Submitted by reader Zachary Cutler from Raw’s house show in Albany, New York last night
– Heath Slater, Rhyno, Apollo Crews, Titus O’Neil & Goldust defeated Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas, Curt Hawkins & The Revival
This was a very basic, quick tag match. Rhyno pinned Hawkins after giving him a spinebuster.
– WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore defeated Kalisto to retain his title
Amore cut his pre-match promo and the crowd was very much into it. He turned them against him by trashing Albany and its lack of sports lineage, dropping a line about how the Jets and Giants play in New Jersey and the Bills play in Buffalo to be far away from Albany.
The match was okay. Kalisto seemingly did most of the work, getting in a few nice spots like his spike hurricanrana and 450 splash. Amore retained with a roll-up after the referee had been distracted.
Deville looked impressive, throwing some nice kicks and doing a few nice takedowns. The heels worked over Bayley for most of the match. Banks ended up getting the hot tag and submitting Deville with the Banks Statement.
– Matt Hardy defeated Bray Wyatt
There really wasn’t much to this. The “Delete” chants were very over, though Hardy came out to his usual Hardy Boys music despite using a piano theme at Madison Square Garden earlier this week.
Hardy hit the Twist of Fate to get the win.
– Elias came out and sang to the crowd. He was joined by Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson for a song, but Kane interrupted them. Elias got Kane to sing “She’ll be coming around the mountain” until Kane eventually cleaned house and chokeslammed everyone.
Braun Strowman, who usually faces Kane on the house shows, wasn’t on the Raw tour for the second straight night.
– Raw Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan defeated Cesaro & Sheamus in a steel cage match to retain their titles
Everyone worked hard from start to finish and this was very entertaining. Rollins climbed out first, but he came back in with a diving crossbody when the heels were beating down Jordan.
As everyone climbed, Jordan escaped the cage. Cesaro and Sheamus worked over Rollins, then Cesaro climbed out of the cage. Sheamus tried to get out, but Jordan hoisted him on his shoulders and allowed Rollins’ feet to hit the floor to retain.
– Asuka & Dana Brooke defeated Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss & Nia Jax
Mickie James was the special guest referee for this match. The crowd was quiet for this since the cage match took quite a bit of energy away from them. After the heels worked over Brooke, Asuka got the hot tag and submitted Bliss with an armbar.
– Samoa Joe defeated Finn Balor
Balor did a pre-match promo where he thanked the crowd for coming and promised he wouldn’t be bullied by Samoa Joe. Joe made his entrance and the crowd was into it.
They had a very good match. Balor made a comeback after being worked on for a while, but Joe turned a sunset flip into the Coquina Clutch to win.
– Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns defeated John Cena to retain his title
The crowd was very into Cena and loudly booed Reigns. The match was okay and both guys got everything in. Reigns retained after hitting a spear.
Submitted by a reader from SmackDown’s show in Hershey, Pennsylvania
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos defeated Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin and The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) in a triple threat match to retain their titles
One of the Usos pinned Gable with a splash after it was set up by stereo superkicks.
– Sin Cara defeated Tye Dillinger
Sin Cara pinned Dillinger with a swanton. Dillinger shut down every “10” chant and was the heel here.
Riott rolled up Naomi following a distraction from Liv Morgan.
– The Bludgeon Brothers defeated Breezango
Harper and Rowan squashed them, ending the match with a double-team powerbomb on Fandango.
– Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura & Bobby Roode defeated Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn & Baron Corbin
Orton hit an RKO on Zayn and pinned him while Nakamura was holding Owens outside the ring.
– Rusev, Aiden English & Mojo Rawley defeated The Ascension & Zack Ryder
Ryder had his face painted like the Ultimate Warrior. Rawley punched him to get the win.
– SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair defeated Natalya, Carmella, and Lana in a fatal four-way match to retain her title
Charlotte submitted Natalya to retain after Carmella broke up a Sharpshooter on Lana by using the Money in the Bank briefcase.
– WWE Champion AJ Styles defeated Jinder Mahal in a steel cage match to retain his title
At one point, Styles had the Calf Crusher locked on and the Singhs came into the cage to break the hold. Styles escaped over the top of the cage on the door side, kicking the door in Mahal’s face on the way down.
The heels got the heat on Bayley, then the faces came back.
– Matt Hardy defeated Bray Wyatt
Hardy used his regular Hardy Boys music but was doing his “Woken” persona. He got the pin in what was kind of a nothing match.
– Elias, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson sang “Freebird” in the ring as Elias played the guitar. This was funny, but Kane came out and gave Elias a chokeslam.
– Raw Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins & Jason Jordan defeated Cesaro & Sheamus in a steel cage match to retain their titles
This ended up being good by the end. Rollins escaped the cage first but went back in as the heels double-teamed Jordan. Jordan escaped the cage and kept Sheamus from hitting the floor as Rollins exited to win.
– Asuka & Dana Brooke defeated Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss & Nia Jax
Mickie James was the referee. Asuka submitted Bliss with an armbar.
– Samoa Joe defeated Finn Balor
They had a good match, with Joe choking out Balor for the finish.
– Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns defeated John Cena to retain his title
Cena got a face pop and Reigns received a mixed reaction. It was a little clunky, but they had a good match. It ended when Reigns won with a spear.
Submitted by reader Joe Kazmer from SmackDown’s house show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos defeated The New Day and Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin in a triple threat match to retain their titles
Big E and Kofi Kingston were in the match and Xavier Woods was at ringside. This started very slowly, with Benjamin using a lot of heel stalling tactics. The Usos pinned Gable after a double superkick and a top rope splash.
– Sin Cara defeated Tye Dillinger
Dillinger played the heel here. Sin Cara beat him with a senton.
– A Fashion Files segment with Breezango and The Ascension was shown, building up Breezango vs. The Bludgeon Brothers for later.
– Ruby Riott & Liv Morgan (w/ Sarah Logan) defeated Naomi & Becky Lynch
Riott rolled up Naomi following a distraction from Logan.
– The Bludgeon Brothers defeated Breezango
Harper and Rowan hit a double-team powerbomb on Fandango to get the victory.
– Shinsuke Nakamura, Randy Orton & Bobby Roode defeated Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn & Baron Corbin
Orton hit an RKO on Zayn to win.
– Rusev, Aiden English & Mojo Rawley defeated The Ascension & Zack Ryder
Rawley pinned Ryder after hitting him with a running elbow smash in the corner.
– SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair defeated Natalya, Carmella, and Lana in a fatal four-way match to retain her title
Charlotte tapped out Natalya with the Figure Eight to retain. This was the worst match on the card.
– WWE Champion AJ Styles defeated Jinder Mahal (w/ The Singh Brothers) in a steel cage match to retain his title
They probably had the best match of the night. The Singhs interfered while Styles had the Calf Crusher locked on Mahal.
Eventually, Styles hit the Pele kick on Mahal and started to climb over the cage, but one of the Singhs helped Mahal to the door. Styles kicked the door into Mahal’s face while hanging from outside the cage, then dropped to the floor to retain.
Date: December 19, 2017 Location: Prudential Center in Newark, NJ
The Big Takeaway —
Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon had a somewhat tense verbal debate where Bryan told Shane to fire him if his vision for SmackDown has suddenly changed. Shane did not fire Bryan, but the storyline continues. In the main event, Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles and Randy Orton beat Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and Jinder Mahal.
Naomi and Charlotte pretty easily handed the Riott Squad their first loss as a team after defeating the duo of Sarah Logan and Ruby Riott. Naomi is officially the first woman to declare herself an entrant in next month’s women’s Royal Rumble.
Dolph Ziggler seemingly walked out on the brand after leaving his US Title in the ring in a segment that received virtually no reaction from the crowd.
The Bludgeon Brothers, Breezango, Mojo Rawley, Zack Ryder, Natalya, Bobby Roode and Baron Corbin were among those not on tonight’s show.
Show Recap —
Daniel Bryan came out to a huge reaction to kick things off. Bryan announced the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble match, which brought a Yes chant, and said it would be a turning point in WWE history. Bryan also announced tonight’s six-man tag match, and that brought out Shane McMahon.
Shane got a mixed reaction. Shane said the women’s Rumble would be amazing, but moved on to Clash of Champions. Shane recalled Randy Orton hitting the most beautiful RKO on Sami Zayn (the crowd booed) and he smiled as he counted the fall, but before he could count three, Bryan fell on top of him. Shane knew now that it was just an accident.
Shane said when Zayn had Orton pinned, he stopped counting after recalling everything that had happened the last few months. He then brought up how quickly Bryan counted the fall for Zayn and wanted to know what he was thinking. Bryan said he was protecting Shane from himself and the crowd chanted, “Thank you, Daniel.”
Shane said he didn’t need Bryan’s protection, but Bryan told him he did. Bryan called him a hot-head (again) and explained that he took this job because they had a shared vision for the land of opportunity for everyone–not just people that Shane liked.
Shane warned Bryan that Owens and Zayn would stab him in the back as soon as they didn’t need him. Shane reiterated the warning from a business standpoint. Bryan didn’t like hearing “business standpoint” and recalled fighting against what’s “best for business.” He said if Shane had a different vision and he wanted to fire someone, he should fire Bryan.
The crowd chanted “No.” Bryan said he didn’t want Shane to turn into Mr. McMahon. Shane looked Bryan in the eye as if he was about to fire him, but instead wished him luck on the show tonight. They shook hands before Shane left.
Non-title match: Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin defeated Tag Team Champions The Usos (7:42)
They went to commercial 90 seconds into the match, then got to the hot tags right after the break. An Uso tried a suicide dive but Benjamin had a great counter where he leaped onto the apron for leverage and nailed a kick to the face. Eventually, Gable did the O’Conner roll Germans to each Uso. This led to Gable and Benjamin hitting their powerbomb/flying clothesline combo finisher for the pinfall win.
Charlotte Flair came out to the ring and they aired a dramatic video package of Stephanie McMahon’s announcement of the women’s Royal Rumble. They also showed backstage reactions from Nia Jax, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Asuka, and Alexa Bliss, as well as tweets from Triple H, Beth Phoenix, Lita, and the Bellas.
Charlotte said the video package gave her chills. She said the women can do anything, but gave the fans the credit for speaking out. She congratulated the fans and the women’s roster. Charlotte would await the winner of that Rumble for a match at WrestleMania.
Naomi came out to continue the men’s tradition of simply declaring herself an entrant in the Rumble match. The Riott Squad came out next. Naomi called them three stooges who wouldn’t be entering the Rumble. She explained they couldn’t jump people from behind at the Rumble and it would be every woman for herself.
She called them chicken heads and said they’ve been able to fend off all of their attacks so far. The crowd chanted “chicken heads.” Naomi challenged them to a tag match.
Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair & Naomi defeated Ruby Riott & Sarah Logan (w/Liv Morgan)
Naomi made a hot tag and hit a Disaster kick on Logan but Ruby broke up the cover. After Charlotte took out Ruby, Naomi dodged a charge from Logan, who knocked Morgan off the apron. Naomi then hit Logan with a Rear View for the win. The match was no more than five minutes.
Backstage, The New Day walked around in ridiculous Christmas costumes. Big E shoved a pancake in some guy’s mouth and Kofi Kingston showed off their new, “Who?” t-shirts. They were stopped by Rusev and Aiden English, dressed as Santa and a snowman, and Rusev proudly showed off his Rusev Day shirt. New Day wanted one, but Rusev said no, because he only has a naughty list and everyone is on it–except English, who sang a new song:
O Rusev Day, o Rusev Day
We challenge you to a contest
O Rusev Day, o Rusev Day
You will be our next conquest
New Day accepted the challenge. Rusev grabbed their pancakes and stomped on them. This pissed off Big E, who said Rusev flapped the wrong jacks. Rusev chuckled like Santa and left. This was stupid and very amusing.
Dolph Ziggler’s United States Championship Celebration
Dolph Ziggler came out and said he proved everyone wrong. He showed a clip of his US Title win over Kofi Kingston back in 2011, when he had Vickie Guerrero at his side. Ziggler then showed clips of him winning the Intercontinental title several times, followed by his MITB win and cash-in on Alberto Del Rio. The announcers emphasized how crazy the crowd went for that win.
Ziggler called himself one of the most decorated competitors in history but he’s still unappreciated. He said we don’t deserve him. He asked if the fans wanted something to remember him by, to which they didn’t react. He dropped the US Title belt and left the ring, as if he was quitting. The crowd very lightly sang the goodbye song for a few seconds. This was lame and the crowd didn’t care. It was also just an extended version of Natalya’s promo from Clash of Champions.
Backstage, Owens and Zayn gave Bryan a bottle of champagne as a thank you. Bryan said he didn’t do it for them, he did it for the fans. He gave back the bottle because he doesn’t drink.
Owens and Zayn also figured Bryan helped them because he hates Randy Orton, and they brought up everything Orton did as part of the Authority. They warned Bryan about Shane. Bryan called them delusional and told them to stop smiling or he’ll fire them himself. He told them to get ready for their match and they left.
They plugged “free agent” John Cena’s return on Raw this Monday.
The crowd chanted “Ru-sev Day” in the vein of “New Day rocks.” The match was all comedy. After tossing Rusev and English from the ring, New Day grabbed Santa’s bag and tossed merch into the crowd. There was also a pair of briefs with “Happy Rusev Day” written in marker, which had them perplexed. This all happened during the match. Rusev and English attacked them from behind and they went to commercial.
After the break, the crowd chanted “We want pancakes” and Big E got them to sing “Hey we want some pancakes.” Rusev and English cleared the announce table and placed a plate of pancakes on it. English covered it in whipped cream and Rusev topped it off with a single cherry. Of course, this ended up with New Day planting English into the pancakes with a flapjack. And then Woods won with a springboard elbow drop. As silly as this was, it was still pretty fun.
WWE Champion AJ Styles, Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn & Jinder Mahal (w/Singh Brothers) (15:21)
Samir Singh attacked Nakamura so the referee tossed both Singhs from ringside. Orton gave Mahal an RKO so the Singhs ran back down and Orton gave them both a draping DDT. Styles gave Owens a Phenomenal forearm and Nakamura finished off Zayn with a Kinshasa for the win. The good guys posed, including Styles doing one of Nakamura’s poses, as the show went off the air.
Final Thoughts —
A perfectly enjoyable and easy-to-watch show. Happy Rusev Day.
A six-man tag match, which will feature all of the wrestlers who were involved in the two main events at Clash of Champions, has been announced for SmackDown tonight.
AJ Styles will team with Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura against Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn & Jinder Mahal. Styles submitted Mahal with the Calf Crusher to retain his WWE Championship on Sunday night, and Daniel Bryan helped give Owens & Zayn the win over Orton & Nakamura after Shane McMahon refused to count a pin for Zayn. Tonight’s show will also feature fallout from that as Shane and Bryan’s storyline continues.
The only other match that has been announced for tonight is The Usos vs. Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable, with The Usos’ tag titles not on the line. Dolph Ziggler celebrating his United States Championship win, the follow-up to Natalya’s post-match promo from Clash of Champions, and a segment where The New Day get into the holiday spirit are also advertised.
205 Live tonight will have Hideo Itami’s first appearance on the show after he debuted on Raw last night.
Date: December 17, 2017 Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA
Show Recap —
Mojo Rawley defeated Zack Ryder (Kickoff Match)
Rawley won with a running forearm in the corner. He taunted Ryder throughout the match, questioning his killer instinct. This led to Ryder’s comeback which included two Broski boots, but Rawley got his foot on the rope on the cover. Rawley followed with a chop block and his finish for the win.
David Otunga was included on the pre-show panel along with Renee Young and Sam Roberts, if you were wondering.
Dolph Ziggler defeated Baron Corbin and Bobby Roode to become U.S. Champion (12:03)
Roode’s entrance received a good reaction and Ziggler got pretty good heat for his entrance with no music or video. Corey Graves said Ziggler had a list of accomplishments longer than Byron Saxton’s letter to Santa.
Corbin had control on both guys for a bit before Roode made a comeback and hit a blockbuster for two. Ziggler attacked Roode and caught him with a Fameasser but Corbin broke it up. Corbin then ripped off his shirt for some reason.
Roode gave Ziggler a uranage, then Corbin gave Roode a Deep Six for a nearfall. They followed with a tower of doom spot where Corbin powerbombed both guys (Roode catching the worst of it). Ziggler dodged Corbin who ran into the post and tried a superkick on Roode, but Roode ducked and hit a spinebuster.
Ziggler countered a Glorious DDT and hit a jumping DDT of his own for a nearfall. Roode sent Corbin back out of the ring, countered a superkick and hit a Glorious DDT on Ziggler, but Corbin pulled Roode out of the ring.
Corbin pushed Roode back in the ring and went for End of Days, but Ziggler caught them from behind and gave Corbin a Zig Zag for the win (pining Corbin). Ziggler is the new champ. Pretty good match.
Backstage, Daniel Bryan told a production guy to find him a new referee’s shirt because his was too big, like it was made for Earthquake. Shane McMahon jumped in and said his fits just fine (it’s the jersey he always wears).
Shane wanted to know what was up with Bryan. Bryan said Shane can be a bit of a hothead and just wanted to protect the match. Shane wanted to know what his plan was, logistically, and Bryan said they would both be in the ring. Bryan said they could talk about it more in private.
Dasha Fuentes tried to interview Corbin and said he’s developing a reputation for squandering opportunities. Corbin tossed a trash can in anger and said Ziggler was going to pay because he stole the title. (But not as bad as the Patriots stealing a win from the Steelers.)
Fatal 4-Way: The Usos defeated Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable, Rusev & Aiden English and Big E & Kofi Kingston (w/Xavier Woods) to retain the Tag Team Titles (12:53)
English introduced Rusev which lead to loud “Rusev Day” chants. English sang the entire Twelve Days of Rusev song… and here it is:
On the twelfth day of Rusev, my partner gave to me, Twelve months of Rusev, eleven Russian medals, ten Lanas leaping, nine-second winning, eight Aiden songs, seven boards a’ breaking, six Machka kicks, five Plovdiv kicks, four of the lads, three hindered Jinders, two Rusev shirts, and a tag team victory.
The Usos sang a song in response, which was lame enough it almost turned them back heel.
Four guys could be in the ring at once. Of course, because it’s WWE, after some high spots, this lead to a moment where English had an Uso in a rest hold and Gable head Kingston in a rest hold right next to him.
The Usos retained the titles. It didn’t get off to a great start but this was a fun match. Rusev & English were the most popular team and got a bunch of nearfalls.
Rusev had Big E in the Accolade for a while, but Gable grabbed him and nailed a German. Gable then gave both English and Big E the O’Connor roll German suplexes, which both looked incredible. The Usos then nailed Gable with a superkick and diving splash for the win.
Lumberjack Match: Charlotte Flair defeated Natalya to retain the Women’s Championship (10:32)
The lumberjacks were Naomi, Carmella, Tamina, Lana, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan. After a couple straight weeks of the women not getting entrances on Smackdown, everyone got an entrance here.
Less than a minute into the match, Charlotte sent Natalya to the outside and Naomi, a babyface, kicked her a couple times before tossing her back in the ring. Natalya then tossed Charlotte outside and she was attacked by Tamina, Lana and Charlotte. Later in the match, all six heel women attacked Charlotte outside the ring. This happened several times. Naomi remained on the other side of the ring (off-camera).
When Natalya was sent outside, Carmella simply shoved her back in the ring. This led to Charlotte’s comeback. She tried a Figure Eight but Natalya kicked her outside the ring and Charlotte managed to dive onto Ruby. This led to a brawl with everyone, which was ended when Naomi hit a springboard dive on everyone.
The heels got one more cheapshot on Charlotte and that led to Sharpshooter by Natalya. Charlotte managed a rope break but the heels yanked her out and this led to another brawl. Carmella grabbed her briefcase and it seemed like she would cash in, but she was attacked by Ruby. As everyone continued to brawl, Charlotte nailed a moonsault onto the pile.
Natalya attacked her and went for the Sharpshooter again, but Charlotte countered into a Figure Eight for the submission win. This sucked. The only positive here was Charlotte overcoming everything to still retain the title. Everyone else came out of this looking weaker.
Kayla Braxton asked Natalya what went wrong. Natalya said Charlotte used her family’s name to cut corners (how?). Natalya yelled at the crowd and said she’s given the fans some of the best women’s matches they’ve ever seen. She’s carried the division but the fans don’t respect her. She said everyone turned their backs on her and now she was turning her back and them. She left the ring and cried her way up the ramp.
Fuentes wanted to interview Jinder Mahal but got the Singh brothers instead. They said Mahal was too busy meditating. I’m sure. They laughed at the idea of Styles beating Mahal and claimed they humiliated him on Smackdown. The Singhs said Mahal doesn’t even need them tonight. Fuentes asked if this meant they wouldn’t be at ringside, but they didn’t answer.
Talking Smack is back tonight, hosted by Renee Young and Sam Roberts. Charlotte and the Usos will be the guests.
Bludgeon Brothers defeated Breezango (1:57)
Harper and Rowan won in a squash. Breezango did get a couple of shots in, but it wasn’t much. Harper and Rowan destroyed Breeze on the outside and gave Fandango an assisted sitting powerbomb and double crucifix bomb for the win.
Bludgeon Brothers post-match promo: “The future holds more bludgeoning. More pain. More fear. The end of the beginning. The beginning of the end. Harper. Rowan. Bludgeon Brothers.”
Brock Lesnar was advertised for Raw tomorrow.
Fuentes interviewed Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Owens and Zayn said they know why Bryan made himself the second referee, because he’s the only reasonable person on Smackdown. Owens reminded us that Shane cost him a shot at the U.S. title back in the summer. He said the Sami & Kevin Show isn’t getting cancelled anytime soon, and Zayn said the Yep Movement lives on. Fuentes asked what happens if they lose. They looked at her with disdain and left without answering.
Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn defeated Randy Orton & Shinsuke Nakamura (Special Referees: Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan) (21:32)
Bryan got a huge reaction. He and Shane shook hands. The crowd loudly sang Nakamura’s theme and they cut his song for a moment so you could hear them. Shane clapped for Orton and Nakamura on their way out.
Orton tried an early pinfall but both Shane and Bryan tried to count and they weren’t in sync, which was part of the story. Zayn then comically sold an uppercut from Orton. Nakamura tagged in and the crowd did dueling chants for him and Zayn.
There were a couple of pinfall attempts where Bryan and Shane were again out of sync, so they agreed to each just take one side of the ring, splitting it down the middle, which was amusing. At some point in here, Shane appeared to lose his ear piece.
After a while, the match spilled to the outside and Owens and Zayn began clearing the announce table. Shane wanted them to stop but Bryan said to let it go. Not sure if it showed on camera, but the announcers said Shane accidentally hit Bryan in the eye as he waved for them to stop.
Owens hit a frog splash on Nakamura through an announce table. Orton followed by hitting Zayn with a draping DDT. Orton followed with an RKO but as Shane counted the fall, Owens tried to interfere but knocked Bryan into Shane, breaking up the fall. Shane yelled “that was three” repeatedly at Bryan.
Orton gave Owens an RKO and this led to Orton and Zayn trading small packages, as Shane and Bryan took turns counting. Finally, Zayn seemed to have the match won with a schoolboy, but Shane stopped his count at two. The crowd gasped. Bryan got in his face and they yelled at each other.
Zayn then gave Orton a schoolboy and Bryan did a fast three count for the win. Shane tried to stop him but wasn’t fast enough. If you didn’t see this, this wasn’t necessarily Bryan siding with Owens and Zayn, but rather, he was pissed off at Shane. Owens and Zayn led a “Yep” chant afterwards.
I’m glad I don’t give star ratings because I have no idea how you would judge this one. It was an interesting angle that happened to last 20 minutes.
(If you didn’t see it, Bryan does take a bump onto Shane McMahon, but it was a soft bump and his head comes nowhere close to the mat. Still, somewhat interesting that they let him do that.)
AJ Styles defeated Jinder Mahal (w/Singh Brothers) to retain the WWE Championship (22:57)
Mahal wore brown trunks with orange lining and bright green logo. During the heat, he tossed Styles into and over the barricade, and Styles took a bump onto a steel chair. Mahal also dropped Styles onto the announce table.
After many minutes of rest holds, Styles came back with a dropkick as Mahal came off the top. Styles set up for the Phenomenal forearm but Mahal knocked him off the top and hit a poor gutbuster.
Styles came back with an electric chair drop, strikes, sliding forearm and a fireman’s carry neckbreaker for two. Styles went for another low forearm but Mahal kicked him out of the air and hit a Samoan drop for two.
Styles countered a Khallas into a Pele kick but Mahal countered a tornado DDT and hit a big boot for two. With Mahal on the ropes, Styles hit another kick and yanked him down. Styles hit a springboard 450 but was in too much pain to make a cover. The Singhs tried to pull Mahal out of the ring, so Styles hit one of them with a forearm and gave the other a Styles Clash on the outside.
Mahal ducked a Phenomenal forearm, hit a running knee and Khallas but Styles kicked out. The crowd sighed. The crowd was mostly quiet until this point but began chanting for Styles. Mahal set up for the Styles Clash but Styles reversed into a Calf Crusher. Mahal fought towards the ropes but Styles pulled him back to the middle of the ring and Mahal tapped.
This was a nothing match but, thankfully, Styles won. After all these months, Mahal doesn’t feel even a little like a main eventer.
Reports submitted by readers Lauren Ransom and Devin Ryan
With a card that featured some of the same matchups that will be on the pay-per-view, the SmackDown roster was in Portland, Maine on Saturday night for their final house show before Clash of Champions.
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos defeated Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable, The New Day, and Rusev & Aiden English in a fatal four-way match to retain their titles
New Day got the biggest reaction here, with the crowd booing English and doing dueling chants for Rusev. One of the Usos pinned Gable to retain.
– Sami Zayn defeated Sin Cara
Zayn won with the Helluva Kick after crotching Sin Cara when Sin Cara was going for something off the top rope.
– WWE showed the Fashion Files segment about Breezango facing The Bludgeon Brothers. The Ascension got a pop when they came on screen.
– The Bludgeon Brothers & The Colons defeated Breezango & The Ascension
Breezango got the biggest reaction in the match. For the finish, The Bludgeon Brothers cleared the ring and pinned Tyler Breeze, with Harper and Rowan beating up everyone — including their partners. The Ascension carried Breeze out after.
– Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Kevin Owens (w/ Sami Zayn)
Both got huge pops, but Owens was booed during the match. Sin Cara came back down to take out Zayn after Zayn interfered, then Nakamura won with the Kinshasa.
– SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair defeated Natalya in a lumberjack match to retain her title
The Riott Squad, Naomi, Carmella, Tamina, and Lana were the lumberjacks. Charlotte got a big reaction and won by submission with the Figure Eight. Before that, there was a brawl with the lumberjacks after The Riott Squad attacked Charlotte.
– United States Champion Baron Corbin defeated Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode in a triple threat match to retain his title
The crowd chanted “Glorious” for Roode and Ziggler stole someone’s sign, which was used throughout the match. The heels teamed up, but Corbin retained by pinning Ziggler.
– WWE Champion AJ Styles defeated Jinder Mahal (w/ The Singh Brothers) to retain his title
The Singhs were booed, Mahal got big heat for his promo until Styles interrupted him, and Styles received the biggest pop of the night.
After the Singhs interfered to prevent Mahal from submitting, Styles knocked them around. The match was boring and there wasn’t much to it. Styles retained with the Phenomenal Forearm.
WWE’s 15th annual Tribute to the Troops event took place at Naval Base San Diego earlier this month and aired on the USA Network on Thursday night.
Ring announcer and songstress Lilian Garcia sang a rousing rendition of the national anthem to start the show off, with her seeming to put a little extra emotion into the song for the live, outdoor crowd of men and women in uniform.
The event began in 2003 and has been hosted in places such as Baghdad, Iraq and Bagram, Afghanistan. Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, and JBL were at ringside for commentary. Cole called Tribute to the Troops the “most patriotic and heartwarming show on television.”
The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose) defeated Samoa Joe, Cesaro & Sheamus
JBL said The Shield are the best faction in wrestling history, “with all due respect to the nWo, the Four Horsemen, and the Freebirds.”
Joe was hugely over with the crowd, which shouted “Joe, Joe, Joe,” through his entrance and during the match. Rollins and Ambrose did most of the heavy lifting in the match, including double dropkicks on Joe. Once Reigns finally got the hot tag from Rollins, he beat up on Cesaro with right hands, kicks, and a Samoan drop. JBL called Reigns “a once-in-a-generation athlete.”
Rollins hit a Rainmaker on Sheamus, Ambrose a Dirty Deeds on Cesaro, and Reigns pinned Cesaro with a spear.
After the match, Rollins, Ambrose, and Reigns each thanked the crowd for their sacrifice and everything they do to keep the country safe. Rollins said the military members were the most dominant forces in the world and Reigns grabbed the mic and said “you can believe that,” to a mild pop.
– John Cena wasn’t there, but they showed clips of him from previous appearances.
SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair defeated Carmella and Ruby Riott in a triple threat match
Charlotte received her own TV entrance and was accompanied by Naomi. Charlotte was the star here. Riott and Carmella teamed up on her for most of the match. Carmella mocked Charlotte with exaggerated chops and Ric Flair-like struts. Little Naitch (Charles Robinson) was the referee and Natalya watched from the entrance aisle.
Riott worked a stiff match with Charlotte, hitting her with forearms and kicks. She tried a superplex from the top rope, but Carmella pulled her down from the top, and then caught Charlotte with her split-legged headscissors from the top rope. At one point, Charlotte delivered a suplex to both Riott and Carmella, popping the crowd big. Charlotte eventually got the win with a Figure Eight on Carmella.
After the win, Charlotte grabbed the mic and said she was inspired by the true independent women on the base and that they were the “true champions.”
– Machine Gun Kelly, Bebe Rexha, and Sam Harris from X Ambassadors and his band sang “Home,” a song from the movie Bright.
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos & The New Day defeated Shelton Benjamin, Chad Gable, Rusev & Aiden English
This had lots of action all around, with New Day doing their typical comedy spots. The Usos hit each one of their opponents with superkicks to make The Young Bucks jealous. Jimmy Uso hit a splash to the outside on Gable, English, and Rusev, then Jey connected on a 619 in honor of Rey Mysterio and the fact that they were in San Diego.
The New Day got the win when Big E and Xavier Woods hit the powerslam and The Big Ending.
Bayley, dressed in red and yellow, came out sans the giant puppets and streamers. Banks was more over than Bayley. James and Deville had a great exchange of forearms outside the ring. James carried the match for her team early and the crowd loved her.
The highlight of the match was when Banks and Paige both got tagged in at the same time and Banks hit Paige with a series of clotheslines. Paige looked great in her role and doesn’t appear to have missed much in her near-year-long layoff with a neck injury and suspension. James hit a Lou Thesz press off the top rope on Paige and then an awesome dive to the outside on the Absolution members, but that gave Paige time to recover.
Paige rammed James’ head into the bottom turnbuckle and then pinned her with her finisher, the Rampaige. Absolution were the first heel team to get a win on the evening.
– We got another Machine Gun Kelly song, “Let You Go.”
– The show also featured various vignettes from celebrities, such as Terry Bradshaw, Stephen Colbert, and Clint Eastwood.
WWE Champion AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura & Randy Orton defeated Jinder Mahal, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
Orton was over like Hulk Hogan in MSG in 1985. Nakamura was over like Stone Cold in the late-1990s. AJ Styles was over like AJ Styles in 2017. This was a hot crowd who loved all three of these guys.
Owens kicked off the match with a kick to the stomach and then a headlock on Orton. Owens was very verbal, taunting Orton until Orton hit him with a powerslam. He tried an early RKO, but Owens slipped out. Orton looks like he turned back the clock a bit with his new haircut, nixing the bald look.
The match slowed when Mahal got in, but Orton then tagged Styles to a massive pop. Styles hit a dropkick and then tagged Nakamura, who lit up Mahal with his knee drop and kick in the corner. Mahal tagged Zayn and Nakamura hit a roundhouse kick on him, before making the tag to Styles.
Styles lit up the ring with his flying forearm and arsenal of aerial moves. He applied the calf-crusher, but it was broken up by Mahal. The Singh Brothers were at ringside to cause momentary distractions until Orton grabbed them both and delivered a double DDT on top of the second rope.
Nakamura and Zayn exchanged forearms, and then Nakamura hit Zayn with a wicked kick to the chest. Owens broke up a pin attempt, but Styles delivered a Phenomenal Forearm off the top rope. Mahal jumped in to apply a Cobra Clutch, but Orton broke it up and hit the RKO. Mahal rolled out of the ring, allowing Nakamura to connect with his Kinshasa on Zayn for the victory.
The crowd ate it up and the WWE production crew played Nakamura’s music in victory before moving to Styles’ music as he held up the championship belt and gave the “Too Sweet” symbol to the crowd.
To close out this week’s international tour, the Raw roster was at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, India for a house show today. Jinder Mahal, The Singh Brothers, Jeet Rama, and Kishan Raftar also appeared, with Mahal taking on Triple H in the main event.
– Some videos played on the screen before the show started, with the crowd popping for the “Woken” Matt Hardy scene from Raw and John Cena clips. Mike Rome was the host for the show and a recorded welcome video from Kurt Angle played.
– Finn Balor defeated Bray Wyatt
Balor got a tremendous pop despite some of the crowd not having reached their seats by the time this started. Wyatt got a huge pop as well, including everyone doing the fireflies bit for his entrance.
Wyatt stalled and escaped the ring a lot, then Balor got on the mic and told him to get back in. Balor eventually won with the Coup de Grace. This was a good opener with an invested crowd.
– Jeet Rama & Kishan Raftar defeated Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas
Rama and Raftar, who are Performance Center trainees from India, got a mild reaction. You could hear the crowd’s disappointment when they realized The Miztourage were on the show instead of The Miz.
They had a pretty basic match with no heat until the last two minutes, with Raftar hitting a stunner and Rama using a German suplex throw into a half nelson for the pin. There was a mild pop for the finish.
– Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss defeated Sasha Banks to retain her title
Both got good reactions, and this was a solid match. There were dueling chants, but they seemed to be leaning towards Bliss. Banks used the Banks Statement at one point before Bliss got to the ropes. Bliss retained with a roll-up while grabbing the tights.
– Jason Jordan defeated Elias
Elias sang a song before this started, dissing India and getting tremendous heat. Jordan got a big pop when his entrance theme interrupted him. There were “Who’s your daddy?” chants directed at Jordan, along with “Elias sucks” chants for Elias. Jordan also got some Kurt Angle-style “You suck” chants.
Elias targeted Jordan’s arm before working on his knee, then Jordan won with a roll-up. That was a flat ending to a match that was slowly becoming good.
– The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose) defeated Samoa Joe, Cesaro & Sheamus
Indian actor Varun Dhawan was the celebrity ring announcer. Joe got a great reaction, Cesaro and Sheamus got a good one, and The Shield got the biggest of the show thus far. There were chants for The Shield all around.
The match had lots of fast action. Joe was cheered but Cesaro and Sheamus were booed, with the crowd telling Sheamus he looks stupid. The audience chanted that they wanted Reigns, though there were some dueling chants.
Rollins “hulked up” at one point, hitting a big boot and leg drop. That caused the people to chant for Hulk Hogan. Reigns got a huge pop when he finally tagged in. Rollins and Ambrose hit their finishers on Sheamus, Reigns hit a spear on Joe, and they used The Shield powerbomb on Cesaro for the finish. There was a great response for the finish at the end of a great match. It also got lots of “This is awesome” chants.
– Apollo Crews & Titus O’Neil defeated Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
The audience was disinterested during their entrances. The match was pretty basic and the crowd was dead for it, with them only responding to Crews’ big spots and the finish. O’Neil pinned Anderson after hitting the Clash of the Titus.
– WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore defeated Kalisto to retain his title
Everyone did Amore’s shtick until he turned on them and said India sucks. Kalisto got a nice response, including everyone doing the “Lucha” chant.
Kalisto put on Amore’s wig merchandise to mock him. There was lots of stalling, but the crowd enjoyed it. For the finish, Amore distracted the referee, poked Kalisto in the eye, and hit Eat Defeat.
– Braun Strowman defeated Kane by DQ
Both got huge pops. The match was short and lame until the disqualification. They threw each other into the steps, with Kane about to hit Strowman with them and get disqualified before he stopped. Kane got out a table and hit Strowman with a chair for the DQ.
They had a brawl that ended with Strowman powerslamming Kane through the table. The crowd loved the brawl despite there not being much to the match.
– Triple H defeated Jinder Mahal (w/ The Singh Brothers)
The Singh Brothers came out to a good reaction and introduced Mahal. There was a huge pop for Mahal, with him wearing a custom robe that was designed by Narendra Kumar (who is famous in India). Triple H got an enormous pop, even bigger than the one Mahal received. There were chants for him, though there was also a huge “CM Punk” chant for some reason after the ring introductions and before the bell rang.
There were dueling chants for Mahal and Triple H once the match started, but they were louder for Triple H. He bumped around at the start before both did headlocks for a few minutes. The match picked up from there, with them trading strikes and Mahal giving Triple H the Figure Four leglock. There were “This is awesome” chants for the match at this point.
Triple H attacked The Singh Brothers during a brawl at ringside. People were going crazy and there were lots of good exchanges in the ring. Triple H hit the Pedigree, but Mahal kicked out. They fought outside before coming back in. Mahal hit a superkick, but Triple H used another Pedigree to win.
This was below the Mahal vs. AJ Styles title match, but it was better than all of Mahal’s matches against Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura. It went over 20 minutes and both put in a damn good effort.
After the match, Triple H got on the mic and called Mahal back into the ring. He said Mahal has many critics and haters with no reason to hate, but he has earned Triple H’s respect and India is in good hands with him. They shook hands and Triple H raised Mahal’s arm.
Mahal thanked Triple H, then Triple H got him and the Singhs to dance. They danced to Mahal’s theme for a few minutes until they finally got Triple H to join in, which got a huge pop. Triple H ended it by hitting a Pedigree on one of the Singhs and smiling as he headed to the back. Mahal thanked everyone in Hindi to close the show.
After dropping the WWE Championship earlier this month, Jinder Mahal is getting his rematch at the company’s final pay-per-view of the year.
It was confirmed on SmackDown tonight that Mahal would be challenging for AJ Styles’ WWE title at next month’s Clash of Champions PPV. Styles came out for a promo in Houston tonight and called out Mahal to have their rematch on SmackDown, but Mahal appeared on the video screen to say he preferred to have it at Clash of Champions.
Mahal said he would have beaten Brock Lesnar if he faced him at Survivor Series and bashed the state of Texas. The Singh Brothers then ran into the ring from behind for an attack before Styles fought them off.
Styles will face both Samir and Sunil Singh in a handicap match on SmackDown next week. Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton is also set for the episode, along with the return of the Fashion Files.
Styles vs. Mahal is the first match announced for Clash of Champions, which will take place at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts on December 17th. The PPV will further set things up for SmackDown as we head into Royal Rumble season.
Adding another accomplishment to his already phenomenal career, AJ Styles became a two-time WWE Champion at last week’s SmackDown tapings in Manchester, England.
Styles defeated Jinder Mahal to win the title, putting an abrupt end to a reign that seemed destined to go longer. The switch came less than two weeks before Mahal’s planned non-title champion vs. champion match against Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series. More surprisingly, it came a few weeks ahead of two house shows in India that were built around Mahal holding the title
Whatever the reasons for the change of plans, Styles is now set to face Lesnar in a bonafide dream match at Survivor Series and is, for now, the face of SmackDown again.
Styles regaining the title is a boost that SmackDown desperately needed. While Mahal’s reign may not have been the total disaster that some expected, he played a part in the dramatic decrease in quality that SmackDown has seen this year.
WWE’s European tour concluded today as the SmackDown roster had one final show in Florence, Italy before flying home. AJ Styles defending his WWE Championship against Jinder Mahal and Shinsuke Nakamura headlined, with Styles and Nakamura teasing a match for WrestleMania after it was over:
They had a good match, ending when Roode hit the Glorious DDT to win. Both got a babyface reaction when they came out, but Ziggler succeeded in turning the crowd against him during the match.
– The Ascension & Tye Dillinger defeated Luke Harper, Erick Rowan & Mike Kanellis
This started with lots of comedy. The match was okay and people were into Dillinger and Harper, who got a big reaction and some chants. The Ascension got the pin for their team.
– United States Champion Baron Corbin defeated Sin Cara to retain his title
Corbin retained with the End of Days in what was mostly a nothing match.
– Randy Orton defeated Rusev (w/ Aiden English)
The Rusev-English duo is awesome. The match was good while it lasted, with Orton getting a huge reaction and winning with an RKO.
– Charlotte Flair, Naomi & Becky Lynch defeated SmackDown Women’s Champion Natalya, Carmella, Tamina & Lana
Charlotte submitted Lana to end a pretty fun match. After it was over, James Ellsworth came down to the ring. All of the women (both babyfaces and heels) put the boots to him and hit him with a Shield powerbomb before doing the Shield fist bump.
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos defeated The Hype Bros, Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable, and Breezango in a fatal four-way match to retain their titles
The Usos won with their splash finisher. There was nothing wrong with the match, but the people were ready for the main event at this point.
– WWE Champion AJ Styles defeated Jinder Mahal (w/ the Singh Brothers) and Shinsuke Nakamura in a triple threat match to retain his title
All three got great reactions, with Nakamura and Styles getting the biggest pops of the night. They got Mahal out of the ring early and the crowd chanted “this is awesome” as Styles and Nakamura were about to face off.
Styles retained in a good match after hitting Mahal with the Phenomenal Forearm. Styles and Nakamura teased a confrontation after. The arena loved that and everyone started chanting “WrestleMania” at them, which made for a cool moment. Styles said if Nakamura wants a shot at WrestleMania — that would be “too sweet.”
Mahal and the Singh Brothers then attacked them, but the babyfaces laid them out and celebrated to send the fans home happy.
While Jinder Mahal may not be WWE Champion when the company heads to India next month, he already has at least one high-profile match set for the tour.
WWE set up Mahal vs. Triple H for their December 9th house show on Twitter last night. Triple H first put out a video saying that he’s been asked repeatedly if he’s going to step back into the ring on the tour and challenged Mahal to the “biggest match in India’s history” if the fans want it bad enough. Mahal then replied in a promo where he accepted the challenge.
WWE will be in New Delhi, India for house shows at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on December 8th and 9th. Before losing the WWE title, Mahal was supposed to defend the championship against Kevin Owens at the shows. Whether Owens will still be on the tour (and who Mahal will be facing on the 8th if he isn’t) hasn’t been announced yet.
Mahal, the Singh Brothers, and Owens had been scheduled to be the only SmackDown representation on what are otherwise Raw house shows. Mahal would have been positioned as a complete babyface against Owens in India. Now that he’s facing Triple H on the 9th, it seems more likely that both will end up getting cheered.
After losing the title to AJ Styles in Manchester, England last Tuesday, Mahal will inevitably get a rematch at some point. The next SmackDown-exclusive pay-per-view will be Clash of Champions on December 17th.
AJ Styles became a two-time WWE Champion at yesterday’s SmackDown tapings in Manchester, England.
Styles defeated Jinder Mahal to win the title in the main event, getting the clean win with the Phenomenal Forearm. It was announced after the match that Styles would be taking Mahal’s place in the non-title Universal Champion vs. WWE Champion match against Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series.
Also on SmackDown, The Usos retained their titles over Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable by countout, Rusev was denied a spot on SmackDown’s Survivor Series team after losing to Randy Orton, and Becky Lynch faced James Ellsworth in a “battle of the sexes.”
