HERE WE GO!
Pre-Show
1) WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Buddy Murphy (champ) vs. Cedric Alexander
They started this match early. Apparently, they wanted just as many fans in the arena as there usually are in 205 Live matches for this to give it the authentic feel.
The bell rings. A lot of tie-ups and switches to start up the match to a good reaction from the crowd. A Loud 205 Chant. Alexander takes down Murphy to the floor. Really good back and forth action here with both men moving quickly. Alexander catches Murphy with a dropkick for a 2 count. BIG KNEE to the head of Alexander sends him to the floor. Murphy flies off the top rope and hits a Meteora (maybe that’s what they were going for?) for a 2 count. Murphy has the advantage for a few moments, including a power choke on the corner on Alexander. He jumps off it to eat a SUPERKICK to the chest. Crowd seems invested in the match. That’s a good sign. Combination kicks by Alexander. Flatliner. Dropkick through the ropes and a dive off the ropes back in the ring gets a 2 count. Alexander was moving quickly in that whole exchange. Rollup with tights gets a 2 count for Murphy. Alexander gets a Michinoku Driver on Murphy right after for another 2 count.
Forearms now by Alexander. Murphy fires off with a lot of kicks. Big uppercut by Alexander. Alexander gets superkicked on the corner. Sit-Down Powerbomb by Murphy gets a 2. Crowd is showing a lot of interest. I have to give these guys credit: keeping us fans engaged is what it’s all about. Therefore, this is working. Both men are on the apron. DEAR GOD! DEATH VALLEY DRIVER ON THE APRON BY ALEXANDER! LUMBAR CHECK IN THE RING! 1-2-Buddy Murphy gets his foot on the rope. Alexander now goes after Murphy, who sends him into the middle turnbuckle. Big knee to the head of Alexander. Murphy’s Law! 1-2-3!
Winner: Buddy Murphy (STILL WWE Cruiserweight Champion)
Match Grade: B+. This was a great way to get the crowd warmed up for the main show. This is how the Cruiserweights should be used on the main roster’s big events: get the crowd worked up for the main talent to do their thing. Murphy and Alexander continue to have great matches on these shows, and Murphy is proving to be a really good Cruiserweight Champion from what I’m seeing. (I do not watch 205 Live weekly.)
Elias is out next. And he has one question for us tonight: WHO WANTS TO WALK WITH ELIAS?!!!!!! Elias has already climbed the ladder for success. Now, he’s going to climb up, get his guitar, and play a tune on Bobby Lashley. Elias goes to play a song and gets interrupted.
Lio Rush and Bobby Lashley come out. Lio Rush says no one came to see Elias. They came to see Bobby Lashley. Bobby Lashley does the butt pose.
2) Ladder Match
Bobby Lashley vs. Elias
Whomever grabs the guitar will win the match. Lashley mows down Elias with a Flatliner and gets a ladder. Elias dropkicks the ladder in the face of Lashley and stomps away. Elias places a couple ladders in the ring. Elias climbs up to get the guitar, but Lio Rush stops him. Lio runs to the floor. Knee to the head of Lashley. Elias sets up a ladder in the corner. Elias ends up going into the ladder instead. Lashley continues to assault Elias with the ladder. Elias throws a ladder up at Lashley while he is climbing. Now, Elias rams the ladder into the midsection of Lashley. Elias turned the match around until Lashley grabbed him and belly to belly suplexed him into a ladder. Lashley sets up another ladder. He climbs up but gets POWERBOMBED ON A LADDER by Elias. Lio Rush climbs up but gets sent off by Elias. Elias grabs the guitar!
Winner: Elias
Match Grade: C. This was an OK ladder match. I’ve seen many that were a lot better (this weekend in particular). But if this was the way they were going to go with the match, they put it on the right part of the show.
Elias teases who he is going to hit with the guitar. He goes to hit Bobby Lashley, but Lio Rush distracts him long enough for Lashley to attack Elias. Lio hits a frog splash on Elias. Elias takes the guitar to the spine from Bobby Lashley. Lashley stands tall to end the segment. He who laughs last...
Main Show
The Man opens the show. “As the year comes to a close, ask yourself: Did you make your mark? Do you have any unsettled business? We do.” They show the highlights of the multiple feuds going on around WWE.
Michael Cole welcomes us to the show.
1) Mixed Match Challenge Finals
Jinder Mahal/Alicia Fox vs. Carmella/R-Truth
Michael Cole puts over the fact that Facebook Watch is showing this match. Well good for the 2,000 people who are likely watching this that aren’t already on WWE Network. Carmella and R-Truth do a rap together as they come to the ring. Winners receive the #30 position in their Royal Rumble matches and an all-expenses paid trip anywhere in the world.
The bell rings. Jinder locks in a headlock as I feel my attention span slowly fading away. Crossbody by Truth gets a 2. Backslide gets a 2 for Truth. Rollup gets another 2. Alicia and Carmella tag in. Truth and Carmella double hip-toss Fox and Jinder. 7 Second Dance Break! The Singh Bros. come in to dance. That ends when they get thrown out by Truth and Carmella. Alicia hits a swinging neckbreaker on Carmella for a 2 count. Spinning head scissors by Carmella. Alicia knocks down Carmella. Northern Lights Suplex gets a 2 for Fox. Double Clothesline has both women down.
Truth and Jinder tag in. Truth goes on an offensive flurry with splits and kicks to the Maharaja. Alicia tags herself in to stop the offense. Alicia demands her hat. She’s the captain. Truth takes her hat. Alicia kicks Truth. Carmella kicks Alicia and gets pulled off the pin by Jinder. Code of Silence gets Alicia to tap though moments later.
Winners: R-Truth and Carmella (Mixed Match Challenge Tournament Winners)
Match Grade: C-. Well, that happened. Thankfully it didn’t last too long. #30 officially means nothing this year for the Rumble, but there will at least be 2 7-Second Dance Breaks this year.
After the match, they are interviewed. Truth made the choice for them on where they are going. Carmella is going nuts trying to figure it out. Truth chose WWE Headquarters in Stamford, CT. Carmella is angry! I feel for you, Carmella. Even The Elite don’t want to go to Stamford right now. You guys should have gone to Jacksonville. (Ok. I’m obviously joking. No hate comments please.)
2) SmackDown Live Tag Team Championships
The Bar (champs) vs. The Usos vs. The New Day
The bell rings. Kofi and Sheamus start us off. Sheamus overpowers Kofi on the early going with a shoulder tackle and headlock. Kofi uses his quickness to get a dropkick in for a 1 count. He tags in Xavier to get some quick double-team offense in. The Usos get involved. Jay Uso goes to fly, but he gets uppercutted by Cesaro. Irish Curse Backbreaker by Sheamus to Xavier gets a 2. The Bar gets some tandem offense on Xavier. Tag to Cesaro who continues the onslaught. Tag to Sheamus who helps with a double clothesline. “WE ARE THE BAR!” Cesaro and Sheamus dominate the match for a while beating down on Woods. Xavier gets out of the corner, but he can’t make the tag. Sheamus tags himself in and takes Woods to the top rope. Woods causes Sheamus to saddle the top rope and hits a dropkick.
Tags to Cesaro and Kofi. The Usos have yet to tag in at this point. Kofi hits the New Day Boom Drop. Kofi signals for Trouble in Paradise. Jimmy Uso gets a blind tag in. Kofi gets caught in a suplex by Cesaro. Jimmy dives off for a crossbody! He almost got the title. Tag by Jay Uso. The Usos are unloading SUPERKICKS for everyone! It’s a Samoan Superkick Party!!!! Pop-Up Samoan Drop gets a 2. Jay Uso climbs up and hits the splash. Cesaro blind tags in and almost gets the win off of The Uso Splash. Cesaro decides to go Swinging on Kofi. 13 Rotations into a Sharpshooter by Cesaro. Big E begs Kofi not to tap out. Woods comes in and hits a DDT. Sheamus tags in. Brogue Kick signaled. Missed. FLYING DOUBLE STOMP BY KOFI. Tag to Xavier. Trouble in Paradise. Flying Elbow Drop. 1-2-Jay Uso and Cesaro break it up. Great match so far.
The Usos each eat uppercuts from Cesaro. He gets sent out by Kofi. Kofi climbs up. Trust Fall Dive off the top rope to the floor. Sheamus and Woods are left. Big boot to Sheamus. BROGUE KICK! 1-2-3!
Winners: The Bar (still SmackDown Live Tag Team Champions)
Match Grade: B+. That was a very good tag team match between these three teams. So much action going on that it was hard to keep up with. The work rate and production by all three of these teams was beyond great. Great showing here.
Mr. McMahon will be on Raw tomorrow night to “shake things up.” As in fire the writing staff?
Heath Slater is in the ring to referee the next match.
3) Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match
Braun Strowman vs. “General Manager-Elect" Baron Corbin '
Baron Corbin is out first, proving that there is such a thing as “bad heat.” He grabs the mic. Massive boos. He thanks them for the warm welcome. Corbin understands that there’s been complaints. He respects what they have to say. But he says “TOO BAD! Get used to it!” The referee will count to 10 and make him the permanent GM. The bell rings. Heath Slater starts the count. BRAUNNNNNN!!!!!!
Here he is!!!! But he’s in a sling on the injured arm. Corbin waves off the match. Strowman grabs a mic and climbs on the ring apron. Loud “GET THESE HANDS!” chants. Corbin apparently forgot that there are no DQs in a TLC match. He says someone can help him teach Corbin a lesson and get rid of Corbin. He looks around the ring. Apollo Crews is there with a chair. He looks over and sees Roode and Gable with a chair. He goes to walk out, and there’s Finn Balor with a chair. They all get up on the apron. He complains to Heath Slater. Slater takes the referee’s shirt off and throws it at Corbin. A right hand by Slater. Corbin is surrounded. They each take chair shots to the back of Corbin. Corbin is on the floor. Corbin starts backing up the ramp. HERE’S KURT ANGLE!
Angle grabs a chair. Corbin is hit with a chair several times by Angle. Corbin rolls in and gets the neckbreaker moonsault from Gable and Roode. Frog Splash by Crews. Angle Slam by Angle. Coup de Grace by Balor. Slater puts the referee’s shirt on. Strowman puts the foot on Corbin. 1-2-3!
Winner: Braun Strowman (Baron Corbin is no longer GM of Raw)
Match Grade: D. This was more of a segment than anything. And we didn’t even get ladders or tables in it. So, this was basically a chairs match. But THANK GOD that the Baron Corbin storyline is finally over. So, I can’t fail this. It’s obvious that Strowman was in no condition to actually wrestle. So this was the best work-around possible given the situation.
4) Tables Match (or should we call this “The Anvil Memorial Table Match?”)
Ruby Riott vs. Natalya
Ruby has a table with Jim Neidhart’s image on it. She has promised to put Natalya through it tonight.
The bell rings. The Riott Squad use the #’s advantage early on. Natalya fights back and smacks Ruby’s head against a table several times. She tries to German suplex Ruby through it, but Ruby avoids it. Ruby is on the apron and almost gets speared through the table on the floor. Liv Morgan throws Ruby out of the way and takes a hard spear and fall through the table on the floor. Now, Sarah Logan tries to interfere. Natalya fights her off and goes back after Ruby. Logan interferes again, but she gets slammed through another table. Ruby is all alone against Natalya now, but she has the advantage. She puts Natalya against the table with Anvil on it. “Your father is ashamed of you.” She sets up the table in a corner of the ring after throwing Natalya against the steel steps.
Natalya is now thrown back in the ring. Ruby and Natalya play with throwing the other through the table. Sharpshooter to Ruby. Ruby uses the table to smack Natalya against the head to break up the hold. Ruby sets up the table again. Natalya hits an Electric Chair on Ruby, but the table tipped over before anyone can be put through it. She pulls out another table from under the ring THAT HAS RUBY RIOTT ON IT! She puts it in the ring. She then pulls out an Anvil jacket from The Hart Foundation. She kicks Ruby down and sets up the table. Riott kicks Natalya in the face. She puts Natalya on the table with her body on it. Natalya smacks Riott on that table seconds later. She puts Riott on that table. As she climbs up though, she eats a Riott Kick. Riott climbs up the corner. She tries a hurricanrana, but Natalya powerbombs her through the table instead!
Winner: Natalya
Match Grade: B. Was there any other way this could really end? Still, I thought this was a very well done match with Natalya eliminating the other members of the Riott Squad (who added a lot to the match by going through tables themselves). Riott is an unsung good worker in the ring, and she should be considered for winning the Women’s Battle Royal at WrestleMania if they do it again. The Riott Squad has gone from a Absolution-Lite group to a good women’s stable.
Natalya picks up the table with Riott’s body on it as a trophy. She poses with her father’s glasses and jacket on.
5) Drew McIntyre vs. Finn Balor
The lighting and camera work for McIntyre’s entrance are pretty awesome. It makes him look just that more menacing.
The bell rings. McIntyre stomps the “Too Sweet” fingers and asserts complete control over Balor to start off the match. Balor goes after the knee of McIntyre. McIntyre, relentless, goes back after Balor. He puts Balor on the corner, but Balor chops the leg down again and kicks at it. BALOR GETS BELLY-TO-BELLY THROWN ACROSS THE RING! DAMN! Balor goes back at the knee of McIntyre, but the power of McIntyre cannot be undone as Balor is tossed into the corner. Another toss by McIntyre across the ring. McIntyre continues to dominate Balor. Deadlift Vertical Suplex (from the mat to the suplex) for a 2 count. McIntyre continues to taunt and torture Balor.
Balor starts fighting back. Tilt-A-Whirl DDT by Balor. McIntyre is on the floor. Flying Somersault Dive to the floor on McIntyre! Sling Blade in the ring! Go Ace... I mean, Go Finn! Tilt-A-Whirl Backbreaker by McIntyre! 2 count. McIntyre continues talking trash to Balor. Balor almost catches McIntyre in a victory roll. McIntyre is down on the mat. Balor climbs up, but McIntyre catches him. He climbs up after Balor. He puts Balor on his back and HITS A WHITE NOISE/CELTIC CROSS OFF THE CORNER! 1-2-Kickout. Fans are clapping.
Finn is thrown on the floor. Finn pulls McIntyre between the ring apron and the ring skirt and attacks. He goes to kick McIntyre, but McIntyre just trips him up on the apron. Glascow Kiss Headbutt on the floor. McIntyre mocks the “Too Sweet” hand gesture. He tosses Balor back in the ring. Ziggler runs out and superkicks McIntyre behind the referee’s back. He has a chair. Claymore Kick to the chair in the face of Ziggler. He tosses Ziggler in the ring and grabs the steel chair. He gets in the ring with the chair. Balor dropkicks the chair into McIntyre. COUP DE GRACE! 1-2-3! WOW!!!!! DEFINITELY DID NOT SEE THAT COMING!
Winner: Finn Balor
Match Grade: B. Very good match here again between these two. Good story of McIntyre asserting his dominance over Balor but allowing his ego, temper, and overconfidence to cost himself the match. Ziggler is (in storyline) a dead man walking once McIntyre gets a hold of him.
McIntyre death stares Balor as he celebrates in the entrance way.
6) Chairs Match
Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio
The camera angle WWE uses for Rey Mysterio’s entrance makes the steel chair look bigger than Rey Mysterio. Lol. I wonder if I’m the only one who noticed that. They show the various other announce teams for the global audience. (I wonder if Vince McMahon yells at them on headsets in their languages to get the commentary right. That could be a good SNL sketch.)
The bell rings. Orton tosses Rey to the floor. The chairs come into play early. Rey gets to use a chair first and smacks Orton several times in and out of the ring with it. Midsection hits by Mysterio repeatedly. Rey gets another chair after bending the other one too much. He sets it up for a dive in the corner. But Orton catches him on the corner and goes swinging with the chair. Orton and Rey are on the apron. Rey escapes and sends Orton face first on the apron. Orton is lying on the floor. Rey hits the sliding dive on the floor with a steel chair underneath him on Orton. Dang. More steel chair shots to the back of Orton. Orton is put on a chair. Mysterio goes on the apron and goes for a seated Senton. Orton avoids it sending Rey crotch and tailbone first into the chair. Ouch.
Orton hits Mysterio with the chair and clears off a table. He puts a chair on the announce table. He sends Rey face first into the table. Orton folds up a bunch of chairs, places some in the ring, and disposes of others. Mysterio is placed in the ring and kicks out of a pin at the 2 count. Orton places a chair in between the top and middle ropes. (You know Orton is going through that, right?) Orton tries to drive Mysterio face first into the chair, but he gets sent into it instead. Powerslam by Orton seconds later gets a 2 count. Orton grabs another chair and has Mysterio in the position for the hanging DDT. Mysterio trips him and kicks Orton away after nearly getting a 6-1-9 on him. Mysterio dives at Orton, but Orton throws a chair at him. 2 count. Garvin Stomp by Orton. Orton now puts a steel chair in between the lower and middle ropes in the corner and grabs an other steel chair. Mysterio kicks Orton in the head and hits him with a chair. 6-1-9! Mysterio climbs the corner, but Orton trips him up. He just throws Mysterio into the chair set up at the bottom of the corner. More chairs are in the ring as Mysterio again gets sent back into that chair in the corner.
Orton sets up a row of 4 chairs side by side in a bed almost of pain and destruction. RKO attempt misses. Orton is kicked onto the chairs and rolled up by Mysterio for a 3 count.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
Match Grade: C+. This never seemed to hit any rhythm or pattern as a match. I think the chair stipulation hurt these two from having a better match. They had to do so much of stuff with the chairs that that rhythm I wrote about was near impossible to get to.
Finn Balor is backstage interviewed. Dolph comes in and tells Finn he’s welcome for helping him. Ziggler beats up on Finn Balor. Well, who hasn’t at this point? It’s Finn Balor being interviewed. It’s not a good one if someone isn’t beating him up. Hell, I half expected Charlie to deck him just to keep the gimmick going.
7) Raw Women’s Championship
Ronda Rousey (champ) vs. Nia Jax
Nia Jax is out first with Tamina. Tamina as the silent enforcer works in my opinion. And here comes Ronda Rousey to “Bad Reputation.” Is this the official “Becky Lynch wants to beat up both of you” match?
The bell rings. Nia overpowers Ronda in the early going while Ronda tries to use her quickness. Facebreaker misses and is transitioned into an armbreaker attempt. But Nia just gets up and hits a powerbomb to Rousey! 2 count. Nia goes on the attack on Rousey, tossing her across the ring and splashing her in the corner. Elbow drop in the center of the ring. 1 count. Nia sends Ronda shoulder first into the ring post and splashes her from the apron, further attacking the arm. Legdrop misses in the ring. Guillotine Choke by Rousey transitioned into a normal sleeper. Rousey continues to attack the arm of Nia, even as Nia goes to the floor. Nia swings Rousey into the barricade.
Back into the ring, Nia gets a 2 count. Cobra Clutch weakly put on by Jax. Rousey elbows out. Nia picks up Ronda for a powerbomb, but Rousey hits a hurricanrana instead. Jax dives at Rousey but goes shoulder first into the ring post. Rousey climbs the top rope! SHE DIVES OUT WITH A CROSSBODY TO THE FLOOR ON JAX! Give Ronda her due! This is incredible for a 1st year wrestler. Back in the ring, Rousey gets a 2 count. Rousey is getting hyped up. Punches are flying. Step-up Knee to Ronda. Super-Woman(?) Punch to Nia Jax! Rousey dives off again on Jax, but Jax rolls through. SAMOAN DROP! 1-2-CLOSE CLOSE 2 count! (So close I wrote it twice. Lol.) Jax splashes Rousey in the corner. Jax now has Rousey on her shoulders and climbs the ropes. Rousey fights out and POWERBOMBS JAX! 1-2-KICKOUT! Another very good match here. As much as we give Jax or Rousey problems, you have to give it to these two tonight. Great stuff.
Armbar signaled. Tamina distracts Rousey. Facebreaker misses. ARMBAR IS IN!!!!! TAP OUT!
Winner: Ronda Rousey (STILL Raw Women’s Champion)
Match Grade: A-. Rousey does it again folks. Another very good match here from here as she continues to prove herself worthy of her push and her position in the company. Nia Jax had a very good performance tonight as well. These two seem to bring out the best of each other in the ring as they had a similarly great match during Money in the Bank’s PPV.
Nia Jax is shown backstage holding her arm in pain walking in the back. Becky Lynch comes up and smacks her in the face, sending Jax flying back face first into some sort of metal trash compactor looking thing. Lynch tells her to keep The Man’s name out of her mouth.
AJ is interviewed in the back. AJ says he’s let Daniel play his games enough. Tonight, Daniel is playing his.
8) WWE Championship
“The New” Daniel Bryan (champ) vs. AJ Styles
The bell rings. And Daniel goes to the floor to stall for time. He comes back in the ring and dives back out again. Bryan comes in and finally gets in the match. Styles unloads with chops and strikes to Bryan. Styles continues to assault Bryan in the corner. Styles gets the trademark dropkick on Bryan and sends him to the floor. He dives over the top towards Bryan but eats a kick for his trouble. Bryan tosses Styles into the ring.
Bryan with the kicks in the corner on Styles. Knee to the ribs of Styles now. More knees to the back of a lying Styles now. Now a surfboard with Styles on Bryan’s knees. Bryan methodically goes after the ribs of Styles. Now, Bryan unloads with the chops on Styles like Styles did to him earlier. Styles fires back with chops of his own, but a punch to the ribs ends all that. Tree of Woe by Bryan who bends Styles' ribs against the ropes. Bryan continues to attack Styles and sends him to the floor. He mocks AJ and the crowd. Styles starts fighting back again with a lot of punches. Styles and Bryan trade shots back and forth, and Styles gets sent into the middle turnbuckle face first. Running dropkicks by Bryan to the face of Styles in the corner. A third attempt is met with a hell of a clothesline by Styles
Styles unloads with furious anger at Bryan. The frustration on Styles’ face tells the story. Bryan rolls out of the ring to avoid a Styles Clash. Bryan is sent face first two times into the ring post. Bryan is rolled into the ring and begs off from Styles. Ushigaroshe to Bryan gets a 2 count. Knee to the head of Styles stops the momentum. Moonsault DDT gets countered with knees and a suplex by Bryan. Wow. That’s a William Regal move there.
Kicks to a kneeling Styles. “NO!” from the crowd for every kick. Buzzsaw Kick. 1-2-Kickout by Styles! Enziguri to the face of Bryan by Styles. Really good match so far. The drama is so much better with a heel than it was on the TV matches. Styles is in position. Phenomenal Forearm is met with an attempted kick. Dragon Screw by Styles! He is working on the leg of Daniel Bryan now kicking at it and now wrapping it against the ring post! The left leg of Bryan is now CHOP BLOCKED! Another enziguri by Bryan now to the face of Styles. Body shots by Daniel Bryan to Styles. This is a great match. Styles is put on the corner. Daniel Bryan is going for the hurricanrana. Styles rolls through. Styles Clash avoided. But a half crab is on Bryan’s bad leg. DEEP! Bryan is teasing a tap out. Bryan grabs the arm and hooks in the Labell Lock! He attacks the ribs of Styles putting it on! Rollups now! Both men kick the other: Side kick by Bryan and Pele Kick by Styles! This is AWESOME! The crowd is right!
Bryan and Styles are fighting back and forth now on their feet. Kicks by Bryan get the momentum. Bryan runs for the knee, but he gets a dropkick for his trouble! Styles sees Bryan laying and rolls to the outside. Springboard 450 CONNECTS! 1-2-KICKOUT! Styles’ ribs caused him to be in pain long enough to allow Bryan to kick out. Incredible stuff here.
Bryan rams Styles into the corner. CALF CRUSHER BY STYLES! Bryan pulls back!!!! Bryan rolls over to the ropes barely and gets to the floor, holding his knee. “THIS IS AWESOME!” Bryan is playing “roll away” right now to stay away from Styles. Bryan eats a Phenomenal Forearm from the guardrail by AJ. Bryan is rolled in the ring. AJ is getting set up again on the apron. Bryan rolls out of the way. Styles rolls up Daniel Bryan, but Bryan rolls up AJ. 1-2-3!!! A CLEAN FINISH! Wow!
Winner: Daniel Bryan
Match Grade: A+. That was a phenomenal match between these two. The amount of chain wrestling and reversals reminded me of some of the great technical matches I would see Angle and Benoit or Owen and Bret have. I know that is high praise, but this was easily the best match these two have had this year. For Bryan, this further legitimizes his championship reign. As for Styles, you have to wonder if he’s going to be in the Royal Rumble this year or not. I’ll be honest: I hope Bryan rolling outside several times leads to a Steel Cage in a few weeks, like say a WWE SmackDown Live TV Taping at Pittsburgh, PA. Not that I have any invested interest in seeing that happen. 🙂
Ronda and Nattie are shown in the back. Charlie interviews Ronda about Charlotte. Payback is coming for Charlotte.
9) Intercontinental Championship
Seth Rollins (champ) vs. Dean Ambrose
The bell rings. Seth takes the advantage early on with a flurry of offense against Ambrose. Ambrose catches Rollins running towards him outside and sends him face first on the announce table a couple times. Rollins is put back in the ring. Ambrose goes to work on Rollins. Ambrose crossfaces Rollins on the ropes. Meanwhile, Graves continues to dig into the private life of Ambrose and Renee Young (his real-life wife). Uncomfortable. He makes a lot of disparaging remarks towards their relationship. And while I try to tune out WWE commentary these days, this is distracting from the actual match.
Speaking of which, Ambrose continues to torture Rollins in the ring with a headlock and chinlock. Rollins does his best Shawn Michaels corner flip and eats a clothesline by Ambrose when he comes back down. Elbow off the corner to the face of Rollins gets a 2 count. The crowd seems oddly out of it despite starting off hot. (Almost as if months of building a blood feud to just have an actual match may not have been the best decision. ) Neckbreaker by Ambrose gets a 2. Ambrose continues to press the attack. Rollup gets a 2 count for both men. Rollins gets some separation from Ambrose, but Dean goes after the knee of Rollins. Dropkick to the knee followed by a Boston Crab by Ambrose. Lunatic Fringe using a Boston Crab after months of saying he wanted to destroy this guy is not resonating with this crowd. I think they wanted a fight.
Rollins catches Ambrose with a leg drop on the apron, but Ambrose catches Rollins with a right hand as Rollins dove towards him. Back in the ring, Rollins hits a Sling Blade and a dive at Ambrose. But he keeps selling the knee. Suicide Dives towards Dean Ambrose from the ring by Rollins. The crowd is really quiet for this. Either the last match sucked the energy out of this, the show itself is sucking the energy, or the match story being told sucks compared to what was built up. You decide at home, folks.
Ambrose and Rollins are on the corner now. Rollins does his Sunset Flip PowerBomb and sells reinjuring his leg. But he gets back up and hits the Buckle Bomb, yet still holds the knee. 2 count. Burn It Down stomps. Superkick. Ambrose follows it up with a knee. Punches are being exchanged now. This is how the match SHOULD HAVE STARTED! Double crossbody in the center of the ring. Light polite applause. This is like what happened between Joe and AJ at SummerSlam. No one wants a blood feud to start with a wrestling hold. The fists should have been flying from the start, not 15 minutes into the match.
More punches and blows by both men. Ambrose gets a Chicken Wing Facebuster on Rollins for a 2 count. Rollins climbs up the corner, but Dean saddles him on the top rope and hits a clothesline. He pulls him in the center of the ring and gets a 2 count. Dirty Deeds avoided. “THIS IS BORING!” chants from the crowd. Wow. Ambrose teases “Burn It Down.” Ripcord Knee by Rollins. 1-2-kickout. This match is bombing with the live crowd. Again, START THE MATCH HOT! Rollins dives off the top. Ambrose gets the knees up and rolls up Rollins for a 2 count. Ambrose climbs up the top rope. Seth climbs up and hits the SUPERPLEX into the FALCON ARROW. 1-2-Kickout. The crowd could give a damn less afterwards. Wow. Just a sign of how bad this match was laid out. Forearms to Ambrose now. Ambrose motions for the Shield Fistbump. Rollins hits Ambrose in the face and superkicks him. Rollins is getting angrier. He tackles him and starts throwing him all over the ringside area. Buckle Bomb into the Barricade by Rollins. Rollins rolls Ambrose in the ring after the count of 8. Rollins slaps Ambrose and runs into DIRTY DEEDS! 1-2-3! NEW CHAMPION!
Winner: Dean Ambrose (NEW Intercontinental Champion)
Match Grade: B-. This was a fine match itself, but the match did not fit the storyline. As I wrote earlier, you start this off like a blood feud and get this crowd emotionally invested in the match. Don’t have a blood feud start in a regular wrestling match style. Rollins should have jumped Ambrose when he came out to the ring or ran down at him with the entrance. You expect people to care when wrestlers act mostly the same regardless of the feud. The finish sets up Ambrose as the heel champion while Rollins likely move towards a feud with Brock Lesnar
10) MAIN EVENT
SmackDown Live Women’s Championship
TLC
Becky Lynch (champ) vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka
First time ever that the SmackDown Women’s Championship is main-eventing a PPV. Glad to see it. And it couldn’t have been at a better time for these three great women. Thankfully, none of them are going to be taking a pinfall in this. Otherwise, poor Asuka would be a goner in my opinion. Charlotte comes out like the entitled Queen, playing it up for all the people who hate on her. The Man Comes Around, and she gets a great ovation.
The bell rings. Asuka gets tired of the other two talking and starts the combat off. Hip Attacks to both women. Becky rams her knee into the back of Asuka. Becks-ploder Suplex to Asuka. Charlotte does her own suplex to Becky and kips up. All three women grab for the ladders. Charlotte stops Asuka from bringing a ladder into the ring and smacks a table away from Becky. Flair and Asuka are going at it while Becky goes to open a ladder. Charlotte stops her and goes back to work on Asuka. Codebreaker by Asuka. Becky and Asuka are fighting on the corner. Asuka moves a ladder into position and tosses Becky back first onto the ladder! OUCH! and DAMN!
Asuka opens up a ladder in the ring. She climbs up, but Charlotte knocks Asuka off. Asuka returns the favor. Charlotte climbs back up. But Asuka POWERBOMBS CHARLOTTE THROUGH THE TABLE IN THE RING! Asuka climbs the ladder, but Lynch launches with a dropkick off the top rope to the climbing Asuka. Asuka pries Becky off the ladder and hip attacks her off the apron. But Charlotte grabs a chair and smacks Asuka with it. Charlotte climbs up the corner and “lands” a moonsault on both women. (More like a moonsault double clothesline.)
Charlotte sets up a table but gets whacked in the back by Becky Lynch with a chair. Asuka suffers the same fate with great furry. Big kick to Becky and a launch into the barricade by Charlotte. One of the announce tables is cleared off. Becky again goes after the back of Charlotte with a chair. She gets another ladder as Asuka is shown still laying on the table. Becky sets up this super ladder. Both Charlotte and Asuka are on the German Announce Table, and Becky climbs up the ladder! Becky dives off with a legdrop and goes right into the ribs of Charlotte who SCREAMS IN PAIN! The table broke too by the way. Asuka rolls back into the ring. Becky took out Charlotte, but The Empress still lives! Both women are climbing up the ladder. They are slugging it out on the top. Both women reach up. A KENDO STICK SHOT FROM CHARLOTTE TO BOTH WOMEN! Becky and Asuka are down as Charlotte continues to deck Asuka with the Kendo Stick. She goes back after Asuka and smacks her with a Kendo Stick. Becky suplexes Charlotte into the barricade. Asuka now takes the Kendo Stick and destroys both women in anger! SPEAR TO ASUKA SENDS HER THROUGH THE BARRICADE! HOLY BLEEP!
Becky and Charlotte are now going at it in the ring! Shots are traded between both women. Charlotte goes face first into the ladder. They are now on the floor. Charlotte chops the hell out of Becky and rams her into the announce table at ringside. “The Man always bows down to The Queen.”- Charlotte. She puts Becky on the table and climbs up the corner in the ring. SHE DIVES OFF AND NAILS A SENTON SPLASH ON BECKY THROUGH THE TABLE ON THE FLOOR! OH MY GOD!!!! This is amazing.
Charlotte gets back in the ring and climbs the ladder. HERE COMES ASUKA! Asuka is going after Flair! Flair has her hands on the title, but Asuka stops her. Forearms and punches between both women. Becky is back in the ring with another ladder. She climbs up the ladder. Asuka falls. Flair and Lynch going at it now. HERE COMES ROUSEY! SHE PUSHES BOTH WOMEN OFF THE LADDER AND WALKS OFF! Asuka climbs back in the ring! THE CROWD POPS! ASUKA CLIMBS! ASUKA GRABS THE TITLE! SHE WINS! WHAT AN OVATION!
Winner: ASUKA (NEW SMACKDOWN WOMEN’S CHAMPION)
Match Grade: A+. This may have been better than ROH’s Ladder War this weekend. What a match! These women just completely broke through everything and anything in order to tell that great story. Now, the question is what will Becky and Charlotte do to get their hands on Ronda? As for Asuka, it’s about time. Here’s hoping she doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.
Show Grade: A-. This may be the best TLC PPV ever in terms of overall match quality and one of the better WWE PPVs of the year. The problem is that one of the main matches ended up suffering from lackadaisical booking and narrative structure. But that doesn’t stop the fact that this show had some great matches and solid wrestling throughout. The worst match was probably the Strowman-Corbin TLC match, and that was a necessary evil given the situation. Good show that was much needed given the recent performance of WWE TV.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness.
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