klunderbunker
Welcome to My (And Not Sly's) House
Monday
Monday Night Raw
Date: August 25, 2014
Location: Honda Center, Anaheim, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler
We're getting away from Summerslam now and the main story is Cena vs. Lesnar III has been announced for Night of Champions. Cena is back tonight and gets to address the situation for the first time on TV after Summerslam. We also have a Hall of Fame forum with people like Hogan, Flair and HBK talking about the upcoming match. Let's get to it.
We're opening with the Hall of Fame forum so here are Flair, Hogan and Shawn to get things going. Cole recaps the Summerslam match with Lesnar vs. Cena and asks Shawn first about the rematch. Shawn thinks Cena doesn't have a chance and thinks it might be time for Cena to give it up. Hogan disagrees and thinks Cena can still go. Flair sides with Shawn and thinks Cena is the franchise, but doesn't want to see John vs. Lesnar again.
Hogan says Hustle, Loyalty and Respect is the real Cena and hopes Cena wins. Flair agrees and Shawn says that they all like Cena but no one thinks he has a chance. Hogan brings up the match at Extreme Rules and says you can never rule Cena out, but Shawn says no one can take a beating like that. Flair doesn't think Hogan believes that and here's Cena for a rebuttal.
Cena says everyone in the WWE Universe thinks he has no chance and now a group of WWE Hall of Famers think the same thing. John talks about the respect he has for all three men in the ring with him, including saying there would be no Cena without Hulk Hogan. Cena was at Summerslam and felt every one of those suplexes. There is no way around this: Summerslam was a beating and a 100% beatdown. He addresses Shawn saying this can't happen again and Cena says he won't do it again. Instead he'll take the fight to Lesnar and is ready for Night of Champions.
The first 100 hours of Nitro is coming to the Network next week. That would be about 1995/1996 or so.
Rusev vs. Jack Swagger
Swagger takes it right to him to start and grabs an early Patriot Lock, sending Rusev out to the floor. Back in and Swagger takes Rusev down before heading outside again. Rusev goes face first into the announcer's table but he sends Swagger ribs first into the ropes back inside. We take a break and come back with Swagger fighting out of a bearhug but walking into a spinwheel kick. Swagger nails a belly to belly suplex to get a breather and follows up with a Vader Bomb. Rusev gets his foot up but gets caught in the Patriot Lock. He bites his hand to fight the pin but crawls over to the ropes.
Back to the floor with Rusev ramming him back first into the apron a few times. The Accolade is countered into the Patriot Lock again but Jack has to settle for a jackknife cover for two. The jumping kick to the ribs puts Swagger down and Rusev pounds away in the corner. Rusev shouts a lot but Swagger comes back with WE THE PEOPLE! The beating on the ropes continues and Swagger is in big trouble. The referee checks on swagger but Rusev keeps stomping. A hard standing kick to the chest drops Jack again and the referee stops it at 11:35.
After a break, Swagger is getting his ribs looked at when Bo Dallas comes in. He says Swagger let his country down again, but all he needs to do is Bo-lieve.
Cesaro vs. Rob Van Dam
The winner gets Sheamus (on commentary) for the US Title, presumably at Night of Champions. Good to see that Van Dam is fine after getting DDT on concrete on Smackdown. Rob spins around to start and superkicks Cesaro into Rolling Thunder for two. Cesaro comes back with a right hand in the corner and we hit the cravate on Rob for a bit. A kick to the face drops Cesaro and sets up the split legged moonsault for two. The springboard kick to the face looks to set up the Five Star but Cesaro rolls to the floor. Back in and Cesaro picks up Rob for the Neutralizer and the pin at 3:38. It's as abrupt as it sounds.
Post match Cesaro picks up the US Title and throws it back at Sheamus after a few seconds.
Network hype.
Natalya vs. Paige
Non-title again. Natalya gets a quick rollup for two but Paige nails her with a clothesline. They trade abdominal stretches before Natalya hooks a release German suplex. There's the Sharpshooter but Paige crawls over to the ropes. Paige can't hook the PTO and Natalya tries another Sharpshooter, only to get kicked in the face. The Paige Turner is good for the pin at 2:56.
AJ comes skipping out for a distraction and Natalya nails a discus lariat. The fans don't react because that's a very heelish thing to do after she got beat. AJ gets in the ring and helps Paige up, saying she's sincere. She hugs Paige, freaking the champion out a bit. Now it's a handshake offer but AJ has to lean over to grab her hand. She even kisses Paige's hand and skips around a bit before leaving.
Kane introduces Seth Rollins to deliver Dean Ambrose's eulogy. Rollins says he was the leader of the Shield. On to Dean, fear was never a factor for him. We get a clip of the match from last week with the Curb Stomp onto the conveniently placed cinder blocks. Rollins is curious about what went through Dean's head as it was going down onto those blocks. How did Ambrose feel when he knew he was outmatched?
The blocks were there on purpose but Rollins wants to know what would have happened if Ambrose had known his place. As far as Rollins is concerned, he doesn't think we'll be seeing Ambrose again. He says he created the Shield....so here's Roman Reigns. Kane goes after him and is easily sent into the steps. Reigns goes after Rollins but Kane makes the save and bails.
We look at the Hall of Fame forum again.
Goldust and Stardust want the Tag Team Titles and get their shot tonight.
Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Goldust/Stardust
The Usos are defending and we get some big match intros. Stardust rolls Jimmy up for two to start but Jimmy does the same to him. It's off to the arm work for a bit to give Stardust another two count. The champions are sent to the floor with the Dusts nailing big dives to take them down again. Back from a break with Jimmy fighting out of a chinlock from Stardust. Off to Goldust and both guys try cross bodies, setting up a double hot tag. Jey hammers on Stardust and knocks him out to the floor. A huge dive takes Stardust down but Jey hurts his knee and can't get back in, drawing a countout at 7:40.
Post match Goldust says the Usos got counted out on purpose. They want to keep going and the Dusts turn evil by attacking the injured Uso. I've heard worse ideas.
Rollins is annoyed at Reigns so Kane uses the old standard handicap match.
We get a sitdown interview with Lesnar and Heyman. Brock says he came back to conquer the world and that's what he did. He gave Cena an F5 right off the bat, allowing Cena to have the chance to quit. Instead Cena kept going and took a horrible beating. Heyman calls Cena challenging Brock to a rematch a horrible decision. Brock imitates Cena's dad and talks about how he'll have the chance to be a man....and then Brock Lesnar appeared. The idea of what's coming to Cena at Night of Champions almost brings a tear to Brock's eye.
Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz
Non-title. Miz comes out in street clothes and talks about not having to wait in line at Disneyland this morning. As for his match tonight, he'll be stepping out for his stunt double.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Damien Mizdow
Sandow is of course dressed as Miz. An early dropkick gets two for Ziggler but Sandow, now in all black, comes back with a clothesline and dropkick to the knee. He puts on the Figure Four (on the proper leg) but Ziggler turns over pretty quickly. Back up and the Zig Zag is good for the pin at 2:25.
It's time for the third big in ring segment of the night as Lawler is hosting a Bella Twins reconciliation. We get a clip of Nikki saying Brie has cost them all their success and the big slap. Nikki comes out first in a tight black dress and moves her chair across the ring. Here's Brie as well, again in her Brie Mode shirt. Brie gets all serious and asks Nikki to forgive her because this is bigger than WWE or Total Divas. Nikki doesn't buy it and says she knows the real Brie.
She accuses Brie of holding her back and is sick of the family treating Brie better. Nikki insults Brie's hair and her save the Earth lifestyle. This brings Nikki to the troll faced husband and how sick she is of supporting a sister that never cared about her. Nikki says Brie stole all her boyfriends when they were younger and the fans are really not interested.
We FINALLY get to the point of this: Brie quit and left Nikki alone to get beaten up week after week because she cared about getting herself over more than her sister. Brie starts crying and Lawler tries to intervene so Nikki tells the old man to get out. She wishes Brie died in the womb and throws her out of the chair. The beating is on until Lawler breaks it up. Nikki slaps him off camera and the referees finally make the save.
Hall of Fame forum again.
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins/Kane
Kane is knocked over the top almost immediately and Reigns goes after Seth. The monster gets back up and helps his partner to take over but Rollins is backdropped to the floor. Reigns hammers on Kane in the corner and nails the apron kick for good measure. The Superman Punch is countered but Reigns hits the spear, only to get nailed with the briefcase for the DQ at 2:40.
The beating continues post match and Kane has more cinder blocks ready at ringside. Reigns is able to fight out of it though and Superman Punches Rollins instead. Kane is sent “into” the post (clearly missing by a good six inches) and Roman picks up a cinder block. It hits the post instead of Rollins' head but the Superman Punch lays out Kane. Rollins bails and looks terrified.
Bray Wyatt thinks Cena's shell is cracked after his fight with Brock Lesnar. He'll put Cena out of his misery tonight. It's nicer on the other side.
Los Matadores vs. Heath Slater/Titus O'Neal
Before the match, Slater and Titus argue over which superhero they both are. Diego hits a quick spinning cross body for two on Slater, allowing Fernando to come in with a slingshot hilo for two more. Back up and a hurricanrana sends Slater down, setting up an armbar. Slater finally gets in a shot to the face and makes the taag off to Titus for some backbreakers. Heath reluctantly comes back in for a chinlock and a clothesline before tagging out. The makeshift team keeps hammering away until Diego grabs a crucifix for the pin on Slater out of nowhere at 4:00.
Hall of Fame forum x4.
Kofi Kingston vs. Bo Dallas
Kofi fires off kicks and a rollup to start. Bo comes back with a running knee to the ribs but Kofi does his mounted punches in the corner. Dallas avoids a charge in the corner and hits the Bodog for the pin at 1:40.
Bo says his usual post match but Swagger comes in and slams him.
John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt
Bray just appears in the ring instead of doing an entrance. We don't even get the lantern shot. Cena takes him right into the corner to start and nails him with a hard running clothesline. A German suplex puts Bray down again and Wyatt looks shocked. Another German suplex does the same and Bray is in trouble. John hammers on Bray in the corner and hits a hard running knee to the head as this is totally one sided. There's another German suplex but Bray elbows out of a fourth. There's a running splash in the corner but Cena takes him down and hammers away, drawing in Harper and Rowan for the DQ at 4:28.
Big Show and Mark Henry run out and I smell a six man after the break.
Big Show/Mark Henry/John Cena vs. Wyatt Family
Joined in progress after a break with Big Show dropping an elbow on Rowan. Henry comes in off the top for more big man offense but gets nailed by Harper. We hit the chinlock for a bit before it's back to Wyatt for some big right hands. Rowan slams Henry in an impressive power display but charges into a boot in the corner.
The hot tag brings in Big Show to clean house, only to have Harper dropkick him down. Rowan comes in and kicks Big Show as well before it's back to Wyatt for the backsplash and two. Another kick to the face gets two for Harper but Bray gets another tag and walks into a chokeslam. The tag brings in Cena for German suplexes all around and the STF to make Harper tap at 6:55.
All three Wyatts get AA's post match.
Results
Rusev b. Jack Swagger via referee stoppage
Cesaro b. Rob Van Dam – Neutralizer
Paige b. Natalya – Paige Turner
Goldust/Stardust b. Usos via countout
Dolph Ziggler b. Damien Mizdow – Zig Zag
Roman Reigns b. Seth Rollins and Kane via DQ when Rollins hit Reigns with the briefcase
Los Matadores b. Heath Slater/Titus O'Neil – Crucifix to Slater
Bo Dallas b. Kofi Kingston – Bodog
John Cena b. Bray Wyatt via DQ when the Wyatt Family interfered
John Cena/Big Show/Mark Henry b. Wyatt Family – STF to Harper
Tuesday
Smackdown got a 1.79, down from last week.
Ryback has an undisclosed injury and will be out for a few weeks.
Rob Van Dam has wrapped up his run with WWE as of the Smackdown taping tonight.
Wednesday
Raw got a 2.88, down from last week. The show was against the Emmy Awards.
Impact Wrestling
Date: August 27, 2014
Location: Manhattan Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz
We're still in New York for about the sixth straight week and there are some big deals to get through tonight. First of all we've got the first match in the tag team series between the Wolves, Hardys and Team 3D with the winners getting to pick the next stipulation. There's also the fallout from Roode and Young escaping the cage last week at the same time, meaning there's no #1 contender. Let's get to it.
The opening video talks about the tag team series and the six man cage match from last week.
Angle is in the crowd and makes EC3 vs. Rhino tonight and hypes up the three way tag. We don't have a #1 contender yet but he's going to be working with both of them to figure out who is the best choice.
Here's the Trio with something to say. MVP rants against Angle for thinking that he knows how to book a show and then makes fun of New York for thinking it's a tough town. He goes on and on about police choking people (reference to an incident in New York when this was taped) and says everyone would be flatter than Miley Cyrus. MVP calls Lashley the King of New York and here's Tommy Dreamer to interrupt.
Dreamer praises each member of the Trio and says they're all better than this. He tells Lashley that he's finally reached his potential, earning him a right hand from King. Dreamer pulls him to the floor and chases him off with a Singapore cane but Angle cuts them off. Kurt makes Dreamer vs. Lashley in a New York City street and the bell rings right now.
Lashley vs. Tommy Dreamer
And we take a break right after the bell. Back with Dreamer nailing Lashley in the face with a trashcan lid and hitting him in the legs with a Singapore cane. Lashley blocks one of them and suplexes Dreamer down on the ramp. Dreamer is sent into the barricade as Tenay hypes up Bellator.
They head inside with Lashley suplexing Dreamer down. MVP offers a distraction for no apparent reason but Lashley spears King by mistake. Some trashcan shots to the head have Lashley in trouble and a Downward Spiral into the can has the champion reeling. There's the DDT for two but Dreamer dives into a clothesline. The spear ends Dreamer at 9:39.
Madison Rayne is ready for Taryn Terrell.
HAVOK is coming next week.
Samuel Shaw is at Gunner's apartment and drawing the New York skyline. Gunner heads downstairs and Shaw keeps drawing. Shaw looks at the door after Gunner leaves and gets up. He examines Gunner's military shirt and that's that.
Madison Rayne vs. Taryn Terrell
#1 contenders match. They trade rollups to start until Madison grabs a headlock. A monkey flip puts Madison down as Tenay shills the Knockouts swimsuit calendar. Terrell sends her to the floor but misses a dive off the apron. Back in and Madison sends her into the buckle. Taz talks about where he's going to pin the pictures from the calendar because that's what TNA commentary is like.
A dropkick gets two for Madison and a side roll gets the same. Rayne gets two more off a northern lights suplex but Taryn reverses into a snap suplex of her own. More suplxes and a running neckbreaker get two for Taryn and she nails a high cross body for the same. Madison scoops the legs and puts her feet on the ropes for two. The referee catches her, allowing Terrell to hit an RKO for the pin at 6:00.
Bobby Roode goes into a dressing room and finds Eric Young eating fruit. Eric says no matter what happens with the #1 contendership....and he can't finish that thought as Angle interrupts and asks the cameras to leave.
Shaw puts on Gunner's military shirt when Gunner comes back in. He sees Shawn in the shirt and gets a salute. A ticked off Gunner tells Shaw to take it off or he'll take it off for him.
Homicide/Manik/DJZ vs. Low Ki/Tigre Uno/Crazzy Steve
It's a brawl to start and we quickly hit the high spots. Tigre bounces into a huricanrana to put DJZ on the floor, drawing in Manik. A faceplant puts Manik down as well but DJZ shoves Manik off the top. Off to Homicide to work on Tigre's arm and DJZ gets in a shot of his own. Tigre headscissors DJZ into Homicide and the hot tag brings in Low Ki. Manik gets caught in the corner but grabs a Black Widow on Ki.
In a SCARY counter, Low Ki counters the fireman's carry gutbuster by driving his feet into Manik's face with some incredibly momentum. That looked SICK. Steve comes in and hits a big plancha to take Homicide down. Tigre monkey flips DJZ out to the floor and dives onto the pile. Manik loads up a dive but is nice enough to stop and let Low Ki kick him in the head. The Ki Crusher pins Manik at 6:55.
Angle has a solution for the Young/Roode issue.
Rhino talks about EC3 saying money can't buy happiness. Tonight it's bought Carter a lot of pain because he isn't going to forget what Carter did to him. There will be a GORE GORE GORE.
Bobby Roode is in the ring and announces that he'll be facing Eric Young next week for the #1 contendership. He invites Young to come down to the ring and Bobby goes through their history together, ranging from Team Canada to their battles. Roode doesn't bring up the time where he basically owned Young in exchange for sex with Traci Brooks but maybe it's implied. He respects Eric more than anyone (the required line in TNA) and it's going to be an honor to face him. Young can't wait to face Roode here in New York City and they'll tear the roof off the building next week.
The BroMans play some wrestling match game on their phones.
Rhino vs. Ethan Carter III
Rhino charges to the ring and hammers away to start, just as you would expect him to do. They head outside with Carter being sent into the barricade and getting hammered. The carpet is an odd thing to see at a wrestling event. Back in and Carter takes over with some stomps in the corner. An elbow drop gets two and Ethan slowly hammers away. Ethan gets two more off a corner splash and we hit the chinlock.
Rhino fights up and hits some hard shoulders followed by something resembling a TKO. He loads up the Gore but Spid grabs his leg, allowing Ethan to hit a low blow for two. There's a belly to belly suplex but Spud breaks up another Gore attempt. This one allows Ethan to bring in a chair for the DQ at 6:20.
Post match Carter loads up a chair but Spud asks him not to do it. Ethan nails Rhino anyway and Spud looks concerned.
James Storm comes out to introduce the new version of Sanada. He says he's the leader of a new revolution of people that need a rebirth. Sanada will be the first of many.
Great Sanada vs. Austin Aries
Sanada comes out in blue and yellow with shiny gear and yellow face paint ala Great Muta. Aries grabs a wristlock but Sanada spins his way out of it in a nice counter. A crucifix gets two for Aries and there's the Last Chancery, sending Sanada crawling to the ropes. Back up and Sanada chops away in the corner before choking away on the mat. A pair of backbreakers get two for Sanada and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Aries sends him into the corner and rams Sanada back and forth between two buckles.
A neckbreaker across the middle rope sends Sanada to the floor and Aries nails a very fast suicide dive. Aries nails the discus forearm and the corner dropkick but Sanada breaks the brainbuster by biting Austin's finger. Sanada takes him up top, only to get knocked off. Storm crotches Aries on the top rope, allowing Sanada to mist Aries in the face. How the referee didn't see either of those things is beyond me. A low superkick gives Sanada the pin at 6:15.
Video on war veteran Chris Melendez who lost a leg in Iraq. Melendez has a prosthetic leg and is working to become a pro wrestler.
Angle is in the ring with Mr. Anderson and Team 3D to introduce Melendez. Kurt talks about working as hard as he did to win an Olympic Gold Medal but it pales in comparison to Melendez being willing to die for this country. Melendez is now a member of the Impact Wrestling roster. Anderson asks the members of the Wounded Warrior Project here tonight to applaud for Melendez.
A guy from the Wounded Warrior Project called Anderson about Melendez and asked Anderson to train him. Anderson didn't have a ring to train them in, so he sent Melendez to the Team 3D Wrestling Academy. Melendez met with Team 3D and they offered to train him for free. D-Von asks the fans to welcome him to the roster and Melendez gets a standing ovation.
Hardys vs. Team 3D vs. Wolves
This is the first match of a Tag Team Series where the first team to win two matches wins the Tag Team Titles. Whoever wins each match gets to pick the stipulation for the next match. This is just a usual triple threat tag. Richards and Ray get things going after a break. The champions (the Wolves) start on Ray's arm but he comes back with right hands to Davey's head. A hard chop puts Richards down and Davey says bring it on. That earns him another chop but the fans aren't interested in starting a 3D chant.
The tag brings in D-Von but Eddie kicks him right back into a tag to Ray. Matt tags himself in and things are already breaking down. Poetry in Motion has Eddie in trouble but Davey comes out with a clothesline to break it up. Team 3D lays out Davey for two as Ray leaves rather than loading up their namesake. Now it's the Hardys working over Davey with Jeff kicking him in the back for two.
Matt works over the arm but everything breaks down again. The Wolves duck a double clothesline from the Hardys and hit stereo suicide dives on Team 3D, only to have Poetry In Motion take them down, followed by a moonsault from Matt to take everyone down again. Back in and Eddie enziguris Matt into a German suplex but Jeff makes a last second save. Eddie breaks up the Twist of Fate and D-Von tags himself in.
The Wolves throw him into a kick to the chest and hit the double top rope double stomps for two. Davey escapes a Twist of Fate and kicks Matt in the head, only to miss a top rope double stomp. Now the Twist connects on Richards, setting up the Swanton from Jeff. Edwards kicks him down though and rolls up D-Von for two. 3D out of nowhere is enough to pin Edwards at 9:06.
Results
Lashley b. Tommy Dreamer – Spear
Taryn Terrell b. Madison Rayne – RKO
Low Ki/Tigre Uno/Craazy Steve b. Homicide/Manik/DJZ – Ki Crusher to Manik
Rhino b. Ethan Carter III via DQ when Carter used a chair
Great Sanada b. Austin Aries – Low superkick
Team 3D b. Hardys and Wolves – 3D to Edwards
Thursday
NXT
Date: August 28, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Alex Riley, Jason Albert
We've got something to look forward to now with Takeover II just a few weeks away. All of the titles will be on the line but the champions need some challengers. As for tonight, the main story is the debut of the new General Manager to replace JBL who left for undisclosed reasons. Let's get to it.
Opening sequence.
Ascension vs. ???/???
If the jobbers have names they weren't mentioned. Fans: “LET'S GO JOBBERS!” Konor runs over Jobber #1 with a shoulder before Viktor launches #2 in over the top rope. Fall of Man ends #2 at 1:06.
Post match Ascension says the tournament ends next week and they'll find their latest victims. Konor says they will rise.
The new General Manager is......WILLIAM REGAL! He says he's been here since the beginning and as his first action, he's going to name the main event of Takeover II. First up though, he'd like Adrian Neville to come down to the ring. Neville congratulates him on his new job and asks who's next. Fans: “GOLDBERG! GOLDBERG!” Regal is about to announce the opponent but Tyson Kidd (in a Mike Tyson hoodie) interrupts.
He accepts the title shot but before Regal can confirm it, here's Tyler Breeze to interrupt as well. Breeze: “Are you serious? This uggo? Everyone deserves a title shot before him. EVEN HIS WIFE!” This brings out Sami Zayn to say that he deserves the shot above Kidd and Breeze. Neville wants to face all of them because this is NXT. Regal approves and we have a main event.
After a break, Regal makes Zayn/Neville vs. Kidd/Breeze for tonight.
Sasha Banks vs. Bayley
We immediately get the best chant ever: “BAYLEY'S GONNA HUG YOU!” Sasha sends her into the buckle to start and drops Bayley with a knee to the ribs. We hit the chinlock and get yet another awesome chant of “LET'S GO BAYLEY! CENA SUCKS!” Back up and Sasha chokes away in the corner, only to walk into the Belly to Bayley for the pin at 3:16.
Bayley says she's like kitten stuck on a branch that tells you to hang in there. She's going to turn her dream into a reality and win the Women's Title at Takeover. This brings out Charlotte to say that she would laugh at a kitten stuck on a branch. She tells Bayley to stick to hugs because she's going to destroy her at Takeover. Bayley doesn't want a hug (Fans: GASP!) because she's going to take the championship. Charlotte leaves and says she warned her.
Bull Dempsey vs. Angelo Dawkins
Dawkins is still a nerd. Dempsey takes him into the corner to start and drops a bunch of elbows for two. Some knees to the ribs have Dawkins in trouble as this is totally one sided. Dawkins gets in some jobber offense before the Bulldozer gets the pin at 2:50.
The Legionnaires laugh about shaving Enzo's beard and speak a lot of French.
Tyson Kidd/Tyler Breeze vs. Sami Zayn/Adrian Neville
Neville and Breeze get things going with the champion grabbing the arm for early control. Adrian and Sami start cranking on the arm until Sami stays in for a wristlock. Neville uses Sami's back for a corkscrew splash and the heels bail to the floor. Kidd comes back in but it's Breeze superkicking Neville as we take a break. Back with Kidd getting covered for two before Kidd puts on a chinlock.
Breeze comes in again and stomps on the champion before putting on a chinlock of his own. Kidd gets the tag but Neville dropkicks the knee out, setting up the hot tag to Sami. Everything breaks down and Zayn cross bodies both opponents down at the same time. A Michinoku Driver gets two on Breeze but Kidd fights out of the Blue Thunder Bomb and gets two off a DDT.
Sami suplexes Breeze into the buckle and crawls over to Adrian for the slightly cooler tag. A dropkick followed by a standing shooting star gets two on Breeze. There's a kick to the gorgeous head but Breeze breaks up the Red Arrow. Sami accidentally kicks Neville off the top but the heels argue over who comes in. The Blue Thunder Bomb plants Breeze and Kidd pins Neville at 9:58.
Sami gives Kidd the Helluva Kick post match and holds up the title to end the show.
Results
Ascension b. ???/??? – Fall of Man
Bayley b. Sasha Banks – Belly to Bayley
Bull Dempsey b. Angelo Dawkins – Bulldozer
Tyson Kidd/Tyler Breeze b. Adrian Neville/Sami Zayn – Kidd pinned Neville after a kick from Zayn
Friday
Impact got a .79, up slightly from last week.
Smackdown
Date: August 29, 2014
Location: Citizens Bank Business Arena, Ontario, California
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Tom Phillips, Michael Cole
I can't believe I'm saying this but Smackdown might be the best thing I could sit through right now. To say Raw wasn't that great is an understatement and WWE really doesn't seem to be the most interesting right now. However, two hours of decent wrestling and far less nonsense might be the cure for some of their issues. Let's get to it.
We open with a clip of the eulogy from Raw, Reigns cleaning house and the match that followed.
Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt
Reigns takes him into the corner to start and runs Bray over with a hard clothesline. Bray sends Reigns out to the floor and hits a big running charge to knock him off the apron. Back in and we hit the chinlock for a bit before Bray hammers on him even more. Roman comes back with right hands and the jumping clothesline but Bray elbows out of the Samoan drop. The backsplash gets two for Bray but he goes to the middle rope, allowing Roman to hit the Samoan drop for two. He loads up the apron boot but gets in a fight with the Wyatts for the DQ at 3:20.
Big Show and Mark Henry make the save, setting up a six man tag later on I'm sure.
Rob Van Dam vs. Seth Rollins
Rollins immediately stomps Van Dam down in the corner to start but runs into an elbow to the jaw. Rob's middle rope kick drops Seth and he flips over Rollins' back, only to walk into a dropkick. We take an early break and come back with Rollins splashing him in the corner and mocking Van Dam's pose.
Rollins puts on the chinlock for a bit before Rob fights up and kicks him in the head. A superkick sets up Rolling Thunder but Rollins gets out of the way. The Curb Stomps misses and Rob kicks him in the face again. The Five Star misses as well and Rollins nails an enziguri for two. Seth goes up top and breaks up a superplex attempt with a running buckle bomb. There's another buckle bomb and the Curb Stomp is enough to pin Van Dam at 4:40 shown of 8:10.
We look back at the Bella Twins segment from Raw and are lucky enough to see family photos to make it even more SERIOUS.
Paige vs. Emma
Non-title. Paige slaps her down to start but Emma gets in a kick to the head. She goes up top, only to get pulled down to the mat. The PTO makes Emma tap at 58 seconds.
Post match AJ comes out with a box of chocolates for Paige. AJ says that it's because Paige is her friend and Paige said she loved her. She demands that Paige eat one and gets her wish. Paige spits it back at AJ but AJ eats it anyway. Paige is freaked out again.
Lana and Rusev come out to do their usual.
Rusev vs. Jack Swagger
Submission match. Swagger immediately goes after the ankle but he can't suplex Rusev because of the bad ribs. With that not being an option, Swagger kicks him in the ankle and puts on the Patriot Lock, sending Rusev crawling to the ropes. They head outside with Rusev whipping Swagger into the barricade. We take a break and come back with Swagger being sent back outside but Rusev's ankle is hurting too badly to follow up. Swagger blocks a kick and puts the Patriot Lock on outside.
Rusev crawls back inside for the break so Jack kicks at the leg in the corner. The Vader Bomb connects but the ribs are hurt even worse. Now Rusev puts Swagger in a Patriot Lock until Swagger rolls through into one of his own. The ropes save Rusev again and he nails the jumping superkick. Rusev hooks the Accolade but Jack gets an arm free and grabs a rope. The hold goes back on in the middle of the ring but Jack powers to his feet. A towel comes flying in and Bo Dallas trips up Swagger to put him back in the full hold, making Swagger tap at 7:03 shown of 10:33.
Dallas says he threw the towel in because Swagger hasn't learned to Bolieve. Swagger takes a Bodog for good measure.
Miz is on the phone with his agent and says he can be on set within the hour. Reigns already had a match so there won't be a trilogy. Someone keeps tapping him on the shoulder (Miz: “Autographs will be signed LATER!”
but it's Kane, who makes Miz vs. Sheamus for tonight. Why does Kane have it in for Miz lately?
Jimmy Uso vs. Stardust
Jey is at ringside with a taped up knee, making him I believe the fourth current wrestler with a nagging injury (Swagger, Rusev, Ambrose, Jey). Again, GET SOME NEW WRITERS. Before the match, Goldust apologizes for freaking out on Monday but the Usos don't seem convinced. Jimmy hits a loud chop in the corner to start but Stardust hits the drop down uppercut to take over. He drives some shoulders into Jimmy's ribs but gets rolled up for the pin at 1:02.
The Dusts go nuts and attack after the match again.
Sheamus vs. The Miz
Pause for stunt double.
Sheamus vs. Damien Mizdow
Non-title. Miz offers a distraction to give Damien an early distraction. Some knees to the chest have Sheamus in trouble but he pops up with the running ax handles. He nails the ten forearms to the chest and pulls Mizdow back in for White Noise and the pin at 1:48. Another nothing match.
Miz gets in a cheap shot post match and runs, only to have Dolph Ziggler throw him back into the ring. Sheamus tries a Brogue Kick but hits Damien instead. Nice setup for a future tag match.
Clips of Lesnar and Heyman's pretaped interview from Raw and the Hall of Fame forum.
Wyatt Family vs. Big Show/Mark Henry/Roman Reigns
They all pair off because the bell rings with Reigns and Wyatt fighting out to the floor. We get started with Big Show and Rowan slugging it out in the ring. Big Show actually busts out a sunset flip for two before cranking on a hammerlock. Reigns comes in and drives Rowan down by the arm. It's quickly off to Henry to stay on the arm as the big guys make some fast tags.
Big Show hits the loud chop on Rowan before allowing Harper to come in for one of his own. Harper takes another in a different corner before asking Big Show to hit him again. Big Show gives him a running basement dropkick of all things, much to Cole's shock. Off to Henry who gets dropkicked down by Harper, allowing Bray to come in for a beatdown.
We take a break and come back with Henry countering a Rowan suplex to put Erick down. There's the hot tag to Big Show for some clotheslines but Rowan nails him with a clothesline to take over. Harper Gator Rolls Big Show to Wyatt's delight. Back to Bray for two off a DDT and Rowan gets the same off a splash. Erick cranks on the neck but lets Big Show up, allowing the giant to get a boot up in the corner. Harper keeps Big Show down and puts on a choke.
Big Show stands up and drops Luke down on his back, only to have Bray come in and hammer away. A huge clothesline drops Wyatt and there's the real hot tag to Reigns. Roman cleans Harper's house and hits the apron boot. There's the Superman Punch for two as Rowan makes the save. Big Show takes out Rowan with a chokeslam but Bray runs Big Show down. The World's Strongest Slam drops Bray but Harper kicks Mark in the face. Harper loads up the discus lariat but Roman nails a great looking spear for the pin at 12:17 shown of 15:17.
Results
Roman Reigns b. Bray Wyatt via DQ when the Wyatt Family interfered
Seth Rollins b. Rob Van Dam – Curb Stomp
Paige b. Emma – PTO
Rusev b. Jack Swagger – Accolade
Jimmy Uso b. Stardust – Rollup
Sheamus b. Damien Mizdow – White Noise
Big Show/Mark Henry/Roman Reigns b. Wyatt Family – Spear to Harper
Saturday
Nothing.
Sunday
Nothing again.
Quick Results
Monday Night Raw
Rusev b. Jack Swagger via referee stoppage
Cesaro b. Rob Van Dam – Neutralizer
Paige b. Natalya – Paige Turner
Goldust/Stardust b. Usos via countout
Dolph Ziggler b. Damien Mizdow – Zig Zag
Roman Reigns b. Seth Rollins and Kane via DQ when Rollins hit Reigns with the briefcase
Los Matadores b. Heath Slater/Titus O'Neil – Crucifix to Slater
Bo Dallas b. Kofi Kingston – Bodog
John Cena b. Bray Wyatt via DQ when the Wyatt Family interfered
John Cena/Big Show/Mark Henry b. Wyatt Family – STF to Harper
Impact Wrestling
Lashley b. Tommy Dreamer – Spear
Taryn Terrell b. Madison Rayne – RKO
Low Ki/Tigre Uno/Craazy Steve b. Homicide/Manik/DJZ – Ki Crusher to Manik
Rhino b. Ethan Carter III via DQ when Carter used a chair
Great Sanada b. Austin Aries – Low superkick
Team 3D b. Hardys and Wolves – 3D to Edwards
NXT
Ascension b. ???/??? – Fall of Man
Bayley b. Sasha Banks – Belly to Bayley
Bull Dempsey b. Angelo Dawkins – Bulldozer
Tyson Kidd/Tyler Breeze b. Adrian Neville/Sami Zayn – Kidd pinned Neville after a kick from Zayn
Smackdown
Roman Reigns b. Bray Wyatt via DQ when the Wyatt Family interfered
Seth Rollins b. Rob Van Dam – Curb Stomp
Paige b. Emma – PTO
Rusev b. Jack Swagger – Accolade
Jimmy Uso b. Stardust – Rollup
Sheamus b. Damien Mizdow – White Noise
Big Show/Mark Henry/Roman Reigns b. Wyatt Family – Spear to Harper
Monday Night Raw
Date: August 25, 2014
Location: Honda Center, Anaheim, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield, Jerry Lawler
We're getting away from Summerslam now and the main story is Cena vs. Lesnar III has been announced for Night of Champions. Cena is back tonight and gets to address the situation for the first time on TV after Summerslam. We also have a Hall of Fame forum with people like Hogan, Flair and HBK talking about the upcoming match. Let's get to it.
We're opening with the Hall of Fame forum so here are Flair, Hogan and Shawn to get things going. Cole recaps the Summerslam match with Lesnar vs. Cena and asks Shawn first about the rematch. Shawn thinks Cena doesn't have a chance and thinks it might be time for Cena to give it up. Hogan disagrees and thinks Cena can still go. Flair sides with Shawn and thinks Cena is the franchise, but doesn't want to see John vs. Lesnar again.
Hogan says Hustle, Loyalty and Respect is the real Cena and hopes Cena wins. Flair agrees and Shawn says that they all like Cena but no one thinks he has a chance. Hogan brings up the match at Extreme Rules and says you can never rule Cena out, but Shawn says no one can take a beating like that. Flair doesn't think Hogan believes that and here's Cena for a rebuttal.
Cena says everyone in the WWE Universe thinks he has no chance and now a group of WWE Hall of Famers think the same thing. John talks about the respect he has for all three men in the ring with him, including saying there would be no Cena without Hulk Hogan. Cena was at Summerslam and felt every one of those suplexes. There is no way around this: Summerslam was a beating and a 100% beatdown. He addresses Shawn saying this can't happen again and Cena says he won't do it again. Instead he'll take the fight to Lesnar and is ready for Night of Champions.
The first 100 hours of Nitro is coming to the Network next week. That would be about 1995/1996 or so.
Rusev vs. Jack Swagger
Swagger takes it right to him to start and grabs an early Patriot Lock, sending Rusev out to the floor. Back in and Swagger takes Rusev down before heading outside again. Rusev goes face first into the announcer's table but he sends Swagger ribs first into the ropes back inside. We take a break and come back with Swagger fighting out of a bearhug but walking into a spinwheel kick. Swagger nails a belly to belly suplex to get a breather and follows up with a Vader Bomb. Rusev gets his foot up but gets caught in the Patriot Lock. He bites his hand to fight the pin but crawls over to the ropes.
Back to the floor with Rusev ramming him back first into the apron a few times. The Accolade is countered into the Patriot Lock again but Jack has to settle for a jackknife cover for two. The jumping kick to the ribs puts Swagger down and Rusev pounds away in the corner. Rusev shouts a lot but Swagger comes back with WE THE PEOPLE! The beating on the ropes continues and Swagger is in big trouble. The referee checks on swagger but Rusev keeps stomping. A hard standing kick to the chest drops Jack again and the referee stops it at 11:35.
After a break, Swagger is getting his ribs looked at when Bo Dallas comes in. He says Swagger let his country down again, but all he needs to do is Bo-lieve.
Cesaro vs. Rob Van Dam
The winner gets Sheamus (on commentary) for the US Title, presumably at Night of Champions. Good to see that Van Dam is fine after getting DDT on concrete on Smackdown. Rob spins around to start and superkicks Cesaro into Rolling Thunder for two. Cesaro comes back with a right hand in the corner and we hit the cravate on Rob for a bit. A kick to the face drops Cesaro and sets up the split legged moonsault for two. The springboard kick to the face looks to set up the Five Star but Cesaro rolls to the floor. Back in and Cesaro picks up Rob for the Neutralizer and the pin at 3:38. It's as abrupt as it sounds.
Post match Cesaro picks up the US Title and throws it back at Sheamus after a few seconds.
Network hype.
Natalya vs. Paige
Non-title again. Natalya gets a quick rollup for two but Paige nails her with a clothesline. They trade abdominal stretches before Natalya hooks a release German suplex. There's the Sharpshooter but Paige crawls over to the ropes. Paige can't hook the PTO and Natalya tries another Sharpshooter, only to get kicked in the face. The Paige Turner is good for the pin at 2:56.
AJ comes skipping out for a distraction and Natalya nails a discus lariat. The fans don't react because that's a very heelish thing to do after she got beat. AJ gets in the ring and helps Paige up, saying she's sincere. She hugs Paige, freaking the champion out a bit. Now it's a handshake offer but AJ has to lean over to grab her hand. She even kisses Paige's hand and skips around a bit before leaving.
Kane introduces Seth Rollins to deliver Dean Ambrose's eulogy. Rollins says he was the leader of the Shield. On to Dean, fear was never a factor for him. We get a clip of the match from last week with the Curb Stomp onto the conveniently placed cinder blocks. Rollins is curious about what went through Dean's head as it was going down onto those blocks. How did Ambrose feel when he knew he was outmatched?
The blocks were there on purpose but Rollins wants to know what would have happened if Ambrose had known his place. As far as Rollins is concerned, he doesn't think we'll be seeing Ambrose again. He says he created the Shield....so here's Roman Reigns. Kane goes after him and is easily sent into the steps. Reigns goes after Rollins but Kane makes the save and bails.
We look at the Hall of Fame forum again.
Goldust and Stardust want the Tag Team Titles and get their shot tonight.
Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Goldust/Stardust
The Usos are defending and we get some big match intros. Stardust rolls Jimmy up for two to start but Jimmy does the same to him. It's off to the arm work for a bit to give Stardust another two count. The champions are sent to the floor with the Dusts nailing big dives to take them down again. Back from a break with Jimmy fighting out of a chinlock from Stardust. Off to Goldust and both guys try cross bodies, setting up a double hot tag. Jey hammers on Stardust and knocks him out to the floor. A huge dive takes Stardust down but Jey hurts his knee and can't get back in, drawing a countout at 7:40.
Post match Goldust says the Usos got counted out on purpose. They want to keep going and the Dusts turn evil by attacking the injured Uso. I've heard worse ideas.
Rollins is annoyed at Reigns so Kane uses the old standard handicap match.
We get a sitdown interview with Lesnar and Heyman. Brock says he came back to conquer the world and that's what he did. He gave Cena an F5 right off the bat, allowing Cena to have the chance to quit. Instead Cena kept going and took a horrible beating. Heyman calls Cena challenging Brock to a rematch a horrible decision. Brock imitates Cena's dad and talks about how he'll have the chance to be a man....and then Brock Lesnar appeared. The idea of what's coming to Cena at Night of Champions almost brings a tear to Brock's eye.
Dolph Ziggler vs. The Miz
Non-title. Miz comes out in street clothes and talks about not having to wait in line at Disneyland this morning. As for his match tonight, he'll be stepping out for his stunt double.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Damien Mizdow
Sandow is of course dressed as Miz. An early dropkick gets two for Ziggler but Sandow, now in all black, comes back with a clothesline and dropkick to the knee. He puts on the Figure Four (on the proper leg) but Ziggler turns over pretty quickly. Back up and the Zig Zag is good for the pin at 2:25.
It's time for the third big in ring segment of the night as Lawler is hosting a Bella Twins reconciliation. We get a clip of Nikki saying Brie has cost them all their success and the big slap. Nikki comes out first in a tight black dress and moves her chair across the ring. Here's Brie as well, again in her Brie Mode shirt. Brie gets all serious and asks Nikki to forgive her because this is bigger than WWE or Total Divas. Nikki doesn't buy it and says she knows the real Brie.
She accuses Brie of holding her back and is sick of the family treating Brie better. Nikki insults Brie's hair and her save the Earth lifestyle. This brings Nikki to the troll faced husband and how sick she is of supporting a sister that never cared about her. Nikki says Brie stole all her boyfriends when they were younger and the fans are really not interested.
We FINALLY get to the point of this: Brie quit and left Nikki alone to get beaten up week after week because she cared about getting herself over more than her sister. Brie starts crying and Lawler tries to intervene so Nikki tells the old man to get out. She wishes Brie died in the womb and throws her out of the chair. The beating is on until Lawler breaks it up. Nikki slaps him off camera and the referees finally make the save.
Hall of Fame forum again.
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins/Kane
Kane is knocked over the top almost immediately and Reigns goes after Seth. The monster gets back up and helps his partner to take over but Rollins is backdropped to the floor. Reigns hammers on Kane in the corner and nails the apron kick for good measure. The Superman Punch is countered but Reigns hits the spear, only to get nailed with the briefcase for the DQ at 2:40.
The beating continues post match and Kane has more cinder blocks ready at ringside. Reigns is able to fight out of it though and Superman Punches Rollins instead. Kane is sent “into” the post (clearly missing by a good six inches) and Roman picks up a cinder block. It hits the post instead of Rollins' head but the Superman Punch lays out Kane. Rollins bails and looks terrified.
Bray Wyatt thinks Cena's shell is cracked after his fight with Brock Lesnar. He'll put Cena out of his misery tonight. It's nicer on the other side.
Los Matadores vs. Heath Slater/Titus O'Neal
Before the match, Slater and Titus argue over which superhero they both are. Diego hits a quick spinning cross body for two on Slater, allowing Fernando to come in with a slingshot hilo for two more. Back up and a hurricanrana sends Slater down, setting up an armbar. Slater finally gets in a shot to the face and makes the taag off to Titus for some backbreakers. Heath reluctantly comes back in for a chinlock and a clothesline before tagging out. The makeshift team keeps hammering away until Diego grabs a crucifix for the pin on Slater out of nowhere at 4:00.
Hall of Fame forum x4.
Kofi Kingston vs. Bo Dallas
Kofi fires off kicks and a rollup to start. Bo comes back with a running knee to the ribs but Kofi does his mounted punches in the corner. Dallas avoids a charge in the corner and hits the Bodog for the pin at 1:40.
Bo says his usual post match but Swagger comes in and slams him.
John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt
Bray just appears in the ring instead of doing an entrance. We don't even get the lantern shot. Cena takes him right into the corner to start and nails him with a hard running clothesline. A German suplex puts Bray down again and Wyatt looks shocked. Another German suplex does the same and Bray is in trouble. John hammers on Bray in the corner and hits a hard running knee to the head as this is totally one sided. There's another German suplex but Bray elbows out of a fourth. There's a running splash in the corner but Cena takes him down and hammers away, drawing in Harper and Rowan for the DQ at 4:28.
Big Show and Mark Henry run out and I smell a six man after the break.
Big Show/Mark Henry/John Cena vs. Wyatt Family
Joined in progress after a break with Big Show dropping an elbow on Rowan. Henry comes in off the top for more big man offense but gets nailed by Harper. We hit the chinlock for a bit before it's back to Wyatt for some big right hands. Rowan slams Henry in an impressive power display but charges into a boot in the corner.
The hot tag brings in Big Show to clean house, only to have Harper dropkick him down. Rowan comes in and kicks Big Show as well before it's back to Wyatt for the backsplash and two. Another kick to the face gets two for Harper but Bray gets another tag and walks into a chokeslam. The tag brings in Cena for German suplexes all around and the STF to make Harper tap at 6:55.
All three Wyatts get AA's post match.
Results
Rusev b. Jack Swagger via referee stoppage
Cesaro b. Rob Van Dam – Neutralizer
Paige b. Natalya – Paige Turner
Goldust/Stardust b. Usos via countout
Dolph Ziggler b. Damien Mizdow – Zig Zag
Roman Reigns b. Seth Rollins and Kane via DQ when Rollins hit Reigns with the briefcase
Los Matadores b. Heath Slater/Titus O'Neil – Crucifix to Slater
Bo Dallas b. Kofi Kingston – Bodog
John Cena b. Bray Wyatt via DQ when the Wyatt Family interfered
John Cena/Big Show/Mark Henry b. Wyatt Family – STF to Harper
Tuesday
Smackdown got a 1.79, down from last week.
Ryback has an undisclosed injury and will be out for a few weeks.
Rob Van Dam has wrapped up his run with WWE as of the Smackdown taping tonight.
Wednesday
Raw got a 2.88, down from last week. The show was against the Emmy Awards.
Impact Wrestling
Date: August 27, 2014
Location: Manhattan Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Taz
We're still in New York for about the sixth straight week and there are some big deals to get through tonight. First of all we've got the first match in the tag team series between the Wolves, Hardys and Team 3D with the winners getting to pick the next stipulation. There's also the fallout from Roode and Young escaping the cage last week at the same time, meaning there's no #1 contender. Let's get to it.
The opening video talks about the tag team series and the six man cage match from last week.
Angle is in the crowd and makes EC3 vs. Rhino tonight and hypes up the three way tag. We don't have a #1 contender yet but he's going to be working with both of them to figure out who is the best choice.
Here's the Trio with something to say. MVP rants against Angle for thinking that he knows how to book a show and then makes fun of New York for thinking it's a tough town. He goes on and on about police choking people (reference to an incident in New York when this was taped) and says everyone would be flatter than Miley Cyrus. MVP calls Lashley the King of New York and here's Tommy Dreamer to interrupt.
Dreamer praises each member of the Trio and says they're all better than this. He tells Lashley that he's finally reached his potential, earning him a right hand from King. Dreamer pulls him to the floor and chases him off with a Singapore cane but Angle cuts them off. Kurt makes Dreamer vs. Lashley in a New York City street and the bell rings right now.
Lashley vs. Tommy Dreamer
And we take a break right after the bell. Back with Dreamer nailing Lashley in the face with a trashcan lid and hitting him in the legs with a Singapore cane. Lashley blocks one of them and suplexes Dreamer down on the ramp. Dreamer is sent into the barricade as Tenay hypes up Bellator.
They head inside with Lashley suplexing Dreamer down. MVP offers a distraction for no apparent reason but Lashley spears King by mistake. Some trashcan shots to the head have Lashley in trouble and a Downward Spiral into the can has the champion reeling. There's the DDT for two but Dreamer dives into a clothesline. The spear ends Dreamer at 9:39.
Madison Rayne is ready for Taryn Terrell.
HAVOK is coming next week.
Samuel Shaw is at Gunner's apartment and drawing the New York skyline. Gunner heads downstairs and Shaw keeps drawing. Shaw looks at the door after Gunner leaves and gets up. He examines Gunner's military shirt and that's that.
Madison Rayne vs. Taryn Terrell
#1 contenders match. They trade rollups to start until Madison grabs a headlock. A monkey flip puts Madison down as Tenay shills the Knockouts swimsuit calendar. Terrell sends her to the floor but misses a dive off the apron. Back in and Madison sends her into the buckle. Taz talks about where he's going to pin the pictures from the calendar because that's what TNA commentary is like.
A dropkick gets two for Madison and a side roll gets the same. Rayne gets two more off a northern lights suplex but Taryn reverses into a snap suplex of her own. More suplxes and a running neckbreaker get two for Taryn and she nails a high cross body for the same. Madison scoops the legs and puts her feet on the ropes for two. The referee catches her, allowing Terrell to hit an RKO for the pin at 6:00.
Bobby Roode goes into a dressing room and finds Eric Young eating fruit. Eric says no matter what happens with the #1 contendership....and he can't finish that thought as Angle interrupts and asks the cameras to leave.
Shaw puts on Gunner's military shirt when Gunner comes back in. He sees Shawn in the shirt and gets a salute. A ticked off Gunner tells Shaw to take it off or he'll take it off for him.
Homicide/Manik/DJZ vs. Low Ki/Tigre Uno/Crazzy Steve
It's a brawl to start and we quickly hit the high spots. Tigre bounces into a huricanrana to put DJZ on the floor, drawing in Manik. A faceplant puts Manik down as well but DJZ shoves Manik off the top. Off to Homicide to work on Tigre's arm and DJZ gets in a shot of his own. Tigre headscissors DJZ into Homicide and the hot tag brings in Low Ki. Manik gets caught in the corner but grabs a Black Widow on Ki.
In a SCARY counter, Low Ki counters the fireman's carry gutbuster by driving his feet into Manik's face with some incredibly momentum. That looked SICK. Steve comes in and hits a big plancha to take Homicide down. Tigre monkey flips DJZ out to the floor and dives onto the pile. Manik loads up a dive but is nice enough to stop and let Low Ki kick him in the head. The Ki Crusher pins Manik at 6:55.
Angle has a solution for the Young/Roode issue.
Rhino talks about EC3 saying money can't buy happiness. Tonight it's bought Carter a lot of pain because he isn't going to forget what Carter did to him. There will be a GORE GORE GORE.
Bobby Roode is in the ring and announces that he'll be facing Eric Young next week for the #1 contendership. He invites Young to come down to the ring and Bobby goes through their history together, ranging from Team Canada to their battles. Roode doesn't bring up the time where he basically owned Young in exchange for sex with Traci Brooks but maybe it's implied. He respects Eric more than anyone (the required line in TNA) and it's going to be an honor to face him. Young can't wait to face Roode here in New York City and they'll tear the roof off the building next week.
The BroMans play some wrestling match game on their phones.
Rhino vs. Ethan Carter III
Rhino charges to the ring and hammers away to start, just as you would expect him to do. They head outside with Carter being sent into the barricade and getting hammered. The carpet is an odd thing to see at a wrestling event. Back in and Carter takes over with some stomps in the corner. An elbow drop gets two and Ethan slowly hammers away. Ethan gets two more off a corner splash and we hit the chinlock.
Rhino fights up and hits some hard shoulders followed by something resembling a TKO. He loads up the Gore but Spid grabs his leg, allowing Ethan to hit a low blow for two. There's a belly to belly suplex but Spud breaks up another Gore attempt. This one allows Ethan to bring in a chair for the DQ at 6:20.
Post match Carter loads up a chair but Spud asks him not to do it. Ethan nails Rhino anyway and Spud looks concerned.
James Storm comes out to introduce the new version of Sanada. He says he's the leader of a new revolution of people that need a rebirth. Sanada will be the first of many.
Great Sanada vs. Austin Aries
Sanada comes out in blue and yellow with shiny gear and yellow face paint ala Great Muta. Aries grabs a wristlock but Sanada spins his way out of it in a nice counter. A crucifix gets two for Aries and there's the Last Chancery, sending Sanada crawling to the ropes. Back up and Sanada chops away in the corner before choking away on the mat. A pair of backbreakers get two for Sanada and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Aries sends him into the corner and rams Sanada back and forth between two buckles.
A neckbreaker across the middle rope sends Sanada to the floor and Aries nails a very fast suicide dive. Aries nails the discus forearm and the corner dropkick but Sanada breaks the brainbuster by biting Austin's finger. Sanada takes him up top, only to get knocked off. Storm crotches Aries on the top rope, allowing Sanada to mist Aries in the face. How the referee didn't see either of those things is beyond me. A low superkick gives Sanada the pin at 6:15.
Video on war veteran Chris Melendez who lost a leg in Iraq. Melendez has a prosthetic leg and is working to become a pro wrestler.
Angle is in the ring with Mr. Anderson and Team 3D to introduce Melendez. Kurt talks about working as hard as he did to win an Olympic Gold Medal but it pales in comparison to Melendez being willing to die for this country. Melendez is now a member of the Impact Wrestling roster. Anderson asks the members of the Wounded Warrior Project here tonight to applaud for Melendez.
A guy from the Wounded Warrior Project called Anderson about Melendez and asked Anderson to train him. Anderson didn't have a ring to train them in, so he sent Melendez to the Team 3D Wrestling Academy. Melendez met with Team 3D and they offered to train him for free. D-Von asks the fans to welcome him to the roster and Melendez gets a standing ovation.
Hardys vs. Team 3D vs. Wolves
This is the first match of a Tag Team Series where the first team to win two matches wins the Tag Team Titles. Whoever wins each match gets to pick the stipulation for the next match. This is just a usual triple threat tag. Richards and Ray get things going after a break. The champions (the Wolves) start on Ray's arm but he comes back with right hands to Davey's head. A hard chop puts Richards down and Davey says bring it on. That earns him another chop but the fans aren't interested in starting a 3D chant.
The tag brings in D-Von but Eddie kicks him right back into a tag to Ray. Matt tags himself in and things are already breaking down. Poetry in Motion has Eddie in trouble but Davey comes out with a clothesline to break it up. Team 3D lays out Davey for two as Ray leaves rather than loading up their namesake. Now it's the Hardys working over Davey with Jeff kicking him in the back for two.
Matt works over the arm but everything breaks down again. The Wolves duck a double clothesline from the Hardys and hit stereo suicide dives on Team 3D, only to have Poetry In Motion take them down, followed by a moonsault from Matt to take everyone down again. Back in and Eddie enziguris Matt into a German suplex but Jeff makes a last second save. Eddie breaks up the Twist of Fate and D-Von tags himself in.
The Wolves throw him into a kick to the chest and hit the double top rope double stomps for two. Davey escapes a Twist of Fate and kicks Matt in the head, only to miss a top rope double stomp. Now the Twist connects on Richards, setting up the Swanton from Jeff. Edwards kicks him down though and rolls up D-Von for two. 3D out of nowhere is enough to pin Edwards at 9:06.
Results
Lashley b. Tommy Dreamer – Spear
Taryn Terrell b. Madison Rayne – RKO
Low Ki/Tigre Uno/Craazy Steve b. Homicide/Manik/DJZ – Ki Crusher to Manik
Rhino b. Ethan Carter III via DQ when Carter used a chair
Great Sanada b. Austin Aries – Low superkick
Team 3D b. Hardys and Wolves – 3D to Edwards
Thursday
NXT
Date: August 28, 2014
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Rich Brennan, Alex Riley, Jason Albert
We've got something to look forward to now with Takeover II just a few weeks away. All of the titles will be on the line but the champions need some challengers. As for tonight, the main story is the debut of the new General Manager to replace JBL who left for undisclosed reasons. Let's get to it.
Opening sequence.
Ascension vs. ???/???
If the jobbers have names they weren't mentioned. Fans: “LET'S GO JOBBERS!” Konor runs over Jobber #1 with a shoulder before Viktor launches #2 in over the top rope. Fall of Man ends #2 at 1:06.
Post match Ascension says the tournament ends next week and they'll find their latest victims. Konor says they will rise.
The new General Manager is......WILLIAM REGAL! He says he's been here since the beginning and as his first action, he's going to name the main event of Takeover II. First up though, he'd like Adrian Neville to come down to the ring. Neville congratulates him on his new job and asks who's next. Fans: “GOLDBERG! GOLDBERG!” Regal is about to announce the opponent but Tyson Kidd (in a Mike Tyson hoodie) interrupts.
He accepts the title shot but before Regal can confirm it, here's Tyler Breeze to interrupt as well. Breeze: “Are you serious? This uggo? Everyone deserves a title shot before him. EVEN HIS WIFE!” This brings out Sami Zayn to say that he deserves the shot above Kidd and Breeze. Neville wants to face all of them because this is NXT. Regal approves and we have a main event.
After a break, Regal makes Zayn/Neville vs. Kidd/Breeze for tonight.
Sasha Banks vs. Bayley
We immediately get the best chant ever: “BAYLEY'S GONNA HUG YOU!” Sasha sends her into the buckle to start and drops Bayley with a knee to the ribs. We hit the chinlock and get yet another awesome chant of “LET'S GO BAYLEY! CENA SUCKS!” Back up and Sasha chokes away in the corner, only to walk into the Belly to Bayley for the pin at 3:16.
Bayley says she's like kitten stuck on a branch that tells you to hang in there. She's going to turn her dream into a reality and win the Women's Title at Takeover. This brings out Charlotte to say that she would laugh at a kitten stuck on a branch. She tells Bayley to stick to hugs because she's going to destroy her at Takeover. Bayley doesn't want a hug (Fans: GASP!) because she's going to take the championship. Charlotte leaves and says she warned her.
Bull Dempsey vs. Angelo Dawkins
Dawkins is still a nerd. Dempsey takes him into the corner to start and drops a bunch of elbows for two. Some knees to the ribs have Dawkins in trouble as this is totally one sided. Dawkins gets in some jobber offense before the Bulldozer gets the pin at 2:50.
The Legionnaires laugh about shaving Enzo's beard and speak a lot of French.
Tyson Kidd/Tyler Breeze vs. Sami Zayn/Adrian Neville
Neville and Breeze get things going with the champion grabbing the arm for early control. Adrian and Sami start cranking on the arm until Sami stays in for a wristlock. Neville uses Sami's back for a corkscrew splash and the heels bail to the floor. Kidd comes back in but it's Breeze superkicking Neville as we take a break. Back with Kidd getting covered for two before Kidd puts on a chinlock.
Breeze comes in again and stomps on the champion before putting on a chinlock of his own. Kidd gets the tag but Neville dropkicks the knee out, setting up the hot tag to Sami. Everything breaks down and Zayn cross bodies both opponents down at the same time. A Michinoku Driver gets two on Breeze but Kidd fights out of the Blue Thunder Bomb and gets two off a DDT.
Sami suplexes Breeze into the buckle and crawls over to Adrian for the slightly cooler tag. A dropkick followed by a standing shooting star gets two on Breeze. There's a kick to the gorgeous head but Breeze breaks up the Red Arrow. Sami accidentally kicks Neville off the top but the heels argue over who comes in. The Blue Thunder Bomb plants Breeze and Kidd pins Neville at 9:58.
Sami gives Kidd the Helluva Kick post match and holds up the title to end the show.
Results
Ascension b. ???/??? – Fall of Man
Bayley b. Sasha Banks – Belly to Bayley
Bull Dempsey b. Angelo Dawkins – Bulldozer
Tyson Kidd/Tyler Breeze b. Adrian Neville/Sami Zayn – Kidd pinned Neville after a kick from Zayn
Friday
Impact got a .79, up slightly from last week.
Smackdown
Date: August 29, 2014
Location: Citizens Bank Business Arena, Ontario, California
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Tom Phillips, Michael Cole
I can't believe I'm saying this but Smackdown might be the best thing I could sit through right now. To say Raw wasn't that great is an understatement and WWE really doesn't seem to be the most interesting right now. However, two hours of decent wrestling and far less nonsense might be the cure for some of their issues. Let's get to it.
We open with a clip of the eulogy from Raw, Reigns cleaning house and the match that followed.
Roman Reigns vs. Bray Wyatt
Reigns takes him into the corner to start and runs Bray over with a hard clothesline. Bray sends Reigns out to the floor and hits a big running charge to knock him off the apron. Back in and we hit the chinlock for a bit before Bray hammers on him even more. Roman comes back with right hands and the jumping clothesline but Bray elbows out of the Samoan drop. The backsplash gets two for Bray but he goes to the middle rope, allowing Roman to hit the Samoan drop for two. He loads up the apron boot but gets in a fight with the Wyatts for the DQ at 3:20.
Big Show and Mark Henry make the save, setting up a six man tag later on I'm sure.
Rob Van Dam vs. Seth Rollins
Rollins immediately stomps Van Dam down in the corner to start but runs into an elbow to the jaw. Rob's middle rope kick drops Seth and he flips over Rollins' back, only to walk into a dropkick. We take an early break and come back with Rollins splashing him in the corner and mocking Van Dam's pose.
Rollins puts on the chinlock for a bit before Rob fights up and kicks him in the head. A superkick sets up Rolling Thunder but Rollins gets out of the way. The Curb Stomps misses and Rob kicks him in the face again. The Five Star misses as well and Rollins nails an enziguri for two. Seth goes up top and breaks up a superplex attempt with a running buckle bomb. There's another buckle bomb and the Curb Stomp is enough to pin Van Dam at 4:40 shown of 8:10.
We look back at the Bella Twins segment from Raw and are lucky enough to see family photos to make it even more SERIOUS.
Paige vs. Emma
Non-title. Paige slaps her down to start but Emma gets in a kick to the head. She goes up top, only to get pulled down to the mat. The PTO makes Emma tap at 58 seconds.
Post match AJ comes out with a box of chocolates for Paige. AJ says that it's because Paige is her friend and Paige said she loved her. She demands that Paige eat one and gets her wish. Paige spits it back at AJ but AJ eats it anyway. Paige is freaked out again.
Lana and Rusev come out to do their usual.
Rusev vs. Jack Swagger
Submission match. Swagger immediately goes after the ankle but he can't suplex Rusev because of the bad ribs. With that not being an option, Swagger kicks him in the ankle and puts on the Patriot Lock, sending Rusev crawling to the ropes. They head outside with Rusev whipping Swagger into the barricade. We take a break and come back with Swagger being sent back outside but Rusev's ankle is hurting too badly to follow up. Swagger blocks a kick and puts the Patriot Lock on outside.
Rusev crawls back inside for the break so Jack kicks at the leg in the corner. The Vader Bomb connects but the ribs are hurt even worse. Now Rusev puts Swagger in a Patriot Lock until Swagger rolls through into one of his own. The ropes save Rusev again and he nails the jumping superkick. Rusev hooks the Accolade but Jack gets an arm free and grabs a rope. The hold goes back on in the middle of the ring but Jack powers to his feet. A towel comes flying in and Bo Dallas trips up Swagger to put him back in the full hold, making Swagger tap at 7:03 shown of 10:33.
Dallas says he threw the towel in because Swagger hasn't learned to Bolieve. Swagger takes a Bodog for good measure.
Miz is on the phone with his agent and says he can be on set within the hour. Reigns already had a match so there won't be a trilogy. Someone keeps tapping him on the shoulder (Miz: “Autographs will be signed LATER!”
but it's Kane, who makes Miz vs. Sheamus for tonight. Why does Kane have it in for Miz lately?Jimmy Uso vs. Stardust
Jey is at ringside with a taped up knee, making him I believe the fourth current wrestler with a nagging injury (Swagger, Rusev, Ambrose, Jey). Again, GET SOME NEW WRITERS. Before the match, Goldust apologizes for freaking out on Monday but the Usos don't seem convinced. Jimmy hits a loud chop in the corner to start but Stardust hits the drop down uppercut to take over. He drives some shoulders into Jimmy's ribs but gets rolled up for the pin at 1:02.
The Dusts go nuts and attack after the match again.
Sheamus vs. The Miz
Pause for stunt double.
Sheamus vs. Damien Mizdow
Non-title. Miz offers a distraction to give Damien an early distraction. Some knees to the chest have Sheamus in trouble but he pops up with the running ax handles. He nails the ten forearms to the chest and pulls Mizdow back in for White Noise and the pin at 1:48. Another nothing match.
Miz gets in a cheap shot post match and runs, only to have Dolph Ziggler throw him back into the ring. Sheamus tries a Brogue Kick but hits Damien instead. Nice setup for a future tag match.
Clips of Lesnar and Heyman's pretaped interview from Raw and the Hall of Fame forum.
Wyatt Family vs. Big Show/Mark Henry/Roman Reigns
They all pair off because the bell rings with Reigns and Wyatt fighting out to the floor. We get started with Big Show and Rowan slugging it out in the ring. Big Show actually busts out a sunset flip for two before cranking on a hammerlock. Reigns comes in and drives Rowan down by the arm. It's quickly off to Henry to stay on the arm as the big guys make some fast tags.
Big Show hits the loud chop on Rowan before allowing Harper to come in for one of his own. Harper takes another in a different corner before asking Big Show to hit him again. Big Show gives him a running basement dropkick of all things, much to Cole's shock. Off to Henry who gets dropkicked down by Harper, allowing Bray to come in for a beatdown.
We take a break and come back with Henry countering a Rowan suplex to put Erick down. There's the hot tag to Big Show for some clotheslines but Rowan nails him with a clothesline to take over. Harper Gator Rolls Big Show to Wyatt's delight. Back to Bray for two off a DDT and Rowan gets the same off a splash. Erick cranks on the neck but lets Big Show up, allowing the giant to get a boot up in the corner. Harper keeps Big Show down and puts on a choke.
Big Show stands up and drops Luke down on his back, only to have Bray come in and hammer away. A huge clothesline drops Wyatt and there's the real hot tag to Reigns. Roman cleans Harper's house and hits the apron boot. There's the Superman Punch for two as Rowan makes the save. Big Show takes out Rowan with a chokeslam but Bray runs Big Show down. The World's Strongest Slam drops Bray but Harper kicks Mark in the face. Harper loads up the discus lariat but Roman nails a great looking spear for the pin at 12:17 shown of 15:17.
Results
Roman Reigns b. Bray Wyatt via DQ when the Wyatt Family interfered
Seth Rollins b. Rob Van Dam – Curb Stomp
Paige b. Emma – PTO
Rusev b. Jack Swagger – Accolade
Jimmy Uso b. Stardust – Rollup
Sheamus b. Damien Mizdow – White Noise
Big Show/Mark Henry/Roman Reigns b. Wyatt Family – Spear to Harper
Saturday
Nothing.
Sunday
Nothing again.
Quick Results
Monday Night Raw
Rusev b. Jack Swagger via referee stoppage
Cesaro b. Rob Van Dam – Neutralizer
Paige b. Natalya – Paige Turner
Goldust/Stardust b. Usos via countout
Dolph Ziggler b. Damien Mizdow – Zig Zag
Roman Reigns b. Seth Rollins and Kane via DQ when Rollins hit Reigns with the briefcase
Los Matadores b. Heath Slater/Titus O'Neil – Crucifix to Slater
Bo Dallas b. Kofi Kingston – Bodog
John Cena b. Bray Wyatt via DQ when the Wyatt Family interfered
John Cena/Big Show/Mark Henry b. Wyatt Family – STF to Harper
Impact Wrestling
Lashley b. Tommy Dreamer – Spear
Taryn Terrell b. Madison Rayne – RKO
Low Ki/Tigre Uno/Craazy Steve b. Homicide/Manik/DJZ – Ki Crusher to Manik
Rhino b. Ethan Carter III via DQ when Carter used a chair
Great Sanada b. Austin Aries – Low superkick
Team 3D b. Hardys and Wolves – 3D to Edwards
NXT
Ascension b. ???/??? – Fall of Man
Bayley b. Sasha Banks – Belly to Bayley
Bull Dempsey b. Angelo Dawkins – Bulldozer
Tyson Kidd/Tyler Breeze b. Adrian Neville/Sami Zayn – Kidd pinned Neville after a kick from Zayn
Smackdown
Roman Reigns b. Bray Wyatt via DQ when the Wyatt Family interfered
Seth Rollins b. Rob Van Dam – Curb Stomp
Paige b. Emma – PTO
Rusev b. Jack Swagger – Accolade
Jimmy Uso b. Stardust – Rollup
Sheamus b. Damien Mizdow – White Noise
Big Show/Mark Henry/Roman Reigns b. Wyatt Family – Spear to Harper