Roman Reigns has got leukemia and is out indefinitely… BROCK IS BACK AND DEAN AMBROSE IS A BAD GUY NOW.
Becky Lynch is hurt and missing Survior Series… DANIEL BRYAN IS THE WWE CHAMPION AND IS A HEEL AND IS WRESTLING BROCK AND ALSO CHARLOTTE VS. RONDA ROUSEY IS HAPPENING now.
WWE falling ass backwards into being interesting… it’s a Thanksgiving tradition!
RAW (11/12/18)
This show sucked until Becky.
The opening 20 minutes of this show was very busy with a lot of stuff happening but everything feeling very unnatural and dumb. Ronda Rousey coming for Stephanie was awesome but then she cut a real awkward promo on Becky. Braun opening the show destroying the tag divsion and going back-and-forth with Stephanie should’ve been OK but it would’ve been nice if they didn’t de-emphasize Braun for the last few months so that he still felt like a big deal. Same with Balor. Same with – god damn – The Ascension.
There was stuff on this show that was fine on paper (Finn confronting Drew and Dolph, Ascension as the last two in the Tag Battle Royal) but required WWE to try with these acts and that hasn’t been happening.
Ember Moon just had Tamina’s best ever match on this show – that’s not saying much, but it happened. She was running all over the place and putting mustard on everything she hit. There was a lot of hate on Nia Jax this week for the Becky injury, but the most problematic thing she did on this show was smiling during her beatdown of Ember as if she was in on the joke or something.
It took five years to get to the big Dean Ambrose heel turn and I’ll be honest his explanation was not as fire as I hoped, even with a literal fire burning next to him as he cut his promo.
Finn Balor vs. Dolph Ziggler was a solid match – these Hairless Wonders aren’t my favorites but they had the crowd with them and despite being a total chump in WWE Finn remains one heck of an impressive professional wrestler. The dropkick to the corner was especially good this week.
Ronda Rousey using the “Being offended doesn’t make you right” line as a criticism towards Becky Lynch then ending up on the ground due to her own hubris means WWE is on the pulse.
All I have to say about the Riott Squad/Natalya thing is that Riott Squad hit an all-time bad Hart Attack. And after Ride Along, I am very likely a big fan of Riott Squad.
Bobby Roode & Chad Gable’s moonsault/neckbreaker combo was sweet, otherwise the Tag Team Battle Royal ended up exactly what it was when it started the show and got interrupted by Braun: a collection of nobodies with no heat and no reason to care.
The last three segments of this show saved it. First of all, Sunil Singh died for the sins of the Monday Night RAW writing team and everybody should thank him for it. Brock Lesnar wrecking Jinder and The Singh Brothers was very fun TV.
BABYFACE ELIAS remains awesome – “Hello, this is Elias. Is this child protective services? … [to Lio Rush] Son, how old are you?” – but the match with Lashley was some real basic shit. All these 2018 Lashley matches feel straight out of 2007.
Sasha Banks vs. Bayley was the finest most forgettable wrestling match between two gals I want so much more for. It was solid enough wrestling but there wasn’t much heat and even less logic, with them running through their shit for a shot at this dumb Team RAW gimmick where they’d have to work for Alexa Bliss. We’re a long way from Brooklyn, folks.
And then GOD DAMN! BECKY LYNCH!!!
Always fun to see someone randomly become not just a WWE Superstar but a god damn WWE Phenomenon. I legitimately uttered “holy shit” when she entered and stared down like 7 people. The whole brawl with everybody was wild, but this was all about Becky getting the ol’ kayfabe rocket ship strapped to her back and completely delivering. She fought whoever wanted it, had Rousey on the floor twice, and got the legendary camera parting shot with blood all over her face as she raised her arms and said with her eyes, “I am The Man. Come and get me.”
It sucks that she got hurt, but is the angle the same without the blood?
Hmm.
SMACKDOWN (11/13/18)
And then because of that, there was this.
Why is WWE at its’ best when everything goes to hell?
This was a legendary show of pro wrestling, a callback to the crash TV style that made the 90s awesome that also had some tremendous wrestling matches. Big stuff was happening, it all felt like it was being determined in real time, and you had great wrestling in between – Almas, Hardy, New Day, Bar, Rey, Miz… SmackDown has an incredible roster that you wish was utilized or put in interesting situations more. Plus Samoa Joe, The Usos, Asuka and The Queen of Staten Island Carmella were just there, not wrestling.
Big chunks of WWE TV from the last few weeks (Bryan and Miz as Co-Captains, AJ/Brock promos) and big moments from the future (Bryan’s title win, Brock vs. Bryan) have been thrown out the window or rushed to way faster than anybody expected or maybe wanted. But it’s fun to watch this insanity play out.
Jeff Hardy vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas was very basic Jeff Hardy but basic Jeff Hardy is a good match and his opposition was excellent. I wish he was around more often but I might be able to live with Almas just showing up once every couple weeks and having the greatest matches that ever were. His back elbow is the perfect move for WWE – a signature spot for the mainstream that appeals to the hardcore wrestling fan that wants to see an elbow smash to a face.
The novelty of him being back is still strong, but Rey Mysterio is still so good. Him match with The Miz was ideal wrestling television and Miz seemed to be having a blast going toe-to-toe with this legend.
Becky Lynch surrounded by the SmackDown women’s roster and laying down another badass promo on Ronda Rousey with a big black eye and her sweet leather jacket was incredible. She’s getting The Push and has the swag to back it up. I hope the WWE Champion gets well soon.
The Bar and Big Show vs. The New Day was WWE 6-man tag team wrestling, baby. It’s a formula, but when everybody in the match is really good it is really good. New Day doing chain triple teams is the truth. As is Show just harassing Woods in the corner with chops and Show catching Kofi with a KO punch.
The Usos doing a promo is always good even when welcoming a terrible roster of tag teams to Team SmackDown at Survior Series.
And all this greatness ended with AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship.
Even before the turn, this was so good. Physical, pretty-looking, credible, fun – everything that is great about pro wrestling from two of the best that have ever done it.
They didn’t have a ton of time but every thing they did had purpose and looked great: nasty leg work by AJ, Bryan pushing AJ off a springboard and AJ just exploding onto the apron, Bryan throwing AJ’s shoulder into the LED posts, a Frankensteiner, a pele kick to the top, AJ trying to tear Bryan’s leg off with the Calf Crusher. There was a rare flub from them with the backflip reverse DDT hesitation, otherwise this was incredible wrestling.
And then – a ref bump. A LOW BLOW FROM BRYAN TO STYLES. And Bryan’s brilliant reaction like “Yeah, that felt right. I think I’ll win the title now.” And he not only pinned AJ Styles and won the WWE Title, but he conjured the spirit of The American Dragon and stomped his head into mush.
It’s all happening way too sudden and haphazardly but I will take it – Daniel Bryan is the WWE Champion and he’s going to wrestle Brock Lesnar on Sunday and then he is going to be the top heel on SmackDown.
Bryan has had some very good matches since the return and I wish he and Miz got a big payoff but look – WWE babyfaces are very lame. And this is going to be Bryan getting to do something interesting vs. “I wanna punch you in the face heh heh.” He’s been good since the return and occasionally great (vs. Big E, vs. Joe, vs. Miz, vs. AJ) but he’s working formula WWE babyface style. I want to see what he’s going to try with something new.
MIXED MATCH CHALLENGE (11/13/18)
Monster Eclipse vs. Country Dominance – This match had a very good moment before the bell as both Bryan and AJ left to shocked silence and then Mickie James’ music hit. The Braun/Bob showdown got a reaction but this right here was a match.
Fenomenal Flair vs. Awe-Ska – Jeff Hardy replaced AJ Styles in this particular matchup. It was a fine matchup. Asuka vs. Charlotte was awesome as usual and Hardy vs. Miz wasn’t bad either. Some weeks I think Hardy’s body is broken and he has nothing left and some weeks he’s going hard two matches a night.
205 LIVE (11/14/18)
I’m hearing a lot of chatter about 205 Live being this unsung awesome show but I am going to tell you this right now: don’t be fooled. There’s some fine and occasionally great wrestling but until anybody is over it’s still not really worth watching.
Sometimes you just have to laugh at WWE just having these four great professional wrestlers – Kendrick, Tozawa, Gulak, Gallagher – under contract and having them work these formula tag matches to silence. This match had a lot of good wrestling but like most stuff on this show it was a challenge to get into.
What I am into is Kendrick and Tozawa being an odd couple though – their little bit backstage before the match where they didn’t answer on how they were going to cooperate and just stormed to the ring was very good.
Lucha House Party had a fine squash match with one job guy who did some shtick with the “Lucha Lucha” stuff and another who is Mike Sydal.
We take Cedric Alexander for granted – this guy can GO. He’s just robotic and doesn’t cut good promos. So that sucks. But when he changes something up like going with white boots versus black boots, I am suddenly reminded of his greatness. He and Lio did a whole bunch of fun wrestling sequences in their match. I love a snap rana, Lio’s bottom rope springboard Stunner was jaw-dropping, and Lio’s sell of the lumbar check was something more than that.
NXT (11/14/18)
This was a very basic go-home show with videos for all the matches on Saturday and some short in-ring stuff. It all made sense and nothing was stupid, so that’s a win.
Bianca Belair vs. Mia Yim was a solid match. Belair does a heel beating with the instincts of a pro but she needs a little more work before it feels like she’s not trying to show off those instincts. Yim is a fine rassler and I dug Belair just elbowing her out of nowhere and dropping her with the finish.
Did Matt Riddle call his debut a “da-butt?” Is that a thing?
Lacey Evans had herself another fine squash. She did push-ups!
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Hanson was a fine wrestling match between a pair of former IWGP Tag Champs. O’Reilly will bump his way into your heart and he will also go after a big bearded fella’s knee and make you buy that maybe he can beat the fella. I’m still waiting for Hanson to freak me out, but this was fine.
MAIN EVENT (11/14/18)
Alicia Fox aggressively locks up and rams Dana Booke repeatedly into the corner. She also kicks the stairs in frustration, only to realize it hurts her foot. She also yells “Really? I don’t know what to do with you!” when Dana kicks out. What I am trying to say is that Alica Fox is very good.
She’s even better than the Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder reunion, though Hawkins seemed super proud when he pointed to the entrance where Ryder emerged from. The former Major Brothers (who did the pose!) lost to Apollo Crews and Tyler Breeze and it was OK but ultra-basic.
WWE TV Match of the Week: AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Title
WWE TV MVP of the Week: “The Man” Becky Lynch
A chaotic, wonderful week of WWE TV. God bless Becky Lynch, God bless Daniel Bryan, God bless the progressive Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohamma-wait a minute!!!
RAW: 6/10
SmackDown: 10/10
205 Live: 5/10
NXT: 6/10
