At the moment, the 42-year-old Asuka is out of action recovering from a knee injury. She has not wrestled since dropping the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles at Backlash. Asuka underwent surgery after noting this May that she was taking a break to deal with a knee issue that had been bothering her for a while.
Asuka did appear during WWE’s house show tour of Japan this July, accompanying her Damage CTRL stablemates. The three-show tour marked WWE’s first time back in Japan since 2019.
Since joining WWE in 2015, Asuka has been one of the most featured members of the women’s division. She’s a multi-time Women’s Champion and Women’s Tag Team Champion, along with being a Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank winner.
Asuka is a member of the WWE Raw roster currently. She and Kairi Sane were the Women’s Tag Team Champions prior to losing to Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair at Backlash. Over the weekend, Cargill & Belair regained the belts with a victory over Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn at Bash in Berlin.
Asuka has shared details regarding her recent knee surgery.
The WWE star’s latest video on her YouTube channel showed her walking into the hospital to undergo surgery. Specifics regarding the knee injury were not shared.
According to Asuka, the surgery, excluding preparation, lasted around 90 minutes. She was discharged from the hospital the day after her surgery and wasn’t able to walk on her own.
“The doctor told me that the surgery was a success,” she said. “My knee hurts, but I can take painkillers and I’m fine.”
She said that she would be moving to a rehabilitation center to begin rehab. The video ended with the words “See you soon.”
Asuka last wrestled at Backlash France in April, losing the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles to Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill. She announced following the match that she was taking a break from WWE in order to treat a knee injury. Earlier this month, she showed her leg heavily bandaged and in a brace on social media, indicating she had recently undergone surgery.
— The legendary Empress ASUKA / 伝説のASUKA皇后 (@WWEAsuka) June 5, 2024
Last month, Asuka revealed on her YouTube channel that she’s taking a break from WWE to treat a knee injury that had been bothering her for awhile.
“After the Backlash of my European tour, I had to take a break to treat my knee that I had been hurting for a while,” she wrote in the video. “My partners Kairi and Dakota helped me a lot during this tour as I could not move at my best. I am very grateful to both of them.”
Asuka was seen favoring her knee in the closing moments of the March 15, 2024 episode of SmackDown and was later pulled from that weekend’s house shows. At the time, it was reported that she would be undergoing further testing to see if the injury was something she could work through. She returned at the start of April and wrestled with Damage CTRL against Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, and Naomi at WrestleMania. Her last match was at Backlash when her and Kairi Sane were defaeted by Cargill and Belair.
With Bryan Alvarez currently producing a children’s dinner theater production of O Pioneers!, Lance Storm joins me on the Thursday Wrestling Observer Live to talk about the world of professional wrestling.
We discuss the latest updates in the Janel Grant lawsuit against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE and WWE’s attempt to block the Texas Attorney General from publicly releasing its bid for the 2023 Royal Rumble.
Plus, we took a look at last night’s AEW Dynamite, the silliness of Oklahoma banning Nyla Rose, Asuka talking about her knee injury, and more.
A fun show as always, so check it out~!
Click Here to Listen (sub needed) or watch on YouTube below:
On her YouTube channel Kana Chan TV, Asuka said she was taking a break following Backlash to treat a knee injury.
“After the Backlash of my European tour, I had to take a break to treat my knee that I had been hurting for a while,” she wrote in the video. “My partners Kairi and Dakota helped me a lot during this tour as I could not move at my best. I am very grateful to both of them.”
The video ended with the words “See you soon.”
In March, it was reported that Asuka had missed house shows due to a potential knee injury that happened on an episode of SmackDown. She last wrestled at WWE Backlash in Leon, France earlier this month where she and Kairi Sane lost the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles to Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair.
Asuka has been pulled from the Queen of the Ring tournament due to injury, WWE announced.
WWE’s Queen of the Ring tournament kicked off on Monday’s Raw, with an Asuka vs. Lyra Valkyria first round match announced. Dakota Kai, Kairi Sane, and IYO SKY of Damage CTRL then announced in a promo segment on Monday that Asuka was injured and that Kai would take her place in the Valkyria match.
Asuka worked WWE’s European tour last week, including Saturday’s Backlash event in France where she and Sane dropped the Women’s Tag Team titles to Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair, but has been banged up in recent months, including missing time in March due to a knee injury.
WWE did not comment on the nature of Asuka’s current injury.
Substituting for Asuka, Kai lost in the first round tournament match to Valkyria on Monday’s Raw, which featured three first round matches from both the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments.
Former AEW World Champion and longtime Japanese star Kenny Omega made some strongly-worded comments toward Stardom founder Rossy Ogawa on Friday night, indicating some negative revelations exist about the Marigold founder that is already known by others.
During his Twitch stream Friday, Omega was asked about Ogawa and said he would caution against listening to praise “for that individual” based on what those in the wrestling industry and “government-issued press” in Japan know about him.
“I would say, ‘Don’t be so quick to listen to praise for that individual’ because someday, I’m not sure when it will be, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday, people will know the truth. What they do with that truth, I don’t know. Will they share it? Maybe. A lot of the higher-ups in Japan, they know exactly what business he’s up to and what he’s been up to for decades. That’s all I gotta say,” he said.
However, that wasn’t all he had to say.
Omega was then asked about Ogawa being an “E-drone” (a backhanded reference to WWE fans on social media) since Marigold has a partnership with WWE. Omega said he didn’t care about that as it’s “not even the tip of the iceberg.”
He said there are “a lot of people” that refuse to work for Ogawa “for the very same reason” who are currently both in WWE and AEW. He then alluded to what the allegations are about without specifically making accusations.
“If you want to know along what lines they tread amongst, the dude just flat out said, ‘Hey, we’re looking for girls ages 13-to-21 that don’t have a boyfriend and aren’t married.’ We already know he puts underage girls in very revealing swimsuit calendars and books. I wish that’s all he did. Let’s put it that way,” he stated.
Despite saying all that, he then clarified that he didn’t know anything and that he was “not going on record to say anything” as he didn’t want lawyers “barking at my door.”
“I don’t have any sort of video evidence, I just have the good word of people that are very close. I’m outside of it. If those people feel like commenting or saying something, whatever. For now, I’ll say that people going to Marigold, good luck. I hope you have a great time. I hope it works out for you. For me, I would be very hesitant. I would be very hesitant. That’s it. That’s all,” he said, before saying “redact my comments” and that “I didn’t say anything” before again questioning Marigold’s desired age range and then agreeing with a commenter that he should delete the Twitch video.
He finished by saying he supports current WWE star Asuka and that “she’s got her reasons, probably the same one as mine.”
Bill Goldberg had some comments regarding his WWE career in a new podcast interview, including that WWE had “some Japanese girl” beat his undefeated streak.
Appearing as a guest on Tim Green – Nothing Left Unsaid, Goldberg spoke about Asuka setting a new record for most consecutive matches undefeated as he arrived in WWE for his second run with the company in 2016:
Well, a girl beat my winning streak… beat my undefeated streak. I can’t even remember…
Asuka [mispronounced] was her name, some Japanese girl. And they touted her as being the one to have the longest winning streak. And it just so happened that that culminated when I got there, right?
While Goldberg returned to WWE in 2016, Asuka debuted in NXT in 2015 and her undefeated streak in the company continued into her time on the main roster before losing to Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 34 in 2018.
When Asuka won her 174th consecutive match to begin her WWE career surpassing Goldberg’s 173-0 WCW run [which also ignores that he lost his third career WCW match in 1997], Goldberg posted this congratulatory tweet:
Goldberg also spoke conspiratorially about a proliferation of wrestlers using the spear:
And then it just so happened that every single wrestler uses the spear in their moves, right? Pretty ironic that it happened when I got there, right?
When asked what may have caused friction between Goldberg and WWE, Goldberg cited his frosty relationship with now-CCO of WWE Paul “Triple H” Levesque:
The fact that I didn’t get along with Paul Levesque, which is Vince’s son-in-law, I think had everything to do with it when I got there.
In speaking about his feud with Triple H during his first WWE run in 2003-2004, Goldberg said:
I think a lot of that between Hunter and myself was real.
The full interview can be seen in the embedded video below.
Over the weekend, Asuka missed WWE’s house shows due to a potential injury.
Asuka wasn’t in action at WWE’s live event in Augusta, Georgia on March 16 or its show in North Charleston, South Carolina on March 17. Her Kabuki Warriors partner Kairi Sane instead teamed with IYO SKY in losses to Bianca Belair & Naomi.
Asuka missing the house shows comes after she was limping during the end of SmackDown last Friday. PWInsider reports that Asuka hurt her knee on SmackDown and was pulled from the weekend events “out of caution and so that medical [testing] could be done to confirm whether it was something Asuka could work through or whether she had a larger injury.”
Bayley vs. Dakota Kai in the main event of Friday’s SmackDown ended in a disqualification when Damage CTRL interfered. Damage CTRL then beat down Bayley after the match. Naomi tried to make the save and was initially able to fight Damage CTRL off, but their numbers advantage proved to be too much.
Asuka & Sane currently hold the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles.
WWE has yet to announce Asuka’s plans for WrestleMania 40.
SKY is defending her WWE Women’s Championship against Bayley at WrestleMania. On SmackDown this week, there will be a non-title singles match between SKY and Naomi.
Leading into WrestleMania, there’s been a storyline where Naomi has had Bayley’s back against Damage CTRL but Belair refuses to forgive Bayley after everything Bayley did to her before turning babyface.
Dakota Kai will return to the ring for the first time since May 2023 on next week’s WWE SmackDown.
In a match set up with multiple angles on this week’s SmackDown show, Kai & Bayley will face Asuka & Kairi Sane of The Kabuki Warriors as Damage CTRL explodes on the Friday, March 1 episode.
Kai suffered a torn ACL in a match on May 12, 2023 and has been out of the ring since.
On this week’s show, Kai was laid out backstage and later told Bayley in the trainer’s room that Asuka & Sane had attacked her. The attack on Kai was never shown, leaving room for the possibility that Kai will swerve Bayley in the match and realign with Asuka, Sane, and IYO SKY in Damage CTRL.
Also announced for next week, Carlito will take on Santos Escobar in a street fight as the feud between Carlito’s LWO and Escobar’s Legado Del Fantasma will continue.
WWE revealed earlier on Friday that The Rock will make an appearance on next week’s SmackDown in Glendale, Arizona as well.
The announced lineup for the Friday, March 1 SmackDown:
Damage CTRL added more gold to its ranks on the night before the Royal Rumble.
New WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions were crowned as The Kabuki Warriors defeated Kayden Carter & Katana Chance on last night’s SmackDown. This is Asuka & Kairi Sane’s second time holding the titles together. Their first reign took place in 2019 during Sane’s initial stint with WWE.
After taking out Chance with a slam onto the announce table, Sane and Asuka delivered an InSane Elbow/reverse DDT combination on Carter to win the titles. Damage CTRL then celebrated together on the ramp.
The victory completes part one of Damage CTRL’s mission this weekend. Bayley will now attempt to win the women’s Royal Rumble match tonight. Bayley has claimed that, if she wins the Rumble, she’ll challenge Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania and not her Damage CTRL stablemate WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY.
Carter & Chance had been Women’s Tag Team Champions since winning the titles from Chelsea Green & Piper Niven on the December 18 episode of Raw.
The Kabuki Warriors are once again WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.
Damage CTRL’s Kabuki Warriors duo of Asuka & Kairi Sane defeated Katana Chance & Kayden Carter on Friday’s WWE SmackDown to capture the Women’s Tag titles for the second time in their careers.
Sane pinned Carter after hitting an InSane Elbow to win the titles, and Damage CTRL celebrated together after the contest, with an emphasis on Asuka, Sane, WWE Women’s Champion IYO SKY, and Dakota Kai, while group member Bayley was presented as something of an outsider.
A video package hyping Bayley’s quest to win the Royal Rumble aired during SmackDown as the tension within Damage CTRL continues to be a focus.
WWE’s chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque commented on the Kabuki Warriors win in a social media post:
The #KabukiWarriors continue to be a force that nobody is ready to reckon with… Congratulations to your NEW @WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, @WWEAsuka and @KAIRI_official. #SmackDown
Triple H also commended Chance & Carter on X:
Proud of @wwekayden and @Katana_WWE for holding their own and having an incredibly impressive championship run. Looking forward to seeing what’s next for them…
Chance & Carter held the Tag titles for 40 days after winning them from Chelsea Green & Piper Niven on the December 18, 2023 Raw.
The #KabukiWarriors continue to be a force that nobody is ready to reckon with…
Asuka & Kairi Sane will challenge for the Women’s Tag Team Championship on next week’s WWE SmackDown.
Reunited as The Kabuki Warriors in Damage CTRL, former Tag champs Asuka & Sane will challenge Katana Chance & Kayden Carter for the Women’s Tag titles on the Friday, January 26 SmackDown. Chance & Carter defended their titles successfully on this week’s SmackDown with a win over Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn.
A rematch from the January 12 SmackDown is also set for next week, as Carmelo Hayes & Austin Theory will go one-on-one again. Their match on last week’s SmackDown was stopped and ruled a no contest after both were injured after taking a bad fall on a botched avalanche flatliner.
The Pride (Bobby Lashley, Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) will go face-to-face in the ring next week with The Final Testament (Karrion Kross, Akam, Rezar, Paul Ellering & Scarlett) in a segment announced during Friday’s episode.
In addition, Carlito will face Santos Escobar on next Friday’s SmackDown.
The January 26 SmackDown is the go-home show for next Saturday’s Royal Rumble. The announced lineup:
Women’s Tag Team Champions Katana Chance & Kayden Carter defend against Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane)
Michin & Zelina Vega vs. Asuka & Kairi Sane has also been confirmed for tonight’s SmackDown.
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Randy Orton’s war against The Bloodline is set to continue on SmackDown tonight.
WWE has announced that a singles match between Orton and Jimmy Uso will take place on tonight’s episode of SmackDown. The match comes one week after Orton and Jimmy faced off in tag team action. In last Friday’s main event, Orton & LA Knight defeated Jimmy & Solo Sikoa.
In storyline, Orton is out for revenge on The Bloodline for causing the back injury that kept him out of action for more than a year. Orton underwent double fusion back surgery in 2022. He returned to the ring at Survivor Series last month.
Two weeks ago, Orton joined the SmackDown roster. WWE looks to be building toward Orton challenging Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
Reigns is also set to appear on tonight’s SmackDown. He’s returning to the show for the first time since retaining his title against Knight at Crown Jewel.
Tonight’s SmackDown is being held at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Here’s everything that’s been announced:
Roman Reigns returns
Randy Orton vs. Jimmy Uso
Michin & Zelina Vega vs. Asuka & Kairi Sane
US title contender’s tournament match: Kevin Owens vs. Austin Theory
US title contender’s tournament match: Grayson Waller vs. Carmelo Hayes
Date: November 20, 2023 Location: Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, MI
The Big Takeaway —
He never appeared and was never named, but Randy Orton will team with Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn and Jey Uso at Survivor Series: WarGames. Rhodes, Rollins and Zayn were all pumped to have Orton as their partner but, notably, Jey Uso seemed less than enthused. (The Usos beat Orton and Matt Riddle for the tag titles in Orton’s last match.)
********
Show Recap —
Drew McIntyre stood in the ring as the show began. The lights were dim and there was a spotlight on him.
McIntyre knew people were upset about what he did last week but the person who was the most upset was him. He was being called a backstabber but he hasn’t changed. He hasn’t lied and if you’ve turned on him, that was fine, because you were never a fan of his in the first place. He gave Jey Uso something Jey never gave him — he looked Jey right in the eye before he dropped his ass.
McIntyre figured Jey was probably looking for an apology but he doesn’t recall hearing Jey apologize to him or anyone else he screwed over with his family. The crowd chanted, “You suck.”
McIntyre said Cody Rhodes was collateral damage but he was also responsible for Jey being on Raw. He saw Rhodes attacking Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa on Smackdown and people were probably telling him to get over it too — but there was no reason for them to get over the Bloodline.
Jey cost him the biggest thing of all. McIntyre’s family waited 16 years to see him win the championship at Clash at the Castle but Jey and his family took that moment from him and his family.
McIntyre stated he did not join Judgment Day — but he would be on their team in WarGames. Rhea Ripley provided him something no one else could — Jey Uso in a cage.
Jey Uso entered. Jey said there would be no more talking and it was time for a beat down — or “yeet down.” The crowd yelled “Yeet.”
Jey was about to hit the ring but Judgment Day appeared and stood on the apron behind McIntyre. That brought out Seth Rollins, Sami Zayn and Cody Rhodes. Wade Barrett noted they were still a man down.
Adam Pearce suddenly appeared and stepped between the two teams. He warned them not to get into a fight and if somebody threw a punch, that person would cost their team the advantage at WarGames.
Pearce told Rollins’ team that they needed to pick a partner by the end of tonight. He also warned both teams that the WarGames would be one-on-one or else. He wanted to know who would be in the advantage match by 9:00 pm tonight.
McIntyre stepped up and got in Jey’s face but then he left (on his own). Judgment Day left moments later.
********
Judgment Day met backstage. Damian Priest told Rhea Ripley that he should have been consulted if McIntyre was joining them at Survivor Series. Ripley said she didn’t even know what McIntyre was doing until he did it but she agreed they should have discussed it first. Priest thought he should be in the advantage match tonight but Ripley said they should wait for McIntyre so they could decide as a team.
********
Nia Jax defeated Raquel Rodriguez (8:51)
Rodriguez tackled Jax out of the ring and hit a crossbody off the apron but Jax shoved her into the barricade and drove her spine-first into the ring post ahead of a break (two minutes into the match). Jax applied a rest hold and Rodriguez hoisted her up momentarily but collapsed due to her injured back.
Rodriguez fought back and tried getting Jax on her shoulders but she collapsed again. Jax responded with a senton. Jax went to the middle rope but Rodriguez slipped under her for a powerbomb attempt. However, Rodriguez collapsed for a third time and Jax hit the Annihilator for the pinfall win. (The crowd was ready to pop huge if Rodriguez managed to powerbomb Jax.)
********
There was a Xia Li video package.
Priest was getting impatient waiting for McIntyre but McIntyre finally showed up. McIntyre thought it should be him, not Priest, in the advantage match. McIntyre didn’t like anyone in Judgment Day but he despised Jey Uso. Priest didn’t like McIntyre either and recalled McIntyre costing him the world title. They argued for a bit until Priest agreed to allow McIntyre to represent them in the match. Priest wanted McIntyre to show his worth. McIntyre called it good leadership by Priest.
********
There was a video package for the women’s WarGames match. As “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath played, Michael Cole said that thanks to Ruffles, we could decide which team would have the advantage in a fan vote.
********
Rollins, Zayn, Rhodes and Jey met backstage. Rollins and Jey both wanted the match against McIntyre. Rollins said he knew McIntyre the best but Jey fired up and it should be him. They agreed.
As for their fifth member, Zayn and Rollins each had ideas for a partner. Rhodes said he had an old friend that he would contact and was sure would come through. (Fans cheered this.)
********
It’s been 20 minutes since the Nia Jax match ended.
Becky Lynch defeated Xia Li (12:37)
Lyra Valkyria was shown watching at ringside.
Lynch had the early edge until Xia caught her with a kick on the apron ahead of a break.
[SECOND HOUR]
Cole let us know Li was dominating through the break but Lynch fought back and hit an exploder for two. Lynch applied an armbar but Li countered into a cradle for two. Li followed with an airplane spin for two. Lynch responded later with a middle rope superplex for two.
Li hit her knockout kick and Lynch fell out of the ring. Lynch seemed loopy but told the referee that she could continue. Li tried the kick again but Lynch ducked and posted her. They both made it back into the ring at a nine count and Lynch hit a Man-handle Slam moments later for the pinfall win. The crowd was into Lynch and popped for the win.
— After the match, Damage CTRL marched down through the crowd but they were attacked by Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair and Shotzi. Iyo Sky, Bayley, Asuka and Kairi Sane backed away but a brawl broke out again and officials tried separating the two teams.
********
Ludwig Kaiser was annoyed with Giovanni Vinci but Vinci said he was just trying to do what was best for Imperium. Kaiser told Vinci to stay in the back while he took care of Johnny Gargano.
There was a Zoey Stark video package.
Johnny Gargano (w/Tommaso Ciampa) defeated Ludwig Kaiser (11:02)
The third match of the night and the third time the heel got the advantage moments before a commercial break 2-3 minutes into the match. Gargano fought back with a slingshot spear, strikes, suicide dive, and tornado flatliner for two. Kaiser came back with a great-looking discus clothesline for two.
Kaiser hit a Finlay roll but became distracted by Vinci who appeared at ringside. This allowed Gargano to hit One Final Beat for the pinfall win.
Vinci was amused by the result.
********
Chelsea Green and Piper Niven met with Adam Pearce backstage when they were interrupted by a series of teams who happened to be nearby. Natalya and Tegan Nox, Katana Chance and Kayden Carter, and Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell (who both got knocked out easily by Xia Li the last time we saw them each wrestle) all thought they deserved a tag title shot.
Maxxine Dupri and Ivy Nile showed up for something unrelated but Pearce was so annoyed at all the bickering that he assumed they wanted a title match too. Nile was about to correct him but Dupri told her to shoosh because she saw the opportunity. Pearce put the teams in a fatal four-way and the winner would earn a title shot.
********
Ripley and Dominik Mysterio entered their locker room and were annoyed to see Zoey Stark and Shayna Baszler hanging out in there. Stark told Ripley she would win the title. Ripley said she was in for a beating.
Fatal 4-Way: Natalya & Tegan Nox defeated Kayden Carter & Katana Chance, Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell and Maxxine Dupri & Ivy Nile (11:47)
Each team had matching gear except Dupri and Nile. Dupri hit a splash onto all six of her opponents ahead of a break. This broke the streak of heels getting the advantage before a commercial (because there aren’t any heels in the match).
Katana and Carter hit a nice double-team move on Nox and Natalya but everyone else broke up the cover. Everyone traded moves until Natalya put Katana in a Sharpshooter. Nile broke that up with a bulldog.
Dupri tagged in and hit Nox with consecutive body slams and a Caterpillar into an elbow drop. Dupri followed with a Northern Lights Suplex for two before Nile and Dupri hit Nox with a double vertical suplex.
Nile went to the top but Natalya yanked her down. Dupri tried a flying crossbody but Nox rolled through into a cradle for the pinfall win. Nox and Natalya earn themselves a tag title shot.
(The crowd was really quiet for this and only slightly woke up when Dupri was on offence.)
********
Gunther approached Kaiser and Vinci. He was proud of Vinci and he wondered if he put the wrong person in charge. He told them to sort things out while he deals with Miz.
(There was an ad for tomorrow’s NXT plugging Lyra Valkyria against the “unstoppable” Xia Li.)
********
There was another argument between tag teams backstage, this time with the men. Pearce put them in a tag team turmoil match next week to determine the number one contenders. The teams were New Day, Indus Sher, DIY, Imperium, Alpha Academy (without Chad Gable), and the Creed Brothers.
Pearce asked a stagehand to get Nick Aldis on the phone but Aldis happened to be standing nearby. They agreed to speak.
********
[THIRD HOUR]
Miz/Gunther segment
Miz complained about Gunther showing him a lack of respect. Gunther wanted to make it clear: it wasn’t a lack of respect, he had no respect for Miz. The ring was for fighters but Miz was only an entertainer. Miz thought of that as a positive because he got things done in and out of the ring.
Miz said he was just like the men he grew up watching: Randy Savage, Rick Rude, Mr. Perfect, Shawn Michaels, and Bret Hart. Miz worked hard for years so he could hold the title that his heroes held. We still remember them because they weren’t one-note wonders like Gunther. Gunther was amused.
Miz went on about adapting and changing over his career. Miz said we don’t know much about Gunther because he hasn’t been at the bottom. We’ll only find out what Gunther is made of when he hits the bottom and he wonders if Gunther could climb the mountain if he did. Miz threatened to beat respect into Gunther.
Gunther knew who he was facing at Survivor Series: little Mike Mizanin. A little weirdo who got bullied in high school because he idolized all of those men he named. He finally became a WWE superstar and his fellow superstars bullied him too because he did not belong in this sport.
Gunther said Miz did not belong in his ring, he belonged on the other side of the barricade with all the other weirdos. This somehow led to a “USA” chant. Gunther called the fans insecure like little Mike. Gunther told Miz, “I think you haven’t been bullied enough.” Gunther shoved Miz repeatedly and told him to defend himself.
Miz tried to fight back but Gunther easily booted him. Gunther grabbed Miz from behind and shoved the IC title belt in his face. Miz gave him a low blow and hit a Skull Crushing Finale.
********
Rollins approached Jey and stressed the importance of having the advantage at WarGames. Rollins knew that Jey knew this because he was in WarGames. Rollins told him to beat McIntyre and come back in one piece. Jey was upbeat and confident. Rollins was serious and he nodded at Jey. Jey seemed taken aback by Rollins’ serious demeanour.
Gable wiped out Nakamura with a cannonball ahead of a break. They actually showed us how Nakamura got the advantage during the break (with a combination of kicks). Nakamura had the edge until Gable came back with strikes and a neckbreaker for two. Nakamura responded with a kick, sliding German suplex, and flying knee strike for two.
Gable hit a cliffhanger DDT and diving headbutt for two. (Cole referred to Gable as “Angle” somewhere in here.) Gable hit a stalling German suplex (which Cole called a Chaos Theory) and a dragon suplex. Gable went for a moonsault but Nakamura got his feet up and followed with a reverse exploder. Gable countered a Kinshasa into an ankle lock but Nakamura rolled out of it.
Nakamura tried to shove Gable into an exposed turnbuckle but Gable managed to hold up and avoid it. However, that hesitation allowed Nakamura to roll up Gable for the pinfall win.
This was pretty good.
********
Judgment Day approached McIntyre in the back. McIntyre said he didn’t want Judgment Day at ringside. Priest said they weren’t offering. McIntyre was glad and he left.
There was a video earlier of Ivar (with Valhalla) challenging Bronson Reed. Reed accepted the challenge for a match next week.
********
There was a WarGames video package.
Zayn and Rollins (now in a way better mood) approached Jey. They were all hyped for the match.
Rhodes approached them and asked if they had any luck finding a partner. Zayn and Rollins both had nothing. They asked Rhodes about his partner and Rhodes said they were in business. Rollins wanted him to clarify. Rhodes said, “He’s in.”
********
Drew McIntyre defeated Jey Uso (18:42) — Judgment Day earns the WarGames advantage
McIntyre took control after a break, cut off Jey’s comeback attempt and chucked him over the announce desk. After a second break, Jey avoided a charge and McIntyre flew into the post. Jey hammered away as the crowd chanted “Yeet” and hit a Samoan Drop for two. McIntyre countered a clothesline into a neckbreaker. McIntyre went for Claymore but Jey hit a superkick for a nearfall.
Jey went to the top but McIntyre crotched him and hit a Future Shock DDT for the abrupt pinfall win. The crowd seemed surprised.
— Ripely appeared at ringside and told McIntyre to finish Jey. McIntyre was about to put Jey through a table but he fought back. Judgment Day showed up and swarmed Jey until Rhodes, Rollins and Zayn ran out to make the save. (They came out to Rhodes’ music even though Rollins is the champion.)
Rhodes was glad Judgment Day had the advantage and was happy to announce they had a fifth member. He was a man he had a “legacy” with (the crowd popped for that) and a man who was an apex predator. The crowd chanted “Randy.” Rhodes said we weren’t just hearing voices in our heads because the fans were right. Rhodes dropped the mic and the show ended.
(Jey didn’t seem all that excited that Orton was their partner.)
