“The Big Dog” is back, and he’s ready to reclaim his yard, in front of a hot Philadelphia crowd, at the Wells Fargo Center on 3/4/19.
Roman Reigns begins the broadcast after getting a fantastic reaction from one of the most polarizing crowds in all of wrestling. He says that last week was the comeback and this week it’s about taking his yard back. He calls out Seth Rollins, the only man standing in his way and he needs a favor.
Rollins is out and he says last week was one of the best moments of his career as it was Roman’s. He knows what it’s like to have to relinquish a title and if Reigns wants Lesnar, then he understands.
Reigns says that’s not what he wants, he wants the band back together one more time. After some debate, Rollins agrees and agrees to let bygones be bygones with Dean Ambrose.
Ambrose is called out and before he can agree to a Shield reunion, Elias comes out and slams a guitar across his back. A frustrated Ambrose is tended too by his Shield brethren, but he leaves without giving an answer.
We have a six man tag match to begin the show and old rivalries are renewed next.
Bobby Lashley/Baron Corbin/Drew McIntyre defeat Kurt Angle/Finn Balor/Braun Strowman via pin fall after a Lashley spear on Balor.
This was a quality match to open the show and it seemed as if the faces had this one in hand. Balor took to the ropes after a Strowman powerslam on Corbin, and Balor hit the Coup De Grace, but Lio Rush broke it up.
Balor is slammed on the outside by Lashley as he gave chase and then Lashley side-stepped a Strowman shoulder-block attempt and Rush was crushed through the guard rail, padding and all.
Balor is tossed back into the ring by McIntyre and he eats the spear from Lashley for the victory.
After the match, the heels lay out the faces and it renews the IC Title feud with Lashley and Balor. Angle is destroyed via a steel step shot and it seems to lay the foundation for these villains and potentially Elias against a reunited Shield. We shall see.
Batista will address his heinous actions from last week where he made his comeback. Aleister Black and Ricochet will receive a tag team title match this evening and up next, it’s old rivalries renewed as Natalya and Ruby Riott do business in singles action.
Stephanie McMahon will address what Ronda Rousey did last week, leaving the Women’s title laying in the center of the ring. She and Becky Lynch got downright brutal on social media this week. That was interesting.
Natalya defeats Ruby Riott via pin fall with a rollup.
Riott barely had a chance to get out of the blocks as this one was given only a little bit of time. Riott escaped a Sharpshooter, but afterwards, she was rolled up and that was it.
The “Sassy Southern Belle” Lacey Evans walks down after the match and she and Natalya lock eyes before Evans takes her leave. A new feud, maybe?
Colin Jost and Michael Che are announced as special guest correspondents for Wrestlemania as they have a chat with Stephanie McMahon. They are the hosts of SNL’s weekend update for folks who still enjoy the late night product. It’s a segment that serves its purpose for what it was, but to coin a phrase, this segment and fifty cents will get you a cup of coffee.
Triple H heads to the ring and we get down to business. Business is about to pick up as they say.
Dang, Triple H proceeds to cut one of the best in-ring promos of his career and that’s saying a lot. He talks about Richard Fliehr the man, and not Ric Flair, the legend. Batista is not there and he slams Philly via his Instagram account and says he won’t be there tonight, he’ll be there next in Pittsburgh, maybe, if he feels like it.
Triple H says Batista quit over the years when things didn’t go his way, he took away a moment from a legend who was almost died a year ago. Triple H says he doesn’t really care where Batista wants to go or when. He’ll go to “Dave’s” house, he can come to his, wherever and whenever. He tells Batista to have some stones and show up.
He says if he wanted his attention, he doesn’t have “The Game”. There are no characters, no gimmick, he’s standing with “Paul”, the man. He wanted his attention, he’s got it. The crowd goes bananas, this was a heck of a piece of work.
Triple H leaves and they hype the tag title match as well as singles action freshly booked between Elias and Dean Ambrose.
They recap the events of last week with the women’s title and tell us that we’ll hear about the state of the title later tonight.
Stephanie McMahon says they are doing what’s best for business. The charges against Lynch are dropped and her suspension is lifted. She will sign a hold harmless agreement and Becky Lynch and Charlotte will do business at Fastlane for the vacant Raw women’s title.
She states what Rousey did last week was blasphemy. Wow. Business has picked up once again.
Heavy Machinery will compete against three teams next after they hurt Otis’s feelings earlier. Oh boy.
Heavy Machinery defeat The B-Team/Hawkins and Ryder/The Ascension in a Gauntlet match.
This was what it was. Otis and Tucker ran through each team and quite quickly. We saw power offense, big splashed, the catepillar and an elbow drop. Not to mention, to quote a song title from the late, great Peter Tosh, we saw the further “Burial” of many of Raw’s teams and relatively quickly.
We have another sent with Jost and Che from SNL where they run into Ec3 in front of and cleaning a mirror, Titus O’Neil taking a picture, No Way Jose’s conga line and later, a confrontation with Braun Strowman after a Che bathroom break.
Torrie Wilson is announced as the latest inductee to the WWE Hall of Fame. Congrats to Torrie. She was a valuable asset to WCW and ultimately, WWE. Good for her.
Charlotte is interviewed backstage and she talks about how Becky Lynch doesn’t compare to her. She plans to put her on the shelf for good.
Seth Rollins runs into Dean Ambrose backstage as Roman Reignas did a little earlier. He pleads the case for the Shield. Ambrose says he can’t focus on this right now and he’s gotta get ready for his match.
We “Walk With Elias” as he runs down Philly, singles action is up next.
Elias defeats Dean Ambrose via pin fall after Drift Away.
Ambrose gave this a very solid effort, but he was favoring the back the entire match because of the guitar shot earlier. Elias was able to mount a come back and he countered an Ambrose offensive attempt into Drift Away.
After the match, Reigns and Rollins come down to once again plead their case. Ambrose leaves through the crowd, but then Lashley, McIntyre and Corbin head down the ramp and begin to run down the Shield. They mount an attack and just as they get the upper hand, Ambrose joins the fray. They clear the ring and lock fists, the band is back together Sunday!
Becky Lynch is backstage, still on the crutch and ready to sign her contract later tonight.
Tamina defeats Sasha Banks via pin fall with a superkick.
After Bayley shocked the world and defeated Nia Jax last week, the fifty/fifty game rears its ugly head and Tamina, who actually performed well this evening, comes away with a victory over Sasha Banks. Nia Jax distracted Banks from the outside and “The Boss” turned right into a superkick from Tamina, who followed it up with a three count.
The titles are on the line Sunday and Bayley and Banks look to retain over the heels.
As I referenced earlier, Strowman hoisted Jost from SNL in the air after this match. I went to get a coffee, it was quite good. This segment wasn’t. Michael Che is fantastic, so hopefully these two will entertain at ‘Mania. Jost was wearing a Mets hat, which got him nuclear heat.
The Revival defeat Aleister Black/Ricochet via DQ after interference from Bobby Roode and Chad Gable.
Dash Wilder shaved his ‘stache, which was different and the Revival took it to the stars of NXT in a fine match for the time allotted. Ricochet dazzled and entertained the Philly crowd as Black was able to employ his unique strikes and it looked as if the two NXT staples were poised for the victory, until the former champs appeared and spoiled everything.
Roode and Gable slowly their way down to the ring, and as the Revival spilled to the outside, they had words and then they exchanged right hands. The ref called for the DQ and it led to a heated confrontation with Black and Ricochet who cleared the ring and looked like superheroes with a moonsault into a seated position and kneeling position spot.
That was sensational. They’ll be back for sure.
Stephanie McMahon comes to the ring for the main event segment and as announced, she has held up the women’s title. Charlotte makes her way out and Lynch does the same. Lynch eventually signs the hold harmless agreement and has a stare down with Flair, but then the cameras pan backstage and here comes Ronda Rousey!
Rousey enters the ring and asks Stephanie what she’s doing. She asks for her title back and told Steph she was to take a week to think about things, she didn’t forfeit the belt. Stephanie says business is still business and Lynch and Charlotte will happen at Fastlane and if Lynch loses, she’s done. If she wins, it’s a triple threat match.
The crowd is booing Rousey and she says she is tired of playing nice and she will do whatever she wants from now on, because Stephanie is all about that bottom line and won’t risk anything to jeopardize that. She says she’s tired of playing nice and references the fans booing her in her hometown as well as Becky’s twitter tirade against her own.
Rousey goes full heel and it looks like she kills Charlotte with one simple kick. Rousey destroys Lynch, I mean, legitimately destroys her. It was either a great sell by Lynch of good ole’ fashioned stiff work from Rousey. She locks in the armbar as Charlotte just looks on and after the destruction, Stephanie McMahon hypes ‘Mania to end the show. That was great.
