A second title match has been added to the lineup for next week’s episode of SmackDown.
On this week’s Talking Smack, it was announced that SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits will defend their titles against Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode next Friday (January 8). Big E defending his Intercontinental title against Apollo Crews is also set for next Friday’s SmackDown.
The Street Profits retained their titles against Ziggler & Roode on SmackDown two weeks ago when Montez Ford rolled up Roode while holding onto his tights. Roode had done the same thing to Ford when Ziggler & Roode defeated The Street Profits in a non-title match in November.
Last night’s SmackDown saw The Street Profits host their “New Year’s Day Smoke-Tacular.” They made fun of Ziggler during the segment and were about to make fun of Roode, but Ziggler & Roode then attacked The Street Profits. They used a steel chair to attack both Ford & Angelo Dawkins, including hitting Ford’s leg with a steel chair as his leg was up against the ring post.
Ziggler & Roode were interviewed backstage after the attack. They demanded another shot at the SmackDown Tag Team titles. It was said on today’s Talking Smack that The Street Profits have accepted Ziggler & Roode’s challenge and the match will take place on SmackDown next Friday.
SmackDown makes a one-week shift to FS1 for tonight’s TLC go-home show.
SmackDown is airing on FS1 tonight due to college football’s Pac-12 Championship Game being on Fox. Tonight’s show will feature a SmackDown Tag Team Championship match with The Street Profits defending their titles against Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode.
Ziggler & Roode earned a title shot after defeating the champions in a non-title match a few weeks ago. Last Friday, Ziggler defeated Montez Ford in a singles match after Roode attacked Angelo Dawkins at ringside.
Bianca Belair goes one-on-one with Bayley tonight. Belair and Bayley have been taunting each other since their team lost at Survivor Series.
Ahead of challenging for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at TLC, Carmella will present a champagne toast tonight. Last week’s show ended with Carmella breaking a champagne bottle over Sasha Banks’ back after their SmackDown Women’s Championship match ended in a disqualification.
Sami Zayn also hosts the “first annual Sami Awards” tonight. Zayn tweeted that he’ll be giving out the awards because the Slammys are biased toward corporate favorites.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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SmackDown started with a recap of the Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens feud. It included Reigns beating down Owens backstage. Reigns also warned Owens’ wife and kids and told them to talk sense into Owens.
Kevin Owens’s music hit, and he made his way to the ring, which was surrounded by tables, ladders, and chairs. Owens called out Reigns, but he didn’t come out. Owens turned his attention to Reigns’ comments about his family.
Owens told his family not to watch his match with Reigns at TLC. He doesn’t want them to see what he’s going to do to Reigns Sunday night. He called out Reigns again, but he still didn’t come out.
Owens brought up Jey Uso attacking him. He pointed out that Reigns uses his family to do his bidding. Owens called Reigns a coward, and Paul Heyman appeared on the screen.
Heyman’s surprised that Owens is back after last week and wants more. He called Owens a martyr and said he’s dangerous because Owens will do anything to win the Universal championship. Heyman noted that Owens has to be eliminated.
Owens heard enough and cut off Heyman. Owens decided to go to the back and find Reigns since he won’t come to the ring. Owens jumped out of the ring and walked to the back. Heyman looked to the side disapprovingly as they went to break.
Back from the break, Adam Pearce tried to stop Owens from going into Reigns’ locker room. Owens pushed him aside but Reigns locker room door was closed. Suddenly, Reigns music started playing.
There was a monitor conveniently next to Reigns locker room door on an awkward angle.
Reigns made his way down to the ring as Owens watched on the monitor. Reigns wanted to show that he’s a good guy. He gave Owens the same chance as his family. He told Owens to acknowledge him as the tribal chief and head of the table. Reigns demanded Owens come to the ring and apologize, or he won’t even make it to TLC.
Owens marched to the ring, but Jey Uso jumped him from behind. Reigns and Uso then viciously beat down Owens in the aisle.
Referees and officials ran out and tried to stop them. Owens attempted to get up, but he fell. Reigns had a worried look on his face as he walked off.
This was a good opening segment.
In the back, Jey Uso, Reigns, and Heyman discussed beating down Owens. Uso was certain Owens wouldn’t be coming back from the beat down.
Reigns didn’t agree and told Uso to eliminate Owens. Uso walked off looking for Owens.
Actor Clarke Duke gave his opinions on the upcoming match. He was upset that Ziggler and Roode said funny isn’t money. He claimed his big house proves their theory wrong.
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits defeated Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode to retain the titles
This was a good match. Both teams worked hard.
Ziggler distracted Angelo Dawkins, and Roode jumped him to start the match. The faces quickly recovered and took over. Montez Ford hit a back suplex and moonsault for a near fall. He knocked Roode off the apron and climbed to the top rope, but Ziggler cut him off.
Ford blocked the suplex attempt and climbed back up. Roode recovered and pushed Ford to the floor.
Back from the break, Ziggler scored a close near fall on Ford. Ziggler hit a splash in the corner into a Russian leg sweep from Roode for a near fall. The heels isolated Ford on their side of the ring.
Ford fought back, and Dawkins got the hot tag. Dawkins ran wild and hit a twisting neck breaker on Roode for a close near fall. Dawkins attempted a powerbomb, but Roode went for a Glorious DDT.
In a cool spot, Ziggler and Roode hit an assisted famouser for a very close near fall. The finish came when Ford hit the frog splash on Ziggler, but Roode broke up the pin attempt. Ford then rolled up Roode out of nowhere and held the tights for the win.
After the match, Roode and Ziggler were furious that they lost. They yelled at referee Charles Robinson and blamed him for the loss. Robinson got fired up and stood up for himself. He warned them that they could get suspended. Roode and Ziggler then back off.
In the back, Kevin Owens was looking for Reigns. Adam Pearce was trying to stop him again. Suddenly, Jey Uso attacked Owens with a chair and told him to stay down.
Kayla Braxton interviewed Bianca Belair. Belair is annoyed that Bayley is always talking about her. She promised to defeat Bayley later tonight.
The Riott Squad defeated Billie Kay & Tamina
This wasn’t a good match. Tamina dominated the faces for the majority of it.
Before the match, Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott tried to guess who Kay might choose to be her partner. Morgan hoped for Beyonce, Sarah Jessica Parker, or Wonder Woman.
Before the match, Kay announced her partner Tamina. Graves was excited about Kay and Tamina. He thinks they’ll make a great team.
Tamina dominated the faces and beat them down. She threw Morgan across the ring, and she landed right on her face. Tamina hit the Samona drop on Riott, but Kay tagged herself in to get the pin.
Morgan broke up the pin attempt. Morgan got the tag and ran wild. The faces knocked Tamina off the apron with a double dropkick. The Riott Squad then hit a missile dropkick/downward spiral combo for the win.
Carmella’s Champagne Toast
This was a fine segment, although it went a bit long and dragged at points.
Carmella’s sommelier was in the ring setting everything up for the toast. They recapped the Carmella and Sasha Banks match from last week. After the match, Carmella viciously beat down Banks.
Carmella made her grand entrance and her way to the ring. She had her sommelier choose the perfect champagne so she can toast her upcoming win. Carmella mocked the fans at home and said she’s better.
Carmella noted Banks is physically talented but mentally weak. She said Banks is drowning but not in the champagne she hit her with last week. The fans booed, and Carmella mocked them.
Carmella claimed that Banks got disqualified last week because Banks knew she couldn’t win. Carmella promised to win the title on Sunday. She demanded champagne to celebrate the moment. She had a sip and said it’s cheap like Banks.
Sasha Banks’s music hit, and the sommelier ran up the ramp. Of course, Banks appeared in the ring from the other side. She threw the champagne at Carmella and slapped the sommelier.
Suddenly, Carmella smashed a champagne bottle on Banks’ back and knocked her down.
In the back, Kevin Owens was in the trainer’s room, getting looked at when Jey Uso ran in. They brawled, but Uso ended up slamming Owens through a table and yelled at him to stay down.
There wasn’t much to the match, and it was kept short.
They recapped Otis and Gable losing to Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura last week.
Nakamura had the early advantage, but Gable coached from ringside. Otis used a slam to gain a brief advantage. Nakamura fought back and took over with a series of knees.
Nakamura rocked Otis with kicks, but it just fired Otis up. Otis hit a splash in the corner and went for the caterpillar. Gable jumped up and stopped Otis. He told him to give Nakamura a suplex.
Otis picked up Nakamura, but he used an inside cradle for a near fall. Otis recovered and hit a suplex. He followed up with the Vader Bomb for the win.
In the back, Sami Zayn was nervously getting ready for the Sami Awards. He realized the trophies weren’t polished and took off in search of polish.
Big E emerged from the back wearing a red bow tie. He picked up the envelopes and laughed hysterically.
Michael Cole excitedly wondered what Big E’s up to and can’t wait to see what he does next.
They showed the video of Drew McIntrye defeating 2020 with the Claymore Kick.
In the back, Gable and Otis celebrated his win. Gable didn’t understand why he stopped doing the caterpillar. Otis thought it was a test.
The Sami Awards
This was a fun segment. Zayn was good in his role here.
Sami Zayn came out wearing a stylish purple suit and spoke at a podium on the stage.
He talked about the previous Slammy Awards and noted the quality went down the last few years. He said it hasn’t been good since the late great Jack Tunney oversaw the awards.
Before Zayn gets to the awards, he recapped 2020, which only focused on his career.
The first award is for a comeback of the year. Zayn noted there are several possible winners, including Edge, Roman Reigns, and Sami Zayn.
Zayn introduced himself as the winner and said he couldn’t believe it. The next award is for the match of the year, which went to Zayn’s ladder match against AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy at Clash of Champions.
The final award was for Superstar of the Year. The award went to Big E, which surprised Zayn. Big E came out and accepted the award. Zayn said there had to be a mistake. Big E slammed Zayn on the table and threw him down the ramp.
Big E thanked the fans and celebrated his win.
Kayla Braxton interviewed Bayley in the back. She noted that she doesn’t need to brag about her past accomplishments. She pointed out that she ran cross country in high school and was the basketball team captain.
Bayley defeated Bianca Belair
Bayley and Belair had a good match.
Belair had the early advantage and taunted Bayley. She did a series of flips out of the corner and posed on the middle turnbuckle. She then did a backflip and rocked Bayley with a dropkick.
Bayley regained control and attacked the arm. Back from the break, Bayley was firmly in control and tossed Belair to the floor. Belair shoved Bayley into the steps and jumped back in the ring.
Belair hit a standing delayed vertical suplex and taunted Bayley. She followed up with a handspring moonsault for a near fall. Belair then hit a series of backbreakers and dragged her to the corner.
Belair climbed to the top rope, but Bayley cut her off. Bayley mocked Belair, but Belair recovered and hit a suplex. Belair ran wild and hit a spine buster for a near fall. Bayley fought back and tried using the ropes, but the referee caught her.
Belair rolled up Bayley for a two count. Belair then lifted Bayley into a powerbomb, but Bayley raked the eyes and hit the Rose Plant for the win.
Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman, and Jey Uso Promo
This was a good segment.
Universal Champion Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman, and Jey Uso made their way to the ring.
Back from the break, Reigns didn’t understand why Kevin Owens screwed up this opportunity. He said it was going to elevate his career.
Owens music hit, and he limped his way to the ring. Owens grabbed a chair and went after Uso. The heels quickly took over and viciously beat down Owens. Reigns continued to attack Owens with a chair.
Uso then slammed Owens through a table and set up a second table. Reigns then gave Owens a Samoan Drop through the second table.
Reigns then buried Owens under the pieces of the broken tables, ladders, chairs, and more tables.
Reigns and Uso destroyed Owens and then went to the back with Owens buried under the tables, ladders, and chairs.
In the back, Kayla Braxton interviewed Reigns, Heyman, and Uso in front of a monitor. Reigns started talking when Owens pulled himself out of the pile.
The heels were furious and walked off. In the ring, Owens grabbed a mic and promised to win the Universal title, or he’d die trying.
Two matches involving champions have been announced for this week’s episode of SmackDown.
Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn will face Big E in a non-title match on SmackDown this Friday night. Montez Ford, who is one half of the SmackDown Tag Team Champions, will also face Dolph Ziggler in singles action on the show.
Big E, Zayn, and Ziggler all took part in a Pat Patterson tribute match on SmackDown last week. Daniel Bryan, Big E & Rey Mysterio defeated Zayn, Ziggler & Shinsuke Nakamura when Bryan pinned Zayn with an inside cradle.
On SmackDown two weeks ago, Big E and Zayn had a tense interaction backstage after Zayn defeated Bryan by countout in a non-title match. Big E spoke about the way Zayn has been winning matches and said Zayn has no margin for error. Big E gave Zayn an intense handshake where he wouldn’t let his hand go for 10 seconds.
Ziggler & Robert Roode defeated The Street Profits in a non-title match on SmackDown two weeks ago. Roode and Cesaro then both interrupted The Street Profits in a backstage segment last week. Roode wanted him and Ziggler to get the next SmackDown Tag Team title shot and Cesaro wanted him and Nakamura to get the next shot.
WWE has also announced that there will be a contract signing on this Friday’s SmackDown. SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks and Carmella will take part in the contract signing ahead of Banks defending her title against Carmella at TLC. That pay-per-view is taking place on Sunday, December 20.
WWE has announced a few additions to the lineup for tonight’s episode of Raw.
WWE Champion Randy Orton and Drew McIntyre will face off in six-man tag team action tonight. Orton will team with The Miz & John Morrison against McIntyre & Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods).
McIntyre, The Miz, and “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt have recently been positioned as potential challengers for Orton’s title. Miz holds the Money in the Bank briefcase and tried to cash in after McIntyre laid out Orton last week, but McIntyre stopped Miz. McIntyre said he’s going to be the person to take the WWE Championship from Orton. Later in the night, Orton dropped McIntyre with an RKO after McIntyre defeated Miz & Morrison in a handicap match. The Fiend’s laugh then played to close the show.
Kingston & Woods appearing on Miz TV with Miz & Morrison, Raw Women’s Champion Asuka vs. Nia Jax in a non-title match, and Ricochet vs. Mustafa Ali have also been added to tonight’s show. Plus, Jeff Hardy, Riddle, and Elias will face off in a triple threat second chance qualifying match to determine the final member of Raw’s Survivor Series men’s team.
A Moment of Bliss segment with McIntyre as the guest was originally announced for tonight’s show but is no longer listed on WWE’s preview.
SmackDown’s season premiere episode will include Daniel Bryan’s return to WWE television.
WWE has announced that Bryan will make his WWE ThunderDome debut as he kicks off this Friday’s season premiere edition of SmackDown. Bryan remained on SmackDown when he was drafted as the brand’s third pick during the second night of the WWE Draft this Monday.
Bryan and his wife Brie Bella welcomed the birth of their second child, a boy named Buddy Dessert Danielson, this August. Bryan hasn’t made an in-person appearance on SmackDown since June.
A SmackDown Tag Team title match has also been added to this Friday’s SmackDown season premiere episode. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits will defend their titles against Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode.
The Street Profits were SmackDown’s second pick during night two of the WWE Draft. They were the Raw Tag Team Champions when they got picked, but there was a segment on Monday’s Raw where The Street Profits and The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) swapped Tag Team title belts.
Kingston & Woods retained their Raw Tag Team titles against Ziggler & Roode on Monday. Ziggler & Roode were drafted to SmackDown on the episode and did a post-show interview where they said they’re coming after The Street Profits’ titles.
Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship, The New Day (Big E, Kingston & Woods) vs. Sheamus, Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro in a six-man tag match, and Jeff Hardy vs. Lars Sullivan are also set for this week’s SmackDown. To celebrate the season premiere, Fox will also have a special 30-minute pre-show prior to SmackDown. It will begin on Fox at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time and will be hosted by Renee Paquette (formerly known as Renee Young in WWE) and Booker T.
The six-man tag is being billed as The New Day’s SmackDown farewell match. While Kingston & Woods were drafted to Raw, Big E is remaining on SmackDown.
Date: October 5, 2020 Location: Amway Center in Orlando, FL
The Big Takeaway —
Mustafa Ali is in Retribution.
As expected, Randy Orton will face Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship in a Hell in a Cell match. Orton handed McIntyre a rare loss in the main event, pinning him after an RKO in a six-man tag match.
Murphy turned on Seth Rollins but Rollins ultimately got the better of him. Rollins attacked until Aalyah begged him to stop.
Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler successfully defended the tag titles against Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan.
Show Recap —
Randy Orton sat in a dimly lit room in the back (the one where he attacked everyone last week). Orton doesn’t remember a lot about his ambulance ride after Clash of Champions but he does remember the match. He remembers being ambushed by Big Show, Christian and Shawn Michaels.
He remembers Drew McIntyre punting him in the head and being driven off in an ambulance by Ric Flair. Orton felt nothing but darkness and pain in that moment. Twenty-four hours after that, McIntyre celebrated with those legends with a title he didn’t deserve and that made him sick. Those legends even played poker and toasted two of his opponents tonight.
Orton decided to repay the legends last week. He made them feel the darkness and pain that he felt at COC. Orton ran down what he did to each guy in great detail, including whispering to Christian to say to Edge for him.
Orton wished that McIntyre was there to witness it. McIntyre’s bill was not yet paid and wouldn’t be until Orton was the WWE Champion. Orton said McIntyre could attain the legacy he sought if he could survive Hell in a Cell against him.
At the precise moment that Orton issued the challenge, McIntyre barged into the room and attacked him until officials ran in to break it up.
This was certainly a different way to start the show.
Six-woman tag match: Raw Women’s Champion Asuka, Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke defeated Zelina Vega, Natalya & Lana (4:51)
Rose and Brooke matched this week with primarily blue gear. Rose picked up the pinfall win for her team with a knee strike on Lana.
After the winning team left, Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler marched out. They confronted Natalya and Lana outside the ring. (Vega left.) Jax was going to put Natalya through the announce table but Lana saved her. This resulted in Jax putting Lana through the table instead (for the third time over the past few weeks).
During the match, the announcers talked about the draft and Samoa Joe made reference to GMs (who?) and officials working stuff out ahead of Friday. Tom Phillips mentioned that Adam Pearce was probably stressing out in the “war room.” Isn’t he on both shows?
R-Truth had a white board in the back with his mock draft. His picks included ninjas and Bray Wyatt’s puppets. He also had Vince McMahon going 5th to Smackdown. There was a custodian behind him and he thought it was Orton.
The custodian tried to attack with a mop but Truth ducked and ran away until he tripped over a mop bucket. The custodian pinned him to win the 24/7 title. It was Drew Gulak. He ran away.
MVP met with Mustafa Ali, Apollo Crews and Ricochet. MVP downplayed his loss last week and said they can win an occasional match but they never win the fight. He noted the importance of the draft and how much a move to Raw helped Crews.
MVP said he also had an opening in the Hurt Business tonight only and claimed his brand was a bigger opportunity than going Raw or Smackdown. After MVP left, Crews and Ali blew this off but Ricochet appeared to consider it.
Seth Rollins / Murphy segment
Seth Rollins and Murphy entered for their match. There was a long video recap of the Mysterio family angle. Rollins asked Murphy to hand him the mic but he didn’t because he wanted to get something off his chest. Murphy said he has done everything Rollins has asked of him and more but if Rollins wanted him to continue being his disciple, he needed to apologize.
Rollins couldn’t believe it. Murphy didn’t want the apology for him, he wanted Rollins to apologize to Aalyah. Rollins snatched the mic away and yelled at him. Rollins said he was the one who saved Murphy.
Rollins also noted that he could have shown way more DMs between Murphy and Aalyah, including the ones where she states her true feelings about Murphy and about her family. Rollins stressed that he was the messiah and Murphy was the disciple.
Dominik and Humberto Carrillo ran out and attacked. They cleared the ring and they each hit dives which led to break.
The match began during the break and Rollins quickly gained control on Dominik. Rollins and Murphy couldn’t get along. Rollins wasn’t happy about Murphy tagging himself in. Carrillo tagged in as they argued and took them down with a flying crossbody. There was some back-and-forth until Carrillo wiped out both guys with a nice dive.
However, Carrillo came off the top and Murphy caught him with a mid-air V-Trigger for the pinfall win. Murphy marched off without Rollins after the match. (Two straight matches with the same finishing move, basically.) The match was only about five minutes or less.
Braun Strowman confronted Adam Pearce. He knew Raw Underground wasn’t happening but wanted a match tonight. Pearce said he wasn’t on Raw so he couldn’t do that, but he could give him an exhibition.
Strowman didn’t know what that meant. Pearce said if he could find him an opponent, Strowman could have an unsanctioned match. Strowman was happy with that. He left. Keith Lee, who happened to be nearby, told Pearce to sign him up.
[Second hour]
Rollins confronted Murphy in the back. Rollins wanted Murphy to apologize to him. If he doesn’t apologize by 10:00pm tonight, there would be hell to pay.
KO Show
Owens said he was normally excited to interview his guest but that wasn’t the case tonight. He said it was true that you change when you encounter the Fiend. He felt the anger and agony and dread. He knew tonight wouldn’t be about having a chat so he chucked the furniture from the ring. They aired a replay of Wyatt attacking him on Smackdown.
Owens couldn’t describe how bad the mandible claw felt. He also wasn’t sure why these dark souls kept attacking him, between Aleister Black and Wyatt. Owens wondered if the Brood or the Ministry of Darkness would come after him next. He called out Wyatt.
Wyatt appeared on the screen and said, “bonjour.” Wyatt thanked him for having him on his show and said it was always nice to have new friends, whether it was to play catch with or bury bodies together. Wyatt sang a song for Owens about friendship.
Wyatt invited Owens to sing. Owens wasn’t interested. Owens said maybe they could have been friends before he attacked him. Owens wasn’t going to get brainwashed like Alexa Bliss and didn’t want to wait until Friday to fight. Owens called him to the ring.
Wyatt said the situation with Bliss was none of Owens’ business. That was between her and him. Wyatt said Owens had no idea what he’s gotten himself into but on Friday, he’ll find out. Wyatt excitedly said bye and see you later.
Owens wanted a fight so he left the ring and began making his way up the ramp but was attacked from behind by Black. Black laid him out with a Black Mass.
I don’t like the Fiend stuff but Owens and Bray were good here and it helped build the Smackdown match.
Charly Caruso interviewed McIntyre. McIntyre said he beats up Orton every time he’s in the building. He accepted Orton’s HIAC challenge. McIntyre said Orton would be locked in the cage with him and he would send Orton to hell.
“Exhibition” match: Braun Strowman vs. Keith Lee ended in a double countout (1:14)
Phillips said normal rules would apply in this match but the result wouldn’t count toward either man’s win-loss record.
It ended quickly via double countout. Lee tried a shoulder block but Strowman didn’t budge. Lee knocked him back a bit with a second tackle, so Strowman came right back with a “dropkick” which knocked Lee from the ring. Strowman chuckled him into the steel steps and the ref counted to ten for the countount.
Strowman was pissed so he tackled Strowman through the barricade. Officials ran out to stop Strowman from doing more. Lee emerged to his feet like nothing happened so they got into it again. Lee drove Strowman into the video boards before spearing him off the stage. Officials checked on both men as they showed several replays.
It would be nice if Lee could string together some wins, but I thought this segment was just fine.
There was a new Bianca Belair video to show off why she’s the smartest. She rinsed three other women in a trivia game and called herself the new GOAT (over Michael Jordan).
Truth, Akira Tozawa and Drew Gulak fought inside a dumpster. Truth somehow emerged as the new 24/7 champion. This was very dumb.
US Champion Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin (w/MVP) defeated Apollo Crews & Ricochet (w/Mustafa Ali) (9:43)
MVP cut a pre-match promo. He blamed last week’s loss on Retribution and warned “T-Bag” about the Hurt Business. Crews, Ali and Ricochet interrupted. Ali thought it was funny that he blamed the loss on Retribution’s logo appearing on the tron. Ricochet interrupted his buddies because he wanted to address MVP’s offer. Ali and Crews seemed a little worried.
Ricochet acted as though he might accept but gave it a pass and laughed at Hurt Business for believing him. Ali and Crews laughed too. Ricochet said he hasn’t run from them before and wasn’t about to tonight. MVP told Lashley and Benjamin to put a special beating on Ricochet.
They went to break less than two minutes into the match. The good guys were in control before the break and the bad guys were in control after.
Lashley won it for his team by tapping out Crews with the Hurt Lock (full nelson).
(After the match, Ricochet could be heard telling Hurt Business that they were going to keep going after them until they were tired of them. Hurt Business laughed at them.)
No Cedric Alexander again.
Murphy found Aalyah standing in a random area in the back. (There was a “Deadline to Apologize” graphic on the screen with a timer counting down. That made me laugh. He has under 13 minutes left.) Murphy apologized to her. Aalyah said he needed to worry about Rollins, not her. She wondered if he was seriously considering apologizing to Rollins. He wasn’t sure.
Ali approached the Hurt Business. They couldn’t believe he approached them alone. Ali said he would also be alone in the ring later and invited MVP to bring Lashley and Benjamin so he could go after all of them. MVP was amused. Lashley was about to go after Ali but MVP stopped him.
Seth Rollins / Murphy segment
Rollins entered the ring in a better mood and invited Murphy to the ring. Murphy entered. Rollins said he can apologize and they can move forward. Murphy didn’t say anything. Rollins told him that he knows what happens to people when they stand in the way of the greater good. Rollins made Murphy the man he was today and all he needed to do was apologize.
Rollins got angrier the longer Murphy didn’t respond. (It is now 10:00pm) Rollins grabbed him by the beard and demanded that he apologize.
Murphy tackled Rollins and hammered away. The fight spilled out the outside and over the announce desk. Rollins fought back for a moment but Murphy got the better of him. Rollins tried to attack with a kendo stick but Murphy ducked, grabbed the stick, and attacked.
Rollins pleaded with him to stop but Murphy hit him repeatedly with the stick while demanding that he apologize (to Aalyah). Rollins called out for Aalyah (who wasn’t there) and apologized. Rollins was wearing a leather jacket as Murphy attacked him, so he actually took his jacket off as he apologized again to show he was sincere.
Murphy believed him and dropped the stick. Rollins attacked him and gouged him in the eye. Rollins attacked repeatedly with the kendo stick.
Rollins grabbed a chair but Aalyah was in the ring tending to Murphy. She asked him to stop. Dominik ran out to check on Aalyah. Rey and Angie soon followed as Rollins walked to the back. The family wondered why Aalyah would do that. Dominik pointed at Rey’s eye to remind her of what they’ve done.
Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler defeated Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan to retain the Tag Team Championships (10:00)
Baszler did the viscous arm stomp spot to Ruby early in the match. Byron Saxton wondered if the ref should call off the match after that. Baszler continued to work the arm and was still in control after a break. Ruby ducked a kick and used a schoolboy for two.
Morgan made a hot tag and hammered away at Baszler but Jax made a blind tag. Morgan sent her into the buckle with a rana and used running corner strikes on both opponents until Jax cut her off with a clothesline. Ruby tagged back in and gave Baszler a DDT. Morgan blind-tagged in and used a foot stomp for two. Jax ran over Morgan before Ruby knocked down Jax with a kick.
The slight distraction allowed Baszler to catch Ruby with a knee strike. She followed with the Kirifuda Clutch for the submission win. (Morgan tried to save but Jax stopped her.) Baszler held onto the hold after the match until Morgan forced her off.
The Street Profits cut a pretty good backstage promo on Randy Orton. They spoke of their admiration for the legends that Orton took out. They stated that Edge and Christian taught them that they could have fun and still be the champs. They also said that when they go after Orton, it won’t be outta nowhere. McIntyre joined them and they walked off together.
Mustafa Ali vs. MVP (w/US Champion Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin)
MVP was frustrated so he brought Lashley and Benjamin in the ring with him (two minutes into the match). Before they could attack Ali, the lights flickered and the Retribution logo appeared on the screens.
The secondary Retribution members surrounded the ring with Slapjack. T-Bar and Mace watched from the ramp.
MVP asked Ali to join them in fighting Retribution. Ali agreed and got ready to fight.
Ali then left the ring and confronted T-Bar and Mace. MVP was happy to see this.
Ali turned around and smirked at Hurt Business. MVP realized what was happening. Ali sent Retribution after them. Retribution laid out Hurt Business.
Ali posed in the ring with Retribution standing behind him.
The announcers wondered how long Ali was part of this.
Six-man tag match: Randy Orton, Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode defeated WWE Champion Drew McIntyre & Raw Tag Champions The Street Profits (10:17)
McIntyre was in control and Montez Ford hit a flip dive and they went to break less than a minute into the match.
Ford tagged in after a break and ran wild on Ziggler until Roode tagged in and cut him off with a spinebuster. Orton tagged in and gave Ford a backdrop on the announce desk. Orton taunted McIntyre so Ford gave him a DDT. They each tagged out and McIntyre tossed Ziggler around with suplexes.
McIntyre attacked Orton, who was not the legal man, until Ziggler and Roode swarmed him. Angelo Dawkins blind-tagged in as McIntyre headbutted Roode. Ziggler superkicked McIntyre before Dawkins cradled Ziggler for two. Ziggler countered a spinebuster into a DDT before tagging Orton.
Orton gave Dawkins a draping DDT. Dawkins came back with a spinebuster before tagging Ford. Ford hit a frog splash and almost pinned Orton but Roode and Ziggler broke up the cover. Everyone traded moves until McIntyre wiped out Ziggler with a Claymore kick.
McIntyre sized up Orton but Roode got in his way so Roode ate a Claymore kick instead. Orton nailed McIntyre with an RKO for the pinfall win. Pretty good match.
Erik made his Main Event singles debut in a losing performance against Riddick Moss in a fairly dull opener. Dolph Ziggler then brought a touch of class to the show in his win against Main Event mainstay Humberto Carrillo.
**********
Riddick Moss defeated Erik (4:55)
With Ivar out injured, this is exactly the kind of place for Erik to try out as a singles wrestler. They did the same when Scott Dawson was injured and Dash Wilder had a few matches on Main Event.
Erik and Riddick Moss have been involved sporadically on Raw Underground over the last couple of months, so it was good to see them work a traditional match here. For Erik, at 36 and minus his long-term tag partner, it’s good to still be being given opportunities to work on TV.
As you can imagine, these two worked a fairly stiff five-minute match that was full of power moves and lots of posturing.
In the end, there wasn’t too much to it. Moss spiked Erik’s neck on the top rope, nailed him with a charge in the corner, and then finished him off with his still-unnamed modified neckbreaker for the win.
Dolph Ziggler defeated Humberto Carrillo (9:07)
You have to go back as far as September 2016 to find a Dolph Ziggler appearance on Main Event. His opponent? Aiden English. That night, Ziggler came out the victor, just as he did here.
Ziggler made passed comment on the fact that he had been shuffled to the back of the deck on Twitter this week, but he brought some much-needed legitimacy to this show after a few tepid weeks.
Ziggler and Carrillo worked well together, going through a commercial break, but it wasn’t quite the match it had promised to be. But when a former WWE Champion appears on this show, it isn’t to be sniffed at.
It was interesting to see Carrillo kick out of the Famouser, before dodging a superkick and threatening to take the victory for himself. He came off the top for a moonsault, but Ziggler dodged and then got the win as Carrillo ate the superkick at the second time of asking.
Final Thoughts —
Ziggler working Main Event was a definite plus this week, but probably not a situation he would want to find himself in too often. Erik was fine on his own, but he’ll probably be happier when he’s back working regularly with Ivar.
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton are set to face off in a six-man tag match.
WWE has announced that McIntyre will team with Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits against Orton, Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode in a six-man tag match on Monday’s episode of Raw. This past Monday’s show ended with Orton attacking Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Big Show, and Christian after they got involved in his ambulance match against McIntyre at Clash of Champions. Orton also warned McIntyre earlier in the night that things between them aren’t over until he says they’re over.
Roode returned to WWE television on Raw this week and lost to McIntyre in the main event. McIntyre had issued an open challenge to anyone who hasn’t challenged for his title before. Ziggler told Adam Pearce that he knew the perfect person to answer the challenge.
The Street Profits retained their Raw Tag Team titles against Andrade & Angel Garza at Clash of Champions.
WWE is also hyping that Kevin Owens has invited Bray Wyatt to appear on the KO Show on Monday’s Raw. On SmackDown tonight, Owens appeared as part of the brand-to-brand invitational and hosted the KO Show with Alexa Bliss. After asking Bliss about how she’s been changed by The Fiend, Owens was attacked by The Fiend and put in the Mandible Claw.
Owens will face The Fiend on SmackDown next Friday. Next Friday’s SmackDown is also night one of the WWE Draft. The draft will then conclude on the Monday, October 12 episode of Raw.
Date: August 31, 2020 Location: Amway Center in Orlando, FL
The Big Takeaway —
Randy Orton will face Drew McIntyre again for the WWE Championship at Clash of Champions. There were a series of qualifying matches that led to Orton winning a triple threat over Seth Rollins and Keith Lee.
The IIconics were abruptly broken up.
Retribution made an appearance but it was nothing significant or different.
Show Recap —
Raw opened with a tribute graphic for “Bullet” Bob Armstrong.
Randy Orton came out to start the show. The announcers said Orton’s attack on Drew McIntyre resulted in a hairline jaw fracture. They assumed that he would be ready to defend the WWE title at Clash of Champions.
They ran down qualifying matches, which would lead to a triple threat later tonight. Rey Mysterio was not medically cleared so Dominik is taking his place against Seth Rollins. (Orton stood in the ring the entire time they announced everything.)
Orton ran down McIntyre who thought he deserved to be champion but all he really deserved was to live in pain and eat out of a straw. Orton talked about what he did to all the legends recently and agreed with McIntyre that he was entitled. He didn’t think he should have to face Kevin Owens to qualify for another title shot because he was entitled to one.
Orton was willing to jump through those hurdles to beat McIntyre for the title — if he can even make it to Clash of Champions. Orton said McIntyre wasn’t here tonight but heard that he was hanging out with a few legends. He showed a photoshopped image of McIntyre, Edge, Christian, Big Show, Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels together in a lineup of hospital beds.
Keith Lee interrupted. Lee noted that Orton was doing everything he could to forget about what happened last night when Lee beat him. Lee said Orton may be the greatest ever but it was factual that Orton had to bask in his glory last night. A win over Orton should perhaps put him next in line for the title.
Lee began talking about McIntyre, who he considered a good friend, when he was attacked from behind by Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler gave Lee a DDT as Orton slowly backed out of the ring and they went to break.
Keith Lee defeated Dolph Ziggler (10:54)
Ziggler had Lee down in a chinlock about three minutes into the match. Lee got to his feet but Ziggler followed with a dropkick. Lee used a pounce to send Ziggler out of the ring and they went to break four minutes into the match. (Nothing besides this match has happened since the previous break.)
Lee was in control after the break but Ziggler raked his face and used a Fameasser for two. Ziggler followed with a neckbreaker and elbow drop for two. Lee fought out of another chinlock and used fists and powerslam. He didn’t go for a cover for some reason so Ziggler managed to hit a Zig-Zag for a nearfall.
Lee blocked a superkick and hit a spirit bomb for the pinfall win. Lee advances to the triple threat number one contender’s match later tonight.
Sarah Schrieber interviewed Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler. They disagreed on whose plan won them the titles. Baszler said she’s the one who put Bayley to sleep using Sasha Banks as a weapon. Jax said that was easy to do because she tossed them around all match.
Asuka danced into the frame. Schrieber asked if Asuka has found her next opponent after she demanded to know who it would be earlier tonight. She said no. Baszler and Jax weren’t happy with her stealing their interview time. Asuka shoved Baszler and yelled in Jax’s face before leaving.
Adam Pearce was with security in the back demanding they do their jobs and keep Retribution out of the arena or else he would find new security.
Asuka in-ring interview
Charly Caruso asked Asuka who deserved a title shot. Asuka laughed. She listed all of the women she has defeated including Becky Lynch, Bayley, Ruby Riott, Nia Jax and Sasha Banks.
Mickie James interrupted. She said she recognized greatness when she saw it and called Asuka one of the greatest champions of all-time. James declared that she was coming for the title.
Natalya and Lana (in her gear) interrupted. (Lana’s gear said “Lana Day.”) Lana said James has failed to adapt whereas she was a trendsetter. James thought that was amusing. James got in Lana’s face and Asuka interrupted to say she was ready for all of them.
James got in Asuka’s face before they were attacked by Natalya and Lana. James and Asuka fought back and sent them from the ring.
There was a Connor’s Cure video.
Cedric Alexander was with the Viking Raiders backstage when Demi Burnett entered the frame to wish them luck tonight. She was impressed that Alexander turned down the Hurt Business. She also gave Ivar a kiss on the cheek. Ivar was happy. Angel Garza showed up with a rose after everyone left. He smirked.
Mickie James defeated Lana (w/Natalya) (2:41)
James won relatively quickly was a Mick Kick on her birthday. (Asuka was on commentary. James pointed at her after the win and Asuka was ready for the potential challenge.)
Caruso was outside of Aleister Black’s locker room and wanted to get a comment about his attack on Owens last week. Orton emerged from the room instead. He left without comment. Caruso was confused.
[Second hour]
They announced that the Riott Squad would face the IIconics tonight. The winning team would earn a tag title shot. The losing team would have to disband. There was no explanation for this.
Schrieber interviewed the IIconics. Billie Kay talked about their history and becoming friends over their shared dream to become wrestlers. Peyton Royce said they sacrificed a lot to get here. Kay said only a halfwit would think the Riott Squad could beat them. Royce said the Riott Squad were destined to break up and they would just help the process along.
Randy Orton defeated Kevin Owens (0:15)
Black attacked Owens during his entrance. Black tossed him into the side of the ring and gave him a Black Mass before pushing him in the ring.
The referee didn’t want to start the match but Owens told him to start it. The ref rang the bell. Owens managed to get a few shots in before Orton gave him an RKO for the pinfall win. Orton advances to the triple threat match.
Caruso was with the Mysterio family backstage. Angie and Rey’s daughter Aalyah were there. Rey said it would mean the world to him if Dominik could earn a title shot tonight. He understood that injuries happen in this industry and Dominik was the man he wanted in his place.
Dominik knew he was the underdog but his confidence was on another level after his win last night. Dominik added, “Tonight, I got a 619 with the name ‘Monday Night Messiah’ written all over it.” A completely normal sentence.
Apollo Crews and Shelton Benjamin fight in Raw Underground tonight.
MVP’s VIP Lounge
MVP and Benjamin were in the ring. MVP introduced Bobby Lashley so he could get his own entrance as the new US champ.
Lashley noted that Crews tried getting some payback after their match last night so he promised to get him back. Benjamin said he would beat Crews like a punk tonight.
MVP moved on to their match tonight when Alexander interrupted. Lashley and Benjamin were about to go after him but MVP stopped them. MVP noted that Alexander came out alone and wanted to know if he had a change of heart. Alexander responded, “hell no” and said that he didn’t come alone. The Viking Raiders attacked the Hurt Business from behind.
6-man tag match: Cedric Alexander & The Viking Raiders defeated US Champion Bobby Lashley, MVP & Shelton Benjamin (6:19)
They worked over Alexander. As he got close to a tag, Lashley and Benjamin attacked the Raiders, which the referee was fine with. MVP tried to use the distraction but Alexander used a schoolboy for the pinfall win.
MVP smiled upon losing. Lashley and Benjamin were going to attack but MVP held them back. MVP applauded the other team for their win.
The Hurt Business were beating up Alexander in the back after a break. Crews and Ricochet (both wearing Connor’s Cure shirts) ran in to back them off.
Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan defeated The IIconics (3:28)
As Ruby ran wild on Kay, Royce tried to attack but Morgan made the save. Ruby and Kay traded cradle attempts until Ruby got the final cradle for the pinfall win. Ruby and Morgan earn a tag title shot.
So, the IIconics have to break up. Kay and Royce played up this loss the way you’d expect. Tom Phillips said more than a decade of friendship was gone. They can still be friends, they just can’t team anymore.
Seth Rollins promo
Rollins was pissed at Murphy for kicking him in the head and getting pinned by Dominik. Rollins couldn’t afford any mistakes tonight so he demanded Murphy go to the back. He didn’t want to see Murphy until he figured out which side of history he wanted to be on.
Murphy tried defending himself but Rollins told him to shut up and leave. As Murphy left, Rollins smacked him in the back of the head. Murphy appeared displeased.
Murphy took one more look at Rollins from the stage when he was attacked from behind by Dominik. Rollins seemed impressed. Dominik sprinted to the ring and the ref called for the match to start when he entered.
Seth Rollins defeated Dominik Mysterio (10:01)
Dominik used a dive off the announce table early in the match which sent us to commercial.
Rollins was in control after the break, hitting a Slingblade for two. Dominik fought back and countered a buckle bomb by sending Rollins into the buckle with a leg scissors takedown. Dominik followed with a tilt-a-whirl DDT and standing moonsault for two. The announcers were selling this big as a nearfall.
Dominik followed with a dive off the top to the outside. (The Mysterio family was shown watching in the back.) Dominik hit a 619 but Rollins dodged a frog splash and hit a curb stomp for the pinfall win. Rollins advances to the triple threat match.
With the Mysterio family still watching in the back, Rollins gave Dominik another stomp. Rey ran off. (We didn’t see him appear yet even though Rollins wouldn’t have been hard to find.)
Raw Underground
Titus O’Neil beat up two guys. Riddick Moss challenged him next. O’Neil appeared to be in control until he was momentarily distracted outside the ring. Yes, outside distractions in Underground. Moss kicked him in the nuts and knocked him out with a punch for the win.
The Street Profits cut a promo on Andrade, Garza and Zelina Vega. Angelo Dawkins had a scouting report on each person written on a whiteboard. They questioned if Andrade was really Tranquilo. Dawkins accused Garza of padding his stats by handing out roses to everyone and claimed Vega was always mad because she’s so short.
Akira Tozawa tried driving into the arena but was stopped by the guy at the parking gate because he wasn’t on the list. Tozawa got out of the car and grabbed the list only to realize the list was blank. He removed the guy’s coat to reveal he was a referee. R-Truth rolled him up to win the 24/7 title. Tozawa pushed the referee in the car and drove off after Truth.
Non-title Tornado Tag Match: Raw Tag Team Champions The Street Profits vs. Andrade & Angel Garza (w/Zelina Vega & Demi Burnett) ended in a no-contest (approx. 8:45)
This again.
Red cups falling from the ceiling appears to be a regular part of the Street Profits’ entrance.
They did a stacked up powerbomb spot less than a minute into the match when Dawkins powerbombed everyone down. They immediately went to break.
The heels were in control after the break. Phillips said it’s been a brutal match and we’ll have to take his word for it since we’ve seen very little of it. Dawkins made a comeback by giving Andrade a suplex before hitting Garza with a spinning back elbow. Dawkins gave Andrade a bulldog but Garza broke up the cover. The heels took over until Ford broke up a cover (barely).
Ford gave Andrade an enziguri and began shaking the ropes until the lights began to flicker. Garza bailed and took Burnett with her.
Ford went for a cover but the referee bailed at some point as well.
Retribution appeared and the announcers also ran off (including Samoa Joe I guess). Retribution attacked Andrade, Ford and Dawkins in the ring while other members beat up Vega on the outside. They cut to break.
Back from break, Phillips excitedly let us know that we could stream WWE content on Peacock. He then calmly recapped what happened a moment ago with Retribution.
Pearce was shown yelling at security.
Raw Underground
Kay and Royce were in the audience and Shane McMahon told them to have a good time.
Jessamyn Duke beat Avery Taylor quickly. Marina Shafir beat someone else quickly as well via submission.
Shafir and Duke stared at the IIconics. Royce pushed Kay in the ring and Duke knocked her out with a kick. Royce didn’t seem too upset.
Crews, Ricochet and Alexander hyped each other up. Caruso approached them for an interview and noted it hasn’t been a good 24 hours for them. Crews said the old Apollo would have been happy just to have held the US title but the new Apollo wasn’t going to stop until he gets it back. Ricochet said MVP didn’t know about friendship and said they had Alexander’s back.
The Underground fight between Benjamin and Crews didn’t have a finish. They fought into the crowd which led to a brawl between the Hurt Business and the babyfaces. Lashley, MVP and Benjamin individually choked out Ricochet, Alexander and Crews without a problem. (This really made the faces look weak. Weaker than usual, I mean.)
Elsewhere, Burnett was concerned that Garza abandoned his friends. He said they were trained fighters and he wouldn’t forgive himself if something happened to her. They were about to leave but Retribution busted through the door. They saw Garza and Burnett. Garza sprinted away, leaving Burnett on her own, which was funny. Burnett ran away before they could do anything.
Number one contender’s triple threat match: Randy Orton defeated Keith Lee and Seth Rollins (11:02)
Rollins and Orton agreed to work together but Orton immediately left the ring. Rollins also left to argue with Orton. Orton said he changed his mind. Lee pulled Rollins into the ring and used a corner avalanche. Orton tried to attack from behind but Lee gave him one too. Lee took down both guys with a slingshot crossbody and they went to break.
Lee tried another crossbody after the break but Rollins gave him a superkick and followed with a flying knee off the apron. Orton then dropped Lee on the announce table before he and Rollins tossed him into the ring steps.
As Orton and Rollins struggled to get Lee in the ring, Orton kicked Rollins and gave him a draping DDT. Rollins came back with a falcon arrow for two.
Lee knocked both guys down with body blocks and chucked Rollins into Orton. Lee launched Orton toward the barricade with a big pounce. Rollins attempted a dive but Lee caught him and tossed him onto the announce table.
Rollins reversed a powerslam into a small package for two. Rollins followed with a forearm and thrust kick and set up for the curb stomp but Lee nailed a spirit bomb.
Orton slipped in and gave Lee an RKO. He frantically crawled over Lee and covered Rollins for the pinfall win. Fun match. (It was a bit silly that Orton crawled over an opponent instead of just pinning him, but I suppose you can explain it.)
Orton faces McIntyre at Clash of Champions for the title.
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre’s challenger for Clash of Champions will be determined on tonight’s episode of Raw.
WWE has announced that Keith Lee vs. Dolph Ziggler, Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens, and Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins will take place on Raw tonight. The winners of those singles matches will face off in a triple threat match later in the night to decide McIntyre’s challenger for Clash of Champions.
Lee defeated Orton in their match at Payback last night. Mysterio teamed with his son Dominik to defeat Rollins & Murphy at the pay-per-view.
There was a storyline on Raw last week where Orton laid out McIntyre with three punt kicks to the head. WWE originally claimed that — in storyline — medical staff feared McIntyre suffered “a skull fracture and potential brain bleeding” that could be career-ending.
A new storyline update on McIntyre was given last night, with WWE saying he “sustained a hairline jaw fracture” as a result of Orton’s punts.
McIntyre retained the WWE Championship against Orton at SummerSlam by pinning him with a backslide.
Clash of Champions is taking place on Sunday, September 27.
A Raw Underground match has been announced for next week’s post-SummerSlam episode of Raw.
Ivar of The Viking Raiders will face off with Dolph Ziggler in Raw Underground next Monday. The match comes after Ziggler defeated Ivar’s partner Erik in Raw Underground tonight.
After Erik defeated an opponent in Raw Underground this week, Shane McMahon interviewed Ziggler about Erik’s performance. Ziggler said the performance was a 4/10 at best. Ziggler then defeated Erik with a sleeper after poking Erik in the eye with his thumb. Following the match, Ivar tackled Ziggler into the crowd.
NXT’s Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke appeared in a Raw Underground segment tonight alongside fellow Four Horsewomen of MMA member Shayna Baszler. After Shafir got a win, Nia Jax came into the ring and knocked her down from behind. Jax then taunted Duke and Baszler. She kicked Duke but bailed on a match against Baszler.
Earlier in the night, Jax attacked Baszler while Baszler was teaming with Asuka against Sasha Banks & Bayley. Baszler brawled with Jax but returned to the match and got the win for her team by submitting Bayley with the Kirifuda Clutch.
A look at the very good, and the very bad, of Extreme Rules is the lead story in the new double issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. We also have a back-of-the-book feature on Carlton Haselrig, one of the greatest American heavyweight wrestlers in the history of the sport of wrestling.
The new issue also covers:
Interest levels in Extreme Rules and with the rating the next day, the lesson that tells us about certain types of angles, the background of Seth Rollins vs. Rey Mysterio, along with match-by-match coverage, star ratings and poll results on the show.
An examination of all facets of the Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson departure from WWE, including what makes sense, what doesn’t, why, how come they were signed, how come they were given such a strong offer to stay, their release, A.J. Styles, angles set up for them in New Japan and AEW last year, the booking of Raw under Paul Heyman and much more. This is a very detailed look not only at Gallows & Anderson, but the roles of a number of different people and how Raw fell off the creative tracks
Impact Slammiversary with match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results on the show.
Stephanie McMahon’s interview in Ad Age covering wrestling during the pandemic, testing and what changes look to be permanent, as well as race relations.
The current plan for WrestleMania and how it has shifted, the new WWE Board of Directors, next week’s Raw show, NXT North American title thoughts, notes on the next Takeover, update on Wendy Barlow and COVID, WWE producer let go, WWE loses major international deal and how it went down, WWE TV personality get bullied by fans, idea nixed for Raw this past week and all the different changes to the show, Adam Cole-Pat McAfee angel, Bellas update, sports ratings and Canadian TV ratings for the past week, another example of WWE marketing that ha led to the situation they are in, market value of WWE and the most-watched shows of the past week on the WWE Network.
This past weekend’s UFC show.
A feature on Haselrig, a Pennsylvania sports legend who could have been an Olympic medalist or an all-time great NFL player, but drugs curtailed his career, but not before he set a heavyweight record that may never be beat and another record that almost surely will never be beat.
Ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
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SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
We have a lot of new shows up this weekend. Bryan and Lance Storm did a show on Friday and I did a show with Missy Hyatt and Garrett Gonzalez on Saturday. Plus we have our weekend show up already covering UFC last night, New Japan yesterday, lots of Wednesday ratings notes and more.
The Smackdown ratings listed in various places yesterday were not necessarily accurate. The first numbers measure the FOX network in metered markets from 8-10 p.m. Eastern, 7-9 p.m. Central, 6-8 p.m.Mountain and 8-10 p.m. Pacific. They are usually close to the final numbers. But Friday, two FOX stations aired baseball in the time slot so the rating listed for Smackdown included two stations airing the Detroit Tigers game, so the ratings, demos and everything included the numbers drawn by that game. They also don’t include the actual number drawn on those stations for Smackdown that aired at 11 p.m. that night. So actual Smackdown numbers won’t be out until Tuesday.
Lots of talk last night regarding the confrontation between Dan Hardy and referee Herb Dean. Hardy was mad because he felt the Francisco Trinaldo vs Jai Herbert fight was stopped late. Hardy made an Instagram post today saying, “The referee’s job is more important then any other person in that building. It is on their shoulders to protect fighters from getting seriously hurt when they are unable to protect themselves. You may just see UFC fighters in there, but I see friends, teammates, sons, daughters, mothers and fathers, competing in the sport that they love.” “When I make a mistake, I look stupid on live TV. When a referee makes a mistake, people are left vulnerable and can be seriously damaged. that can be life-changing, and we all have someone to go home to, that loves us and wants us back in one piece.”
On the media scores yesterday:
In the Robert Whittaker vs. Darren Till main event, it was 52 percent Whittaker and 48 percent Till. Judge Bnn Cartilage had rounds 2, 3 and 5 for Whittaker. Judge Anders Ohlsson had 2, 3 and 4 for Whittaker. Judge Clemens Werener had 2, 3 and 5 for Whittaker.
In Maurício Shogun Rua vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, it was a 56-44 split in favor of Shogun. Cartilage had rounds 2 and 3 for Rua. Judge Mark Collett had only round three for Rua. Judge David Lathaby had one and three for Rua.
In Marina Rodriguez vs. Carla Esparza, it was 53-47 in favor of Rodriguez, but Esparza won a split decision. Cartilage had Esparza in 1 and 3. Ohlsson had Esparza only winning 3. Werner had Esparza winning all three rounds.I agreed with the scores in all three close fights.
As far as trending, UFC did 170,000 last night, which was roughly 100,000 for Darren Till vs. Robert Whittaker, 50,000 for Khamzat Chimaev and 20,000 for Shogun Rua vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. The only other thing in combat sports that trended this past week was Roy Jones Jr. for Tyson-Jones which did 1 million searches on Thursday which is huge for a fight that hasn’t taken place. No. 1 yesterday was Regis Philbin at 5 million.
We talked about Regis Philbin last night on the show. Philbin and wrestling go back to his talk show in San Diego in the early 60s. Fred Blassie appeared on his show regularly, as did The Destroyer and helped make him popular. He remained close with Blassie and that led to his lifelong wrestling fandom and association with WWE for decades.
Right now the Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler match for Raw tomorrow has been changed to non-title. McIntyre naming the stipulations before the match starts is still part of it. How being non-title makes sense given the interviews that set it up is beyond me. It was to be a title match until today. Randy Orton is again scheduled to give his plans for SummerSlam, originally set for last week’s show. There is a three-way with Viking Raiders vs. Angel Garza & Andrade vs. Cedric Alexander & Ricochet for a shot at the Street Profits and the tag titles, plus Asuka vs. Sasha Banks for the women’s title. If the number isn’t up noticeably for this, it would be a bad thing.
WWE
The grandmother of Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo passed away yesterday in Mexico. She would be the wife of the original Humberto Garza.
Klaudia Bermudez was named the General Manager of WWE in the Latin American market. She will run the company’s day-to-day activities in the region. She comes from NBC Universal International where she was Senior Vice President and General Manager of the company’s Latin American business.
Xavier Woods has started a campaign to become a host of the G4 cable network.
UFC
Johnny Walker vs. Ryan Spann is being targeted for the 9/19 PPV show.
MISCELLANEOUS
New Japan has booked Jingu Stadium, the site of the battle of world champions with Vader vs. Nobuhiko Takada in 1993, for a show on 8/29. It’s the home of the Yakult Swallows of the Japanese Baseball League and holds 38,000 for baseball. Not sure how many they will be allowed to put in but it would be the largest crowd likely for pro wrestling anywhere in the world for months. The card should be announced this week but it looks like Evil vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP & IC titles, Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori for the IWGP Jr. title and Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi for the IWGP tag titles.
Zoltan Boscik, a two-time British lightweight champion from 1969-71 and a great worker and opponent for the likes of George Kidd, Johnny Saint and Jim Breaks, passed away yesterday at the age of 81. He was one of the wrestlers who had the most matches ever on television because he made babyfaces look great as a technical wrestling heel.
New Japan had a Korakuen Hall show today, and has another Korakuen Hall show at 5:30 a.m. Eastern tomorrow on New Japan World.
Giulia won the vacant Wonder of Stardom title in the tournament final earlier today at Tokyo Korakuen Hall over Tam Nakano.
Wrestle Rampage from Adelaide, Australia Friday: Corey Adams b Link Barnett, Lily Blaze b Link Barnett, Pat Graham b Aaron Onley, Joey Graham b Punch Drunk Istria, Greg Grahama & Will Gibson b Tommy Knight & Corndog, Rat Daddy b Havok.
IPW runs Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia on 8/15 (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
What is believed to have been the second show in New Zealand, for Heathan Combat yesterday in Hamilton, New Zealand: Spencer Kyle b Ivar,Tnatious T b Kawa Kupa, Vic Craig won over Matty Short and Cam Owens to keep the Maniacs United Jackson Shield Championship, James Shaw & Saint Finn b Haldan & Drax-DQ, Ky Solomon b William Cutting, Byrant b Will Stone to keep the One Above All title.
Adam Brooks traveled from Victoria to South Australia to relocate and did two weeks quarantine entering the new state. Expect him to work for Riot City Wrestling on 8/8 and other South Australia dates until the lockdown is lifted in Victoria. Victoria is on a second wave.
Drew McIntyre will pick the stipulation against Dolph Ziggler in a WWE title match that will take place next week on Raw.
McIntyre was in the ring during tonight’s Raw talking about his victory over Ziggler at Extreme Rules when Ziggler interrupted. He begged for another match, saying he came real close to winning. Initially, McIntyre rejected him. When Ziggler grabbed McIntyre, he responded by headbutting Ziggler.
McIntyre started to leave the arena when Ziggler continued to beg for a match, saying McIntyre could pick the stipulation. It was then when McIntyre agreed to the match, saying that he would pick the stipulations just as Ziggler had — right before their match.
At Extreme Rules, Ziggler picked the stipulation where McIntyre had to fight under normal rules while Ziggler could compete under Extreme Rules. Despite the advantage, McIntyre pinned Ziggler to retain the championship.
A women’s title rematch between Asuka and Sasha Banks has also been announced for next week’s Raw.
As part of the build to Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler’s WWE Championship match at Extreme Rules, a wrestler who was part of April’s WWE releases made an appearance on last night’s Raw.
Ziggler brought out Heath Slater to confront his former 3MB stablemate McIntyre on last night’s show. Slater, who was wearing a “Free Agent” T-shirt, said he called McIntyre every day when McIntyre was released by WWE in 2014 — but where was McIntyre when Slater got released? Slater said he hasn’t spoken to McIntyre since they were on WWE’s The Bump prior to his release.
Slater brought up that McIntyre knows his family and his kids — his two real daughters and not the 22 kids that the world thinks he has. Slater said McIntyre promised to petition to give him a match and Slater wants what he deserves. When McIntyre hesitated, Slater slapped him in the face.
Slater briefly got the advantage at the start of the match due to a distraction by Ziggler, but McIntyre quickly won with a Claymore.
Ziggler berated Slater after the match and then attacked him when Slater stood up for himself. That led to McIntyre coming back to the ring and chasing Ziggler off. McIntyre then helped Slater up and they hugged.
After being released back in April, Heath Slater made an appearance tonight on Raw.
Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler started the show, arguing over Ziggler’s stipulation for their match at Extreme Rules. After some back and forth, Ziggler mentioned that he brought someone from McIntyre’s past. Heath Slater then appeared.
Slater spoke about the long history he and McIntyre had together. He said that when McInytre was released, he called McIntyre every day. But when he was fired, McIntyre never called him.
Slater said he was there to take an opportunity, and wanted a match. After being provoked by a shove and a slap, McIntyre accepted. Following a commercial break, an extremely short match took place. A Dolph Ziggler distraction failed as Slater was immediately pinned with the Claymore kick.
Ziggler confronted, then attacked Slater after the match. McIntyre came to Slater’s aid and took out Ziggler. McIntyre and Slater hugged and celebrated in the ring to close out the segment.
Slater was released as part wide-ranging cutbacks in April. His 90-day no compete is slated to end later this month.
