee and goes for the sunset flip but Nia just sits down on her. That was too close to the ropes for Bayley to try that. Bayley drops a few elbows and limps around as she sells her right leg. Bayley hits the top rope elbow and covers for 1....2..no. Both roll outside and Bayley moves, Nia crashing into the steel steps on a charge. Bayley hits an elbow drop off the ring steps but Bayley has to get back in the ring to break up the count. Nia punches Bayley down then powerbombs her onto the steel steps. Nia slings her into the barricade as we go back inside. Nia poses for the irate crowd and totally botches a samoan drop. She covers anyway for 1...2...no, this is getting ugly. Nia goes for the banzai drop but Bayley pulls her off. Nia drops Bayley with a back elbow smash but Bayley counters with a samoan drop of her own. Bayley covers for 1...2..no. Nia press slams Bayley off into referee Jessika Carr. Carr goes to get up but Bayley kicks Nia in the head, Nia landing ontop of Jessika. Bayley hits a pop up stunner and a rose plant but Carr is down. Here comes Tiffany Stratton with the Money In The Bank briefcase and she waffles Bayley with it. Tiffany pulls up Carr but Nia sits up, staring a hole in Tiffany. Tiffany says she wasn't going to cash in as Bayley from behind avalanches Nia into Tiffany in the corner. Bayley rolls up Nia for 1...2....no. Nia misses a splash in the corner and goes up to the tope rope. Tiffany tosses Bayley the briefcase as distraction and Bayley throws it back at her. This allows Nia to deliver a second rope Samoan drop. Nia pulls Bayley in the corner, hits the banzai drop and covers for 1..2....3 to win the match. Bad, bad match but at least its over. Nia wins the feud with Bayley as Tiffany still lurks in the shadows.


Time of match: 14:17

Winner: Nia Jax by pinfall (Still WWE Women's Champion)



We cut to commercial which is hype for Summerslam 2025. Its going to be two nights at Met Life Stadium with Cardi B calling Bianca. We then cut to outside the arena with Xavier Woods shilling Dragonball Sparking Zero video game. Up next is Damian Priest against Finn Balor but before that, Samantha shouts out more hall-of-famers. X-Pac, Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson stand up and say hi. Onto the next match.



Match 3

Finn Balor vs Damian Priest

In case you missed it, both Rhea Ripley and Damian Priest got screwed over by Judgment Day and now its singles action. Bell's gone and they stare down in the center of the ring. Balor slaps his chest to start and Priest levels him with a forearm. Priest slams Balor in the corner and puts the boots to him. Priest hits a flapjack and hits a super kick. Balor rolls to the apron, shoulderblocks Priest and kicks at him. Balor chokes Priest on the top rope but Damian kicks Balor off the apron. Outside the ring, Finn hits a slingblade on the floor and rolls inside. Damian rolls inside and Finn stomps a mudhole in him before posing for the irate crowd. Balor locks in a sleeperhold then gouges the eyes. Balor pounds away with elbows and locks in a chin lock. Priest powers out of it as Graves says Balor never recovered mentally after relinquishing the Universal Championship. Priest charges but each boot but Finn jumps off the top right into a live round, Priest punched him for real by accident and hurt his hand. Balor counters a tilt-a-whirl with a Russian leg sweep and covers for 1....2...no. Balor kicks away at Priest then poses for the crowd again. Balor goes for the abdominal stretch before Priest hiptosses out of it. Priest unloads with right hands and a discuss punch. Priest hits a broken arrow and covers for 1...2...no. Priest misses a big forearm and Balor hits a slingblade. Priest hits two spin kicks and a clothesline before covering for 1...2...no. Priest hits a bellringer and kicks Balor in the chest twice. Finn hits a Pele Kick and chops Damian in the corner. Balor takes down Priest twice then stomps him on the chest. Priest blocks the third attempt and hits the Razor's Edge. Priest covers for 1...2...no. Outside the ring Priest sends Balor into the announce table. Priest hits a Razor's Edge on the ring apron and slides back in. Balor begs off as Priest pulls the singlet straps down. Here comes Carlito to distract the ref and JD McDonough to snap Priest off the top rope. Balor dropkicks Priest into the corner and Damian drops. Balor goes up to the top rope and hits Coup De Gras. He covers for 1...2....no. McDonough and Carlito can't believe it as the crowd chants Yeet. Carlito distracts the ref again as JD tosses Balor a chair. Priest kicks the chair into Finn's face and knocks Carlito off the apron. He backdrops McDonough on top of Carlito on the floor and goes for the South of Heaven. Balor victory rolls out of it for 1...2...no. Balor counters a powerslam with Eye of The Hurricane. Balor hits the Coup De Gras to Priest's back not once but twice. Balor jumps off the top a third time right into South of Heaven. Priest covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. Pretty good match but naturally we had to have the run ins. Priest says this won't bring back the World Heavyweight Championship but it had to feel good to win.


Time of match: 12:48

Winner: Priest by pinfall


We get a vignette for Survivor Series in British Columbia on November 30th before Cole shills some merch. We show Triple H in gorilla position as he's supposed to be up next then a graphic for Monday's Raw where Jey Uso puts the IC title on the line against Xavier Woods. Sheamus vs Pete Dunne in a "Good old fashioned Donnybrook" match and Sami Zayn challenges Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship. Here comes Triple H for a conference with some kind of podium in the ring. The podium has Crown Jewel written on it so this must be related to that. HHH opens by saying 30 years ago he was Terra Ryzing WCW...ha. Our attendance is 16,092 and 60th sellout of the year. Triple H says the next history making event will be four weeks from now at Crown Jewel. The catch is neither world title will be on the line, but the world champions will face each other. The winners will be the Crown Jewel Champion. HHH unveils a Crown Jewel belt with 50 karat diamonds and then World Heavyweight Champion Gunther walks out. Gunther gets in the ring and says Bad Blood wouldn't be anything without the World Heavyweight Champion. Gunther says he won King of The Ring in Saudi Arabia and HHH handed him the trophy, now HHH will do the same with the new belt. Gunther hypes up his match against Sami Zayn this Monday on Raw and tells Triple H that Sami isn't cut out to be top guy. Gunther says he's a future legend and wants to shout out the legends today. The crowd chants for Goldberg and right on cue, Gunther points him out in the front row. Gunther says Goldberg was NOT his childhood hero, he was a one trick pony. Gunther says he's busting balls but has a message for Gage Goldberg. He hopes Bill is a better father than he is a wrestler. Goldberg stands up, rips his hat off and hops the guardrail. Cole tells Graves to get the hell out of the way. Gunther says he's got 3 minutes, let's go. Security pushes Goldberg back until the Suit Brigade of Adam Pearce, Jamie Noble and others show up. Suddenly Sami Zayn himself rushes the ring and beats down Gunther. Zayn hits a plancha as the suit brigade grab Zami allowing Gunther to hit a big boot. Zayn chases him to the back. To sum up this entire segment, Champion vs Champion at Crown Jewel for a Saudi title, Zayn vs Gunther tomorrow night. HHH raises Goldberg's hand as his old theme plays as we move on. 

The Royal Rumble will be February 1, 2025 at Lucas Oil Stadium. The first time ever the Rumble will not be in January. Up next is World Women's Champion Liv Morgan defending against Rhea Ripley with Dom Mysterio locked in a shark cage. Before the next match, Samantha Irvin shouts out DDP, Mickie James and Scott Steiner. Cathy Kelley is up in the VIP section where Metro says Cody Rhodes is an Atlanta legend and to handle his business. Chelsea Green walks in and everyone is grossed out. Piper Niven can stay but Chelsea's gotta go. This is in reference to last night's Smackdown where Mia Yim defeated Chelsea in a dumpster match. Then we get a vignette of Dom Mysterios riding around with Liv Morgan in a low rider before they make their entrance in the low rider.



Match 4

Rhea Ripley vs Liv Morgan (with Dom Mysterio) for the World Women's Championship

Cole brings up Tommy Rich and Mad Dog Buzz Sawyer in the Last Battle of Atlanta with Paul Ellering locked in a cage before the match starts. Cole mentions how Rhea never actually lost the championship as Cole brings up Triple H had to be in a cage as well. Rhea shills Dirty Dom toilet paper which is actually ingenious. Cole "I'd love to see all the ways WWE fans would use that toilet paper." Graves "Do you have any idea the pandora's box that would open? Have you SEEN our fans?" Graves then says "This is cruel and unusual. He can't hang up a poster of Rhea and dig himself out with a spoon like he did the last time he was locked up." Rhea grabs a mic before the match starts and says "One more thing, Dom. You're afraid of heights? Raise him up!" Cole is loving it as the bell finally rings. Rhea attacks at the bell and throws Liv down before hitting a dropkick. Rhea heaves Liv across the ring and stomps on her foot. Rhea drops Morgan with a clothesline and hits a fallaway slam. Liv bails to the outside and rams Rhea into the steel steps. Liv misses a chick kick and Rhea electric chair drops Liv into the ring apron. Rhea throws her back inside as Graves say this is unfair. Rhea baseball slides Liv and sends her into the barricade. Liv is thrown inside as Corey says Rhea needs to move on from Dom. Buddy Mathews is comin for you Graves. Liv snaps Rhea's leg off the second rope and goes to work on the left knee. Dom is sitting down inside the cage as he looks legit terrified. Liv kicks away at Rhea inside the ring and hits a dropkick to the knee. Liv's charge eats elbow but rolls into a half crab. Rhea grabs Liv's head and rams it into the ring to escape. Rhea rallies with clotheslines and a northern lights suplex for 1...2...no. Graves "Poor Dom, he's white as a ghost." They slug it out in the ring before Liv rams Rhea's knee into the apron. Graves "That shark cage might be worse than prison. At least Dom got 3 hots and a cot in prison." Liv continues to ram Rhea's knee against the ring post as the crowd chants "Dom you suck!" Liv heaves Rhea against the barricade twice and she spin kicks Ripley. Liv hits a sunset flip bomb into the barricade and throws Rhea inside.  Liv does a DX crotch chop and hits a codebreaker from the second rope. Liv covers for 1...2...no.  Rhea counters Ob-Liv-ion and smiles at her. Ripley hits a knee to the stomach then goes for Riptide. Liv rolls out of it and hits a crucifix bomb (!!!) for 1....2...no. Graves says that move is called the "Home Wrecker". Liv looks up at Dom as Cole says they have three things in common "Shoes, movies and nuggets". Liv slams Rhea and says "That's my man, you're nothing." Liv slaps Rhea and does the Eddie Guerrero shimmy before going for the 3 Amigos. She hits two but Rhea blocks the third. Rhea hits a Razor's Edge as somehow Dom gets the shark cage open. Cole asks if he learned that in prison with Rhea on the top rope. She taunts Dom with  YEET and hits the frogsplash. She covers for 1...2..no, Liv rolled out of it. Rhea hits the Prism Lock but Liv makes it to the outside. Cole "Yeah he got the door open but its like escaping from Alcatraz, where's he gonna go?" Chyna jumped to the floor back in 1998 so its possible he can too. Rhea outside taunts Dom and throws Liv into both sides of the barricade. Rhea stomps on the derriere of Liv and hits Riptide on the floor. Dom somehow falls out of the cage but is hanging by his foot that's chained to the cage. Two security guards show up and Graves asks "Who are these derelicts?" Rhea spanks Dom and goes back inside and tells the referee to give her one minute to handle unfinished business. Referee Dan Engler says she deserves that...ha! Even the ref doesn't like Dom. Graves "Caught on camera, you crooked fool!" Rhea goes under the ring and grabs a singapore cane as Cole is enjoying this. Rhea looks at the camera and says "Happy birthday to me" (her birthday is coming up on the 11th) before busting Dom with the cane. Rhea unloads on Dom when someone bashes Rhea from behind that's unseen due to the camera angle. We get another shot and its RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ! Liv Morgan's former partner that's been on the shelf due to MCAS is back. The bell rings and Raquel hits a powerbomb to lay out Ripley. Raquel picks up Liv and frees Dom. Corey "Ain't love grand!" Bad match but they finally threw a monkey wrench in Rhea's revenge plan. Liv can't hang with Rhea one on one, but Raquel can. Having Raquel and Dom as stooges makes Liv more tougher to beat. Not to mention these are all women that Ripley terrorized when she was a Judgment Day heel. Rhea is going to need backup of her own but who'd want to come to HER aid after all she did to people?


Time of match: 14:34

Winner: Ripley by DQ (Liv retains)


Cue a vignette for Ford Field and a music video saying "Coming soon." Oh...its the Motor City Machine Guns, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin. They were known mostly for their Ring of Honor and TNA runs, now they're coming to WWE. We then get our upcoming holiday live schedule, December 26 in Jacksonville Florida. December 27 is a double shot with Raw guys in Pittsburgh, PA and Smackdown coming from Tampa, Florida. December 28 has a double shot with one crew in Baltimore and another in Orlando. December 29 one crew in Chicago and the other in Miami. December 30 is a double shot with Raw in Houston while Smackdown guys were in Detroit. That's a little too Vince for my taste to have a five day stretch with 9 shows but hey, it'll give them reps. Then we get a Crown Jewel vignette for Saturday November 2nd. Then we get our PLE schedule with Survivor Series on November 30th in Vancouver, Saturday Night's Main Event December 14 at the Nassau Coliseum, the Royal Rumble on Feb 1st at Lucas Oil Stadium, Wrestlemania 41 April 19th and 20th in Las Vegas and Summerslam 2025 August 2nd and 3rd at Metlife Stadium. Not a fan of two nights for Summerslam but oh well. After a vignette for the main event, let's get to it.



Match 5

Jacob Fatu & Solo Sikoa vs Roman Reigns and WWE Champion Cody Rhodes

Long story short...after Cody beat Roman at Wrestlemania, Roman disappeared and Solo Sikoa took over the Bloodline. He had Paul Heyman and Jimmy Uso dispatched by new members Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa, the sons of Haku. Then the son of Tonga Kid, Jacob Fatu also joined Solo. At Summerslam, Reigns returned to cost Solo his title match against Cody but is now without backup. Cody told Roman this would happen but he's doing the right thing to help him out against the Bloodline.  Roman says after this is over, he's coming after the title again. Solo and Jacob enter together without the Tongans who won the Triple Threat Ladder match last night but got beat up in the process. The Arkansas Pine Bluff Marching Band plays Cody Rhodes' theme as he enters which stems from them going viral weeks earlier for doing it during a game. Roman has his own orchestra play his theme as Cole brings up Ole Anderson turning on Dusty Rhodes in the Omni in 1980 and wonders if Roman will do the same. He also says this is the first match where Roman hasn't walked into it as a champion in over four years and hasn't wrestled in six months. Solo holds up the Ulafala as Roman facepalms. Bell's gone and Roman and Cody argue who's gonna start as Cole brings up Battleground 2013 when it was Cody and Dustin Rhodes against Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins of The Shield with Dusty in the corner of Cody. Cody starts with Jacob and Cody starts with a headlock. A shoulderblock goes nowhere and Jacob says to run it. Cody does an uppercut and a disaster kick but Jacob is barely fazed. Cody ducks the superkick and Solo gets in to tongue lash Jacob. Roman steps in to even the odds as the crowd chants "OTC". The crowd chants "Fuck you Solo" as Roman puts his hand to his ear. Jacob tags out to Solo and Cody says hold up. Cody slowly turns his head to Roman and Roman shrugs. Roman reaches for the tag and Cody tags him in. Roman and Solo circle and Roman unloads with right hands. Solo kicks him in the head and lands a headbutt before taunting the irate crowd. Roman gets the upperhand with 10 corner punches and an elbow smash. Roman clotheslines Solo over the top rope to the floor as Jacob gets in the ring despite no legal tag. They circle but Solo from behind clotheslines Roman down. Solo chokes Roman on the second rope as the crowd chants "You can't wrestle". What? Solo hits the ass bump in the corner to Roman before tagging out to Jacob. Fatu hits the same ass bump his uncle Umaga made famous as he taunts Roman. Jacob shoulderblocks Roman in the corner and says Solo is the tribal chief. Jacob eats ringpost on a charge and Roman throws him through the ropes to the outside. Cody gets the hot tag who punches away at Fatu before hitting a forearm. Cody hits the powerslam and Dusty Punches followed by the Cody cutter. Cody goes for Cross Rhodes but Solo distracts, allowing Jacob to hit the samoan drop. Jacob tags Solo and throws Cody outside, where Solo does a Rock Bottom onto the apron. Jacob and Solo double team Cody as Cole says if Solo pins Roman, he's the tribal chief. Graves asks if Jacob Fatu were to pin Cody, imagine HIM as champion. Solo and Jacob hit the wishbone but Cody tries to fight back with right hands. Jacob hits a spinning back elbow and tells Solo he loves him. Jacob bites the hand of Cody to prevent a tag as Cole calls him a scary man. Jacob locks in a nerve hold as the crowd chants "We want Roman". Cody fights out of it but Jacob tags out to Solo who pounds on Cody in the corner. Solo whips Fatu into Cody and Solo hits the as bump as well. Jacob tags in to cover for 1...2..no. Jacob tags in Solo but gets thrown out of the ring by Cody. Cody kicks Solo away and jumps for the tag....oh no, Roman hops down to avoid the tag. No wait! Jacob pulled him off....nevermind. Jacob rams Roman's head into the steel steps as Solo back inside clotheslines Cody. Solo covers for 1....2...no. Graves says Jacob may be a destructo in the ring but is very intelligent out of it. Jacob tags in to pummel Cody in the corner and powerslams him. Jacob goes to the top rope for the swanton but Cody gets the knees up. Roman is ready for the tag and Cody finally makes it there. Solo tags in and Roman cleans house with clotheslines to Solo. Roman hits a splash in the corner and a big boot. Roman punches him 10 times and locks in for the Superman Punch. Solo counters the punch by grabbing the arm and goes for a Samoan Spike. Reigns counters with a crucifix for 1.....2...no. Roman hits the Superman punch and covers for two as Roman caters to the crowd. Roman calls for the spear but Jacob stops him. Roman uppercuts Solo but runs into a double superkick. Fatu hits a moonsault and Solo hits a top rope splash. Solo covers for 1...2..no, Cody breaks it up. Jacob throws Cody outside and follows him out. Jacob is sent into the steel steps and Cody prepares the announce table. Jacob kicks Cody in the face but Rhodes moves, allowing Jacob to crash through the barricade. Jacob goes nuts as Cole says he's alive. Graves "Alive??? The sonovabitch is throwing chairs!" Cody rams Jacob's face first into a chair and shouts "go down!" Cody hits the Cross Rhodes on the floor and Jacob gets up almost immediately. Cody kicks Fatu twice to send him on the announce table. Cody goes to the top rope, salutes Reigns and splashes Jacob through the table. Down to Roman and Solo the crowd chants "This is awesome". Roman and Solo play "Yay boo punchathon" until Roman drops him with the Superman Punch. Roman calls for another spear but here come the Tongans. Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa distract Roman allowing Solo to hit a spear of his own. Solo covers for 1..2....nooooo. The crowd chants "YEET" as Corey tries to tell Cole that his monitor went out but someone just hopped the guardrail out of the corner of his eye. Solo taunts Roman as he notices someone in a hoodie standing behind the Tongans...gee, who could THAT be? Sure enough the hoodie dude superkicks both Tongans revealing himself to be Jimmy Uso, who hadn't been seen in six months. Cole "JIMMY USO IS BACK!" Solo turns around into a spear and Reigns covers for 1..2...3 to win the match. Damn good match even if it took a while to get to the good part.


Time of match: 25:43

Winners: Reigns and Cody by pinfall


After the match Jimmy gets in to acknowledge Roman and they hug it out. Jimmy holds up Roman's hand in victory and Roman turns to Cody Rhodes holding the WWE Championship. Roman stares at the belt and Cody and says let's go to Jimmy. Roman and Jimmy go to leave as the Tongans mug Cody. Jimmy "You gave him your word, Uce." Roman and Jimmy run back in and clean house of the Bloodline. The Tongans and Solo retreat as Roman picks up the WWE Championship belt. Roman hands the belt to Cody......IF YA SMELLLLLLLLL hits and the crowd explodes. Here comes The Rock still holding the Muhammad Ali belt standing at the entrance. Well this just got interesting, who does HE go after or side with? Cody, Jimmy and Roman stand in the ring staring at him. He counts 1,2,3 with his hands and says cut before leaving. He DID pin Cody at Wrestlemania Night 1 so him going after Cody is definitely in play as we sign off. Fans have been speculating what Wargames was going to be for months and it does appear that it might just be Roman, The Rock, Cody and The Usos against Solo, The Tongans, Jacob Fatu and a possible wild card.....or The Rock himself and have Sami Zayn come back for one night as the honorary Uce on Team Roman. Either way the story continues.

Bottom line was this was a 2 match card with three others thrown in there to fill it out. Not that Priest vs Balor was bad or the women's matches didn't deserve to be there, but this was Drew/Punk and Bloodline/Roman & Cody. 5 match cards really take away the hard work the rest of the roster does, but it shows you that you have to be special to get on there. Nia Jax is starting to bully Tiffany Stratton more and Liv now has more backup against Rhea Ripley. We got some business to take care of before we set off for Saudi Arabia in four weeks. This Monday's Raw is at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. I'll see you there.

Monday, May 4, 2015

WWE Raw (5/4/15)


We're just under two weeks away from WWE Payback and most of the card is set even if its not official. What IS official is John Cena vs Rusev in an I Quit Match and Seth Rollins defends the WWE Championship against Roman Reigns and Randy Orton in a triple threat match. What's not official but most likely is Ryback vs Bray Wyatt, Nikki Bella vs Naomi and New Day against Tyson Kidd & Cesaro. The status of Daniel Bryan is still up in the air so we'll have to see how that turns out. Definitely this week is important to add some last minute stips to the established matches and cement the others I mentioned. Let's get to this week's show.


WWE Raw
Bell Centre
Montreal, Quebec
May 4. 2015


Commentators: Michael Cole, Booker T and JBL

Ring Announcer: Eden Stiles


We begin the show with Randy Orton coming out for a conference. Randy says Payback is fitting for a ppv because he's looking for Payback on Seth Rollins. He says Roman Reigns is also in the match but he's going to be disappointed because Randy is walking out of Payback the champion. Orton says there's not a damn thing Rollins or Reigns can do about it and right on cue, Reigns walks out to join him. Reigns says its not going down like that, if anyone's going to get payback, its him. The crowd chants RKO and Roman says the fans don't fight for him. Randy says "You want payback at Payback and on Rollins but what do you think I'm gonna do, just let you march down to the ring, beat the hell out of Rollins and just stand in a corner?" Reigns "I don't care what you do, but if you come near me you won't be standing." Orton says he's a 12 time champion, been in 12 consecutive Wrestlemanias and says Roman's only been in 3 Wrestlemania's and has 0 heavyweight titles. Roman says he beat Orton at Summerslam and doesn't mind breaking Randy in half. They go nose to nose when....The New Day shows up. What? Xavier Woods says this negativity has to stop. Xavier says they're the only champions out there and they're there to spread positivity. Xavier says nobody cares about their Montreal Boo-hoo job......what? Kofi says both of them squandered their opportunities away as the crowd chants "New...Day sucks". Kofi says what's in the past is in the past and today is a new day. Kofi says "New Day rocks" and Big E says Roman can't win the big one and Rollins not only has Orton's number, he's got it on speed dial. Big E then gets to the point and says they got a handicap match courtesy of Kane, all three of them against Roman and Randy. Let's get to it after commercial.



Match 1

The New Day (Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston and Big E Langston) vs Randy Orton and Roman Reigns in a handicap match

Least we're getting some wrestling in the first 10 minutes of the show, even if this was a main event caliber match shown right away. Kofi starts with Orton and kicks away at him in the corner. Orton comes out of the corner with a clothesline and suplexes Kofi on the top rope. Roman tags in and suplexes Kofi back in the ring. Roman stares down Big E and locks in an arm-ringer. Kofi punches out of it and Woods tags in. Woods gets a headlock in and shouts "I'm gonna beat Roman Reigns." Booker "I don't think this is gonna work out good for Woods." Roman drops Xavier with a shoulderblock and a samoan drop before Orton tags in. Orton suplexes Xavier and covers for a deuce before he stomps on the back of Woods. Orton drops a knee and covers for another two count. Roman tags in and kicks Woods in the ribs. Roman kicks Woods in the head then stomps the mid-section. Orton tags in and stomps Woods as Booker says both Randy and Roman were born into the business. Orton stomps Woods enough to make Ronnie Garvin proud but Kofi distracts Randy long enough for Woods to tag in Big E. E hits a belly to belly suplex on Orton as Cole says that's the numbers game. New Day isolates Randy in the corner with all three members getting shots in on Randy. Woods hits a dropkick on Randy and covers for a deuce before we go to break. Back from break Kofi has Roman Reigns in a nerve hold. During the break Reigns got a hot tag and cleaned house only to be knocked into the barricade. Back to live action Big E hits an overhead belly to belly suplex on Reigns and claps to rile up the crowd. Big E does it again and covers for 1....2....nope. Woods tags in with a slingshot elbow drop and covers for 1...2...nope. Roman punches away at Woods but Xavier counters with a swinging neckbreaker. Woods covers for a deuce and Kofi tags in with a big fist off the second rope. Kofi locks in a front headlock as JBL makes fun of Kofi's pigtails. Woods tags in and applies a chinlock but Roman fights out of it and gets the hot tag to Orton. Orton catches Kofi mid-air and powerslams him but Big E breaks up the count. Roman hits the Superman punch on Big E but Woods dropkicks Roman. Randy heaves Woods out of the ring and does the second rope DDT to Woods. Orton coils and looks for the rKo, hitting Woods with it. Roman then goes to spear Kofi but Kingston moves and Roman spears Orton by accident. Kofi covers Orton for 1...2....3 to win the match. Uh oh.....Randy's not gonna like that. New Day hightails it out of there laughing as Roman is distraught. Good tag match for what it was and its obvious the New Day can draw heat.


Time of match: 13:13

Winners: New Day by pinfall



After the match Kane comes out with a microphone and says there's no shame in losing to the tag team champions. Kane says their evening isn't over yet and he can tell they're developing a dislike for each other. He wants to exploit that so he orders Reigns vs Orton in the main event of the show later. Kane says that's best for business. Guess Roman and Orton are pulling double duty tonight and Cole at ringside says this will benefit Rollins.

Backstage Kane walks by the celebratory New Day and rolls his eyes before Seth himself walks up with J and J Security. Rollins says what Kane just did is similar to a kid who's been bad all year trying to suck up to Santa the night before Christmas. Kane counters by saying he would wait in the chimney with a blowtorch to fry Santa's chestnuts (hahahahaha!). Kane says he made the matches because that's what is best for business. Kane says Rollins isn't getting off easy tonight and Rollins is going to face Dean Ambrose and J & J are banned from ringside. Rollins says Kane was the outside interference and Ambrose is going to hurt him before Payback. Kane says he could simply tie him to the ringpost and Rollins storms off unhappy. Again. this would be cool if Kane was actually turning face, but he's not.

Back to Renee Young in the ring to bring out Ryback for a chat. Highlights of Bray Wyatt attacking Ryback are shown and Ryback says "MONTREAL, YOU SOUND HUNGRY!" for almost no pop at all. Renee asks why Wyatt has been targeting Ryback and Ryback has no idea but it was a stupid decision. The crowd chants Goldberg as Ryback says he's been facing fear is whole life then stops to acknowledge the crowd. That causes them to chant "Feed Me More" (hahahaha). Ryback brings up his real life injuries including his horrible ankle break (that took him out of the Nexus in 2010) and he's grateful that he could come back and continue doing what he loved. Ryback gets another chant going and says Bray wanted his attention, and he's got it. Ryback says Bray can't scare him and he woke him up, now he's starving. Cue Bray Wyatt on the titantron to say human minds create human monsters. Wyatt says deep down inside Ryback is a scared little boy and fear molds them all. Bray "Everything you love, everything you're afraid to lose is all going to fade away, and in time...so will you. Run!" Still no explanation of why Bray wants Ryback but that's been his character for a year now, he attacked Dean Ambrose for no reason and now its Ryback. Onto the next match.


Match 2

The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor) vs Tyson Kidd & Cesaro (with Natalya)

Kidd and Cesaro are reeling after losing the belts to the New Day and they get the Ascension to feast on here. Pre-recorded comments have Konnor and Viktor saying Kidd is a fake Hart and they're going to rip out their hearts. They claim they're the tag team of the future and JBL on commentary asks when does the future start. They bum rush Kidd and Cesaro at the bell with Viktor starting with Tyson. Viktor sends Kidd into a Konnor clothesline and Viktor covers for 1...2...no. JBL says Stu Hart would have turned 100 years old yesterday as Konnor tags in to stomp away on Tyson in the corner. Konnor covers for 1..2..no. Konnor chokes Kidd in the corner and tags in Viktor. Viktor applies a chinlock then tags in Konnor for a snap suplex. Konnor tags in Viktor who comes off the top with a dropkick then covers for a deuce when Cesaro breaks up the count. Konnor tags in who slams Kidd, but misses the elbow drop. Viktor tags in to prevent the tag but Kidd gets the tag to Cesaro. Cesaro cleans house of both guys before hitting a serries of 10 running uppercuts to Viktor in the corner. Viktor is out of gas as Cesaro hits a clothesline and covers for two. Cesaro gutwrenches Viktor from the mat as the crowd pops. Konnor is clotheslined out of the ring but Viktor drops Cesaro. Kidd suicide dives onto Konnor on the floor as Cesaro hits a spinebuster on Viktor. Cesaro does a giant swing as Kidd tags in to drop a leg on Viktor. Kidd covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. Cesaro got the crowd excited as the burial of Ascension continues. Kidd, Cesaro and Natalya pose for the crowd as we cut to the back.


Time of match: 4:07

Winners: Kidd & Cesaro by pinfall



Seth Rollins walks in the back but is intercepted by Renee Young. She asks what he thinks about tonight's match with Dean Ambrose. He says this match shouldn't be happening and Kane is a moron. Back from commercial we get a highlight from Smackdown where Ambrose faced Rollins and Kane interfered to help Rollins win. Dean Ambrose makes his way to the ring for the match followed by Seth Rollins. All of a sudden Kane's music hits and he walks out. Kane says he's taken Seth's words to heart about there being no point to the match. Kane says if Dean wins this one then the match at Payback will be a Fatal Four Way with Ambrose added to it. Seth grabs a mic and goes nuclear and says 78% says for triple threat and keep it that way. Dean grabs the mic and says its a great idea and asks the crowd what they think. Naturally they cheer as Rollins says Kane or Ambrose don't matter, he's the WWE champion. Kane says he's overruling him and to ring the bell.



Match 3

Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins

If Dean wins, he's added to the main event of Payback. No J & J Security means Rollins is by himself as well. Ambrose rolls him up as soon as the bell rings for 1...2....no. Dean punches away at Rollins and chops away. Ambrose misses a big punch as Rollins bails to the outside. Dean chases him and drops Seth with a forearm. Rollins kicks him in the stomach and punches away before throws Ambrose in the ring. Dean immediately slides back out and hits a clothesline. Dean grabs Seth by the nose and kicks him in the neck. Booker T and JBL bicker about Kane's decision as Ambrose gets in a leglock. Ambrose hits a snap suplex and covers for a one count before Rollins kicks Ambrose in the ribs. Seth throws Dean in the corner and fires away then does a snap mare. Rollins kicks Dean in the back as the crowd chants for Ambrose. Seth punches away at Dean in the corner but Dean reverses it with punches in the corner. Rollins walks right into a big chop and Dean covers for a deuce. Rollins hits a running knee to the ribs, a scoop slam and a running knee drop. He covers for two and locks in a chinlock. The crowd chants Rollins sold out as Ambrose fights back with a kick to the head. Dean backdrops Rollins to the floor as we go to commercial. Back from break, Rollins gets in a nerve hold but Dean powers out of it. Dean is sent head first into the second turnbuckle as Rollins misses a slingshot clothesline. Ambrose hits a tornado DDT and lays on the mat for a few seconds. Ambrose punches away at Rollins followed by a slap and a forearm smash. Ambrose goes to the top rope but misses a clothesline. Rollins bails to the outside but Ambrose hits a suicide dive onto Seth to spark a "Holy shit" chant. Ambrose turns a back suplex into a front slam and covers for 1...2....no. Ambrose counters the buckle bomb with a backdrop as Rollins misses the stinger splash. Ambrose goes up top and hits an elbow drop before covering for 1...2...no. Rollins snaps Ambrose off the top rope and hits the slingshot dropkick. Seth covers for 1.....2.....noooooo. Seth taunts Ambrose who slaps him in the face. Rollins hits a superkick and covers for 1...2....no. Rollins goes for the buckle bomb but Dean rolls out of it, punching Seth in the face. Ambrose clotheslines Seth over the top to the floor, spilling outside with him. Rollins outside hits a powerbomb against the barricade and rolls inside. The ref counts to nine but Ambrose barely beats the count. Seth stomps away at Dean in the corner and hits a running forearm. Dean answers with one of his own but Rollins kicks Ambrose in the head. Dean hits the rebound clothesline as Seth does a 360. Dean covers for 1...2....no. Here comes J & J Security who were supposedly banned from ringside. Jamie Noble distracts the ref while Joey Mercury is immediately thrown over the top rope to the floor by Dean. Rollins goes for the roll up but Dean counters it and rolls through for his own 1......2.....3 to win the match. The crowd explodes as Dean is now in the main event of Payback. Ambrose beats a hasty retreat as J & J go nuts inside the ring. Damn good match between the ex-Shield members. JBL bitches about it but the decision is final.


Time of match: 16:31

Winner: Ambrose by pinfall



Cole explains the Fatal Four Way rules before we get a highlight of the New Day beating Roman Reigns and Randy Orton from earlier. We get a graphic for Reigns vs Orton later tonight and back from break, we get the highlight of Ambrose defeating Rollins from a few minutes ago. Back in Kane's office, Rollins comes in completely irate. Rollins wants to fight Kane and bitches that its a Fatal Four Way. "What are you trying to do, kill me?" Kane says the WWE Universe picked the triple threat and Rollins caused it to be a Fatal Four Way by losing to Ambrose. Kane says keep it up and he'll keep adding people. Kane then says this is all to make Rollins better and a great champion. Kane says he's got a plan and walks off. We cut to Byron Saxton with Lana who gets a babyface pop for absolutely no reason. Saxton actually asks her what she thinks of the cheers and she has no idea what he's talking about. Fandango shows up and tells her to "feel it" and flow into the ecstasy of the WWE Universe. Here comes Vladimir Rusev to yell in Bulgarian and tell her to move it. Apparently its Rusev vs Fandango next.



Match 4

Fandango vs Vladimir Rusev (with Lana)

They're rehashing the old Marc Mero/Sable thing with Lana waiving to the crowd and Rusev mistreating her. Bell's gone and Rusev gets on him right away with punches & kicks. The crowd loudly chants for Kana and Rusev kicks Fandango in the head. Rusev charges in the corner and misses, Fandango rallying with right hands. Rusev gets a knee to the ribs and sends him over the top rope. Fandango goes over to Lana and starts dancing then she gets into it to a loud pop. Rusev clubs Fandango from behind and throws Lana out of the arena. Dude, she just distracted your opponent, the hell are you mad at? Fandango attacks from behind and sends Rusev into the ringpost twice. Back inside Fandango ducks the line and hits a series of dropkicks. Fandango eats a superkick and Rusev stomps on his back. Rusev locks in the Accolade and this one's over. Again, they're doing the Marc Mero/Sable, Mike Knox/Kelly Kelly angle so you know a Lana turn is coming. Total squash but it establishes Lana having some humanity and Rusev going insane because he suddenly can't beat John Cena.


Time of match: 2:12

Winner: Rusev by submission


Cole shows us Tough Enough videos as we go to break. Back from commercial we get a vignette for the upcoming ESPN special about the Performance Center and NXT. Cole shills the return of the god awful Tough Enough of June 23rd. I'm not even going to dignify it with a response. Anyway, here's R-Truth in the ring. On to our next match.



Match 5

R-Truth vs Stardust

Stardust cuts an insane promo before the match blaming R-Truth for costing him the King of The Ring. Michael Cole keeps calling him Cody and JBL keeps correcting him. Truth rolls up Stardust to start for a two count but Rhodes fights back. Truth drops him with a shoulderblock but Stardust hits a front suplex. Cody has a black back of something, unfortunately it doesn't look like a snake. Stardust hits a Russian leg sweep and does a cartwheel. Cody stomps on Truth and punches away at him before Truth starts to rally back. The crowd does NOT give a damn about this match as they collide in the center of the ring. Cody crawls to the bag as JBL says Dusty Rhodes is in the bag. Truth hits a Falcon Arrow and covers for 1...2....no. Truth goes for the bag and finds a bunch of fake spiders in it. What? Cody rolls him up for 1...2...3 to win the match. JBL thinks they're real and tells everyone to run. Truth runs away as Cole scoffs saying they're plastic. JBL "You don't know that, they could be rubber!" Waste of time really.


Time of match: 2:55

Winner: Stardust by pinfall



This Thursday on Smackdown will be the contract signing between Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. Ironically THIS is how they should have broken up the Shield a year ago. Here comes John Cena for his open challenge. The Montreal crowd loves to hate him and boos as he holds up the US title belt. Cena lets the "John Cena sucksssss" chant go on for a bit before he says "I quit". He says those words have meaning now as the crowd starts an "Ole" chant. He should have worn a Tampa Bay Lightning shirt but oh well. Cena says he's been fighting adversity for years and no matter the hostility he will never give up.  If he says he quits, he doesn't deserve to win and tells the crowd just like telling them to stop singing, it'll never happen. Cena says he loves how the rowdy crowd is passionate love him or hate him because Rusev doesn't care about the fans. Cena asks the crowd will they quit and they all scream "no". He starts calling out ppl in the crowd including a guy in a Quebec Nordiques jersey. He says they left town in 1996 but the guy still wears it because he won't quit and just like the Habs, the crowd won't give up either. Hahahaha, say what you will, Cena knows how to spin a crowd better than anyone. Cena says in two weeks he'll be saying "The champ is here" and he's here right now. After one more cheap pop he says he's the man to beat so bring on the challenger. After a few tense moments.....Bret Hart's music hits. WHAT?? Sure enough, the legendary Hitman walks out to a loud part. Bret grabs a mic and says he's here for one reason, to introduce a great wrestler. Before he can finish, Heath Slater walks out to interrupt Bret. Heath says this is his moment and it won't be taken away in Montreal. He says he's been RKO'd out of nowhere and then Rusev attacked him from behind out of nowhere. He's sick and tired of getting attacked out of nowhere but before he can say anything, Bret just pops him in the mouth. Heath drops like a dead deer and Bret goes on to introduce Cena's real opponent.....SAMI ZAYN!



Match 6

Sami Zayn vs John Cena for the WWE United States Championship

The crowd goes insane for the Montreal native and former NXT Champion. Naturally we go to commercial before the match starts and when we come back, we're underway. Zayn hits a dropkick to send Cena through the ropes to the outside. Cena moves and Zayn back flips back in the ring. JBL says Zayn looks good but there's a reason he calls Cena "Big match John". Cena hits a back suplex and covers for a deuce before applying a chinlock. JBL says Zayn was the one who ended Adrian Neville's historic NXT title reign. Zayn is favoring his shoulder which was legitimately injured and the doctors check the shoulder. Zayn says to let him continue and the ref says wrestle on. Cena lets him get ready and Cena unloads with right hands in the corner. Zayn rallies with a clothesline and right hands while favoring his left shoulder. Cena hits a series of shoulderblocks and the back suplex. Cena says you can't see me but Zayn counters with a victory roll for 1...2...no. Cena goes for the FU but Sami blocks it by hitting a top rope crossbody for 1...2...no. Cena bails to the outside and Zayn hits a rolling plancha before rolling John back inside. Cena catches him with the STFU in the center of the ring but Zayn makes it to the rope. The ref asks if Zayn wants to give it up but he catches Cena in the Koji Clutch. Cena rolls through it and goes for the FU. Sami rolls out of it and bridges a german suplex for 1...2...no. We see Rusev and Lana watching the match in the back before cutting back to the ring. Cena catches Zayn with a clothesline and shakes his head at him. Cena goes for the FU but Sami lands on his ass, pops back up, then both men double clothesline each other. Cena bails to the outside and Sami literally dives through the ringpost to hit a tornado DDT....holy schmidt. Zayn rolls Cena back in but Cena catches Zayn with the FU. Cena covers for 1...2.....NOOOOOOOO. The crowd pops as Zayn kicks out at the last second. Cena can't believe it and goes for another one. Sami catches him with the Blue Thunder Bomb for 1...2...nooooooo. The crowd chants "This is awesome" as they trade strikes in the middle of the ring. Cena from out of nowhere hits the springboard stunner (!!) before delivering another FU. Cena covers for 1...2....3.....and that's it. That was AWESOME and really brought out the best of both them. Cena shakes his hand and raises Sami's arm in the middle of the ring to a huge ovation. Cena leaves so Sami can get a standing ovation. Say what you will about Cena, he made Sami look great on his main roster debut. Unfortunately Sami really did hurt his shoulder and would be out a while, delaying his main roster push for a bit. Still, he went out on top.


Time of match: 10:43

Winner: Cena by pinfall



Cole says Sami Zayn will face NXT Champion Kevin Owens in two weeks at NXT Takeover. Cole literally reads off his script to hype up what's coming up on WWE Network including Payback in two weeks. We cut to a highlight of Orton and Reigns losing to New Day earlier before The Bella Twins walking in the back. They walk by New Day excessively celebrating by putting Big E on their shoulders as we go to commercial. Back from break Renee Young is looking for Sami Zayn but here comes New Day instead. Kofi says they are OHHHH SO GLORIOUSSSSSS and Big E says "I SAID VICTORIOUSSSSSS". Xavier Woods says their future bright and his E60 episode is on tomorrow night. They start a "New...Day rocks" chant when the former champions Cesaro, Tyson Kidd and Natalya appear. Cesaro says the crowd is chanting "New....Day sucks" and Natalya says the only reason New Day won earlier was Randy and Roman hate each other. Kidd says everyone on planet earth hates them as Woods calls him a catastrophe of Canada. Big E says their negativity won't deter them. Kidd says that's okay because New...Day sucks. Kind of pointless since New Day beat them and then Randy & Roman earlier but oh well. 

The Bellas make their way to the ring for a non-title match between Nikki and Naomi when all of a sudden Tamina Snuka of all people run out and decks them both. Tamina tore her ACL last June and she's back. Naomi joins the beatdown and Tamina superkicks Nikki down. Tamina pulls Brie to her feet and Naomi slaps her before hitting an enziguiri. Naomi celebrates but the crowd is apathetic rather than angry. WWE really screwed up trying to turn the Bellas face out of nowhere because the crowd isn't buying it. Naomi says the Bellas run of dominance is over and THIS is what family is about. Huh? Naomi and Tamina aren't related. Cole tries to say Naomi is married to Jimmy Uso.....uh, the Samoans and Jimmy Snuka aren't related. We get a highlight of Wade Barrett winning King of The Ring and sure enough, here he comes.

Wade Barrett comes out with a crown that looks like it was bought at a Halloween store and screams "Hear ye!" in a mic. He calls them all filthy commoners and he is now King Barrett. He says he'll rule his kingdom with an iron fist and will bull hammer any insubordinates. He says get used to hearing "All hail King Barrett". We got a tag match coming up next.



Match 7

King Barrett and Sheamus vs Adrian Neville and Dolph Ziggler

Its been Ziggler vs Sheamus for the past month and Neville has been in matches with Barrett, made sense to put them together for this match. Ziggler calls Sheamus a court jester in a pre-recorded interview as Ziggler starts with Barrett. Ziggler swipes at Sheamus but Barrett clobbers Dolph from behind. Barrett pounds on the back of Dolph in the corner and kicks him full force in the ribs. Barrett covers for 1...2...no. Barrett taunts Neville and knees Ziggler in the chest. Dolph counters with a tornado DDT. Ziggler covers for 1..2...no. JBL goes over the Kings of the Ring of years past as we go to break. Back from commercial Sheamus has Ziggler in a chinlock. Ziggler powers out of it but runs right into the Irish Curse. Sheamus "Are you not entertaineddddd". He grabs Ziggler and taunts him, but Dolph counters with a superkick. Ziggler crawls toward Neville as Sheamus tags to Barrett. Neville gets the hot tag and hits a head scissors on Barrett then hits a standing hilo on him on the outside. Neville springboard dropkicks Barrett in the ring. Neville hits a standing moonsault for 1...2...no. Neville gets caught in an up and over and Barrett kicks him full force in the ribs. Barrett calls for the bull hammer but misses it. Adrian hits an enziguri and German Suplex for 1...2...no. Sheamus is tackled out of the ring by Ziggler but Sheamus throws Dolph into the timekeeper's station. Neville goes for another slingshot dropkick but Barrett cracks him with the bull hammer. Barrett covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. Barrett holds up his crown and scepter as Sheamus poses in the other corner. Decent match as the heels countered the speed of the faces with pure power.


Time of match: 8:38

Winners: Sheamus and Barrett by pinfall



Cole shills Roman Reigns Never Alone as we go straight to the main event. Roman Reigns and Randy Orton make their entrance as we go to commercial. Back from break, referee Mike Chioda goes to ring the bell when Kane walks out in ring gear (or his Corporate Kane attire anyway) along with Seth Rollins and J & J Security. Jamie Noble grabs the mic while standing on the announce table, he says he's the special guest ring announcer. Joey Mercury is the special guest timekeeper, special "enforcer" is Kane and Seth Rollins is special guest commentator. This was Kane's plan.



Match 8

Randy Orton vs Roman Reigns

Cole calls Noble the mayor of Munchkin City (hahahaha!) as the bell rings. Reigns and Orton jawjack each other with Rollins joining in on commentary. Seth "I trust Kane, he's got a plan." Cole "You TRUST him now?" Orton goes for the rKo early but Roman blocks it. Roman punches away at Orton and they trade blows. Orton drops Roman with a shoulderblock but Reigns sends Orton into the corner. Orton clotheslines Reigns but Roman counters with a samoan drop. JBL kisses Seth's ass as Reigns heaves Orton through the ropes to the outside. Outside, Orton backdrops Reigns on the barricade but Reigns fights back. Reigns drops Jamie Noble as Seth says that was uncalled for. Orton rams Reigns head into the barricade then throws Reigns into the ring. Seth runs down Rollins by saying he backstabbed the Shield and got Orton kicked out of The Authority. Reigns clotheslines Orton inside the ring as Booker asks if Rollins can beat the others by himself. Orton clotheslines Reigns down and goes for the powerslam but Reigns waves his finger saying no. Orton rolls out of a samoan drop and hits a backbreaker as Cole makes fun of Seth for pissing everyone off. Roman hits a running knee on the ring apron and calls for the Superman punch. Reigns misses it and runs right into the powerslam. Orton hits the second rope DDT and calls for the rko. Reigns blocks it and hits the Superman punch. Kane then trips Roman up and hits an uppercut with the referee watching. He calls for the bell but nobody is there to ring it as suddenly Kane, Rollins, Noble and Mercury stomp away at Orton before Reigns jumps over the top rope to take them out. Rollins gets up and sends Reigns into the ring post. The bell still hasn't rung yet so they're letting this go. Orton is rolled into the ring and he tries to fight back, but the numbers game catches up to Randy. Roman gets in but he gets beat down as well. Finally here comes Dean Ambrose to even the odds and they clear out J & J along with Kane. Reigns hits the spear on Rollins to get rid of him but Orton hits the rko on Reigns. Randy turns around into Dirty Deeds and Ambrose stands tall to end the night. Not enough time to tell a match plus the outside shenanigans ruined it.


Time of match: 8:35

Winner: Reigns by DQ



That was one of the better Raws of the year with Cena vs Zayn being the centerpiece. Kidd & Cesaro turning face was pretty much academic with the crowd booing the New Day and cheering Cesaro organically. The Uso's being out also drove the double turn. Ryback vs Wyatt is an important match for both guys because neither one of them seems to win the big one when it matters. Now that the main event of Payback is a Fatal Four Way, Rollins now has to rely on outside help to overcome his ex-stablemates and Orton. Then you have the Zigger/Neville and Barrett/Sheamus thing going on and at least they're trying something new for a change. It'll be interesting to see if they start to push Ambrose as a main eventer moving forward or if this is a one off. The next show after this is Wednesday night's NXT. I'll see you there.

Thursday, April 30, 2015

WWE Smackdown (4/30/15)



Welcome to another edition of Smackdown. On the last Raw, it was revealed that Seth Rollins would be defending the WWE Championship against both Roman Reigns and Randy Orton in a triple threat match. Also, the King of The Ring Finals was on Tuesday night and Wade "Bad News" Barrett was victorious. Adam Rose is now with Rosa Mendes after Fandango kicked her to the curb and now Bray Wyatt wants a piece of Ryback. The New Day are the new top heel tag team and are causing chaos to the former champs Tyson Kidd and Cesaro. Naomi took out Brie Bella to show she still is number 1 contender to Nikki Bella....at least until Paige comes back. Sheamus cost Dolph Ziggler his shot at the KoTR so you know Dolph is going to be gunning for Sheamus. Rusev gets one last crack at John Cena at Payback and interrupted John Cena's open challenge on Monday, will he do it again tonight? What's the status of Big Show? Now we have to go search for clues. Let's start the show.


IWireless Center
Moline, Illinois
April 30, 2015


Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton & Jerry Lawler

Ring Announcer: JoJo Offerman


We start the show with an In Memoriam graphic of the legendary Verne Gagne who passed away days earlier. One of the best promoters and wrestlers to ever live, he will be missed. Seth Rollins and J & J Security walk into the back and Seth sees someone off-screen and says they have the nerve to show up after the stunt they pulled on Monday. The camera shows its Kane and Rollins says its Kane's fault that its a triple threat match and for beating him up on Monday. Rollins says Kane is his problem, not the others. Kane says what's best for business is to give the audience what they want and Rollins says the truth is Kane is jealous of him because he never was as big as he was. Kane says he'll make a man out of Rollins if its the last thing he'll ever do. Kane says Rollins will face Dean Ambrose tonight like he was supposed to last week and that's best for business. Seth says he misses Kane from 20 years ago, not this current incarnation. Rollins dares him to do something in that match tonight and we get our opening graphic.

Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton and Jerry "The King" Lawler welcome us to ringside. Roman Reigns hits the ring for a chat. We're shown highlights of the tag match on Raw where Reigns and Randy Orton beat Rollins and Kane. Reigns gives a shoutout to Dean Ambrose in his match with "their little brother" Seth Rollins. Roman says Rollins destroyed The Shield and cost him the WWE title at Wrestlemania 31. Reigns says he's going to bring the fight to Orton and Rollins when all of a sudden Kane hits ringside who starts shedding his shirt and tie. Kane brings referee Charles Robinson to the ring with him and puts his elbow pads on. Guess Rollins got to Kane because we got an impromptu match.



Match 1

Kane vs Roman Reigns

Kane doesn't even give a reason or cut a promo on what he's doing, he just has Charles Robinson ring the bell. They slug it out to start with Roman sent into the corner. They continue to slug it out but Kane just throws Reigns to the ground. Kane sends Reigns into the corner to work the back then delivers a back suplex. Phillips says Kane is sick of being called irrelevant but Roman ducks a charge, sending Kane flying over the top rope. Kane gets sent to the ringpost and Reigns dropkicks him but continues tos ell the back. Kane sidewalk slams Reigns on top of the announce table but it doesn't break. We go to commercial and when we come back, Kane has a bearhug on Reigns in the ring. Kane rams Reigns into the corner and clotheslines him in the other corner. Kane covers for a deuce then stomps away on Reigns. Roman fights back with right hands and they trade strikes in the middle of the ring. Roman rallies with strikes and a snap suplex before clotheslining Kane down. Kane charges to the corner and eats boot before Roman hits a second rope clothesline. Roman clubs away at Kane in the corner and delivers a samoan drop. Roman charges up for the Superman punch but runs into a chokeslam. Kane covers for 1....2....NOOOOO. Kane gives the sign for the tombstone but Roman counters it with a DDT. Roman hits the Superman punch and calls for the spear. Roman dives and misses as Kane rolls out of the ring. Kane leaves and Charles Robinson counts to ten to end the match. A quick camera view of the back shows Rollins and J & J are totally confused. Roman wins by count out as announcers speculate why Kane bailed like that. Roman in the ring says "I came to fight and he ran. He picks a fight then he leaves?" Kane has some explaining to do for this one to The Authority. Kane and Reigns worked together so many times that this was standard for Roman to be the underdog against the monster.


Time of match: 6:28

Winner: Reigns by count-out


Renee Young asks Seth Rollins what's going on and Rollins answers that Kane was in over his head. He says Kane carries a senior citizens card (he just turned 48 on Sunday) and he carries the WWE Championship. Rollins says he never runs away from a fight and finds a way to win the fight. He says he doesn't need anyone's help of anyone including J & J Security (and they visibly did NOT like that). Rollins is definitely breaking out as a character and its going to lead to a hell of a blowup with The Authority when the time comes. A graphic shows later tonight The New Day defending the tag straps against the former champs Tyson Kidd and Cesaro.

Back from commercial we're shown Damien Sandow making fun of Curtis Axel like a 12 year old from Raw and apparently they're up next. Yippie.....



Match 2

Damien Sandow vs Curtis Axel

Sandow joins JoJo Offerman in announcing himself and Axel before the match starts. He calls Axel a pigeon-toed disappointment. Axel sticks a finger in Sandow's face and calls him a joke. Curtis tears his t-shirt off and throws it at Sandow and Damien goes to do the same when Curtis attacks. Damien gets him in a headlock and shoulderblocks Curtis down. Sandow tears his shirt off and throws Axel over the top rope to the floor. Sandow then sits next to Curtis and elbows him down. Axel retreats into the ring and puts the boots to Sandow on the way back in. Axel splashes Sandow in the corner and chokes him with his boot. Curtis screams "AXELLLMANIAAAAAA" and Sandow nips up. Sandow does the YOUUUU taunt before Hulkapunching Axel into the ropes. Sandow hits the big boot and then the Skull Crushing Finale. Sandow covers for 1...2.....3 to end the match. Sandow wins and Phillips calls him the NEW Damien Sandow. Losing to The Miz and doing comedy pretty much just made him a joke. Vince's reliance on comedy acts like Fandango and Sandow really makes you appreciate modern day guys that don't have silly gimmicks.


Time of match: 2:29

Winner: Sandow by pinfall


Renee Young is with Ryback and she asks why Bray would target him. Ryback says the Eater of Worlds has bitten off more than he can chew. Ryback says he's going to devour Luke Harper as a message to Wyatt later. Ryback says Feed Me More and leaves. Just like with Bray Wyatt attacking Dean Ambrose the year earlier, Wyatt attacking Ryback is just weird. But, at least they got something to do now.



Match 3

Ryback vs Luke Harper

Ryback wants to take out Harper to send a message to Luke's former partner Wyatt. The commentators say Harper's had a bad week as Ryback locks in a headlock before dropping Harper with a shoulderblock. Harper bullrushes Ryback int he corner and punches him around before locking in his own headlock. Ryback powers out of it and turns it into a wristlock. Harper punches out of it and uppercuts Ryback. Ryback rallies with right hands and hits a Thesz press. Ryback shoulderblocks Harper in the corner but Harper rallies with right hands and a suplex. Harper flexes his own muscles and goes for a suplex but Ryback hits his own delayed suplex. Ryback punches Harper in the corner and Luke counters with a sit down powerbomb for 1...2....nope. We got to commercial and when we come back, Harper clotheslines Ryback down. Harper covers for a deuce and Harper gator rolls Ryback. Ryback counters with an overhead suplex. Ryback elbows Harper and gets sent into the corner. Ryback kicks him away and hits a scoop slam. Ryback hits a big splash and covers for 1.....2....nope. Harper flips over for a two count but Ryback counters with a spinebuster. Ryback calls for the Meat Hook clothesline but Harper kicks Ryback in the head and covers for 1...2...nope. Harper calls for the lariat but Ryback counters with the Meat Hook. Ryback hits Shell Shock and covers for 1..2...3 to win the match. Ryback said he was going to beat up Harper to make an example out of him and he does. After the match, Wyatt attacks and beats down Ryback. Wyatt looks menacing as the message is sent, Ryback has no idea when Wyatt is going to strike.


Time of match: 6:03

Winner: Ryback by pinfall


Later tonight Dean Ambrose takes on Seth Rollins but the tag team title rematch is next. New Day takes on Kidd and Cesaro.



Match 4

Tyson Kidd and Cesaro (with Natalya) vs The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Big E Langston) with Xavier Woods for the WWE Tag Team Championships

This is a rematch from Extreme Rules and New Day tries to start a New Day Rocks chant and naturally the crowd chants New Day Sucks. Lawler on commentary says he didn't think Kidd & Cesaro could be beaten but they were. As Big E holds up the belts, Woods says "New Dayyyy" and Cesaro says "Sucks". Woods "Hey!" Crowd chants New Day Sucks and Woods says "No we don't!" Kidd starts with Kofi at the bell and Kidd rolls into a roll up for a two count. Kofi does a go-behind and locks in an arm-bar. Kidd reverses it and crucifixes for a two count. Kofi throws Kidd over the top but he skins the cat over the back of Cesaro back in. He makes the tag to Cesaro and Kidd flips Kofi right into the uppercut. Cesaro covers for 1...2...nope. Cesaro picks Kofi up like a feather and hits a gut wrench suplex. He covers for a deuce and does a backslide for another near fall. Cesaro locks in an armbar. Kofi goes for a small package and Cesaro just simply picks him up and hits the Janetty Plex with Kidd. Kidd locks in a half nelson and Cesaro tags in to hit a full nelson suplex. Kofi nails to the outside and Woods distracted Cesaro long enough for Big E to make the tag. Cesaro still german suplexes Big E and stomps away at him in rhythm to "New...Day sucks". Kidd tags in and boots Big E before dropping Kofi with an elbow. He kicks at Woods but Big E drops Kidd off the apron. Woods laughs in Kidd's face before Big E sends Kidd spine first into the barricade. Big E throws Kidd inside and Kofi tags in to put the boots to him. Kofi dropkicks Kidd in the corner and covers for 1..2...nope. Kofi goes for an arm-bar but Kidd powers out of it. Kofi trips Kidd and heads to the second rope but Tyson dropkicks him in mid-air. Big E tags in and he knocks Cesaro off the apron before hitting an overhead belly to belly suplex. Kidd rolls to the floor and we cut to commercial. Back inside Big E does a regular belly to belly suplex and covers for 1...2...nope. Woods yells at the announce team as Kofi tags in and hits the Boom Drop before knocking Cesaro off the apron. Kofi misses Trouble In Paradise and Cesaro gets the hot tag. Cesaro cleans out Kofi and Big E and uppercuts Kofi in the corner. He covers for a deuce and cradles Kofi for another two count. Cesaro overhead press slams Kofi but Big E breaks up the pinfall attempt. Cesaro throws Big E over the top rope and Kofi rolls up Cesaro for a two count. Big E tags in and freight trains Cesaro but Kidd breaks up the count. Kidd somersault planchas over the top to take Kofi out on the floor leaving Big E with Cesaro. A charge eats knee and Cesaro uppercuts from the second rope. Cesaro hits a spinebuster and tags in Kidd as he giant swings Big E. Kidd dropkicks Big E in mid-air and covers but Kofi and Xavier break up the count to earn a DQ. New Day brawls with Kidd & Cesaro and the numbers game adds up as the three mauls the two. New Day walks off with the belts as Kidd & Cesaro are named the winners. Clearly this rivalry isn't over yet, another ppv match may be in order. Damn good match for what it was. Woods and Kofi struggle to hold Big E up on their shoulders as we cut.


Time of match: 13:35

Winners: Kidd & Cesaro by Disqualification


Backstage we go to Cameron and Summer Rae. They gossip and make fun of Brie and Daniel Bryan. Cameron claims she taught Naomi everything she knows when Nikki Bella walks up, chasing Summer away. Nikki tells her to shut up and Cameron says "Girl bye" as Nikki ignores her and says they have beef now. Nikki wants Cameron one on one for her sister's honor later tonight. Again, great idea but the problem is the Bellas did absolutely nothing to turn face. Literally they were feuding with AJ and Paige, AJ retires out of nowhere and Naomi took out Paige. The Bellas were switched just for the lack of babyface numbers and now we're all expected to go with it. Oh well, point is we got Nikki vs Cameron later. Just like Ryback making an example out of Harper, Nikki is going to make and example out of Cameron to send a message to Naomi. At least THAT makes sense. Nikki says Cameron isn't even remotely as good as Naomi and to stop comparing herself. Cameron counters with "Girl bye" We get a graphic for Ambrose/Rollins before we cut to commercial. Back from commercial we get a graphic for John Cena vs Rusev in an I Quit Match for Payback. Then we go to more god awful Tough Enough videos although they did have legitimate athletes featured. Onto the next match.



Match 5

Cameron vs Nikki Bella 

Apparently this is a non-title match and Brie Bella isn't even there. In a pre-recorded video, Naomi says she's going to take the title from Nikki and life isn't a fairy tale. Bell's gone and Nikki arm drags Cameron before doing jumping jacks. Nikki flips Cameron over again but Cameron takes over with an eye rake, sending Nikki to the corner. Cameron twerks facing the camera for absolutely no reason then charges, ducking under a Nikki dropkick. Cameron covers for 1..2...nope. Cameron pounds away on Nikki and kicks her out of the ring. Cam taunts Nikki and sends her into the barricade before saying she's going to make a statement. Phillips on commentary says Cameron is tired of playing second fiddle to Naomi which now makes it even worse because Naomi was a better babyface and now a better heel. Cameron goes for a split and lands then covers for 1..2....no. Cameron shouts at the ref as the crowd doesn't care. Cameron does her best to shout at them for heat and takes Nikki down by the hair. Cameron kicks Nikki in the back then locks in a chinlock. Nikki stands up with Cameron on her back and rams her into the corner. Nikki ducks a charge and drops Cameron with a series of clotheslines. A dropkick by Nikki gets a pop but misses the corner clothesline. A charge eats elbow and Nikki hits the second rope clothesline before covering for a deuce. Cameron hits a cradle for a two count but Nikki clotheslines her down. Nikki hits Rack Attack and covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. Bless Cameron, she tried....but the crowd was not feeling it. Again, the horrible booking of the divas the previous year pretty much led to this. The Bellas did nothing to signify a face turn and the crowd doesn't give a rats ass about "Girl Bye." That's not Cameron's fault either, the whole "Mean Girls" style of booking had been going on for 10 years now and people were sick of it. The women from NXT were going to usher in a new generation pretty soon. As for now, Nikki gets the duke to send a message to Naomi.


Time of match: 3:50

Winner: Nikki Bella by pinfall


Backstage to the Prime Time Players Darren Young and Titus O'Neil who make fun of New Day. Once again, WWE was way too comedic for too long. They get a New Day Sucks chant with a "be-gone box" and a "Prime...Time Players" chant. Are they ever going to wrestle? Back from commercial break Rollins and his stooges visit Dean Ambrose in the back. Rollins wants Ambrose to back out of the match and Ambrose ask why. Seth says he's got a title match at Payback and Kane made the match tonight out of spite and to humiliate him, and HHH isn't going to be happy when he gets back. Ambrose says "Sounds good" and Rollins thinks the match is off but Ambrose clarifies that he meant the idea of Rollins being humiliated sounds good, he'll see him out there. Rollins says Ambrose is making a huge mistake and Ambrose says he's made a lot of mistakes but at least he'll bust Rollins' face instead. Back at ringside the announcers finally bring up the King of The Ring Finals which was won by Wade "Bad News" Barrett. We're shown highlights of Sheamus losing to Adrian Neville, Barrett beating R-Truth and Barrett beating Neville in the finals. Barrett cuts a promo saying he'll be ruling his kingdom with an iron fist and a Bullhammer. Let's get to our final match.



Match 6

Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins (with J & J Security)

Looks like this is a non-title match but that's okay. This was the first feud out of the gate last year when Rollins turned on the Shield so this might be Ambrose pseudo putting himself in the title picture once Randy Orton's push fades. Bell's gone and Ambrose gets in an arm-bar. Ambrose wrenches the other arm and Rollins bails to the outside to regroup with his stooges. Back inside Rollins buries shoulders into the stomach in the corner before locking in an arm-bar of his own. Ambrose trips up Rollins with a drop-toe hold and locks in an STF holding Seth's nose. Rollins gets the upperhand and chokes Dean on the middle rope but Dean gets a crossbody and punches in. Dean clotheslines Seth over the top rope to the floor and Noble & Mercury lead Rollins away. Dean gets distracted by the stooges and Rollins hits a baseball slide on Ambrose. Seth distracts the ref and the stooges put the boots to Ambrose. All of a sudden Kane walks down to ringside as we go to commercial. Back from break Kane stands next to Noble & Mercury as Rollins stomps away at Ambrose. Seth fist bumps both Noble & Mercury and tells Kane to buzz off before he drops Ambrose with a clothesline. Ambrose ducks the line and lands one of his own before punching away at Seth. Ambrose rallies with clotheslines before landing a forearm in the corner. Ambrose goes upstairs but jumps into a kick to the stomach. Ambrose blocks a buckle bomb and dropkicks Seth to the outside. Ambrose hits a suicide dive to the outside then heaves Seth inside. Seth kicks Dean in the head, they both miss kicks and Ambrose hits a sit-down facebuster. He covers for 1..2....nope. Rollins blocks a superplex off the top rope and counters with a buckle bomb. Rollins covers for 1...2....nope. Ambrose counters a superkick with a roll up for a deuce. Rollins counters Dirty Deeds (done dirt cheap) with a superkick. Rollins covers for 1...2....nope. Kane hops up on the apron and Ambrose bull rushes Rollins into Kane. Ambrose heaves Rollins over the top rope onto Kane. The stooges and Kane get cleared out by Ambrose with a top rope splash, but Rollins heaves Dean into the barricade. Kane grabs Seth by the throat and yells at him but then catches Ambrose with the other hand. Kane lets them both go and goes to choke the ref but Ambrose throws Kane into the ringpost. Ambrose wipes out both Noble and Mercury with a double clothesline but Rollins sends Ambrose into the steel steps. Dean staggers back inside and Rollins hits a variant of Dirty Deeds only with Ambrose landing face first. Seth covers for 1...2......3? Seth wins it with whatever that move was. The numbers game catches up with Ambrose as it was essentially 4 against 1 despite Dean's best effort.

After the match Kane gets in the ring and puts the boots to Ambrose with Rollins, Noble and Mercury joining in for a 4 on 1 assault. Roman Reigns hits the ring and Superman punches Kane. Roman heaves the stooges to the side and punches Rollins to the outside. Reigns spears Noble and Mercury together but Kane goes to chokeslam Ambrose and Roman. Both punch their way out of it and Reigns hits the spear on Kane. Seth hightails it out of there as Reigns and Ambrose stand tall to end the show.


Time of match: 10:18

Winner: Rollins by pinfall


Not a bad show even if it was a victim of bad booking from the past. They're trying to build tension between Rollins and Kane but the problem is Kane is not turning on him and everyone knows it. He already helped him win the cage match and it looks like he's going to cause shenanigans in the triple threat match at Payback. New Day continue to roll as the top heel tag team and with the Usos on the shelf (Jey anyway), it comes at a good time. Nikki Bella's inexplicable face turn is going over like a fart in church especially since she was the one who less than a year earlier wished Brie died in the womb on national television. Damien Sandow repeating what Curtis Axel and low level heels like Adam Rose say is going to get old real quick. The only feud that's actually interesting is Wyatt vs Ryback. Pretty much both guys need a victory or else they'll fade down the card. Ryback already failed to win the WWE title and losing to Wyatt kills any and all momentum with Roman Reigns still locked in to the top face spot. Wyatt lost to The Undertaker despite acting like he won, a loss to Ryback makes him look even worse. Not a bad show with good wrestling even if some of the story arcs are completely pointless. We'll see what happens moving forward. Raw comes at you from the Bell Center in Montreal this Monday night. I'll see you there.

Monday, April 27, 2015

WWE Raw (4/27/15)



Extreme Rules has come and gone and we got a little bit of controversy, but I'll get to that in a minute. First, we have new WWE Tag Team Champions as Tyson Kidd and Cesaro were knocked off by New Day. Adrian Neville made his PPV debut by beating Wade "Bad News" Barrett and Nikki Bella is still the WWE Divas champion after beating Naomi. John Cena is still the US Champion after beating Rusev in the Russian Chain Match although Lana got Rusev another match at Payback coming up. Roman Reigns beat Big Show in a Last Man Standing match and Ryback laid out Bo Dallas. Dolph Ziggler defeated Sheamus in a Kiss Me Arse match but Sheamus made Ziggler kiss his anyway. Now for the controversy. Seth Rollins won the cage match with Randy Orton but both men used the RKO in the match that was supposed to be banned. Randy used it on Kane while Seth used it on Randy. They're gonna have to explain this one tonight. Also tonight is a very special night as we're bringing back the King of The Ring tournament. Let's get to the show:


Resch Center
Green Bay, Wisconsin
April 27, 2015


Commentators: Booker T, John Bradshaw Layfield & Michael Cole

Ring Announcer: Eden Stiles


We open with a montage for the King of The Ring featuring past winners and such. The birth of Austin 3:16, King Booker, King Sheamus and Bret Hart's amazing 1993 performance. Michael Cole welcomes us and we check out the brackets. Dolph Ziggler takes on Bad News Barrett, R-Truth faces Stardust, Dean Ambrose goes one on one with Sheamus and Adrian Neville opposes the demented Luke Harper. Then ring announcer Eden Stiles says WWE Champion Seth Rollins is on his way. Rollins comes in with Kane, Joey Mercury and Jamie Noble in tow. Cole sends us to still images of last night's main event with Kane and J & J Security interfering. Cole brings up both Orton and Rollins using the RKO. Rollins takes the mic and says Randy Orton can't outsmart Seth Rollins. Rollins says he himself created and destroyed The Shield, cashed in at Wrestlemania and proved he was the fighting champion he is at Extreme Rules. The crowd chants "You suck" as Rollins says he beat Orton all by himself with Kane & Noble looking confused. Rollins says he used the S-ko out of the nowhere and yuks it up with Noble & Mercury. Rollins says even a general like him needs soldiers and he says thank Kane for being a good soldier. Seth calls him the Crypt Keeper and subtlety says Kane is washed up from the 90's. Kane cuts him off and says if it wasn't for him and the illegal use of the RKO, Orton would be champion and Seth would be out here crying like the entitled, spoiled brat he is. Kane says he'd rather be the WWE version of the Crypt Keeper than the WWE version of Justin Bieber.....hahahaha. Seth screams that Kane is jealous of him and Kane says Rollins is scared because without The Authority, Seth wouldn't be champion. Rollins says he's not scared of Kane and would wrestle circles around him when Randy Orton's music hits. Randy comes out and says he's not the kind of guy to come out and complain but since Kane admitted Rollins cheated, that's grounds for a rematch. Seth denies it and says he runs the show, not Randy. Randy says "Shut up Catwoman, I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to Kane." Kane says Randy has a point when Roman Reigns music hits. Roman makes his way to ringside as JBL asks "Now what does that hothead want?" Roman stands on the announce table as a symbol of his win last night. Seth cuts him off before he says anything "Oh get over yourself, what are you out here for?" Roman tells him to shut the hell up and says Rollins is missing his giant because of him. Reigns says he wants a title shot at Justin Bieber and the crowd chants to annoy Seth. Rollins mocks Reigns and says he and Orton both lost to him. Rollins refuses title shots to either of them but Kane cuts him off. Kane says Roman and Randy make compelling arguments and he's got an idea. He makes a tag match later that night with Kane and Rollins against Orton and Reigns and the WWE universe will decide who gets the next shot. Cole has no idea what that means as even Orton looks perplexed. Seth sticks a finger in Kane's face as we cut to the KOTR bracket to show Ziggler vs Barrett up next.



Match 1

Dolph Zigger vs Wade "Bad News" Barrett in a King of The Ring Quarterfinal Match

Ziggler says its tough to concentrate after what Sheamus did to him and is going to take it out on Barrett. Barrett guarantees he's going to be King Barrett when this is over. Dolph starts with right hands but Barrett counters with a right hand of his own. You don't want to get into a fistfight with Barrett. Barrett drops Ziggler with a shoulderblock and a cover gets two. Barrett drops an elbow as JBL says Dolph's new name is Chapstick. Booker says Dolph needs to fight back and right on cue Ziggler dropkicks Barrett outside. Back from commercial Barrett has Dolph in a chinlock as we see how Barrett got the upperhand with a kick to the face to knock Dolph off the apron. Back to live action Dolph sends Barrett into the ring post. Ziggler fights back with right hands and a big clothesline. Ziggler hits the Stinger Splash in the corner, ducks under a big boot and crucifixes Barrett for two. Ziggler counters Wasteland with a ddt and covers for 1....2....no. Barrett slingshots Ziggler into the ring post and hits Wasteland. Barrett covers for 1...2....noooooo. Barrett loads up the Bullhammer but Ziggler ducks it and hits a superkick. He covers for 1..2....noooo. All of a sudden Sheamus hits ringside with a mic and shows still images of Ziggler's face in his ass from the night before. Ziggler runs into a Bullhammer and Barrett covers for 1....2.....3 to win the match. It took a huge distraction from Sheamus but Barrett advances. Sheamus laughs as Barrett nods at him as a thank you. Before the distraction that was a damn good crash style match.


Time of match: 4:48

Winner: Barrett by pinfall


After the match, JBL announces the tag match is official between Orton/Reigns against Kane/Rollins. The number 1 contender will be revealed later. New Day harasses some guy backstage as apparently they're next.



Match 2

Big E Langston (with Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston) vs Tyson Kidd (With Natalya and Cesaro)

New Day gets in the ring and Xavier thanks the clappers out there. He wants a New Day ROCKS chants and naturally the crowd chants New Day Sucks. Good on Vince to notice the two teams swapped heat and swapped the roles. Kidd comes out to a minor pop and I honestly prefer Kidd as a babyface because his high spots and technical work is better as a face. Bell's gone and Kidd bumrushes Big E. E counters with a knee to the mid-section and throws Kidd over the top rope. Kidd catches himself and springboards but E catches him. Kidd ducks a line on the apron and kicks Langston in the head. Kidd hits a missile dropkick and stomps away at E in the corner before catering to the crowd. E regroups outside but Kidd kicks E right in the head. Kidd throws Big E inside but Big E counters with a lariat. E covers but Woods from outside holds the foot for 1...2....3 to win the match. Woods and Kofi run off with Big E with Cesaro chasing them away. Cole and Booker apparently missed Woods holding the ankle but JBL saw it. JBL is supposed to be the heel to boot which makes it even funnier. Short and sweet to put over the fact the New Day are the new top heel tag team. Beats the boring Ascension and Los Matadores for sure.


Time of match: 1:19

Winner: Big E Langston by pinfall



Back to Cole who shows still images of Cena's win over Rusev the night before. Its implied Lana distracted Rusev to allow Cena to win. Cole says Lana got an I Quit Match for Rusev against Cena in three weeks at Payback. Finally this feud is coming to an end although Cena has an Open Challenge later tonight. Let's get back to ring action.



Match 3

Ryback vs Bo Dallas

This match stems from the night before when Bo Dallas walked out and insulted the crowd in Chicago in the middle of the show and Ryback ran out to destroy him. Dallas walks out and cuts a promo giving Ryback a chance to back out while he still can. Dallas says all Ryback has to do is Bo-Lieve but Ryback bumrushes him at the bell. Ryback drops Dallas with an elbow and Bo retreats in the corner. Bo clotheslines Ryback from behind and chokes him with the apron before clubbing away on his back. Dallas covers for just one then kicks Ryback in the face. Again a cover gets 1 and Bo gets in a chinlock. Booker says Bo needs to put on weight as Ryback picks Bo off his back and slams him. A charge eats elbow but Bo jumps into a spinebuster by Ryback. Ryback calls forn the Meat Hook clothesline and lands it. Ryback hits the Shell Shock and covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. Total squash by Ryback but wait! Of all people, Bray Wyatt appears in the ring behind Ryback. Ryback turns around right into Sister Abigail. Apparently this is the next feud, Wyatt vs Ryback which is going to be very important for both men. Neither one of them came out of Wrestlemania looking good so someone is going to be devalued. Ironically Wyatt laid out the man who laid out his brother but just like Lanny Poffo and Randy Savage, they never acknowledged Bray was Bo's brother. Again, total squash but it served its purpose to set up Wyatt/Ryback.


Time of match: 2:06

Winner: Ryback by pinfall



Back from commercial John Cena's open challenge is hyped up. Cena comes out before the match and cuts a promo says he's on a high after beating Rusev. Cena says he respects Rusev because he never quits...until Payback. Cena says he'll never quit and if he loses, he won't ask for a rematch because he'll be a disgrace and won't deserve a rematch. He says if Rusev wins they'll never see Cena again but references the statue of Vince Lombardi outside and says the harder you work, the harder it is to surrender. Cena says he's working hard as he can to be US Champion and says Green Bay is the place to be. He says to whoever's in the back to come get some. Its Heath Slater.....great. Slater comes out with a microphone and says he's going to take advantage of a "crushed" John Cena (?) and become the champion of the WORLLDDDDDD. He says he's better looking than Aaron Rodgers but Rusev from behind attacks Slater and kicks him in the face. Booker says "thank god" but Cena isn't amused at Rusev's antics. Lana walks out to a babyface pop and Rusev grabs the mic from her hand, sending her to the back. Yeah they're going 1998 Marc Mero on this one, the writing is on the wall. Rusev goes on an anti-American rant saying everyone in the arena is a quitter and so will Cena. The Russian flag drops and Rusev's music plays. So much for Heath Slater...and at least it makes sense for Rusev to clean his clock. He wants Cena one on one, wouldn't make much sense for someone else to take the title off Cena first.

Back to Kane in the back when Rollins walks in with his stooges asking what's going on. Kane says fans on the WWE app can choose Seth's next opponent. Rollins asks if Kane's out of his mind and Kane says "maybe." Seth says he's going to tell Stephanie and Triple H and Kane is stupid. Kane says he figured Seth could handle just one opponent but since he's crying about it and insulting Kane's intelligence, there's only one thing to do. Kane says he's going to add another option, on the app they can vote for Orton, Reigns or Randy AND Roman Reigns in a triple threat match. Rollins freaks out and Kane laughs saying they have a match later, focus on that. Kane leaves and Rollins continues to piss and moan. Well, this is getting interesting. Onto the next match.



Match 4

R-Truth vs Stardust in a King of The Ring Quarterfinal Match

These two were in the ladder match at Wrestlemania and have done absolutely nothing since. Truth in the picture-in-picture says if he wins, he's going to get rid of all spiders. JBL says he's better off with snakes. Stardust makes his entrance and Cole says he's even more out there than Truth. Stardust says he's going to be the Intergalactic Czar. I think Cole may be right. Bell rings and Stardust gets rolled up almost immediately. Stardust lands a bulldog and covers for a deuce as the crowd chants "Cody". Stardust hisses at the fans and if you're wondering where his brother is, Goldust was out with a shoulder injury. Stardust locks in a chinlock but Truth powers out of it. Stardust backdrops Truth and covers for a 1 count. Stardust does the Cody punch and covers for a 1 count. Stardust stomps Truth and does another chinlock before stomping him again. A third chinlock is countered by Truth only for Stardust to throw him down. Stardust inexplicably does a cartwheel: Booker "What was that?" Cole "That's a cartwheel." Booker "I know that, but why?" Stardust shouts at Booker "I'M the king, Booker." Stardust sends Truth in the corner but a charge eats elbow. Truth rallies with clotheslines but misses the axe kick. Stardust rolls him up for a deuce then does a russian leg sweep. They trade near falls and Stardust goes for the Cody Cutter but jumps into the Lie Detector. Truth covers for 1...2....3...to win the match and advance to the semi-finals. Bad match but there was no way Stardust was winning since Barrett had won previously.


Time of match: 3:52

Winner: R-Truth by pinfall



Hype for the tag match is followed by the App announcement to vote for Orton vs Rollins, Rollins vs Reigns or a triple threat. On to the next match.



Match 5

Fandango vs Adam Rose (with the Rosebuds)

After Fandango turned face and kicked Rosa Mendes, Rose pretty much wanted her to go with him instead. They lock up to start before Rose gets a headlock in. Fandango gets dropped with a shoulderblock but he counters with a dropkick. Rose chokes Fandango on the second rope and hits him with forearms. Rose mocks the Fandango dance but Fandango chops him into the ropes. Fandango clotheslines Rose over the top to the floor. Fandango summersaults over the top rope and takes out the hot dog guy. Rosa Mendes reveals herself to be one of the Rosebuds and she dances to distracts Fandango. Rose sneaks up and hits the Party Foul before covering for 1...2....3 to win the match. Another short match and it looks like Rose has successfully convinced her to go with him. Rosa gets on the mic and says she can't believe she got dumped and she found someone to treat her like a sweet foul. Rosa makes out with Rose in the ring as Fandango walks away disgusted. Cole "Maybe we should get out of here guys." Hey, at least they're not naked. Another bad match but the purpose was served, Rosa is with Adam Rose now.


Time of match: 1:50

Winner: Rose by pinfall


Back to Cole who laughs with Booker and JBL before talking about the status of Daniel Bryan. Bryan suffered a concussion and isn't medically cleared to compete. We cut to Renee Young who's with Bryan's husband Brie Bella. Renee asks if Brie is concerned for his health and Brie says its a heartwrenching time for him. Brie says it kills her because he badly wants to be there but only time will tell. She's greatful for the WWE universe and Daniel feels the same. All of a sudden from out of nowhere Naomi kicks Brie down and says no one cares about her or Bryan. So they're gonna turn the Bellas face for no reason now? That solves the lack of babyface Divas problem by switching the Bellas. Although good luck explaining how they're going to side with Paige went she comes back. Speaking of the Bellas, Brie is up next.



Match 6

Brie Bella (with Nikki Bella) vs Naomi

Naomi comes out with a new theme and look that she showed off the night before at Extreme Rules. Too bad Bryan is out, Jimmy Uso and Naomi vs Bryan and Brie would be interesting. Bell's gone and Brie rushes her at the bell, punching her down. Brie spears Naomi and they cat fight into the corner. Brie ducks a line and Naomi gets a cheapshot forearm in. Naomi pushes Brie around then rams her head first into the buckle. Naomi delivers a backbreaker and covers for 1....2...nope. Naomi locks in a chinlock but Brie powers out of it. Naomi does a dropkick and covers for 1...2..nope. Naomi does another chinlock but Brie flips Naomi over and they both take each other down by the hair. Brie rallies with a clothesline, a dropkick and a knee to the ribs. Brie lands a running knee to the jaw and a second rope missile dropkick. She covers for 1...2....noooooo. Naomi catches Brie in a terrible small package for 1...2....3....to win the match. Sad part was Brie's shoulder was untouched and easily could have kicked out. Naomi celebrates up the ramp as we go to the replay of Naomi's clean win. Naomi gets revenge on Brie for kicking her in the head the night before although for some reason Brie's the babyface now? The writers don't have a clue what's going on although Naomi is still after Nikki's title.


Time of match: 3:40

Winner: Naomi by pinfall



More hype for the tag match tonight and the potential Payback match. Onto the next match.



Match 7

Sheamus vs Dean Ambrose in a King of The Ring Quarterfinal Match

JBL says "hide your wallet" as Ambrose makes his entrance. Ambrose says when he's king he'll remove tariffs on ale, ban pop-country music and have all disputes settled in street fights. JBL asks why he'd ban pop country. Sheamus says he's been king before and he'll be king again. They lock up and roll into the ropes before Ambrose trash talks him. Sheamus and Ambrose chain wrestle on the ground as Cole says the bully Sheamus can't bully Ambrose. Dean continues to Olympic style wrestle Sheamus but eats a shoulderblock. Cole says JBL made a career out of bullying which gets awkward silence from the others. Sheamus grabs the nose during an STF and kicks Sheamus kicks the back of the head. They exchange right hands and Sheamus lands a European uppercut. Sheamus gets rough in the corner but Ambrose chops his way out. Sheamus gets whipped in the corner and Ambrose tries the forearm/bulldog combo but Sheamus denies the bulldog. Ambrose knocks Sheamus through the ropes to the outside and Sheamus moves before Dean could suicide dive. We cut to commercial and when we come back, Sheamus has a chinlock that Dean powers out of. In the PIP Sheamus knocks Ambrose off the apron. Back inside Sheamus does a suplex slam and Ambrose looks insane on the ground. Sheamus "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?", he's not Russell Crowe. Ambrose drops Sheamus with a bi clothesline as the announce team goes over past kings of the ring with Booker putting himself over. Ambrose chops Sheamus put runs into a tilt-a-whirl slam. Sheamus gives the sign for the Brogue Kick but Ambrose side steps it and rolls up Sheamus for a deuce. Ambrose sends Sheamus into the ring post and he falls out of the ring. Ambrose hits the suicide dive to the outside then rolls Sheamus back inside. Ambrose comes off the top but Sheamus hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. He covers for 1.......2....nope. Ambrose counters white noise with a sunset flip for 1.......2...nope. Sheamus counters Dirty Deeds (done dirt cheap) with a Texas Cloverleaf. Ambrose makes it to the ropes and out to the apron. Sheamus then goes for ten beats of the bodhran. Ambrose hits the elbow from off the top and covers for 1...2....noooo. Sheamus rolls outside and Ambrose chases him to the announce table. They slug it out until Ambrose clotheslines him down. Ambrose sends Sheamus into the ring post but he counters with a Brogue Kick. Suddenly Dolph Ziggler hits ringside and unloads on Sheamus for the DQ. Ziggler chases Sheamus out of the arena and leaves with Ambrose still down outside. You can make the argument that Ambrose wouldn't have made it back inside and Sheamus would have won by countout. Ambrose inside the ring is mad.....look out Ziggler. Anyway that was a good, physical match and it served its purpose of Dean not taking the L with Sheamus still advancing.


Time of match: 12:41

Winner: Sheamus by DQ



We get more hype for the tag match and potential main event for Payback before we go to commercial. The WWE Rewind showcases Miz defeating Damien Sandow for the rights to the Miz brand after Summer Rae turned heel on Sandow. A huge swing and a miss by Vince to have Miz win in the end. Damien is in the ring and says his name is Damien Sandow and runs down his former gimmick. Then he says he was told to his face he wasn't entertaining enough and then goes through his parody gimmick phase. Then he gets to the point of the Mizdow gimmick that he lost respect of his peers but gained the respect of the WWE universe. Sandow thanks the fans and says without them he wouldn't be in WWE now. The crowd chants "Thank you Mizdow!" Sandow says where does he go from here but then is cut off by Curtis Axel of all people. Axel hypocritically says he despises people who imitate others. Axel then starts quoting Hulk Hogan and Sandow mocks him every time like an 8 year old. Axel gets mad and the crowd chants "Yes!". Axel says to get out of his ring and Sandow repeats what he says again. Axel attacks but Sandown blocks the punches and hits a big boot before hitting the Wind Up Elbow to chase Axel away. Somewhat of a pointless segment other than to cement Sandow's face turn and to make fun of Axel again. Cole then brings up something with a point, on Smackdown the New Day will face Tyson Kidd & Cesaro in a rematch.

We cut to Bray Wyatt who cuts a promo on Ryback. Wyatt says he learned how to play with fire but doubts that Ryback ever learned anything. Wyatt says he knows what Ryback is afraid of and to run. After hyping up the upcoming shows on the Network, we look at more god awful Tough Enough videos. Let's get to the next match.



Match 8

Adrian Neville vs Luke Harper in a King of The Ring Quarterfinal Match

The final KoTR of the match has Neville says he intends to defy gravity so he can become king. Harper says he will sit upon a throne of barbed wire and twisted steel, his reign of terror is coming to WWE, long live the king. That sounds painful. Bell rings as Cole says the semi-finals will be tomorrow night on the WWE Network. Neville plays cat and mouse with Harper but drops him with a head scissors. Neville kicks him outside but Harper blocks a baseball slide by throwing him onto the steps. Neville hits a hurracarana off the steps for a pop. Neville throws Harper inside but Luke blocks a springboard clothesline with a jawbreaker. Harper uppercuts Neville as we cut to commercial. Back from break Harper has Neville in a chinlock as Cole says the winner faces Sheamus tomorrow night. Neville heaves Harper outside but Luke gets back in. Harper goes for a big boot but Neville moves, causing Harper to fly over the top to the floor. Neville does a HUGE asai moonsault off the top rope that had JBL impressed. JBL says Owen Hart was a high flying king but not like this. Back inside Neville executes a standing shooting star press but runs right into a big boot and a full nelson suplex. The cover gets 1....2....nope. Harper goes for the powerbomb but Neville slips out of it and german suplexes Luke. Neville hits a standing enziguiri but runs right into a sitout powerbomb for 1....2....NOOOOO. The crowd "this is awesome" as Harper calls for another powerbomb. The crowd chants "NXT" as they slug it out in the center of the ring. Harper throws Neville in the corner and uppercuts him. Harper sets up Neville on the top rope but Adrian gets headbutted off. Neville counters with a kick to the head and slips into a powerbomb. Neville goes upstairs and hits Red Arrow. He covers for 1..2...3...to win the match. The crowd loved it as Neville is quickly becoming a fan favorite. That was easily the best match of the night and the semifinals are set. Wade Barrett takes on R-Truth with Adrian Neville takes on Sheamus tomorrow night. 


Time of match: 10:17

Winner: Neville by pinfall


Cole says voting is closing on the PPV main event as we cut right to the main of event of tonight's show. Getting right to the point. Reigns makes his entrance as Booker says Neville will win tomorrow night while JBL picks Barrett. Let's get to it.



Match 9

Roman Reigns and Randy Orton vs Kane and Seth Rollins (with Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury)

Tensions are mounting between Kane and Rollins while Reigns is free of Big Show and looks to get back in the title picture. Rollins and Kane shake hands on their way to the ring and JBL hilariously calls it bogus. The crowd chants "Justin Bieber" at Rollins as JBL says its uncalled for. Rollins starts with go-behinds on Reigns before putting in an arm-ringer. Reigns counters with one of his own and Rollins rolls out of the ring. Kane gives him lip service outside and Rollins gets back inside. Cole brings up Reigns' win the night before as Roman hits a tilt-a-whirl slam on Seth. Roman rams Seth's head into the buckle then tags in Orton who kicks Rollins in the ribs. Orton front suplexes Rollins off the top rope then stomps the chest of Seth. Randy uppercuts Seth then tags Reigns back in. Reigns pounds away on Seth but Rollins gets out of a scoop slam attempt then bails to the outside. Seth tags Kane in back inside as JBL hilariously says he'd put Heath Slater in the main event at Payback because he didn't get the chance to face Cena causing Cole to laugh. Booker "Why?" Orton tags in and stomps on Kane's toes like Moe Howard. Orton rams Kane's head into the buckle but Kane counters with a big boot. Cole says we got a commercial break to shut JBL up and JBL says he'll keep talking anyway. When we get back from break Rollins has Orton in a chinlock. Orton fights his way out of it but gets taken down by Rollins anyway. Seth covers for a deuce and drops Randy with a series of short arm clotheslines. Orton counters with a t-bone suplex as Kane gets the tag. Reigns gets the hot tag and he unloads on Kane with clotheslines and forearm blasts. Roman jumps off the second rope and clotheslines Kane before hitting Rollins with a samoan drop. Roman clotheslines Rollins over the top rope and sends Kane outside as well. Roman runs off the ropes but Joey Mercury grabs his foot. Reigns chases Mercury but runs into a Kane thrust to the throat. Kane sends Roman into the ring post twice before throwing him inside. Kane stomps on Reigns and sends him back first into the buckle. Rollins tags in and drops a knee on Roman's head. JBL says Roman has to be fatigued after his match last night and Booker adds the "London cab service".  Roman tries to fight back but Seth hits a standing enziguiri. Seth covers for a deuce before Kane tags back in. Seth throws Roman into a Kane side backbreaker and Kane covers for 1....2...nope.  Kane locks in a bearhug but Roman powers out of it. Roman kicks Kane in the head but Kane counters with a clothesline. Kane covers for 1...2....nope. Rollins tags in who works the back of Reigns with boots. Rollins taunts Roman that no one is getting a shot at him and tags Kane back in. Kane and Roman slug it out in the middle of the ring but Kane gets the upper hand with knees to the midsection. Reigns counters a suplex with one of his own and reaches for Orton. Rollins tags in and denies Roman just in time. Rollins misses a charge in the corner and rolls him up for 1...2...no. Roman actually lifts Rollins up and slams him and makes the hot tag to Orton. Randy clotheslines Rollins down but runs into an elbow. Seth tries a springboard crossbody but Orton powerslams him and covers for 1...2...nope, Kane breaks it up. Noble gets knocked off the apron and Kane goes for the chokeslam but Roman blocks the hand. Rollins dropkicks Kane by accident and runs into an uppercut. Roman calls for the Superman punch and nails....Mercury with it. Seth knees Roman through the ropes to the outside but Randy hits the second rope DDT on Seth. Rollins blocks the RKO with a roll up but Randy kicks out at two. Rollins superkicks Randy outside the ring as the other three guys are around the announce table. Rollins dives through the ropes but Roman and Randy move causing Seth to barely touch Kane. Kane sells it anyway and Seth rolls Orton inside. Kane goes berserk and heaves both Noble and Mercury over the announce table to clear out Booker and JBL. Seth tries to get Kane to stop and Kane uppercuts him out of instinct. Kane rolls Rollins inside who eats a Superman punch and an RKO. Orton covers for 1...2......3 to win the match. Cole says The Authority is imploding and Kane's lost it. Orton and Reigns get the victory as Cole goes to the replay. Good match and not as formulaic as others have been. It was supposed to show the dissention between Kane and Rollins and the babyfaces exploited it.

After the match, Orton splits to the entrance way while Reigns remains inside the ring. Kane grabs the mic and says here are the results of the poll. Naturally the triple threat wins with 78% of the vote. Reigns is happy while Rollins is irate. Roman hits a spear on Rollins for good measure. Cole says the Universe has spoken as Randy and Reigns eyeball each other. We got to the replay of Rollins getting upset then being speared. What a way to end the show.


Time of match: 18:18

Winners: Reigns and Orton by pinfall




Lot to unpack tonight. Tomorrow night's King of The Ring's semifinals are set with R-Truth vs Bad News Barrett and Adrian Neville vs Sheamus. Bray Wyatt and Ryback are going to duke it out with one of them destined to fade further into oblivion. New Day still has Kidd & Cesaro's number as the new top heel tag team, Naomi is still number 1 contender for the Divas title with the Bella Twins apparently turning face for absolutely no reason. Rosa Mendes is with Adam Rose now, Cena vs Rusev in an I Quit match will settle the feud once and for all and Kane STILL can't get along with Rollins. The problem is they're milking the Kane/Rollins dissension but already cashed in when Kane essentially caused Randy to lose at Extreme Rules. At least now they're putting Reigns back in the title picture, so the question is simply when will they pull the trigger on Roman. Ironically the next PPV after Payback is Money In The Bank so they may have yet another surprise cash in sooner rather than later. Either way the deck looks to be evening out with Kane teetering on a turn although The Authority is still in Rollins' corner. Going to be interesting to see what happens between now and Payback. For some reason the King of The Ring Semi-finals and Finals would be held the following night in Moline. I'll see you there.