I really can’t overstate how fun this New Daniel Bryan thing is to watch and how great his performance was on SmackDown this week, both on MizTV and on commentary for Miz vs. AJ Styles.
On one hand it’s hilarious WWE is going full angry liberal with a character, on the other hand it is so awesome that we are getting this second major Daniel Bryan run. A fun thing in wrestling is to watch a guy just go for it, and here’s one of the quirkiest guys to ever lace a pair of boots just going for it with the WWE Championship around his waist: the stringy hair, obnoxious sweaters, self-righteousness mixed with beneath-the-surface insanity… he’s going to make “FICKLE” happen too.
The obsessive wrestling fan roots for guys like Bryan to succeed because when they have finally proven themselves to Vince McMahon, they can do awesome stuff like this.
COUNT. THE. SINS.
RAW (12/3/18)
I am on strike from putting any effort into writing about this stupid show until it gets better.
If you’re a fan of WWE taking chances though – opting for several Tamina vs. Ronda Rousey sequences in the main event was one of the riskiest choices they’ve made in a long time.
Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler was alright because Drew is trying really hard to deliver in the role of only guy being pushed on the entire show. I liked how seamlessly LET’S GO ZIGGLER came back as a thing. And they tried to make Nia Jax scary, so that’s… progress?
Shoutout to Rhyno on a career well done – 20 years of being over. Respect.
SMACKDOWN (12/4/18)
Thank God for SmackDown. This was a fun show: solid wrestling matches, Samoa Joe being a prick, Becky Lynch being The Man, Mandy Rose kneeing Asuka in the face, and Daniel Bryan going full art project with his heel run.
The Becky/Charlotte/Asuka contract signing was very much a contract signing, highlighted by Becky Lynch continuing her awesome run. I like how “The Man” thing could easily become overdone in WWE, but every time commentary says it it’s like she has alpha’d them into it.
Charlote/Asuka vs. Mandy Rose/Sonya Deville was a basic match but also a fun match and a legit showcase for Mandy/Sonya, which was very cool. Based on Sonya vs. Asuka early I want a Sonya G1 run.
SmackDown is so good it brought Jon Stewart out of exile.
Xavier Woods vs. Jey Uso vs. Cesaro was a bunch of good wrestling from good wrestlers. Jey and Woods were completely beyond belief tearing it up in there at points. Cesaro’s airplane swing/giant swing spot is a reminder that wrestling can actually be fun sometimes.
Talked about Bryan on MizTV above – too good.
Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton just casually happened on this show and it was a solid match between two over acts but both guys just seem tired.
The post-match Samoa Joe at a bar getting in knocks on Jeff Hardy’s past trangressions with the bottle was wild too – it was a great dipshit by performance by Joe but also had a glaze of “are they really doing this?” Joe as the unrepentant neighborhood asshole on SmackDown is excellent. He and Bryan as the best promos in the business right now is something else.
AJ Styles vs. The Miz also just casually happened on this show and like Hardy/Orton it was a solid match between two over acts. Miz working over AJ wasn’t the greatest but if I’m going to watch a formula WWE TV main event I’m fine with it being these two guys.
Bryan on commentary brought it up about ten notches too:
“I hope my daughter kicks ten thousand men in the groin when she grows up!”
“You’re a horrible human being and you, YOU BYRON, should be ashamed of yourself! … Now, lets enjoy this wonderful match.”
MIXED MATCH CHALLENGE (12/4/18)
Extreme Flair vs. The Fabulous Truth – There was a dance break and R-Truth pinned Jeff Hardy.
Day One Glow vs. Awe-ska – I’ll tell you what, both pairings here were decent but let’s just get to TLC OK.
205 LIVE (12/5/18)
This show still sucks and Mike Kanellis isn’t helping.
205 Live definitely has not created an environment of patience and understanding as Drew Gulak and Brian Kendrick work a holds-based match, as cool as it might sound on paper. Kendrick did a Tiger AND a Dragon suplex, so respect.
Aggressive Ariya Daivari who now wears a black tanktop is… not the best. Him KO’ing his opponent with multiple Rainmaker’s was kind of cool though.
The Lucha House Party vs. TJP/Kanellis Tornado Tag Match had the usual impressive stuff from Lucha House Party (in this case just Kalisto and Lince Dorado) but also long stretches of apathy. The piñata stuff at the end didn’t add much, even if TJP took a bump into a bunch of mini ones. They’ll say it’s for THE KEEEEDS but even the kiddos are going to see through this garbage. A little girl’s annoyed reaction at Kalisto giving her a stupid hat during his entrance was the highlight of the match. Kanellis did a Russian legsweep off the apron that at first the camera missed, and on the replay the camera showed an angle with no impact.
NXT (12/5/18)
This was a fine show from the first set of tapings following TakeOver.
I don’t really have a read on Punishment Martinez yet – he seems like a guy Triple H would sign then make disappear for a year and a half before he re-surfaces with a new name in an unremarkable tag team, but here he is getting showcased against Matt Riddle. Think he might need some of that mysterious “polish” but he looked solid, and Riddle’s sell on his lariat sure didn’t hurt. I loved Riddle really having to fight to keep him in the Bromission too. Good win for Riddle, good loss for Martinez – see, it CAN be done!
Humberto Carillo (the former Ultimo Ninja) & Raul Mendoza are a keeper of a tag team that I am deathly afraid will be sent to 205 Live to wrestle Mike Kanellis and Tony Nese into an apathetic eternity. What we must do as wrestling fans is cherish these small glimpses of brightness they can provide via NXT. And these two were awesome against the very bland Forgotten Sons, who look and work like a pair of Chase Owenses. This was a match about giving Forgotten Sons momentum but it really served as a showcase of how cool Humberto and Mendoza are. One of them got powerbombed on the other here.
I take back whatever I said about them introducing Dakota Kai as a widdle girl who was scared of Shayna Baszler initially because to see her progress now is kind of cool. She’s all focused and not intimidated and just pissed off at how much of an ass Shayna is. Dakota vs. Shayna here was a good match, with Shayna busting Dakota’s arm up and a one-armed Dakota just kicking her way into a possible upset. I loved the finish, with Dakota just stomping away at Shayna until she got tripped and trapped in a sleeper hold.
Ciampa, Black and Gargano traded some barbs in a promo to end the show and it was alright. The Gargano/Ciampa saga is coming around and Gargano’s stressed intensity didn’t feel so awkward here, even if it still didn’t feel quite right.
MAIN EVENT (12/5/18)
Curt Hawkins vs. Tyler Breeze here was interesting in that the Hawkins’ losing streak was used to its fullest and they put together a vaguely compelling match around him almost pulling off a win. Not quite Main Event Match Worth Watching level, but not a blank void of a match like many Main Event matches can be.
Speaking of blank voids, Mojo Rawley/The Ascension vs. Zack Ryder/The B-Team was about 3 minutes of TV time and there wasn’t much to it.
WWE TV Match of the Week: The best thing on WWE TV this week was definitely Fabian Aichner vs. Mark Andrews on NXT UK, but of the stuff covered here, Xavier Woods vs. Jey Uso vs. Cesaro from SmackDown.
WWE TV MVP of the Week: Daniel Bryan
A strange time. RAW is so bad, but SmackDown is clicking with Daniel Bryan and Becky Lynch both being given the ball and running with it.
RAW: 1/10
SmackDown: 8/10
205 Live: 4/10
NXT: 6/10
