WWE Smackdown (3/12/25)

WWE Smackdown

Olimpic Arena

Barcelona, Spain

March 14, 2025

Commentators: Joe Tessitore and Wade Barrett

Ring Announcer: Lilian Garcia

Welcome to Barcelona, Spain as the UK Rampage Tour continues with a special edition of Smackdown. Going into it, Cody Rhodes will be on Miz TV and DIY defends the tag belts against the Street Profitz. Pretty Deadly won the four corners tag match last week so they got winner of that. Alba Fyre joined Chelsea Green last week so her antics will be must see TV later. B-Fab challenged Charlotte Flair last week so we'll be seeing that as well. Let's get things going.

We open with a panoramic view of Barcelona with the fans already chanting to start. Cody Rhodes is here, so is Gunther, Carmelo Hayes, Randy Orton, DIY, the Street Profitz and Paul Heyman. We start the show with LA Knight in his gear on the way to the ring with a highlight of Knight winning the US strap last week against Shinsuke Nakamura. The fans are cheering so loud Knight can't even get a word in. He just repeatedly says "Yeah" until he says "los toros" and this is the first Smackdown in Barcelona which causes the fans to chant again. Knight "Mah gawd, I'm worldwide." Knight says the belt is where it belongs but here comes Jimmy Uso who doesn't look happy. Jimmy says he's not here to congratulate him, he's desperate. Jimmy says he can't make it to Wrestlemania unless he challenges Knight for the title. Before Knight can answer, here comes Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga. Solo says if anyone deserves a title shot its Jacob Fatu. Jacob actually gets a cheer as Solo says Knight got lucky a few weeks ago. Solo says Jimmy is the failure of the family and Jimmy says the only failure was trusting him as his brother, but the biggest failure is Solo losing to Roman Reigns in Tribal Combat. Those are fighting words in Solo's country so he and the others surround Jimmy and Knight. Tonga hits a hanging DDT on Jimmy and the three on 2 attack is on.....but here comes Braun Strowman. Strowman pain trains Tama before cleaning out Jacob and Solo. Jimmy and Knight join in to clear the ring. But wait! Here comes Nick Aldis to make this an official six man tag team match.

Match 1

Jimmy Uso, Braun Strowman and LA Knight vs Tama Tonga, Jacob Fatu and Solo Sikoa

We go to commercial as soon as Aldis says the match is official and when we come back, Solo is clobbering Jimmy in the corner. Jimmy goes up and over and chops Solo in the corner before punching him in the corner. Jimmy decks Tama and Jacob off the apron, but walks right into a Rock Bottom by Solo. Jacob tags in and hits a running senton. A graphic shows Damian Priest vs Shinsuke Nakamura later as Tama hits a hilo on his way in. Solo tags in and Jimmy says something to him before crawling in the corner. Solo hits the Umaga in the corner and headbutts him down. Jacob tags in and applies a nerve hold. Jimmy fights out of it and dives to tag in Knight. Knight punches away at Jacob but gets thrown in the corner. Jacob misses a charge and Knight hits a jumping neckbreaker. Knight hits a DDT and covers but Jacob no sells it, kicking out before a count. Jacob hits a superkick and headbutts Knight in the corner. Jacob misses a Stinger Splash and Knight hits the top rope elbow. Knight calls for the BFT but its blocked. Tama holds Knight and Fatu drops LA with a back elbow smash. Tama tag in to pound away on Knight and splashes him in the corner. Solo tags in and mocks the LA Knight chant. Knight punches his way out of it but gets sent into the buckle. Solo taunts Knight again before dropping him with a back elbow smash. Solo covers for 1...2...no. Tama tags in and headbutts the left arm. Tama headbutts Knight and delivers a snapmare before a basement clothesline. Tama covers for a deuce before Jacob tags back in. Fatu delivers a falling headbutt before tagging in Solo. Solo punches away on Knight in the corner but misses the Umaga. Knight rolls out of a back suplex and hits one of his own. Tama tags in but Knight gets the hot tag to Strowman. He cleans house of all three baddies and the crowd wants the pain train. Strowman plows all three of them on the floor and Jimmy suicide dives on the floor to send Jacob over the announce desk. Back inside Strowman hits the running powerslam on Tama and covers for 1...2..3 to win the match. Serviceable match and it got the crowd hot, not much more you can ask for.

Time of match: 10:09

Winner: Knight, Uso and Strowman by pinfall

The celebration is short lived as Solo hits the Samoan spike on Strowman after the bell. Knight throws Solo into the ring steps on the outside and sends him over the barricade with a clothesline. Jacob superkicks Jimmy on the floor and he attacks Strowman on the inside. Jacob hits the moonsault and calls for a second one. Jacob hits the second one and gets a big pop from the crowd. Fatu hits the third one and leaves with Tama....or not. He sprints back and plows not only Strowman but the barricade itself. Tessitore "Message sent to the monster". Yeah, I'll say. Fatu is a mean looking fella. We're shown a graphic of B-Fab and Charlotte coming up later along with a sit-down interview with Jade Cargill. Before the commercial break, we get a vignette of HHH being an inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Back from break, Tessitore glazes over the 1992 Dream Team as Wade Barrett picks his WWE dream team of Cody Rhodes, John Cena, Randy Orton, Gunther and Dom Mysterio. Tessitore is IRATE that he chose Mysterio and sends us to Cathy Kelley with Jade Cargill before the show started. With nobody in the arena, it looks like an AEW show. Jade says physically she's fine and hates that Naomi is playing victim. Cathy knows how did she know it was Naomi and why didn't she say anything earlier? Jade says she got hit from behind and thrown onto the car, she saw Naomi running away. Jade says that was supposed to be her best friend. She saw Naomi tag with Bianca like nothing happened so she had to take matters into her own hands. But wait, here comes Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez to interrupt. Liv says she told everyone she didn't do it and she blows a raspberry at Jade. Jade challenges Liv to a match next week and walks off. Guess we got a match next week. B-Fab cuts a promo in half Spanish and half English like she's Gerado. The match is next, let's get to it.

Match 2

B-Fab vs Charlotte Flair

Charlotte's heel run established her as a queen bee and B-Fab is having none of it, hence this match. Bell's gone and Tessitore says Charlotte was number 27 and didn't have to go that long to win the Rumble. Charlotte backs B-Fab into the corner and they tie up again. Charlotte arm drags her and drops her with a shoulderblock. Charlotte chops B-Fab three times but Fab hits a superkick, followed by a clothesline. B-Fab hits a half nelson slam as we go to break. Back from commercial Charlotte delivers her knee rolls but the Figure 8 is blocked. Fab is smacked and shoved by Charlotte but then rallies with right hands. She hits shoulderblocks in the corner and a suplex before hitting a sweeping kick in the corner. Charlotte takes her father's bump over the turnbuckle and Fab hits a big pump kick. Fab covers for 1...2...no. Flair superkicks Fab and hits Natural Selection before Charlotte taunts the irate crowd. Charlotte locks in the Figure 8 and B-Fab gives it up. Valiant effort by B-Fab but you knew this was coming, it was designed to put Charlotte over.

Time of match: 8:22

Winner: Flair by submission

Charlotte refuses to release the hold so here comes Tiffany Stratton to get her some. Referees, security and the Suit Brigade (Shane Helms, Shawn Daivari, Kenny Dykstra, etc) run in but Tiffany and Charlotte continue to brawl all over the floor area. Tiffany hits swanton off the top rope onto security and Charlotte. Petey Williams finally separates them as Kenny Dykstra drags Tiffany away. Good stuff. 

We cut to a Drew McIntyre vignette and he blames Damian Priest for all his problems lately. He beat Seth Rollins to win the World title only to be beaten up by CM Punk and cashed in on by Damian Priest. He got screwed by Punk at Clash At The Castle and again after winning Money In The Bank. Priest then eliminated Drew at the Rumble and pinned him at Elimination Chamber. McIntyre says this isn't about titles anymore, this is persona and he's putting Priest down for good so he can't take anything from him ever again. Once again Drew blames everyone else but himself for his problems.

Its time for Miz TV as The Miz makes his way to the ring as we go to break. Back from break Tiffany and Charlotte brawl back to the entrance with Miz trying to start his promo. The funny thing is there's about ten men out there and they can't separate two women. Tiffany climbs up onto the titantron and swantons the entire security team and Charlotte as well. The crowd loved it as Tiffany says "There's a new queen in town" as Charlotte stares a hole in her. Back in the ring Miz says "That was awesome." Miz says his guest tonight should have taken The Rock's offer and instead got beat up by two rappers, Travis Scott and John Cena (haahahahahhaa!). Miz says unlike himself, Cody Rhodes will not beat John Cena at Wrestlemania. Say what you will about Miz, he CAN boast that he retained the WWE title against John Cena at Wrestlemania. Here comes Cody but Miz cu1ts off the music much to the crowd's chagrin. Miz "I don't have time for sing-a-long with Cody Rhodes! I've already been interrupted by Tiffy Time" and Cody doesn't wait around. He hits the Dustin punch and Cross Rhodes immediately. Rhodes wears a Barcelona Nightmare shirt and says he doesn't want to talk to anyone but John Cena. He'll be in Belgium on Monday night to see Cena.

We cut to Shinsuke Nakamura with Nick Aldis and Shinsuke wants a re-match. Damian Priest shows up and wants Drew McIntyre. Shinsuke says something in Japanese and Priest answers in Spanish. Aldis says he has no idea what either of them are saying but if they want a match, they got one. Priest makes his entrance as we go to break. Back from commercial we get a vignette to signify Ray Fenix is on his way although he's not named.

Match 3

Damian Priest vs Shinsuke Nakamura

The rumor going around is Shinsuke's contract is up and he's leaving. If he loses this one, that could be a sign that the rumors are true. Bell's gone and they tie up to start before Priest gives a clean break. Priest locks in an arm-ringer before switching to a headlock. Shinsuke kicks away at him in the corner but Priest catches the leg. Priest throws him into the corner and rallies with right hands. A big right hand rocks Shnsuke and face plants him. Priest clotheslines Nakamura over the top to the floor as we go to commercial. Back from break, Nakamura has a pinfall attempt for 1..2...no. Shinsuke locks in a chin lock as Priest fights his way out of it. Nakamura hits an enziguiri and goes for the second rope elbow. Priest catches him in mid-air and hits downward spiral. Priest kicks away at Shinsuke and drops him with a discuss punch. Priest hits an avalanche in the corner and a broken arrow. Nakamura bails and Priest bullrushes him into the announce table, missing Wade Barrett by two feet. Priest walks the top rope and hits a cross body before calling for South of Heaven. Nakamura counters with a triangle choke but Priest sldies out of it. Priest turns Nakamura into a 360 spin with a lariat and calls for South of Heaven. Drew McIntyre pops up and sits on the announce table as Nakamura rolls up Priest for 1...2..no. Nakamura calls for Kinshasha but runs right into South of Heaven. McIntyre runs in to beat up Priest for the DQ. Good way to keep Nakamura's head by having him not take the fall there. It was a good match for what it was.

Time of match: 8:42

Winner: Priest by DQ

McIntyre rakes the eyes of Priest and Nakamura hits the Kinshasha to the back of the head after the match. McIntyre smiles at Shinsuke as Nakamura leaves. The crowd chants for CM Punk and McIntyre continues the beat down. McIntyre throws him outside then into the barricade. McIntyre throws him into another barricade and picks up the ring steps. Drew blasts Damian with the ring steps and goes to leave. He sees Priest getting up so he hits him with the Claymore Kick. McIntyre leaves Priest laying again as McIntyre says Priest has taken everything from him so he's got nothing left to lose. Sometimes that's all you need in a feud.

We cut to Cathy Kelley with DIY and she asks how they're so sure they're winning. Ciampa "Why is Smackdown the greatest tag team division in wrestling? Us!" Gargano says Street Profitz never win the big one and say the Profitz don't want the smoke, they want the choke. Here comes the Motor City Machine Guns and Alex Shelley says DIY are marked men. Chris Sabin says when they're done with the Profitz, the Guns will be waiting.

We cut to Randy Orton making his way to the ring for his first match since October 11th against Carmelo Hayes. Back from break some soccer players are shown in the crowd before we cut to Cathy Kelley with Chelsea Green, Piper Niven and Alba Fyre. Chelsea tells Cathy that she's been facing injustices like Nicholas Aldis and Michin. She says her administration is in full force but Zelina Vega doesn't agree. Vegas calls herself the next champion but Niven steps in and says you have to go through her first. Vega says fine, next week its her and Niven and then Chelsea is hers "byeeeee". On to the next match.

Match 4

Randy Orton vs Carmelo Hayes

The crowd sings along to Orton's theme as he makes his entrance. Tessitore "Every time Carmelo opens his mouth, there's always a massive challenge in front of him." Orton can barely get a reaction out of a girl in the front row and Melo just stares at her. Bell rings and Melo wants a hand shake to start. Randy goes for it and Melo pulls his hand away. Melo shoves him and Randy hits him with an uppercut before hitting nine punches in the corner. Randy heaves him into the ring post and out of the ring then slams him on top of the announce table as we go to break. Back from commercial, Melo has a headlock then calls for a suplex. Orton blocks it but Melo hits a chopblock to the left leg. Melo covers for 1...2..no. Melo locks in a chin-lock then wraps his legs around Orton's waist. Orton fights out of it but walks into a kick to the ribs. Orton responds with two lariats and a powerslam. Hayes blocks the second rope DDT and goes for the springboard crossbody, but Orton powerslams him. Orton covers for 1...2...no. Orton finally hits the second rope DDT and caters to the crowd. Orton goes to coil up but Hayes bails to the outside. Melo snaps Orton off the top rope and goes for Nothing But Net. He misses but still hits a springboard DDT, covering for 1....2..no. Melo says its over as he goes for Nothing But Net again. Orton stops him with a right hand and they play "yay/boo" on the second rope. Orton hits a superplex and Orton coils up. He goes for the RKO but Hayes blocks it. Hayes goes for First 48 but Orton blocks that. Hayes blocks a second RKO but Hayes hits First 48. Randy no-sells it, hits the RKO and covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. Tessitore "UNO, DOS, TRES INDEED!" Orton wins his first match in damn near 8 months and it was pretty fun with the crowd.

Time of match: 10:22

Winner: Orton by pinfall

Orton offers a hand shake after the match and Melo slaps him. Orton hits him with the RKO and goes to punt Hayes. Suddenly Kevin Owens appears out of thin air and Orton attacks him on the floor. Owens throws Orton into the post and makes a mad dash out of here. We're shown a graphic of Jacob Fatu crushing Braun Strowman from earlier before cutting to the New Bloodline in the back. Tama and Solo hype up Fatu and Jacob wants Strowman next week. Jacob "I'M BOUT TO DOG WALK YO ASS!"

Here comes Gunther in full gear as we go to break. Back from commercial we get a creepy vignette of a crowd of smoke and what looks to be the number 4. What the hell is that? Gunther grabs a mic for a soliloquy. Gunther says the road to Wrestlemania in Europe starts tonight in Barcelona. Gunther calls himself the greatest European wrestler ever and wishes he was in Madrid instead. Gunther says the fans loves Jey Uso because his waves his hands like an idiot but doesn't mean a damn thing when the bell rings. Gunther then calls out Axiom from NXT since he's from Spain and says he's going to make an example of him.

Match 5

Axiom vs Gunther

Non-title as Axiom is one half of the NXT Tag Team Champions.

Hell of a way to get on the main roster as Axiom faces the nearly unbeatable in his home town. They chain wrestle to start before Axiom ducks a chop. Axiom gets heaved out of a headlock as Gunther towers over him. Axiom kicks away at the legs and misses another chop. Axiom continues to evade Gunther with chops of his own. Tessitore admires the stick and move strategy as the crowd goes nuts. Gunther puts Axiom on the top rope but Axiom counters with an arm-ringer and a boot to the head. Axiom boots him in the head and the chest but runs right into a big chop. Gunther chops him again, delivers a snap mare and then a scoop slam. Axiom fights back with strikes in the corner but gets thrown backwards by Gunther.  Gunther kicks away at Axiom but Axiom fights back with kicks and chops. Gunther trips him up and applies the Boston Crab. Gunther then turns it into an STF and tries to rip Axiom's mask off. That fires up Axiom enough to fight out of it, but get chopped down. Gunther hits a knee to the ribs and backs Axiom into the corner. Gunther chokes him with his boot and once again goes for the mask. Axiom counters with a dragon screw on the apron, then dropkicks the left leg. Axiom hits a missile dropkick and forearms Gunther in the head. Gunther's powerbomb is blocked and Axiom hits an enziguiri. Axiom counters a suplex with an inside cradle for 1..2...no. Axiom dropkicks him down but Gunther counters with one of his own. Gunther hits the powerbomb and stacks him up for 1...2...nooooooo. Gunther can't believe it and goes up to the top rope. Axiom dropkicks him but is swatted away. Axiom hits a running high knee but the hurracarana is blocked....momentarily as he hits it anyway. He hits Golden Ratio and covers for 1...2....NOOOOO. Barrett says no one in NXT ever kicked out of that but this is a new level. Axiom and Gunther trade strikes and Axiom applies Rings of Saturn. Gunther rolls through it and hits the powerbomb. He hits a lariat and another power bomb before covering for 1....2....3 to win the match. Outstanding match and that's how you do big man vs little man.

Time of match: 9:24

Winner: Gunther by pinfall

Post match Gunther poses with the belt then puts the sleeper on Axiom. The refs pry Gunther off of him as Gunther leaves with more heat. We're shown a highlight of Monday's cage match where Roman Reigns unintentionally helped Seth Rollins win by dragging him out and kicking the crap out of him. Apparently Paul Heyman is up next as we go to break. Back from commercial we're shown Reigns not liking Paul Heyman helping up Punk so he spears him for good measure. In the ring Paul Heyman says tonight he's going to hype the crowd on two things. Heyman says this is Roman Reigns Day since WWE2K25 came out today. Heyman says wait till after the show to play the game and goes on to say people have a problem with Roman Reigns Day. One of them is CM Punk who Heyman calls his friend. A massive CM Punk chant breaks out but Heyman says its not Punk's day, and it damn sure isn't Seth Rollins day. Heyman says he hates the Seth Rollins chant and if anyone has a problem with him or Reigns, they can say it to Roman's face next week in Bologna, Italy. Heyman says that's not a prediction, that's a spoiler. Nice heel promo by Heyman while politely putting down Punk while demonizing Rollins.

Next week Roman Reigns will be in Italy along with Jade Cargill vs Liv Morgan. Zelina Vega takes on Piper Niven and Braun Strowman vs Jacob Fatu. We cut to the Street Profitz getting ready for tag action when Legada Fantasma walks up. Santos Escobar says they want them to win so Garza and Berto can take the titles off them. They laugh and Montez mocks their laugh. Dawkins says they're winning the straps and they want the smoke. They head to the ring as Tessitore says they haven't been tag team champions since January of 2021. Back from commercial, Jimmy Uso is favoring his shoulder when Gunther sits next to him. Gunther says he's got a younger brother and says he left Axiom laid out like a wet towel. He says that's going to happen to Jey and tells Jimmy to talk Jey out of facing him. Jimmy replies Gunther will lose at Wrestlemania and we'll be yeeting. Gunther says he tried and walks off.

Match 6

The Street Profitz (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) vs DIY (Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano) for the WWE Tag Team Championships

The Profitz kept the MCMG from winning at the Royal Rumble so they can beat DIY themselves, this is their chance. Dawkins starts with Ciampa and backs him into the ropes. Ciampa applies a headlock but eats a shoulderblock. Dawkins tags in Ford who dropkicks Ciampa down. Ford moonsaults Ciampa and covers for a deuce before Ciampa bails. Dawkins tags in and he decks Gargano with a right hand, but Ciampa puts the boots to him. Ciampa punches Dawkins down and Gargano tags in. Dawkins backdrops him to the apron but Gargano's springboard DDT is blocked. Dawkins heaves him away and Ford tags in for the flying crossbody. Montez drops Gargano with a lariat and caters to the crowd. Pretty Deadly watches from the back as Gargano shoves Ford off the apron into the barricade. Ciampa puts the boots to Ford on the outside before throwing him inside. Tommaso suplexes him off the top rope and delivers a running knee. Gargano and Ciampa taunt the irate crowd before Gargano throws Ford into the side of the ring. Back inside Gargano does a crotch chop to Dawkins to bait him in the ring. They double team Ford in the corner with frequent tags before Ciampa puts Ford on the second rope. Tommaso is headbutted off and Montez is pushed down by Gargano. Ciampa hits a death valley driver off the second rope and covers for 1..2...noooo. Ciampa goes for Fairy Tale Ending but Ford backdrops him off then avoids a Gargano splash. Dawkins gets the hot tag and cleans house, dropping Ciampa with a back elbow smash. Dawkins hits a spinning Stinger Splash and a DDT, covering for 1...2..no. Ford tags in and hits an assisted moonsault for 1...2...nope. Ford goes for the 450 Splash but eats Ciampa's knees. Gargano hits a Ribstabber on Ford and covers for 1...2...no, Dawkins makes the save. Ciampa slugs it out with Dawkins and both are dispatched as Ford hits a high knee on Gargano. Outside Dawkins throws Ciampa into the timekeeper but Gargano suicide dives onto Dawkins. Back inside Gargano jumps into what looks to be Cross Rhodes and Ford goes for the Doomsday Blockbuster. Ciampa stops it but is thrown out of the ring anyway. Ford kicks Gargano then Ciampa off the apron. Ford flips onto Ciampa out side then goes back to the top. Ford hits Doomsday Blockbuster and covers for 1...2...noooo, Ciampa makes the save. Dawkins throws Ciampa over the top rope and tags in. Ford jumps into a Ciampa knee and Tommaso distracts Dawkins long enough for him to miss a swanton. Ciampa tags in and hits a running knee. Ciampa hits Fairy Tale Ending with a Gargano superkick for good measure. Ciampa covers for 1...2...NOOOOOO. Gargano superkicks Ciampa by accident and Dawkins hits a spine buster. Ford tags in and hits the frog splash off the top. He covers for 1...2....3 to win the match. Tessitore "DO WE HAVE NEW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS? YESSSSSS" The Street Profitz are the new WWE Tag Team Champions for the first time in four years. Good match and the Profitz are rewarded after going through so much the last few years. After the pseudo heel turn with Bobby Lashley that went nowhere to playing second fiddle to everyone, it was their time to shine.

Time of match: 11:52

Winners: Street Profitz by pinfall (new WWE Tag Team Champions)

We sign off with the new champs celebrating and that's two straight Smackdowns with a title change. All in all it was a good show and the crowd carried it. Priest and McIntyre is definitely headed to Wrestlemania and Tiffany FINALLY got one over on Charlotte. Axiom vs Gunther was a great big man/little man match and the tag title change lit the crowd up. The tag division is so loaded you could have anyone as the champs going into Wrestlemania. I see a multi team tag match unless Pretty Deadly wins next week. Chelsea Green continues to be entertaining and Jacob Fatu continues to get babyface pops. Guess we'll have to tune in to Raw to find out what happens next. Raw will be at a special start time of 3 PM on Netflix this coming Monday since they'll be in Belgium. I'll see you there!

WWE Smackdown (1/10/25)

WWE Smackdown

Moda Center

Portland, Oregon

January 10, 2025

Commentators: Joe Tessitore & Wade Barrett

Ring Announcer: Lilian Garcia

We're officially on the road to the Royal Rumble after the mixed bag that was the Netflix Raw debut. After spending half the show ass-kissing, hopefully Smackdown will be back to normal. We got a US title match tonight as Shinsuke Nakamura takes on LA Knight....YEAHHH. Roman Reigns defeated Solo Sikoa in Tribal Combat so it'll be interesting to see how the "new Bloodline" fares now that Solo has lost. Let's get to the show.

Joe Tessitore welcomes us to Smackdown as he brings up Rhea Ripley's victory over Liv Morgan on Raw for the World Women's Championship. Tessitore and Barrett gives an old school style intro in front of the desk with microphones ala Vince McMahon and Randy Savage from 32 years earlier since this is the 32nd anniversary of the first Raw. WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton is here, US Champion Shinsuke Nakamura is here with a cool looking hat as well as Paul Heyman. We then get an unnecessarily long recap of Raw from Monday before finally cutting to Paul in the ring.

Heyman introduces himself and says he's been waiting to address the island of relevancy. Paul says there's only officially one REIGNING, DEFENDING TRIBAL CHIEF and that's Roman Reigns. The crowd chants OTC and Paul says he has news from Roman he wants to share with the fans and WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. Here comes Cody Rhodes to hear the news and they shake hands in the ring. Heyman says Cody deserves respect from everyone for being the champion and Roman has asked him to say this to his face. Heyman says Roman Reigns has got the Ola Fala back and now he wants the WWE Championship back. Heyman says Roman is going to win the Royal Rumble and fight Cody at Wrestlemania. Heyman says "Respectfully, what do you want to talk about?" Cody grabs the mic but before he can say anything, Kevin Owens from the Uecker seats says he's got something to say. He wants to know why Cody would shake hands with The Rock. Owens says now he's shaking hands with Heyman knowing Reigns wants his title back. Owens says he did it to himself because he should have left Roman to rot but now Roman is back in power. Cody has enough and makes a mad dash toward Kevin and catches him on the stairs.

As they brawl, suddenly Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga have Paul Heyman cornered, ruh roh! Heyman begs off but here comes Jimmy Uso for the save. Jimmy superkicks Jacob twice and Tama once. Jimmy does Umaga bumps to both of them to clear the ring. Jimmy shakes hands with Paul and grabs a chair. He wails on Jacob and Tama but Jacob doesn't seem fazed. Jacob drops Jimmy with a running back elbow and its a double team. Jacob and Tama put a chair on Jimmy's head as a referee gets in the ring, only for Jacob to superkick him down. Jacob and Tama choke Jimmy with their boots but here comes Cody Rhodes back down the stairs. Kenny Dykstra of the Suit Brigade gets superkicked as well. Cody gets in and throws Tama over the top rope. Jacob wants some but he runs into a series of right hands. Cody clotheslines Fatu over the top and out as Tama pulls Jacob back. Wade Barrett says Solo Sikoa is nowhere to be found but crisis has been averted as we go to break.

Back from commercial Nick Aldis and the security team are trying to get rid of Tama and Jacob. Jacob throws all the security members down except one. He tells the last man standing he better think about his life right now when suddenly LA Knight bumrushes Jacob. Knight throws him out of the building and says to Aldis "I put his ass outside, now I got a title to win...yeahhhh". Aldis smiles as we cut to Michin in the ring. Piper Niven is wearing one of the finest sequined suits you'll ever see in Chelsea Green's intro. On to the match.

Match 1

Michin vs Chelsea Green (with Piper Niven) for the WWE Women's United States Championship

Bell rings and Michin goes for Eat Defeat right off the bat which causes Chelsea to look for a place to hide early. Chelsea goes for a big boot but misses, running into a series of strikes. Michin hits a sidekick and a dropkick, covering for 1...2..no. Tessitore says Michin has never held singles gold as she does the tarantula to Chelsea in the corner. Michin goes up to the top but misses a splash. Chelsea throws Michin outside as we get a graphic of Pretty Deadly vs Los Garza of Legada Fantasma up later. Chelsea throws Michin into the barrier and poses with Piper, sliding inside. Michin back inside gets forearmed in the back as we go to break. Back from commercial Michin fights out of a chinlock only for Chelsea to re-apply it. Michin counters with a back suplex and an elbow to the side of the head. Chelsea's charge in the corner eats boot and Michin hits two consecutive standing hurracaranas. Michin hits the dropkick into the corner before twerking much to Wade Barrett's delight. She hits the Long Back Attack in the corner and covers for 1...2...no. Michin walks right into Downward Spiral with Chelsea covering for 1..2...no. Chelsea screams in frustration before going to the top rope. Chelsea misses the missile dropkick and Michin responds with kicks to the head. Michin goes for the top rope but narrowly avoids Piper Niven trying to trip her up. She kicks Niven in the face and cannonballs on her. Michin goes to the top rope but Chelsea rolls through a crossbody, hooking the tights for 1...2...3 to win the match. Tessitore "and THAT is how she retains it". Good match and Michin plays the perfect opposition for Chelsea. Green is gaining steam as the US Champ for sure.

Time of match: 8:43

Winner: Michin by pinfall (still US Champion)

Post match has Niven in for the beat down. Piper hits a running senton of her own as Chelsea laughs it up at the entrance way. Michin will get another shot for sure some time soon. Back to Joe and Wade who goes over the tag team situation where Pretty Deadly and Los Garza interfered in the DIY/Motor City Machine Guns match. We're shown footage of earlier today where MCMG, Pretty Deadly and Los Garza are having a pow-wow with Nick Aldis. All three teams argue with each other M*A*S*H style until A-Town Down Under walk in as well. Pretty Deadly is happy to see them but not the other two. Aldis says tonight it'll be Los Garza against Pretty Deadly and Motor City Machine Guns against A-Town Down Under. Aldis warns Waller not to interrupt him again and Waller brushes it off. On to the next match.

Match 2

Los Garza (Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo) with Santos Escobar and Elektra vs Pretty Deadly (Kit Wilson and Elton Prince)

Barrett asks why Joe Tessitore doesn't disco dance but he can't answer because Los Garza attacks at the bell. Los Garza sends Pretty Deadly outside and Humberto suicide dives Wilson. Angel teases an asai moonsault but Elton prince tucks his tail and bravely flees. Carrillo throws Wilson in and sunset flips in. Both men misses kicks but Berto finally hits an enziguiri. Berto hits a standing moonsault and covers for 1...2..no. Garza tags in and Wilson begs off before lunging for a tag.....nowhere close. Garza hits the Unit Slam and covers for 1...2...no. Garza hits a knee to the face with Wilson on the apron and tags in Berto. Berto covers for a deuce and hits a springboard armdrag. He hits another enziguiri and Barrett calls Wilson a disaster class tonight. Prince from the outside blind tags and snaps Berto off the top rope to the floor. Barrett "TICK....TICK...BOOM!" We go to commercial and back from break, Prince has a chinlock on Carrillo. Carrillo caters to the crowd to power up (the defacto face in this one) out of it. Carrillo forearms Prince down but misses the enziguiri. Wilson tags in but misses a charge in the corner. Berto gets the hot tag to Garza who cleans house. He hits backbreakers on both guys then hits a corner enziguiri. A high crossbody from Angel gets 1...2....no. Garza hits a hurracarana and Wilson shouts for DIY to come save him. Nobody comes out so Garza hits a superkick on Wilson, covering for 1...2...no. Garza kicks Wilson down but Prince pulls him down by the hair. Prince tags in officially and Escobar crotches him on the top rope. Los Garza hits the FTY on Prince with Carrillo covering for 1...2...3 to win the match. Kind of weird with Los Garza as the defacto faces despite being heels but still entertaining to watch. Once Fantasma's run is over, Carrillo could be a babyface singles star someday.

Time of match: 8:55

Winners: Los Garza by pinfall

Fantasma celebrates after the match as Tessitore says we'll see new WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton later. Before we go to commercial, LA Knight makes his entrance for his US Championship match.

Match 3

LA Knight vs Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE United States Championship

The big rematch from Survivor Series where Nakamura defeated Knight for the title. We get a highlight of Knight chasing off Shinsuke last week after his match with Andrade to show why this match is taking place. Bell's gone and Knight blocks a tie up to start. Knight gets a headlock to start but a shoulderblock goes nowhere. Knight ties up Shinsuke into the corner but Shinsuke reverses it. Knight rallies with right hands and a swinging neckbreaker. Knight boots Shinsuke in the corner who bails to the apron. Barrett blows the ending to the match by casually mentioning Knight throwing Jacob Fatu out of the arena earlier. Nakmura hits a running elbow on the floor and rolls Knight in. Shinsuke kicks away at Knight and chops him. That fires LA up who rallies with strikes but Nakamura kicks him in the leg. Shinsuke sets Knight up on the top rope and hits a running knee. Shinsuke eats an apron clothesline by Knight who dumps Nakamura over the top rope to the floor. Knight baseball slides Nakamura into the announce desk and Knight rams his head into it. Knight "Yeahhhhh". LA throws Shinsuke inside and proceeds to clothesline him over the top rope to the floor. Knight goes to ram Shin into the ring post but Nakamura reverses it, sending LA crashing into it as we go to break. Back from commercial, they play "yay/boo" in the center of the ring with Knight winning with a flurry of right hands. Knight hits a powerslam and hits the LA Knight Elbow, covering for 1...2..no. Knight hits the O'Connor Roll for 1...2....no. Shinsuke kicks Knight in the back and hits the sliding german suplex then kicks Knight in the head. Nakamura goes up to the top but Knight scales the top rope and hits a superplex, covering for 1...2..no. Knight rolls Shinsuke into a Billy Goat's Curse. Nakamura makes it to the ropes and Knight blocks a Fujiwara arm-bar by stacking him up for 1...2...no. Nakamura loads up the Kinshasa but Knight rolls him up for 1...2...no. The BFT is blocked and Nakamura hits a spinning back elbow. Nakamura goes for the Kinshasha and hits it. He covers for 1...2...NOOOOO, foot on the rope. Nakamura puts Knight on the exposed second turnbuckle but Knight moves at the last second. sending Shinsuke crashing into it. Knight hits the BFT and covers for 1...2....NOOOOO, here's Jacob Fatu and Tama Tonga for the beatdown DQ. Garbage finish to a great match but they want to extend Nakamura's reign a little bit longer.

Time of match: 14:08

Winner: Knight by DQ (Nakamura retains)

Tama and Jacob kick the crap out of Knight and Fatu hits the pop-up Samoan drop. Tama sets Knight up in the corner and Jacob hits the Umaga twice. Tama rolls over Knight and Fatu hits the moonsault as Tessitore calls them unleashed mad dogs. Here comes Cody Rhodes and Jimmy Uso to make the save, double superkicks stunning Jacob. Cody sends Jacob into the ring steps and Jimmy sends Jacob into the crowd. Nick Aldis and The Suit Brigade come out but Cody cuts them off. He grabs a mic and says don't send Fatu and Tama out of here again, he and Jey want some tonight. Aldis says you got it and there's our impromptu main event later. Up next after commercial, its Tiffy time.

Back from break we get a highlight of Tiffany cashing in on Nia and winning the championship....but no Tiffy in the ring, instead the Motor City Machine Guns come out for their tag match. Talk about an unnecessary segment. Anyway, on to the next match.

Match 4

Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley) vs A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory & Grayson Waller)

Barrett says Waller and Theory are re-focused and united as Tessitore is skeptical as the bell rings. Shelley starts with an arm-ringer but Waller cracks him in the mouth. Waller tags in Theory and runs over to trip Sabin off the apron. Theory roughs up Shelley and sends him sternum first into the corner. Theory rams his head against the buckle and whips him into the other corner, finishing with a clothesline. Theory taunts the irate crowd but Shelley makes the tag to Sabin. Sabin hits a bulldog and covers for a 1 count as Theory tags in Waller. Waller "Aussie Aussie Aussie" Barrett "Oy, Oy, Oy". Sabin ducks under a kick but runs into a discuss punch by Waller. Grayson covers for 1...2..no. Waller doesn't see the blind tag to Shelley as Sabin slides out of the ring and trips up Theory. Shelley from behind pulls down Waller for the double kick. A double clothesline sends Waller to the floor as Sabin is tripped up by Theory in return. Shelley knocks Austin off the apron but walks right into a flatliner by Waller, covering for 1...2..no as we go to break. Back from commercial Theory and Waller double team Shelley as Theory covers for a deuce. Theory locks in a chinlock and Shelley powers out of it but gets elbowed down. Theory taunts the crowd and tags in Waller, but Shelley breaks free. Alex superkicks Theory and Sabin gets the hot tag Sabin rallies with right hands on Waller before kicking Theory off the apron. Sabin hits a missile dropkick on Waller and a standard one. Shelley tags in for a double baseball slide and Sabin finally hits the suicide dive onto both heels. Sabin hits a missile dropkick off the top and Shelley covers Waller for 1...2..no. Shelley tags in Sabin but Theory blind tags Grayson. Waller hits a high knee on Shelley and sends Sabin out of the ring. Waller runs into a superkick by Sabin but forgets Theory, who hits an elbow on Sabin. Waller tags in for the double punch and covers Sabin for 1...2..no. Sabin hits a jawbreaker that sends Waller retreating into the corner to tag Austin. Waller is sent out but Theory goes for A-Town Down. Sabin wiggles out of it and O'Connor Rolls Theory but gets up to drop Waller. Theory goes for his own Roll but Shelley tags in. Theory cuts him off with a right hand but gets superkicked by Sabin. All four men are down until Waller until Sabin & Shelley double team him. Sabin & Shelley hits Skull & Bones on Theory and Shelley covers for 1...2..3 to win the match. Damn good effort by both guys as Smackdown's tag division is gaining steam with DIY, the Guns, Pretty Deadly and A-Town Down Under just to name a few.

Time of match: 12:06

Winner: Sabin & Shelley by pinfall

We cut to DIY watching and they call A-Town Down Under stupid. Pretty Deadly walks up and says they had a deal, what gives? Ciampa says they didn't want help and Gargano says Prince & Wilson have too much heat on them. Ciampa goes to attack them but Gargano defuses the situation by saying they'll get their shots later, just trust them. Apollo Crews walks up and says if they're dumb enough to believe DIY, they'll get what's coming to them and it won't be the tag straps. Prince & Wilson are frustrated as we cut to Nia Jax with Candace Larae. Larae says Tiffany Stratton is on her way to the ring and Nia says she should go congratulate her herself...uh oh.

Back from commercial, here comes new WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton for a conference. Tessitore says 7 months ago Tiffany joined Smackdown and she won the title 7 days ago. Barrett says since the women got a chance at Money In The Bank, Tiffany continued the streak of 100% successful cash ins. Byron Saxton in the ring congratulates Tiffany and Stratton screams "ITS TIFFY TIME!" She calls it a Tiffy turn of events and says exactly what Tessitore said, she's been here 7 months and is now better than everyone else (still heeling). Saxton says she and Nia were friends and Nia bullied her but Tiffany says she played Nia like a fiddle, calling Nia stupid. Tiffany says she stole Nia's most prized possession and now she's at the Tiffy top of her game. She asks what time it is but here comes Nia Jax herself. Nia calls her an ungrateful little bitch and she could kill her right now. Nia says she'd be nothing without her and she made Tiffy. Nia says it took her long enough but congrats for finally cashing in. Nia says its Tiffy time...but time's up. Nia wants the belt back or says she's gonna take it....but here comes Bayley. Barrett "Saved by the Bayley". Bayley tells Nia to shut the hell up and tells Tiffy she thought she was stupid. Bayley says Nia put Tiffy under her wing and she still got outsmarted. Bayley says the only reason she lost to Nia at Summerslam is Tiffany and its only fitting she gets first crack at Tiffany. But wait there's more! Here comes Naomi and Bianca Belair the women's tag champions. Tessitore "Its getting crowded out here." Naomi says she had Nia beat last week and "Tiffer" screwed her, otherwise she'd be a double champion. Naomi says she deserves the first shot. Nia says nobody cares about Naomi and Naomi doesn't take kindly to that. Nia rams her and Bianca's heads together and Bayley bumrushes Nia. Tiffany rolls out of the ring unharmed as Bayley eats a headbutt. Bianca and the other two triple team Nia but Tiffany hits Prettiest Moonsault Ever on all four of them. Tiffany walks off with the belt but here comes Nick Aldis. He says let's do this right now, he's making a fatal four way match to determine the number one contender to Tiffany. Back from commercial, its on.

Match 5

Nia Jax vs Bayley vs Bianca Belair vs Naomi in a Fatal Four Way Match

Bell rings and Nia bulls all three others until she's triple teamed. Nia throws Bayley outside and sends Naomi into Bianca. A charge eats boot and Naomi pounds on Nia's back. They try a double suplex but Nia reverses it, damn near breaking their necks. Bayley bulldogs Nia and slugs away with forearms. Nia throws Bayley down and Naomi splashes Nia. Bianca shoulderblocks her and Naomi joins in, only to be shoved off by Nia. Nia bails to the outside and the action in the ring stops. Naomi, Bayley and Bianca circle but Nia pulls Bianca out, throwing her against the barricade. Naomi and Bayley double dropkick Nia off the apron before tying up. Bayley gets in a headlock and a shoulderblock, but Naomi counters with an armdrag. Bayley gets an armdrag but is crucifixed for 1...2...no. Jacknife pin by Bayley gets 1...2..no. Naomi slides under a clothesline and twerks to distract Bayley, catching her with a majistrol cradle for 1..2...no. Bayley gets pulled outside by Nia who sends her into the barricade. Naomi headbutts Nia back inside then hits a jawbreaker. Nia powerbombs Naomi for 1...2...no, Bianca makes the save. Bianca rallies with forearms but the KOD is blocked. Bianca backflips over Nia and dropkicks her before hitting a shoulderblock. Bianca fires away on the second rope but also gets powerbombed. Nia covers for 1....2..no, Bayley hits Nia in the head with a running knee. Bayley taunts Nia and rallies with punches then executes a back suplex. Bayley covers for 1..2...no. Bayley goes up to the top rope but gets slugged for it. Nia headbutts Bayley and goes for a samoan drop, but Naomi and Bianca powerbomb them both as we go to commercial. Back from break Naomi is with Nia one on one and hits a jawbreaker. Nia hits a spinning Rock Bottom and covers for 1...2..no, Bianca and Bayley break up the cunt. Bianca and Bayley stare at each other before slugging away at Nia. They bullrush Nia out of the ring and now its Bayley and Bianca one on one. They slug it out before Bayley hits an inside cradle for 1...2...no. Bayley rolls out of the KOD but Bianca blocks the O'Connor Roll. Bayley hits one for a deuce before Nia clotheslines them both down. Naiomi hits a big elbow and a Russian leg sweep. Naomi hits the split legged moonsault on Nia and covers for 1...2...no. Bayley goes up top and hits the flying elbow on Nia, covering for 1...2..no. Bianca goes upstairs and hits the 450 splash on Nia. Bayley throws her off and all three cover Nia, referee telling them only one at a time. Candace Larae runs to ring side and Bayley spots her. Nia bails to strategize with Candace as Naomi and Bianca hit a double Russian leg sweep on Bayley. Naomi and Bianca now are alone and its go time. Bianca hits a plancha outside on Bayley but Nia catches Naomi's suicide dive, ramming her against the side of the ring. Nia's samoan drop is blocked by Bianca and Belair spears her, covering for 1...2....no, Bayley breaks it up. Bayley To Belly on Bianca connects and she covers for 1..2...no, Naomi breaks it up, Naomi hits Ass To Mouth and covers for 1...2..Nia saves it. Nia hits a samoan drop on Naomi and covers for 1...2...no, Bianca breaks it up. Nia sends Bianca into the ringpost as Naomi drops Nia down. Bayley hits a knee to Naomi but runs into Sky High. Bianca hits a backspring moonsault and covers for 1...2...noooo. Bianca goes for KOD on Bayley but Candace pulls Bianca's hair right in front of the referee. Bianca pulls it away but accidentally whips Naomi in the ribs. Nia pulls Bianca outside where Bianca punches down Candace. Bianca and Nia go crashing over the announce desk as Bayley hits the rose plant on Naomi. Bayley covers for 1...2...3 to end the match. Outstanding effort from all four women with a nice story told. Bianca and Naomi refused to get it on but Candace essentially cost Bianca (and Nia by proxy) the match. Bayley is number one contender to Tiffany Stratton so we'll see how that plays out as the weeks go on.

Time of match: 17:18

Winner: Bayley by pinfall

Cody Rhodes is in the back with Jimmy Uso. Jimmy goes to apologize for Roman but Cody cuts him off saying it was inevitable Roman would come for the title. Cody walks off and Carmelo Hayes walks up. Melo asks what's good and says he's gonna let the 3 on 1 slide last week. He says he and Solo's crew are tapped in so don't try that again. Melo says he doesn't miss and Jimmy says with all the bricks he can build a house. Uso walks off leaving Melo frustrated. The main event is next as we go to break. Back from commercial Byron Saxton congratulates Bayley on her win and the match will be next week on Smackdown. Bayley says she's taking advantage of opportunities just like Tiffany and Tiffany has never beaten her. Least we got a main event next week as well as Los Garza vs MCMG. Solo Sikoa returns as well next week since losing Tribal Combat....4 days ago. They make it sound like he was gone for months. Fatu and Tonga make their way to the ring with Fatu screaming "The difference is your bloodline left you on the frontline to deadline. Fatu tells Cody to wake his ass up because this is a nightmare. Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu make their entrance for the main event and Tessitore says without Solo, they're mad dogs off a leash. 

We go to commercial and after the break, we cut to a clip from Raw where John Cena enters the Royal Rumble. We then get a Royal Rumble graphic showing Roman and Cena in the Rumble match and Kevin Owens vs Cody Rhodes in a ladder match. On to the main event.

Match 6

Tama Tonga and Jacob Fatu vs Jimmy Uso and WWE Champion Cody Rhodes

Going to be interesting to see where Tama, Jacob and Jimmy fit in now that Wargames/Tribal Combat is over but for now we got this. Bell's gone and Cody starts with Tama and gets in a waistlock. Cody hits an uppercut and a front suplex. Cody works the left arm and tags in Jimmy who comes off the top with the left arm. Tama kicks away at Jimmy and headbutts him in the corner then Jacob tags himself in. He throws Tama out of the way to wail away on Jimmy. Jimmy knocks Tama off the apron but runs into the pop up samoan drop as we go to break. Back from commercial Jacob drops Jimmy with a clothesline and Tama tags himself in with a hilo. He goes "Yyayayayayyayaya" before knocking Cody off the apron. Tama locks in a nerve hold but Jimmy hits a jawbreaker to get out of it. Fatu tags in and rams Cody off the apron before hitting a senton on Jimmy. He covers for 1...2...no. Jacob hits the Umaga in the corner on Jimmy then hits a second one. He covers for 1...2...no. Barrett says to stop the match for Jimmy's health and without Solo, there's no one that can stop Jacob. Fatu stalls on the top rope and Jimmy elbows him off. Jimmy hits a skytwister press and gets the hot tag to Cody. Rhodes cleans house of Jacob and Tama, powerslamming Tama. Cody hits the disaster kick then throws Tama through the ropes. Cody pulls the top rope down to send Jacob flying and hits a suicide dive onto both. Back inside Cody hits the Dusty Punches on Tama and covers for 1...2...no. Cody snaps Jacob's leg off the second rope but Tama blocks CrossRhodes. Tama hits the elevated DDT on Cody and covers for 1...2...no. Jimmy tags in and they hit the Power Plex with Barrett saying its a shout out to Power & Glory. Jimmy covers for 1...2..no, Fatu breaks up the count. Cody hits the Cody Cutter on Fatu to send him outside. Jimmy hits a suicide dive to send Jacob through the ropes to the outside. Suddenly Kevin Owens hits the ring and Cody runs off to chase him to the back. Jimmy is by himself and gets rolled up by Tama for 1...2...no.  Jimmy superkicks Tama and goes for the top rope splash. He hits it and covers for 1..2...no, Fatu pulls him outside. Fatu tags in then turns around to ram Jimmy's head off the announce desk. Fatu throws Jimmy inside and hits the Impaler. Fatu hits the top rope moonsault and covers for 1..2...3 to win the match. Once Cody got taken out it was just a matter of time, still a good showing and it shows Jacob is a mean looking fella.

Time of match: 12:18

Winner: Fatu and Tonga by pinfall

Post match Cody and KO are brawling by the tech area. KO throws Cody on a set of crates and goes for a piledriver. Cody fights out of it and tackles him through a table. Both men are down and here's Shawn Daivari and Shane Helms to check on them. Tessitore signs off saying three weeks from tomorrow we got the Royal Rumble. Not a bad show after the fallout of Raw on Netflix but 3 hours is just too long. At least the matches were good and they're setting up some Royal Rumble storylines. KO vs Cody is going to be a war and having John Cena and Roman Reigns in the Rumble means one of them isn't facing Cody, if not both depending on who else is in it. Chelsea Green's antics are fun, Los Garza as the defacto faces were hilarious, Knight's chase for the US title continues to be entertaining. Just have to see what else develops as we head toward the Rumble. The next show after this is this Monday night's Raw at the SAP Center in San Jose. I'll see you there!

WWE Raw (1/6/25)

WWE Raw

Intuit Dome

Los Angeles, California

January 6, 2025

Commentators: Michael Cole & Pat McAfee

Ring Announcer: Alicia Taylor

Welcome to the most overhyped Raw in decades. Raw leaves its home on USA where its been for 19 years and comes to Netflix. Now Raw won't have to cater to USA standards and practices and a fixed run-time. This was more or less being hyped as a ppv and that's how it might be treated tonight. Jey Uso takes on Drew McIntyre, Seth Rollins takes on CM Punk, John Cena returns and Roman Reigns goes one on one with Solo Sikoa in Tribal Combat. Let's get to it.

Michael Cole welcomes us to Los Angeles and Cole says Seth Rollins will be in the biggest match of his career....what? Not Wrestlemania against The Rock and Roman Reigns last year, not Triple H in 2017 or Sting at Summerslam....a match on Raw against CM Punk? We're shown CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Judgment Day and Rhea Ripley entering the arena.

Before anything happens, we're treated to a vignette hosted by Triple H about the history of wrestling. Wrestling had been around in the Roman times and in carnivals but television changed wrestling. Wrestling needs a face (a painting of Hulk Hogan) and a heel (Andre The Giant). The late 90's changed how we looked at who was good and who was bad (with a nice montage of the nWo and the Montreal screwjob), the real, and unreal. "Every damn story had an element of truth. The screens get smaller but the show gets bigger." From television to streaming, from America to the world, never to end....story of WWE. The giant curtain drops and HHH is standing in the ring. HHH "17,000 plus sold out Los Angeles LET ME HEAR YOU!" Triple H says this is the moment they're all being seen and heard by the entire globe. HHH says show them who you are and tell them that his is the WWE and we are louder than anything you have ever seen before. HHH knows the answer but he asks anyway, ARE YOU READYYYYYY. "Then, welcome to Monday Night Raw, welcome to the Netflix era". Great opening montage, didn't do too much, just said wrestling grew over the last 70 years.

HHH leaves and the lights go out.....IF YA SMELLL, WHAT THE ROCK...IS COOKIN. Here comes The Rock with the Muhammad Ali belt shaking hands with the fans. He greets some dignitaries at ring side before posing for some fans. Rock even shakes hands with Michael Cole and Pat McAfee before greeting Rock's two youngest daughters Jazzy and Tia along with his mother, Ata Maivia-Johnson. Cole also brings up Rock has a claim to be high chief of Samoa as well. Rock talks about how he used to travel with his father when he was just a pebble (there goes my nickname for Ava Raine). He says back then you either bought a ticket or had to be in front of your TV on Saturday morning. He goes on to say you're watching it worldwide on Netflix and they broke another gate record. "Finally WWE has come back to Netflix....no no no that's bullshit, get to the real one." Rock "FINALLY, THE ROCK HAS COME BACK TO LOS ANGELES!" The Rock thanks some Netflix execs in the VIP suite and says if Netflix glitches when he's in the ring, he'll go Squid Games on their candy asses. This was a reference to the Mike Tyson/Jake Paul fight that broke Netflix. The Rock then puts over Cody Rhodes for carrying the company on his back the past year and he's shown in the crowd. Rock "Tell mama Rhodes I said hello." Rock then shouts out Roman Reigns which gets a huge OTC chant from the crowd. Rock says Tribal Combat is next and the world will be watching. He puts himself over as high chief and says the winner of this match will be deserving of tribal chief. IF YA SMELLLLLLL...WHAT THE ROCK....IS COOKIN. Rock shakes hands with Cody at ring side and says hi to his kids as he leaves. Now its time for Tribal Combat. This has been building since Wrestlemania. After Roman Reigns lost to Cody Rhodes, he went on vacation. While he was gone, Solo picked up the Ola Fala and took over the Bloodline. He got rid of Jimmy Uso and Paul Heyman while adding Jacob Fatu and the Tongans. Then little by little the OG Bloodline returned culminating in Roman Reigns and Jimmy Uso recruiting Jey Uso and Sami Zayn to reform the original Bloodline. After the OG's were victorious at Wargames, its still been OG vs New until now. If Solo wins, the OGs are done. If Roman wins, the New is essentially useless. It actually would be a lot more interesting if Solo wins but the writing is on the wall.

Match 1

Solo Sikoa vs Roman Reigns (with Paul Heyman) in Tribal Combat

Alicia Taylor introduces Solo but Paul Heyman introduces Reigns as the "reigning, defending" OTC. Bell's gone and Solo says the Ola Fala is his as they tie up. Solo and Roman back each other up until Roman throws Solo out of the ring. Solo backs Reigns into the ring post outside as Cole says this is Roman's first one on one match since Wrestlemania.....wow. The death of house shows really shows here. Solo rams Roman's head into the announce table and back inside the ring. Solo drops Roman with a clothesline and delivers a headbutt. Roman then floors Solo with back to back lariats. Roman clubs Solo in the corner with forearms and brings up all the HoFers Roman has beaten as Reigns big boots Solo to the outside. Roman goes outside and walks right into a Rock Bottom onto the announce table, clearing out Pat and Michael. Solo grabs a monitor and decks Roman with it. Solo taunts the irate crowd as Cole says he has to get the hell out of here. Solo grabs the ring steps and tells Roman to get his ass up. Cole "This is gonna be one of those nights, Pat." Solo rams Reigns with the steps as we go to break. Back from commercial, Solo grabs a chair and gets in the ring. Solo hits Roman in the ribs then in the back. Solo then caves in Roman's ribs with the chair and puts it around his neck. Solo taunts Roman that he gave him everything and always loved him. Solo goes for the Umaga but Roman rolls out of the way. Roman grabs the chair and hits Solo in the ribs, then the back with it. Roman unloads on Solo with the chair and rams his head into it. Roman goes for the Conchairto but Solo moves. Solo hits a low blow and another spinning Rock Bottom . He covers for 1...2....no. Cole brings up the very first Raw was January 11, 1993 and we've had 1,649 episodes total on cable TV....until tonight. Solo grabs a table from under the ring but Roman hits a dropkick from the apron. Roman throws the table into the ring and sets it up, but Solo whacks Roman with a singapore cane. Solo wails on him with the cane while taunting Heyman. He then chokes Roman with the cane and says to acknowledge him. He loved Roman but he never loved him back. Roman then uses his strength to push the cane off him then powerbombs Solo through a table. Roman covers for 1.....2....noooo, Tama Tonga pulls referee Chad Patton out. Here comes the shenanigans. Jacob Fatu comes in from the other side, slaps Reigns, hits a superkick and delivers the Impaler. Fatu then hits the standing moonsault and picks Solo up. Solo hits the Samoan spike on Roman and covers for 1...2...NOOOOOOO! Jacob can't believe it as the crowd chants OTC. Jacob backs down Chad in the corner but Solo has to tell him to back off.....so he can hit the samoan spike on Patton. Cole says that was dumb as nobody's there to count the fall. Here comes Sami Zayn and Jimmy Uso to even the odds. Sami heaves Jacob into the ring steps as Jimmy throws Tama into the ring post.  Inside the ring, Jimmy superkicks Solo and Sami follows with the Helluva Kick. Roman hits the spear and covers but there's no ref. Finally here comes another ref to count 1....2.....NOOOOO. The crowd chants "This is awesome" and now we got a stalemate. Jimmy and Sami dive outside and fight to the back with Jacob & Tama. Roman loads up another spear but here comes Kevin Owens of all people. He hits a stunner on Roman and tells Solo to pin him. This makes no sense, why would KO help either of them considering Solo made his life a hell too. Solo covers for 1..2....nooooo. KO pummels Roman and goes for the package piledriver as the crowd chants for Cody Rhodes.....and here he comes. Cody in the suit and tie hits the Cody cutter, causing KO to bail. Cody brawls with him into the barricade and we're back to one on one. Solo blocks the Superman punch, but Roman ducks under the Samoan Spike. Roman hits the spear. Roman caters to the crowd and calls for another one. Roman hits a second spear and covers for 1..2...3 to win the match. That was a damn good PPV style match that would have fit right in at the Rumble. Roman ends the Solo Bloodline once and for all.

Time of match: 23:27

Winner: Roman Reigns by pinfall

Paul Heyman goes to put the Ola Fala back on Roman but here comes The Rock to steal the spotlight AGAIN. The Rock takes it from Heyman and presents it to Roman. They shake hands and the crowd cheers. Roman takes a full minute to soak in the emotion before we cut to the back where CM Punk is preparing for his one on one match with Seth Rollins. Cole says this is one of the biggest matches in wrestling history....how?? We're then shown the VIP suite where Byron Saxton, Kayden Carter, Jaida Parker, Carmelo Hayes, Grayson Waller, Zoey Stark, Austin Theory (in a hilarious red suit) are having a party. Then we go to ringside to see Gabriel Iglesias holding the big gold belt, naturally he has a special airing the next day. Ashton Kutcher and his son are shown as well as Netflix comedian Michael Che. Then we're shown LA Knight, Rey Mysterio, Erik and Ivar sitting in the front row. Why are they treating these guys like common fans? Rey is wearing an Eddie Guerrero jacket to boot. 

John Cena is here to begin his farewell tour. He holds up "The last time is now" towel as he runs to the ring. Cena caters to the crowd and thanks the fans, causing a massive "Thank you Cena" chant. Cena says the fans are smart and the audience just got a lot bigger. He tells the crowd to let the world know they can see them. Cena thanks Netflix for the experience of airing Monday Night Raw and for letting him wear jorts in the ring one last time. He says the farewell tour kicks off in LA because he used to sleep in his car working for Gold's Gym and wrestled for UPW in Orange County. Cena rented a two bedroom apartment 600 feet from this building because Inglewood was up to no good. He says this is where his first gimmick "The Prototype" was born and where he won the WWE title at Wrestlemania 21. He says for 25 years LA has allowed him to perform in the ring and he humbly thanks the fans. Cena says this year is about making moments and who he's going to face at Wrestlemania or his last match in December. He lists Drew McIntyre, CM Punk, Logan Paul, Gunther...Cooooody Rhodes. He says people are asking when he becomes the record holding 17 time world champion but he wants to be honest, he doesn't see it happening. Cena says he's got a streak going on, its been 2,446 days since he won his last match. One look at Google shows the mixed tag match he won on New Year's Day 2019 confirms this.....wow. Cena says his time up and their time is now (the fans boo). Cena says title 17 is never gonna happen then catches himself and says never say never. Cena says it would take a miracle and has a better chance of winning an Oscar. Cena says he can't just waltz into the main event with a streak like that unless he wins Money In The Bank, Elimination Chamber.....or the Royal Rumble. Cena "Wait.....maybe I could win the Royal Rumble." He says its a long shot but he can't win the lottery if you don't play. Cena says he's officially entering the Rumble for the last time. Cena says he'll never give up and he's going to win the Rumble. "YOU WANT SOME, COME GET SOME!" So this long speech was to set up Cena entering the Rumble, good.

We cut to a Logan Paul vignette. He puts himself over and plays off the very real heat he has with people and says everyone hates how successful he is. Logan Paul himself is shown in the crowd and says its his time now. Liv Morgan then makes her entrance for the next match with Dom Mysterio and Raquel Rodriguez in tow. Cole has to give Liv her props for potentially being superstar of the year in 2024. Before Rhea makes her entrance, we're shown more celebs. Seth Green, longtime WWE fan Macaulay Culkin, O'Shea Jackson Jr (who's a hilarious troll on Twitter), Wil Friedle and Danielle Fishel from Boy Meets World. Will is not mentioned, only Danielle....wow, Eric Matthews gets the shaft. Right in front of them are Naomi and Bianca Belair, the women's tag team champions. Next to them is X-Pac and Shinsuke Nakamura, the US Champion. McAfee drools over Ripley during her intro as Cole says "she lost her way and was manipulated into Judgment Day by Edge". Wow, throwing shade at Edge now? Cole says it was his influence that led her to turn on Liv Morgan and set Liv on the path of turning on her in return. We get a frightening graphic that since May of 22 Rhea Ripley is 22-0 against everyone else but only 3-2 against Liv Morgan. On to the match.

Match 2

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

Bell's gone and they brawl to start. Rhea stomps on her foot and grabs her by the throat. She choke bombs Liv down and Liv bails to the outside. Rhea cannonballs onto Raquel Rodriguez as Cole says unlike Tribal Combat, there are rules here. If referee Daphanie LaShaunn catches Dom or Raquel doing anything funny, that's it....even if it screws Ripley. Speaking of Dom, he grabs her foot allowing Liv to knock Rhea off the apron. Liv goes for a head scissors but Rhea powerbombs her onto the announce table. Pat and Cole heckle Liv as we go to break. Back from commercial, Liv apparently has been dominating during the commercial break. Liv stands on Rhea in the corner and shrieks at Daphanie. Liv elbows Rhea and hits a tornado bulldog, covering for 1..2....no. McAfee "This dumbass Dom can't even count to three" and Dom heckles him in return. Liv kicks Rhea in the head and in the ribs before stepping on her. Liv rakes the back which only makes Rhea mad. Rhea no-sells a few slaps and says "You fucked up" before clotheslining Liv down twice. Rhea kicks Liv in the ribs and face plants Liv. Rhea hits a shining wizard and goes for a package piledriver that she turns into a suplex much to Dom's dismay. Liv goes for a victory roll but Rhea hits a reverse Taz plex. She covers for 1.....2...no. Rhea goes for Riptide but Liv slips out of it to apply a backstabber. Liv hits a tornado DDT and covers for 1..2....no. Liv hits a step up enziguiri but Ripley slides under Liv, hitting riptide. Ripley stacks her for 1...2...NOOOOO. Somehow Liv kicked out and Ripley can't believe it. Raquel throws a chair in the ring only for Ripley to knock her off. Liv hits ObLivion onto the chair. Cole "Referee didn't see it, she was dealing with dumbass Dom." Liv covers for 1...2....NOOOOO. McAfee "The wrestling gods are blessing us this evening." Liv can't believe it and she goes for the three amigos. She hits all three and goes up to the top for the frog splash. Liv hits it and covers for 1..2...nope. Ripley blocks ObLivion and shakes her head no. Rhea blows her a kiss, throws her down, hits Riptide twice and covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. The crowd explodes as we have a new World Women's Champion. Odd decision for to Rhea get her revenge on Raw instead of a PLE, but it was a good match. Liv couldn't beat Rhea straight up and Rhea finally caught her.

Time of match: 11:29

Winner: Ripley by pinfall (New World Champion)

Post match Dom sneaks up on Rhea. Cole "Oh what is this idiot doing?" Rhea turns around and Dom wants a hug. Cole calls him a gold digger and McAfee calls him a rat bastard (ha!). Rhea "You want me?" She kisses the belt and puts it down. She fakes a hug and kicks him full force in the gonads much to Cole & McAfee's delight. Rhea hits Riptide and the crowd explodes. McAfee "The kick was good" We get a highlight of Rhea winning the match before she celebrates on the ramp. Suddenly The Undertaker's theme hits and sure enough, here comes the deadman on a motorcycle to "American Bad Ass" by Kid Rock like its 2000 again. Cole brings up how Taker main evented the first Raw in history (against Damien Demento) and he salutes Rhea. They raise their fists as the fireworks go off.

We go back to the VIP section where Cruz Del Toro, Joaqin Wilde, Kayden, Maxxine Dupri, Saxton and Dragon Lee celebrate. Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods aren't so happy and Cole points out he wants to interview them soon. We cut to Cathy Kelley standing nearby as Adam Pearce and Bayley have a conversation. Cathy asks what can we expect moving forward but here comes all four members of American Made (Ivy Nile, Julius Creed, Brutus Creed and Chad Gable) to interrupt. Gable says his group are elite and he's destroyed Alpha Academy. He says he wants the single best luchador and send him his way. Pearce asks if he's sure about that and Chad says absolutely. Adam has a smile and says he's got to make a phone call. This should be good.

We cut to Jey Uso about ready to make his appearance as we go to break. Drew McIntyre is on his way to the ring as well. Back from break, we're shown The Rock's instagram as he was leaving. He greeted Jimmy Uso, Paul Heyman, Triple H, Roman Reigns, rapper Travis Scott and Cody Rhodes. Rock drives off with a bottle of tequila in his hands saying he'll be at NXT tomorrow night....just don't tell the cops. We're shown more celebs including Bill Simmons flashing a Boston Celtics logo, perfect for heel heat in Los Angeles. We're shown more Netflix execs and actress Vanessa Hudgens. Then we're shown Michelle McCool, Iyo Sky, Dakota Kai and Lira Valkyria. Lira and Dakota go one on one next week in the Women's Intercontinental Championship Finals. Travis Scott is here holding a belt and hitting a dab before Jey Uso makes his entrance right behind him. Cole and McAfee Yeet on the table and Cole doing it in suit and tie makes it even funnier. McAfee "Wait for the beat to drop, Cole." Cole "How the hell do I get down now?" Before the match we get a graphic of the most televised wins in 2024 and Jey Uso is tied for fifth place with 21 behind Pete Dunne (??) with 22, Damian Priest with 23, Bron Breakker with 24 and Bianca Belair with 29.

Match 3

Jey Uso vs Drew McIntyre

Cole was in the middle of bringing up how Drew McIntyre's entire heel turn was based around never getting over the Bloodline costing him the WWE title at Clash at The Castle....when Jey immediately suicide dives him before Drew gets a chance to take off his ring jacket. Jey suicide dives through the ropes on top of Drew but Drew counters with an overhead suplex. Cole finishes his thought from earlier that once Jey Uso came to Raw, Drew was never the same. Drew inside the ring goes for the claymore as the bell officially rings. Jey hits an avalanche in the corner followed by a running enziguiri. Jey goes for the up and over but Drew kicks him in the head. Cole says Jey has never beaten Drew one on one as Drew gets in a big right hand. McIntyre mocks the Yeet to the irate crowd and chops the nine time tag team champion. Drew chops him again before punching him in the corner. Drew chops again before doing 10 punches in the corner...as a heel? Jey does a sit down powerbomb and they slug it out in the middle of the ring. They play "Yeet/boo" with Jey hitting an enziguiri. Jey hits the Umaga in the corner and hits a top rope crossbody for 1..2....no. McIntyre hits a reverse neckbreaker and kips up before staring at Jey. He calls for the Claymore but runs into a superkick. Jey covers for 1.....2...no. Jey goes for the Uso splash but McIntyre gets his knees up. Drew hits a spinebuster and jackknife covers for 1..2...no. Drew tries a sitdown powerbomb and covers for 1...2...nope. McAfee says Drew should be a champion but gets inside his own head. The crowd plays "Let's go Drew/Let's go Jey" as they slug it out in the center of the ring. Drew's future shock is blocked by Jey but his samoan drop is blocked. Drew hits future shock and covers for 1..2...no. Drew calls for another Claymore but runs into the spear. Jey covers for 1..2....nooooo. Jey hits a superkick to the left arm then catches him in the jaw. Jey goes for another spear but Drew kicks him in the head. Jey superkicks him into the ropes but Drew fires back with a Claymore Kick. Drew covers for 1...2....noooooo. Drew can't believe it and unloads on Jey with right hands. Drew picks up Jey and chops him relentlessly in the corner. Drew does a Glasgow Kiss and calls for another Claymore. Drew runs but Jey collapses in the center of the ring. Drew laughs at him and then taunts the irate crowd. Drew tells him to get up so he can finish him. Drew goes for the Claymore but Jey ducks under it and crucifixes Drew for 1..2...3 to win the match. Drew goes ballistic inside the ring as Jey bails as the winner. Jey had never beaten Drew until now in a good match. That was a hell of a fight and McIntyre loses another big match to add to his misery.

Time of match: 10:22

Winner: Uso by pinfall

We go to a vignette on Gunther to show he's an emotionless killer. Back to Cathy Kelley who's with comedian Gabriel Iglesias. He's got a new special dropping tomorrow but before he can say anything, here's New Day to interrupt. Xavier Woods says they haven't been allowed to explain why they dropped Big E Langston as Kofi Kingston says this is the biggest platform on earth and Cathy should be talking to them instead of the "fluffy buffoon". Gabriel "Buffoon? Dude, I liked you guys better when you had cereal. What's going on?" Woods "Its always jokes with you, isn't it?" Alpha Academy shows up and says Happy New Year and puts their arms around Iglesias. He thanks the Universe and he leaves with Otis, Maxxine Dupri and Akira Tozawa serenading "New....Day sucks. New....day sucks." 

We cut to Paul Heyman singing Roman Reigns' praises as they walk down the hall. Heyman says they need a platform to when the world can acknowledge him. He says January 27th.....what? Oddly specific but okay. We show a determined Seth Rollins in the locker room before we go to break. Back from break we're shown more celebs in the crowd. Finally IC Champion Bron Breakker and WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton are shown in the crowd as well. If anyone should be in the ring tonight its them. We're shown Nikki Bella in the crowd as well when a familiar theme song hits.

Hulk Hogan comes out with none other than Jimmy Hart in tow and gets booed relentlessly despite Michael Cole and Pat McAfee singing his praises. Hulk goes into his familiar promo of "Well ya know something brother" and he says the fans have been his greatest tag team partner. He says he has a new tag team partner, his own beer company. He talks about his ex-partners like Randy Savage and Andre The Giant but the best partner ever is WWE and Netflix. Hogan rips off his shirt to reveal a Netflix is Raw t-shirt and poses as the crowd doesn't give a rats ass. Poor Jimmy Hart, he didn't deserve that.

Next week Lira Valkyria takes on Dakota Kai to determine the first Women's Intercontinental Champion and Sheamus takes on Ludwig Kaiser, Chad Gable will face a mystery luchador and Damian Priest faces Finn Balor in a street fight. We're shown Stephanie McMahon herself in the crowd next to Rory Culkin as BURN IT DOWNNNN hits.

Match 4

Seth Rollins vs CM Punk

This goes all the way back to Survivor Series 2023 when Punk returned to a VERY unhappy Rollins response. Rollins' storyline beef was Punk walked out in 2014 and he himself stayed all these years. Injuries to both Punk and Rollins delayed their inevitable showdown until now. The bell rings and they have dueling chants to start. They brawl to start with Punk getting the upper hand. Rollins clubs him against the ropes then Punk ducks a line, clotheslining over the top to the floor. Punk misses a dive to the floor and Rollins hits a suicide dive onto Punk. Rollins rips apart the announce table early as referee Rod Zapata gives him shit for it. Rollins yells "Let it rideeeeee" to him but Zapata is having none of it. Punk outside sends Rollins over the barricade and dives on top of him. Back over the barricade Rollins goes for an axehandle, but gets punched by Punk for it. Punk throws the top of the table on him as the crowd duels chants. Punk slides in the ring and narrowly misses the curb stomp. Rollins blocks the GTS attempt and kicks Punk in the corner. Zapata yells at Rollins again and Punk boots Seth in the face. Cole points out Rollins is too obsessed with the ref to concentrate on Punk. Punk hits a swinging neckbreaker from off the top rope as we go to break. Back from commercial Rollins clubs away at Punk in the corner and yells at him to get up. Rollins runs into the corner but Punk was right behind him with the running knee. Punk hits a second knee but Rollins blocks the bulldog. Punk rallies with two clotheslines and a swinging neckbreaker before calling for the GTS. Punk pulls Rollins up by the hair and snaps him off the top rope to the floor. Punk throws Rollins inside and goes to the top rope. Rollins rolls through a crossbody and hits a GTS of his own, sending Punk to the outside. Rollins just stares at Punk on the floor for a bit before coming out to get him. Rollins caters to the crowd to let Punk breathe a bit before throwing him inside. Rollins slides in and Punk hits a curb stomp of his own, covering for 1...2..no. Punk rallies with right hands and calls for the GTS. Rollins blocks it and hits the GTS himself, covering for 1...2...noooo. Punk rolls out of the ring and Rollins throws him onto the announce table. Punk goes for the GTS but Rollins rolls out of it. Rollins hits the pedigree on top of the announce table and sells his own knee. That looked for real. Rollins rolls him inside and hits the pedigree in the center of the ring. Rollins covers for 1....2..noooo. The crowd chants for both men again as they slug it out in the center of the ring. Punk goes for the running knee but Rollins hits the buckle bump followed by the curb stomp. Rollins covers for 1...2...nooooo, foot on the rope at the last second. Rollins can't believe it and he picks Punk back up onto the the top rope. Punk pushes him off and Rollins gets mad. He scales the top rope and hits a superplex, rolling through for the Falcon Arrow attempt. Punk blocks it and hits GTS. Rollins staggers into the ropes and back into Punk for a second GTS. Punk covers for 1.....2...3 to win the match. That was certainly a choice to have Punk win but this feud is far from over. Punk gets the opening salvo in a damn good match. Rollins is bleeding from the eye as we end the show.

Time of match: 19:54

Winner: Punk by pinfall

This was a pay-per-view style show but only four matches is criminal. So much time was wasted with The Rock, Hulk Hogan and Gabriel Iglesias that you could have had the Women's IC title match or have some of the guys in the crowd in the ring. Still, tribal combat was fun, Rollins vs Punk was great and Rhea winning the strap back was monumental. Jey vs Drew was okay but its just the fact you had four matches in a 3 hour show isn't good. Raw and SD going to 3 hours was supposed to enhance the roster, not shrink it to only a few matches a night. How sad is it that WWE did more in 2002 with a 2 hour show than it does with 3 now? Still, the matches themselves were good and that's the most important. Netflix is off and running so hopefully this was a one time event to kiss their ass before moving on to more important things as the Royal Rumble approaches. The next show after this is tomorrow night's NXT, I'll see you there.

WWE Smackdown (11/14/02)

WWE Smackdown

Nationwide Arena

Columbus, Ohio

November 14, 2002

Commentators: Michael Cole & Tazz

Ring Announcer: Tony Chimel

We're three days away from Survivor Series and pretty much the Smackdown portion of Survivor Series is set. We got Brock Lesnar defending the WWE strap against Big Show, we got a triple threat tag team title match with Edge and Rey Mysterio Jr taking on both Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit and Los Guerreros, and finally Billy Kidman gets a shot at Jamie Noble for the Cruiserweight title. What could possibly happen tonight just days out from the ppv? Let's find out.....after the obligatory dark matches.

Dark Match 1

Chris Kanyon vs Renee Dupree

Kanyon was rehabbing his shoulder injury and he's up against the 18 year old son of Canadian wrestling promoter Emile Dupree. Kanyon takes it with a flatliner.

Winner: Kanyon by pinfall

Dark Match 2

Val Venis and Nova vs Shelton Benjamin and Lance Cade

Wow, where the hell did they dig up Nova? Well if you're gonna have the OVW guys like Benjamin and Cade, may as well have experienced vets in Venis and Nova as opposition. Benjamin pinned Nova to win the match.

Winners: Benjamin and Cade by pinfall

Now let's start the show.....with the montage of "You can't beat the Big Show". Mark "Dorkus Malorkus" Lloyd catches up with Paul Heyman and asks how Brock Lesnar is doing. Heyman says ask about the Undertaker, he hasn't been seen since Big Show threw him off stage. Lesnar has a broken rib and he's been coughing up blood all week. The difference between Lesnar and everyone else is Brock will defend the title anyway. What he WON'T do is show up tonight on Smackdown based on doctor's orders and his own. Big Show walks up behind Heyman and says if Brock shows up, he's calling him out. Cole and Tazz welcome us and say Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit is tonight's main event. Let's get to the first match.

Match 1

Edge vs Chavo Guerrero Jr

Eddie Guerrero won the triple threat match at Super Tuesday but Edge gets Chavo one on one tonight. Because of Chavo's interference to help Eddie win, both Eddie and Rey Mysterio Jr are barred from ringside. Edge starts with an armbar before Chavo runs into a back elbow. Chavo gets hiptossed, taken down and arm-barred. Cole babbles on about Brock Lesnar but Edge runs into a dropkick. Chavo clotheslines Edge over the top rope to the floor. Edge shoulderblocks Chavo on the apron and flips over the suplex attempt. Edge sends Chavo off the buckle into a flapjack. Edge covers for a deuce as wee see Rey watching from the back. Edge gets backdropped on the apron but gets crotched on the second rope by Chavo. Tazz picks Angle and Benoit to win this Sunday. Chavo clotheslines Edge and covers for a deuce as Cole says also tonight, Eddie takes on Mysterio. Chavo gets in a wristlock but Edge powers out of it. Chavo counters Edge-O-Matic with a back suplex then goes up to the top rope. Chavo flies right into a dropkick by Edge. Edge backdrops Chavo and rallies with a clothesline. Edge hits a forearm and Edge-O-Matic for a two count, Edge slaps and chops Chavo in the corner then punches him down. Edge goes for the spear but misses, eating the second buckle. Chavo hits a spear of his own and covers for 1...2....nope. Chavo boots Edge in the ribs and goes for a sunset flip. Edge counters with a slingshot onto the second rope. Edge blocks the tornado DDT and hits the Edgecution. Edge covers for 1...2...3 to win the match. Damn good effort by both guys with counters and precision. Edge fires the first salvo tonight in the tag title war by beating Chavo.

Time of match: 6:04

Winner: Edge by pinfall

In the back, Dorkus Malorkus asks Rey how he's going to do against Eddie. Rey says he's glad that Edge beat Chavo and he knows Eddie better than anyone. He then stops the interview as Brock Lesnar is coming. Rey asks how his ribs are and Lesnar says he's fine. Malorkus asks how he's doing and Lesnar says to get the hell out of his face. We go to commercial with the fact that Lesnar IS here tonight.

Back from break Al Wilson is reading a bridal magazine when Dawn Marie walks up and kisses him. Dawn says she's a lucky girl and will be Mrs. Al Wilson on their wedding day. She wants Al to invite Torrie to the wedding and she should be one of the first to invite. Al doesn't know if he should but Dawn convinces him to go talk to her.

Cut to Brock Lesnar and Heyman. Heyman is irate that he's even here and Big Show is going to maul him. Heyman says without him, Brock beat Eddie Guerrero but got demolished by Show. They're supposed to be a team but he can't protect him if he doesn't listen to him. Heyman says he hasn't been listening since Hell in A Cell and Brock says yeah, Show did throw him off the apron but Heyman wasn't there. Heyman says Show is too big and too bad and not to engage him. "He's going to rip you limb from limb and there's nothing we can do about it, we're three days away from Survivor Series. Heyman pleads with him to listen to his idea. Naturally we fade to black before we find out what the idea was. Once again, they're trying to set up Hogan/Andre and it would have worked if Show wasn't booked like a jobber for a year. Back from break its on to the next match.

Match 2

John Cena and Matt Hardy vs Rikishi and Tajiri

This week's Mattitude fun fact is Matt was the Fear Factor champion. He also loves guacamole. Cena is still coming out to the generic theme with prototype trunks. Tajiri starts with Hardy and he drops V1 with arm drags but gets shoved down by Matt. Tajiri hits a hurracarana but Matt gets a thumb to the eye. Cena tags in and drops Tajiri with an elbow before covering for a deuce. Hardy tags in and they double team Tajiri in the corner. Cena and Hardy hit a double suplex and Cena covers for two, but Tajiri hits a rolling neckbreaker to make the tag to Rikishi. Rikishi hits a samoan drop on Cena and elbows Matt in the corner. Rikishi whips Hardy into Cena in the corner and Rikishi avalanches them both. Hardy falls out of the ring and Tajiri buzz kicks Cena, knocking him down in the corner. Rikishi goes for the stink face but runs right into side effect. Cena covers for 1...2...nope. Cole starts babbling about Big Show as Hardy beats down Rikishi in the corner. Hardy chokes Rikishi on the second rope then locks in a front headlock. Rikishi backdrops him and Tajiri tags in. Tajiri and Hardy drop each other with a double face plant but Matt's arm is on top of Tajiri for 1...2...3 to win the match. Interesting way to end the match. Matt grabs Cena and celebrates as Cena puts him on his shoulders, hahahaha. Matt gets one over on Rikishi and Tajiri.

Time of match: 3:18

Winners: Cena and Hardy by pinfall

In the back Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit are bickering again. Angle says its all Benoit's fault they lost the titles. Benoit says Angle got pinned twice and wants to know how that happened. Angle says he hates Benoit's guts but loves being a champion. He says he's going to take his aggressions out on Benoit and Chris mocks him for that. Benoit says the last two times they fought, Benoit won. Kurt "You watch your mouth, young man!" (Kurt is actually a year younger than him) Kurt says he's the team captain and Benoit says he apologizes and says he beat the team captain twice. Kurt "Yeah....well I have more teeth than you." Chris "Well I have more hair than you." Benoit says he's 11 times better than him and Kurt says he's an Olympic gold medalist. Chris has no counter for that and says he's going to beat him tonight. Kurt does the finger up to the nose trick and walks off. That was pretty funny.

Back from commercial we get a Scott Steiner is coming vignette and Paul Heyman walking in to Big Show's room. Heyman wants Show not to call out Lesnar because he's too young to understand. Heyman says he himself says he knows he's beaten The Rock, Undertaker and Hulk Hogan in his prime. Heyman says Show broke Brock's rib and asks a professional courtesy to lay off Brock until Survivor Series. Show says that Lesnar has one good thing going for him, Paul. Show says he might not call him out....but maybe he will. Heyman leaves. Again, I like how they're making Show a monster but its a year too late.

Los Guerreros walk up to Edge and Rey Mysterio. Eddie calls them flying squirrels. Eddie says after tonight, they're going to win at Survivor Series. Eddie and Rey insult each other in Spanish and Eddie mocks hiding behind Chavo. Edge says let's go right here, right now. Edge insults Eddie in Spanish as well and we cut here. Back from break its on to the next match.

Match 3

Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio Jr

The big Halloween Havoc 97 rematch. Bell rings and they circle to start. Eddie and Rey chain wrestle but Eddie gets the chinlock applied. Eddie drops Rey with a shoulderblock but Rey hits a backdrop, dropkick and an armdrag. Eddie fights out of it and hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. He covers for two and locks in an arm-bar. Eddie works over the left arm as the crowd chants "Eddie sucks". Eddie stomps away on Rey in the corner but Rey tries to kick his way out. Rey hits a second rope hurracarana then they trade hammerlocks. Rey snap mares Eddie then monkey flips him. He calls for the 619 but Eddie moves to cause Rey to hit referee Brian Hebner instead (hahahahaha). Chavo Guerrero Jr runs down with the ref out and hits Rey with the Gory Special. Edge runs in and chases Chavo out of there. Eddie hits a powerbomb and stacks Mysterio for 1...2...nope. Edge spears Eddie and is knocked outside by Chavo. Edge sends Chavo into the barricade as Hebner tells them both to get lost. The other referees run down to get Chavo and Edge out of there. Eddie runs into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker of his own by Rey. Rey hits the bronco buster in the corner and goes up to the top rope. Eddie shoves him off the top to the floor and wits. Eddie hits the plancha on Rey and rolls him back inside. Eddie hits a back suplex and goes up to the top rope. Rey runs up and hits a superplex. Rey covers for 1.....2...nope. Rey hits an armdrag but Eddie clotheslines him down. Eddie locks in an arm-bar but Rey fights out of it, only for Eddie to rally with forearms. Eddie puts Rey on the top rope but Rey elbows him off. Rey hits the moonsault and covers for 1...2..no. Eddie catches a second rope moonsault attempt but Rey hits an armdrag out of it. Rey baseball slides Eddie outside and Rey hits a slingshot hilo. Cole says Rey's got a bad knee but Mysterio still hits the springboard legdrop back inside. Rey covers for 1....2...no. Eddie hits a vertical suplex on Rey and taunts the irate crowd. Eddie goes up to the top rope but flips over Rey. Rey hits a heel kick to the chin of Eddie and hits the 619. Rey calls for the West Coast Pop but Eddie stands up, forcing Rey to go to the sunset flip. Eddie rolls out of it and applies the El Paso Lasso, holding the rope for leverage. Rey taps and this one's over. Not as epic as Halloween Havoc but still a damn good match against two guys that have great chemistry.

Time of match: 6:11

Winner: Guerrero by submission

Backstage Al Wilson walks into Torrie Wilson but she blows him off. Al walks into the women's room anyway to talk about it. Torrie says Dawn Marie is using him to get to her. She calls Dawn a conniving, manipulative bitch. Al wants to invite her to the wedding but she can't do it. Torrie says she won't go because he's being played. Torrie says there's no way to say this nicely but there's no fool like an old fool. She's got a point. Back from break, its on to the next match.

Match 4

Billy Kidman vs Jamie Noble (with Nidia)

Non-title match as Kidman gets his title shot at Survivor Series....kind of makes this match pointless. They brawl at the bell and Kidman gets backdropped on the apron. Nidia pulls him off and Noble baseball slides Billy. Noble rolls Kidman inside and covers for a near fall. Noble works the left arm in the corner and dropkicks it. Noble arm drags Kidman and locks in a keylock. Kidman punches his way out of it and flapjacks Jamie. Kidman clotheslines Noble and backdrops him. Kidman hits a dropkick and covers for 1.....2...nope. Kidman sends Noble into the corner but blocks the clothesline, kicks Kidman and hits the tiger bomb. Noble stacks him but Kidman sunset flips for 1...2...no. Noble goes up to the top but Kidman dropkicks him. Noble rolls over Kidman and goes for the Razor's Edge. Kidman rolls out of it and hits a modified Sky High. He drags Noble to the corner and goes upstairs. Nidia distracts the ref so Noble can punch Kidman. Noble hits a top rope superplex but Kidman rolls over on top for 1...2.....3 to win the match. Kidman gets Noble two weeks in a row, will the third time be a charm this Sunday? Decent crash style match and it puts over that Kidman has Noble's number right now.

Time of match: 3:17

Winner: Kidman by pinfall

 

Back to Dawn Marie who walks up to Al Wilson. Al is distraught about his "little angel" and she doesn't want to go to the wedding. Dawn comes on to him an says they're going to be just fine. They hug and she grins evily. They gave this crap THREE segments. We cut to Heyman and Lesnar and Paul says everything is going to be ok. Heyman says he looked the neanderthal right in the eye and not to call him out. Paul says Show was smart enough to listen to him and was intimidated by Paul's intelligence. Paul says to pack his bag and leave because they're all set. Brock says he's not leaving and he asks if Paul convinced Show not to call him out. Lesnar says he'll call HIM out. Heyman goes nuts as we go back to ringside for Tazz to shill the new video game Smackdown Shut Your Mouth. One of my favorite games as a teenager. 

On to the main event....and Angle grabs a mic before the match. He apologizes to his fans for being too predictable. He says he's beaten Edge, Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio and the Guerreros so many times its become a blur. He says he's better in the ring than everyone, better athlete than Benoit, better looking than Edge, can speak English unlike the Guerreros and been through puberty unlike Rey Mysterio. He says he doesn't need Benoit, he can win the belts all alone. Los Guerreros then walk out with a mic to mock him. Eddie says Kurt is full of it and Eddie pinned Angle 1-2-3. Suddenly Edge and Rey Mysterio walk out with mics too. Edge says Kurt has lost his hair and mind because Edge beat Kurt for the belts. Rey "Hi Kurt!" Edge says the only predictable thing about Kurt is that he sucks. Kurt says he's got more talent in his little finger than all four of them combined. He knows why they're out there, they want to scout him and learn from him. Kurt says to have a seat because he's going to win the next match. He calls out Benoit as the others back away from the ramp.

Match 5

Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit

Angle and Benoit blame each other for dropping the tag belts so they're going to take their frustrations out on each other with the other two teams watching. Bell rings and Chris gets a headlock to start.Kurt gets a doubleleg takedown but Chris rolls out of it. Chris drops Kurt with a shoulderblock but Angle ducks the line to hit a german suplex. He taunts the Guerreros but Chris uses the distraction to punch away at Kurt. Kurt still hits an overhead belly to belly suplex and once again taunts Eddie. Benoit punches Kurt and drops him with a back elbow smash. Chris covers for a deuce, hits a sidebackbreaker and covers for another two count. Chris sends Kurt into the corner then rams his head into the buckle. Chris and Kurt slug it out before Chris whips Kurt into the corner. Chris drops him with a clothesline to the back of the head and Benoit gets out of the ring to talk trash to Edge and Rey. Kurt jumps off the apron but Benoit gets a punch to the ribs. Benoit sends Angle into Rey and Edge, cleaning them out. Chris throws Benoit in and rolls back in himself. Edge wants in the ring but Rey holds him back. Benoit hits two german suplexes but Kurt blocks the third. Kurt three of his own and covers for 1...2..nooo. Kurt again taunts the Guerreros and pulls his singlet straps down. Angle goes for the Angle Slam but Chris rolls out of it and hits the crossface. Kurt grabs the legs and reverses it into the ankle lock. They roll to the corner but Benoit kicks Kurt off. Angle hits the Angle Slam and taunts the Guerreros one more time. Kurt actually locks in the El Paso Lasso to mock them and says this hold sucks. Eddie runs in and is immediately thrown over the top rope into Edge and Rey outside. Edge, Rey and the Guerreros brawl on the floor as Benoit hits a german suplex that sends Kurt flying. Then the four outside brawl into the ring and referee Mike Chioda calls for the bell. Edge sends Eddie over the top rope then Rey locks the ankle lock on Kurt with Edge joining him. Edge cuts off Benoit and puts the crossface on him but the Guerreros attack. Eddie and Chavo dump Edge and Rey but Eddie runs into the ankle lock. Benoit locks in the crossface on Edge and the refs get in the ring to break it up. This one's over....and its too bad because the match was good.

Time of match: 6:30

Winner: No one (no contest)

After the match Angle and Benoit go nose to nose and Kurt says enough. Kurt extends his hand and Chris shakes it. Kurt wants a hug and Benoit looks confused. Kurt gives him a hug and the crowd laughs. How Chris isn't laughing his ass off is beyond me. 

Backstage Heyman is trying to talk Brock out of going to the ring but Big Show looks like he's heading out there as well. Back from commercial, Tazz says Lawler didn't get Scott Steiner on Confidential, he did. Cole then runs down the card including a new match, Goldust and Hurricane vs William Regal and Lance Storm which will take place on Sunday Night Heat.

Here comes Lesnar to call out Big Show. He throws the WWE Championship down and removes his shirt. His ribs are all taped up and he grabs the mic. Lesnar says face him in the middle of the ring one on one. The crowd cheers as Heyman tries to talk Lesnar out of it. Heyman grabs the mic but Lesnar tells him to shut up much to the crowd's delight. Lesnar "Big Show, if you don't get out here. That's alright, I'll just drag your ass out." Show's music hits and here he comes. Lesnar cuts him off and sends him immediately into the steel steps, cutting Show's forearm by accident. Lesnar grabs a chair and bashes Show in the head twice then kicks away at him. Lesnar hits Show in the back twice and Show is busted wide open, that was no accident. Lesnar grabs the title belt and clocks Show with it. Show is laid out as Cole says "The giant has been slain tonight. Maybe Paul Heyman was wrong, maybe he CAN beat the Big Show." We go to a replay of what just happened as the crowd cheers Lesnar. If this was supposed to be a face turn for Brock, it worked.

We sign off with Lesnar standing tall. The sad part was the good matches on the card were cut short due to the storyline feuds. The triple threat tag match overshadowed almost the entire show except for Torrie/Dan/Al and Show/Lesnar. The fact they gave Torrie, Dawn and Al three segments is inexcusable. Still, we got our stories heading into Survivor Series. Lesnar evened the playing field a little bit to show he's not intimidated by the giant. Angle and Benoit are going to try to co-exist to win the triple threat tag match and Billy Kidman has Jamie Noble's number right now. We still got some business before Survivor Series in the form of a Saturday double shot for house shows. Raw will be in Reading, Pennsylvania this Saturday. I'll see you there.