This is one of those bonus shows that WWE gives us that really means nothing, but it is always nice to get for the $9.99 that many of us pay a month. And further more, this is the 2nd Starrcade event that WWE put together. After not airing any of last year's event despite fan protests, WWE has decided to edit down their Starrcade show from Saturday to a 1-hour show for the WWE Network.
Let's Do This!
Elias is the first person we see on this show. He promises to play a little something, and he does. Who Wants to Walk with Elias? He introduces his special guest: Ric Flair! Flair puts over the fact that it was 35 years ago that he defeated Harley Race in the main event of the first Starrcade. They re interrupted by the women coming down for the first match. Nia Jax, Alicia Fox, Mickie James, and Tamina come out. They say they want to "Walk with Elias." Flair says they are all beautiful. They allow Elias and Ric to do a bit of their song, but then they wreck the song by singing a bunch of weird stuff. Nia said she refused a record deal to come to WWE. Elias tells Nia that four of his friends are coming down to shut her mouth.
1) Nia Jax, Alicia Fox, Mickie James and Tamina vs. Dana Brooke, Ember Moon, Bayley, and Sasha Banks
The bell rings. Mickie and Ember start off the match. A bunch of cartwheels by both women. Springboard splash by Ember gets a 2. Tag to Brooke who begins working on Mickie. Cartwheel Backspring Elbow in the corner by Brooke at one point. Tag to Bayley. Mickie runs to her corner and tags in Tamina. Tamina overpowers Bayley early on. Big splash into the corner on Bayley. Bayley hits a running knee into Tamina. Blind tag to Nia Jax, and they just double shoulder tackle Bayley to the mat. Mickie James and Alicia Fox take turns tagging in to work on Bayley. Nia Jax gets tagged in as well, but Bayley eventually escapes her grasp. Tag to Sasha. Double knees to the legal Alicia Fox in the corner. Big dives and attacks by all of the women, including an Eclipse by Moon on Tamina. Bank Statement on Fox. Tap out.
Winner: Brooke, Moon, Bayley, and Banks
Match Grade: C+. Perfectly acceptable house show quality match. They kept the crowd hot, and each of the women had a moment to work in front of the crowd. And they did it well. Nothing groundbreaking, but it's a fun TV match.
Samoa Joe cuts a promo about insanity. Joe admits that he's lost a lot facing AJ Styles, but it is absolute insanity to face Samoa Joe in a steel cage.
The Miz is out for Miz TV. He recalls the great moments of Starrcade's past. He also introduces the two wrestlers who will compete for the U.S. Championship tonight: Rey Mysterio (with a neckbrace selling the attack from SmackDown) and champion Shinsuke Nakamura. Miz complements Rey for having his face hidden again. And he asks Rey why is there and not at home healing. Starrcade means something to Rey. He puts over some of the wrestlers who competed in previous Starrcades, including Eddie Guerrero. He wants to build his own legacy by beating Nakamura for the championship. Nakamura doesn't care if it is Starrcade or about Rey Mysterio. He liked watching Randy Orton beat him up. Rey and Miz argue about Survivor Series, and Rey does the Miz's "hand up, mouth shut" gimmick in Spanish. Nakamura jumps Rey as he's arguing with Miz.
2) United States Championship
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Rey Mysterio
Nakamura lands the sliding knees into the side of Rey. Suplex faceplant by Nakamura. Kinshasa is rolled through for a 2 count. Spinning wheel kick by Nakamura. Running knee into the midsection by Nakamura. Rey kicks Nakamura off the mat and nails a baseball slide. Running seated senton hits The Miz instead of Nakamura on the floor. Rey hits a seated senton on Nakamura in the ring. Miz attacks Mysterio to cause the DQ. Mysterio and Nakamura double team Mysterio. HERE COMES RUSEV! Rusev dumps both men to the floor.
Lana challenges Miz and Nakamura to a tag match against Rey and Rusev.
3) Rusev and Rey Mysterio vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and The Miz
The bell rings. Miz and Nakamura just start walking off. Mysterio and Rusev go out after the heels and drag them back to ringside. The heels smack into each other in the ring. Mysterio puts Miz in position. But 6-1-9 is blocked by a clothesline by Nakamura. Nakamura nails "Bad Vibrations" in the corner. Jumping knee by Nakamura gets a 2. Tag to Miz. Rey gets leveled with a big boot. Nakamura is tagged back in and continues to work on Mysterio. The classic heel ref distraction leads to a sneak attack by Miz. Rey kicks Nakamura on the side of the face. Enziguri now by Rey.
Tags to Miz and Rusev. Rusev nails a flying spin kick to Miz. Machka Kick missed. Big kick by Rusev on the rebound gets a 2. Rusev CRUSH! Accolade avoided. SKULL CRUSHING FINALE. 1-2-Mysterio breaks it up. Miz gets thrown into Nakamura on the ropes. A Double 6-1-9, followed by a Machka Kick, ends The Miz.
Winners: Mysterio and Rusev
Match Grade: B. A very fun sequence of events here for a house show. You had a fun Miz TV segment which led into a shortened U.S. Championship match which led into a even more fun tag team match. This is what a house show should be: something that delivers fun for the live crowd while playing off things that happened on the TV show.
3) Steel Cage Match
AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe
The bell rings. Joe goes after Styles right out of the gate with a bunch of strikes and headbutts. Styles starts fighting back. But JOe begins overpowering Styles. Dropkick by Styles. Styles has a good bit of control with elbow strikes and kicks. A suplex is blocked by Joe and reversed into a faceplant. Styles then gets thrown and smashed into the walls of the steel cage. Joe just asserts his dominance for the next few moments of the match. Styles gets his face grated against the cage. BIG corner splash into the Pele Kick by Joe for a 2 count.
Joe continues to throw Styles into the cage. But he misses Styles and accidentally splashes into the empty cage wall. Styles starts firing back with a bunch of strikes and kicks. Moonsault into the Reverse DDT connects for a 2 count. Styles starts climbing the cage. A Phenomenal Forearm jump off the corner is caught and turned into a Belly-To-Belly by Joe. Styles later hits a Tornado DDT using the ropes and the cage wall. Styles Clash is avoided, and Joe just throws Styles into the cage. A senton splash only gets 2. Joe puts AJ on the corner. Muscle Buster is avoided by Styles. Chop Block by Styles. Judo Throw into the mat by Joe. Styles rolls over towards the door to block Joe from getting out. Calf Crusher by Styles. Joe grabs the ropes, but rope breaks do not count in a cage match. Joe taps.
Winner: AJ Styles
Match Grade: B. Again, this is on a house show scale here. As such, this was a perfectly acceptable steel cage match on this show. This was not supposed to be a full-out steel cage match, but these guys did go above what I would consider to be acceptable in a House Show Steel Cage Match. Joe never beats AJ Styles in WWE. Death, taxes, Joe loses to AJ Styles. They are becoming the certainties of life.
Show Grade: B+. You know what? For a one-hour extra show that was basically just house show matches thrown together, I had a good time watching this. All the included segments delivered, including the main event. And if you leave your expectations at the door and keep in mind that this is a house show, you should find a way to enjoy this one hour of WWE television. By the way, I liked the change of look for this show. Less lighting, less LED boards, and more focus on the performers in the ring. If WWE starts showing more house show clips like this in the future on the network, count me in as a viewer.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness.
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