There were approximately 300 people in attendance tonight.
– No Way Jose defeated Kona Reeves (w/ Ming)
Jose hit a pop-up punch to win it.
– Sarah Logan defeated Billie Kay
A roll-up stole the win from Kay.
– Chad Lail defeated Donovan Dijak
Dijak got a big reaction, but Lail won with a spike DDT.
– Nikki Cross defeated Liv Morgan
Cross won with a fisherman’s neckbreaker.
– The Undisputed Era defeated Heavy Machinery & Kassius Ohno
This was a wild match, ending when Cole pinned Ohno after a shining wizard. The match went off the rails after a fan got involved and Kyle O’Reilly had to kick him before security caught up to the fan.
– The Street Profits defeated Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss
Montez Ford got the pin with a frog splash.
– Adrian Jaoude defeated Fabian Aichner
Jaoude submitted Aichner with an armbar. Jaoude has a new look with a shaved head, black belt, and white karate gear.
Previously: Eli Drake successfully defended his GFW Global Championship in Mexico.
Tonight: Impact presents Victory Road with GFW Global Champion Eli Drake defending against Johnny Impact in the main event.
Show Recap —
X Division Champion Trevor Lee (w/ Caleb Konley) defeated Petey Williams to retain his title
Williams was in control early and connected with a hurricanrana to the floor, then Konley interfered and Lee took over. Williams made a comeback and set up for the Canadian Destroyer, but Konley interfered again.
Williams took out Konley with a dive and hit the Destroyer on Lee, but Konley pulled the referee out. The ref sent Konley to the back. Lee and Williams traded near falls until Lee hit the double stomp for the win.
– At the LAX Clubhouse, Konnan made plans for a celebration after LAX retains their titles against OVE later.
The faces ran wild early and cleared the heels from the ring. Kim then missed a charge in the corner and the heels triple teamed her.
Allie was able to get the hot tag and went after Terrell. She and Rosemary used a code breaker/German suplex combination. Kim dove onto Valkyrie on the floor, but Sienna snuck up on Allie and rolled her up for the win.
– Grado and Joseph Park met for dinner to celebrate Grado’s first paycheck. Park couldn’t stay and left. Grado seemed disappointed by the amount he got paid.
– James Storm came down to the ring. He is sick of AAA wrestlers coming to GFW and showing no respect. This brought out Texano and the crowd chanted USA. Storm stopped them because this isn’t about USA vs. Mexico. Storm then promised to kick his “Taco Bell ass” and send him back to Mexico.
A brawl broke out and El Hijo Del Fantasma joined in to beat down Storm. Fantasma said that he does respect GFW, but AAA is the best company in the world. They teased hitting him with the beer bottle when Ethan Carter III ran out for the save. After the brawl, Storm and EC3 shook hands.
Storm and EC3 charged into Jim Cornette’s office and demanded a tag match against AAA next week and Cornette agreed.
– Episode three of Global Forged aired next. Scott D’Amore called the three finalists telling them they’ve been selected and are moving to Windsor, Ontario for phase two.
OVE defeated LAX (w/ Konnan & Diamante) to win the GFW Global Tag Team Championship
OVE jumped LAX to start the match and the teams brawled around ringside. LAX gained the advantage and isolated Dave Crist. Konnan and Diamante attacked Dave on the floor.
Back in the ring, Jake Crist got the hot tag and scored a near fall after a slam in the corner. In a crazy spot, Dave gave Santana a superplex into a powerbomb by Jake. LAX set up for the Street Sweeper, but Jake shoved Santana off the top. Dave gave a DDT to Ortiz to win the tag titles.
– At American Top Team, Bobby Lashley sparred with King Mo. ATT all welcomed Lashley back to the gym. Dan Lambert showed up and praised Lashley. He called Impact a circus and promised great things for Lashley. Lambert was excellent in his role here.
GFW Global Champion Eli Drake (w/ Chris Adonis) defeated Johnny Impact to retain his title
Impact had the early advantage and sent Drake to the floor. Adonis tried to interfere, but Brian Hebner kicked him out. Drake took over until Impact fought back and scored a close near fall after hitting a one-man Spanish fly.
Drake charged at Impact, but he moved and nailed Hebner instead. Impact got the phantom three count, but there was no ref. Drake used the title belt for another close near fall when a second ref came out. Drake was upset at the referee and knocked him out.
Adonis came back out and helped Drake beat down Impact, but Drake accidentally hit Adonis with the belt. Impact made a comeback until Drake used a low blow and hit the Gravy Train to win the match.
Drake and Adonis continued the beatdown after until Garza Jr. ran out for the save. Suddenly, LAX ran out and attacked everyone. A fan got in Konnan’s face and he shoved him down.
Drake celebrated his win standing over Impact to end the show.
Next week: James Storm & Ethan Carter III face El Hijo Del Fantasma & Texano.
The Big News: Adam Cole debuted by beating Eric Young in the main event.
The Medium News: #NotMyNXTWomensChampion will be crowned in a fatal four-way match at NXT TakeOver: Houston.
The Little Beaver-sized News: Fast forward through the Liv Morgan match and just assume it never happened.
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The show began with Mr. William Regal announcing that the next NXT Women’s Champion will be determined in a fatal four-way match at TakeOver: Houston. One of the competitors will be Kairi Sane and the other three will be determined in a series of qualifying matches that begin in two weeks.
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SAnitY stormed to the ring after the intro to kick the show off! Eric Young said they wrote the book on making the mark. In this universe, time and space doesn’t exist or matter. What matters is the chaos. The only thing for sure is change, and tonight Young will take Adam Cole (Bay-Bay) to the edge of sanity.
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Lars Sullivan defeated Oney Lorcan
Before the match, Lorcan said he doesn’t like Sullivan and doesn’t like what he did to No Way Jose.
As hard as he tried, nothing that Lorcan did seemed to make a dent on his much larger foe. Lorcan hit a dropkick and a plancha, but neither took Sullivan off his feet. As a matter of fact, Sullivan caught him on the plancha and dropped him face-first on the ring apron, which is the hardest part of the ring.
Lorcan chopped and slapped Sullivan, but he shrugged it off and took Lorcan’s head off with a clothesline. Sullivan then picked up the win with his uranage.
Sullivan was about to do more damage after the match, but Danny Burch ran down and pulled Lorcan to safety.
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Ruby Riot cut a promo and said Nikki Cross is not her friend. She said she doesn’t know why Cross got involved in her tag team match, but she did accept Billie Kay and Peyton Royce’s challenge for a rematch.
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Heavy Machinery defeated Patrick Scott & Demetrius Bronson
Scott made two mistakes. One was to sign for this match, and the other was to hit Tucker Knight. Knight destroyed Scott and he tagged in Bronson. Bronson used to play for the Miami Dolphins, so I already hate him and he fared only slightly better against Otis Dozovic. Scott got involved again and got laid out again.
Finally, Heavy Machinery continued their winning ways with the Compactor.
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Earlier today, William Regal was having a press conference when Johnny Gargano stormed by. Mr. Regal stopped him and told him he’ll have a rematch with Andrade “Cien” Almas in two weeks. He also promised something special for TakeOver: Houston.
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At some other point earlier today, Christy St. Cloud asked Roderick Strong how he’s preparing for his NXT Championship match next week against Drew McIntyre. Strong said he prepares by being the best. McIntyre will try to knock him down and out, but Strong keeps moving forward.
He’s worked his whole life for this and he now knows he is indestructible. McIntyre doesn’t have the tenacity to beat him. Strong said he is coming with everything he has and nothing will stop him until he wins the title.
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Liv Morgan defeated Vanessa Borne
Morgan hasn’t been around in a while. She said she’s gonna keep doing what she’s been doing in an effort to become the next NXT Women’s Champion. Borne, who was in the Mae Young Classic, also wants to be champion.
Borne yells a lot while on offense, and it actually sounded like she was sneezing. This match was awkward at best and at worst it was awful. I don’t know what Morgan has been doing since not being on television, but I don’t know if “practicing wrestling” was it. Anyway, she won with a jumping bulldog.
Mauro Ranallo said he hopes this performance grabs the attention of William Regal. I hope so too, but for a different reason than he meant.
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A recap of last week’s segment with Aleister Black and Velveteen Dream aired. At some other point earlier today, Black was training in the ring when a cameraman asked him what his thoughts were. Black said he’s not going to give “Patrick” attention for throwing a tantrum like a child.
How many segments happened earlier today? Thankfully all these things happened or there would be several holes in the TV show.
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Kassius Ohno defeated Fabian Aichner
Aichner is from the Cruiserweight Classic, where he lost to Jack Gallagher and wasn’t seen in WWE again. He gained about 30 pounds of muscle and would no longer qualify for the cruiserweight division.
Aichner did a springboard dive to the outside that was a thing of beauty, leaping to the top rope in one fluid motion before diving. Ohno went for multiple moves, but each time Aichner would catch him and drop him in some sort of slam.
Aichner went for everything with a double springboard moonsault but ended up with nothing but canvas, which led to Ohno’s comeback. Ohno won with the cyclone kick.
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NXT Champion Drew McIntyre thinks he’s going to win against Strong. Next week may be his first title defense, but it won’t be his last defense.
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We got a video package on Kairi Sane winning the Mae Young Classic.
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Adam Cole defeated Eric Young
Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly came out with Cole. For some reason, the sight of O’Reilly wearing a plain white T-shirt caused girls to squeal.
Cole cut a promo beforehand asking how this place survived without the three of them. He asked the fans to close their eyes, take this moment in and feel it. What we feel, he says, is change and a shock to the system. He announced they are untouchable, unstoppable, and undisputed. This is their era.
The bell rang at 8:54, which told you that this wouldn’t be the longest bout of all time. Cole got frustrated as Young didn’t charge at the bell, so Cole did. Young then ducked a clothesline and it was on. O’Reilly jumped on the apron a minute in, which almost led to a brawl between the excessive members of both groups.
Cole tried to shout “Adam Cole Bay-Bay!” at one point, but Young punched the words out of his mouth, which the crowd didn’t know how to react to as they like playing “sing along.” Young made his comeback, which led to Fish and O’Reilly interfering, officially leading to the giant brawl outside the ring.
Young had Cole laid out for the top rope elbow, but instead dove onto the pile of bodies outside the ring. Back inside, Cole immediately hit a jumping knee for the pin.
So, that does it for this week. Can Roderick Strong become NXT Champion next week? There’s only one way to find out. Until then, make sure to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
Date: September 26, 2017 Location: Gila River Arena in Glendale, AZ
The Big Takeaway —
Kevin Owens destroyed Sami Zayn with a powerbomb onto the apron and was about to do worse when Shane McMahon, who was very late to the building, made the save. Owens managed to escape and ran away.
At Hell in a Cell, New Day will defend their tag titles against the Usos in a Hell in a Cell match, AJ Styles will defend the US Title against Baron Corbin, and Bobby Roode will face Dolph Ziggler.
Also, September 26th is officially “Rusev Day.”
Show Recap —
After a recap of the Kevin Owens/Shane McMahon storyline, Owens came out to start the show. Owens said he’s been called a coward for not showing up last week but wondered where Shane was now that he was there in the ring. Owens didn’t think Shane was a coward, he was smart. Owens respected Vince McMahon, so imagine what he would do to someone he doesn’t.
That brought out Sami Zayn, who accused Owens of losing complete control. Zayn figured Owens had snapped but wanted to talk some sense into him. Zayn told Owens he didn’t to think about his family and snap out of it. Owens said he was just fine and claimed Zayn was really out there because Owens has outshined him yet again.
Owens said he’s been Intercontinental champion twice, Universal champion, and won the US Title at WrestleMania while Zayn watched in the back. Owens said he would main event Hell in a Cell and make Shane regret ever bringing him to SmackDown.
Owens wondered what Zayn had ever done in his life, not just his career, that had the impact his head had with Vince’s skull. Zayn said Owens has taken every cheap shot and cut every corner to accomplish what he has. Zayn fired up and said his day will come and he will do things the right way. Zayn called Owens a “giant piece of trash.”
Both guys dropped their mics and Daniel Bryan interrupted. Bryan didn’t know if Shane was going to be here tonight or not and made Owens vs. Zayn for tonight.
They announced a Pride of Bulgaria Celebration featuring Rusev tonight.
Baron Corbin defeated Tye Dillinger via countout
They’ve added lyrics to Corbin’s new theme. AJ Styles came out after the two competitors to join commentary. Corbin was distracted by Styles so Dillinger dumped him out of the ring before the match actually started, then they went to commercial. Besides the entrances and that one spot, nothing else happened since the previous commercial break.
Corbin won by countout in about 3 minutes. There was a dumb spot where Corbin ran at Dillinger, who was leaning against the role post, but Dillinger moved and Corbin crashed into the steel steps. Except, Corbin would’ve missed even if Dillinger hadn’t moved.
Dillinger was in control when Corbin smacked water in Styles’ face at the desk. Styles was about to go after him but Corbin managed to shove Dillinger into Styles and they fell over the announce table. Corbin jumped back in the ring and Dillinger couldn’t beat the ten count.
Afterwards, Corbin challenged Styles to a US title match at HIAC and said he would win without taking any shortcuts. The match was made official after a break. This was a lame match/segment.
Jinder Mahal promo
Mahal said he might have gone too far with his comments last week as the crowd chanted for Nakamura. Mahal said Nakamura was a worthy contender, so he wanted to compliment him this week. This led to more of the same from the last two weeks, with Mahal posting photos of Nakamura as he and the Singhs laughed.
Turns out, the last shot was not a photo. Nakamura was standing in front of the camera and started moving and the crowd cheered. Nakamura let Mahal know he was here, the lights dimmed, and he made his entrance.
The Singhs attacked Nakamura as he made his entrance but he fought them off. Mahal tried to catch him off guard but Nakamura fought back. The Singhs attacked again, but he fought them off once more and gave Mahal a Kinshasa. The heels bailed as Nakamura posed. Nakamura probably received the biggest crowd reaction so far, but that’s saying much with this crowd.
Tom Phillips plugged Zayn vs. Owens tonight by saying it was happening for the first time ever… on SmackDown Live.
The Usos defeated The Hype Bros (2:19)
Last week, the Hype Bros said they had to do something drastic, so challenging the Usos to a match was apparently it. The New Day watched the match from the front row, popcorn in hand.
Mojo Rawley blind-tagged himself in which led to an argument with Zack Ryder. An Uso pushed Rawley into Ryder, who was sitting on the top rope, and Ryder practically fell head-first onto the ring apron, which looked pretty scary.
Usos told New Day they belonged in the crowd with the rest of the chumps and said they would become 5-time champs at HIAC. Big E pulled a microphone out of his popcorn bucket, which was funny. New Day said they didn’t just want to defend the belts at Hell in a Cell, they wanted to do it inside Hell in a Cell. Byron Saxton happened to be on camera when they said this and his reaction was amusing.
Pride of Bulgaria Celebration
Aiden English, wearing a tux, was the master of ceremonies. English introduced Rusev and sang what he claimed was the national anthem of Bulgaria. The mayor of Rusev’s hometown of Plovdiv was in the ring and honoured Rusev by declaring September 26th “Rusev Day” and presented him with a key to the city. He called Rusev their great hero and protector.
Rusev replayed the clip of him beating Randy Orton last week and said he tore the fangs out of the viper. Rusev said Orton was a predator and “legend killer,” but now Rusev is the new predator, and he destroyed the legend of the legend killer. Smackdown was his jungle now.
English sang a song in honour of Rusev Day when Orton suddenly appeared and gave English and Rusev each RKOs. Orton ruined Rusev Day. Rusev actually protected the mayor before taking the RKO.
Here are the lyrics to “Rusev Day” by Aiden English:
Out of nowhere, Rusev struck
Hitting Randy like a truck
It’s Rusev Day, it’s Rusev Day
And with Randy’s nine-second fail
Rusev became the alpha male
It’s Rusev Day, it’s Rusev Day
Backstage, Bryan told Zayn that Shane just landed and was on his way. Bryan figured Shane was going after Owens. Zayn pleaded with Bryan to convince Shane otherwise. Zayn would love to have Owens inside Hell in a Cell and asked Bryan to at least let him have his match with Owens tonight. Bryan said he would talk to Shane.
Orton bumped into Renee Young backstage and asked her to tell Rusev he would see him at Hell in a Cell. He wished Renee a happy Rusev Day.
Charlotte Flair defeated Carmella (w/James Ellsworth) (6:53)
Carmella took most of the match after getting the heat on a distraction, but Charlotte won suddenly with a big boot. Afterwards, Natalya came out and told Charlotte she was happy that Ric Flair was recovering, because now he could watch Charlotte fail.
Tonight’s [corporate sponsor] flashback moment was John Cena’s debut against Kurt Angle. Weird they didn’t save this one for Raw.
The Fashion Files returns next week.
The Undertaker’s dong went off, the lights turned off, and his music played. Dolph Ziggler came out dressed as Taker and a few fans were fooled, at least for a moment. Tom Phillips was fooled as well until Corey Graves told him who it was. Phillips was disappointed. Ziggler mocked the fans for thinking we might actually see Taker twice in one year.
Bobby Roode interrupted. (The crowd cheered before Roode’s music hit because he took his place on the stage before they played his entrance.) Roode called Ziggler an incredible competitor but also a hypocrite. Roode wanted Ziggler to back up his claim as the greatest in-ring performer in history and challenged him to a match at HIAC. The crowd chanted “Yes.”
Ziggler told them to shut up and ran down Roode, saying he was everything that is wrong with WWE. Ziggler accepted the match. Ziggler was about to say Roode would, “rest in peace” but Roode stopped him and said HIAC would be glorious.
Kevin Owens defeated Sami Zayn via referee stoppage (9:04)
They started by punching each other wildly and Owens got the better of the exchange. Owens drove Zayn’s head into the barricade repeatedly but Zayn managed to come back with a couple of clotheslines. With both men down (conveniently), they cut to a door backstage and Shane walked through it. Shane marched through the backstage area and they went to commercial.
During the break, Zayn hit a vertical suplex on the damn ring apron. After the break, Owens nailed a superkick for a nearfall. Zayn came back with a tornado DDT but Owens countered the Helluva kick with another superkick. Zayn then countered a pop-up powerbomb into a blue thunder bomb for a nearfall. Crowd chanted, “This is awesome.”
Zayn hit a flip dive and tried a jumping DDT through the ropes, but Owens nailed yet another superkick. Owens then powerbombed Zayn on the edge of the ring. The referee checked on Zayn and called for the bell.
Medics ran down to help Zayn as Owens took a seat on the announce table to watch. Zayn tried to refuse help, but after he couldn’t walk away, the medics helped him to his feet. As they carried him off, Owens sprang off the table and knocked down Zayn (and the medics).
Owens grabbed a steel chair and wrapped it around Zayn’s head as even more officials tried to stop him. Shane’s music hit and he ran down, but Owens tossed Zayn (still with the chair wrapped around his head) into him. Owens fled through the crowd as Shane dared him to come back. Owens blew Shane a kiss from the crowd.
Final Thoughts —
This wasn’t much of a show, but the main event was really good and Rusev Day is an exciting new holiday.
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day defeated The Usos, Breezango, and The Hype Bros to retain their titles
New Day and The Usos were the most over teams. Kofi Kingston pinned one of the Usos.
– Sin Cara (w/ Sin Carito) defeated Mike Kanellis
Maria wasn’t with Mike. Sin Cara got a big hometown pop and came out with his son. Sin Cara won the match with a plancha.
– Sami Zayn, Luke Harper & Chad Gable defeated The Colons & Erick Rowan
The heels got the heat on Gable, Harper got the hot tag, then Zayn hit the Helluva Kick to win.
– Bobby Roode defeated Dolph Ziggler
Ziggler cut the same promo he’s been doing on SmackDown before this match. Roode’s entrance was over with the crowd.
They had the match of the night. It was back and forth, with Roode kicking out of most of Ziggler’s big moves (including a superkick). Roode hit the Glorious DDT to get the win. This got some “This is awesome” chants.
– Randy Orton defeated Rusev in a last man standing match
Orton got the biggest pop on this show. They brawled for a while before Rusev brought out a kendo stick, a chair, and then a table for the finish. Rusev controlled most of the match except for some comebacks by Orton, but he got put through the table and Orton hit an RKO to get the win. This was a good WWE hardcore match.
– Naomi defeated Carmella (w/ James Ellsworth)
There wasn’t much to this and the crowd wasn’t into it. Naomi hit a split-legged moonsault to win.
– United States Champion AJ Styles defeated Kevin Owens and Baron Corbin to retain his title
This was mostly a handicap match, with Owens and Corbin working on Styles for most of it until Styles made a comeback. He took out Corbin and then connected with the Phenomenal Forearm on Owens to retain. Styles’ reaction was on the same level as Orton’s.
– WWE Champion Jinder Mahal (w/ The Singh Brothers) defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to retain his title
Mahal got a lot of heat. The match was back and forth, then ended when Mahal hit the Khallas to retain after one of the Singh Brothers distracted Nakamura. All three attacked Nakamura after the match, but he made a comeback and hit the Kinshasa on both Singh Brothers to end the night.
The Big Takeaway: An unusual show that set up some new programs and where the cruiserweights actually got the main event segment, where there was a double turn. Enzo Amore played himself up as the new cruiserweight champion who was better than everyone else. Despite the fact that Enzo had reached an no contact clause in his contract earlier with Kurt Angle, Neville attacked Enzo, giving him a Red Arrow to the delight of the entire crusierweight roster, who watched from the ramp. Also, Roman Reigns defeated the Miz, only to be laid out by Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel. Next week, Reigns faces Miz for the Intercontinental Championship. Also next week, Braun Strowman takes on Seth Rollins. This comes after Strowman defeated Dean Ambrose earlier in the show in a good match.
Show Recap:
Miz, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel came out for MizTV. Miz introduced Reigns and reeled down his accomplishments for the year, retiring the Undertaker at WrestleMania and defeating John Cena last night. Reigns said he respects Cena now. He said Cena said a lot of things and Cena backed all of them up last night. Reigns said his victory last night was the biggest of his career and he was still tired, his back was sore and he wondered why he was out talking to an idiot like the Miz.
Miz brought up defeating Jason Jordan last night and proving he was the Intercontinental Champion. Reigns told Axel and Dallas to go fetch him a beer. Miz said MizTV was a classy show and there would be no beer drinking. Reigns said Jordan was a thoroughbread and Jordan was easily defeat Miz if it wasn’t for the help of Axel and Dallas. Miz said Reigns had a lot of nerve talking about Axel and Dallas because Reigns came into the WWE riding the coattails of two other guys, Ambrose and Rollins. Miz said the Miztourage would have overpowered the Shield. Reigns shot back that the Shield would have whipped the MizTourage no problem, and they would prove it but Ambrose and Rollins are doing their own thing and he’s doing his. Miz shot back that he wasn’t going to be disrespected. Reigns challenged him to a fight, but Miz said he has a pregnant wife at home and he needed to go home to her. Miz, Dallas and Axel all left, only to have Kurt Angle come out and order Miz to face Reigns later tonight. Plus, Axel and Dallas would face Matt Hardy and Jordan, substiuting for the injured Jeff Hardy.
Matt Hardy and Jason Jordan defeated Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel (10:38)
Hardy pinned Dallas after a twist of fate. Hardy gave Dallas the side effect, but Axel made the save. Jordan threw Axel into the corner against Dallas, gave both men a shoulder block and delievered a release belly-to-belly on Axel. Jeff Hardy, a night after his injury, was at ringside. Michael Cole acknowledged that Jeff would soon have surgery on his right shoulder and be out of action for a while.
Elias was in the ring singing a song about his win over Apollo Crews last night and tonight would be an encore. He ran down Titus Worldwide and Ontario, California before Crews came out with Titus O’Neil.
Elias defeated Apollo Crews (2:40)
Elias pinned Crews with drift away. Crews gave Elias an enzuigiri and followed with a pescado. Elias and O’Neil jumped and bumped bodies, but Elias kicked O’Neil in the knee. That distracted Crews, leading to the finish. Afterwards, Elias jumped O’Neil, who made his own comeback with punches, sending Elias to the ramp. Looked to be setting up O’Neil returning to the ring. Elias got some good heat.
Finn Balor did an interview with Charly Caruso where he thanked Bray Wyatt for doubting him, for doing things in the ring he didn’t know he could do. He said he hoped Wyatt felt humility for all the people Wyatt had victimized in the past. He said he was ready to focus on getting the Universal Championship back.
Curt Hawkins was in the ring and said he was tired of being known as the man with an 118-match losing streak. He wanted to know who was going to be the man who was going to face him tonight. Strowman came out. Hawkins ran away through the crowd and tried to walk to the back, but Strowman was fast enough to chase him down and choke slammed him through a table behind the ringside section of fans. Strowman gave Hawkins a beal throw onto the ramp in front of the commentator’s table. Then Strowman powerslammed Hawkins through a LED screen to the floor. Kevin Dunn, or whoever the director was, made sure to get plenty of close-ups of fans with stunned looks on their faces. Strowman said he wasn’t going anywhere tonight until he faced some competition. Crowd was cheering Strowman big time. Ambrose walked out.
Braun Strowman defeated Dean Ambrose (6:31)
Strowman won a really good big man/little man match with the running powerslam. Ambrose was taped up after his tag team title match last night. Great spot where Ambrose attempted a tope, but Strowman caught him, only to have Ambrose deliver a tope. Strowman took a great bump and the fans thought Ambrose might actually win. Ambrose did a great job here.
Angle talked backstage with a referee when Amore walked in boasting about winning the cruiserweight championship. Amore asked how big would Angle how big would he like Raw tonight? Angle said as big as possible. Amore said he wanted a huge celebration tonight. Angle started to say Amore cheated to win. Enzo said Angle was an Olympic hater. Angle granted the celebration, then offered to give Enzo some advice since the cruiserweight championship was the first title he ever held. Enzo said “Nah, I’m good.”
Backstage, Ambrose iced his shoulder as Rollins walked up. Rollins wanted Ambrose to take it easy on facing these spontaneous challenges since they’re tag team champions. Ambrose said Rollins was too predictable. Rollins said he was facing Sheamus later tonight, and later he would ask Angle to face Strowman next week. Ambrose said he would watch Rollins’ back later tonight and admitted facing Strowman wasn’t the best idea.
Bliss came out after retaining the Raw Women’s Championship at No Mercy. Bliss said she hasn’t always seen eye-to-eye with the fans, but she’s always seen them as her friend. But she said she’s very disappointed in each and every one of them. She beat four women last night, calling them all future hall of famers. She checked her phone, her DMs and expected to see congratulations about her victory. But there was nothing except people wondering about what was going on with Bayley and Sasha Banks and wondering when Asuka was going to debut. The fans didn’t appreciate the presence of a Goddess and she cleaned out the women’s division.
Mickie James walked out and laughed over Bliss’ claim that she cleaned out the women’s division. James said she wasn’t in the match last night. So Bliss didn’t beat her. James said Bliss went on Raw Talk after No Mercy and had some tall talk. James asked Bliss to repeat what she said. Bliss said she respected James, which is why she brought James back to WWE. Bliss said James was one of her favorites when she was a little girl. Bliss said she even had James in her top 8 on MySpace, back when MySpace and James were still relevant. Bliss said James still had a couple of fans that say “You still got it.” Bliss said it was great that James had someone in their demographic to represent them. Bliss said she didn’t want to see James break a hip. James called Bliss a little girl and the last thing she needed was to have Bliss tell her what she can and can’t do. James said she broke down barriers for women in the WWE before Bliss was wearing a training bra, which is obviously still working for Bliss. Again, James wanted Bliss to repeat what she said on Raw Talk. Bliss said Mickie was an old lady. James slapped Bliss and gave Bliss a Mick Kick. Alexa was knocked to the floor and went to the back.
Seth Rollins defeated Sheamus (4:10)
Rollins won with a superkick as Sheamus jumped off the top rope, followed by the Rainmaker knee (which still doesn’t have a name even though it’s been used as a finisher since April). Sheamus was on offense most of the way with him using an Irish Curse backbreaker, along with a running knee that sounded stiff. Cesaro was at ringside. The announcers put over Cesaro just walking out in front of the crowd after losing his front two teeth last night. Earlier, Ambrose joked Cesaro looked like reverse chipmunk.
Goldust was backstage when Balor walked up to him. The new tagline for Balor is the extraordinary Finn Balor. Goldust said he understood that Balor could do extraordinary things, but where does Balor getting off in calling him a victim? Balor said he meant nothing personal by that earlier and if he offended Goldust, he apologized. Balor said he considered Goldust a friend. Goldust said maybe Balor was right and offered to bump fists. Goldust suckerpunched Balor, dropped him across nearby railing and told him “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. The Godfather. 1973.” So Goldust is a heel again as Balor searches for an upper-tier program.
They showed highlights of Cena-Reigns. Then they showed Cena on Raw Talk with Jerry Lawler asking him if he’s going to retire. Cena said he wasn’t done but he wasn’t sure if he could keep going at the pace he’s been going. Cena said he didn’t pass the torch to Reigns, but Reigns took it. Cena thanked the WWE Universe and emphasized that he wasn’t gone, but things are changing for him.
Roman Reigns defeated the Miz (8:49)
Reigns pinned the Miz with a spear. The Miz got a near fall with Yujiro Takahashi’s Pimp Juice DDT, then attempted the Skull Crushing Finale before Reigns escaped. Axel and Dallas interfered at will, but Reigns hit them both with the drive-by near the end.
Postmatch, Dallas and Axel jumped Reigns, who made his own comeback. Reigns gave Miz the Superman punch and teased a power bomb, but Dallas and Axel hit Reigns with chairs across the back. Axel and Dallas slammed Reigns with numerous chair shots across Reigns’ back and ribs. Some fans chanted for the Miz, who hit Reigns with the Skull Crushing Finale. Miz called Reigns “Shield boy.” The Miztourage started to leave, but Reigns got up by himself. So Miz, Dallas and Axel went back to the ring and beat down Reigns some more, continuing the slaughter with more chair shots to the back and ribs. Miz did another Skull Crushing Finale, this time onto a chair. Miz added another chair shot, and then Miz, Axel and Dallas stood together and did the old Shield salute over Reigns’ body.
Finn Balor defeated Goldust (7:22)
Balor pinned Goldust with the Coup de Grace after the Woo dropkick. Balor sold his ribs after Goldust dropped him across the railing earlier backstage. A well worked match but I get the feeling fans want to see Balor against a bigger named player. Instead, after Balor won, they had a tease of the Wyatt program continuing on yet again with Wyatt’s video wipe appearing on the screen, the lights going out and a child singing “He’s got the whole world in his hands.”
Bayley and Banks talked backstage. Bayley asked Banks if she got her text message from earlier. Banks said she did but she was too busy to return it. Bayley tried to explain it was every woman for herself last night. Banks said she shouldn’t explain. Bayley said, for the past month, she’s heard the sound of Nia Jax popping the shoulder out of her socket. So tonight, she’s going to make Jax feel her pain. There was tension between the two of them.
Angle was on the phone with someome when Enzo walked up. Enzo said he’s heard people are jealous of him so he asked for a no contact clause in his contract saying if any cruiserweight touched him, they forfeit their opportunity for a title shot. Angle agreed, mainly just to shut Enzo up, but said Enzo was annoying as hell.
Akira Tozawa faces Tony Nese on 205 Live tomorrow night.
Bayley and Sasha Banks defeated Nia Jax and Emma (8:34)
Bayley pinned Emma with a belly-to-Bayley after Banks hit Emma with the Shining Wizard. Jax worked over Bayley’s shoulder and the referee teased that Bayley had been reinjured. Bayley kicked Emma into Jax, who was standing in the corner and sold getting hit in the head, which kept her out of the game for good. No teases at all of dissension between Bayley and Banks during the match itself.
Next week, Reigns will challenge Miz for the Intercontinental Championship.
Enzo showed up for his Cruiserweight championship celebration. Crowd seemed flat for him. Enzo said he woke up in his California king bed and had seen the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in her life. He looked in the mirror and started reflecting over the past few months, and there have been more than a few haters. But those haters were jealous, just like his former tag team partner Big Cass, who was hobbling and crying out of a Brooklyn arena the last time he saw him. Amore said he gets “You can’t wrestle,” but they used to chant that to the Rock and Cena. Enzo said it order to celebrate his incredible performance, he unveiled a Certified G jersey, which he claimed was going to be retired. Amore said he made 205 Live relevant. Then all of the cruiserweights came out on the ramp looking unhappy. Amore said “what do we have over here, a coupa haters.” Amore said Rich Swann danced his way to being a champion, and then danced his way back to being nothing. He called Cedric Alexander “Cedric the Entertainer” and said he was the guy that charisma forgot. Jack Gallagher was out there and was Noam Dar. Then Neville walked out looking in a catatonic state. Enzo said Neville was missing his crown because it was over the shoulder of a real man. Enzo said Neville had satellite ears on the side of his head and Enzo said the truth hurts for Neville. Crowd was starting to turn on Enzo here.
Neville said Enzo was right, the truth hurts. And the truth was Enzo had alienated everyone he ever came in contact with. Within two years on the Raw roster, he had become an unbearable, toxic individual he was dumped on the 205 doorstop like an unwanted slug because no one will have you. If it was left up to him, he would have left Enzo to rot, but it was the cruiserweights behind him to insisted that he get an opportunity. Enzo said his presence made all of them stars. Neville said Enzo made a joke of the cruiserweight division, and when Enzo him where the sun doesn’t shine, he made a joke of him. So Neville was going to end Enzo. Neville got cheers as he headed to the ring. Enzo said he had a no contact clause and this was the last segment of Raw. During the nine months that Neville held the championship, he couldn’t sniff this hour because he was a star. Enzo said if someone took all of the merchandise checks that the rest of the cruiserweights, they couldn’t touch one of his merchandise checks because he was money. Enzo said he would see everyone on the “Zo Show” tomorrow night. Enzo said Neville would never touch the cruiserweight championship if he touched him so go home. Neville gave Enzo a spin kick to scattered applause, then threw Enzo into the retired jersey, threw him out of the ring and into the dasherboards twice. It was such a brutal beating and Enzo was played up to be the heel, but some sans still seemed confused. Enzo tried to get to the back, but the rest of the cruiserwieights blocked the ramp and Neville took him back in the ring. Neville took the no contact clause, shoved it in Enzo’s mouth and gave him a superkick. Then Neville gave Enzo the Red Arrow to more cheers. The rest of the cruiserweights cheered as Enzo was knocked out.
What looks to be WWE’s biggest brand-exclusive pay-per-view since the roster split takes place tonight as the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California hosts No Mercy. The show will be headlined by two huge matches, with Brock Lesnar defending the Universal Championship against Braun Strowman and John Cena facing Roman Reigns.
We’re looking for your thoughts on this show, New Japan Destruction in Kobe earlier today, and ROH’s Death Before Dishonor, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match for each show to [email protected]
Strowman has more often gotten the better of Lesnar in the lead-up to their title match, while the feud between Cena and Reigns has been built around their verbal jabs.
Alexa Bliss will also defend her Raw Women’s Championship against Sasha Banks, Nia Jax, Emma, and Bayley in a fatal five-way match, Cesaro & Sheamus will get a rematch for the Raw tag titles, The Miz takes on Jason Jordan with the Intercontinental title on the line, and Enzo Amore gets his shot at Neville’s Cruiserweight Championship.
In addition to that, Finn Balor will face off against Bray Wyatt on the main card and Apollo Crews vs. Elias takes place on the pre-show. Our coverage begins with that match before the main card starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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ELIAS VS. APOLLO CREWS
An average match wth Crews doing some nice athletic stuff and Elias just being there. Elias won with the Drift Away after a series of near falls.
THE MIZ VS. JASON JORDAN FOR THE IC TITLE
The early part of the match had some wrestling that was off. Miz was just off on his timing. Once Jordan went to throw him in the ring and Miz actually looked like he ran in rather than was thrown. It got better with Jordan’s comeback. The crowd didn’t care for Jordan The announcing was really bad, so forced and fake sounding. The crowd did a “This is awesome” chant when both were down. The finish was the same old stuff. Jordan was on a run, hitting an overhead suplex. Bo Dallas went to the top rope and Jordan threw him off. The ref went with Dallas and Axel interfered and hit Jordan, and then Miz hit the Skull crushing finale for the pin.
They did an interview with Jordan after the match. The fans booed him. Said he was disappointed he couldn’t overcome the odds. He said he didn’t respect The Miz, fans booed. He asked for a rematch and was booed. He said fans say Kurt Angle sucks lovingly but Miz really does suck.
FINN BALOR VS. BRAY WYATT
Balor won with the coup de grace after a Woo dropkick. Good match. The story was that Wyatt destroyed his ribs with a uranage on the table and they were helping Balor away and teased the idea the match wouldn’t happen. I don’t think were buying it because they’ve seen so much worse stuff and people recover. Wyatt called him a coward so he came back. During the match, at one point Wyatt did he crab walk and Balor froze. At another point Balor did the coup de grace to Wyatt’s back and he kicked out. Both guys bled, Balor from the head and Wyatt from the mouth.
Charly Caruso interviewed Cesaro & Sheamus. We don’t just set the bar, we are the bar. They said when the going gets tough, Rollins & Ambrose will turn on each other.nt.
SETH ROLLINS & DEAN AMBROSE VS. SHEAMUS & CESARO FOR THE TAG TITLES.
Really good match. Cesaro looked like his front teeth were cracked or knocked out. Ambrose catapulted him and he went mouth first into the post. Ther was also an awesome spot where Sheamus gave Ambrose white noise and Cesaro power bombed Rollins off the top onto Ambrose but Ambrose kicked out. Booker said it was one of the best tag matches he’s ever seen. I wouldn’t go near that, but it was a story where Cesaro worked most of the match with his mouth bleeding badly. The finish saw Sheamus give Cesaro the Brogue kick when Ambrose moved. Rollins then used the knee on Sheamus and Ambrose folowed with Dirty Deeds on Sheamus for the pin.
ALEXA BLISS VS. NIA JAX VS. EMMA VS. BAYLEY VS. SASHA BANKS FOR THE WOMEN’S TITLE
Bliss won with a DDT on Bayley after Jax missed a shoudler and went to the post. Bayley and Banks both did their finishes on Bliss but the other one would save. Jax took a crazy power bomb spot off the apron by Bayley and Emma while Banks and Bliss dropkicked her. Another big spot was Jax with a Samoan drop on both Bliss and Banks. This was a better match that it sounded on paper. Very crisp wrestling and the crowd was into it.
JOHN CENA VS. ROMAN REIGNS
Another great match. Reigns dominated the match, but Reigns kicked out out of the Attitude Adjustment once, then another Attitude Adjustment off the middle ropes, and then near the finish, Cena used two Attitude Adjustments and Reigns kicked out of it again. Then Reigns hit a Superman punch and a spear and Cena didn’t kick out. There was also a spot where Reigns speared Cena through one of the tables and Reigns nearly spied himself on the table. Cena raised Reigns’ hand and the fans booed. We knew the program would end with that spot, but it seemed like this should have been a multi-match program before they got to that point. Michael Cole called Cena the greatest of all-time over-and-over. It’s his new tag line that they are shoving down everyone’s throat. The forced announcing having to push lines out of context is really bad tonight.
Cena stayed in the ring to get the standing ovation, hugged a kid and people did a “Thank you Cena” chant. It looks like Cena should do the guy at the crossroads program baesd on the faces he made as he took a long time staring at the crowd and saluting. This was sort of like a far less emotional version of Yuji Nagata at G-1.
Miz was with Kurt Angle. He wanted to do a Miz TV with Roman Reigns. Miz compared his beating Cena to his beating Undertaker at WrestleMania. Angle said it was a great idea and it’s going to kick off the show.
NEVILLE VS. ENZO AMORE FOR THE CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE
The match was booked like Enzo wasn’t in his league asNeville dominated. Enzo’s only real offense was a great looking DDT off the top rope. Enzo was about to lose via count out but he grabbed the belt. Neville broke up the count. Enzo got into the ring and teased a belt shot. The ref demanded that Enzo give him the belt. He did and as the ref took the belt away, Enzo kicked Neville low and pinned him to win the title. Enzo is definitley booked as a joke as a champion.
BROCK LESNAR VS. BRAUN STROWMAN FOR THE UNIVERSAL TITLE
Disappointing after the hype. It was the usual Lesnar match of nothing but big moves but they didn’t get over like with Goldberg. Strowman dominated early but Lesnar kicked out of he powerslam. Lesnar did a five German suplex sequence aftrer Strowman had no sold one after. Strowman was cut under the left eye. Lesnar weakened Strowman with a Kimura. Strowman went for a powerslam but was too weak to cover. He did another powerslam and Lesnar kicked out. Lesnar then hit an F-5 and got the pin. I don’t think anyone expected that to be the finish.
The Big Takeaway: Dash Wilder lost his second solo match in as many weeks, then Mustafa Ali stole the show in the main event.
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The show opened with a tribute to Bobby “The Brain” Heenan.
Heath Slater defeated Dash Wilder (5:23)
Last week on Main Event, Wilder was beaten with relative ease by Rhyno’s spinebuster. Here, he and Slater went back and forth in a fairly by-the-numbers bout with Slater getting the win with the Smash Hit.
They’ve been going with Rhyno and Slater on their own without each other at ringside of late, which takes something away from their act. Slater has only really ever had a handful of solo wins lately, and they’ve generally been on this show against talent who are just as low on the card. When Rhyno was there to cheerlead and bodyguard, it always got a good reaction.
Here, though, Wilder was beaten for the second straight week as he doesn’t have much to do without his injured tag partner, Scott Dawson.
The story of the match was that Wilder was the stronger, more dangerous performer but Slater was plucky and continued to thwart him. Eventually, Slater took the win when he reversed Wilder’s suplex into his lifting DDT.
Nigel McGuinness has helped improve the show now that he is on the announce team. Generally, Corey Graves, although good, switched to being a heel on Main Event and would essentially treat Vic Joseph with disdain. But McGuinness is there to put over the talent and really helps call moves.
Lince Dorado & Mustafa Ali defeated Ariya Daivari & Tony Nese (7:48)
If the show wasn’t already a re-run of sorts from last week, this match saw four of the six men from last week’s main event in Anaheim go at it again. The faces won again on this show with the match building to Ali finishing Daivari with his impressive 054.
On any other show, this kind of all-action, fast-paced tag match would go down really well, but here it’s hidden. On a show that is difficult to catch in the United States, there’s often little reason to go out of your way to find it when you have countless hours of other content out there to watch.
Nese, who didn’t even get a tag last week, looked really good here. He has grown his hair and beard out and his physique is impressive for this division. He and Dorado work really smoothly together. The highlight was Mustafa Ali, though. His move set is exciting and fresh, and he and Daivari work extremely well together.
The match was all about the finish: they did a great spot where Dorado was selling an injury, leaning on the middle rope for a breather while Daivari and Nese were outside. Ali climbed up, stood on Dorado’s back, and performed a beautiful moonsault off his back onto both men.
Dorado followed it up by nailing Nese with a top rope crossbody, while Ali was able to set up for the 054 on Daivari for the win.
– The Street Profits defeated Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss
This match had a lot of taunting but was very entertaining. The crowd loved the Profits, with Sabbatelli getting “steroid” chants directed at him. He engaged with the fans and talked back to them a lot.
The Profits won with a frog splash from Montez Ford. After it was over, the referee took a sip from their Solo cup and started dancing with them. They jumped over the barricade after to celebrate with the audience.
– Lars Sullivan defeated Oney Lorcan
They had a short, physical match. The crowd was into this one too.
– Peyton Royce & Billie Kay defeated Dakota Kai & Liv Morgan
This was the weakest match so far. The crowd liked a spot where all four ran circles around the ring and chased each other for almost an entire minute, but other than that the audience was pretty restless.
– Roderick Strong defeated Hideo Itami
As expected, they had a great match. It was very physical. Strong got tons of “Roddy” chants and gave Itami a lot of backbreakers. Strong won with his suplex into a double knee backbreaker.
– SAnitY (Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe & Killian Dain) defeated The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) by countout
Cole, Fish, and O’Reilly got a great reaction, including nonstop “Adam Cole Bay-Bay!” chants. They were on the outside and teased coming back into the ring, then waved it off and went up the ramp to give SAnitY the win by countout.
– Johnny Gargano defeated Raul Mendoza
This was the best match of the night. Mendoza went from unknown to crowd favorite, and Gargano got a huge reaction as expected. The match got “This is awesome” chants as well.
The best spot was when Mendoza had Gargano tied in the tree of woe and did a coast-to-coast dropkick to him. Gargano did his usual spear and lawn dart spots before winning with the Gargano Escape. He shook Mendoza’s hand after and left him in the ring alone for a couple minutes while the crowd chanted Mendoza’s name. Great stuff.
– Kairi Sane defeated Sonya Deville
Sane got the biggest reaction of everyone, including Gargano and Cole. The match was solid and Sane used her flawless elbow drop to finish it. It was Sane’s birthday, so the crowd chanted happy birthday for her.
– NXT Champion Drew McIntyre defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas to retain his title
Lots of people left during their entrances. They had a good match, with McIntyre retaining with the Claymore. Almas teased using chair shots in this one and McIntyre did the air guitar taunt after the crowd chanted 3MB.
Approximately 300 people were in attendance tonight as the Florida house show loop started up again.
– No Way Jose defeated Cezar Bononi
Jose won this one with his pop-up punch.
– Lacey Evans defeated Sarah Logan
Evans hit her “reverse piledriver” finisher.
– There was an in-ring segment with Jessie Elaban (who plays the overly excited nerdy girl) before it was interrupted by Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake. That led to the next match.
– TM61 (w/ Jessie) defeated Steve Cutler & Wesley Blake
Nick Miller and Shane Thorne won it with Thunder Valley.
– Bianca Belair defeated Rhea Ripley
Belair hit a spear to get the victory.
– Heavy Machinery defeated The Ealy Brothers
Otis Dozovic and Tucker Knight used their double team strongest slam to end this.
– Nikki Cross defeated Sage Beckett
Cross hit the swinging fisherman’s neckbreaker to get the win.
– Danny Burch defeated Sawyer Fulton
Burch won by submission.
Kassius Ohno defeated Chad Lail
Ohno connected with a rolling elbow strike for the finish.
– Aleister Black defeated Donovan Dijak
This was Dijak’s first match in NXT since signing with WWE. They had a great match, which ended when Black hit the Black Mass.
Bellator returns to San Jose, CA, for the first time since the failed Fedor vs. Matt Mitrione fight with an entertaining live card on Spike TV featuring a former UFC lightweight champion, a fan favorite, and a prospect looking to reclaim his buzz after a disastrous debut.
In the main event, former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson returns to action against Patricky “Pitbull” Freire. Coming off a loss to lightweight champion Michael Chandler in November 2016, the 33-year-old is looking to get his name back in the mix after a strange 1-2 start to his Bellator career. Freire has won three of his last four and is coming off a convincing second round knockout of Josh Thomson in February. He is looking to avenge his brother’s loss to Henderson in 2016 although it was an injury that stopped the fight.
Former UFC heavyweight Roy Nelson makes his promotional debut against Javy Ayala, winner of his last two by first round T/KO. Nelson is 3-5 since 2014 and hasn’t won two in a row since last 2012-13. At 41, this is his last chance.
Also on the show, you’ll get what promises to be an entertaining welterweight tilt between Paul Daley and Lorenz Larkin with both guys looking for some redemption after their last outings. Additionally, uber prospect Aaron Pico looks to redeem himself after a terrible debut outing at the promotion’s MSG debut against Justin Linn, a fighter who hasn’t competed since April 2016.
Dave Meltzer will have your main card live coverage from cageside tonight.
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ADAM PICCOLOTTI (9-0) VS. GOITI YAMAUCHI (21-3), LIGHTWEIGHTS
First round: Low kick by Yamaguchi and another. Piccolotti in with pucnhes. Jumping knee and guillotine by Yamauchi. Piccolotti escaped and is on top. . Yamaguchi going for an uma plata. Yamaguchi now has his back standing. Yamauchi with a knee. Yamauchi tried a German suplex but blocked. Yamauchi jumped on his back and has a choke. Piccolotti had to tap out. Yamauchi was just superior in the grappling game. 3:19
AARON PICO (0-1) VS. JJSSTIN LINN (7-3), FEATHERWEIGHTS
First round: No reaction to Pico, what a difference one big loss makes in your debut. Linn is relaxed. Pico nervous as hell. Pico with a high takedown. Pico unloaded with several punches. Pico let him up. Linn landed punches. Pico is just overwhelming him with punches. Linn stayed up from the barrage. The crowd is going nuts. Another takedown by Pico. Pico with more punches and elbows on the ground. Pico let him up again. Pico knocked him cold with al left hook. 3:45
Linn is in real bad shape from that knockout. The stretcher is out and this is genuinely scary.
Linn was able to get up on his own. He was down for a few minutes.
This was Pico’s 21st birthday.
Pico vowed that he would win the title.
ROY NELSON (22-14) VS. JAVY AYALA (10-5), LARGE HEAVYWEIGHTS
First round: Ayala has a fan base coming from Porterville, CA. Nelson got a nice reaction. Ayala hurt him with a knee. Nice uppercut by Ayala. Ayala with two punches. He’s a step faster than Nelson. Nelson was thinking takedown. He’s going for it. Nelson got him down. Nelson is landing punches on the ground. Nelson with punches to the body. Nelson is remembering his Jiu Jitsu and moved to full mount. Ayala escaped and back up and landing knees and elbows. Nelson tied him up. Hard round to score. 10-9 Ayala
Second round: Crowd buzzing with the start of round two. Ayala with an elbow and head kick. Both trading punches. Nelson took him down again. Nelson landing punches on the ground. Nelson has his back now. Ayala reversed and up. Ayala took Nelson down and his his back. . Ayala let him up and kicked him in the head. Front kick by Ayala and Superman punch. Nelson with hard uppercuts. Nelson took him down again. People are loving this fight. Nelson landing a lot of elbows on the ground. Nelson’s round for sure so 19-19 after two
Third round: Head kick and jumping knee by Ayala. Right uppercut by Ayala. Front kick by Ayala. Body kick by Nelson. Ayala landing and Nelson running away. Another takedown by Nelson. Nelson landing punches on the ground. Nelson moved to side control. Ayala tried to use the cage to get up but Nelson kept him down. Nelson with knees to the body. Nelson now landing a lot of punches on the ground. Nelson landing hard shots on the ground. 29-28 Nelson.
Scores: 30-26, 29-28, 29-28 Nelson
LORENZ LARKIN (18-6) VS PAUL DALEY (39-15-2), WELTERWEIGHTS
First round: These two went at it a weigh-ins yesterday. Low kick by Daley. Fans booing quickly. Trading low kicks. Good low kick by Larkin. Larkin in with punches. Larkin landed another flurry as the crowd booed. Daley threw a head kick and slipped and fell down. Larkin on top and Daley working for a triangle. Larkin moved to side control. Larkin dropping short elbows. Larkin with more punches on the ground. Larkin 10-9
Second round: Larkin with a body kick. They are tied up. Daley with a knee and threw punches. Daley tied up with him again. Left by Larkin. Daley hurt him with a left hook and knocked him out with a left to the temple. 2:40
He said the only people who have beaten him standing were Douglas Lima and Nick Diaz. He said if anyone else stands with him they’ll get knocked out. Daley challenged Michael Page for England.
They are bringing out Douglas Lima and Rory MacDonald to build up their fight at the Forum in Los Angeles on 1/20. MacDonald said he’s a level above these guys.
BENSON HENDERSON (24-7) VS. PATRICKY PITBULL FREIRE (17-8), LIGHTWEIGHT
First round: Henderson with a body kick. Henderson landed a punch and slipped. Henderson with a Superman punch. Henderson went for a body kick but Pitbull caught the kick. Pitbull short on a spinning kick. Accidental eye poke by Henderson. Henderson went for a kick and missed and slipped. Pitbull went for a kick but it was blocked. Both trading. Very close round. Pitbull 10-9
Second round: Henderson landed a left. Henderson working for a takedown . Jumping knee by Pitbull and an elbow. Henderson has him tied up but isn’t doing much. Fans are booing. Pitbull threw him down. Another close round. Henderson so 19-19 but you could go the other way in both of these rounds since nobody got any real advantage.
Third round: Henderson with a body kick. Henderson ducked for a takedown but didn’t get it. Pitbull with body kicks. Knee by Pitbull. Henderson went for a takedown and didn’t get it again. Pitbull dropped him to a knee with punch. Henderson with a hard body kick. Another body kick by Henderson. Pitbull hurt him again. Henderson landed a hard punch back. Head kick by Henderson. Henderson shooting for a takedown again. Crowd booing again. Right by Pitbull . Knee by Pitbull. Henderson is backing off in the closing seconds which isn’t going to help him at all in another close round. Henderson backing off again as the round ended. Pitbull’s round so I’ve got him winning 29-28.
Image: Matt Hardy. Report submitted by reader Kain Emmons.
– Finn Balor defeated Bray Wyatt
This was a pretty typical house show opener, but Balor is one of the best and safest workers I’ve ever seen in person. He won with the Coup de Grace.
– Heath Slater, Rhyno & Goldust defeated Curt Hawkins, Dash Wilder & Darren Young
Young was on the heel side here. There was a “We want Goldust” chant to get Goldust tagged in, which got the biggest pop of the match. Rhyno pinned Hawkins after hitting a spinebuster.
Hawkins cut a promo blaming his partners and demanding another match, which brought out R-Truth.
– R-Truth defeated Curt Hawkins
Truth beat him in seconds.
– WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville defeated Akira Tozawa to retain his title
This was a good cruiserweight match, though the finish was flat and there wasn’t much heat until the middle. Neville retained with the Rings of Saturn after using the referee as a shield.
– Matt Hardy (w/ Jeff Hardy) defeated Karl Anderson (w/ Luke Gallows)
The Hardys got a good pop and everyone was doing the “Delete” motion still. The match was simple and safe, with Anderson being a great heel worker. They had great timing together and Matt won with the Twist of Fate.
Pro Wrestling Sheet reported that this was a singles match because Jeff Hardy is dealing with a “bad” shoulder injury that may need surgery.
– Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose defeated Cesaro & Sheamus to retain their titles
Ambrose got a big pop, with Rollins getting less of one. They were still the second and third biggest reactions up to this point (behind Balor). There was a good hot tag to Ambrose near the finish, then the champions retained with a combination Rainmaker knee strike/Dirty Deeds on Cesaro.
– Jason Jordan defeated Bo Dallas
Jordan won with a back suplex into a neckbreaker. Dallas did some good comedy on the way out by falling on the stage.
– Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss defeated Mickie James, Bayley, and Sasha Banks to retain her title
Bayley got a better pop than expected, Banks got a big pop, James got minimal reaction, and the reaction for Bliss was split. The match was sloppy at first and then got good once the high spots started. Bliss retained with a DDT to James.
– Roman Reigns defeated Braun Strowman in a last man standing match
Reigns won after two spears, with the second one being through a table. They had a solid, safe house show hardcore match. The reaction was split for Reigns and the crowd was hotter for this match than any other on the card.
