This was the most consistent week of WWE TV in a long time. SmackDown was strong as usual, but RAW actually felt like it knew what it was doing for once and 205 Live brought some great freakin’ wrestling. Plus Daniel Bryan was back to his old self on Talking Smack. I’m not like, HOOKED. Mania doesn’t exactly look incredible right now. NXT continues to kind of suck a cock. But I’m enjoying myself and sometimes that’s all you can really ask for from your professional wrestling.
SmackDown right now has a few reliable guys on top (Styles, Dean, Miz, Cena, Orton) and seems to be focused on pushing a few guys up there – Wyatt, Harper, Corbin (oh man, how lit is the Styles face run going to be?).
RAW meanwhile actually seems to be finding itself – maybe. It’s always a maybe with RAW. It can always go back to trash. But this week it seemed like there was some actual effort put into getting guys over and giving folks some direction in a more creative way than usual…. maybe. Samoa Joe got a big push to the top, maybe. Goldberg/Owens and Braun/Roman are hot matches for Fast Lane, maybe. Braun is on fucking fire, maybe. Tozawa had a good debut, maybe. Charlotte/Bayley/Sasha has a little intrigue, maybe. They seem to be figuring out Sami Zayn, maybe.
RAW (2/6/17)
What impressed me about this show was how well it flowed. Every few months RAW seems to have a show like this, where every commercial has you going into something with an actual hook, and the 3-hours doesn’t seem as long as usual. If Wrestling Twitter rumors are true and Ryan Ward is helping out with RAW now, then this really did feel like a RAW is Ward. Title matches, hooks for next week, weird shit like a 4-on-1 Handicap Match, a couple of new characters established. Stuff mostly made sense, some things moved forward and some were just enhancement matches which is a good thing – sometimes you do need to remind people of where New Day stands on the card, and a match with the Shining Stars can do that more than singles and tags against whatever team they are feuding with.
First hour was strong. The Foley/Stephanie/Roman/Joe segment was alright for a bullshit opening RAW segment; hope they continue pushing Joe as the hired hand. Bayley vs. Nia Jax was a good TV match, these two have such an perfect dynamic with Nia just throwing around lovable underdog Bayley. Jax is still only a couple years into wrestling and Bayley’s taking a bit to adapt to the main roster, but each is getting better and better every week. Two amazing crowd spots in this match: the little girl in the front row marking out for Bayley, and the screams before Nia Jax hit the Samoan drop. The Braun Strowman 4-on-1 Handicap Match was some awesome destruction by Braun. At this point Braun is reminding me of Batista in the fall of 2003, right when the Internet started flipping out for his clothesline. Guy is going to be money and they are booking him perfectly – you’ve got his opponents doing the team huddle, one running away. Amazing. Tozawa seemed a little nervous in his debut but it was a lot of fun – love watching Drew Gulak do his thing, and Tozawa got his showcase – all the kicks followed by the snap German are awesome. Tozawa and “HAW!” could be huge unless they do the usual and fuck it all up.
Hot segment for Owens, Jericho and Billy Goldberg. Goldberg being advertised for later in the show then interrupting Owens and Jericho was a nice move. Kevin Owens vs. Goldberg sure is something – I think everybody knows where it’s going, so let’s enjoy it while it lasts. The Tag Titles following this segment, as well as the realization of them still having Jericho/Zayn and Roman/Joe is where it hit me how well this thing was flowing. Sheamus/Cesaro vs. Gallows/Anderson was a solid few minutes of a match, basically the match I always wanted out of them with them just hitting each other hard and stuff. Anderson’s bump over the top to set up the Ten Beats was good shit. Enzo & Cass just awkwardly sitting at ringside to set up the DQ finish was not. Black WWE wrestlers reading scripts about other black athletes is just not an ideal thing. Just promote black wrestling history, even if it’s awkward – I don’t need Cedric Alexander delivering a book report. New Day/Stars was a solid basic tag match that got a little time and had ICE CREAM chants.
So happy to see Rock & Roll Express getting the Hall of Fame nod. Enough has been said about Ricky Morton’s selling, also helps that they were insanely over, had the girls screaming, were a perfect top babyface tag team, amazing with the tag formula, super athletic, had great timing, and Morton could cut one hell of a promo. Good stuff to check out on the WWE Network in the Vault under WCW – vs. Thunderfoot & Jim Jeffers (1/4/86), Ricky Morton/Ric Flair sunglasses angle (3/29/86), Morton vs. Flair (4/12/86), Ricky Morton facemask promo (5/31/86), vs. The Andersons (7/19/86), and vs. The Andersons in a Steel Cage (Starrcade ’86). Also have a fun tag against Chris Candido and Brian Lee on SMW 4/2/94. Plus The Midnight Express tags, obviously.
Sami Zayn vs. Chris Jericho was good stuff, a hair above last week – as Zayn entered, it really felt like they were figuring him out. Kevin Owens’ Best Friend Chris Jericho against the Zayn that feuded with Braun is a fine pairing. Had some nice stuff pre-commercial – Zayn armdrags, Jericho taunting, Sami hitting the dad bod crossbody, Jericho avoiding the Helluva kick but getting hit with a tope con hilo. Had some nice near falls and counters towards the end. Jericho vs. Owens for US Title and Goldberg vs. Brock for the Universal Title seems so obvious right now that I wonder if they modify. The cruiserweights segment is basically what you do when you don’t really have any ideas for these guys… it didn’t do a great job of getting anybody over (except maybe TJ as a heel), though it’s good to see Gallagher is just straight-up over. Extra points for Austin Aries’ “Here comes Tony Nese’s abs!” 6-man was OK.
Is Emmalina going to have sex with me? Is that what she is saying?
What exactly is an ALL NEW Elimination Chamber? Have they explained this? Have I missed this?
I really liked Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe, it felt like Diet Roman vs. Brock for like 10 minutes. Crowd was HOT, felt like a collision. Roman made Joe look so good… the attack at the start, the sell of that first kick with a big OWWWW followed by heaving, taking those chops like a man, just looking like a dead man fighting against this monster. And hardcore fan apathy be damned the guy is over – did you HEAR those Roman chants while he was in the rest hold? Did you HEAR that pop when Roman was able to get an opening and throw Joe outside? It’s not a high bar but this might have been Joe’s best WWE match, at least the one that accomplished the most. Joe going 2/3 members of the Shield is a big damn way to start a main roster run; I love it. Of course, Tensai beat John Cena a couple weeks into his run too, but let’s let it play out.
Show ends as every RAW should – Braun Strowman laying waste, lifting steps, and causing destruction.
SMACKDOWN (2/7/17)
SmackDown is just a fun wrestling show. It’snot so bloated has a good cast of top guys used really well.
Opening segment was tremendous stuff… Daniel Bryan is a weirdly great ringleader of this kind of thing, and the SmackDown talking segments just seem looser… there were SO MANY great lines in this thing. “Not being able to wrestle never stopped you from getting in the ring.” “You look like a shoe.” “You stole the motorcycle sound from my entrance music.” “We’re gonna make some bad decisions in there, boys.” Miz is just a master on the mic, too – it gets said a lot but it should get said more… just battling the crowd as they tried to out-DAN-IEL BRY-AN him, trying to get Corbin on his side with “My mind, your might” – now I want a Miz/Corbin team. Also – Corbin’s sleazy-ass mustache.
Fatal 4-Way was a crazy fun match where they just kept things moving… was basically a Big Fight Feel Four Corner Survival. Was really impressed how well everything just weaved together, how were they calling this thing!? Liked Dean’s thousand-yard stare after the Tower of Doom which made that stupid spot extra special, Styles countering Corbin’s under-the-ropes clothesline thing with a pele, Miz’ flapjack to Knee+, the Lunatic Lariat duck into AJ’s moonsault DDT. And then BARON CORBIN PINS AJ STYLES. Tremendous stuff.
Luke Harper as a man alone could be something special. Or he’s teaming with Rowan in three months, who knows.
Tom Phillips interviewed Nikki Bella, Natalya, and their heaving cleavage. This whole feud is just amazing in a professional wrestling way, so trashy and hilarious and awesome. “If I wasn’t married Nikki, John would probably end up with me” – JESUS, NATALYA.
Dolph Ziggler/Kalisto was whatever, if you’re going to end something suddenly with a roll-up then make it a good roll-up. Whole Dolph/Crews/Kalisto angle is a fine midcard thing but I’m just not into any of these fellas right now. It kind of reeks of when Eddie turned on poor Tajiri and ended up face anyways cause he finally did something badass… except Dolph is no Eddie. Creative way to set up the chairshot on Kalisto, at least.
Dual Contract Signing is peak WWE, fine enough talking segment though that may have gotten Naomi over… Alexa Bliss just carrying the top of the hour segment is a truly amazing thing.
LOL @ Breezango – fuck it, you’re with the babyfaces. The tag team 12-man was a typical fun but empty multi-man tag. Crowd was hot as shit for Rhyno but everybody else they just don’t seem to care about. Like I watched Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them over the weekend, and I didn’t like it. It had effects and whimsy and all that crap but none of the BEASTS were really established. That’s the whole draw! Same problem with the SmackDown tag division and a million other guys in WWE. Everybody can’t be a main eventer, but your non-main event guys still need some tender loving care.
Whatever happened to the Ambrose & Renee/Miz & Maryse feud!?
John Cena vs. Randy Orton was a good, basic, safe, and completely fun John Cena vs. Randy Orton match. Both these guys are almost untouchable right now – some will try harder, but these are the true masters of the professional wrestling. Helps that this hasn’t happened in forever too. Cena hit a shoulderblock and FLEXED, Orton stomped and applied headlocks, the crowd was HOT. Cena’s sells on the punch exchange and top rope DDT were incredible stuff. AA kickout and RKO kickout because of course. Luke Harper angle at the end was good stuff; I haven’t seen a crowd this amped for a guy turning on his master since when DiBiase was ready to turn on Orton… AND THEN HE DID TURN.
Or did he?
#SDLive
TALKING SMACK (2/7/17)
All you need to know about this show is that Daniel Bryan is BACK. Dropping RAIN FACTS. “LET’S TALK ABOUT SOME RASSLIN.” JAMES. THE BIG HOG. HOGSWORTH. Putting Luke Harper over more than he ever has been in his life by stating with absolute sincerity, “He can get stabbed in the arm with a pair of scissors and walk right through it.” Ending the show by saying they were presented by Tout. The Nikki/Natalya brawl was awesome, Corbin and Cena interviews were perfectly fine, but DAN BRYAN IS BACK.
205 LIVE (2/7/17)
Solid show, really fun main event. The first 2 matches were both solid showcases for the not-so-established babyfaces of 205 Live, with Mustafa Ali busting out his prettiest stuff and showing some impressive frustration trying to beat Ariya Daivari, while Lince Dorado brought the flying against Brian Kendrick. Couple rough spots in the Lince/Kendrick – the flub on the fireman’s carry, Kendrick getting his feet up for the SSP didn’t look so hot, and Lince was right by the ropes for the Bully choke. Decent though. Tajiri return was awesome – Kendrick’s sell of the Mist was amazing, the slow-mo replay of it was downright transfixing.
Cedric Alexander vs. Jack Gallagher vs. TJ Perkins vs. Mustafa Ali vs. Noam Dar was good stuff with a crazy fast pace the entire time… smart they made it an elimination match vs. whoever-wins-first, and each fall actually didn’t seem sudden. So many highlights… all the multi-man moves early, Cedric/Dar strike-off, all the dives and umbrella-assisted planchas, Cedric getting revenge on Dar, Cedric’s RUN after eliminating Dar and Dar’s revenge on Cedric, the reverse 450 leading to the cross armbreaker. Finish of TJP vs. Gallagher was awesome… the drama on the TJP kneebar, the headbutt near fall, both guys going head-to-head, Jack being over as hell and hitting the desperation headbutt. Crowd was hot, near falls were awesome, it was one of the first 205 Live matches that straight-up felt like a great cruiserweight match. Neville vs. Gallagher could be incredible. COULD BE.
NXT (2/8/17)
NXT was straight-up mediocre. Nothing to be outraged about, nothing really worth seeking out either. Nigel McGuinness did OK for his first run on commentary but no Graves left a real big hole in the broadcast, guy really did bring a LOT to it. Tom is your PBP guy, and Percy… Percy just kind of reads lines.
SAnitY vs. Bollywood Boyz squash had Killian Dain looking like a beast, with him just destroying them and not even tagging in Wolfe. Liked him not even waiting for one of the BOYZ to get in place for the senton after the Wasteland. A “SHAVE YOUR BACK / NO” dueling chant is peak wrestling. Liv Morgan/Billie Kay gave Liv a win, that’s about it. Peyton/Kay shtick continues to get better though – HAHAHAHA! SHE DOESN’T HAVE ANY FRIENDS!!! The SAnitY vs. NXT Babyface 3 was a classic rasslin angle but there’s really no reason to care about any of it. Again, tender loving care. SAnitY still has no real stated purpose and I still have no idea what a Roderick Strong is.
The Revival vs. Heavy Machinery was good solid stuff, an enhancement match that made some sense. Might wanna increase the length on the Heavy Machinery singlets just a little bit though. Really dig what I’ve seen of Tucker and Otis – the bearhug-to-bearhug throw was amazing and Tucker’s hot tag was solid. I dunno if they’re any good but use these big fellas right and it could work. Revival/Authors of Pain angle was fine – babyface legacy tag team Revival is your logical next step.
The Bobby Roode promo was… I dunno. Roode is OK at what he does but in this environment it comes off way forced and while he’s playing top heel his entrance is like the #3 most over babyface on this show. He needs a strong good guy to play off of ASAP. Tye was good. Nakamura was a good match but not a good feud. I imagine the same for an eventual Hero match and feud. I think Gargano’s the answer but not sure if they’re going there. I was convinced Gargano vs. Ciampa was happening in Orlando but I guess I’m just a fucking idiot.
The 6-man happened. Everybody did what they did and people popped for spots and whatever. N-X-T. N-X-T.
MAIN EVENT (2/8/17)
Curtis Axel vs. Bo Dallas in an Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal Preview Match (right? right!?) was your standard Main Event match with two guys that are just going through the motions these days. I mean is the point? It was like 5 minutes.
But Handsome Rusev vs. Sin Cara though was pretty awesome and completely a Main Event Match Worth Watching. These two have the built-in big guy/small guy chemistry, but they milk it well, as Rusev is an athletic big hairy mean guy and Sin Cara moves so well. Nice spot early where Rusev caught Sin Cara off a tope and slammed his face to the floor. Rusev works the arm for a bit, Cara’s comeback gets way over, they get an awesome near fall off a frog splash, and then Rusev gets his knees up for a Swanton > Machka kick > Accolade. Good stuff, as good as a vanilla Main Event match probably gets these days.
WWE TV Match of the Week: Probably a very good thing that for the last few weeks I have really had to debate this one. Both the SmackDown Fatal 4-Way and Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns were really good matches, but I think Joe vs. Roman accomplished more, so that will get the nod.
WWE TV MVP of the Week: Roman Reigns did his job better than anybody this week. At the end of the day it’s a wrestling show, and for all the shit he gets he did better than anybody at the nuts and bolts of wrestling – selling, looking like he’s in a fight, getting a guy over. Roman truly does reign.
RAW: 8/10
SmackDown: 8/10
205 Live: 7/10
NXT: 3/10
