This show has a lot to live up to today after the great NXT show last night. There are some great looking matches on paper so I hope they perform.
Kickoff: Matt Hardy vs Elias
This match was pretty much exactly what you would get on Raw. I would elaborate more but much like the 15 people in attendance I don't really care that much. Elias won with the Drift Away, as he should. **
Kickoff: Cruiserweight Title - Enzo Amore vs Kalisto
This starts off in fine form with Kalisto fucking up his entrance. Enzo then talks nonsense. Something about beef stew and chickens. Kalisto takes the advantage early on, hitting a slingshot Code Red. Then we go to adverts.
Back from the break Enzo is in charge. He hangs Kalisto in the tree of woe and gets some licks in. Enzo grounds Kalisto with a side headlock, like a boss. He tries to hang him in another tree of woe but Kalisto escapes.
Kalisto fights back but in the end Enzo picks up the win after running Kalisto into the turnbuckle and hitting the Sole Food. This was a nothing match that wasn't helped by the lack of crowd. At least it's only the kickoff show. **
Kickoff: Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs Breezango
I get the feeling this could be a red herring to make people think less about Owens & Zayn interfering in the main event. Owens and Zayn aren't here to wrestle idiots like Breezango. They aren't happy about not having anything better to do. They didn't get involved on Tuesday because it wasn't their fight. It was Shane's. I agree with them, Shane is a dick.
Match starts, advert break. Back from the break, Owens and Zayn are in control. They use their heelish ways to cut the ring in half and isolate Breeze. Breeze gets the hot tag and Fandango runs wild briefly. He gets his momentum cut off by Owens and it causes him to miss a top rope legdrop.
Owens drags Zayn to the corner, tags himself in and hits the pop up powerbomb for the win. This was solid enough but the outcome was obvious and advert breaks just make it feel like a TV match, which it basically was. **1/2
The Shield vs New Day
Well this is certainly a strong way to kick off the main card. New Day come out and suggest that the Shield are just waiting for the right moment to screw each other over. The crowd is hot for this one. It's not long into the match when we get Reigns vs Big E. They have a brief back and forth with neither getting the upper hand.
The Shield use the numbers to their advantage and leave Woods alone in the ring. He takes a beat down in the corner. Kingston manages to fight back and escape the deadliest move in wrestling, the Dirty Deeds. New Day take control with the Unicorn Stampede.
The match breaks down briefly and Big E hits his crazy spear to the outside. New Day continue to isolate Ambrose, he has been cut off the majority of the match. He fights back and hits a big missile dropkick and gets the hot tag to Rollins.
Rollins runs wild, hitting a buckle bomb on Woods. Reigns goes for a Superman punch but Woods avoids it and rolls him up for 2. Reigns does eventually get the Superman punch but can't get the spear as Woods kicks him in the face.
Rollins & Ambrose hit the ripcord knee/Dirty Deeds combination but the pin is broken up. Reigns gets run into the steps and Kofi hits a Trouble in Paradise on Rollins. Ambrose is down in the ring and New Day hit a unique triple team splash variation.
Big E gets both Ambrose and Rollins on his shoulders and they hit a double Midnight Hour. Reigns breaks it up by spearing Big E on top of the pin. That was really good. The match descends into an all out brawl.
Woods and Big E get taken out and Reigns hits Kofi with a spear. Reigns heads to the second rope and Kofi gets drilled with a super Shield Bomb. He's dead Jim. Shield puts Raw on the board.
This was a great way to start off the main card proceedings. The Shield have an incredible career record of great 6-man matches and New Day have been fantastic for pretty much the whole of 2017. ****1/4
Rollins & Ambrose hit the ripcord knee/Dirty Deeds combination but the pin is broken up. Reigns gets run into the steps and Kofi hits a Trouble in Paradise on Rollins. Ambrose is down in the ring and New Day hit a unique triple team splash variation.
Big E gets both Ambrose and Rollins on his shoulders and they hit a double Midnight Hour. Reigns breaks it up by spearing Big E on top of the pin. That was really good. The match descends into an all out brawl.
Woods and Big E get taken out and Reigns hits Kofi with a spear. Reigns heads to the second rope and Kofi gets drilled with a super Shield Bomb. He's dead Jim. Shield puts Raw on the board.
This was a great way to start off the main card proceedings. The Shield have an incredible career record of great 6-man matches and New Day have been fantastic for pretty much the whole of 2017. ****1/4
Raw 1-0 Smackdown Live
Stephanie is backstage with the Raw women's team, stealing their limelight.
5-on-5 Elimination Match - Alicia Fox, Asuka, Nia Jax, Bayley & Sasha Banks vs Becky Lynch, Natalya, Carmella, Tamina & Naomi
On paper this looks incredibly one sided. Team Raw has all the power, and Alicia Fox. It won't play out like that though. Asuka is over. Honestly, Asuka should murder 3 or 4 of these on her way to victory.
The captains start things off. It's a bit scrappy to start but I expect that from Fox. Bayley gets a blind tag and rolls up Lynch for a quick elimination. Alright. Natalya tags in and works over Bayley a bit but it doesn't last .
There is a period of evenness before Bayley gets hit with a splash by Tamina and is eliminated. It's 4 on 4. Nia Jax enters the match and squares off with Tamina. They have a hardest head competition, a Polynesian tradition. Jax hits a cannonball for 2. Tamina sends Nia Jax to the outside and hits a cross body, causing Jax to be counted out.
Fox comes in and in a moment of incredible sloppiness she botches her own elimination after a roll up by Naomi. She is eliminated though. Banks immediately applies the Banks Statement and Naomi is gone. Carmella gets cocky and angers Asuka. She is rewarded by getting her face kicked off and she is eliminated.
We are down to Banks & Asuka vs Natalya & Tamina. Banks gets the best of Natalya, applying the Banks Statement, but Tamina breaks it up. Banks goes hard into the turnbuckle and gets put in the Sharpshooter. She goes to make the tag but Tamina knocks Asuka off the apron and Banks has to tap.
Asuka is left with 2 on 1 odds. She gets beat down for a short period but she's Asuka and Tamina is Tamina. Asuka hits a rolling armbar and Tamina is gone. That leaves Asuka vs Natalya. Nattie goes for the Sharpshooter but Asuka reverses it into a leglock. Natalya fights out but Asuka applies the Asuka lock and this is over. Asuka is the sole survivor.
This match did some things right, the booking was pretty much spot on as Asuka won, eliminating 3 members of the opposition team, but overall it was a bit sloppy and disjointed. Alicia Fox and Tamina aren't really good enough to be holding their own in matches like this. **1/2
This match did some things right, the booking was pretty much spot on as Asuka won, eliminating 3 members of the opposition team, but overall it was a bit sloppy and disjointed. Alicia Fox and Tamina aren't really good enough to be holding their own in matches like this. **1/2
Raw 2 - 0 Smackdown Live
Stephanie McMahon and Daniel Bryan have a chat backstage. She looks like she wants to eat him alive. Steph says Raw will run the table and accuses Bryan of nepotism. Bryan laughs and schools her on the meaning of nepotism.
The Miz vs Baron Corbin
Miz uses the Miztourage to distract Corbin early on but it doesn't last and Corbinmanages to get the upper hand, attacking Miz in front of Maryse. Maryse distracts Corbin allowing Miz to fight back. Corbin kicks Miz into the barricade from the apron.
Corbin is favouring his knee and Miz focuses on it, using chop blocks and other attacks. Corbin gets distracted by Miztourage again, hitting a big boot on Axel and an End of Days on Dallas. The distraction allows Miz to go for a roll up but Corbin kicks out. Miz escapes an End of Days attempt and chop blocks Corbin.
Miz hits a DDT for a 2 count and hits a corner clothesline but walks into an End of Days. That's all she wrote for Miz. Smackdown is on the board. They did a good job with what they had here. It was a solid match and it had a clean finish. Not bad. ***
Miz hits a DDT for a 2 count and hits a corner clothesline but walks into an End of Days. That's all she wrote for Miz. Smackdown is on the board. They did a good job with what they had here. It was a solid match and it had a clean finish. Not bad. ***
Raw 2 - 1 Smackdown Live
Paul Heyman cuts a promo on tonight's main event. He's great as always.
The Bar vs The Usos
These two teams have had great years and they have helped make WWE's tag division one of the best in the world. Sheamus looks like he has a circular saw blade on his head. Usos take the early advantage before Cesaro turns the tide.
The Bar ground the Usos and isolate Jimmy in their corner. Just as he looks like he will make the tag Jey gets knocked off the apron. The Bar hit a pop up European uppercut for a near fall. Sheamus goes for his 10 Beats of the Bodhran but it gets reversed and the Usos are back in the match.
Jey gets the hot tag and hits a Samoan drop. Hip attack in the corner for 2. The Usos work double teams for another near fall. Jey heads up top but Cesaro cuts him off. He hits him with an uppercut and follows up with the swing and a sharpshooter.
Sheamus takes out Jimmy with a Brogue kick so he can't make the save but Jey manages to fight his way out of it. Great sequence. Double team White Noise from The Bar but the pin is broken up. The Usos fight off a Doomsday Device and hit a Samoan drop off Cesaro's shoulders. Superkicks all round from the Usos. They hit a suicide dive and a big splash and level things up for Team Blue.
A really good match. The tag team division in WWE is excellent right now and it has become almost second nature that the matches will deliver. ***3/4
Jey gets the hot tag and hits a Samoan drop. Hip attack in the corner for 2. The Usos work double teams for another near fall. Jey heads up top but Cesaro cuts him off. He hits him with an uppercut and follows up with the swing and a sharpshooter.
Sheamus takes out Jimmy with a Brogue kick so he can't make the save but Jey manages to fight his way out of it. Great sequence. Double team White Noise from The Bar but the pin is broken up. The Usos fight off a Doomsday Device and hit a Samoan drop off Cesaro's shoulders. Superkicks all round from the Usos. They hit a suicide dive and a big splash and level things up for Team Blue.
A really good match. The tag team division in WWE is excellent right now and it has become almost second nature that the matches will deliver. ***3/4
Raw 2 - 2 Smackdown Live
Jason Jordan cuts a promo. He is a sad panda.
Alexa Bliss vs Charlotte Flair
Bliss gets the advantage early on by pulling Charlotte off the apron. Bliss grounds Charlotte with a submission hold, heel 101. Charlotte tries to escape but gets slammed back down. Charlotte then gets sent into the corner.
Charlotte manages to hit an exploder into the turnbuckles to temporarily gain momentum. She heads up top but gets cut off. Bliss follows up with knees to the back. The following section is pretty sloppy but Bliss manages to hit a Code Red.
Charlotte counters a DDT and lays in the trademark Flair chops. Bliss hits some poor looking strikes, slaps really, and locks in a guillotine. Charlotte fights back and hits a sitout powerbomb for 2, and a Natural Selection for another near fall.
Charlotte misses a moonsault and Bliss hits a big right hand and a DDT but Charlotte gets her foot on the rope. Bliss throws a shit fit and Charlotte hits a spear but only gets a 2 count. Bliss goes for the Twisted Bliss but Charlotte gets the knees up. Charlotte hits a big boot and locks in the Figure 8 for the win.
This was fine but it never really seemed to gather any momentum. Bliss is still really hit and miss in the ring. If she can improve in that regard the sky is the limit, but as it stands she is better at building matches than executing them. **1/2
Raw 2 - 3 Smackdown Live
Brock Lesnar vs AJ Styles
Well this is a match I didn't think I'd see. This could be anything from great to massively disappointing. Heyman does the entrance for Lesnar. The crowd is pumped for this, as they should be.
Lesnar immediately drills Styles in the corner and throws him across the ring a couple of times. Lesnar drags Styles across the ring by his hair and hits a massive belly to belly suplex out of the corner. Massive German suplex. Lesnar just fucking lobs Styles out of the ring.
Lesnar drills Styles into the announce table in typical Lesnar fashion. Humungous German. He sent him all the way across the ring. Lesnar murders Styles with a huge knee. Lesnar is toying with Styles here.
AJ fights back and gets a nice pop for it but one knee is all it takes to put Lesnar back in control. Lesnar goes for the F5 but Styles fights out and manages to ground Lesnar by taking out his knee. He follows up with kicks and a Pele kick.
He goes for the Phenomenal Forearm but gets turned inside out by a German suplex. Lesnar inadvertently sends himself to the floor and Styles takes advantage by hitting a slingshot forearm. Lesnar staggers around ringside and Styles hits another forearm with the aid of the ring steps.
Styles hits an enziguri, an Asai moonsault and a springboard 450 for the first near fall of the match. Styles escapes the F5 and locks in the the Calf Crusher. Lesnar struggles to escape and has to resort to absolutely drilling Styles' head into the mat repeatedly.
Lesnar goes for an F5 but Styles escapes again. He follows up with a Phenomenal Forearm for a cracking near fall. Styles goes for it again but Lesnar catches him and hits the F5 to pick up a hard fought win.
I make no apologies whatsoever for how much I loved this match. It was fucking great. Lesnar has been excellent this year but I don't think there is anyone that could have executed this match better than Styles did. There were a couple of sloppy moments but they did nothing to diminish my enjoyment. Best match of the weekend. ****1/2
Lesnar goes for an F5 but Styles escapes again. He follows up with a Phenomenal Forearm for a cracking near fall. Styles goes for it again but Lesnar catches him and hits the F5 to pick up a hard fought win.
I make no apologies whatsoever for how much I loved this match. It was fucking great. Lesnar has been excellent this year but I don't think there is anyone that could have executed this match better than Styles did. There were a couple of sloppy moments but they did nothing to diminish my enjoyment. Best match of the weekend. ****1/2
Raw 3 - 3 Smackdown Live
5-on-5 Elimination Match - Kurt Angle, Triple H, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor & Samoa Joe vs Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, John Cena, Shinsuke Nakamura & Bobby Roode
I had written up this match, just like the others, but after it had finished I decided to delete it and rewrite it differently. Here are some things that happened in this match:
- The first 5-10 minutes are pretty good, with a bunch of match ups we haven't seen.
- Nakamura and Roode were the first two eliminated.
- Braun gets put through an announce table and has a nap for about 20 minutes.
- Joe is the next one gone, eliminated by Cena after arguing with Balor for literally no reason.
- Cena is eliminated by Angle.
- Orton eliminates Balor.
- Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens run in but Shane McMahon fights them off singlehandedly and they don't return. Yeah.
- Braun finally wakes up and eliminates Orton leaving Shane McMahon, the non wrestler, as the only remaining member of his team.
- The other team has two 48 year old part timers still left.
- Shane is the only member of his team left and has been outside the ring for ages but the referee can't be arsed to count him out apparently.
- Shane manages to hold on in the Angle lock for about 3 weeks.
- Triple H attacks Angle, allowing Shane to pin him. There is no rhyme or reason to it. He just does it.
- Shane looks bewildered, Braun looks bewildered, I look bewildered.
- Triple H hits a pedigree and eliminates Shane, winning the match.
- After the match, Triple H tries to celebrate with Braun but Braun chokes him and tells him never to screw with him again. Triple H doesn't heed his words and tries to attack him from behind but eats 2 running powerslams for his troubles. It was the best moment of the match other than the first portion.
I'm not sure how they managed to fuck this match up so badly. While the actual wrestling is fine, the booking is a masterclass in nonsense. The only upcoming star that benefited from this match was Braun and that is questionable as he spent most of the match asleep. Balor, Joe, Nakamura & Roode eliminated a combined total of zero people. It is now official that Shane McMahon is the second biggest wrestler on Smackdown (behind Styles) as he can outlast his team and beat up Owens and Zayn on his own. The finish made absolutely no sense either as the commentary was trying to put it over as HHH sacrificing Angle to pin Shane but that is a dumb narrative as Shane was in the Angle lock in the middle of the ring with nobody left to help him. The whole thing came across as a vessel for HHH, a man who definitely doesn't need it. Everybody came off looking a bit like a mug. *
Raw 4 - 3 Smackdown Live
Overall Grade - B (before main event), C (after main event)
Up until the main event this show seemed like it would be a fun show with some great matches on it but the last match left a bad taste in the mouth. All it needed to be was a fun clusterfuck of a match but they misjudged it very badly indeed. Styles vs Lesnar is fantastic though and deserves a watch by everyone.
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