Working Man’s WWE TV Review: 2/16/20 – 2/22/20

A few bright spots here and there but it feels like they’re tip-toeing through some kind of dumbass show they committed themselves to.

Since the inception of Paul Heyman, there are at least attempts on RAW at forward movement and things having a point… the stuff that makes even the worst wrestling fun. So there isn’t much good wrestling anymore, but cohesion is half the battle – even if they’re deliberately stretching time until Saudi Arabia. Should probably appreciate Matt Hardy and MVP momentarily being a part of week-to-week stories again.

Drew McIntyre trading lines with Paul Heyman wasn’t exactly good, but the McIntyre vs. MVP match/angle was – MVP attacked early and Drew ripped his nose strip off then beat him. Sometimes it’s perfect.

First she bites a neck and draws blood, then she swears on TV. Shayna Baszler has arrived.

Otherwise – lots of questions. Lots of, “Why?” and “What?” Randy Orton‘s performance opposite Matt Hardy at the start of the show was solid but the whole thing is a little much, no? Why is this man trying to commit legitimate murder? And you follow it up with Rowan stumbling out carrying his cage – why? Is the hook how strange it is? I dug Aleister Black having to use two spin kicks to take down Rowan, but why throw the Black/Rowan out there cold? Why not build something up a little?

Would love to be entertained by R-Truth doing John Cena spots but what is the deal with Riddick Moss? Anything he’s doing is stupid right now just because his intro was so stupid. Speaking of stupid, Seth Rollins holding a Sermon was some of the stupider time-killing RAW has done recently.

Rusev/Carrillo vs. Lashley/Garza had some neat stuff but didn’t seem to do anything for anybody and Rusev attacking Garza post-match was a weird move for Rusev. Kairi Sane vs. Natalya was alright. Not sure if Kairi’s shtick is offensive or the best thing on wrestling TV. The tease for Ricochet vs. AJ Styles leading to a match with Karl Anderson was rough. Not that Ricochet vs. AJ is even exciting after last year, but this Karl Anderson fellow is a dead act.

Rating: 3/10

This was a Wednesday night of people just being rude – Ciampa, Kona and Belair all did not even try to follow social convention.

Besides that fun fact, on a night that AEW Dynamite had one of their best episodes, NXT had one of their worst. The bar on USA has been set high, but this was just fair. Moderate. Middling.

Jordan Devlin vs. Lio Rush still ruled. I mean, there’s always one. Devlin reminds me of – whoa – Eddie Guerrero, as he will slow a match down and no one will give a shit when it gets eerily quiet because there is an implicit understanding that it’s gonna get real good eventually. Hasn’t been proved wrong since. The near fall off the Come Up was wild, with Devlin grabbing the bottom rope at the last second then getting up and straight-up headbutting Rush. Devlin also brought the Finlay ass splash back to WWE TV, and it looks like it HURTS. Very good match, amazing performance.

The Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Joaquin Wilde & Raul Mendoza felt like a Dynamite match, so solid and occasionally impressive but also so long and back-and-forth to the point where nobody stood out. The BroserWeights vs. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch felt similar, which sucks because that’s a great match on paper. Riddle’s deadpan of “It’s a thing here!” RE: the Wellness Policy killed me though.

Between the walk and presentation, Tommaso Ciampa is NXT’s Stone Cold and I’m OK with that. Dug the little bit interrupting Austin Theory. Also dug the subplot I created in my head of Kona Reeves feeling ballsy after he saw what Ciampa did and deciding to do the same with Keith Lee, which didn’t end so well for Kona. Bianca Belair‘s “I’ma let you finish, but I got somethin’ to say” as she cut a promo during a completely separate match between Kayden Carter and Chelsea Green was tremendous work too.

Dominik Dijakovic should watch more Iron Mike Sharpe tapes. Athletic tall guy won’t last forever, lean into the weirdness.

Velveteen Dream‘s sky blue jumpsuit gear was phenomenal, his return match with Roderick Strong was just OK. Roddy worked over the back and Dream is already among the greats selling something for TV, but it also made for a match that didn’t hit second gear while watching live and is already disappearing from memory.

Rating: 4/10

Shelton Benjamin teamed with Eric Young on this show. They wrestled Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins. Shelton did a spot where he missed a jumping knee in the corner so the good guys could make a comeback, but he hit everything so light and careful as if he knew nobody except me was watching.

Cedric Alexander vs. Akira Tozawa was just a tease, but what a finish. You’ve seen it before, but what a finish.

Rating: 3/10

This show is happening. Jinny is rebounding from Jazzy Gabert leaving by saying mean things on top of the commentary table. Tall Josh Morrell can moonsault from seemingly anywhere, though it didn’t get him a win over Noam Dar. The Hunt cut a promo with a film filter that felt like a Michinoku Pro dub tape from 2002.

Tyler Bate had the one good Joseph Conners match! Or was that Travis Banks last year? Either way, I still wouldn’t recommend it.

Joe Coffey vs. Ilja Dragunov was a fine and physical main event but also an absolute drag.

Rating: 3/10

There are so many wrestlers I like tied to it but SmackDown is a show I actively resent at this point.

The Usos and The New Day are trading lines. Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura are teaming up. Daniel Bryan is starting to tangle with Drew Gulak. But WHERE DOES ANY OF IT GO?

Of course the Usos/New Day vs. Miz/Morrison/Ziggler/Roode tag had a great finish, of course it did.

The Otis and Mandy Rose saga is quickly veering into very very bad territory and yet here I am listening to a genuine cheers and chants for Otis. What do I know?

Actually a fan of Bruce Prichard finally realizing they should probably reference Lacey Evans‘ recent past as a total jerk before they try again with her as a babyface.

Cesaro, Nakamura, Braun Strowman and Elias all leaned into the Symphony of Destruction Match so hard that they created a piece of art against all odds. I actually bought the Cesaro over Strowman bass suplex near fall. The powerslam onto a grand piano felt like a little much, and based off the blood coming out of Nakamura’s head it seemed to be.

Speaking of a little much, the Hall of Fame-bound Bella Twins will absolutely lean into their MTV VMAs energy but they are so overwhelmingly over that you have to respect it.

Daniel Bryan just screwing around with Heath Slater and Drew Gulak feels like a pretty great way to get him past the Saudi Arabia show he isn’t on.

Carmella vs. Naomi for a shot at Bayley was a match with just two highlights: one was hearing the referee audibly calling spots for them, the other was the crowd absolutely losing it for Naomi’s finish.

That time of the year that Goldberg just sees through The Fiend gimmick and spears him, yeah? The brand is strong.

Rating: 3/10

Getting to Main Event levels of apathy here, where I could probably just list the matches that happened because there isn’t anything to say.

Tyler Breeze vs. Samir Singh was odd, Joaquin Wilde vs. Raul Mendoza was degrading, and Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch vs. Brian Kendrick & Ariya Daivari in a No DQ Match should’ve been at a minimum way way way better.

Rating: 3/10

WWE TV Match of the Week: Braun Strowman & Elias vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro in a Symphony of Destruction Match on SmackDown

WWE TV MVP of the Week: Cesaro