WWE Raw (5/11/15)

 

We're six days away from Payback and the only matches set in stone are the Fatal Four Way with Seth Rollins defending the WWE Championship against Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Randy Orton along with the I Quit Match featuring John Cena defending the WWE United States Championship against Vladimir Rusev. Bray Wyatt vs Ryback, Naomi vs Nikki Bella and New Day vs Kidd & Cesaro are on the table but not official. This week should make some more official matches. Erik Rowan returned to turn heel last week as well as the main roster debut of Sami Zayn....only for him to get hurt. What will happen this week? Let's find out.

WWE Raw

US Bank Arena

Cincinnati, Ohio

May 11, 2015

Commentators: Michael Cole, Booker T and JBL

Ring Announcer: Eden Stiles

We begin the show with a limousine pulling up to the arena and out comes Triple H. Michael Cole says the atmosphere is about to change. Hunter comes to the ring alone for a powwow as Cole says Daniel Bryan is here to address his health and Intercontinental Championship status. Hunter grabs a mic and says "Daddy's home" to a shocking babyface pop. He says that's what he says to his kids when he gets home and they instantly behave better (which is absolute BULLSHIT if you actually have kids). Hunter says he needs to say that to Kane and Seth Rollins because they aren't doing what he tells them to do. Hunter says they're going to end this tonight and calls Seth and Kane to come on down.

Rollins comes out with Jamie Noble & Joey Mercury in tow. Rollins says welcome back and tries to suck up to him by saying he agrees with him. The crowd cuts him off with a "We want Ambrose" chant and Rollins says nevermind that. Rollins calls Kane a 7 foot cancer trying to poison it from the inside. Crowd chants "You sold out" and Rollins yells at them. Seth claims Kane is trying to sabotage him being champion and the crowd is unrelentless with the "We want Ambrose" chant until Seth acknowledges Dean. Rollins continues to whine about Kane with the crowd chanting "Ambrose" next. Rollins says Kane shouldn't be Director of Operations anymore, he's broken and can't be fixed. 

Rollins says Hunter should take the old dog out back and put him out of his misery and right on cue, here comes Kane in full coat & tie. Kane says with age comes wisdom and its telling him "to grab you by your turkey neck AND CHOKESLAM YOU STRAIGHT TO HELL!" This gets a big pop and Hunter holds Kane back. Rollins and Kane yell at each other until Hunter says "Enough!" Hunter tells Kane he respects him but he needs to get on the same page & check his ego. Hunter says Rollins does make you want to punch him in the face but you don't, he's what's best for business. Hunter says if Rollins isn't the champion after Payback, Kane's services will no longer be needed. Kane says he respects Hunter but it might be worth it just to eviscerate Rollins. Rollins calls him insubordinate and Hunter tells him to shut up. Hunter asks Kane if they should part ways and Kane doesn't say anything. Hunter says he'll take that as a no and he's going to make all four main eventers wrestle tonight. Hunter says Kane goes one on one with Roman Reigns. Seth Rollins will be facing Randy Orton tonight. Jamie Noble out of nowhere and runs down HHH while saying Seth is the man around here. Hunter sarcasically asks that J & J Security are still here? Hunter gets down to Noble's level and says the little fellas will be wrestling right now...against Dean Ambrose. The crowd explodes as Noble and Mercury are upset. Kane, Rollins and Rollins walk up the ramp but here comes Ambrose, not wasting any time.

Match 1

Dean Ambrose vs Jamie Noble & Joey Mercury in a Handicap Match

Back from commercial break, the match has started with Mercury in with Ambrose. Ambrose slides out of the ring and drops Noble face first on the apron before sliding in. Ambrose goes to town on Mercury in the corner. Ambrose punches away on Mercury and hits a scoop slam. Mercury throws jabs nowhere close and Ambrose clotheslines him over the top to the floor. Noble gets in and begs off and Dean extends a hand. Dean kicks him in the stomach and goes for Dirty Deeds, Noble sliding out of the ring. Jamie runs for it but Dean chases him only to be headbutted in the stomach by Mercury lying in wait. Mercury rams Dean face first into the announce table. Dean double clotheslines them ass over tea kettle into the announce desk. Ambrose laughs as Booker T laughs with him. Ambrose goes up to the top but Mercury drags him down by the arm, hitting a big lariat. Mercury covers for a deuce and then the double team begins. Noble drops Ambrose with a clothesline as JBL says both of them are former good wrestlers. Cole says that was years ago. Noble applies a body scissors which allow Mercury to stomp him. Mercury hits a dropkick and covers for a 1. Mercury locks in a chinlock before Dean powers out of it. They butt heads and Noble reaches for the tag. Noble tags in but Ambrose pops up like popeye and rallies with right hands. Dean avalanches Noble in the corner and hits Flying Psycho through the ropes to the floor onto both men. Dean rolls Noble in as JBL asks can you see Ambrose as champion. Ambrose hits a second rope elbow on Mercury and covers...but Noble breaks it up. Ambrose hits a double clothesline and throws Noble into Mercury. Noble turns around into Dirty Deeds. Ambrose covers for 1..2....3 to win the match. Reminds me of the old jobber squash matches with the idea of making Dean look good in his hometown.

Time of match: 5:17

Winner: Ambrose by pinfall

We go to the replay of Ambrose winning with Cole saying Ambrose doesn't have to pin Rollins to be the champion, he can beat anyone. We get a graphic of Daniel Bryan addressing the fans tonight, this can't be good. Back from break we finally get a new match announced, Dolph Ziggler vs Sheamus again, no "kiss me arse" this time. On to the next match.

Match 2

Dolph Ziggler vs King Barrett

Sheamus sits in on commentary for this one. Dolph Ziggler looks like one of the McQuaid Brothers from 21 Jump Street and JBL says all hail King Barrett. Barrett grabs a mic before the match and says Adrian Neville is a peasant and he'll "Neville" defy gravity again after he hits him with one final bullhammer this Sunday. It hasn't been announced yet but I guess we're getting Neville/Barrett one more time. Barrett says he's going to take a page from Sheamus and make Ziggler his "royal arse kissah! Now ring the bloody bell referee" Bell's gone and immediately Ziggler nails Barrett with a superkick before Barrett even takes his robe off. Ziggler covers for 1...2....nooooo, that was close. Sheamus calls Ziggler a dirtbag and Dolph clubs away at the King. Even Barrett butt kisser JBL says Barrett did say to ring the bell. Ziggler drops an elbow and covers for a deuce then dropkicks the King to the floor. We got to commercial and when we get back, Barrett is in control with a chinlock. Sheamus says Michael Cole is welcome for no reason and says he owes Ziggler one. Ziggler hits the fameasser and covers for 1...2....no. Cole says Ziggler beat Sheamus at Extreme Rules as Ziggler wiggles out of Wasteland into a superkick. Barrett loads up the bullhammer but Dolph counters with a dropkick and rollup for 1..2...no. Ziggler takes a swipe at Sheamus who had hopped up on the ring apron, but turns around into THE BULLHAMMERRRRRR. Barrett covers for 1..2....3 to win the match. Ziggler had him on the run but Sheamus distracted Dolph long enough for Barrett to win it. 

Time of match: 5:52

Winner: Barrett by pinfall

Barrett takes off and Sheamus gets in for some heel heat. Sheamus kicks away at him and taunts the irate crowd. Sheamus slaps at him in the corner but Ziggler Thez presses him only for Sheamus to roll away and hit the Brogue Kick. Sheamus poses over Ziggler before he leaves. Barrett gets a much needed win and Sheamus gets some heat going into Sunday. We get graphics for Kane vs Roman Reigns and Randy Orton vs Seth Rollins in a non-title match later. Back from break we get a Tough Enough graphic nobody cares about. On to the next match.

Match 3

Erick Rowan (with Luke Harper) vs Fandango

This stems from Smackdown where Rowan come out after Harper had beaten Fandango and put the boots to Fandango, reuniting with Harper. Made sense to put these two back together since Rowan was utterly useless as a babyface and there were too many mid-card heels for Harper to shine. The tag team ranks were suffering with The Ascension being regulated to jobber status and nobody gave a rats ass about Los Matadores. Fandango comes out as JBL asks how long this goes, he thinks 90 seconds. Booker says 92 seconds. Fandango bum rushes Rowan at the bell as Cole says 2 minutes. Fandango hits a second rope forearm to the back and covers for 1..2...no. Rowan hits the spin kick and the full nelson slam just like that. He covers for 1..2...3 and its over after 36 seconds. The fact the announcers turned this into a game basically showed that Fandango was a jobber at this point. Shame, Johnny Curtis was far too talented but the stupid gimmick ruined him.

Time of match: 36 seconds

Winner: Rowan by pinfall

After the match Harper gets in for the two on one beat down. They even get a decent pop as Cole says this is dangerous for the WWE lockerroom. Good, the tag team division was New Day and not much else, they had to do something. We get a graphic for John Cena's Open Challenge coming up next. Last week it was Sami Zayn to have one of the best matches of the year. Who could it be this time? Back from commercial we get a highlight of last week's match before John Cena make his entrance. We get a graphic for this Sunday for the I Quit match between Cena and Vladimir Rusev for the US title. Cena gets a good babyface pop and acknowledges the cheers and boo's. Cena says whether you like him or not everyone can appreciate the US title. The crowd starts a USA chant right out of the 80's and Cena says he originally won the belt because he didn't like who was champion but now he's invigorated to represent what it really means. Cena says there will be guys that never come close to being World Champion but not the US title, the symbol of excellence. Gotta give credit to Cena for trying to make the secondary title look important. Cena says anyone and everyone has a right to come for the title, except for Rusev because he's going to beat him in an I Quit match. Cena says he never gives up and says Rusev is coming for him, he's been told to not do the Open Challenge. Cena says to hell with Rusev and bring out his challenger. Cena waits.....and out comes Adrian Neville.

Match 4

Adrian Neville vs John Cena for the WWE United States Championship

Neville gets absolutely no pop but he's here for Cena. JBL says he's gotta hand it to Cena for defending the strap six days out from the ppv. Bell's gone as Cole says these matches might catch up to him. Cena backs Neville into the corner and lets him go. Cena locks in an armbar as the crowd chants for Cena. Neville hits a northern lights suplex and locks in an arm-ringer but lets Cena go when John makes it to the rope. JBL says it could be Harper, Rowan or anyone that challenges for the title as Cena locks in a headlock. Neville powers out of it and hits a dropkick to send Cena to the floor for a breather. We go to commercial as Cena says "Not bad, kid." Back from commercial Cena hits two shoulderblocks but counters the back suplex with a german suplex of his own for 1...2..no.  Adrian baseball slides John down and hits a springboard corkscrew moonsault much to the crowd's delight. Neville rolls Cena in and covers for 1...2..no. The crowd chants NXT and Cole acknowledges it but Cena hits the back suplex. He calls for the 5 knuckle shuffle and hits it then goes for the FU. Neville wiggles out of it as Cena's charge in the corner eats boot. Neville goes up to the top and hits the 450 splash for 1...2...NOOOOOO. Booker "WOW!" Neville and Cena play "yay/boo" punchathon as JBL says "Big match John". Neville kicks Cena down but runs into a Michinoku Driver (!?). Cena covers for 1...2...no. Cena goes for the FU but Neville turns it into a crucifix for 1....2...nope. Neville leapfrogs into the corner, catches Cena with an elbow and goes for a bodypress. Cena rolls through it and turns it into an FU, but Neville rolls out of it, superkicking Cena in the face. The crowd begins to go nuts as Neville covers for 1...2...no. Adrian drags Cena into the corner but Cena catches him with the STFU. Booker "That was a mistake by Neville, he'll never do that again". Neville doesn't tap and somehow rolls through it, only to get rocked with a clothesline much to JBL's delight. Cole says Cena is frustrated as the crowd chants Let's Go Cena. Cena runs into an enziguiri but hits the FU anyway. He covers for 1...2....NOOOOOOO! Somehow Neville kicks out and the crowd is in a frenzy. Cena and Neville slowly get to their feet. Neville sides to the apron and Cena pulls him to the top rope for the Super FU. Neville wiggles out of it and rolls through for the sit-out powerbomb 1....2....noooooo. Neville rolls Cena over and goes for then Red Arrow. Neville hits it but before he can cover, here comes Rusev to ruin the match. People are PISSED! That was almost as good if not better than last week's match against Sami Zayn. Cena vs NXT every week is really getting good. Neville looked great and didn't lose to keep his momentum going.

Time of match: 14:42

Winner: Neville by DQ (Cena retains)

After the match, Rusev stomps Neville and superkicks him out of the ring. The crowd boos like crazy and Rusev stalks Cena. Rusev then superkicks Cena and locks in The Accolade. Cole says this might be the one move to get Cena to say I Quit. The crowd chants "We want Lana" and Rusev doesn't like that. Rusev grabs the US title belt and holds it up to taunt the irate crowd. Rusev promised he was coming for Cena tonight and he delivered on his promise. Cole botches saying Payback by saying "Paperback" hahaha and JBL makes the save by saying to watch the I Quit Match he had with Cena long ago. We get a graphic for Reigns vs Kane next as we go to break.

Back from commercial Kane comes out first and cuts Reigns off when he comes in through the crowd. Kane pounds away on Roman and sends him into the barrier. Kane continues to pound away then rams Roman back first into the ring post. Kane sends Reigns into the steel steps as Cole explains that Triple H called out Kane earlier and that fired him up. Reigns fights back and rams Kane into the barrier. They slug away at each other until Kane flings Roman back and forth between the barrier and the side of the ring. Kane heaves Reigns over the ring steps and hits a big boot on the floor. Kane tears apart the announce table but Roman stuns Kane with an uppercut. Reigns rams Kane into the side of the ring and whips him toward the steps. Reigns jumps over the steps then goes for the Superman punch only to get caught by Kane. Roman breaks free, hits the Superman punch and spears Kane over the announce table. Roman stands on the announce table and his music hits. Guess we're not getting a match. Point of this was Reigns is ready for Sunday.

We get a graphic of Daniel Bryan coming up later as we go to break. Back from commercial we get a graphic for the returning Tamina Snuka attacking the Bella twins from last week. On to the next match.

Match 5

Brie Bella (with Nikki Bella) vs Tamina Snuka (with Naomi)

The crowd is completely silent as both pairs enter showing how awful this has been booked. The Bellas turned face by proxy but fans aren't buying it and Tamina was never a crowd favorite. We get a PIP of Naomi cutting a promo saying the Bellas got a taste of their own medicine and now she's got "family" to back her up. What? The Snukas aren't related to the Usos. Typical Vince. Bell rings and Tamina backs Brie into the corner only to get pounded on by Bella. Tamina kicks Brie in the stomach but eats an elbow. Tamina does a backbreaker and an axehandle to the back. Tamina sends Brie into the corner back first and locks in a chinlock. Tamina drops some knees to the back then the stomach. She covers for a 1 count and chokes Brie on the second rope in front of Nikki. Brie hits a running roll up for a 1 count then runs into a clothesline. Tamina covers for 1...2..no. Brie rolls through a back suplex and hits first a clothesline, then a dropkick. Tamina barely sells it as Brie goes to the second rope for the missile dropkick. Brie covers for 1...2..no. Brie shouts BRIEEE MODEEE and hits a running knee. She goes for a second one but runs into a superkick. Tamina covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. That was sudden. Naomi jumps up and down in the entrance way as the heels retreat. Kind of a pointless match other than to show that Tamina means business.

Time of match: 3:34

Winner: Tamina by pinfall

We get a graphic for Orton vs Rollins later as Cole speculates this won't take place either after what happened with Kane and Reigns earlier. On to the next match.

Match 6

Curtis Axel vs Damien Sandow

We get a pre-match graphic of Axel and Sandow doing Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage imitations to the delight of no one. Instead of Damien Sandow its "Macho Mandow" and JBL is about to throw up "Somewhere Randy Savage is rolling in his grave, check that, spinning." He was cremated but the sentiment remains. JBL hates everything that's going on as the bell rings. Sandow does the finger point as Axel tears his shirt off. Axel sends Mandow into the ropes but misses the big boot. Sandow drops Axel with clotheslines and a scoop slam. Sandow goes for the top rope elbow but here comes The Ascension for absolutely no reason. JBL "I've never been so happy to see The Ascension." Viktor on a mic says "You think THIS is entertaining? These two delusional idiots are trying to be two old relics from the past to jumpstart their pathetic careers." Konnor "Dressing like a legend is different from being a legend." Konnor says the crowd isn't laughing with them, they're laughing at Sandow and Axel. Viktor says there's a new age in WWE (cue the What chants) and hit the ring. Sandow throws Konnor out of the ring and slams Viktor. He pulls Axel up and tells him to hit the leg drop. Axel drops the big leg and Sandow goes upstairs. Sandow goes for the big elbow but Konnor pulls Viktor out. They retreat as Sandow and Axel taunt them. JBL "I'm speechless. That was....something." Axel and Sandow do the hand shake to form the "Mega Powers" as JBL says god help us. Remember how the tag team division was hot garbage lately with the Ascension & Los Matadores regulated to jobber status and The Uso's out with injury? Harper & Rowan and Axel & Sandow just joined the ranks. Absolutely stupid segment but it does give Axel & Sandow something to do at least. 

Time of match: 2:00

Winner: No one (no contest)

We get a graphic for Daniel Bryan coming up next as we go to break. Back from break we get Tough Enough samples I'm not going to dignify with a response and Cole plugging the website for the sample videos. Oh wait....pretty sure "Hollywood" Mike Verna was the last one shown. HIM I know.

Here comes Daniel Bryan in street clothes and the IC title belt....this can't be good. Bryan hits the ring for a conference. The crowd chants "Daniel Bryan" as he's visibly shaken. He says the last couple of weeks he's been in and out of doctor's appointments and he doesn't do well with down time. He came here for the energy of the crowd and for years the crowd treated him better than anyone in the back. He says almost exactly a year ago Stephanie McMahon stripped him of the WWE Championship and he felt like he let the fans down. Bryan says the fans got him that far which sparks a Yes chant. Bryan has to admit that Stephanie was right to do it because the fans deserve a fighting champion. Bryan says that's why he's here tonight which sparks a "No" chant. The fans know where this is going. Bryan says he had an MRI last week and he says no one knows how long he'll be out. He says he might never wrestle again and knows what needs to be done. Bryan says the fans deserve WWE stars like Wade Barrett, Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose fighting for it. Had to mention Dean for the hometown crowd. Bryan says the IC belt belongs in the ring, not on a physical therapist's chair. He officially relinquishes the title as the crowd chants "Thank you Daniel". Daniel says they're wrong, he thanks the fans this time. He leaves the belt in the center of the ring as the entire crowd gets on their feet to say goodbye. Bryan fights back tears as someone can be heard in the crowd saying "We love you." Daniel leads one last Yes chant before he leaves. Well this sucks. He basically came back against all odds only to be shut down again, it would be a long time before he would be in the ring again.

Back from commercial the announcers are just as depressed as the crowd. Booker and JBL talk about how you never know when your time is up.....and here comes The New Day. Xavier Woods comes out and says Daniel Bryan is gone so its time for a New Day. Woods tries a "New...Day Rocks" chant but the crowd says "New...Day Sucks". Kofi Kingston says one of these days they'll get the chant right. Kofi says the New Day is all about second chances and giving them to people. Big E Langston says "except Pete Rose." Low hanging fruit but okay. Kofi gets to the point and says this Sunday it'll be a 2 out of 3 falls match for the tag team titles between them and Tyson Kidd & Cesaro. They try a New Day Rocks chant and here comes Kidd, Cesaro and Natalya.

Match 7

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

Singles action with the two hosses of the group. Bell's gone as the announcers speculate who the 2 out of 3 falls stip gives the advantage to. Langston gets in a headlock as JBL says Jack Tunney wouldn't put up with what Roger Goodel does in the NFL (ha!). Langston jumps into a scoop slam by Cesaro as JBL says the New England Patriots should be stripped of their Superbowl win. God Brady won in the end. Cesaro hits a top rope crossbody for 1..2...no. Cesaro stomps away at Big E as the crowd chants New Day sucks. Cesaro clotheslines Langston over the top to the floor as we go to commercial. Back from break Cesaro slugs away at Big E in the middle of the ring. Langston locks in an abdominal stretch until Cesaro fights out of it with a gut-wrench suplex. Cesaro walks into a belly to belly suplex but Big E misses the big splash. Cesaro runs into a rock bottom and E covers for 1...2...no. Big E drops Cesaro with a clothesline and covers for 1...2...no. Woods "HES ON FIREEEEEE" as the crowd claps for Cesaro. Cesaro ducks the line and hits a springboard uppercut much to Cole's delight. Cesario hits an overhead suplex and hits an uppercut in the corner. Cesaro nails a series of uppercuts and calls for the giant swing. Woods hops up on the apron for the distraction but Kidd takes him out. Kofi drops Kidd and Cesaro turns around in time to see Big E coming. Cesaro does a European roll up (!!??) for 1...2....3 to win the match. Haven't seen THAT in a while! Decent hoss fight with Cesaro stealing the show with his freak strength.

Time of match: 8:54

Winner: Cesaro by pinfall

After the match we get the pre-show match for this Sunday......Curtis Axel & Damien Sandow vs The Ascension. Good grief. On top of that, the month of May is free for WWE Network. A second ppv has been added for two weeks from Sunday....ELIMINATION CHAMBER. Ah lovely, we get 3 ppvs in the span of a month. Money In The Bank is scheduled for June 14th in Columbus, Ohio, EC on May 31st in Corpus Christi, Texas and Payback this Sunday. 

Back from break we get the Prime Time Players Titus O'Neill and Darren Young doing a New Age Outlaws impression. This was a sad sign of the times where WWE guys had to imitate old WWE guys because they couldn't get over on their own. O'Neill says you better beat somebody and Darren in a blonde wig says if you're not down with that, he's got 3 words for ya. Millions of dollars. Wonderful....next.

Here comes Bray Wyatt for a philosophical discussion. He gets in the ring and says he wishes he could reach out and fix everything. Bray says fear is all around us and engulfed the world like a wildfire. He says open a newspaper and turn on the TV to see fear being sold of a crumbling economy that will never stop. Bray says people aren't waking up yet and Ryback is an inspiration to them. The crowd barely chants "Feed me more" as Bray brings up Ryback's ankle injury and how he was told to retire. Bray says Ryback fought through the injury to rise again and Bray says "My hero." Bray says along the came the spider as Ryback has never seen anything like him before. Bray says Ryback must be asking why him (and so is everyone else) and Bray says Ryback's in his way. Bray says "Sometimes the bad guy just wins." Bray poses in the ring but here comes Ryback. Cole "and sometimes the good guy does." JBL "That we dont know yet." Ryback and Wyatt scrap with Ryback hitting the spinebuster. Ryback clotheslines Bray who heads for the hills. The crowd finally chants "feed me more" a little bit louder as Bray smiles in the entrance. Well now we got the answer, "fuck you that's why". Still, the match should be interesting as Ryback stands tall before the break.

Back from commercial its time for the main event.

Match 8

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

Non-title match so Rollins has nothing to lose here. Seth and Orton exchange holds with Orton getting the early headlock. The announcers bicker with each other as Rollins drops Orton with a shoulderblock. Orton responds with a back elbow smash and they slug it out in the ring. Orton throws Rollins head first into the ground and into the corner. Orton drops Rollins with a European uppercut and stomps away at him. Cole says Orton has the advantage in the match as a 12 time world champion. Orton misses the knee drop but hits the backbreaker. Cole brings up Rollin's dastardly deeds the past year as Orton is sent to the outside as we go to break. Back from commercial Rollins has the chinlock applied. JBL once again is terrified of Ambrose winning the title. Rollins sends Orton into the corner but is backdropped to the apron. Seth goes upstairs but Orton crotches him on the top rope. Orton laughs at Rollins and hits the superplex. Orton and Rollins play yay/boo punchathon until Rollins gets the final kick to the stomach. Orton floors Rollins with a clothesline and goes for the powerslam but Rollins catches himself on the rope. A charge in the corner by Orton eats boot but Rollins comes off the second rope into a powerslam. Orton hooks the leg for 1...2...no. Rollins snaps Orton off the top rope and hits an enziguiri on the apron. Rollins hits the springboard knee drop and covers for 1...2..no. Rollins rolls out of the backbreaker but walks into a t-bone Taz plex (!!??) by Orton. Rollins dumps him to the apron and dropkicks him onto the floor. Rollins hits the suicide dive outside and both guys slide back in. Rollins misses the stinger splash and Orton rolls him for 1..2...no. Rollins kicks Orton in the head and covers for another deuce. Rollins gets to his feet first and mocks Randy by imitating is viper curl. Orton goes to backdrop Rollins but Seth rolls out of it. Rollins runs but Orton catches him with the second rope DDT. Orton curls up and calls for the RKO. Randy goes for it but here comes Joey Mercury for the DQ. Who booked this show, Vince Russo? Good match but another ending ruined by DQ. 

Time of match: 15:19

Winner: Orton by DQ

After the match J & J Security put the loafers to Orton. They lift him up but he fights out of it. He throws Noble into the post and drops Mercury, but turns around into a Rollins clothesline. Rollins picks Mercury and Noble up and Kane makes his appearance. Kane grabs a chair and just looks at J & J Security. Mercury, Noble and Rollins put the boots to Orton but here comes Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns to even the odds. They clean house of Mercury and Noble as Orton gets to his feet. The 3 faces surround Rollins and he calls out to Kane. Again Kane doesn't move as Ambrose hits Dirty Deeds on Rollins. Kane still doesn't do anything as the crowd chants for an RKO. Ambrose picks up Rollins and Reigns hits a spear on Seth. Ambrose and Reigns ask what's up with Kane as Orton just looks at Rollins. The duo pick up Rollins and Orton hits the RKO. Randy turns around into a Roman Reigns spear and he celebrates. Reigns turns around into Dirty Deeds from Ambrose. Dean stands tall to end the show with Kane still doing nothing. Cole hypes up NXT and an encore showing of Sami Zayn vs NXT star Kevin Owens as we sign up.

Apart from the Cena/Neville match, this was a bad show. Too many DQ finishes and somewhat pointless matches. Still, we're 6 days out from the pay-per-view, makes no sense to blow your load now. Daniel Bryan retiring sucks but that means we'll be getting a new IC champion soon. Problem is they played hot potato with the belt before Bryan got it, hopefully we don't see that again. As for the US title match, there's not a chance in hell Rusev wins it but dammit they're going to try to make it look like he can. The tag team division has been absolute garbage since Wrestlemania so at least they're trying to fix it with putting Harper & Rowan back together and Axel & Sandow. The Divas situation is an absolute mess with the Bellas working face by proxy and the fans just aren't interested. Bringing back a hoss like Tamina makes Naomi look better but unfortunately there's no other competition....yet. Ryback and Wyatt would be a good hoss fight and both desperately need a big win. The whole Ziggler/Neville against Barrett/Sheamus thing has been going on since Wrestlemania so its time to end those. Finally, once again they're trying to make it look like Kane is turning face by saying he's fired if Rollins loses so you know Seth isn't going to. They're having Dean Ambrose stand tall lately so they're trying to make it look like he's got the best chance to walk out of there the winner. The next show after this is Wednesday's NXT, I'll see you there.

WWE Smackdown (3/12/15)

We finally have our Wrestlemania 31 card just about solidified. Sting vs HHH is a go, the Divas tag match is a go, Rusev vs John Cena is all set, Undertaker vs Bray Wyatt is set, the Andre The Giant Battle Royal is booked, Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar obviously, the IC title ladder match and now it looks like Randy Orton vs Seth Rollins after Orton's attack on Raw. Now with the card all set, now they have to hype all this up.....and apart from Rollins/Orton they are failing miserably. Sting vs HHH still makes no damn sense even if its great to Sting finally make his debut, Wyatt randomly calling out Undertaker and his vignettes are cool but without a Taker response it looks like he's just talking to himself. Nobody gives a hoot about the Battle Royal or the Divas tag match and good god almighty are fans not responding to Lesnar/Reigns. The long and the short of it is Reigns was Vince's chosen one when the fans wanted Daniel Bryan or someone else and everyone's sick of Lesnar, which isn't the fault of either of them. Plus the ladder match has been 90% comedy with the actual champion losing every single match, that's not how you book an important title. Anyway I'm sure we're going to hear from Rollins and The Authority tonight, more IC title hijinx and more vain attempts to get Wrestlemania over. Seriously, this has been the worst hyped Wrestlemania since 11 and that's saying something. Even 13 had Bret vs Austin and Taker in the main event. Anyway, let's get to the show.

March 12, 2015

JOE LOUIS ARENA

DETROIT, MICHIGAN

Commentators: Michael Cole, Bryon Saxton and Jerry Lawler

Ring announcer: Eden Stiles

We open the show with Daniel Bryan coming out to cut a promo. Before that we go back to Raw where Dean Ambrose defeated Stardust and then it turned into a pier six brawl with Dolph Ziggler, Bryan and Ambrose fought Wade Barrett, Stardust and Luke Harper. R-Truth put the IC belt in a sack and when Barrett demanded the sack, Truth handed him one....only it was a toy belt, Truth still has the real one. Bryan then cuts a promo saying he's avoiding looking at the Wrestlemania sign because he can't repeat last year's magic. He goes on to say he looked around at the Intercontinental title contenders and it brought him back to when he was a fan watching Mr. Perfect, Ricky Steamboat, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and Randy Savage, they were all Intercontinental Champions at Wrestlemania and were all more exciting than any of the world title matches. Bryan says the only title he hasn't won in WWE is the IC title so he's entering the ladder match to create a new Wrestlemania moment. The crowd chants "Yes" when Wade Barrett walks out. He's got some bad news for Daniel, he's still the IC champion. Once Barrett wins, he'll be Bryan's new hero. Dolph Ziggler comes out next and says Barrett is Ziggler's hero for being so delusional and desparate to be relevant. Ziggler says he can't even hang on to the physical belt, how is he going to survive a ladder match with six other guys? Luke Harper comes out next and says "I want my Wrestlemania moment." Short and sweet, now here comes Dean Ambrose. Ambrose is mad he wasn't invited to this party and wants to throw hands right now. They all go to fight but then Stardust comes out next. Stardust is absolutely irate that he can't find the IC belt and demands to know where it is. R-Truth comes out last with the belt and says what up Detroit. He says he's holding on to the belt until Wrestlemania while calling Barrett "sizzle chest". He says he's scared of heights but will win the ladder match anyway. Barrett says he's gonna pull Truth off the ladder while Truth counters with possession is 9/10ths of the law. R-Truth calls himself the big bossman and Barrett starts the six man brawl in the ring. The faces clear the ring of Stardust, Harper and Barrett then everyone looks at each other. Michael Cole then says we have an exclusive interview with Randy Orton coming up.

Back from commercial, the tag team champions Cesaro and Tyson Kidd with Natalya in tow walk around in the back. Apparently up next is an 8 man tag with New Day and The Uso's against Los Matadores and Cesaro/Kidd. We cut to the tag match from Raw where Matadores beat the Uso's after a distraction from El Torrito.

Match 1

Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso (with Big E Langston and Naomi) vs Diego, Fernando, Tyson Kidd and Cesaro (with El Torrito and Natalya)

With no clear tag team title contender this close to Wrestlemania, may as well have them all fight here. In a pre-recorded interview, the Matadores says they will be the next champions. Kofi starts with Diego and Diego chops him in the corner. Diego eats a second rope dropkick and Kofi makes the tag to Woods. Woods hits a second rope forearm and covers for a deuce. Woods hits a roaring elbow and covers for 1....2..no. Diego hits a jawbreaker and makes the tag to Fernando. Fernando hits a dropkick but takes a boot to the head. Jimmy Uso tags himself in and backdrops Fernando and pounds away in the corner. Uso kicks Diego off the apron but Fernando crotches Jimmy on the top rope. Fernando pounds on Jimmy's back as we go to break. Back from commercial Jimmy is knocked to the second rope and Fernando jumps on him. Diego makes the tag, hits a slingshot legdrop, then covers for a deuce. Diego applies a chinlock and shouts "OLE!" Jimmy misses an enziguiri then hits another then gets the hot tag to Jey Uso. Tyson Kidd tags in and Uso hits a samoan drop. Jey knocks Fernando and Cesaro off the apron then hits the ass bump on Kidd. Kofi tags himself in to hit a top rope crossbody as Fernando accidentally knocks Cesaro outside. Woods clotheslines Fernando over the top to the floor as Jimmy Uso flies over the top rope to take them out. Woods then hits a corkscrew plancha on Jimmy by accident as Kidd tries to roll up Kofi. Kofi reverses it for 1..2...no. Kofi gets an O'Connor roll for two but walks right into a Cesaro uppercut from the apron. Cesaro then turns around into a Jey Uso superkick. Fernando tags himself in and runs right into Trouble In Paradise. Kofi covers but the ref is busy with Kidd allowing Diego to pull the switch and hit the Backstabber. He covers for 1..2...3..to win the match. Two weeks in a row Los Matadores get a win. We go to the replay of the switcheroo and with the tag titles on the line at Wrestlemania, these teams are all gunning for them with Diego & Fernando having the momentum.

Time of match: 5:11

Winners: Cesaro, Kidd, Diego and Fernando by pinfall

Back to Cole who says we're 17 nights away from Wrestlemania 31. Cole hypes up Triple H vs Sting and we go to a vignette of Sting.....with an overdubbed voice. Sting says he's been watching Triple H and knows how corrupt officials ruin things. He said WCW fell into the hands of a broken authority and failed to save it. Sting knows pain and the pain of loss and he'll make things right by beating Triple H. After that's over, we get a graphic saying Roman Reigns will respond to Brock Lesnar tonight. John Cena and Rusev's package is up next after break.

Back from commercial, tonight's main event is now Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler and Daniel Bryan against Stardust, Luke Harper and Wade Barrett in a six man tag. R-Truth might be hiding under the ring for all we know. Then we get a vignette of John Cena/Rusev's feud so far and how Rusev refused to give Cena a rematch at Wrestlemania 31. Cena was resigned to his fate of not getting a rematch but will NOT allow Rusev to disparage the USA or he'll take him out. Sure enough, Rusev insulted America and Cena came out to whoop his ass. Cena locked in the STFU to render Rusev unconscious and Lana granted Cena the rematch. 

Ryback comes out for the next match as we go to break. Back from commercial, its announced the next inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame is the late Connor "The Crusher" Michalek who showed more bravery in his final years than most people will ever show in their entire lives. He'll be getting the Warrior Award. Renee Young is with Miz and Damien Sandow and she says Ryback is one of the favorites to win the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal and Miz runs down his own accolades saying HE is the favorite. He hasn't won the Battle Royal yet but that's his next target. Miz says he'll beat the brainless Ryback and Sandow interjects saying he's dangerous. Miz says he can beat Ryback by himself so Sandow can stay in the back and press his pants. He sends Sandow away and its time for the next match.

Match 2

Ryback vs The Miz

Feeding time for Ryback since Sandow is in the back. Bell rings and Miz still has his sunglasses on, finally removing them with Ryback starting a feed me more chant. Miz starts with a headlock as Cole actually brings up how Ryback and Miz were contestants on Tough Enough 4 eleven years earlier. Shows you how special Miz was that not only did he win the WWE Championship before Ryback in the end but the actual winner Daniel Puder. Ryback puts Miz on the top rope and continues to shout feed me more. Ryback throws Miz down and drops him with a back elbow smash. Ryback hits a delayed suplex but Miz dodges a charge in the corner. Miz stomps away on Ryback and chokes him on the second rope. Miz jumps on Ryback's back and covers for a one count. Miz kicks Ryback in the ribs and then in the head. Miz goes for another kick but Ryback blocks it and hits a spinebuster. Ryback signals for the meat hook clothesline and buries Miz with it. Ryback hits Shell Shock and covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. Not exactly a squash but clearly Miz can't beat him on his own without Sandow.

Time of match: 3:01

Winner: Ryback by pinfall

Coming up next is Roman Reigns' response to Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman. Oh good, more talking. Back from break, here comes Reigns for a conference. First we get Paul Heyman's promo on Monday where he listed Brock's accolades and Reigns can't beat him. Reigns goes on to say that Heyman claims to know him and his family, but he disrespected us by saying they're 3 generations removed from cannibalism. Reigns says he won't let disrespect go and nobody says he can't. All of a sudden here comes Mark Henry in wrestling gear to join him. Mark hasn't been seen since Survivor Series yet he says that too many coconuts hit Reigns in the head. Mark says he doesn't like people talking about his heritage either but he takes exception with Roman saying he "can". Mark says Roman can't because he himself couldn't beat Brock. Henry doesn't think Roman is ready and when Roman says "with all due respect" only for Mark to cut him off saying Brock doesn't respect him. The fans might but the boys in the back don't. Mark says Roman needs to earn it. Roman goes to leave but Mark stops him and asks where he's going. He shoves Reigns and Roman responds with a Superman punch. Henry bails to the outside but Roman goes out and spears him through the barricade. Roman stands on the announce table and says to hell with "I can't" because he can and he will, believe that. Sacrificing Mark Henry to make Roman look strong but not in a match is interesting. 

We cut to the announce table and says Brock & Paul had to have seen what just happened. Lawler says Heyman is sweating Crisco right now. Cole says on Monday it became official, The Undertaker vs Bray Wyatt will happen at Wrestlemania. We get a vignette of Monday where the rocking chair is set on fire and Bray laughing at it. Apparently The Undertaker is Johnny Cash because "the man comes around". We get a graphic for our main event before we see AJ Lee and Paige heading to the ring. They're in action next after commercial. Back from break its on to the next match.

Match 3

AJ Lee and Paige vs Summer Rae and Cameron (with Alicia Fox)

Summer and Cameron get the jobber entrance and somehow Paige's white shirt from a minute ago is gone. The Bella Twins are sitting in on commentary and Cole asks why they always sit next to Byron. Nikki says Byron smells better than Cole. Paige drives Cameron into her corner immediately and tags in AJ. AJ drops Cameron with an elbow and splashes her in the corner. AJ hits a neckbreaker and a spin kick to the ribs. Summer distracts AJ and Cameron clotheslines her from behind. Cameron covers for 1...2...no. Bella Twins babble on and on about Total Divas as Summer Rae tags in. Summer drops AJ and covers for 1...2...no. Summer locks in a chin lock before dropping Paige off the apron. Cameron tags in to stomp away in the corner then tags Summer back in. AJ clotheslines both women then tags in PAige. Paige rallies with clotheslines on Summer and hits a dropkick. Paige drops CAmeron off the apron and hits a superkick on Summer. Paige locks in the PTO and Summer taps to end the match. Short and sweet with AJ and Paige getting some momentum before the Wrestlemania tag match against the Bellas. Nikki promises she'd never tap out as Paige and AJ call out the Bellas.

Time of match: 2:25

Winners: Paige and AJ Lee by submission

After the match Nikki and Paige go nose to nose but AJ and Brie hold their respective partners back. We cut to Cole talking about Reigns spearing Mark Henry earlier and a highlight of it. We cut to Renee Young in the back who asks Henry why he was antagonizing Roman. Mark says damn right he antagonized him and Reigns showed him something. Mark is a believer now and he just wanted to test Roman. Henry says he feels it now Don't know if this was a babyface turn or what but bottom line was Henry thinks Roman can beat Lesnar. Up next is an interview with Randy Orton about him turning on The Authority on Monday after we come back from break. 

After the commercial, we go to a vignette of Dolph Ziggler promising to bring kids to Smackdown tonight. Sure enough, the kids featured are shown in the front row. Then we cut to an interview with Randy Orton. He says getting curbstomped by Rollins changed him and just coming back at Fastlane wasn't enough. He wanted to gain the Authority's trust again before stabbing them in the back like they did to him. It was a lot of fun for him using Roman to gain Seth's trust. Then he used reverse psychology to tell The Authority what he really thought of them. Then he had Seth right where he wanted him, then he turned on Seth and says fear motivates men. He saw the fear in Seth's eyes and he enjoyed beating the hell out of him. Now it makes sense for Randy to turn face, but he could have done it at Wrestlemania to cost Rollins a big match, instead he played his hand early. Now its going to be Orton vs Rollins at Wrestlemania. On to the next match.

Match 4

Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose vs Luke Harper, Stardust and Wade Barrett

The participants of the upcoming Wrestlemania ladder match are gonna get it on in six man action here. Ambrose starts with a headlock on Barrett and drops him with a shoulderblock. Ambrose drops an elbow on Barrett and kicks him in the ribs. Ambrose locks in an STF but Barrett stands up. Ziggler tags in and works over the left arm of Barrett. Barrett gets a reversal and Stardust tags in, coming off the top rope on Dolph's arm. Michael Cole calls him the Gollum of WWE and Lawler says he should be beamed up to the Enterprise. Daniel Bryan comes off the top rope with an axehandle following a tag by Ziggler. Bryan applies a surfboard as Ambrose yells "Coooody". R-Truth is watching in the back as Stardust escapes to tag in Barrett. Bryan drops Wade with a toe hold and delivers some European uppercuts. Barrett rallies with strikes in the corner and Stardust tags in. Stardust is whipped into the corner and Bryan hits a dropkick. Bryan hits a top rope frankensteiner and Stardust bails to the outside. We go to break and back from commercial. its Harper covering Bryan for 1...2...no. Harper does a Gator Roll with Bryan and applies a chinlock. Harper throws Bryan down and tags Barrett in. Harper stomps on Bryan before he leaves as Barrett rams Bryan into the buckle. Barrett pounds on his back and covers for 1...2...no. Stardust tags in and kicks Bryan in between the leg. Harper tags in and Bryan rolls him up for a deuce before kicking Harper in the head. Ambrose gets the hot tag as well as Stardust. Ambrose bulldogs Cody and delivers an atomic faceplant but Harper pulls Ambrose out of the ring. Ambrose clotheslines Harper on the floor and pulls the top rope down to shitcan Rhodes. Ambrose goes up and over the top rope twice for no reason before hitting a crossbody on Stardust & Harper. Ambrose throws Stardust inside and hits the rebound clothesline. Ambrose kicks Barrett in the head and goes outside to ram him into the announce table. Harper hits a big boot on Ambrose as we go to break. Back from commercial Barrett boots Ambrose in the face then covers for a deuce. Barrett locks in a chinlock but Ambrose rallies with right hands and a kick to the head. Barrett hits a big boot and tags in Stardust who covers for two. Stardust stimps on Dean's hand and puts him on the top rope. Stardust goes for a superplex but Dean counters with a front suplex. Dean hits a missile dropkick as Stardust gets the tag to Harper. Ziggler gets the hot tag and he rallies with clotheslines and a big elbow on Harper. Dolph hits a dropkick and a fameasser on Harper before covering for a deuce. Harper rolls him up for two and Ziggler hits the superkick. He covers but Stardust pulls him off. Daniel Bryan kicks Stardust in the head out of the ring then backdrops Wade Barrett out of the ring. All three faces go for suicide dives but only Bryan and Ambrose hit theirs, Ziggler gets a big boot courtesy of Harper. Harper hits the powerbomb for 1...2...nooooo. Harper starts spazzing out and goes for the torture rack, but Ziggler counters with the torture rack. Bryan tags in to hit the running knee and covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. Fun match to end the snow as the IC title picture seems to be the only interesting part of the show since nobody cares about the tag team titles and most of the main eventers weren't here.

Time of match: 17:38

Winners: Bryan, Ambrose and Ziggler by pinfall

Cole gets in the ring to interview the winners and congratulates Bryan on the victory. Dolph cuts off Michael and says Ziggler stole the victory from him. He says every man for himself and last year DB had lady luck on his side, this time he's out there too. Ambrose congratulates both men then says Dolph stole the show just like everyone's been stealing the IC belt lately. Ambrose says he started it although Dolph has an inferiority complex since he's not as good as Bryan. Ambrose says he and everyone else in the back think Bryan is a turd and leaves. Ziggler says he doesn't agree with Dean with a lot of things, but Bryan is a turd. Ziggler leaves too as DB is shaking his head in the ring. We sign off with Ziggler taunting Bryan to end things. Kind of a weird promo there as both Ambrose and Ziggler were crapping on Bryan but then again, at Wrestlemania it will be every man for himself. All in all the show started out slow with the IC title conference and eight man tag, then slowly found its way. The problem was there was too many vignettes and not enough matches. How do you only have four matches on a 2 hour wrestling show? Still, the card for Wrestlemania 31 is just about set with the 7 man IC title match, Paige and AJ taking on The Bellas, Cena vs Rusev, Reigns vs Lesnar, Sting vs HHH, Rollins vs Orton and the Andre battle royal. The next show after this is Monday's Raw. I'll see you there.

WWE NXT (2/23/10)

 

WWE NXT

Bradley Center

Milwaukee, WI

February 23, 2010

Commentators: Michael Cole & Josh Matthews

Ring Announcer: Savannah

Host: Matt Striker

Its the debut episode of a new WWE show, NXT. With Vince McMahon mercifully killing off WWECW for good, we got a new "Tough Enough" style show but rather than insult the fans intelligence by having indy wrestlers "train" under Hardcore Holly, Al Snow, etc, this show format will take eight independent wrestlers and call them "rookies" with individual "coaches". This is still pretty absurd considering who some of the "rookies" are but we'll get to that soon enough. The show opens with a montage of the rookies and their coaches. Skip Sheffield is coached by William Regal (it was supposed to be MVP), Darren Young will be matched up with CM Punk, Justin Gabriel will be paired with Matt Hardy, Wade Barrett is with Chris Jericho, David Otunga will be coached by R-Truth, Daniel Bryan is matched with The Miz, Michael Tarver is coached by Carlito and Heath Slater will be matched with Christian. Before we do anything, we got a dark match.

Dark Match:

Jimmy Wang Yang & Slam Master J vs Tyler Reks and Vance Archer

With ECW biting the dust, a lot of the dregs of the roster had nothing to do so they put these guys in a tag match before the show went on air. Yang and J win.

Winners: Yang and J

We start the show after the opening montage with all 8 "rookies" posing for the camera. David Otunga looks Straight Outta Compton while Daniel Bryan looks like he's bored. The Miz sizes up all of them but singles out Bryan. Maz says he's US Champion and Tag Team Champion and calls Daniel an "internet darling" and a star of the "minor leagues". Miz asks if Bryan is ready and Miz says he has to expect anything. He wants Bryan to go to the ring, introduce himself, show charisma and to give the fans a reason to watch every Tuesday. Bryan says that's no problem and Miz says to use his music, Bryan counters with that's a problem (Ha!). Miz says to have a good catch phrase as Bryan leaves. Miz says what Bryan doesn't know is if Bryan doesn't show personality, he'll slap some personality into him.

Out comes Daniel Bryan as Michael Cole and Josh Matthews welcome us to ring side. Matthews sends us to our host, Matt Striker. Striker says he'll be waiting to get reactions from Bryan or Miz depending on how this goes. Bryan thanks the audience and shouts out The Miz to a chorus of boos. Bryan says "I'm sorry" because he wishes his pro was William Regal. He says he's been wrestling all over the world for 10 years and finally he has an opportunity here. Bryan says NXT is the next evolution but he's cut off by The Miz. Cole says he's not surprised since he dissed Miz and Miz says this is going to be a lot of fun. Bryan says to watch what he says or he'll submit him right now. Miz calls him cute and a submission machine but he needs charisma and personality. Bryan says he was going to go on a reality show, get a faux-hawk and act like an idiot...oh wait, that was Miz. Miz says that's fine and wants a catch phrase like "I'M THE MIZ AND I'M AWESSOMEEEEEE." Bryan says if Miz tries him, its "Tap or Snap". Bryan asks the crowd what they think and they love it. They cheer Bryan as Miz asks if he belongs in the same ring. Miz says Bryan failed and slaps him across the face. Bryan is barely fazed by it and smiles at him. Miz storms off and Bryan says "you got nothing on me" as we go to break.

I know they're going to explain it and I already covered Bryan a long time ago in his Velocity matches but what the hell. The reason this whole scenario is ludicrous is Daniel Bryan was born Bryan Danielson and he was trained at the age of 18 by none other than the "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels. He made his in ring debut in December of 1999 and worked in both the US and Japan with school alums & future WWE stars Lance Cade and Brian Kendrick. In 2000, he was signed to a WWF developmental deal with Memphis Championship Wrestling and was given further guidance by William Regal (hence the name drop earlier) where he got the nickname "American Dragon". He was released in July of 2001 without ever being called up to Raw or Smackdown. He did make sporadic appearances on Velocity for the next two years while working in Japan or Ring of Honor. In Bryan's WWE Blu-Ray story, he said John Cena got heat for letting Bryan get some shots in rather than squashing him in their Velocity match. After a 7 year run with Ring of Honor, he was finally signed by WWE again who put him in their new developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling in early 2010. At first he wrestled under his own name but before he was to make his NXT debut he had to choose a stage name. Apparently he had to choose between Buddy Peacock, Lloyd Bonaire and Daniel Bryan. Once again, where Vince got his names I'll never know but thankfully Regal bailed him out by calling him Daniel Bryan. What makes this storyline more absurd is while Bryan was literally on WWE TV doing jobs and working with Cena, Miz was making his pro debut in 2003 after being an MTV star before becoming a Tough Enough 4 finalist (outlasting the very same Skip Sheffield we'll see later) in 2004. Not that the Miz didn't scratch and claw his way to stardom, but what the hell could Miz possibly teach the guy personally trained by Shawn Michaels and William Regal? That's basically the storyline here moving forward. 

Back from commercial, Bryan is still in the ring and he says he's going to slap him back someday. After an out of place Triple H vignette, Matt Striker asks what Bryan feels about being slapped. Bryan says he slaps harder than Miz does. Striker says Miz is his mentor and Bryan says he can say that because he's been wrestling longer than Miz has. Striker says not in WWE and Bryan says he can be a star on his own. That's rich coming from the guy who was still a teacher when Bryan was on Velocity working with John Cena. 

Before we get to the match, we're told that Daniel Bryan will go one on one with World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho tonight. As if you needed any more proof that Bryan is a bigger deal than he's being presented as. Carlito comes out with a mic and says let's introduce Michael Tarver. Carlito says with his skills, Tarver will be the next breakout star. The video montage shows Michael grew up in Akron, Ohio and is known as "Mr. 1.9 seconds" because he can knock out anyone just like that. His father was professional boxer Tyrone Evans who was Mike Tyson's sparring partner. He would join his father and Mike in 5 mile runs in the snow before school & church. He figures that it doesn't matter how big someone is, you take out the head and the body falls. He says he had it hard sleeping in cars and earning just $20 for indy shows but this is his way to prove what he's capable of. He wants the other rookies to bring their A game because the world is in front of him. So what did that montage not tell us? He started wrestling in 2005 and was signed to a developmental deal in 2008. Because of his boxing background, he was one of Floyd Mayweather's bodyguards at Wrestlemania 24 if you looked closely enough. He spent the next 2 years in FCW where he and Wade Barrett were a tag team managed by Byron Saxton. So this is no "rookie" either.

Christian and Heath Slater come out next. Slater apparently is a rock star without the instruments and likes to showboat a lot. He wanted to be a WWE superstar since he was born and we get a video montage of him in the 90's with wrestling toys and backyard wrestling belts. Slater says being a superstar is the only thing he's ever wanted to do. He came up with the party boy thing and his motivation is to prove everyone wrong. He's about to blow your mind! So, what WASN'T said? Slater was born in Pineville, West Virginia and really did grow up a massive WWF fan. He was trained by none other than Mr. Hughes and made his pro debut in 2004 under his real name of Heath Miller. In 2006 he was signed by WWE and put in their developmental territory Deep South Wrestling then moved over to Florida Championship Wrestling where he had been a mainstay ever since. Just a few months prior, he and Justin Gabriel feuded over the FCW Heavyweight Championship. Now in NXT, he wrestles under the name Heath Slater. Let's get to the match.

Match 1

Carlito and Michael Tarver vs Christian and Heath Slater

Slater is going to start with Carlito as Matthews says these guys are meeting each other for the first time. Slater and Tarver just came from FCW together and Slater was actually in a feud with Carlito's brother Primo. I'm sure they've met before. Slater gets a quick roll up for a two count and Heath shouts "Yeah baby" to no pop. Carlito goes to town with strikes then kicks away in the corner. Tarver tags in and punches away in the corner with body shots. Slater hits a springboard splash and a few arm drags to no pop again. Tarver hits a drop toe hold onto the bottom rope and Carlito gets a cheap shot. Christian distracts the ref long enough for Slater to kick out of the pinfall attempt at two. Cole says Christian told him he could do without the Slater hair flip. Carlito locks in a chin lock as Christian tries to start a clap for Slater. Cole then goes on to babble on about Daniel Bryan as Tarver tags in to lock in a chinlock as well. Slater does manage to catch Tarver with a powerslam as Carlito tags in. Christian gets the hot tag as Cole brings up Christian qualifying for the Money In The Bank ladder match coming up at Wrestlemania 26. Christian drops Carlito with a forearm and a second rope dropkick. Christian covers for 1...2..no. Christian goes for Killswitch but Carlito rolls out of it. Carlito jumps off the second rope but right back into Christian's arms. Carlito elbows Christian but is kicked in the corner. Christian hits a second rope sunset flip for 1..2....no. Tarver tags in and whips Carlito into an elbow by Christian, whoops! Tarver's charge eats boot as Slater pulls Carlito out of the ring. Christian hits a second rope elbow smash and hits the Killswitch. He covers for 1...2..3 to win the match. Kind of a short match but this whole episode is just an introductory showcase anyway. Christian and Slater celebrate as Christian does get a pop. Good, safe tag match to kick off NXT.

Time of match: 4:23

Winners: Slater and Christian by pinfall

CM Punk is joined by his Straight Edge Society members Luke Gallows and Serena with Darren Young babbling on inaudibly because Christian's music and Michael Cole's talking downs out whatever Darren is saying. Meanwhile R-Truth is talking to Otunga who looks like something out of an Eazy-E music video. Back from commercial, its time for our next match. The SES come out with Young who doesn't even get an introductory montage.....the hell?  Young was born Fred Rosser and he was trained in New Jersey back in 2001. He worked most of 2002-04 for local independents including Chaotic Wrestling. He actually got some WWE dark matches wrestling as Fred Sampson in 2005. I know this was still before the internet was as advanced as it is today, but how are you going to call someone who was wrestling on WWE TV in 2005 a "rookie" five years later when his "mentor" didn't even show up himself until 2006, no diss to CM Punk of course. Speaking of Punk, he gets his own mini-interview where he has no idea why he's here or who Darren Young is. Punk says he mentored Gallows and Serena so if Young wants in too, he has to live straight edge. Considering Young is trying to pass himself off as a "party boy" this isn't gonna work. Matthews wants to party with Young but we send it to a David Otunga montage.

Otunga says he's from Hollywood, California and he's a touch above everyone else. He's a very busy man and he's engaged to Jennifer Hudson. He's met President Obama, he's popular, nobody can touch him, you get the idea. He graduated from Harvard Law School and everyone's jealous of him. Great heel promo to be honest. Now for the real story....most of it is true. He really did graduate from Harvard Law school and passed the bar in Illinois. He made his name on the TV show I Love New York 2 where he came in third place. He really was engaged to Jennifer Hudson and they had a son together. He's not actually from Hollywood as he grew up in Illinois. He was signed to WWE in 2008 in a path similar to The Miz, cashing in on his ILNY2 fame. 

Match 2

Darren Young (with CM Punk, Serena & Luke Gallows) vs David Otunga (with R-Truth)

Otunga makes his entrance completely ignoring Truth's rapping at ring side during his entrance as the SES pretty much blow off Young as well. Bell's gone and Young gets in a knee to the ribs. Young drops Otunga with a back elbow smash and covers for a deuce. Otunga ducks a line, hits a few clotheslines of his own and damn near botches a Ron Simmons style spinebuster. Otunga covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. I know they were pressed for time since they had Jericho and Bryan later but that was ridiculous. That made Young look worthless. Otunga celebrates with Truth in the ring as the SES bails without showing any emotion. Otunga had the look and the charisma, but just could never do it in the ring.

Time of match: 38 seconds

Winner: Otunga by pinfall

We cut to earlier where Miz slaps Daniel Bryan and get a graphic for Jericho vs Bryan coming up. Back from commercial we get a Divas vignette and the "Raw rebound". John Cena on Raw complains that he won Elimination Chamber yet Vince McMahon forced him to wrestle Batista at the end of it. McMahon says he's going to face Batista in a match, and if he wins, he faces him again at Wrestlemania. Batista then demolishes Cena to earn a DQ but the beat down was to send a message that John couldn't take him. Its a shame it took damn near 5 years for Cena and Batista to get it on when they were neck and neck in popularity in 2005. Back to ring side where Cole says he's the mentor to Matthews and Josh fires back. A graphic saying Justin Gabriel will be making his NXT debut the following week.

Match 3

Daniel Bryan (with The Miz) vs World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho (with Wade Barrett)

As I said earlier, it was high praise to put Bryan in the ring with Jericho in his NXT debut when the others had to wrestle each other or in standard tag matches. We don't get an introduction vignette for either Bryan or Barrett so that might be coming next week. Before the match starts, Jericho grabs the mic and says he wants Barrett to introduce him instead. Barrett goes on about himself that he's a European champion and bare knuckles fighter. He says its an honor to be paired with Chris Jericho and tries to put him over, but Chris cuts him off. Chris says just introduce him as Barrett says "Have it your way." He introduces Chris and here comes The Miz and Bryan. Bryan runs right past him and gets in the ring, ha! Bell rings and Bryan wants a hand shake. Does he think he's in Ring of Honor? Jericho slaps his hand away and goes on about himself. He shoves Bryan and Daniel slaps him before dropping Chris with a dropkick. Daniel stops away in the corner but Jericho counters with a dropkick. Jericho kicks away at Bryan and delivers a back suplex. Chris gets a forearm to the back and a snap mare. Jericho locks in a half nelson but Daniel powers out of it. Daniel rolls him up for a two count and Jericho counters with an enziguiri. Chris slaps the back of the head and hits an elbow to the chest. Jericho hits forearms in the corner as Matt Striker sneaks ring side to ask Wade Barrett what he's learning. Wade replies that Jericho is quality and says he's going to get to his level. Bryan kicks Jericho int he chest, slides hunder him and goes for the dragon screw, but Jericho botches it by back bumping. Cole screams at Matthews for saying Bryan is a sensation and that he's wrestled in front of high school gyms. By the way, THIS was the start of the Michael Cole heel turn no one wanted. Bryan runs up the turnbuckle and backflips over Jericho and drops him with a clothesline. He covers for 1...2....no. Bryan nails Chris with a forearm against the ropes, causing Jericho to bail outside. Bryan goes for the suicide dive and it looks like Jericho countered with a powerslam against the announce table, but Bryan doesn't sell it. Jericho rolls inside and Bryan goes for a hurracarana but jumps right into the Walls of Jericho. Bryan rolls through and applies an Indian Deathlock. Jericho screams and barely makes it to the ropes. Jericho catches Bryan with the codebreaker out of nowhere to drop him. We're shown the "rookies" in the back all watching the match. Jericho locks in the Lion Tamer and Bryan taps immediately to end the match. Jericho gets the win but Bryan hit him with everything but the kitchen sink. In terms of the actual match, that was awesome. For damn near six minutes it was perfectly paced with Bryan pushing the action.

Time of match: 5:53

Winner: Jericho by submission

Post-match Miz gets in the ring and beats down Bryan. Jericho laughs and leaves with Barrett. Miz rams Bryan's head into the mat and screams at him that he disrespected him. We go to the replay and Matthews puts over Bryan while Cole uncharacteristically puts Miz over, what's that about? We're back with the seven "rookies" with Striker who says this is NXT before signing off. This was definitely the Daniel Bryan coming out party and the sad part was, this set the tone for the rest of the show's run. Bryan was clearly head and shoulders above everyone else and showcasing him first cast a shadow over everyone else. Still, there's still a long way to go and more matches to showcase the others. Even though this was glorified Tough Enough, the fact it was actual wrestlers will make the matches good at least. See you Thursday for Smackdown.