This week in Pro Wrestling, we talk post
NXT Wargames and Survivor Series 2019! Seth Rollins a heel? AEW’s Dynamite Diamond Ring winner crowned. Will Scorpio Sky dethrone Chris Jericho? NXT titles on the line. A farewell to a NXT staple. A new “face” for Firefly Fun House. Let’s dive in to all!
RAW:
Seth Addresses the Raw Roster’s Survivor Series Performance
We open on Seth Rollins, who decides to give a motivational speech and post-mortem of Raw’s poor performance at Survivor Series. The entire Raw locker room was at ringside as Rollins declared how much they all sucked. He called Orton a weak link, said Charlotte wasn’t a leader, and even got onto Rey Mysterio and his “stupid kid.” This caused almost of the talent to leave ringside and head backstage while Rollins’ rant continues, with only Kevin Owens remaining. Owens hits Rollins with a Stunner as his own protest and walks out.
I honestly think this would have been a better backstage segment, as a kickoff to the show where Rollins is telling them in his heel-way to be better and go have a good show.
Bobby Lashley vs. Titus O’Neil
Just before the match, we see that Rusev has been handed a restraining order, barring him from the arena. Lashley seemed like he would have an easy time with O’Neil but Rusev showed up, defying the restraining order and attacking Lashley, resulting in a disqualification and Rusev being arrested.
This was a decent segment but I would have liked to see the restraining order and match spaced out further, and maybe seeing Rusev sneaking around backstage during other segments. Add some tension and maybe humor, as no one expected him to stay out.
Authors of Pain vs. Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder
AoP dominated this match, obviously a push and glad to see Hawkins and Ryder doing the J.O.B. for them. AoP hit the Super Collider into a neckbreaker/powerbomb
Andrade vs. Akira Tozawa
Another squash match and one I’m not sure if I can get behind. Andrade may be getting a push but I feel like Tozawa isn’t getting respect. Andrade hit a hammerlock DDT for the win.
Buddy Murphy vs. Matt Hardy
Matt showed some great focus here and glad to see his return to form, no longer his Broken persona and going a little more old school, or at least as old school as a Hardy can be. Murphy recovered enough to hit Hardy with some knee strikes and knocked out Hardy.
Post-Match, Murphy decided to mock Aleister Black, which did not end well. Black headed to the rind and hit a devastating knee to Murphy.
I liked this in a way I didn’t think I would. Hardy putting Murphy over was nice, though it wasn’t what I would want from a return match for Matt, but I will say that everyone kneeing everyone is a bit redundant.
The Match That Wasn’t
Humberto Carrillo heads down the ramp but is stopped by The O.C. before he can start the match. AJ Styles mocked Humberto before Ricochet came out and challenged AJ to a title match, followed by Randy Orton, then Drew McIntyre, and finally Rey Mysterio. This pivoted into a Fatal 4-Way to decide the number one contender.
This was a great setup and actually had me excited for a match I may have been lukewarm on if it didn’t have this beginning.
Ricochet vs. Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Rey Mysterio (No. 1 Contender)
A great match, each competitor being some good spots and no one looking too weak. McIntyre had some great momentum until Orton hit an RKO. The O.C laid out Orton, knowing he was a big threat, and Rey was able to catch Ricochet with a classic roll-up.
This wasn’t the best match of the night but a heck of a setup to the United States Championship match, which AJ announced would happen immediately!
United States Champion AJ Styles vs. Rey Mysterio
Styles attempted to make short work of Mysterio, who was exhausted and dealing with injuries. Rey was able to regain some momentum, battling back and hitting a 619 on Styles. The O.C. attempted to put Rey out of commission but Orton was able to take them down before delivering an RKO to Styles, allowing Mysterio to hit a Frog Splash to win.
A great match and very in character for Orton, who was obviously trying to set up an easier match-up in the future. Great storytelling and great pacing!
Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka
If anyone was going to show up the previous matches, it would be Flair and Asuka. Early on, Flair showed that she knew she could take Asuka one-on-one and had to deal with Kairi Sane as well. This worked out well for her, almost clinching the win, but Sane was able to distract Flair enough to allow Asuka to spray Flair with her green mist and take the win via pinfall.
It was nice seeing Asuka get the win over Charlotte and there was some great chemistry here.
Erick Rowan vs. Kyle Roberts
I really don’t understand this match-up. An obvious squash match in a night of squash matches. Rowan wins and I feel like my time was wasted in even typing this.
Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens
Rollins did a great job in his heel role, attempting to avoid Owens and counter his attacks. Between a pop-up powerbomb and a stunner, and as both men were recovering, Authors of Pain intervened and attacked KO. They ignored Seth Rollins, even as he was goading them into a confrontation.
While I enjoyed most of this matchup, I feel like Seth hasn’t found the right shtick as a heel. Antagonizing AoP didn’t make sense to me as Seth Rollins isn’t intimidating enough for me to see him actually get the best of them two on one. He should be more opportunistic and underhanded in his approach when he is outnumbered. He may be The Beastslayer but he shouldn’t be acting like a beast himself.-Patrick S.
AEW Dynamite:
This week on Dynamite in the same town that WWE just left, the inaugural Dynamite Diamond Ring winner is crowned. AEW World title match! A debut of a new faction and the American Nightmare returns and Omega vs Pac! This is Dynamite!
Le Champion celebration. Friends vs Bros. Women’s Tag match.
Le Champion pops a little bit of the bubbly.
The master of reinventing, Chris Jericho has a special Thanksgiving Thank-You party. Non other than Soul Train Jones (Virgil for you old school fans) kicks of the festivities. Jericho then states that there is a $0.50 off coupon for his new shirt under SOME of the seats (very generous). Also, staes that “A Little Bit Of The Bubbly” is now on sale. No, really this is real thing.
Sammy then gifts Jericho a cut out of them hugging, hilarious. Proud and Powerful presents Chris a gift basket with the Puerto Rican headband, a little bit of the 40, and declares Jericho a Boricua. Jake Hager presents The Pain Maker a goat, Chris Jeri-GOAT. Lastly Jercho’s father emerges and berates the town, just like his son would.
AEW usually doesn’t start with segments, but this was hilarious and only Jericho could pull it off. However, the use of animals should really stop. First it was Cody’s dog Pharaoh being scared by the pyros. Now it’s JeriGOAT the was terrified from the crowd and environment. There can be a good segment without stressing out animals AEW.
Best Friends vs Lucha Bros. Best Friends win via Crunchie pin fall.
Always a good match with these four men fighting. Also, it is always a plus to see Orange Cassidy dressed as a chill turkey. The match was fast and surprisingly short, with it being an upset as well. Lucha Bros attack from behind, Trent gets a hot tag and almost pin fall. Then Chuck Taylor puts away Fenix with a Crunchie. If you haven’t know by now, Taylor looks poised to become a singles star and his recent pin falls suggest so. Maybe Orange Cassidy will take his place ala’ New Day like faction.
Hikaru Shida/Kris Statlander vs Emi Sakura/Bea Pristley. Emi wins via Cradle pin fall.
A match with the number ranked women’s contender (Shida), a fresh face (Stratlander) and two ladies on a losing streak (Emi and Bea). I am still confused on who are the true faces and heels. Like Emi with her Freddie Mercury tributes and letting kids sing into the mic, but goes heel in the ring. However the thing to take away from this is Kris Stratlander, a quick and powerful talent. Also, a takeaway from this was Jim Ross’s questionable comments on Asians. Kris gets a hot tag and displays her power move sets only to have Emi’s veteran awareness get the win. I’m really intrigued by Kris as she has all the tools right now to make an impact.
The American Nightmare returns! Sloppy debut of a new faction. Omega vs Pac!
Cody squashes.
Cody Rhodes arrives with his fantastic entrance, I seriously do not tire of it. Once in the ring Cody squares off against local talent Matt Knicks. Matt seems to be popular in the area, as he recieved a big pop from the crowd. Alas, this is Cody’s return. A return from a brutal match that left a real life scar on The Dashing One’s face. Cody hits a springboard Cutter and locks in the Figure Four for the quick squash. But wait, there’s more!
WTF AEW pt 1.
As soon as Cody is going to talk on the mic, someone emerges from bottom of the ring and attacks Cody. Jim Ross, the crowd, and I’m sure 99% of the TV audience were confused. Excalibur attempts to save and or explain the person and yells “It”s THE BLADE!!!”, JR quips “who?”. Then another emerges, “THE BUTCHER!!” Excalibur exclaims, JR again says “who?”. Lastly The Bunny arrives and I go “Oh, that’s Allie form Impact Wrestling”, but the masses won’t know that. I didn’t even recognize Allie’s real life husband, Braxton Sutter aka Pepper Parks who also wrestled in Impact.
This was complete mess of a debut, not even your veteran commentator knew who they were. I get AEW wants to create organic excitement, but they could’ve give some notes to the commentating team. At least give the faction a video package teaser, this would help the crowd and TV audience. The final nail in this horrible debut was the fact a usually smart Chicago crowd was chanting “WHO ARE YOU?!”.. ouch.
Kenny Omega vs Pac. Omega wins via Crucifix pin fall.
THE… BEST… MATCH… OF… THE…NIGHT! Seriously, these two men can be asleep and pull off a good match, so when they’re conscious it’s going to great. Both had time to hit their greatest hits in this match. From Omega’s Snap Dragon Suplex, V-Triggers, almost a One-Winged Angel, more on that later. To Pac’s beautiful Moonsault to the outside, Black Arrow, and a stupid impressive Falcon’s Arrow from the top rope! The only thing that somewhat derailed the match was the lengthy commercial breaks. Honestly AEW, you couldn’t put those in another match?
The closing minutes of the match was hot paced filled with ooo’s and ah’s. The Bastard turns Omega inside out with a fierce lariat, then takes a prone Kenny from the top turnbuckle and hits the Falcon’s Arrow, INSANE! After Omega kicks out, Pac goes for a Black Arrow. Kenny dodges it, lands a V-Trigger, and sets up the Onw-Winged Angel. The Bastard shimmies out and the duo go into a rolling pin fall counter-fest. Omega has the last counter and secure the win.
While this match was fantastic, the commercials halted the pace. Also, I am concerned with the 50/50 booking for these two. I guess, the only way AEW has to make the duo look strong so far is this way. However, they can benefit a rock star treatment in booking.
AEW Dynamite Ring match. A brawl. AEW World Championship match.
MJF vs Adam Hangman Page for the AEW Dynamite Diamond Ring. MJF wins via… well, we will get to that.
A classic face vs heel match, with Hangman going berserk on MJF. However, the opportunistic heel MJF brought Wardlow for insurance. As you may predicted, Wardlow saved MJF numerous times throughout the bout. There was a questionable move that had MJF put his hands on a ref that should’ve led to a DQ, but didn’t. Which leads to Wardlow connecting to Page’s jaw while MJF distracts the ref. MJF then finish off Page with a very sloppy Cross Roads. In which, I think the commentators try to cover it up with calling it the Double Cross. Even though it was a horrendous finisher, I kind of bought in to it. Since it is Cody’s finisher, MJF shouldn’t be a master of the move.. yet.
Afterwards Legend Diamond Dallas Page arrives to bestow the ring onto MJF. DDP states that even though MJF won, his tactics have been questionable lately. Diamond Dallas extends his hand in congratulation, but MJF puts his chewing gum on Page’s hand. This leads the two go face to face and Wardlow interfering. The DDP had the best line of the night in “You look kind of really stupid when a 63yr old man kicking your ass all over the streets of Chicago!”. A short brawl ensues, but sadly no Diamond Cutter.
WTF AEW pt2.
Cody’s older brother and now with a broken arm, Dustin Rhodes arrives to cut a promo. a promo that lasted about three sentences. Then Sammy, Santana, and Ortiz from Inner Circle attack. Leading to The Young Bucks for the save, a Triple Super Kick party, and a Triple Shattered Dreams ends the brawl. Honestly I have no idea why this segment got the green light. It really didn’t add anything tho the overall Elite vs Inner Circle feud. Maybe it was there just to eat up time.
Chris Jericho vs Scorpio Sky for the AEW World Championship. Jericho retains via Lion Tamer submission.
This was a good match, you wouldn’t tell from the crowd reaction though. Wrestling fatigue and or being spoiled by fantastic match over the weekend may have set in. Yet this was still a good match. The first half was just setting up the great second half.
That’s were it heated up, with Jericho becoming frustrated in Sky’s determination. Jericho locks in a Lion Tamer only to be broken up and Chris takes it out on ref Aubrey. With distracted, Scorpio cinches in a Dragon Sleeper only to have Jake Hagar interfering. SCU’s Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels run in to take out Hagar.
Sky then hits an impressive top turnbuckle Huricanrana on Jericho, then a Step-Up Enzuigiri for two. Scorpio then climbs the ropes, but Le Champion catches Sky mid-air with a Code Breaker. Only for a two count, the staggered Sky then wildly kicks at The Pain Maker. Which leads for Jericho to counter and slap on the Lion Tamer for the second and last time for the win. Again, good match, Scorpio Sky is going to be a mega star very soon in AEW. The ttile match should just a be a small road bump in his quest of glory.
A new challenger arrives!
While Le Champion celebrates, a certain intro music hits. The music of non other than JON MOXELY! The crowd erupts as Moxley walks through the crowd and staring down Chris Jericho. The List Maker is not concerned as he invites Moxley down the ring and show goes off the air, leaving me wanting more. Moxley vs Jericho? Yes, please!!! Here is all my money I saved up!
Afterthoughts:
This is probably the worst Dynamite show yet. Mind you Dynamite is only about two months old. The early on problems that plagues Dynamite are still present. Lack of character story for majority of the roster, the difference between the ladies faces and heels, and sub par commentating. The Dark Order had another great video package this week explaining themselves. These packages can greatly benefit about 80% of the roster. With Dynamite still being in its infancy stage, these problems can come off as small and hopefully AEW correct them in the future.-David G.
NXT:
NXT put on a great Wargames show on Saturday, and followed that up by dominating Raw and Smackdown at Survivor Series Sunday night. Back in front of their home crowd at Full Sail almost the entire roster engaged in a massive celebration with the fans.
Four guys not participating in the revelry were the members of Undisputed Era, who claimed none of what had been accomplished would have been possible without them. Ciampa responded that with Wargames over, nothing stands between him and Goldie. However, Finn Balor showed up and physicially stood between Ciampa and Goldie, setting up a match for later.
NXT Tag Title Match
Based on their performances over the weekend, Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic were granted a shot at Undisputed Era’s tag titles. Early on something happened to Bobby Fish, and when the show returned from commercial he had been replaced in the match by Roderick Strong.
There was a brief tease of tension between former foes Lee and Dijakovic, but overall the two men were quite dominant. They hit several memorable spots including Dijakovic suplexes Lee on top of both foes and Dijakovic simultaneously powerbombing O’Reilly with one hand while chokeslamming Strong with the other. Meanwhile, the extremely tenacious men of UE fought on and focused their attacks at taking out the legs of their larger opponents.
Late in the match Adam Cole tried to get involved, but he never made it all the way down the ramp. Keith Lee hit him with a shoulder tackle so hard he went flying 3 rows deep into the audience. With both faces in stunned awe at just how far Cole had flown, Strong and O’Reilly hit the High-Low on Dijakovic for the win.
Big Sister Mode
Following a recap of the Women’s Wargames and Dakota Kai’s heel turn, Candice LeRae was interviewed backstage. She says that Tegan Nox is like family, and that she knows Nox will eventually get her own revenge. However tonight, Kai gets to face Tegan’s ticked off big sister.
Kai got new, darker music to go along with her new aggressively malicious attitude (why has this still not happened for the Kabuki Warriors???). She also came out carrying Tegan’s knee brace to drive home her bad girl status. Both women brought the aggression required of the story being told. LeRae nearly won with a Gargano escape, but Kai got her hands on the knee brace and picked up a DQ for using it as a weapon.
Post-match, Kai tried to do even more damage to LeRae with a steel chair, but she was chased off by Rhea Ripley.
Future Building
Mansoor picked up a statement victory over Shane Thorne, a man who has seemingly seen an end to his brief push. A video package provided some insight into the character of rising star Cameron Grimes. Finally, Xia Li picked up a dominant win over Vanessa Borne to continue her momentum streak.
Following Li’s victory she was attacked by the trio of Baszler, Duke, and Shaffir. She held her own at first, but the numbers were just too much. Once again it was Rhea Ripley who made the save, and this time she got to have a nice war of words with the champion Baszler.
Cruiserweight Title Match
Fresh off a triple threat victory against representatives from Raw and Smackdown on Sunday, Lio Rush found himself once again defending the gold. Raw Akira Tozawa claimed this opportunity based on the fact that he was not the man who got pinned at Survivor Series. It was a mix of fast paced grappling as well as the expected air time. Rush eventually retained with 2 back to back frog splashes.
Main Event
The main event of the week was the Ciampa vs Balor match set up at the top of the show. This almost felt like a match too big to be given away on weekly TV with no hype, but hopefully enough eyes were on the show based on what NXT did over the weekend. The 2 foes are fairly evenly match in size and have phenomenal chemistry in the ring. They could easily headline multiple TakeOver events in the future, but for now this is an unofficial battle between guys who both want Goldie.
Interference from Adam Cole allowed Balor to hit the 1916 DDT for the win. Cole seemingly thought he and Balor were on the same page, but a pele kick from the latter sent a clear message that “The Prince” is on no one’s side but his own.
Farewell Ref Jess!
After the broadcast ended, Ciampa took to the mic to lead the NXT Universe in saying farewell to long time referee Jessika Carr. She’s not going too far, but she is moving on from the Gold brand to the Blue brand and will now exclusively be working Smackdown matches. Good luck, Ref Jess!
NXT UK
One (Final) Roadblock
Piper Niven has her sights set on chasing the UK Women’s title currently held by Kay Lee Ray, but former foe Jinny won’t get out of the way without one last battle. Jinny had her insurance policy Jazzy Gabert ringside, but the German powerhouse got caught interfering a few too many times. The ref eventually ejected her from ringside, and Jinny was left on her own.
In my personal opinion, Jinny got a bit too much offense considering how well Niven has been built up to this point. Thankfully, a Michinoku Driver finally got the job done for the Scot. After the match, Niven called out the champ to stake her claim at a title shot. Alas, former champion Toni Storm also returned and made it clear she too wants the belt back.
Dereiss Gordon vs Eddie Dennis
The announcers talked up newcomer Gordon as having been trained by Trent Seven. It’s unclear if this is accurate, or simply something being used to build the budding feud between Seven and the newly returned Dennis. Gordon was one of the most impressive enhancement talents I’ve seen used in the UK thus far, so perhaps he has more of a future than this appearance might imply. There was never any doubt though that Dennis was winning and has a date with Trent Seven sooner rather than later.
Ashton Smith vs Noam Dar
This match was set up in a hallway last week, and Smith did manage to do a bit better than anticipated given his place on the card most weeks. In the end though, this was another obvious win for the braggadocious heel.
Gang Warfare
It’s time at last for Imperium and Gallus (with Ilja Dragunov) to collide in a four on four tag match. Alexander Wolfe started things off against the man called Wolfgang, but Imperium was a well oiled machine who tagged in and out frequently. Gallus changed things up less frequently, but each man still got his moment.
When the young Russian Dragunov got into the match he was a flurry of fast and firey offense. He was absolutely unstoppable until the Ring General brought his momentum to a screeching halt. From there, Ilja was isolated from his team for an extended run as the “face in peril.” It wasn’t until he finally got a tag to one of the current tag champs that Wolfgang and Mark Coffey were finally able to even things up for their side again.
The moment everyone had been waiting for finally happened when Joe Coffey and Walter tagged in opposite one another. They kept the encounter brief so as not to give too much away. Eventually all 8 men were brawling all around the ringside and into the audience. The referee called for the bell, presumably counting out both teams, and the show closed in chaos.-Jason M.
Friday Night SmackDown:
Big surprise returns for SmackDown tonight! A new “face” will appear on the Firefly Fun House. Roman Reigns protects his yard. Lacey Evans has had enough. New Day issues an Open Challenge for the tag team titles. The Fiend may have changed Daniel Bryan forever. Find out how right here!
Big Dog runs over The Glorious one. The new face on Firefly Fun House. Surprise return before a great match.
Roman Reigns vs Bobby Roode. Roman win via Superman Punch to Spear pin fall.
The Big Dog opens the show with a rah-rah speech that drew out King Corbin. Corbin blames Reigns for almost costing the Survior Series match. What does the King do? Send in his lackey Bobby Roode ( I still have trouble calling Roode a lackey) of course! Roode and Reigns duke it out with Bobby in control. Then just like always, The Big Dog finds a way to fight out, hits the Superman Punch and Spear for the win. Afterwards, Corbin and Roode attack Roman and Bobby hits Roman with Corbin’s scepter. Again, Roman fires up and destroys Roode by slamming him under chairs and the announcer’s table.
Roode and Roman have great in ring chemistry. Hopefully this feud between Roman and Corbin ends quickly. So that Roman can go on to better, more creative feuds in the future, like against Roode.
Firefly Fun House’s new “face”.
Bray Wyatt makes good on his promise, but it may be one that some the fans wanted. The majority still want a real life Sister Abigail, with Liv Morgan rumored to be her. Alas, what we got was a new WWE Universal Championship, yeah the same one that was just changed. Custom title is The Fiend’s mask stretched over where the gold would be. I myself do not like it at all, yet there others that love it and feels like it fits The Fiend. It is a polarizing title to say the least.
The Celtic Warrior returns! Mustafa Ali vs Drew Gulak. Ali wins via 450 Splash pin fall.
Before the match, Sheamus returns backstage and states that SmacDown is spineless and he will change that. The match was a classic that was overshadowed by Sheamus’s return. Gulak and Ali just put on a show stealing match, pivotal strikes and counters throughout the match. Making it a sprint like match, with Ali hitting 450 Splash for the pin fall. Both men need wins, however Ali is still getting the push.
Lacey Evans turns face. BFF’s reunited. New Day open challenge.
Sasha Banks and Bayley address the women’s locker room.
Banks with Bayley calls out the locker room, and states this not going to be a rah-rah speech, that is for Raw. Um, Sasha.. did you missed the opening of SmackDown? Anyways, the duo insults the locker room with Carmella will never be as rich as Sasha. Bayley continues Evans insults and Banks finishes up with saying the entire division makes her sick.
Cue up Lacey Evans’ music, Evans goes on about her qualities as the crowd erupts with “Evans” chants. See WWE? That is organic crowd reaction, now don’t mess it up! Lacey ends the segment with blasting Banks with the Women’s Right and exiting. Nice to see Lacey finally getting a good, organic pop from the crowd.
Nikki Cross vs Sonya DeVille. Cross wins via roll up pin fall.
A short match that seemed only to reintroduce Alexa Bliss. The usual DeVille in control, Cross fires up, Mandy Rose interferes. This time the interference actually cost DeVille and Cross rolls up Sonya for the win. Just as Fire and Desire attack Cross, Bliss runs in for the save with a big pop. Bliss works over Fire And Desire then hits a Double DDT with Cross on Rose. The BFF’s embrace in a hug afterwards. I was skeptical about the Bliss/Cross friendship early on, but this time it seems to actually work. Let’s just hope WWE stay consistent with the duo and stop flip flopping them between heel and face.
The Drifter returns!
Elias interrupts an awkward segment between Dana Brookes, Drake Maverick, and some mistletoe. As Dana is disgusted by a married Drake’s advances the Drifter states that he was a journey sings a song about Maverick’s wife finding out. Nice to see Elias back, hopefully he won’t be buried again.
New Day open challenge. New Day vs Cesaro/Shinsuke Nakamura for the SmackDown Tag Team titles. New Day retains via Trouble in Paradise pin fall.
Sami Zayn of course speaks for the Shin/Cesaro team and shames the crowd for enjoying the holidays.. and Black Friday. The two team commence in the bout, in which could have been a contender to match of the night with Ali/Drew. It is a crime that WWE can not seem to utilize Shin/Cesaro and the only way they shine is with workers like New Day. Sami attempts to use the pancake platter to interfere but the Ref catches him. Now Cesaro argues with the Ref allowing to Kofi to hit the Trouble in Paradise for the win. Good match, while displaying the talents of Shin/Cesaro.
The Fiend will change Daniel Bryan.
Miz runs into Bryan backstage and asks him to reconsider facing the Fiend. The A-Lister in a rare show of respect to Daniel, tells him that Bryan is too important to SmackDown. Daniel Bryan gives a death stares and it shuts up The Miz.
Daniel comes out and cuts a promo that he doesn’t want The Fiend to change him like he did Seth Rollins. Bryan states that the fans passion, voice, and energy made him realize on what peron he should’ve been all along. The Leader of the Yes Movement stated that the Movement is dead, but maybe, just maybe the fans could bring it back to life. Bryan then asks the crowd if he should accept The Fiend’s challenge and the crowed erupts with “YES! YES!”YES!”. It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t join you said Daniel Bryan, and so he does.
The Firefly Fun House music hits and Bray states that The Fiend will change him and will take Bryan’s mask off. Wyatt then say he almost forgot that he promised a new friend and he is a man of his word. The light cut out and turn red, as The Fiend pops out of the apron dragging a fighting Daniel under. What follows if The Fiend ripping out chunks of seemingly Daniel Bryan’s hair. More and more hair is displayed on the apron as The Fiend manically laughs and the show ends.
Afterthoughts:
It was an ok show, Ali and Drew were fantastic! The SmackDown roster benefited from long injured talents returning tonight. Like how a pro sports team regains a star talent in time for a big game. Yet, I am just confused at the rest of the show, DeVille continues to be a jobber when she should be a star. Same goes for Shinsuke and Cesaro. Plus what is the point of returning talent when WWE can not get existing talent a push?
The whole Daniel Bryan/Fiend story arc is just as confusing to me. I am glad we git back the crowd favorite Bryan, but is it only to sacrifice him to The Fiend? With The Fiend holding the belt and looking unstoppable, how will WWE take the belt of Bray and keep the character strong? We will see in time… we will see.-David G
205 Live:
After missing out of last week because of the NXT Wargames and Survivor Series extravaganza. 205 Live is back! A fantastic main event and a ho hum start. Mix in a squash match and we have the underrated and under utilized WWE show. But that main event was a banger! Let’s dive in.
Aryiya Daivari vs Raul Mendoza. Daivari wins via Hammerlock Lariat pin fall.
This could’ve been another banger like the main event, but it lacked a fast pace and the crowd was really dead for it. It really was shame as the men pulled out some great moves like Mendoza hitting a Tijeras, a Springboard Tijeras, and followed it up with a Suicide Dive! Daivari slowed the match down and gain control with a Chinlock. Raul breaks free but it was short lived as Aryiya throws Raul in the turnbuckles.
Near the end the pace picked up, with Daivari hitting an Uranage for a two count. Mendoza fires back with a Disaster Kick to a modified Black Hole Slam! It wasn’t enough as Daivari blocked an Uranage and hits the Hammerlock Lariat for the win.
Danny Burch vs Greg Williams. Burch wins via Hangman’s DDT pin fall.
This was just an utter squash match. All Greg got in was a jaw breaker and a few strikes, this was all Burch. From European Uppercuts, to Flapjacks, to the finishing Hangman’s DDT, Williams took a beating. Burch look great doing it though.
Angel Garza vs Jack Gallagher. Garza wins via Wing Clipper pin fall.
Now this was a great 205 Live match. While Garza may need more in ring time, his charisma put him over. Add in the veteran Gallagher and you have a recipe for a great match. Jack keeps to his true mat style offense, while Garza used his heelish tactics. There was the usual Jack move sets including his handstand on the top rope with kicks. Garza’s finding himself in trouble and offers a hand shake, only to slap his opponent. Then the match picked up with Sunset Bomb and Double Underhook Suplex teases by Garza. However in the end it was Garaz countering a Gullotine Chokehold and hitting the Wing Clipper for the win.
Honestly, it would be better to see this on the WWE Network, there was a lot going on in this match, that this recap of it would be a long read. Do yourself a favor and check it out, it is worth your time-David G.
