Category: Wrestling

Wrestle Kingdom 13 Results and Review

It is time to look at one of the biggest days of the year on the wrestling calendar: Wrestle Kingdom! This show will be an interesting one as it might be the last time we see such a stacked card, as a ton of talent will be soon leaving for new promotion “All Elite Wrestling.” What this card will be like a year from now will likely be wildly different.

NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Title #1 Contender’s Match Gauntlet

1st Pairing: Yujiro Takahashi, Adam Page & Marty Scurll vs. Yuji Nagata, Jeff Cobb & David Finlay w/ Chase Owens

Starting off the pre-show match, which is replacing the New Japan Rumble this year, was a gauntlet match to find the new NEVER Openweight 6-man title #1 contenders. Starting the match was Yujiro Takahashi, Adam Page and Marty Scurll versus Yuji Nagata, Jeff Cobb and David Finlay. I’ve seen some people mention how this match seems to be a way to just pack as many dudes on this show as possible. Finlay tried for a Generation Finlay but got stopped by Chase Owens who was at ringside. Owens held onto Finlay for a kick, but Finlay dodged and it was Page who kicked Owens. Page was angry so he pushed Yujiro unintentionally into a roll-up that cost them the match. Not the most elaborate spot, but hey, it’s the pre-show.

2nd Pairing: Yuji Nagata, Jeff Cobb & David Finlay vs. Chuckie T, Beretta & Hirooki Goto

Goto got the jump on the already warm team. Chuckie did a dive over all three ropes onto Finlay and Cobb, and then Beretta followed it up with a Springboard Moonsault. The two veterans Nagata and Goto fought in the ring. Cobb did an amazing combo off Tour of the Island and a Standing Moonsault onto Goto. Chuckie T tried for a Moonsault that Finlay dodged, and then David landed the second roll-up in the match.

3rd Pairing: Yuji Nagata, Jeff Cobb & David Finlay vs. Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Minoru Suzuki

A loud “Kaze Ni Nare” echoed through the Tokyo Dome as Suzuki and his trio hit before the bell. Suzuki apparently was attacking Nagata with a chair while Cobb and Smith fought in the ring. The Killer Elite Squad hit a Killer Bomb to get rid of the long-standing team in this match, in quick time.

4th Pairing: Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Minoru Suzuki vs. Togi Makabe, Ryusuke Taguchi & Toru Yano

The final pairing of the matchup was the Killer Elite Squad and Suzuki versus Togi Makabe, Ryusuke Taguchi and Toru Yano. In the ring, Makabe and Suzuki traded blows, with it ending with a clothesline. Yano and Smith got the hot tag. Yano didn’t fight because he waited for Taguchi to give him a play call with arm signs. Yano removed a turnbuckle, but then got hit with two double team moves. Archer held down the ref and pleaded him to count to three. Taguchi came in to break up the pin and then everyone else in the match followed. Suzuki tried for a Gotch Style Piledriver but Taguchi broke it up with his hip attacks. Yano escaped a double team move and then stopped himself from doing double low blows. As Makabe was fighting KES, Yano hit his low blows from behind and then hit a roll-up for the win. It’s wild to think that Minoru Suzuki is on the pre-show of this card. It was lame that there were three roll-up spots in this match, but like I said before it’s not the end of the world since it’s the pre-show. Personally, I would want Suzuki in the title picture, but maybe they have something else for him. Did I like this match more than the New Japan Rumble? Not really, because the Rumble felt like a more fun way to start the show. While the Jeff Cobb impressed me the most out of everyone in this match. He’s the right mix of agile and strong.

Before the pre-show ended they showed the 2019 schedule for big shows. This included an announcement of the G1 at the American Airlines Center on July 6th and a show at the Copper Box Arena on August 31st. The biggest announcement of all was that Wrestle Kingdom will be a two-day event in 2020, on the 4th and 5th of January.

Will Ospreay vs. Kota Ibushi (NEVER Openweight Championship Match)

What started off the main card was Will Ospreay challenging for Kota Ibushi’s NEVER Openweight Championship. Like Don Callis said at the start, this match was too quick to call. Ospreay countered a Moonsault the outside with a kick, and then landed a dive of his own. Ospreay landed a great move on the ropes called the “Cheeky Nandos Kick.” There was an amazing spot where both fighters countered each other for a long time before Ospreay landed a Spanish Fly. Ibushi got a close count with the Last Ride Powerbomb. On the ground, Ibushi and Ospreay traded slaps. Ospreay put Ibushi on the top rope as Ibushi’s head snapped forward and hit the ring post. Ibushi landed a Double Stomp on Will’s back on the top rope. Ibushi was bleeding at this point, which might have been from the post. Ibushi Deadlift Suplexed Ospreay off the second rope, but Will landed on his feet. Ibushi hit a Bridged German Suplex for a two count. Will got hit with a Piledriver for another close count. As Ibushi was getting up, Will nearly took his head off with an Running Elbow. Ospreay hit a Storm Breaker for the win.

Will Ospreay is the new NEVER Openweight Champion. It looked like Ibushi got knocked out from the elbow, as he was stretchered off. If that’s the case, they shouldn’t have done another move afterwards. Besides that, the match was good. In the replays, you could see Ibushi got hit hard with the elbow. The match was good before that, but to me, that didn’t seem safe at all.

SHO & YOH (RPG3K) vs. BUSHI & Shingo Takagi vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado (IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championship Match)

The next match was the first of two three-way matches this evening. SHO did a double German Suplex early on. BUSHI did a great dive to the outside onto YOH. Takagi hit SHO with a Last of The Dragon for the win, which looked like death. This match was very short but not bad.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tomohiro Ishii (RevPro British Heavyweight Championship Match)

Now, this match is an interesting one because it’s for the RevPro title, and we don’t usually see defences of that belt in NJPW. Never have we seen it in the Tokyo Dome. They even brought in a RevPro referee to sanction this bout! Ishii hit a Superplex but ZSJ no-sold it into a move where he stomped on Ishii’s arm. There was a great chain of moves between these two that ended with Ishii being put in a standing submission move. ZSJ turned it into a powerbomb. ZSJ himself got Powerbombed minutes later. As usual, ZSJ put in a submission move that I can’t name and became the new champion. This was a good match, I like how these two made the crowd really get behind all of the submission moves. With the win, Zack was given the new RevPro title, as the old one was retired after this match.

Matt Jackson & Nick Jackon (The Young Bucks) vs. SANADA & EVIL vs. Tanga Loa and Tama Tonga (Guerillas of Destiny) w/ Jado & Bad Luck Fale (IWGP Tag Team Championship Match)

The next match was the second of the two three-way tag title matches. Nick and Tonga started the fight, with Loa offering a handshake. Nick didn’t buy the handshake and tagged in Matt instead. Loa shook EVIL’s hand, but also tagged himself out. After that, the match lost all order, with EVIL slamming mat on the ramp. EVIL then ran all the way down the ramp for a fast clothesline. GoD tried for stereo Frogsplashes but the Bucks stopped the second one from happening. The Bucks did a great combo of moves, with most of them targeted on the legal man, EVIL. SANADA got a hot tag, attacking everyone, including four Crossbodies to outside the ring. Loa got hit with a top rope Huricanrana, then both of the Bucks did a Superkick onto SANADA, who was coming off the ropes. A Meltzer Driver was ended by a Stun Gun by Tonga. SANADA and EVIL hit a Magic Killer, and then SANADA hit a Moonsault off the top rope to win the match. SANADA and EVIL are the new champions. They clanked their belts and their Tag League trophies after the bout.

Out of the two three-way matches, this one was way better. I thought that the finish for this bout was really clever. It was predictable that The Bucks wouldn’t win this one, but it’s nice that SANADA and EVIL are the champs.

Juice Robinson vs. Cody w/ Brandi Rhodes (IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Match)

For this next bout, Brandi Rhodes was at ringside and had lots of involvement in the match. Both guys blocked their finishers from happening on the apron, and then Cody pushed Juice into a ring post. As the ref was distracted, Brandi landed a Spear and beat up Juice. The referee kicked out Brandi because he saw the last few punches she landed. She shoved a ringside member on the way out. As this was happening Cody hit a Cross Rhodes for a two count. Minutes later Juice hit a Cross Rhodes of his own for a close pin attempt. Cody stole Juice’s move, Pulp Friction for an even closer count. Juice got on a roll and did a Forearm and Pulp Friction. Instead of going for a pinfall he picked him up for another Pulp Friction. This gave Juice the win, to make him the new IWGP US Heavyweight Champion. This was a very short match, but was the expected outcome. It was a good match, but I was hoping would be a little quicker.

Taiji Ishimori vs. KUSHIDA (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match)

Before this match, KUSHIDA had a special entrance, with a small, child-size KUSHIDA being turned into the real one with the help of Ryusuke Taguchi as the doctor from Back to the Future. Both of these guys were doing some great stuff. Ishimori did some German Suplex that I have never seen before, sliding out of the ring while throwing KUSHIDA. Frequently KUSHIDA would reverse moves into submissions. KUSHIDA hit a Small Package Suplex and then a punch that took down Taiji. Off the ropes, Taiji gave KUSHIDA double knees. Ishimori ended the bout with a Bloody Cross. Ishimori is the new IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion. I didn’t know who would win this one, but I guess it makes sense that they want to boost Ishimori by giving him a belt.

Jay White w/ Gedo vs. Kazuchika Okada

The video package leading up to this next match was very well done. The old Okada is finally back, as he came out to his old theme, has blonde hair, and is wearing shorts again. Shorts! Finally! Early on in the bout, Okada showed off his amazing vertical when delivering a dropkick to Jay White, who was sitting on the top rope. Gedo tried jumping Okada but got beaten up instead. Okada did a Crossbody to both White and Gedo over a guardrail. Okada landed a picture perfect Elbow Drop off of the top rope and then called for the Rainmaker. He did not get the move, with White landing a DDT and a German Suplex instead. White also hit a Rock Bottom for a two count. He tried for the Blade Runner but Okada escaped. Instead, he hit a clothesline. Gedo put a chair on the ring mat for White and then distracted the ref. Okada dodged a chair shot and then pushed White into Gedo. He landed two Dropkicks but couldn’t connect on the rainmaker. White hit another German Suplex, then hit a Kiwi Crusher for a close count. He tried again for a Blade Runner but it did not work. Okada got a Tombstone Piledriver, which put them both down. A chain of reversed moves ended with Okada landing a dropkick and calling for the Rainmaker. Both guys reversed many moves, including finishers, with Okada landing a Clothesline. He tried for the Rainmaker but White finally landed the Blade Runner to win the match.

I was very surprised that Okada wouldn’t win this match because it felt like this would be Okada’s return back to his old self. I was hoping it would be that way, but it wasn’t. But despite this, it was still an amazing match. The ending combo was a work of art, especially when you take into account that this was all thought through.

Tetsuya Naito vs. Chris Jericho (IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match) (No DQ Match)

This is probably the match that I was the most excited for. This match is a No Disqualification match with the IC title on the line. Before Jericho entered the ring Naito jumped him, which I saw coming since they announced Jericho while he was walking down the ramp. The brawl immediately went around the arena. Jericho got his head bashed on a table, then brought to the ramp for a Piledriver. The piledriver looked either deadly or good. Back in the ring, Naito took off a corner pad. Jericho was thrown outside the ring, and as Naito came to the ropes he got hit with a Kendo Stick. He continued to use it for the new couple of minutes. Jericho did a Dropkick to Naito who was on the apron, which Naito sold incredibly, landing on his head. Jericho picked up a camera but didn’t really use it. Over to a commentary table, Jericho did a DDT which did not make the table break. It looked truly brutal. Jericho did a Crossbody off the top rope for a two count.

Naito started to finally get offense after being down for a while. Naito’s corner kicks got reversed into a Walls of Jericho. Once Naito got out a Codebreaker was reversed into a Swinging DDT. He followed it up with a Gloria for a two count. A Destino got reversed into another Walls of Jericho. Naito escaped the move by hitting Jericho with the kendo stick over and over. Naito threw Jericho off the ropes and swung the kendo stick at him like a baseball bat. He tried to do it again but Jericho avoided it and hit a Codebreaker. Jericho went under the ring to get out numerous chairs. Jericho tried for a Powerbomb but Naito turned it into a DDT into the pile of chairs. Naito did a Codebreak of his own but couldn’t win the match with it. Naito went to the second rope but was slowed down by Jericho, who threw a chair at him. Naito did a German Suplex and then tried for a Destino but Jericho dodged it, shoved the ref and then kicked Naito in the crotch and did a Codebreaker for a two count. I mean, it’s no DQ, but okay. Jericho then took the IC title into the ring and was going to hit him with the belt. Naito put Jericho into the corner with an exposed turnbuckle and hit a Destino, but Jericho kicked out! Naito hit him with the belt, threw the belt off into the distance, and then hit Destino for the win. After the match, Jericho angrily left.

This match was, as I expected, lots of fun. I thought that Naito had a high chance of winning the match coming in, but didn’t know. I love the storytelling of Naito still having a disdain for the belt, as he threw it far out of sight after using it on Jericho. I would say that they used the No DQ rules to their full potential, but they didn’t since Jericho still felt the need to shield the ref’s eyes from a move that was fully allowed.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kenny Omega (IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match)

Finally, it’s time to discuss the main event. Kenny Omega’s entrance was great, especially with the attire he was wearing. As the two were getting close at the start, Tanahashi slapped Omega. Omega gave him a light slap on the ropes, which Tanahashi followed with an even harder slap than before. Tanahashi early on almost got caught in a One Winged Angel as he was on Omega’s shoulders. Both guys traded hard slaps again when in a leg move on the ground. Early on both of these guys were hitting each other hard. Outside the ring, Tanahashi was thrown into a guardrail but came back with a Dropkick. Omega picked up Tanahashi and slammed him onto the edge of a commentary table, making him plummet to the floor. Kenny went on the guardrail and did a Moonsault. He picked up Milano Collection A.T., who went down when Tanahashi first went through the table. Kenny raised his arm. Omega brought out a table and put it at ringside. Back in the ring now, the two wrestlers were trading blows once again. Tanahashi did a Summersault Senton that looked good. Later on, Omega did a dive over the ropes onto Tanahashi, absolutely slapping onto the ramp. Kenny gave Tanahashi a V-Trigger in the ring. When he went to the middle rope for a move Tanahashi grabbed onto his right leg and did a Dragon Screw. Tanahashi landed a Twist & Shout and then did a Boston Crab. Tanahashi gave up the move and did a Styles Clash. Off the top rope, he tried for a High Fly Flow, but Kenny put his knees up. A V-Trigger was dodged in the corner, making Omega smash his leg into the corner. Through the ropes this time, Tanahashi delivered another Dragon Screw.

Tanahashi put Omega on the table that has been on the outside for some time now. He tried for a High Fly Flow off the top rope and through the table, but Omega got out of the way. Omega did a double stomp off the top rope to Tanahashi, who was draped on the ropes. A kickout came three times, after each powerbomb that followed the move before. After a combo of moves, Kenny hit a Swingblade and a High Fly Flow of his own. Kenny hit a V-Trigger which made both of them fall onto all fours. Kenny hit another V-Trigger, then tried for a One Winged Angel but Tanahashi turned it into a Reverse Huricanrana. After a close count, Tanahashi hit two High Fly Flow’s for a very close pin attempt. A very tired Tanahashi went to the top rope but was hit with a V-Trigger while getting up. Omega did a German Superplex off the top rope, with Tanahashi landing on his stomach. Yet another V-Trigger was hit. Kenny tried ending it all with the One Winged Angel, but Tanahashi escaped once again. He hit a Swingblade and then went to the top rope for a final High Fly Flow, to win the match.

This match, and the whole show, in general, was amazing. I always worry with shows this long that they will drag, but I didn’t sense that at all with this show. Would I consider this match the as good as the years before? Probably not, but it was still very good. In my heart, I still consider Okada vs. Omega 1 as the best Wrestle Kingdom match that I’ve seen.

The 09′ Revision: 2009 Royal Rumble Review

These days there is so much to watch. On Monday nights, there’s a three-hour episode of Monday Night RAW. Tuesdays, there’s Smackdown, and the many small shows that follow it (205 Live, Mixed Match Challenge, etc.). On Wednesday there is NXT, NXT UK and tournaments sometimes put on by WWE. Of course, there is also many PPV’s a year on Sundays as well. That just scratches the surface, as there are many promotions worth watching these days as well. You always have the chance to think about the past but you never get to relive it. It’s not that you physically can’t do so, because the WWE Network has nearly every show in their database. It’s that you don’t have the time. You’re too busy staying with the times to live in the past, even just a little. So, this is where this new series comes in. Looking back a decade you can see where the WWE was in 2009. Personally, I thought 2009 was the best year for me to do this. It’s the first full year that I started watching wrestling. I look back on the shows fondly, but who knows how they hold up, or if they were good in the first place. Since we will follow a timeline that started in January, the first review will be of the 2009 Royal Rumble.

Leading up to the Rumble there were many storylines that were taking shape even into the final segments of go-home shows. On RAW the main story that was carried out in the final weeks had no involvement in the Rumble. The go-home RAW ended with Randy Orton punting Vince McMahon in the head after frustration with Stephanie McMahon as a general manager. He was stretchered off as the show came to a close. Orton’s faction called “Legacy” which was himself and his two henchmen Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase had only formed recently. They were chosen to be in Randy’s group through tests. Sim Snuka would have been in the faction if it wasn’t for Cody getting the pinfall in a tag match against Cryme Tyme.

The RAW storyline that tied into the Rumble was John Cena versus JBL. JBL had recently hired Shawn Michaels as his client since Michaels had run into financial issues. This was their way of showing how Shawn had sold out. In the contract signing before this fight, Cena tried to convince Michaels that he is better than this.

Jeff Hardy’s life was being ruined by who everyone presumed was Edge. One week he was involved in a car crash, and the next week he got hit by pyrotechnics on his way to the ring for Edge’s talking segment “The Cutting Edge.”

In 2009 the commercialized version of ECW was on its final legs. The show died out in 2010 and turns into the original game show version of NXT. Heading into the Royal Rumble ECW had a new heel champion in Jack Swagger. Swagger defeated Matt Hardy on ECW TV two weeks before the PPV, using an exposed turnbuckle to help pick up the victory. Matt Hardy gets a rematch at the Royal Rumble. Also, the final match besides the Rumble itself was the WWE Women’s Championship being defended by Beth Phoenix against Melina. This feud seemed to play such a background role in the buildup to the PPV that I honestly didn’t even know it was on the card.

The opening of the Royal Rumble PPV had a compilation of old Rumble matches to the tune of “Let It Rock” by Kevin Rudolf. And also, despite Orton in any big matches, the video package diverts into the recent Orton rivalry. After that, we go right to the commentary table who say the show will go on despite Vince’s current condition. After that, we get the usual pyrotechnic show at the start. The no longer open Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan was the host for this event. The stage includes a road on the floor that leads to the ring. The Wrestlemania 25 logo is opposite to the stage, which is a tradition for WWE starting at the Rumble every year.

Matt Hardy vs. Jack Swagger (ECW Championship Match)

The first match on the show is Matt Hardy versus Jack Swagger. As mentioned before, this is Hardy’s rematch after being defeated on ECW TV two weeks before. Early on in the match, Matt was swarming Swagger, making him leave the ring for a breather at one point. After Swagger targeted Hardy’s left arm early on, Hardy was basically fighting with one and a half arms. Late in the match, Hardy hit a moonsault for a two count. After reversing many moves, Swagger threw Matt into the post, then hit a Gutwrench Powerbomb to retain the belt clean in 10:27. Hardy looked defeated, maybe even crying when leaving the ring. Not sure what made them think this would be a good way to start the show. It feels odd that Swagger felt the need to cheat in his first match against Matt yet cheat in this one. We went from thinking that Swagger was a cheating heel who wasn’t as good as a title would make most people, to cleanly considering him the champion. The match itself wasn’t horrible but just made no sense.

Melina vs. Beth Phoenix w/ Santino Marella (WWE Women’s Championship Match)

Before the next match, we see a clip of when Randy Orton entered the building tonight. I was surprised by how much they were playing up this storyline despite it not having much significance on this card. It becomes huge later in the year, but not right now. The next match was Melina versus Beth Phoenix. In this match Beth did some interesting submission where she stretched Melina’s leg backward, making her kick herself in the back of the head. Other than that, this match had nothing. Melina pulled a quick one and won the match via roll-up in 5:57 to become the new Women’s Champion. Feels like WWE got their two least interesting matches out of the way quickly.

JBL w/ Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena (World Heavyweight Championship Match)

Before our next match, we have a promo package recapping the relationship between Shawn Michaels and JBL. Backstage JBL promises Michaels that if he wins tonight Shawn will have a spot in the Rumble. As JBL leaves the room The Undertaker comes in and tells Michaels that “sometimes it’s hell gettin’ to heaven.” This is (I think) the first encounter between these two, which matters in the coming months. Despite this being RAW’s title match, it feels almost like an afterthought because of how much attention the Orton vs. McMahons segment is going. As the match was happening Michael was watching at ringside with a dead expression. JBL was having such early match success that the commentary team thought that Michaels might not have to do anything to help JBL win. Cena landed a Five Knuckle Shuffle then tried for an Attitude Adjustment only for JBL to escape. Moments later JBL found himself in an STF. Cena let go of the hold after Michaels distracted the ref by holding the ropes. After JBL escaped another AA, he accidentally kicked the ref, knocking him down. As the ref was down Michaels came into the ring and was set up to give a Sweet Chin Music. You expect him to give it to Cena, but instead, he gives it to JBL. Before leaving the ring he gives Cena a Sweet Chin Music as well. He put JBL’s arm over Cena, letting a ref that came from the back do the count. Cena surprisingly kicked out which let the match continue. Cena picked up JBL and hit an Attitude Adjustment to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in 15:34.

The match was fought at a very slow speed but it was obvious to tell the story of Michaels at ringside. I can’t explain why Michaels seemingly changed his mind, but I can assume that will be explained in coming weeks. While I feel the reason that Michaels is in this storyline seems odd, I thought this specific match did a good job at explaining it. Besides the story, there wasn’t much to say about the wrestling.

Jeff Hardy vs. Edge w/ Chavo Guerrero (WWE Championship Match) (No Disqualification Match)

The next match was the biggest match coming from the Smackdown brand. Hardy got the unconventional champion first introduction which Jim Ross pointed out. Before Edge came out Vicky Guerrero came out and said that the match will now be a No Disqualification match. Chavo was at ringside in support of Edge.

Right out of the gates Jeff was all over Edge. Jeff was the first to test the no DQ rule by going for a chair but wasn’t able to use it. Edge became dominant after taking Hardy outside of the ring, including a spot where he hit Hardy’s head on each commentary table once. Hardy did a Twist of Fate on the ring apron which looked painful for Hardy. After that, he tore apart the RAW commentary table and took out a ladder. You can see what’s coming next. Hardy went to the top of the ladder but got distracted by Chavo Guerrero. Hardy did a Frogsplash off of the ladder onto Guerrero, who was on the table. This took Chavo out of the situation at least for the moment even though he was watching the match from a distance for most of the time. Hardy did a crossbody off the top rope to Edge for a two count. Edge tore a turnbuckle pad off of a corner and then tried using it, but Hardy instead used the corner for a Whisper In The Wind. Edge reversed a Twist of Fate into a DDT where Hardy kicked out too late, but in storyline kicked out in time. Edge was able to use his exposed turnbuckle while reversing a move for another close count. Edge was setting up for a Spear, but Hardy reversed it into a very informal Twist of Fate. Hardy then went to the top for a Swanton Bomb, with Vicky Guerrero trying to interfere. She failed to stop the move but pulled the ref out during the count. Matt Hardy came out with a chair in what looked like to be in support of Jeff. He gave Jeff a chair then went and got his own. He then hit Jeff in the head with his chair. This allowed Edge to get the win in 19:27. Matt left the arena with a deadpan expression.

Well, there’s your next big non-title Smackdown program. The match wasn’t amazing but the storytelling was well done. The commentary team gave the finish the silence treatment for a good minute which made it a little more dramatic. Chavo felt sort of useless in this match even when you take into account his commentary table spot. Him sitting there obediently for most of the match made sense because it was completely within the ruleset for him to intervene at any point. Backstage before the main event, Randy Orton is being interviewed. He is asked about if the McMahon’s will take legal action on Monday against him. Chris Jericho shoos off the interviewer. Jericho sides with Orton on the McMahons issue. Jericho says he thinks this is Orton’s last night working for the WWE. What I found interesting was what Dave Meltzer reported. In the Observer Newsletter a week after the show he said the plan was for Christian to interfere, but that was changed since it would be too obvious. There was even “we want Christian” chants at the start of the match.

2009 Royal Rumble Match

After playing the “By The Numbers” video, we had the main event of the evening, the Royal Rumble match. The first two entrants were 1. Rey Mysterio and 2. John Morrison. Mysterio found himself nearly eliminated early on but fought out of it and delivered a Crossbody and Huricanrana. Morrison almost got eliminated before the third entrant of the Rumble came in. Entrant number three was 3. Carlito. He did a Springboard Moonsault to Morrison early into his appearance. 4. MVP. MVP just picked up his first win in a long time this week on Smackdown. 5. The Great Khali. Khali did a spot where he beat everyone down individually then got his cheer in. Khali hit a Punjabi Plunge on Carlito. 6. Vladimir Kozlov. Kozlov battled Khali since they were the two biggest and standing guys in the ring. Kozlov made the first elimination of the match, taking out Khali. MVP got taken out after thinking he could mount an offense on Kozlov. Carlito was taken out moments later by Kozlov as well. 7. Triple H. The first big name of the match was Triple H. HHH took out Kozlov after they squared off for a minute. 8. Randy Orton. Orton went right after HHH while Morrison and Mysterio hung out at ringside. HHH reversed an RKO into a Pedigree, but the move was stopped by Morrison. Mysterio hit the 619 on Morrison. 9. JTG.  JTG comes in at #9 after winning a coin toss with Shad Gaspard. As JTG ran to the ring Shad found out both sides of the coin was a head. 10. Ted DiBiase. Despite Orton being near elimination DiBiase did not help him out.

#11. Chris Jericho. #12. Mike Knox. DiBiase and Orton might have figured out that they were a team because they strategize to both attack JTG. #13. The Miz. Orton hit an RKO on Morrison, Miz, JTG and then got hit with a Pedigree by HHH. Morrison and The Miz were both eliminated by HHH. #14. Finlay. Mysterio did a spot where he got thrown over the top but landed on the eliminated Miz and Morrison, but it was sort of missed because of Finlay’s entrance. #15. Cody Rhodes. Legacy was in full effect with Rhodes in the ring. Mysterio went off the top rope but was met by an RKO. #16. The Undertaker. The match came to a halt as The Undertaker came into the ring. He got a punch in on everyone in the ring. Undertaker eliminated JTG. #17. Goldust. Goldust battled with the weaker members of Legacy before being met with an RKO from Orton. Goldust was eliminated by Rhodes after he was instructed to do so by Orton. #18. CM Punk. He gave HHH a GTS shortly after his entrance. #19. Mark Henry. #20. Shelton Benjamin. Benjamin gave Punk and Jericho a Double DDT off of the top rope as they were both setting something up before.

#21. William Regal. Mark Henry got eliminated but it didn’t get covered. Regal went right after Punk as he lost his belt to him. #22. Kofi Kingston. A now bloodied Undertaker eliminated Shelton Benjamin. #23. Kane. There were too many people in the ring at this point. Mike Knox was still in there despite having no memorable spots. Kane and The Undertaker teamed up and Double Chokeslammed a DiBiase and Kingston. Regal got taken out by Punk, making Regal basically inferior to Punk at this point. #24. R-Truth. #25. Rob Van Dam. This was the first surprise entrant of the Rumble. He got a spotlight hitting tons of his signature spots. #26. The Brian Kendrick. Kendrick eliminated Kingston immediately but got eliminated right after by HHH. #27. Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler got thrown out by Kane after trying to shake his hand. Easy night for him. #28. Santino Marella. Marella broke the record for quickest Royal Rumble appearance with this spot, being taken out by Kane in roughly a second. #29. Hacksaw Jim Duggan. The second and final surprise entrant was Hacksaw Jim Duggan. He had another surprise entrance in the 2012 Rumble. #30. Big Show. The crowd seemed somewhat deflated as Big Show’s music hit.

Jim Duggan was eliminated by The Big Show after Duggan tried the opposite. Show threw R-Truth over the top rope over his head a minute or so later. You’d expect the build-up of people in the ring was for a big clearout spot when it was really for nothing. Punk got taken out of the match by a Knockout Punch by Show. Mysterio and Knox got eliminated after. Hornswoggle played as a distraction to help Finlay but got eliminated anyway. It was Kane that took him out. Orton gave HHH a draping DDT. Van Dam hit a Frogsplash but got thrown out by Jericho afterward. Jericho got taken out by Undertaker. Legacy teamed up to take Kane out of the match. Now there were only six left: Legacy, Big Show, The Undertaker, and HHH. After The Undertaker took out all of the little guys he had a face-off with The Big Show. Orton tried RKO’ing The Undertake while he was trying to eliminate The Undertaker. The Undertaker reversed it. Big Show got RKO’d onto the ropes, taking him out of the match. Big Show pulled Undertaker’s leg off of the mat, eliminating him as well. The two brawled to the back. The final four were Legacy and HHH. Of course, the three teamed up on HHH. He eliminated DiBiase and Rhodes, but in the process allowed himself to get eliminated by Orton. Randy Orton is your 2009 Royal Rumble winner in 58:50.

Orton a huge spotlight on this show. You could tell just by how much they were talking about Orton that he would win the Rumble. I can’t guess where the title picture goes from here on since Cena has the belt and Orton is feuding with the McMahons. If I had to predict, I would guess that something will happen at Elimination Chamber. I thought this was a decent Rumble match. They went pretty easy with the surprise entrants, with the only two being RVD and Jim Duggan. This was the first time that Legacy was operating as a full unit in a match, so not only did Orton get a push but his goons did as well. I didn’t understand the purpose of some guys just hanging around for so long. Mike Knox was an example where he was there for a long time but had no real purpose.

The top match besides the Rumble was Edge versus Hardy. Both big title matches shared a similar theme in that they weren’t based around the in-ring action. Both matches were all about the finish with the wrestling taking a bit of a background. The match to forget was, of course, Melina versus Beth Phoenix.

WWE Survivor Series 2018 Results and Review

Survivor Series underwent many changes in its final week. Becky Lynch was replaced by Charlotte due to injury, and AJ Styles being replaced with Daniel Bryan after Bryan won the WWE Championship.

The New Day, Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, The Colons, Sanity & The Usos (Team Smackdown) vs. The Revival, Lucha House Party, The Ascension, B-Team & /Bobby Roode & Chad Gable (Team RAW) (20-man Tag Team Survivor Series Match)

On the kickoff show a backstage segment revealed that Mandy Rose would be the fifth Smackdown Women’s team member. The first match happened on the kickoff show with the Smackdown tag division facing the RAW tag division. Smackdown’s New Day came out and introduced their team. Kofi Kingston sat out this match for the New Day with Alexander Wolfe doing the same for Sanity. A rule in this match that sets it apart from the traditional Survivor Series match is that if someone gets pinned their teammate is eliminated as well. Kalisto started against Epico. Dash Wilder eliminated The Colons after hitting a Shatter Machine. Something happened where Kalisto landed awkward then got replaced by Lince Dorado. Anderson took out the B-Team next, evening the matchup. There was a good spot between Roode and Gable where Roode did a Backbreaker while Gable frogsplashed onto Eric Young. This eliminated Sanity. Big E took out The Ascension by pinning Viktor. Lince Dorado took out Gallows & Anderson after a combination of moves including a Moonsault. The Usos did a double team to take out Lince Dorado for the pin. Dorado got dropped on his head during that spot.

The final four teams were New Day, The Usos, Roode & Gable and The Revival. Big E got a hot tag from Woods and did three Belly-to-belly Suplexes to Dash Wilder. Big E’s thunder was taken once Gable tagged in while Big E was going off of the ropes. Gable did an impressive Deadlift German Suplex into a Neckbreaker with the help of Roode. After a few more moves later everyone did a dive to the outside spot. Roode got Superkicked by Jey Uso, then Jey did a dive of his own. Gable did a German Suplex to Jey off of the top rope to everyone on the outside. As everyone laid wasted outside of the ring, Xavier was fighting off Gable and Roode. Gable did a flip off of the top rope because he assumed that Xavier was hurt, but instead went into the arms of Big E for an Up Up Down Down. This eliminated the RAW captains. Woods went off the top rope for a dive but instead got caught in a Shatter Machine to eliminate New Day. The final two teams were The Usos and The Revival. Dash Wilder did a Superplex with Scott Dawson hitting a Splash right after. Jey Uso came in to split up the pin. The Usos gave both guys a Superkick. After that Jimmy Uso hit a Frogsplash onto Dawson to end the match.

This match had lots of botched spots. Kalisto also might have hurt himself? I don’t understand why it had to be 10 people for each team. Couldn’t it just be 5 from each brand? When it became the final four wrestlers, the match became much more entertaining. The first half of the match was hurrying through pinfalls. Why not just not do this match in the first place? Because there were some teams in this match that we hadn’t seen in months on TV. Despite the majority of the crowd being present it felt like nobody was there.

Carmella w/ R-Truth, Naomi, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville & Asuka (Team Smackdown) vs. Mickie James, Tamina, Nia Jax, Sasha Banks & Bayley w/ Alexa Bliss (Team RAW) (Women’s Survivor Series Match)

The first match on the actual show was the women’s RAW versus Smackdown match. When Nia Jax came out she was welcomed with a massive amount of boo’s because she sidelined Becky Lynch on Monday. Banks and Bayley replaced Natalya and Ruby Riott after a brawl happened backstage earlier. Early in the match everyone was brawling in the ring. Naomi got roll-up pinned to be the first elimination. Carmella responded with a roll-up pin to Tamina to eliminate her. Carmella had a dance break to celebrate this elimination. Deville was on a roll against James, but Mandy tagged herself in and did nothing except land a pin, taking credit for the work that Deville put in. Deville was offended by this. Carmella was eliminated by Bayley after a Bayley-To-Belly Suplex.

The crowd started out loud for this match but was sitting on their hands at this point. Rose tapped to a Banks Statement from Sasha. When Nia finally got involved in the match the hate came back to her. Asuka got a pop for going after Jax. Outside the ring Asuka was hit with a Meteora from Banks off the ring apron. Bayley and Sonya Deville were brawling to the outside with both of them being counted out and eliminated. Asuka was the final member for Smackdown and fought Banks first. As Sasha went to the top rope Nia pushed her off, making her fall into an Asuka Lock to eliminate her. Nia was the last one left for RAW. Nia hit a Samoan Drop to win the match.

I can only assume that they want to reap the benefits of the heat that Nia got from actually injuring Lynch, but this finish didn’t seem right. She beat Asuka clean? Did something happen to Asuka recently that made her a very weak wrestler? After the match a scoreboard appeared showing that team RAW was up 1-0, so maybe the match on the Kickoff show just didn’t count.

Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

The first of many Champion versus Champion matchups of the evening was Seth Rollins versus Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura came out in nearly all-blue attire. This match was also the first time that these two fought each other. Mid-way through the match Rollins dumped Nakamura to the outside then did three Suicide Dives in a row. Later on Rollins got put in a Triangle Choke but escaped by throwing Nakamura into a Buckle Bomb. Rollins did a Superplex and then a Falcon Arrow for a two count. After a Reverse Exploder, Nakamura tried for a Kinshasa but instead Rollins responded with his Rainmaker Knee move. Rollins went to the top for a Frogsplash but Nakamura dodged then hit a Kinshasa. Rollins kicked out. A combo of moves ended with Rollins hitting the Curbstomp for the win. Good match with the crowd waking up near the end. I didn’t like how the Kinshasa was a throwaway move in this match.

The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro) w/ Big Show vs. Authors of Pain (Akam & Rezar) w/ Drake Maverick

The two tag teams who are champs on the main roster faced off next. As the match was starting former WWE employee Enzo Amore tried to hijack the crowd while sitting in the first few rows. He was escorted out of the building only moments later. Drake Maverick got put in a choke by Big Show after putting an AoP member’s leg on the rope during a pin. Big Show stopped choking Maverick after he peed himself. This distraction let AoP give Sheamus a double team move to win the match. From inside the ring to outside, this was a lame 10 minutes.

Mustafa Ali vs. Buddy Murphy (WWE Cruiserweight Championship Match)

The next match was the only brand neutral match. Mustafa Ali challenged for Buddy Murphy’s Cruiserweight Championship after he won the belt in Australia. This match was explosive from start to finish. Ali went to the top rope at one point for a Backwards 450 but got thrown to outside the ring. Outside the ring Murphy tore apart a commentary table. Ali regained control and did a Spanish Fly off the table onto the floor. When trying for another Reverse 450 in the ring Ali got a Superkick and then two Powerbombs for a two count. Murphy got the win with a Murphy’s Law. One of the shorter matches on the show but still a great match. Sad that the Cruiserweights remain the side show.

Bobby Lashley w/ Lio Rush, Finn Balor, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre & Braun Stroman vs. The Miz, Jeff Hardy, Samoa Joe, Rey Mysterio & Shane McMahon (Men’s Survivor Series Match)

The next match was the men’s RAW versus Smackdown Survivor Series match. Braun was very insisting on starting the match. Drew tagged himself in and took out Samoa Joe with a Claymore Kick. Very quick start to the match. This first pinfall caused Smackdown to strategize outside of the ring. After McIntyre tagged out Ziggler came in. Hardy was replaced with Shane McMahon moments after. This was a rematch from the World Cup finals from weeks ago. Ziggler gave Shane a Famouser for a close pin attempt. Ziggler landed a Zigzag after being thrown into the ropes. The Miz intervened to save Shane. The Miz tagged in a and tried for a Figure Four but Ziggler escaped. Ziggler landed a Dropkick at the end of an exchange with Braun tagging himself back in. He stood in RAW’s corner for a moment only to get tagged out by McIntyre. Stroman and McIntyre started brawling with the rest of the RAW teaming coming over in attempt to restore order. Mysterio landed a 619 on Stroman with the fight going to the outside afterwards.

McMahon took apart the middle commentary table, and then three Smackdown members put Stroman on the table. Shane did an Elbow Drop off of the top rope, through the table. On the replay it was funny seeing Baron Corbin scream “No!” as he saw Shane dive. Back in the ring now The Miz was fighting McIntyre. Balor tagged himself in and then kicked McIntyre in the head. Balor did a Stomp to The Miz and then a roll-up for a two count. Balor tried a Coup De Grace but Miz left the ring. Outside the ring Balor attacked Miz and Hardy. Mysterio came in the ring and gave Balor a Crossbody. Balor reversed a move and then scored a two count on Rey. Balor dodged a 619 and then landed a Swingblade. Mysterio avoided a Coup de Grace and then actually landed a 619 with the Frogsplash follow-up to eliminate Balor.

Minutes later Hardy tried for a Swanton Bomb but Ziggler reversed it by putting his knees up. Shane did a Coast To Coast onto Ziggler while heavily selling his table spot from earlier. This eliminated Ziggler. An even more fatigued Shane McMahon tried for another Coast To Coast, this time on Lashley, but Stroman hit him out of mid air to interrupt it. Shane kicked out of a pin by Lashley and tagged in Hardy. Stroman came in as well. Hardy tried for a Twist of Fate but got reversed into a Powerslam to eliminate him. Mysterio got a Powerslam shortly after to be eliminated as well. The Miz was given a Powerslam to be eliminated as well. The final Smackdown member was Shane McMahon.

McMahon was hit with a Running Powerslam to end the match. Although the same spot over and over from Stroman was a lame finish, this match in general was really fun. The constant chaos was what you like to see in a match like this. It felt like an all star game, which I’m surprised WWE doesn’t promote these matches as.

Backstage Seth Rollins is told that at TLC he will defend his IC belt against Dean Ambrose.

Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey

The second last match on the card was Charlotte versus Ronda Rousey. There was awkward “brawling” at the start where it looked like nothing was actually happening. Charlotte threw Ronda head first into the bottom turnbuckle. Ronda got cut open around the lip at some point in the match. Off the top rope Ronda rolled into an Armbar, which turned into a Triangle Choke. Charlotte reversed it into a Boston Crab which Ronda escaped. After doing a Fireman’s Carry Ronda shouted at the crowd. When she turned around Charlotte Speared her for a two count. Charlotte put in the Figure Four but Rousey escaped it. Rousey hit a move called the “Piper’s Pit” and then tried for a move but Charlotte fought it off. Outside the ring Charlotte hit Ronda with a Kendo Stick to end the match via DQ. She continued to tee off on Ronda after the bell.

The angle after the match made sense to me but the match itself wasn’t very good. It’s usually the other way around when I criticize a segment. Since the current program is to allegedly have Ronda face Becky at Wrestlemania, maybe these two can fight each other on another PPV in the future in the meantime. I know they are on different brands, but it’s not impossible. Charlotte fought off referees and then wedged a steel chair in between Ronda’s head and torso. She stomped the chair, with people finally pulling away Charlotte after this.

Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar

The main event of the evening was Daniel Bryan versus Brock Lesnar. As usual Heyman did the introduction for Lesnar. After about three minutes of the match Lesnar started to dominate Bryan. This happened for way too long, with Lesnar hitting all of his spots. Bryan got F5’d for like the 500th time, but hit the ref on the way down. After noticing this, Bryan kicked Brock in the groin then went for a pin, but only got a two count. After going in and out of the ring for spots Bryan caught himself in another F5 attempt but reversed it into a Yes Lock. Bryan turned it into a Triangle Choke that Brock turned into an F5 to end the match. After the match a scoreboard shows that RAW beat Smackdown 6-0. Oh, that’s why the pre-show match doesn’t count, because Smackdown won.

It felt somewhat uncharacteristic for Bryan to do a Triangle Choke. And hold on, didn’t Bryan turn heel on Tuesday? It’s nice to see that Brock worked hard in this match. By no means was this a night off for him. I don’t understand why I would cheer for either of these guys in this match. I thought it was a disappointing main event.

NJPW World Tag League 2018 Day 2 Results and Review

Show: NJPW World Tag League Day 2

When: 11/18/18

Where: Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan

After an explosive first day in Kanagawa, New Japan heads back to the famous Korakuen Hall for day 2 of the World Tag League. Chris Charlton and Don Callis were on commentary alongside the usual Kevin Kelly.

Yuya Uemura & Yota Tsuji vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay

The first undercard match was Robinson and Finlay versus Young Lions Uemura and Tsuji. Robinson and Finlay are coming off a win from Saturday with Tsuji and Uemura losing to Cobb and Elgin in a non-Tag League match. Uemura got a hot tag on Finlay late in the match after Robinson was taken out by a Back Body Drop from Tsuji. The Young Lion duo did the Two Man Boston Crab, a spot that was done on FinJuice the night before but by a different duo. Robinson head butted both Young Lions in an attempt to get them off of Finlay but they endured. They let go after a Double Dropkick. Finlay finished the match with a Brainbuster.

Ren Narita & Tomoaki Honma vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa (Guerrillas of Destiny) w/ Jado

Honma, who is still on his comeback tour teamed with Young Lion Ren Narita in the next match. Jado came out with the Guerrillas of Destiny and an airhorn. GoD jumped their opponents early. Early on Honma tried for a Kokeshi onto Tama Tonga, but when going off the ropes Jado hit him with a kendo stick. After Honma was beaten up by Loa he acted unconscious in the ring. Tama Tonga tried to do his own Kokeshi but Honma dodged it. This got a big pop from the crowd. Honma didn’t land his Kokeshi when he tried, but got a DDT then gave Narita a hot tag onto Loa. When Loa was put in a Boston Crab Honma took out Jado, but Tama Tonga broke it up. Tonga got taken out then was given a Kokeshi from Honma. Back with Loa in the ring Narita did a bridging pin after failing to land a suplex. Narita went off the ropes and got hit with a Clothesline for a two count. Loa landed his finisher to end the match. Narita looked great in this match. He really stuck out as the star in the matchup. I thought that maybe he could have gotten more time since Honma is obviously still getting back to 100%. I know it’s in their gimmick, but I wished that Loa had a less profane name for his finisher.

Shota Umino, Ayato Yoshida, Toa Henare & Togi Makabe vs. Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi

The entrances came in an odd order for this next match with teams taking turns with their entrances. Umino got a hot tag late in the match onto Henare. He delivered a great looking Missile Dropkick, with the pin after it being broken up by Kojima. After a scramble involving most wrestlers Henare gave Umino a Samoan Drop and a Rock Bottom for the win. I really liked the exchange between Henare and Umino in this match. The rest didn’t really appeal to me.

Yujiro Takahashi, Hangman Page & Kota Ibushi vs. Beretta & Chuckie T (Best Friends) & Hirooki Goto

This next match was a rematch from yesterday in a sense. On Saturday, Beretta and Chuckie T defeated Takahashi and Page in what I considered an upset. Page got a great combo of moves when tagged in against Beretta. Page took out both teammates of Beretta, then took him outside the ring and landed a dive. After both wrestlers were in the ring for a long time Ibushi and Goto both got hot tags. Chuckie T landed a Pop-Up Powerbomb on Ibushi for a two count and tried for the top rope but got a kick instead. Takahashi tagged in and got hit with a Soul Food. Best Friends did Stereo Crossbodies to the outside. After a crazy combo from many wrestlers involved, Page gave Chuckie T a Buckshot Lariat, then Takahashi did a DDT for the win. Looked like a night off for Goto. After the match Goto asks Ibushi if he wants a title shot. Goto says he’s done asking Ibushi if he wasn’t to fight him. This made Ibushi say he wants the fight, making Goto say it’s going to happen. So there’s the next defense for the NEVER Openweight Championship.

Shingo Takagi, BUSHI & Tetsuya Naito vs. RPG3K (SHO & YOH) & Kazuchika Okada

The final preliminary match was RPG3K and Okada versus a trio of LIJ members. This match was essentially a boiled down version of the main event from night one. Naito and Okada started this match. Not long into the match LIJ started to throw members into the barricades at ringside. SHO hit hard, almost going into the crowd. SHO and Takagi had a great exchange in the ring. When BUSHI got tagged in he hit a Dropkick off the top rope and then his patented Bushirooni. RPG3K did a Double Suplex onto Takagi and then tagged in Okada to work on BUSHI. He exchanged blows with Naito after he broke up his pinfall. BUSHI and Okada took the match home with Okada following up a Dropkick with the Rainmaker for the win. Maybe I’m crazy, but it felt like I hadn’t seen a Rainmaker in a while. I was hoping to see more teamwork between RPG3K, but only really got one spot out of it.

Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer) (0-0) vs. Takashi Iizuka & Minoru Suzuki (0-0) (World Tag League Match)

After quite the extensive undercard we finally began with the Tag League matches. KES faced Iizuka and their own group’s leader, Minoru Suzuki. Iizuka entered through the crowd without anyone from Suzuki Gun walking him out. When Suzuki-gun faces themselves you can bet that they’ll be starting with a brawl around the venue. After a lengthy fight outside the ring the match finally began. Suzuki’s strong style was tested as many times KES would no-sell his shots. After Suzuki was gotten rid of, KES hit a Killer Bomb on Iizuka for the win. The way I perceived the match is that Iizuka’s dirty tactics didn’t work and because of this actually distracted and detrimented him. After the match Suzuki shook hands with KES.

Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi (0-0) vs. Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii (0-0) (World Tag League Match)

The next match was Suzuki-gun versus CHAOS. After maybe 8 minutes of the match Yano got a tag to fight Taichi. Yano undid two corner pads. When turning around from undoing the second one, Taichi hit him with the first one. Taichi ran into an exposed corner then got his long pants ripped off by Yano. A roll-up pin only gave Yano a two count. Yano’s corners worked against his team as Ishii ran into one once he got tagged in. After Ishii was thrown in the corner once again, ZSJ put him in a submission move that Ishii escaped. Yano came in and gave both of his opponents a Fireman’s Carry and another move for each. He gave ZSJ an Inverted Atomic drop after running him into a corner, then Ishii hit a German Suplex for a two count. Taichi took care of Yano while ZSJ did a Penalty Kick and then a roll-up for a two count. Yano hit a clothesline for a close count. The crowd was unglued at this point. ZSJ turned a Vertical Drop Brainbuster into a Triangle Choke. While the ref was looking at Ishii, Taichi hit Yano with a mic-stand. Ishii passed out, ending the match. The match was enjoyable but the ref spot was lazy. The ref was looking for a tap from Ishii, but was also shielding his eyes for no reason? They weren’t even trying with the finish. ZSJ raised Yano’s RPW Championship after the match.

SANADA & EVIL (0-0) vs. Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb (0-0) (World Tag League Match)

The main event of the second night was SANADA and EVIL facing Michael Elgin and Jeff Cobb. Cobb and SANADA started the match. Cobb and Elgin repeated their spot from Night one where they took turns holding someone upside down. Cobb did an impressive Standing Moonsault but got hit by EVIL’s knees on the way down. When Elgin got tagged in at one point he gave both opponents a Spinning Forearm and then dove to the outside where EVIL was. Elgin tried for a German Suplex but SANADA escaped. SANADA went off the ropes but got Superkicked then hit with the German Suplex upon second attempt. While Cobb was being held back by EVIL, SANADA tried to end the match with with a Skulls End, but Cobb eventually stopped it. Later on SANADA let go of a Skulls Ends to let EVIL do a Magic Killer with him. After Elgin and SANADA were in the ring for the longest time Cobb and EVIL got tagged in. Cobb gave EVIL a Tour of The Islands for a pin that was broken up by SANADA. With SANADA now outside of the ring, Elgin gave EVIL a Superplex, and Cobb did a Standing Moonsault for a kickout. I genuinely believed that would be the finish. After Cobb dodged an Everything Is EVIL, EVIL escaped another Tour of The Islands, did another Magic Killer with SANADA. EVIL landed his Everything is EVIL move to finish the match.

I felt that A Tour of The Islands and the Magic Killer were both done one too many times. While this match entertained by I thought Cobb and Elgin both hitting high spots only to get a clean kickout made them look very weak. This ended the show.

Day 3 (Tuesday):

Note: The whole show won’t be shown as only some matches will be uploaded to NJPWWorld afterwards.

  1. Yuya Uemura & Ayato Yoshida vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Hangman Page
  2. Ren Narita & Shota Umina vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.
  3. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yota Tsuji & Tomoaki Honma
  4. Toa Henare & Togi Makabe (0-1) vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata (1-0) (World Tag League Match)
  5. Jeff Cobb & Michael Elgin (0-1) vs. Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer) (1-0) (World Tag League Match)
  6. Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii (0-1) vs. Takashi Iizuka & Minoru Suzuki (0-1) (World Tag League Match)
  7. David Finlay & Juice Robinson (1-0) vs. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tanga Loa & Tama Tonga) (1-0) (World Tag League Match)
  8. RPG3K (SHO & YOH), Best Friends (Chuckie T & Beretta) & Kazuchika Okada vs. Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, SANADA, EVIL & Tetsuya Naito

NXT TakeOver: WarGames 2 Results and Review

The Saturday night before Survivor Series played host to one of the wildest gimmicks that has been brought back in recent years: War Games. NXT had their big show of the recent weeks with most of their titles on the line. The show began with Matt Riddle coming to the ring to talk. Since he was on the left ring the commentary team probably had a bad view. Riddle said that was not scheduled to fight on this show. He called out Kassius Ohno, who interrupted him on the Takeover Pre-show. They are scheduled to fight on Wednesday, but he wants to fight now. Ohno came out and accepted the challenge.

Matt Riddle vs. Kassius Ohno

Riddle hit Ohno with a flying knee to end the match instantly. It looks like on top of Riddle’s “Bro” thing that he’s got going that they will try to push his MMA background and how he could KO people.

Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler (2 Out of 3 Falls Match) (NXT Women’s Championship Match)

After the very quick first segment we went head on into the Women’s Championship match. No promo video or anything, we just got right to it. The match was the third title bout between these two, with their past dating back even farther than that. Their first big bout was in the finals of the Mae Young Classic. Fitting that the two finalists of the women’s prospects tournament are now on top of the NXT Women’s division. Sane was hot out of the gates getting lots of moves in. After Sane pushed Baszler into the ring Baszler’s friends appeared and attacked Sane while the ref was distracted. Baszler landed the first point after putting in a Rear Naked Choke. A little later Sane found herself in the move again but made it to the ropes. Sane almost got her first fall with a roll-up. Sane reversed a Rear Naked Choke into a pin but Baszler got out of it. Baszler tried for a move on the apron but it got countered into a DDT. It looked like Baszler legitimately landed on the top of her head from this. Sane did an Elbow Drop off of the top rope to the outside onto the trio. After that she rolled Baszler back into the ring for an Insane Elbow for her first pinfall, and to tie it up. Sane reversed a move into a Sunset Flip Powerbomb off the top rope for a close count. When Sane tried to go to the top rope for another Elbow Drop, Baszler’s two friends interfered with one pushing Sane off of the top rope. Dakota Kai and Io Shirai came out to even the odds with Shirai doing a Moonsault to everyone (including Dakota?). Baszler dodged another Elbow Drop from Sane and turned it into a Roll-Up Pin to win.

A few things about this match rubbed me the wrong way. For one, the finish seemed out of place since Sane had her friends come out there to make it more fair. Also, I don’t like ring apron spots. They always make me cringe. The 2 out of 3 falls gimmick doesn’t really make sense to me under any context (unless it’s a tag match). X-Pac was shown at ringside before the next match. Is he signing with NXT? Just kidding.

Johnny Gargano vs. Aleister Black

The next match had no stipulation and no title involved. This match was explosive from the very start. Here was some of my favourite parts of the match. Black did a front flip off the apron onto Gargano who was on the outside. Gargano did a Tope Suicida into a DDT outside the ring, which looked insane. It was all happening so quickly that I couldn’t write a lot of it down. At one point when they were both laid out the crowd was cheering loud in appreciation. Gargano threw Black head first like a dart into the second rope at one point. As Gargano was setting up for a move Black sat up and said “give me your best shot.” Black kicked out from a Running Knee that happened after another quick combo of moves. After both wrestlers traded blows Gargano sent Black to the ropes then pushed him to the outside. Gargano did a dive to the outside but went head first into a knee. Back in the ring Gargano was holding Black’s leg out of mercy. Black got tricked into thinking that Gargano wanted to get finished, with Gargano reversing a kick into a roll-up and then a submission move. He eventually escaped and then landed a Spinning Knee. Black did a Step-Up Knee and two Black Mass’ for the finish.

This match was fast and wild. It went so fast that I missed like 90% of it. Even if I had a play-by-play written down, it’s worth watching in its entirety. Both wrestlers absolutely tore the house down and exceeded my expectations.

Velveteen Dream vs. Tommaso Ciampa (NXT Championship Match)

The Velveteen Dream got a title shot against Tommaso Ciampa before the main event. He came out dressed as Hollywood Hulk Hogan. Early on in the match Ciampa took Velveteen’s weightlifting belt, so in return Velveteen took his Championship. After Velveteen was dominating in the ring Ciampa tried to escape outside the ring. Ciampa was given no breathing time as Dream dove onto him seconds later. Velveteen tried doing something on the ropes but was thrown to outside the ring. Later on, Velveteen hit a trio of Legdrops and a Spinebuster for a two count. Velveteen did another Figure Four after doing one on the ringpost outside the ring. As the match was nearing its end a Project Ciampa was hit for a very close pinfall. Velveteen hit a Sister Abgail onto the title which was in the ring. Velveteen went for a pinfall but Ciampa kicked out. After that Dream was thrown out of the ring by Ciampa then was given a Draping DDT for a close count. Ciampa tried for a Draping DDT on the outside without the ring mat, but instead Dream pushed Ciampa into the commentary table seats. Ciampa swung at the commentators which got him distracted. He was given a Rolling Fireman’s Carry on the floor and then was brought into the ring for an Elbow drop. Ciampa kicked out. Ciampa then took Dream to the metal grid in-between the two rings for a Draping DDT for the win.

This match was amazing, maybe even better than the match before. We saw in two bouts with two completely different styles. One was of a very fast, sometimes hard to keep up with style. The second one was slower and more dramatic match, but might have even gotten the attention even more from the crowd than the match before. I didn’t have any complaints whatsoever about this match. The crowd went nearly silent once Ciampa had officially won.

The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) vs. War Raiders (Hanson & Rowe), Pete Dunne & Ricochet

The main event was of course the War Games match. The match starts with one member of each team, with more joining throughout the match. The starting wrestler for The Undisputed Era was Adam Cole. The other team had Ricochet starting. With five minutes on the clock, Ricochet and Cole were in a standoff deciding who goes to whos ring. Ricochet did an amazing Springboard Uppercut from the rope of the ring beside the one that Cole was in. The next entrant was Kyle O’Reilly. Three minutes later Hanson came out, holding back Dunne who wanted to come out instead. Hanson did a spot where he took turns clotheslining Cole and O’Reilly in their respective corners. After that he did a Bronco Buster onto both wrestlers. I was surprised that he wasn’t dead after this spot because it looked extremely tiring. Ricochet did a Shooting Star Press onto O’Reilly, jumping off of Hanson’s back. The next wrestler to join the ring was Roderick Strong. I thought it was somewhat awkward each time a door was opened because the referees would take a good five seconds to open the door. Rowe got in next for his team. Rowe did an amazing spot where he slammed O’Reilly and Strong at the same time. Bobby Fish was taken out of his cage and went over to Pete Dunne’s cage. He attacked Dunne’s arm through the cage and then put his lock on Dunne’s lock and threw away the key. Fish brought in Undisputed Era branded chairs and was using them liberally on his opponents.

Dunne’s countdown eventually ended but he still couldn’t come into the ring. The referees eventually found a wrench and broke the lock. Dunne came in with a kendo stick. Before Dunne entered the ring Ricochet did a Crossbody off the top rope onto all of The Undisputed Era. Dunne threw two trash cans and two tables into the ring as well. After The Undisputed Era had the momentum for the longest time Dunne’s team was finally getting it back. Rowe bodyslammed Hanson onto O’Reilly then did a double team Clothesline onto Cole. UE regained control after throwing a garbage can at a War Raiders member. Cole gave Ricochet a Backstabber. This laid out all members of a team except for Dunne. Pete Dunne fought all four of them off, putting Fish into a Leg Lock. UE put Dunne in an Ankle Lock while everyone else from Dunne’s team were seperated in the other ring. Ricochet broke into enemy territory by going flying. Ricochet and Dunne both did a spot off of the top turnbuckle at the same time. After War Machine set up the two tables, Rowe got speared through one by Fish.

O’Reilly put Ricochet in a Triangle on a table, but Hanson broke it up by diving onto O’Reilly and going through the table. The pinfall was broken up by a garbage can hitting them. Ricochet and Cole both climbed to the top of the cage and traded blows. Cole was turned into a Superplex spot that included everyone except for Ricochet. Ricochet did a 450 Backflip onto everyone in the ring. Once everyone was up the two teams were separated by the two rings. They joined each other in the middle and started slugging it out once again. War Raider did a Fallout, then shortly after Hanson did a Handstand Double Back Elbow which was unexpected. Dunne tried for a move but Cole countered it into a DDT. Two moves later Cole did a Last Shot for a two count. Dunne hit a Bitter End, then Ricochet hit a splash for the three count.

This match was nothing short of madness. Absolute madness, and I loved every second of it. This really put the war in War Games. This didn’t win match of the night for me, but it was still great. The crowd was engaged from start to finish, much like they were for every other match on this show. I’d give match of the night to Gargano vs. Black since it was great wrestling with no gimmick stipulations. It’s been a while now since an NXT show was a let down to viewers. Dunne and Ricochet posed on top of the ring as the show went off air.

NJPW World Tag League 2018 Day 1 Results and Review

Show: NJPW World Tag League 2018 Day 1

When: 11/17/18

Where: Chichibunomiya Memorial Gymnasium, Kanagawa, Japan

Before New Japan begins their Road To The Tokyo Dome, they have one last tournament: The World Tag League. Today was the first day of the round robin tournament. Let’s look at the show.

Yoya Uemura & Yota Tsuji vs. Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb

The opening match was two Young Lions versus the big man team of Elgin and Cobb. Elgin and Cobb are working as a team in the tournament, but do not fight in the pool until tomorrow. Tsuji started with Cobb and seemed over confident against him. He got overpowered by Cobb. Tsuji tagged in Uemura and Elgin got tagged in as well. Uemura landed a good dropkick in the corner. Cobb and Elgin did a double team spot where both guys took turns holding Uemura upside down. Cobb hit a Standing Moonsault for a two count. Tsuji and Cobb got hot tags with Tsuji and Uemura doing a Boston Crab with each one taking a leg. After Tsuji landed a Sunset Flip pin on Cobb the fun and games was over for him. The big man duo did a double clothesline, a move for a close count and A Tour of The Islands from Cobb for the win. It was a nice little start to the card with the Young Lions getting a decent amount of offense in.

Ren Narita & Tomoaki Honma vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi

Before the next match Taichi sadly did not have a song to sing on his way to the ring. After Narita had a good opening battle with ZSJ he was sent into the seats by Taichi while ZSJ went after Honma. Honma was put in an armbar by ZSJ but he luckily made it to the ropes. Taichi got tagged in and got hit with a flying headbutt. Taichi Superkicked Narita for the win while ZSJ had Honma on the top rope with a submission. I’m happy to see ZSJ on this tour because he has the potential to deliver some amazing matches. Not all of the teams are dream teams, but some are definitely worth looking out for.

Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer vs. Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Takashi Iizuka

In the next match Suzuki-gun were pitted against each other. Kanemaru, Smith Jr. and Archer faced Suzuki, Desperado and Iizuka. Both teams brawled early, with Suzuki and Archer going deep into the crowd. Iizuka and Archer were the first two to formally start the match. When Suzuki got in the ring he landed a Gotch Style Piledriver on Kanemaru for the win. This match felt a little too short. They could have went maybe five more minutes, especially since it’s a six-man not a normal tag team.

World Tag League Matches

Shota Umino & Ayato Yoshida (0-0) vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay (0-0)

After three preliminaries we began the World Tag League portion of the card. Robinson was dressed as the Macho Man Randy Savage. Juice came off the top early on and got caught by Umino to get Belly-to-belly Suplexed. He landed a Missile Dropkick off the top with the help of Yoshida. Umino put Finlay in the Boston Crab but was taken out of it by Robinson. Umino was on a roll but got stopped by both Juice and Finlay. Robinson did a Left Hand of God with Finlay hitting a Stunner to win the match.

Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata (0-0) vs. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan (0-0)

The next tournament match was not a match of young prospects. Nakanishi and Nagata fought Kojima and Tenzan. Tenzan was on a roll late in the match and hit a Brainbuster for a two count. Tenzan did a Anaconda Vice on Nakanishi but Nagata came in to break it up. Nagata got tagged in on Tenzan and was landing kicks. Kojima replaced Tenzan and did a million chops in the corner. Kojima landed a Cutter and then a Brainbuster for a close count. Kojima was on a roll but caught himself in an Armbar of Nagata that Tenzan separated. Nakanishi did a Spear to Kojima then Nagata did an knee in the corner and an Exploder Suplex for the win. This was the sort of match that had me bored at the start, but had a real good finishing few minutes.

Best Friends (Chuckie T & Beretta) v (0-0) vs. Hangman Page & Yujiro Takahashi (0-0)

Before this match began Don Callis showed up to the English commentary table. Chuckie T looked explosive at the start versus Takahashi. Everyone in this match seemed so energetic. I liked a spot where Beretta got thrown into a corner but used the momentum to land a clothesline. Chuckie T tried for a Moonsault but Page dodged it. Takahashi landed a move after a Hotshot Lariat from Page onto Beretta, but Chuckie broke it up. After Chuckie T was thrown into the barricades Beretta became disadvantaged. Beretta was hard to put away. He survived a Powerbomb which lended Chuckie T time to get back into the match. Beretta landed a Piledriver with Chuckie T going off of the top rope as well to give them the win. This win came as a surprise to me because Page and Takahashi seemed like the ones that would be more likely to be put over. Also I assumed the Powerbomb would be the finishing spot.

Toa Henare & Togi Makabe (0-0) vs. Tanga Loa & Tama Tonga w/ Jado (0-0)

The Guerillas of Destiny were accompanied by Jado in this match. Jado threatened the commentary table with a kendo stick before the match. The crowd was hot for Makabe. Loa and Makabe started the fight off. Jado tried playing as a distraction at one point but got punched off the apron by Makabe. When Henare and Makabe were on a roll Henare hit a Shoulder Tackle off the ropes for a two count. After that Henare and Loa had a great combination of reversals that ended with Loa hitting a Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count, which was broken up by Makabe. Loa gave Henare a variation of a Piledriver for the win. Jado interfered with the kendo stick many times when the referee did not see. This was one of the best matches of the night. Makabe seemed to get more ring time that Henare. After the match Don Callis commented on Jado saying “how many gimmicks is this guy carrying?”

Main Event

Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, SANADA, EVIL & Tetsuya Natio vs. RPG3K (Sho & Yoh), Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada

The main event of the evening does not apply to the tag league. It was a classic CHAOS versus Los Ingobernables de Japon matchup. It wasn’t long into the match that everyone brawled in many directions through the crowd. Yano got stuck in a Paradise Lock by Sanada. When Okada got tagged in he did a good combination with Sanada. YOH got the hot tag on BUSHI next. RPG3K tried for the 3K but BUSHI escaped it. Naito got tagged in and went to work on YOH with the help of EVIL and Sanada. He attempted a Destino but Yano came in to stop it which started a flurry of people coming in and out of the ring. Naito hit a Destino on YOH to end the match. It surprised me that YOH was given so much time. This felt a little short for a main event, but was a good way to wrap up the show nonetheless. To close the show Los Ingobernables spoke to the crowd.

Tomorrow:

    1. David Finlay & Juice Robinson vs. Yuya Uemura & Yota Tsuji
    2. Ren Narita & Tomoaki Honma vs. Tanga Loa & Tama Tonga
    3. Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Toa Henare & Togi Makabe vs. Shota Umino, Ayato Yoshida, Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata
    4. Chuckie T, Beretta & Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Hangman Page & Kota Ibushi
    5. RPG3K (SHO & YOH) & Kazuchika Okada vs. Shingo Takagi, BUSHI & Tetsuya Naito
    6. Takashi Iizuka & Minoru Suzuki (0-0) vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer (0-0) (Tag League Match)
    7. Takashi Iizuka & Minoru Suzuki (0-0) vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer (0-0) (Tag League Match)
    8. Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii (0-0) vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (0-0) (Tag League Match)
    9. Jeff Cobb & Michael Elgin (0-0) vs. SANADA & EVIL (0-0) (Tag League Match)

Smackdown Live 11/13/18 Results and Review

This week Smackdown started by doing something that they don’t do often as the opening of the show: play a clip of RAW. It all made sense though because on RAW was when the Smackdown women’s roster invaded RAW. After the recap the commentary team confirms the already broken news about Becky Lynch being injured during the segment. They pose the question of who will fill in Lynch’s spot in her match on Sunday. I could sense during the day that they would hold off on reporting the story until Smackdown because it made sense.

AJ Styles came to the ring after this announcement. Styles was there to talk about his Champion versus Champion match against Brock Lesnar this weekend. He said that he fights Lesnar at Survivor Series for the second year in a row this year. He realised while talking that Paul Heyman had entered through the crowd. Announcer Mike Rome was persistent at keeping the mic away from Heyman until Styles told him to give Heyman a mic. After both exchanged words, Daniel Bryan came out to the ring because his name was mentioned in the conversation. Bryan said that if AJ mentioned his name again he would get punched in the face. AJ did just that and got punched in the face. Shane McMahon came out and tried breaking up the brawl. The brawl was broken up by the time we went to commercial break.

After the break Bryan was arguing with Shane backstage. Styles and the many referees separating them came in seconds later. Shane shouted over everyone saying that he will book a WWE Championship match for later in the show. But why? Bryan lost completely clean only a few episodes ago. What gives him another shot? Because he punched the champ in the face?

Andrade “Cien” Almas w/ Zelina Vega vs. Jeff Hardy

The first match of the evening was Andrade Almas versus Jeff Hardy. Before the break Almas was kicked out of the ring by Jeff after doing his tranquilo pose. Hardy hit the Twist of Fate followed up by a Swanton Bomb to win the match. This was a very short match. This wasn’t a bad match, but to show how insignificant it was, as the replays were rolling Corey Graves was back to talking about AJ Styles. The Miz is now sole captain of the Smackdown team, with Bryan off the team. The Miz added Jeff Hardy to the team and took Rey Mysterio off the team since Rey was Bryan’s pick when he was co-captain. Paige didn’t let this fly immediately, saying that for Rey to be taken off the team The Miz has to beat him in a match. As a reminder, these two just fought on October 23, AKA three weeks ago.

The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio

When The Miz made his entrance he walked out with a copy of The Marine 6: Close Quarters like how Toru Yano enters with his DVD. Late into the match The Miz did a Powerbomb for a two count. Mysterio was on a roll and went for a Frogsplash but The Miz put his knees up to reverse it. The Miz did a roll-up for a two count, then Rey did a roll-up of his own to get the three count. Mysterio stays on the team. After the match Randy Orton tried sneak attacking Mysterio. Rey avoided it but The Miz found himself caught in the crossfire, with Orton RKO’ing him. After the match we got a sneak peek of USA Network’s show “Real Country.”

After the break Paige brings out the Smackdown live women’s roster. Paige brought out Becky Lynch after everyone was in the ring. Lynch said that she has to pick who will replace her. She makes Charlotte take the spot, then they hugged afterwards.

Sheamus & Cesaro and Big Show vs. The New Day

Sheamus, Cesaro and The Big Show faced The New Day in the next match. Mid-way through the match Xavier Woods did a missile dropkick off the top to Cesaro then gave Kofi Kingston a hot tag. After a series of moves involving everyone in the match, Kofi did an SOS for a two count. Big Show got tagged in and KO punched Kofi as he was coming down from the top rope to end the match. Backstage we see The Usos give Smackdown Live shirts to The Colons, The Good Brothers and Sanity. It’s interesting that the Survivor Series matches forces the bookers to use people who otherwise would be out of work.

Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles (WWE Championship Match)

The main event of the evening was Daniel Bryan versus AJ Styles for the WWE Championship. The match started quick with Bryan being thrown outside the ring in the first minute. Styles did a forearm off the top rope onto the floor before the broadcast went to a break. After the second break Bryan was closing in on a win. He landed a Hurricanrana off of the top rope for a two count. Bryan did a Belly-to-back Superplex off the top rope moments later for another close count. Styles tried a Springboard 450 but Bryan put his knees up. Bryan then transitioned into a Yes Lock which Styles escaped by getting to the ropes. Styles tried for the Calf Crusher in the center of the ring but Bryan reversed it into an Armbar and then another Yes Lock. Styles escaped the Yes Lock and put Bryan into the corner. Styles tried for the Phenomenal Forearm, but Bryan dodged it making Styles run into the ref. As the ref was down Styles got kicked in the groin. Bryan hit a running knee to become the new WWE Champion. After the match Bryan continued his beatdown on Styles. Looks like heel Bryan is back. I was expecting Bryan to win, but by no means was I expecting a heel turn here.

Becky Lynch Reportedly Injured After RAW, Off Survivor Series

Becky Lynch suffered a concussion Monday night during the taping of Monday Night RAW, days before her Survivor Series match against Ronda Rousey. Fightful broke the news Monday afternoon that Lynch suffered a concussion and possible broken nose after shooting a segment on TV where the Smackdown women’s roster invaded the RAW brand’s territory. They also said in the report that Lynch will not be competing on Sunday. While WWE has yet to provide a statement on the situation Dave Meltzer from F4WOnline has confirmed that Lynch is off of the Survivor Series PPV.

On Monday the finale of the episode of RAW included an invasion from the Smackdown Live brand. Lynch came to the ring after attacking Ronda Rousey backstage, with the rest of the Smackdown women’s roster joining her in a huge brawl. Fightful said in their report that it was Nia Jax who caused the injury to Lynch. This Sunday Lynch was scheduled to fight Rousey in a champion versus champion match, following the theme of RAW versus Smackdown that occurs throughout the card.

8:09PM EST UPDATE: WWE has confirmed on their broadcast of Smackdown Live that Becky Lynch was injured and will not compete at Survivor Series.

WWE RAW 11/12/18 Results and Review

Opening Match/Segment

Monday Night RAW opened up with a Veterans Day montage. Live from Kansas City the show starts immediately with a battle royal with RAW tag teams in the ring. Only seconds into the match Braun Stroman’s music hits and he walks out to the ring. As you would expect, Stroman cleared out the ring then was given a microphone. Stroman says he’s not leaving the ring until Corbin “gets these hands.” He doesn’t get Corbin, but instead gets Stephanie McMahon. Stephanie only cares about the RAW versus Smackdown rivalry, and tries to get Stroman riled up about it. Stroman makes it clear that he doesn’t care. Stephanie offers a deal to Stroman that if he wins with the RAW team he can get anything he wants. Stroman asks for a match with Lesnar, and a match with Corbin and to be able to pick the stipulations for those matches. Stephanie agrees with the one condition in the deal is that Stroman can’t fight Corbin until after Survivor Series.

As Stephanie was finishing her speech to Stroman, Ronda Rousey came out to the ring. Stephanie tried to give Ronda an introduction but got the microphone snatched from her. Ronda said something about not having to wait until Sunday to fight. Baron Corbin now came out and said that he is there to motivate RAW. Corbin put his arm on Rousey’s shoulder, which made her Judo Throw him and then storm out of the ring. Corbin got up and then had a face off with Stroman. As Corbin says that after Survivor Series he is going to neuter him after he is Stephanie’s lap dog. Not a bad final line for a segment that felt all over the place.

This opening felt so cluttered. It really put into perspective how useless the RAW tag division is when they all get thrown aside in seconds. Ronda’s only real purpose in this segment was to quickly remind people that she has a match on Sunday. I feel when the intro for the show takes two huge paragraphs to explain it’s too much for people to remember or keep track of. Imagine explaining this to a friend. How long do you think it would take to explain? And how long into that explanation do you think they would lose all interest?

Ember Moon vs. Tamina w/ Nia Jax

Ember Moon fought Nia Jax in the next match. Last week the friendship between Nia Jax and Tamina formed, with this being the first week of them entering together. Tamina faced Ember Moon this week as last week Tamina assisted Nia in a beatdown after a match last week. Backstage Alexa Bliss was overseeing the match. After coming back from a commercial break Ember Moon was on a roll. She went to the top rope but got distracted by Nia Jax, allowing Tamina to give Moon a Superkick. Tamina landed a Frogsplash for the win. She sort of shelled up during the splash, almost like she wasn’t completely confident with it. After the match they beat up Moon for the second week in a row. Rough time to be Moon.

Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose Segment

Seth Rollins was in the ring for an interview with Corey Graves in the next segment. During the interview Dean Ambrose is shown outside the arena sitting on top of a car beside a fire. After cutting a promo he put gas on a shield outfit then threw it in the fire. This made Seth leave the interview without any comment.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Finn Balor

After a recap of Kurt Angle’s match last week versus Drew McIntyre, Angle’s music played in the venue. Shortly after it cut to Ziggler’s music, as he was actually making his entrance with McIntyre. McIntyre flaunted his victory over Kurt Angle, which seems like not much to brag about these days. Finn Balor came to the ring to confront these two shortly after. Balor got jumped by McIntyre before we went to commercial break. Back from the break we had a match set up between Balor and Ziggler. After another break Balor was gaining momentum. It got stopped by a DDT from Ziggler which Balor kicked out of. He followed it up with a Famouser that got another near count. Later on, Balor did a dive to outside the ring onto both Ziggler and McIntyre, then put Ziggler in place for a Coup de Grace. Ziggler dodged it and went for a roll-up which Balor reversed into a roll-up of his own for the win. I thought this was a pretty good match, with the final combinations being very entertaining.

After the break Balor got offered a spot on the RAW Survivor Series team this weekend. Balor accepted the offer. McIntyre came into the frame with Ziggler and says “You think you’re funny?” Stephanie added Ziggler and McIntyre to the team as well.

Natalya Confronts Riott Squad

The Riott Squad came out to make an apology over breaking Natalya’s sunglasses last week on RAW. Ruby Riott acted guilty for her actions and then over course turned around the promo and said that she enjoyed breaking the glasses. Natalya came out angry and then got beat down by the three. Emotions overcame logic for Natalya. This was a follow up to a lame program from last week.

The tag team battle royal that was scheduled for earlier is being redone now. Chad Gable and Bobby Roode won the match in only a few short minutes. Nothing of substance came out of the match.

Brock Lesnar Returns

Next, Brock Lesnar made his first appearance after winning the WWE Universal Championship at Crown Jewel. Of course Paul Heyman was with him to talk. As usual Heyman cut a golden promo. Jinder Mahal of all people interrupted them as Heyman was wrapping up his bit. Lesnar mocked Jinder’s breathing techniques before beating him up as well as the Singh Brothers.

Bobby Lashley w/ Lio Rush vs. Elias

Before Bobby Lashley’s match, his manager Lio Rush praised Lashley’s body to the crowd. At the end of the posing session Lashley showed his behind to the crowd, which a week later still isn’t funny. Elias was on the stage to interrupt Lashley. Elias pretended to be on the phone reporting that Rush was a kid abducted by Lashley. After the break Elias was having a normal match with Lashley until he got counted out. Before entering the ring, Lio Rush held onto Elias’ leg, preventing him from getting in the ring. Because of this Elias attacked Rush and Lashley after the match. Rush got thrown out of the ring onto Lashley. I don’t really get the flexing of Lashley’s physique, but I like Rush as a manager. Has the gimmick of someone flexing their athletic physique ever worked big time as a gimmick for anyone?

Sasha Banks vs. Bayley

Alexa Bliss came out to the ring to announce the 2018 Women’s Survivor Series team. Feels so odd that this team was announced so last minute. She announced that Tamina, Nia Jax, Natalya and Mickie James are on the team. Natalya wasn’t on stage since she has had a bad night. but she is also on the team. A pretty weak team so far. Bliss says the winner of the next match will get the final spot on the team. The match was Sasha Banks versus Bayley. As the match was underway it got interrupted by the trio of heels at ringside. After this, Bliss introduced the actual 5th member of the team, Ruby Riott. I get that the idea is that Bliss only put on the match to deceive Bayley and Banks, but it’s kind of lame. Backstage we see Becky Lynch from Smackdown putting Ronda in an armbar in a locker room. As Becky Lynch came to the ring the rest of the women’s Smackdown roster arrived and started a brawl as well. Absolute mayhem broke out. Lynch left through the crowd with the rest of Smackdown with a bloody nose. It was a very cool visual to wrap up the show. This segment really put over Becky, And for the first time in a very long time RAW ended on time.

NXT UK TV Taping To Include Women’s Championship Match This Weekend

Long-time British LAN/gaming convention Insomnia plays host to a NXT UK TV taping this weekend. Taking place on Saturday and Sunday, the tapings have gotten championship implications added to them, as a tournament to find the first NXT UK Women’s Champion has been announced by WWE. The talent announced for the tournament is Toni Storm, Jinny, Isla Dawn, Millie McKenzie, Nina Samuels, Dakota Kai, Rhea Ripley & Xia Brookside.