Category: WWE News

A look at WWE TLC 2012: Dolph Ziggler vs. John Cena for the MITB contract

Posted on by Dan Velten

This week…

TLC 4: December 16, 2012, Brooklyn, New York, Barclays Center

This was the first WWE show ever at the Barclays Center. Cole, Lawler and JBL on the sticks. 

– Dark Match:  JTG defeated David Otunga in a singles match

– Pre-show Match: Naomi won the Santa’s Little Helper battle royal to determine the number one contender to the WWE Divas Championship, by eliminating Kaitlyn last

Main:

– Sin Cara and Rey Mysterio vs. Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes and Damian Sandow) in a tables match to become the number one contenders to the tag team championship

  • How did they drop the ball on this team?  I love the Rhodes Scholars!
  • Only one member of the team has to go through the table.
  • King made a joke about manila envelopes that legit got Cole to crack.
  • Sandow has to be on that post Wrestlemania clearinghouse list with Alex Riley.
  • Fun match with some nice flying spots and a pretty sick bump for the finish.
  • Cody shoved Sin Cara off the top rope and it launched him through the table outside the ring.
  • Then Sandow did a cartwheel.  Why did they break up?  Why are we being punished with Stardust?

– Antonio Cesaro (c) vs. R Truth for the WWE U.S. Championship

  • Cesaro’s old music was terrible.
  • I’ve heard that R Truth is Vince’s favorite wrestler.  How?
  • I’m glad Cesaro stopped wearing the weird leg wraps.
  • Cole with some accusations that JBL hides money in Swiss banks.  Then JBL corrected him and said his money was actually hidden in the Cayman Islands.  IRS, are you listening? 
  • Cesaro apparently has a real broken hand during this match. 
  • Is Little Jimmy still around? 
  • Cesaro wins with the Neutralizer.
  • Stryker then got in the ring and asked Cesaro what he thought about the crowd booing him?  Cesaro said he was the greatest U.S. Champion, which he may have been, until this last John Cena U.S. Championship Open run.

Ugh, then we got a bunch of “Touts.”  Remember those awful things?  WWE kills everything it touches. 

Josh Matthews interviews Dolph Ziggler about illegality, then Dolph says he will be the biggest star in 2013, and he will end John Cena’s career.

Then the Miz is introduced and comes to the ring for a Miz TV segment.  I love all WWE in ring TV shows.  It’s hilarious to me that they put seats and couches in the ring on a red carpet.  I now hate this show, as he brought out Three Man Band.  I change my mind.  I love it again.  3MB claims they are better than Jay Z.  I’d agree.  Miz’s zingers must have been written by 6th graders.  Then 3MB does a rather racist angle by calling out the Spanish announce team and running them down for not speaking English.  Ricardo comes to the rescue but starts to get bullied, until Del Rio makes the save.  Finally, Miz and Del Rio clean house to save the Mexicans.  So it’s going to be Miz and Del Rio and a partner of their choice to take on 3MB later. 

Now we see Kane and Daniel Bryan backstage as Team Hell No.  Short hair and medium beard Bryan seems so odd now.  They get hyped to take on The Shield later.

Now Stryker interviews Wade Barrett.  I guess we’d seen too much wrestling in a row and needed five talking segments.

Wade Barrett vs. Kofi Kingston (c) for the Intercontinental Championship, a.k.a. The Kiss of Death Championship

  • Wade is on a winning streak coming into this match.  Must have been nice.
  • Remember when the IC title made you the number one contender to the World title?  Which makes Kevin Owens next in line.  I’m fine with that.
  • Kofi beat Wade after an average match and a Trouble in Paradise kick.

We now see CM Punk in a skybox with Paul Heyman.  Punk is on crutches.  He’s giving us a status update on his knee.  He’s wearing his Knees 2 Faces shirt, as he runs down Brooklyn and calls them dumb.  Hey now, words hurt too.  He then runs down Ryback, and reminds us that he is a fan of The Shield but not involved with them and that he’s the longest reigning WWE champion of the modern era.  Day 392.

Ryback and Team Hell No (Kane and Daniel Bryan) vs. The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins) in the first ever six-man TLC tag match

  • Since no belts are hanging, this is basically just a weapons match. 
  • Poor Reigns is still having to do that dumb crowd entrance.
  • It starts in a big brawl. 
  • A lot of mainly ladder smashing spots.  Why would you ever climb in this match?  But… I’ll bet that happens anyway.
  • Ryback was going for a double shell shock.  I hope he gets it later.  Now it’s isolation on Ryback.
  • Reigns screams at the Spanish announce team.  Poor fellas.  Their table is about to get broken.  Triple power bomb by The Shield on Ryback through the table. 
  • The Shield is laying waste to all three guys with some interesting table stuff.
  • Ambrose took a choke slam through a chair, which looked like it sucked.
  • Reigns speared Kane through the barricade.  The timekeeper looked terrified. 
  • WWE rule number 2:  Don’t go for a belly to back suplex on Daniel Bryan.  He will back flip out of it. 
  • “This is Awesome,” chants for a match with Ryback, after, of course, the “Goldberg” chants.
  • I think Tim Kennedy could beat Ryback. 
  • This match is still going on.  The Shield is beating Ryback with chairs out on the ramp. 
  • Yep, Seth is climbing a ladder!  Ryback is climbing after him.  Ryback tossed him off the ladder through the double table stack.
  • Daniel Bryan was pinned by Reigns after a power bomb off the top turnbuckle through a table.
  • Fun match!

Eve Torres vs. Naomi in a singles match for the WWE Divas Championship

  • Eve won with the neck breaker.  Then her husband told Ronda Rousey she was doing great after round one.  Great career advice.

Big Show (c) vs. Sheamus for the World Championship in a chairs match

  • I really hope they cancel the chairs match this year. 
  • Chair shots are legal, but we’re supposed to believe that neither man has the desire to hit his hated rival in the head with one. 
  • Big Show Choke Slammed Seamus, but Seamus kicked out so Big Show went out and threw in 10 more chairs, because that will help.
  • Seamus hit White Noise on to some chairs, but Show kicked out.
  • Knock Out Punch by Show, and Seamus kicked out.  Big Show’s finish is a punch.  A punch!  Why doesn’t he win every match?
  • Big Show pulls out a monster-sized folding chair!  What?  Hilarious!  He hit Sheamus with the really large folding chair for the pin.  Why would that be under the ring?  Why would it exist?

John Cena is backstage throwing air punches and AJ Lee walks up in a Cena shirt, which she cut to look girly.  Cena told her he was going to beat Dolph. 

Three Man Band vs. Miz, Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez), and the Brooklyn Brawler

  • The air guitar playing by 3MB pales in comparison to the air guitar played by the New Day.
  • Del Rio rolls out in his Lamborghini.  The person in the room watching with me just proclaimed, “This is really stupid.” 
  • Then the Brooklyn Brawler came out.  He was wearing a number 8, Deron Williams, Brooklyn Nets NBA Jersey. 
  • Heat on Brawler as the announcers just name old wrestlers with dumb gimmicks.
  • Miz hits the Skull Crushing Finale on Jinder Mahal then Brawler put him in the Brooklyn crab for the submission win.

John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler in a ladder match for the Money in the Bank contract

  • Dolph was putting a sleeper on Cena and Cena still climbed the ladder until Cena fell and put both of them through a table.
  • WWE rule 3:  Tables are allowed in ladder matches.  But not chairs.  We mean it.
  • Cena lifted a ladder with Ziggler on it, onto his shoulders.  Really cool spot.
  • JBL is vehemently opposed to this match, as it’s unfair to Dolph, somehow. 
  • Zig Zag on Cena.
  • Cena was busted hard way. 
  • Dolph must have gotten my memo on ladder climbing speed.  Cena did not.
  • JBL spouts out some stats about Ziggler’s amateur wrestling credentials, and Cole said that those don’t matter.  Noted.
  • Wait, chairs are legal after all.  So WWE Rule 4 is now: All ladder matches are TLC matches.
  • Vicki runs down and gets a chair to hit Cena, but AJ runs in and makes the save.  She bumps Vicki then does the “You Can’t See Me,” then Cena starts to climb the ladder and AJ turns on Cena and shoves over the ladder.  Dolph super kicks him and climbs the ladder and wins back his brief case.
  • Great finish.  Great match actually. 
  • The crowd went nuts on the AJ turn and on the Dolph win. 

Great show.  Well worth watching.  It’s now number one on the list, which is now 4,3,1,2.

Ratings for WWE RAW disastrous, lowest in almost 20 years

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

There is no way to spin the Monday, 11/23 WWE Raw ratings other than that they were a disaster.

The show did 2.95 million viewers, more than 200,000 viewers lower than what had previously been the non-holiday low dating back to 1997 when Raw was losing badly to WCW Monday Nitro.

Part of the reason was the NFL’s Monday night game featuring the New England Patriots vs. Buffalo Bills that did 14.26 million viewers, which is about two million more than football has been doing in recent weeks but nowhere near a record.

It is the first time Raw averaged less than three million viewers since 1997.

To make matters worse, this was the day after the Survivor Series event where the WWE heavyweight title changed hands, which usually would lead to at least a strong first hour. In case you needed to be reminded, Sheamus now holds the gold after cashing in his MITB briefcase against five minute champion Roman Reigns.

The three hours were:

  • 8 p.m. 3.19 million viewers
  • 9 p.m. 2.99 million viewers
  • 10 p.m. 2.71 million viewers

Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discuss last night’s WWE Raw on Wrestling Observer Radio.

WWE Raw live results 11-23: Survivor Series Fallout

Posted on by Josh Hamlin

The Big Takeaway: 

Sheamus faces Roman Reigns in a TLC match at the TLC PPV. Since Seth Rollins is on the shelf, the overriding buildup of HHH vs. Rollins has now turned into HHH vs. Reigns, as that was the tease during the 20 minute opening segment. A long show and a cold one, though Reigns got a good response. 

Show Recap: 

Superstars matches:

R-Truth beat Adam Rose
The Miz beat Zack Ryder

Raw will be returning to the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on 2/29.

Tickets are on sale now at ticketmaster with the code word TICKETS.HHH and Stephanie McMahon are first out, which is one hell of a way to get the new champion over. HHH said he gave Roman Reigns an opporutnity of a lifetime several times, but Reignss told him to shove it. HHH introduced Sheamus as a man who knew how to seize an opportunity. 

So out came the James Hetfield look-a-like who dropped 9 of his previous 10 matches before he beat Reigns last night. He got some good heat. Sheamus said Reigns’ “Roman Empire” lasted only a few minutes. Sheamus mentioned how Reigns cried at the end of the match. If they want to get Reigns over as a babyface that fans won’t boo, I think they need to obscure that part of history ASAP.

This brought out Reigns, who got “Roman” chants. Reigns said he wanted his rematch tonight, which got “Yes” chants. Stephanie stepped in front of HHH and said any chance Roman had to dictate terms to them was lost when Reigns speared HHH. Roman asked HHH if Stephanie was standing in front of him because he was scared.

What followed was exactly why WWE finds themselves in the predicament they’re in. HHH and Reigns had a long staredown while the new champion was just a background piece. It was supposed to get monster dual chants going, but it got a mild reaction. So with Rollins out of the picture, it’s going to be HHH vs. Reigns at some point down the line until Vince changes his mind again. HHH said Reigns wasn’t getting his rematch tonight. At that point, Rusev ran out of the crowd and hit Regins with a thrust kick. Sheamus followed up with a Brogue Kick.

As the heels retreated up the ramp, HHH announced that Reigns would face Shemaus in a TLC match at the TLC PPV. Stephanie ordered Reigns to face Rusev tonight.  

Luke Harper and Bray Wyatt defeated the Dudley Boyz (7:49)

Luke Harper pinned Bubba Ray Dudley after a clothesline. Bubba looked like a geek at the finish, because he got distracted by Bray who…was standing on the apron. Then he got pinned with a transitional move. Braun Strowman came in afterwards and gave Bubba the Head-and-Arm Choke, which Michael Cole is now calling a bearhug. Wyatt left Devon Dudley laying with Sister Abigail. Wyatt in a tag team ruins his aura, but not any more than his two programs with the Undertaker. 

They continue to run the 25 years of Undertaker vignette, which ran twice last night. 

Sasha Banks defeated Becky Lynch (4:06) 

Becky Lynch didn’t even get a ring entrance. Lynch got the Disarm-her, but Tamina took the referee while Naomi pulled Sasha Banks to the ropes. Lynch went after Naomi, allowing Banks to get the pin with a schoolgirl cradle. 2 distraction finishes in 2 matches. Banks is a star on NXT. On the modern day Raw roster, she gets McMahoned/Dunned. (That’s a good name for a heel tag team, BTW) Same applies to Lynch. 

Cole built up Banks as a future contender when Paige appeared on the big screen to shout him down. Paige claimed that Charlotte cheated to win last night at Survivor Series because when Charlotte applied the Figure Eight, her hand was under the ropes. Paige claimed Charlotte was just like her father, the dirtiest player in the game. 

They showed the trailer for “Santa’s Little Helper,” starring the Miz. I’d like to remind everyone Mystery Science Theater 3000 is launching a campaign to return to TV. 

The New Day came out to celebrate its 1st birthday. They came out with stick rocking horses and toy cowboy hats. Big E. got the DieHard “Yipee Ki Ay.” Kofi Kingston talked about how country music sucks, which actually got a pop. Kofi and Big E. sang with the thickest twang they could about losing dogs, girlfriends, and tractors while Xavier Woods played the trombone, then sang “Mamas Don’t Like Your Babies Grow up to be Bootee.” Woods has a great voice. He issued an open challenge for the WWE World Tag Team championship. Lucha Dragons came out. 

Kalisto spoke about being serious about facing the tag champs. Sin Cara, for the first time I can recall, talked and wished them a happy birthday. 

New Day started to leave when the Usos came out to stop them. Sin Cara told the Usos they were out there first and suggested a triple threat match. Big E. got mad at them for ruining their jamboree. Woods said the open challenge had been canceled. So Jey Uso decked Woods. The Usos gave Kingston a double superkick while Big E. was sent over the top rope. Rare New Day segment that died after the first few minutes. 

Renee Young did an interview with Charlotte and she built up her match with Paige later tonight, which really made me glad I missed their match last night since it’s now rendered meaningless. Of course, the company rendered their own world title tournament they had built for 3 weeks meaningless last night in about 2 minutes, so we’ve got a theme going. 

Neville defeated Mark Henry (2:25) 

This one did one no one any favors. Mark Henry gave Neville a Beal from the corner, then acted like he didn’t want to hurt Neville as he rolled out of the ring. So Henry distracted himself and didn’t see Neville get in the ring. Neville hit a kick to the head, Henry sold it like he was dead and Neville got the pin with the Red Arrow. Cole called it a huge upset. Hasn’t Henry done nothing but jobs for months? Henry met Neville and shook his hand afterwards. So Neville was the only babyface eliminated in the Survivor Series match last night, and won tonight. 3 segments in a row that made last night meaningless. 

Stardust was backstage in his liar going crazy about Cesaro being out when Titus O’Neal showed up. O’Neal mentioned taking a wrong turn, then noticed a titanium figure in Stardust’s room. Titus claimed it was in the shape of the Florida Gators. When Stardust looked, Titus did his dog bark to scare Stardust. Something about seeing Titus taking a wrong turn was amusing. 

The Prime Time Players and Golddust defeated The Ascension and Stardust (6:11) 

O’Neal pinned Viktor after a Spinebuster. Darren Young got the heat. It was OK. 

Zeb Coulter and Alberto Del Rio came out. Coulter ripped the crowd saying the borders of MexAmerica were now closed because people weren’t listening to their message. People tend to do that with dead gimmicks. Jack Swagger returned saying Coulter had turned his back on the people and his country. He said Coulter used to stand for something. Yeah, xenophobia. He didn’t mention that part. 

Del Rio shouted him down. Swagger promised to defend his country against all doubters, foreign and domestic. He dared Del Rio to do something about it. They had a staredown. Del Rio held up the U.S. title and walked out to boos. Swagger led the people in a “We the People” chant. 

Charlotte (C) and Paige went to a double countout (14:56). Charlotte retains the Divas Championship. 

They exchanged holds for most of what aired. Paige tripped Charlotte off the second rope with her head hitting the back of the turnbuckles. Paige used various leglocks and a Bow and Arrow. Unfortunately, Charlotte didn’t sell her leg as much as she should have. Charlotte speared Paige through the ropes, leading to a double countout, a finish the crowd booed. That didn’t help matters since the fans were dead for most of the night. Afterwards, Paige continued her gimmick of doing submission holds on the announcer’s table by giving Charlotte the PTO. If Cole could explain what difference it makes when Paige does the PTO on the announcer’s table, I’d really appreciate it. Charlotte has great facials selling submissions, showing the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. 

Heath Slater came out. Swagger. Slater. It’s like the Witness Relocation Program all-stars came out in full force tonight. He ran down Dirks Bentley, Johnny Cash and teased singing. Ryback came out to total silence. Slater busted his guitar over Ryback’s back, but Ryback didn’t sell out. Crowd did start a “Feed Me More” chant as Ryback gave Slater a spinebuster, Meat Hook Clothesline and the Shellshock. Same segment you’ve seen 100 times with Slater, which I guess is better than getting released. 

Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler defeated Tyler Breeze and Kevin Owens (5:27) 

Dean Ambrose pinned Tyler Breeze with Dirty Deeds. Already, Breeze is in the 50/50 club. None of these men got a ring entrance. So much of Breeze’s routine is the entrance. How can you not fit that in on a 3:15 show? Fortunately, they made up for it with Breeze and Kevin Owens doing the tag partners who don’t get along gimmick, which got old in TNA around 2006. Dean Ambrose hit a tope where Breeze tookd a nasty fall. Looks like they’re setting up Owens vs. Ambrose for the Intercontinental championship. 

Cute product placement for Tex/Mex Chicken Sandwiches at Carl Jr’s./Hardees with JBL, El Torito and Henry. It showed Torito coming out in JBL’s gear getting a huge pop from a crowd that was edited to look live. This was a trip. An acid trip. 

As Sheamus came out for the main event, they showed a tweet from Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly congratulating him. That’s apropos, because one person has backdoored into a championship opportunity they had no business getting. And the other person was Sheamus. 

Roman Reigns defeated Rusev by DQ (18:46) 

Sheamus interfered freely, which led to him being sent to the back. Rusev pulled off a cool spin kick that caught Reigns across the forehead. Reigns escaped an Accolade attempt and hit a Superman’s punch, but Rusev kicked out. Reigns gave the sign for the spear, but Rusv rolled out of the ring. Reigns teased the Drive By, but Rusev hit the thrust kick. Rusev repeatedly rammed Reigns’ head into the table, but again, Reigns barely sold it. Reigns hit a Superman’s Punch while Rusev was on the apron, and Rusev took the Nestle Tea bump on the floor. Reigns caught the Drive By. King Barrett ran out, for some reason, to attack Reigns for the DQ. Both men really worked hard and it was the best match of the night with a bad finish. 

Barrett pulled out a chair. Rusev teased hitting him with it, but Reigns got it and hit Rusev with it repeatedly. Sheamus ran down, only to take a chair shot to the back. They teased Rusev, Barrett and Sheamus as a new heel trio. 

SUMMARY: 

There’s little hope for this company to build a new star if they keep going back to 1999 in order to find big matches. With HHH as the de facto top heel, that makes Sheamus look like his understudy. In other words, they learned nothing from how poorly Rollins was booked. This show had too many bad finishes and the crowd was lifeless most of the way. 

WWE Main Event results: Heath Slater compared to a cat using a litter box

Posted on by F4W Staff

By Alan O’Brien for WrestlingObserver.com

The Main Takeaway:

WWE really wants you to like Titus O’Neil.

*****

The Usos pinned Adam Rose & Brad Maddox (7:30)

But first, viewers were treated to the now obligatory Adam Rose C-show pre-match promo, in which he blames the fans for his previous gimmick not getting over.  This was the same old, same old – delivered in a weird hybrid of his the Adam Rose voice and Ray Leppan’s actual voice – with one exception. He finished by introducing us all to the returning Brad Maddox.

Brad gets some mic time of his own as he rushes down the ramp, calling the fans “morons” and reminding them that he was fired as RAW General Manager in this very building last year. He attributes his black attire and new dyed-blonde hair to an “identity crisis” and has just enough time to favourably compare the latter to the “puke-orange” University of Tennessee colours before the producer cuts him off abruptly!

Boring match here, with The Usos coming off poorly for taking so long to put away jamokes of this stature. Not helped by Tom and Byron on commentary, who bury Maddox by speculating that he may have been the worst general manager of all time.

Personally, I thought he excelled in that role. The role of wrestler? Not so much. Although Bradley had the words “REAL GOOD” embroidered on his black tights, his heel work was anything but here – including a seemingly never-ending heat segment at the expense of Jimmy Uso.

Jimmy eventually tagged out when Brad apparently attempted a Rough Ryder in the corner, crotching himself on the top rope. Jey came in off the lukewarm tag and cleaned house, leading to the finish of stereo superkicks to Adam Rose followed by a Superfly Splash from Jimmy. Poor Adam. This time last year he was wrestling on the Survivor Series main card.

– Tom Phillips, now sporting facial hair in an attempt to make him look older than 16, throws to a video package featuring Titus O’Neil helping to raise money for a Navy Seals Museum. This featured Titus smiling widely, shaking hands and bumping fists. It also featured his advocate-in-chief, Batista, telling us how great “The Real Deal” is. Is he over yet?

– Backstage, the lovely Jojo wants to ask Titus some hard-hitting questions about his vital main event match with Heath Slater tonight. Titus cuts her off to do some dumb comedy with tag partner, Darren Young. Darren has bad breath! He’s going to turn Heath Slater into the ONE MAN BODYCAST! Oh man, my sides. He then finishes this lead balloon of an interview by creeping everyone out, hitting on the lovely Jojo (“You don’t have to buy a t-shirt, ‘cause I’d give you one! Woooo!”). Is he over yet?

Naomi w/Sasha Banks and Tamina submitted Alicia Fox w/Brie Bella and the worst hairstyle ever (5:53)

Seriously, Foxy’s new hair needs to be seen to be believed. She has voluntarily given herself the largest receding hairline known to womankind. It’s incredible.

The third Bella worked face here, falling victim to the dreaded distraction finish. Usual bad divas match, in which they poorly attempted some silly looking athletic spots with no underlying psychology. Also featured the loudest spot call in history, when Naomi emerged from the corner after rubbing her buns in Fox’s face, shouted “RANA!” on camera, and then proceeded to do a ‘rana.

Finish made Fox look like an idiot (as all WWE babyfaces apparently should), voluntarily running over to swat away both Sasha and Tamina from the apron, leading to a rollup and Naomi’s new submission finish – a leg-based head-and-arm choke. Looked kinda crummy, to be honest. Kinda really crummy.

Titus O’Neil pinned Heath Slater (6:35)

The “Terrible Announcing Line of the Night” award goes to Byron Saxton, who proclaimed upon Slater’s entrance that he is “like a cat who refuses to use the litter box….he does his own thing!” Jesus.

Either Byron or Tom helpfully informs us that these two men formed a tag team on this very programme just over a year ago. The now-defunct SlaterGator also featured on last year’s Survivor Series main card. Their opponents? Adam Rose and The Bunny!

Long shine segment for Titus consisting solely of him slapping Heath in the chest repeatedly. Nice moveset there, homes. Heath eventually transitions to the heat by raking the eyes off a slam attempt. Titus’ comeback emanates from a Slater headlock and consists of a big boot and what can only be described as a pumphandle drop. Genichiro Tenryu, I hope you’re taking notes.

The finish was a Clash of the Titus off a top rope flying nothing attempt from Slater. We then get an overlong in-ring celebration from Titus. Awkward. He eventually resorts to leaving the ring and imposing the Millions of Dollars chant on an unwilling child at ringside. Seriously, is he over yet?

Final Thoughts

A bit of a showcase for O’Neil, who has emerged on the scene three decades too late to avail of the natural charisma and star quality he so plainly has. Unfortunately, these days, not being able to work is a major drawback. This is the guy who managed to get two bad matches out of Sami Zayn, remember? Rest of the show was a non-event really, with none of the wrestling climbing above adequate. Far cry from the Sasha/Becky and Neville/Owens matches of the last few weeks.

Cesaro confirmed out four to six months with rotator cuff surgery

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

WWE confirmed Monday that the injury to Cesaro (Claudio Castagnoli) is a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder and is likely to be out of action four to six months.

In the WWE.com piece, Cesaro said he suffered the injury two months ago, but essentially ignored it, not realizing the severity. He said he had maintained range of motion and he was hurt, but his strength wasn’t down significantly and he was continuing to train on it. This past week, he had the shoulder examined and found it was a complete tear. He said he just got the word of the tear today and is having surgery this afternoon.

The injury was reported Sunday when Cesaro was pulled from a tag team match at Survivor Series. We had been told that he would probably be needing surgery, but that was to be determined, and that he was getting the shoulder evaluated today.

****

Bryan Alvarez and I discussed the injury on last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio.

WWE Breaking Ground ep. 4 recap: Tag teams take center stage

Posted on by F4W Staff

Submitted by Ryan Pike for WrestlingObserver.com

Key Takeaway:

A very focused episode of Breaking Ground showcased two tag teams: the all-amateur pairing of Chad Gable and Jason Jordan, and the mis-matched rookie Mojo Rawley and WWE veteran Zach Ryder. Their journey through the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic anchors arguably the series’ best episode to-date.

Show Recap:

This edition spent a good deal of time with four men in two tag teams: former amateur wrestlers Jason Jordan and Chad Gable, former football player Mojo Rawley and current WWE superstar (doing double-duty in NXT) Zach Ryder.

Jordan wrestled since he was a kid, something we learn about while seeing adorable childhood photos of him in a singlet at a meet. He’s a unique case, as wrestling has given him some structure in his life – compared to two of his older brothers, who are in jail. The coaches praise his athleticism, but noted he seemed to struggle at times to be believable in the ring. Regal says that until recently, he hadn’t found his “thing,” and we get clips of Jordan as an occasional enhancement talent on NXT television.

Enter Chad Gable. We learn a bit about him. Like Jordan, he was a high-level amateur wrestler – he went to the 2012 Olympics. He’s smaller, athletic and has charisma. Jason Albert says Gable’s personality has rubbed on on Jordan a bit, and we see them hanging out and playing basketball. “I guess you never thought you’d lose to a short white guy in basketball,” jokes Gable. Later on, we tag along with them as they drive to an event. They joke around. Later we hear that Gable hurt his ankle in Texas, and the coaches move around some matches to maximize his rest so he’s ready for the Dusty Rhodes tournament.

The contrast to the “best friends with similar backgrounds” tag team is Mojo Rawley and Zach Ryder. Mojo’s a crazy man who used to play football and made the NFL but got injured. He buys a house and parties in it. He’s young and loud, and despite his enthusiasm it seems like he’s peaked in NXT already. The coaches discuss in a meeting that he doesn’t get what an opening match is supposed to be or have.

Enter Zach Ryder, his new partner – and coincidentally, an opening match guy on the WWE main roster. Ryder’s more experienced and more mature, and sees the tag team as an opportunity to get back to the main roster more regularly – and to probably prove to WWE that he can be used to help younger guys, which could extend his tenure. And Rawley sees Ryder as a path to the main roster. Yet in an odd contrast, Ryder and Rawley don’t ride together (Rawley travels with Dana Brooke) and they text each other regularly, but they aren’t best friends or anything. The show seemingly goes out of its way to show Jordan and Gable riding together and being buddies and Ryder and Mojo being mis-matched.

In addition to the main two teams, we hang out with ZZ and Cal Bishop. ZZ is still woefully out-of-shape and has horrible cardio, and actually walks out of a cardio workout (with Albert and Robbie Brookside yelling at him to continue) because he’s so blown up. Cal Bishop is a California kid signed out of college by Gerry Briscoe, but currently out with a shoulder injury. Dana Brooke and the coaches praise him for his look and his commitment, especially since he’s gone through all the rehab for his injury. He cuts a promo in promo class about adversity and battling through it. It’s actually pretty good, and they seem to really make viewers like him. On this show, that either means he’s either going to do really well or he’s going to get cut next week.

Final Thoughts:

The more focused Breaking Ground has been in its episodes, the better the show has been. This was easily the most focused episode and so far, the best the series has been in helping audiences get to know the NXT talent.

WWE Survivor Series 2015 Reader Feedback

Posted on by F4W Staff

Thumbs way down.
All the talent and possibilities they have and those are the final two standing? Shows who the bosses want, we get. Sheamus and Reigns. Wow. Couldn’t have booked it worse if they wanted to lose viewers tomorrow night and the foreseeable future as fast as possible.
Awful.

Brian Mazza

Thumbs uppish.

Best match: Ambrose v Owens

Worst: Undertaker/Kane v The Wyatts

The matches were mostly entertaining if not especially memorable. The curse of the show was match endings seemingly : the traditional Survivors match (pretty good until New Day walks out, hen… well…), Charlotte/Paige, Ziggler/Breeze & the Reigns/Ambrose final were all marred by it. Only Reigns/Del Rio & Ambrose/Owens built to a satisfying payoff.

The “surprise” Sheamus win makes sense from a story perspective, but I can’t say it makes me interested in future directions, & it didn’t do Roman any favors. For a second it looked like they were doing a double-turn with him & Triple H…

Steven Grant

Henderson NV

Dave,

This show sucked, thumbs down.

Best match ADR vs Reigns
Worst match 10 man tag w/Shameus

Ambrose’s upper body is awful. Needs to get on the main event gimmicks. He looks like me when I work out and I should not be a wwe main eventer.

I don’t know if it’s too late for this but I loved the Tenryu retirement show, big thumbs up.

Best match Tenryu vs Okada
Worst match tag w/Ogawa

Thanks, Erin Hotovy

Hi Dave,
  Just thought I would provide some Feedback on Survivor Series. I gave the show a thumbs in the middle, not that bad, good in spots, but not really that great either. Better then a “B” show, but not by much. I would have to say the best match of the night would probably be the Taker/Kane match VS The Wyatts since it was a cool spectacle but mostly just big spots at the right time, and the worst match of the night would have to be the 5 on 5 elimination match during the main show. I missed the elimination match on the pre show.

Roman / Del Rio – I thought this was a pretty good match, my two choices for the winning the title when the tournament began was both of these guys, I think Alberto would be a great heel champ, and I think Roman would have also made for a great heel champ as well, but more on that later. Good win for Roman.

Ambrose / Owens – Was not all that surprised to see Ambrose win, even though I was pulling for Owens since I think he is one of the most talented guys on the roster right now. But they have been building on the friendship between Roman and Dean during the tournament and what would happen if they met in the finals, so I saw the Ambrose win coming. Ah well.

New Day / Sheamus / Barrett VS Lucha Dragons / Usos / Ryback – Match was entertaining and good for comedy because of the New Day, but also got my vote for worst match of the night because it was just a comedic throw away match. It’s hard to watch matches like this where it’s just built around the comedy segments. And I’m a fan of New Day and they have won me over with their comedy spots, but hard to take them seriously as a result and they are tag champs right now so it dilutes the title as a result.

Paige / Charlotte – Not a bad match for the Divas title, was very good in spots and very physical, but have seen better. I think the whole angle with Flair and her late brother really just ruined the match for me, so it was hard for me to get into this match as a result. Although WWE really retracted on the angle they used on Raw and tried to back track and utilize damage control, the match was really ruined in my opinion from that tasteless angle which still has me dumbfounded why they would go that route and mention Reid Flair the way they did. Just bad taste and was not necessary at all to get the match over. But good to see Charlotte retain since Paige is starting to get annoying in my opinion as they are making her character a little too whiney and complaining. Just stick to having good matches and get the ball back rolling on the Divas revolution.

Ziggler / Tyler – Didn’t really care who won this match since the whole feud has really been pointless. But good win for Breeze since it would be dumb to have him lose after just making his main roster debut. However having him with Summer Rae is not doing him any favors. Poor Summer just seems to be the career killer for everyone, lol.

Taker /Kane VS the Wyatt Family – I thought this was a very good match for what it was and who was involved. I knew Taker and Kane couldn’t really do much to carry the match that long in this latter stage of both their careers and the Wyatts would really have to step up and make it look good. I think it would have been better and really a no brainer to have a traditional 5 on 5 elimination match since it would make everyone look that much better, but this seemed to work out just fine too. Really cool entrance by Undertaker, was expecting more in general throughout the night in honor of the Taker since they were celebrating his 25 years since his debut in WWE in 1990 but this match served it’s purpose well. I thought a good angle they could have utilized if they went for a traditional elimination match would be to have mystery surprise partners for Taker and Kane, possibly Sting, Batista, and Brock as his partners would have been awesome. But that’s just me playing fantasy league booker, lol. But good match otherwise.

Roman / Dean – Not sure what to say about this match. I think Roman as a face is going nowhere fast. Evident by crowd starting to boo him. Was hoping Roman would turn heel during the match on Dean and win the title as a heel champion. I think Roman as a heel champion would be awesome. Face Roman not so much. When Roman did win the title, I automatically thought something was up since they still had plenty of time left on the show for something to happen, which I knew would not bode well for Roman. And of course that’s exactly what happened when Triple H came to the ring then Sheamus cashed in and won the title. Kind of lazy in my opinion. And Roman gets screwed out of the title again since WrestleMania. Face Roman is just not going to get over. Heel Roman will make a great champion. But Shemaus as champ? Wasn’t he just in a comedy filler mid match card? Well it was an entertaining show but not the greatest. They can only improve from this point. Go heel Roman!

Thanks,
Jon Southerland
Clovis, Ca.

WWE Survivor Series

Thumbs in the middle: Not that great of a show, it started good but lost steam down the line. Way too many video packages and outside the ring stuff. Between the end of the Ziggler vs Breeze match and the start of the main event there were 37 minutes with just ten of in-ring action for the Taker match, only to do a rushed final. 

Best Match: Ambrose vs Owens

Worst Match: Tag Opener 

1. Goldust, Neville, O’neill & Dudleys vs Dallas, Miz, Stardust & Ascension. A total throwaway match. 

2. Reigns vs ADR. Good opener. Finally Del Rio had a good match. ***1/2

3. Ambrose vs Owens. Very good but these two can be better; given the result, it’s possible they’ll have a feud. ***3/4

4. Ryback, Lucha Dragons & Usos vs. Barrett, Sheamus & New Day. It started good but once the New Day walked away the match died. In fact, they never got the crowd fully back for the rest of the show. **3/4

5. Charlotte vs Paige. They really tried and did some cool spots but the crowd was dead. Maybe it was the New Day walk out effect, the Charlotte’s brother angle effect or that people just don’t care about the divas. Maybe a bit of all. ***

6. Breeze vs Ziggler. Too short to be something. **

7. Taker & Kane vs Wyatt & Harper. They put Harper there to take the bumps. Taker did his thing so it was fine. Hopefully this is the end of their feud. **1/2

8. Reigns vs Ambrose. What they did was good but way too rushed. It was clear that there was an angle coming. ***

9. Sheamus vs Reigns. In 2015 Sheamus is the WWE champion once again. Those title matches vs Ryback (given the result of the tag match) will be great. What’s next, Barrett turning on him? I just hope that this is not an excuse to do the dreaded Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan match at Mania (N/R)

Leonardo Mendes Toledo

Thumbs Up
Best Match: Reigns v Ambrose
Worst Match: Charlotte v Paige

I think they made a big mistake with the succesful cash in. Could sense that was coming for Triple H to sucker him with a handshake and when Reigns is a face who sees right through it, made him stand out. If he was able to beat Sheamus too, I have to think that would have really cemented him. “This guy survived a tourney, hunter, and a cash in? Wow”. Not like they have to protect the briefcase anymore since two people have failed. This would get the case off Sheamus and potentially also allow an opponent for TLC by The Authority sending Sheamus against Reigns. But no, now Reigns is champion for a moment now has to chase *again*. No matter how the storyline spins it most audience members will now see reigns as a guy who blew it *again*

Anyway this was another good event. At this point I forget the last PPV I didnt like. Had technical issues first 10-15 of the preshow, as a lot folks did apparently on Twitter. All three tournament matches were great. Im a sucker for Owens but thought Ambrose-Owens was the weakest of the three just slightly off but still good. Liked both elimination matches, The New Day one more. The trombone moment was priceless especially with Wade. The divas match should have started with Charlotte going balistic and there wasnt enough of that. More stiff than WWE womens matches but just lacking a little. Glad to see Breeze win after the tourney handling.

Think WWE was hoping the crowd would take over singing for Lilian as many other sports teams have done at times like these but they didnt get going.

So TLC will likely be the aforementioned Sheamus-Reigns match and guessing basically they “have” to have Sheamus retain which frankly sucks, makes Reigns keep choking. If theres some title held up or other wackiness its Bryan-Orton/Authority all over again.

Reigns may not be perfect right now but they had the chance to strap a triple rocket to the guy and see what happens ans they went the other way here. Too bad.

Michael O’Brien

WWE Survivor Series Feedback

Thumbs Up

Best Match: Roman Reigns vs Alberto Del Rio

Worst match: Goldust, Dudleys, Titus O’Neal and Neville vs Acension, The Miz, Bo Dallas and Stardust

I enjoyed the show as a whole and am glad to have watched it. I am however disappointed in the finishing Money In The Bank angle. WWE had a chance to light a spark tonight with a great match between Reigns and Ambrose if they were given time but they went with booking that wasn’t really for me. I do hope they move toward Reigns winning the title from Sheamus at TLC or Rumble as I don’t see it as a Mania main event but they will probably want The Authority involved no matter what. They really need to move on from the booking of MITB surprise wins as it is played out after ten years. They could keep MITB and just get rid of the rule that it is any time and place.

All that being said the in-ring action was good tonight. The semi-finals were good. Charlotte and Paige had a much better match than I expected and was the best stuff from Charlote since she came to the main roster. I liked the main show elimination match as a showcase for The New Day, Xavier Woods is one of my favorites to watch right now.

I didn’t have a lot of interest in Undertaker and Kane, but did think that Luke Harper made the most of the showcase.

Dave Musgrave

Oshawa, Ontario

Thumbs way down.

Best match:  Ambrose/Owens or Reigns/Del Rio

Worst match:  Reigns and Ambrose or that atrocious tag match between BOD and Wyatts.

I don’t know what I expected from this clueless company.  The worst part is this show was good until the last two matches.  They were both so bad that it just invalidated the rest of the show.  If I didn’t enjoy the network as an entity and NXT so much I’d cancel my subscription tonight.  I sure as hell have zero interest in watching Raw now.  I mean, I was glad Sheamus cashed in but I don’t care about him as a champion, I don’t hate it like I hate Roman Reigns as a champion, but I really don’t care at all.

And I don’t mind Reigns as a worker, I usually enjoy his matches.  The match with Del Rio was great.  But once he’s in the Cena spot you know WWE is going to write the same shitty stories with Reigns that they do with Cena.  That match with Ambrose should have been great, but it was completely devoid of any drama and suspense and the finish was flatter than Pepsi. 

I like that guys like Owens, Neville, and Breeze are making main roster money but I selfishly wish they’d just stayed in NXT instead of being on Raw.  No wonder Finn Balor says he doesn’t want to be on the main roster.  I don’t blame him.

By the way I didn’t think it possible since I loved him as a kid but I absolutely hate the Undertaker now and can’t wait for him to retire already.

– Ben Brennan

Best match Roman Reigns vs Alberto Del Rio

Worst match Sheamus vs Roman Reigns

Almost gave it a thumbs in the middle due to the ending but I really did enjoy everything else on the show…but they Lex Lugered Reigns, he will never be the guy after this.

Wade Hauge

Overall: Thumbs up show. Going into the event WWE had two main objectives; crown a new champion and cement a #1 heel. When Sheamus cashed in the briefcase and defeated Reigns, he achieved the objectives and in doing so provided a needed change to the landscape of WWE. All of the tournament matches were meaningful, different and enjoyable.  The Undertaker match was pure nostalgic fun. The rest of the card was take it or leave it. I would have left the WWE Divas title match.

Best Match: I would provide a slight edge to Ambrose/Owens over Reigns/Del Rio, though both matches were very good.

Worst Match: The Divas match was long and missable. They tried and failed.

Preshow Survivor Series Match: Neville, Dudley Boys, Titus and Goldust vs. The Ascension, Bo Dallas, Stardust, and The Miz. Entertaining addition to the Survivor Series pre show. I am glad to have Goldust back. The wrestlers looked like they were having a good time at the onset. The crowd was tame for the majority of the match and the heat segment did wane. Nonetheless, it was a crowd pleasing finish with the babyface team getting a strong victory. **

WWE World Championship Semifinal Match: Alberto Del Rio vs. Roman Reigns. Good match. Pedestrian and somewhat clunky beginning with some well timed and unexpected transitions going down the stretch. Crowd was only lukewarm for Reigns, but they appreciated the action and effort in the ring. If the plan is to make Reigns earn the belt with two long and hard fought matches. Step one was successful. ***

WWE World Championship Semifinal Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens. Very good match. They went back and forth to start, settled into some formula heat during the middle, and took it home with an awesome closing sequence. The crowd is interested, but they don’t seem invested in cheering one wrestler and booing the other. ***1/2

WWE Divas Title Match: Charlotte vs. Paige. Disappointing contest.  The action was okay at best and the story was inconsistent and difficult to follow. Many contrast the difference in presentation of women in NXT compared to WWE. Not enough emphasis is placed on the disparity of in ring quality between women in NXT and WWE.  The fact that the same women who shined in the ring in NXT look confused and uncoordinated in WWE is baffling. *1/2

Tyler Breeze vs. Dolph Ziggler. The action was crisp, the crowd was cold. Call it the crowd, call it the spot on the card, call it whatever you want; the reaction and crowd response was absent. **

Survivor Series Match: Ryback, Lucha Dragons, and The Usos vs. The New Day, Shemus, and King Barrett. Bizarre layout for a heel vs. face Survivor Series match. Up to the point that the New Day left, the action was strong. Once the New Day left, the air was let out of the room. The most unlikeable character in the match, Sheamus, was the most valiant and courageous of the ten.  The last five minutes felt like dead air. **

Brother of Destruction vs. Wyatt Family. Fun nostalgia match that served as another enjoyable pit stop on the Undertaker retirement tour. Taker looked good and Kane, Harper, and Wyatt fulfilled their respective roles sufficiently. An angle closing match that ended with an emphatic exclamation point that pleased the live crowd. ***

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose. Shorter than expected, but intense and competitive while it lasted. The match ended before they reached the peak, which made the finish less predictable. All of the after the bell shenanigans, from the show of respect, to the confetti, followed by the spear to Triple H, and concluding with the MITB cash in and Sheamus victory were all spot on. **3/4 for the match.

Derrick Hubbard

Definitely a THUMBS UP.  A solid show all the way around.

Good tournament matches, a good backstage promo by Kevin Owens, a surprisingly good women’s match sans Sasha Banks, and a good surprise to close the show.  I *swear* when I saw that confetti, so evocative of Daniel Bryan’s title victory where he immediately lost the belt, I knew that Sheamus would be cashing in.  (I was less sure he would win, but I saw the cash in, especially with so much time left.)  I’m not sure I understand Reigns being angry with HHH, or how this is going to play out in a way that makes sense.  Also, I can’t wait until some heel or wise baby face gets intentionally counted out or disqualified at one of these unfair cash-ins.

BEST MATCH:  I honestly think it was Reigns-Del Rio.  Del Rio looked great, and worked well with Reigns.

WORST MATCH: Breeze-Ziggler was technically good, but lacked a bit of emotion for me.  Still, I do like Prince Pretty.  (He needs some work on promos though, as we saw in the Social Media Lounge.)

Richard Orloski

WWE Survivor Series 2015 live results: Undertaker & Kane vs The Wyatts, WWE Title Tournament

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s coverage of the 2015 Survivor Series from the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The show is headlined by the Undertaker and Kane vs. two members of the Wyatt Family alongside the semi-finals and finals of the WWE World Heavyweight Title tournament. In the semi-finals, Roman Reigns faces the newly-returned Alberto Del Rio, while Kevin Owens faces Dean Ambrose.

We’re looking for your thoughts on tonight’s show so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected].

The undercard features Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyler Breeze, and the women’s division is represented by Paige facing off with Charlotte for Charlotte’s Divas Title. Their show-closing Raw storyline put a spotlight on the show that otherwise wasn’t there, so they’ll probably be motivated to have a great match and make people forget that whole thing ever happened.

*****

Check out our great articles while you wait!  WWE Survivor Series 2015 Preview & Predictions

Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez, Dave Meltzer and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back tonight to talk all the major stories from the weekend: Survivor Series and ISIS, what the company is saying about it, preview of the PPV with predictions on all the matches, La Sombra to WWE, TNA to POP TV, UFC results from Saturday night, Bellator notes and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

Sign up for an F4Wonline.com subscription to listen to Dave and Bryan later on tonight on Wrestling Observer Radio where they will talk the aftermath of WWE Survivor Series.

*****

They announced Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels in the Stone Cold Podcast over the next several weeks.

ELIMINATION MATCH: NEVILLE & TITUS O’NEIL & GOLDUST & DUDLEYS VS.  THE MIZ & BO DALLAS & STARDUST & THE ASCENSION

Decent match, nothing special. Cesaro was originally to be in this ten-man opener, but Titus replaced him.

1) Goldust pinned Viktor in 32 seconds with a powerslam

2) Bubba Ray Dudley pinned Konnor with a uranage

3) Dallas used the Bodog on Neville and then Miz tagged in and used the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin

4) Goldust pinned Miz almost immediately with a schoolboy

5) O’Neil pinned Dallas with the Clash of the Titus

6) This left Stardust against O’Neil, Goldust and the Dudleys  Stardust tried to walk out for the count out.  O’Neil blocked his way.  He gave Goldust an elbow and then ran away from Goldust into the ring right into a 3-D by the Dudleys and Devon pinned Cody to win, so the face team won 5-1.

WWE CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT SEMIFINAL: ROMAN REIGNS VS. U.S. CHAMPION ALBERTO DEL RIO

Really good match, better than you’d think from these two.  Easily Del Rio’s best match since he’s returned.  A lot of near falls, including a spear into a kick by Del Rio at one point after  Del Rio missed the double foot stomp and sold his knee.  The finish saw Del Rio come off the top, but Reigns moved and hit him with the spear.

Reigns and Ambrose were backstage.  Reigns said it’s going to be best friends fighting for the WWE title.  Kevin Owens showed up and said,” Reigns always comes close and Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt stopped him from winning the title and now I’m beating your little buddy Dean and you’re going to come this close again but tonight’s the Kevin Owens show.” The crowd cheered that a lot.  Reigns said Owens is a guy who runs his mouth but he’s going to go out to the ring and get his ass whipped by Ambrose.

WWE CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT SEMIFINAL: DEAN AMBROSE VS. INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION KEVIN OWENS

Another really good match.  Amborse used a tope, then a second one and Owens dumped him on the announcers table.  In the ring, Owens used two superkicks, went for the pop up power bomb but Ambose reversed into a huracanrana, and followed with Dirty Deeds for the pin.

So the finals, as expected is Reigns vs. Ambrose.

ELIMINATION MATCH: TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS THE NEW DAY & KING BARRETT & SHEAMUS VS. LUCHA DRAGONS & USOS & RYBACK

1) Sin Cara pinned Barrett with a senton into the ring

2) Kingston & Woods double-teamed and pinned Jimmy Uso

3) Sheamus pinned Sin Cara with a brogue kick

4) Jey Uso pinned E with a splash off the top rope

5) Woods & Kingston left with Big E, who was acting like he was injured6) This left Sheamus alone with Kalisto, Ryback and Jey.  They went a long time until Jey hit a superkick on Sheamus, Kalisto used  huracanrana and Ryback pinned him after the shell shock.

Match was good. Last fall went too long with the story they were telling, kind of died off.  The crowd loved the New Day so that was part of it as they lost interest after they left.

DIVAS CHAMPION CHARLOTTE VS. PAIGE

They gave them time to have the kind of match they’d have in NXT.  It was good.  The highlight was Charlotte spearing Paige with her running on the barricade tackling Paige, standing on the barricade, to the floor.  Charlotte won clean via submission with the figure eight.

Dean Ambrose said we knew this day would come and tonight I’m going to fight my brother, I’d give him the shirt off my back but he isn’t going to pay the bills  Reigns came out and said usually I’d give you a hug but today’s not about hugs.  They fist bumped.

DOLPH ZIGGLER VS. TYLER BREEZE

This was all about getting Breeze over.  Short match that they rushed through with Breeze winning with the unprettier.  As far as execution went, very good, but it felt from the start like they were rushing through.

UNDERTAKER & KANE VS. BRAY WYATT & LUKE HARPER

They took out Erick Rowan before the match.  Wyatt & Harper did the match with Strowman in the corner.  The match was all about putting Undertaker over.  The crowd was more into this than any match on the show.  Undertake & Kane choke slammed Strowman onto the announcers table.  In the ring, Undertaker & Kane did a double sit up.  Undertaker choke slammed Wyatt and Kane choke slammed Harper and then Undertaker pinned Harper after a tombstone piledriver. Not a great match but it was good as a showcase.  They teased this may be the last time Undertaker & Kane are a tag team.

WWE CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS: ROMAN REIGNS VS. DEAN AMBROSE

They rushed through a 9:00 final. Each kicked out of the others big move until Reigns hit a second spear and got the clean pin. It’s early so we may have an angle coming. Really good while it lasted.

HHH came out while they had the pyro and confetti going, and came out to congratulate Reigns. Reigns wouldn’t shake his hand and speared him. Sheamus came out from behind, and gave Reigns a brogue kick but Reigns kicked out. He hit Reigns with a second brogue kick and pinned him so Sheamus ends the show as WWE Champion, shaking hands and hugging HHH. 

Cesaro may need shoulder surgery, Jim Ross reports

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Jim Ross reported on Twitter earlier today that Cesaro (Claudio Castagnoli) is having shoulders issues that will likely require surgery.

Cesaro was not advertised for a match on today’s Survivor Series but could have fit into the ten person elimination match.

Cesaro is coming off one of the better television matches on Raw in several months in the quarterfinal match in the WWE title tournament where he lost to Roman Reigns. 

If he is to undergo surgery, that would be next on the list that includes Seth Rollins and Randy Orton as key performers with the company undergoing surgery and out for a significant length of time.   

Ross on Twitter about an hour ago tweeted, “Hearing that @WWECesaro is having shoulder issues that will likely require surgery soon. If true, we wish him our best. Quality person.”

WWE Survivor Series 2015 Preview & Predictions

Posted on by Bryan Rose

It has been twenty five years since the debut of the Undertaker back at Survivor Series 1990, but this Sunday will mark the twenty eighth edition of the annual November WWE event. While there will be a traditional Survivor Series 5 on 5 match, we don’t actually know it as WWE hasn’t announced the participants. I guess it’s not that important.

But what is important is the WWE title, which in the last month has been declared vacant due to Seth Rollins suffering a major knee injury. A tournament has been held in the last month to determine who will be the new champion, and it boils down to four people: United States champion Alberto del Rio, Intercontinental champion Kevin Owens, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. It’ll be interesting to see not only who walks away champion, but just how that person winds up with the belt. Will they do it the right way, or will the Authority once again have their very own champion?

Meanwhile, it is the 25th anniversary of the Undertaker, so the dead man will be in action alongside Kane taking on the team of Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman. Wyatt has rekindled his feud with Undertaker and Kane in the last month, taking away their amazing ability to summon lightning and fire and all sorts of other fun magic tricks. Will Kane and Undertaker reign supreme, or will Wyatt’s magic powers run dry?

Our predictors for this month’s show:

– Bryan Rose: New Japan house show/AXS reporter

– Kyle S Johnson

– Jeremy Peeples

– James Cox: WWE Superstars reporter and WWE DVD reviewer

– Steve Khan: WWE Smackdown reporter

– Paul Fontaine: ROH TV and PPV recapper; columnist

Dolph Ziggler vs. Tyler Breeze

Bryan Rose: I’m already feeling like Breeze is just a guy in the midcard. Granted, with his gimmick there’s not going to be any real opportunity at the top but in his first match against Ambrose he got pinned clean. He’s won matches since then, but I think this is an important match for Breeze. Either he beats Dolph clean and gets some momentum, or Ziggler pins him and we’re just kind of filling time on Raw from this point forward. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and go with Breeze for this one, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they go the other way either.

    Prediction: Tyler Breeze

Kyle S. Johnson: The build to this match was bisected by the impromptu WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament, and everything feels pretty tepid going into Sunday. Story aside, it will be interesting to see what kind of chemistry these two have, and this could wind up being a fun little match to get the show rolling. Both guys are coming off of losses in the tournament, but Breeze could probably use the win more so as to establish some kind of footing on the main roster. I expect either Prince Pretty picking up the victory via heelishness/Summer Rae chicanery or Ziggler getting a DQ win to get more heat on Breeze, with either result extending the feud into the end of the year.

    Prediction: Tyler Breeze

Jeremy Peeples: This has had a fun mid-card build, but not very noteworthy for either guy. Dolph is the established guy, and as a former World champion, it seems odd to peg him as the loser here, but Tyler needs the win more.

   Prediction:  Tyler Breeze

James Cox: I watched these two live at the house shows a few weeks ago and they work well together. Breeze needs to connect more with the crowd and so a win here makes a lot of sense. His start on the main roster has been stuttering so they need to keep him strong now and see what he can really do. I don’t imagine Ziggler has a problem continuing this feud or putting him over at this stage.

    Prediction: Tyler Breeze

Steve Khan: WWE picks random moments to protect Dolph Ziggler and I could see this being one of them. However, they obviously need something new and Breeze is definitely that. Ziggler will get his win back later but I think Breeze does pick up the win here with help from Summer Rae. The match has potential but I worry about it getting enough time.

Prediction: Tyler Breeze

Paul Fontaine: Breeze needs the win alot more than Ziggler does. They need to make new stars and Breeze has as much of a chance as anyone else to catch on. At least the act with he and Summer is different. Don’t see any reason to think there will be anything but a win for Breeze here.

    Prediction: Tyler Breeze

WWE Divas Title: Charlotte © vs. Paige

Bryan Rose: Boy, this has been the source of much chatter this week, hasn’t it? I won’t go into the details of the angle that closed off Raw Monday because it’s been talked about to death and I pretty much agree with how tasteless and stupid it was. With that said, this Diva’s Revolution they like to talk about on a weekly basis feels flatter and flatter each week. Charlotte has been bland as a face and Paige has turned so many times in the last year it’s hard to feel anything about her. I still think they’re invested in making Charlotte the big star of the division (which is kind of funny considering Sasha Banks has been called up, but there’s politics here) so I say she retains.

    Prediction: Charlotte

Kyle S. Johnson: The story of this match was torched on Monday in what should go down as one of the company’s most tactless, disgusting moments of the past decade. Everything about turning this story to hinge on the very real death of Reid Fliehr leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and that taste only gets worse the more with every successive revelation of just how negligently this thing was handled. While it will by no means compensate for that horrid angle, Charlotte and Paige can turn a lot of the focus toward a positive if they are allowed to go out and put on a great match. Expect Charlotte to get a victory, hope that nothing more is done to invoke Reid’s name, and understand that the artificial Divas Revolution is done.

    Prediction: Charlotte

Jeremy Peeples: Raw destroyed the buildup for this feud, which already wasn’t anything special. Paige would benefit more from having the title than Charlotte, who feels like she has no momentum even with the title – but after Monday, Charlotte is definitely winning.

Prediction: Charlotte

James Cox: I’ve gone back and forth on this one. As I have booked it, this show doesn’t have many surprises yet and, whether good or bad, this angle got attention. If they put Paige over, it would stink given the way they treated the Flair family but it could also lead to some serious heat. After the apology and statements were issued I kind of assumed that they’ll just put Charlotte over in the end.

    Prediction: Charlotte

Steve Khan: Charlotte can’t lose the belt after what happened on Monday. I guess we’ll find out how stubborn they are. Either Charlotte wins or she goes nuts and it ends in a DQ or no contest. The match itself seems secondary so I don’t expect much from this.

Prediction: Charlotte

Paul Fontaine: I have a funny feeling, and I really hope I’m wrong, that somehow Charlotte is going to get punished for all of the heat for this angle involving her brother’s death. Paige would probably make a better champion than Charlotte right now anyway as she’s the more complete performer.

    Prediction: Paige

The Brothers of Destruction vs. Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman

Bryan Rose: The Undertaker and Kane win. Wyatt and his group continue to be spooky time magicians for the foreseeable future. Not the most compelling feud of all time.

    Prediction: Brothers of Destruction

Kyle S. Johnson: What the hell was this build? Apparently, WWE’s best idea for celebrating a quarter-century of The Undertaker was to force the audience to relieve a hodge-podge of some of his worst feuds from the past 25 years. The only thing missing here was having the entire mid-card come out to stuff ‘Taker in a casket; but then, that might have actually succeeded in making The Wyatts look like a legitimate threat. Luke Harper deserved to be in this match, but it’s understood that Strowman must be made credible, and this match theoretically gives him that rub. Undertaker and Kane should win because it’s been shown repeatedly that they are neither intimidated nor threatened by The Wyatts, but things could go the other way if someone has the bright idea to make Bray and company look strong for a change. There’s the possibility that they could feed Braun the win here to set him up for Undertaker at Wrestlemania, but good god, please no. I’ll take Undertaker and Kane in what has the potential to be a real plodder.

    Prediction: Brothers of Destruction

Jeremy Peeples: It’s Undertaker’s 25th anniversary in the company and he’s been the focus of all advertising, so after a month of baffling buildup, it’s clear who’s winning this one.

    Prediction: Brothers of Destruction

James Cox: They have a heel that they could do something with in Bray Wyatt and he is creating a stable around him and yet they’re going to beat him again on ppv. Let’s not forget that The Undertaker already beat him at WrestleMania. This ought to be placed halfway through the card and set up something for later down the road. I don’t see this being any good at all. What a terrible anniversary gift.

    Prediction: Brothers of Destruction

Steve Khan: There’s no way Undertaker should lose to a dead act, especially on this night. The match itself should be fun. I can see Luke Harper and Bray Wyatt being the two opponents, because pretty much every other combination would be a disappointment. Undertaker can pin Harper, which would allow this feud to continue, or (hopefully) die while sort of saving Bray.

Prediction: Brothers of Destruction

Paul Fontaine:  25 years of the Undertaker, 25 months of mind-numbingly terrible Bray Wyatt storylines. This adds up to hopefully a quick and decisive win for the Brothers of Destruction. I just hope to God that they don’t have Kane turn on his brother and have them feud leading up to Mania.

    Prediction: Brothers of Destruction

WWE Title Tournament Semifinal: Roman Reigns vs. Alberto del Rio

Bryan Rose: It’s so funny that one month after his big return, you can already tell by the body language that Alberto del Rio wishes he were anywhere but on WWE television with this going nowhere gimmick with Zeb Coulter. I mean, if it weren’t for this tournament they were going to put him with Jack Swagger. Seriously.  I just don’t get their creative sometimes, it baffles the mind. I’m pretty sure unless something completely unexpected happens Reigns wins here.

    Prediction: Roman Reigns

Kyle S. Johnson: Remember a few weeks ago when the returning Alberto del Rio was suddenly one of the hottest guys on the roster? In just a handful of shows, WWE’s insistence on booking del Rio in the most ludicrous manner possible has seemingly relegated him back to the exact same spot he was in before he left the company. He’s receiving apathetic crowd reactions, and who can blame the audience? This storyline with Zeb and MexAmerica is going nowhere, and if WWE is smart, they’ll scrap it with the quickness and set Alberto along a new path. Oh, and he has an approximate zero percent chance to win this match. Perhaps even a negative one percent chance, if that’s even possible. As long as Reigns doesn’t make the inexplicable decision to scale the top rope, he should be fine.

    Prediction: Roman Reigns

Jeremy Peeples: Alberto hasn’t dropped a match since returning, but Roman’s the chosen one, so it’s Alberto destiny to lose this one.

    Prediction: Roman Reigns

James Cox: The clue is in the fact that Del Rio already has a title. Having two titles at once was what Seth did and then you have to have you World Champion lose to someone – they’re not going to do that again in a hurry. Surely. Should be a good match and my interest is at least piqued by the finish, despite how inevitable the result is.

    Prediction: Roman Reigns

Steve Khan: I don’t care what they have invested in Del Rio, Reigns needs to go over strong here. I expect a decent match with Reigns winning. They could do something wacky and have Del Rio advance, but they’ve basically pushed this show on the idea that Reigns is fighting for the title.

Prediction: Roman Reigns

Paul Fontaine: No reason to go against the rest of the crew here. Del Rio feels about as hot as TNA Impact right now (which is not hot at all, in case you didn’t know). Reigns is the person this whole tournament has been built around. These two are likely going to have a boring match, as seemingly every Del Rio match has been since his return and Reigns will ride the negative heat he’s surely going to receive right into the finals.

    Prediction: Roman Reigns

WWE Title Tournament Semifinal: Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose

Bryan Rose: This one I’m not too sure about, unlike the other semifinal. They can do two things. One, Owens wins and goes to the finals to lose to Reigns. Two, Ambrose wins, he turns heel during the finish and wins the title. Ambrose is in a position where either of these outcomes are possible, and think about it – Triple H talked to everyone backstage during Raw except Ambrose. So I’m going to go with Ambrose, as its something unexpected and makes for a more interesting and less obvious final match.

    Prediction: Dean Ambrose

Kyle S. Johnson: This oughta be a lot of fun. Owens and Ambrose were already on a collision course prior to the injury to Seth Rollins, only now they’ll be fighting for that coveted spot in the finals of the tournament. Of the established matches, this one feels the most like it could go either way–Owens could be semi-instantaneously cemented as the company’s top heel with a win here and a strong performance against Reigns, but the Reigns vs. Ambrose match has been brewing for some time now. One would like to think that WWE would opt to continue that slow build to Reigns vs. Ambrose so that they can promote it appropriately, but I fully expect that they will hotshot it for the finals of this tournament.

    Prediction: Dean Ambrose

Jeremy Peeples: Owens benefits a lot more from a win here than Ambrose would, although both desperately need some momentum. After being lost in the mid-card, Owens has some traction again while Dean feels aimless. Doing Dean vs. Roman feels a bit early and hasn’t been built up at all, so I can see that happening, but Owens winning gives them more to do without blowing a potential “big” feud match without any hype.

Prediction: Kevin Owens

James Cox: Unless they’re running scared because of the ratings and Seth’s injury and are making a stupid, knee-jerk decision, then Owens wins here. The Reigns-Ambrose match or even a Shield three-way is something that needs time and build. Owens is a perfectly good heel to go with for now. This could be a really good match and they can beat Ambrose clean without having to worry.

    Prediction: Kevin Owens

Steve Khan: I would go with Owens and save Ambrose vs. Reigns for another time. I think there’s a temptation to do something big on this show, and Reigns just beating Owens in the finals isn’t that (which makes it a strong possibility). Ambrose is the only guy in the final four that they never showed talking to Triple H, and that worries me a little. My gut is they go with Ambrose. The match itself should be great.

Prediction: Dean Ambrose

Paul Fontaine: This is the first match, other than maybe Breeze/Ziggler, where the result doesn’t seem completely obvious. I’m with Bryan Alvarez on this one and feel like they shouldn’t give away Reigns/Ambrose  without a proper build. Plus, the way I feel they’re going in the main event leads me to  believe that Owens will be a better opponent for Reigns than Ambrose. This could be the match of the night, unless it’s the tournament final.

    Prediction: Kevin Owens

WWE Title Tournament Final: Who walks out of Survivor Series the WWE Champion?

Bryan Rose: Dean Ambrose, based on the situation I just gave in my previous prediction. Reigns winning the title here is fine if they want a babyface going into the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania season as champion. But Vince has always liked the “against all odds” scenario where the babyface wins the title at the biggest event of the year. To ensure that scenario is still in place, it makes the most sense for Ambrose to win here, align with the Authority and wear the title going into Wrestlemania. It sets up a nice story about Reigns wanting revenge for his friends betrayal, and you have a simple but good story leading to Wrestlemania season.

    Prediction: Dean Ambrose

Kyle S. Johnson: This match could involve Kevin Owens, is more likely to feature Dean Ambrose, and is practically guaranteed to star Roman Reigns. Reigns’ involvement has been a certainty since the tournament was announced, but the direction and conclusion of the tournament final is the subject of great speculation. The story that has been created in two weeks has Triple H reaching out to everyone in the tournament in the hopes that they will accept the offer to become “his guy”–an offer that was spurned by Reigns in the wake of Rollins’ injury. Should we wind up with Dean vs. Roman, this story could play out a number of ways: Ambrose could just resort to heel tactics during the match, we get a ref bump and a Triple H walkout, and Dean takes the sledgehammer (either literally or metaphorically) and becomes The Authority’s new face. Alternately, Dean could be shown speaking to Triple H prior to the match, which could serve as a tension-building red herring that leads to Reigns turning heel (less likely) or Sheamus cashing in and taking up the offer (more likely). Then again, Roman could just win the thing outright and continue along the uphill battle of becoming the company’s new face. With so many failures behind him, it’s hard to picture a scenario where Reigns walks out without the championship that doesn’t result in another major hit to his credibility–unless they are absolutely committed to drawing out the chase in order to give him that Wrestlemania moment a year later than desired. Whatever happens, here’s hoping they have some semblance of a plan to get through the six months between now and ‘Mania.

    Prediction: Roman Reigns

Jeremy Peeples: Whether Owens or Ambrose wins, they’re going against Roman here. Owens vs. Roman would probably be a better match and definitely help out Owens just from making it to the finals of the tournament. Either man being in the finals should give them at least some cache for a B show PPV main event or two, but Roman’s time is coming – whether it’s the exact right time or not.

    Prediction: Roman Reigns

James Cox: Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this is the right time for Roman Reigns to be the champion, but I just hope that they strap a rocket to Reigns throughout the show and keep him strong. A failed Sheamus cash-in post match would really help that, to an extent. And I just can’t believe that they would take the title away from Reigns, like they did at WrestleMania, again. The match should be strong, to finish what will probably be a three-match show with some fairly mediocre stuff in between.

    Prediction: Roman Reigns

Steve Khan: If Reigns was super over, him winning the title clean against whoever would be fine and everyone would go home happy. But that’s not the case. If he ends up facing Owens, then that’s the most likely finish. If it’s against Ambrose, which is my prediction, that’s where it gets interesting. I really feel like Reigns should turn, because even if there’s a large group of people who like him, the ceiling as a babyface is low at the moment. If it’s Ambrose vs. Reigns, one of them pretty much has to turn, either on this show or Raw the next night. Whoever turns, I’ll go out on a limb (I guess?) and pick Dean Ambrose. (I don’t expect Sheamus to cash in and win, because they would be bad.)

Prediction: Dean Ambrose

Paul Fontaine:  My final is Roman Reigns vs Kevin Owens. At some point during the night, I think we see the Authority meeting with Owens with the idea that they’re going to help him. He gets by Ambrose with help from them although subtly he doesn’t seem to want their help. In the finals, they come out again, seemingly to help Owens but end up helping Reigns instead, ala Deadly Games in 1998 (so in this scenario, Owens is Mankind and Reigns is the Rock). Reigns is the new champion and holds the belt through Mania until he can feud with a returning Seth Rollins.

    Prediction: Roman Reigns

Update on alleged ISIS threat towards Survivor Series

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

For those attending Survivor Series tomorrow in Atlanta, there will be extensive security at the show even though Federal, state and local law enforcement authorities have stated that there is no specific or credible information regarding a threat.

Fans are encouraged to arrive early.  Doors will open one hour earlier than originally scheduled, at 6 p.m., so there can be more security precautions at the door.

Fans are encouraged to use MARTA, which is the local public transportation, to attend the event.  Due to security concerns, the arena will not allow any bags to enter the building.

Earlier today a publication called the International Business Times cited the online group known as Anonymous as discovering the Philips Arena and Sunday’s Survivor Series as one of several possible worldwide ISIS threats that day.

Triple H posted an update on his Facebook page a few hours ago.  Futher updates will be posted on WWE.com as well.

Possible ISIS threat doesn’t deter WWE from Sunday’s Survivor Series

Posted on by Josh Nason

As word of a possible target from ISIS started circulating Saturday morning, WWE is undeterred about putting on Survivor Series Sunday in Atlanta, GA.

A publication called the International Business Times cited the online group known as Anonymous as discovering the Philips Arena and Sunday’s Survivor Series as one of several possible worldwide ISIS threats that day.

PW Insider posted a short statement WWE made to them regarding the possiblity of postponing the event: “WWE Survivor Series is currently scheduled as planned while we investigate the matter with federal, state and local authorities.”

Local FBI authorities told an Atlanta TV station that they are taking the threat seriously, but do not have “specific or credible information of an attack at this time.” Local reporter Mark Winne has been tweeting updates today.

As of now, the event is scheduled as planned with the finals of the WWE World title tournament featuring Roman Reigns vs. Alberto Del Rio and Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens in the semifinals.

WWE Superstars results: Brie vs. Naomi, Bo Dallas loses again

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway:

The Divas had a perfectly decent match, with Brie going over against Naomi. Bo Dallas and Titus O’Neil failed to deliver much in the main event.

Show recap:

Brie Bella (w/Alicia Fox) beat Naomi (w/Tamina) (5:17)

Its been a few weeks since we’ve had Divas action on Superstars. The Divas revolution has meant that, much to many a dismay, they’ve front-loaded Raw with this sort of stuff. And actually, this wasn’t half bad. They start off with a wristlock exchange. Naomi athletically reverses and takes Brie to her knees. Brie flips out of the hold and uses a fireman’s carry into a wristlock on the mat. She then uses her Daniel Bryan tribute kicks, but finally gets caught by Naomi and is single-legged to the mat.

Naomi runs into an elbow and then Brie goes up top. Naomi pulls her off and covers her for two. Naomi then takes over with stomps on Brie and uses a guillotine slingshot on the bottom rope into a cover for two. Naomi puts on a rear chin lock and keeps her down with knees to the back. Keeping the lock on, she uses a running bulldog into the turnbuckle but Naomi then misses the split-leg moonsault.

Brie gets the heat with forearms and clotheslines and goes up to the second rope and hits a missile drop kick. She fights off Tamina, but runs into an enzugiri. Brie uses those Daniel Bryans kicks again but runs into a high knee and gets covered for two. Naomi then misses the Rear View and Brie is able to use the Bella Buster for the win.

Titus O’Neil (w/Darren Young) beat Bo Dallas (6:05)

Dallas comes out for a promo. He tells Titus not to be so depressed for being eliminated from the WWE World Championship tournament. Dallas says the WWE Universe thinks he wasted his opportunity and that they think he should have had his spot, telling him to Bo-lieve.

They lock up and Dallas is thrown off. Then Dallas goes for a headlock, but is again thrown off. Dallas gets in a kick to the gut and capitalizes with clubbing blows and punches to the corner. Titus gets angry and turns things around with huge open palm chops. Dallas goes for a walk, which turns into a victory lap. He runs into Young on the outside and Dallas tells him to move. Young ducks a clothesline and O’Neil rolls out to clobber him with a clothesline of his own. We head to a break.

O’Neil scoop slams Dallas as we return and then applies a chin lock. Dallas works out but is scoop slammed again. Dallas hits a neckbreaker and then clubs O’Neil to the back of the neck with a running forearm. He clotheslines Titus for two and then puts the rear chin lock back on. O’Neil works his way out and slings Dallas hard into the turnbuckle. O’Neil gets the heat with clotheslines and a big boot. He throws Dallas across the ring and whips up some support from a very receptive and willing crowd and then hits a Stinger Splash. With Dallas in the middle of the ring, O’Neil hits the Clash of the Titus for the win.

WWE NXT TV tapings spoilers: Building toward TakeOver London (updated)

Posted on by F4W Staff

Submitted by John Carey with additional notes from J.J. Williams from Winter Park, FL

These are the tapings that will make up all the TVs leading up to NXT’s TakeOver London show in mid-December.

– Dark Match: Levis Valenzuela defeat Axel Tischer

Another great showing by Levis who mixes his work with entertainment. A highlight being a cha cha cha salsa dance with the hips before dropping a big leg. The “Fiesta” gimmick is a favorite of the local Florida fans. 

Wednesday, November 25:

– Greg Hamilton introduces Michael Cole to a chorus of booos before the crowd lightens up a bit, Michael informs us that William Regal is recovering from a successful surgery and management has put him in charge for the time being. Cole then calls NXT Champion Finn Balor and Samoa Joe out for their contract signing. They have a seemingly calm and non confrontational signing. Joe leaves, Finn makes his way up the ramp where Joe returns to cheap shot Balor, they brawl for a while until the refs attempt a pull apart and as usual this gives Joe the advantage as while Finn is dealing with refs, Joe can lock in the choke and leave Finn laying yet again. 

– NXT Tag Champions Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder beat The Vaudevillains in an okay match. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady returned to a big pop to attack and beat down Dash & Dawson.

– Asuka vs. Dana Brooke never happened. Dana got to the apron when Emma in a black hoodie attacked Asuka from behind. Emma and Dana high five outside of the ring as Asuka is trying to get up in the ring yet stays down after her beatdown.

– Apollo Crews beat Jesse Sorenson in a squash match. They were building Crews vs. Baron Corbin for 12/16 in London which is the next Takeover show. 

– NXT Women’s Champion Bayley beat Eva Marie to retain the title. We are told that Charles Robinson was assigned to keep an eye on this match by management. Big fight feel early on, in ring introductions with the spotlight. This match had a different kind of heat than anything in recent memory, every nearfall was frightening as this wasn’t something the people would accept if Eva won, there aren’t many matches to compare this too because of it. Early on Bayley hit her finish on Eva yet Nia pulled the ref out and knocked him to the floor as well, this lead to Bayley turning towards her being distracted, Eva rolled her up, Charles Robinson dove in and the count seemed a little fast and we got a long two count. Everyone bit as this wasn’t blatantly dirty yet it scared the people that he might be. A few more nearfall spots before Bayley whips Eva and knocks Robinson down again, Nia tries to get involved when Bayley set Eva on the middle rope for the finish yet Bayley fought her off, hit the move, a third ref sprinted down and counted the three to a huge ovation. After being announced as the winner and celebrating a bit, Nia then left Bayley laying. Unbelievable match for the way it was all set up, they took everyone on a rollercoaster.

– Baron Corbin beat Tye Dillinger in an okay match

Wednesday, December 2nd:

– Nia Jax destroyed Blue Pants in a squash.

– James Storm beat Adam Rose in a squash. Rose was out in his glasses and heel persona that he’s been using lately on Main Event. The crowd kept singing his theme to taunt him as he had the music turned off when he reached the stage. Another one sided match to showcase Storm.

– Jason Jordan & Chad Gable beat The Vaudevillains in a good match. It was a good match with Gable working some holds early, Jordan getting a hot tag and a firy comeback before the clean finish. Post match the Vaudevillains refused a handshake and walked away angrily.

– Emma beat Liv Morgan (the former Gionna Daddio) via submission. Physical one sided match here as Emma womanhandled the energetic Morgan, finish came when Emma did her variant of a curb stomp before locking in her submission. After the match we see a heavy bag on the tron while hearing punching and kicking noises from the opposite side, Asuka peaks her head from behind and says “See you in London.” as Emma appears slightly intimidated in the ring. 

– Samoa Joe beat Tommaso Ciampa in a physical match. This match was violent, it started slow and the crowd was unsure how to react since Joe is still a big star here, the match took off when Joe unleashed Japanese style strikes and slaps to Ciampa, loud smacks. At one point Joe backed Ciampa in to the corned and connected with a loud kick to the side of Tomaso’s head. Joe hit the muscle buster and choked him out for a strong, decisive win.

Wednesday, December 9th:

– Bull Dempsey beat Riddick Moss. Dempsey’s comedy is over with the live crowd. Mostly comedy spots as at one point Moss wanted a test of strength so Bull got his hands close to Riddick’s yet instead of locking up would slowly lower and raise them as if they were doing the mirror spot. Some wacky stuff before Bull got the win.

– Enzo & Big Cass beat John Skyler & Corey Hollis in a squash. Enzo hit the big splash for the win. Post match Enzo began the promo on Dash & Dawson talking about how they are a family and taking out Big Cass was taking away from his family. Cass then did an excellent job closing the promo, strong words in challenging them for the tag titles. None of the usual routine or comedy here, intense and direct words.

– Asuka beat Deonna Purrazzo with a spinning kick knockout and referee stoppage. Emma and Dana stood on the stage trying to distract Asuka yet it only made her mad and she wiped out Deonna with a kick. The heels looked on in fear before leaving, Asuka then checked on Purrazzo.

– Mojo Rawley & Zack Ryder beat Blake & Murphy. Blake, Alexa, & Murphy wore Freddy Krueger inspired gear here and were quite entertaining playing the foils to the fired up Hype Bros. 

– NXT Women’s Champion Bayley beat Peyton Royce in a non-title squash match. This was the debut of Peyton’s new gimmick off the live events, a Poison Ivy type persona, a lot of impressive flexibility worked in to her mannerisms, entering the ring, even turning almost completely upside down while her foot was on Bayley’s neck in the corner. Post match Nia Jax’s music hit, Eva Marie was with her and tried to speak first but was drowned out with booos, they’ll have to turn the mics up like they did on last week’s television, Nia was able to take the mic from Eva and speak over the booing to say she’ll take the title from Bayley in London. 

– Samoa Joe & Baron Corbin beat NXT Champion Finn Balor and Apollo Crews when Joe choked out Finn yet again and the ref had to call for the bell. Crews and Corbin were fighting outside the ring during the finish. Good action, nothing we haven’t seen before as they’re all gearing up for their singles matches at Takeover. Joe stands tall holding the title up while standing over Balor to close the show.

We’re told Linda and Stephanie McMahon came out in front of the fans, but it doesn’t appear like it was for anything on-air.

WWE to release statement regarding Charlotte/Paige Raw angle (UPDATED)

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

WWE’s official statement:  “Subject matter this personal is only approved as a result of the strong advocacy of the talent themselves.  Notwithstanding that, WWE is ultimately responsible for what airs in its programming.”

WWE will be releasing a statement shortly regarding Monday night’s show-closing angle involving Paige and Charlotte (Ashley Fliehr).

The gist of the statement will be that the idea of the angle came from Ashley Fliehr, that it was taken out of the show, she was insistent that it be put in, and it was.  However, the company did take responsibility for the angle since it was ultimately their decision to put it on the show.

The angle involved Paige referencing the death of Charlotte’s brother Reid, who passed away from an overdose on March 29, 2013, and saying clearly Reid didn’t have a lot of fight in him.  The angle has been the most-talked about story in pro-wrestling since it happened, virtually universally negative towards the company.  It was done to set up a Divas Title match on Sunday between champion Charlotte and challenger Paige at the Survivor Series PPV.

Neither Ric Flair nor Ashley’s mother Elizabeth were alerted in advance about the angle.  Elizabeth was furious and posted publicly on Twitter.  Ric Flair on his Woo Nation podcast noted he was very upset when watching it, and indicated that Ashley didn’t have the tenure to say no to any angles or storylines presented to her.  Flair’s co-host Conrad stated publicly that the rumors it was Ashley’s idea were 100% false.  

We will update this story with the statement as soon as it is released.

Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discuss the angle and fallout in detail on last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio.