Credit: F4WOnline
It’s worth noting that Renee Young did not work commentary for Monday’s WWE Superstars tapings in Liverpool.
After Erick Rowan played with Renee’s hair on last week’s RAW, it’s believed he was looking for Renee when he appeared during Tyson Kidd vs. Adam Rose at ringside last night and said, “she’s not here.”
It’s possible Rowan was looking for Natalya, who was not at ringside with Kidd, but he was likely continuing the angle with Renee.
Before we take a look at the feud between Steve Corino and Homicide, let’s do a little bit of a background for the men leading up to this point. A lot of you will know that Steve Corino was a former ECW World Champion and held the NWA World Championship. Corino had a few shots with NWA-TNA, but didn’t stay long with that promotion. By 2002, Homicide had made a name for himself on the independent scene and was regarded as a top name for Ring of Honor, a new independent company which made it’s debut in February 2002 in the ashes of ECW. What would happen between Homicide and Steve Corino on October 5th, 2002 would lead to several years of bloodshed and hatred.
One night while teaming, Corino & Homicide had a miscommunication during a match with the Backseat Boyz which saw Corino superkick Homicide and cost them the match. The following show on November 9th, 2002 saw Homicide attack Corino backstage with a fork. That’s right, Homicide attacked another human being with a fork, which he made sure to sharpen beforehand. As a result of the attack, Corino would “quit” ROH due to lack of respect. Steve would be back by ‘Final Battle’ 2002 on December 28th and would form a group to take over ROH simply known as “The Group.”
Corino got some revenge on Homicide at the show by attacking Homicide prior to the main event. In a form of revenge, Corino used a fork on Homicide and hit him with several piledrivers to take Homicide out and replace Homicide in a match involving Low Ki, Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe.
The first match between Corino and Homicide would take place at the ROH’s first year anniversary show on February 8th, 2003 in New York. The crowd was one hundred percent behind Homicide, but Corino was able to earn the win by making Homicide pass out right in the middle of the ring. The bigger story of the match is that there was a legit riot afterwards. It initially started off as a worked riot, meaning it wasn’t intended to be real, but it ended up turning real as non-planted fans got involved with the planted fans. It was truly a hectic scene and added fuel to the feud.
Steve Corino would be in Japan for several months following and as a result couldn’t directly continue the feud with Homicide. However, the feud would not die. On March 22nd, 2003 at ROH ‘Night of Champions’, Homicide made a statement by delivering a Cop Killa to Corino’s then girlfriend Simply Luscious. You ought to know that Corino isn’t going to let that one slide.
They would meet for the second time on August 16th, 2003 at ROH ‘Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies’. It is one of the most violent matches in ROH history and to this point, probably the most brutal in company history. Homicide gets the big victory but only after Corino’s buddy, LeGrande, tossed in the towel believing that Corino had suffered too much punishment. In reality, Homicide had slapped Corino so hard during the match that Corino’s hearing was damaged. At this point, they had one win a piece over each other but it wasn’t over yet.
Corino would attack Homicide at the November 1st ‘Main Event Spectacles’ and tried to damage Homicide’s hearing as he hit him several times with a chain wrapped around his fist. It was then announced that they would finish their feud on November 29th competing in a barbed wire match for the “rubber match” between the two. The night prior to November 29th saw Homicide cost Steve Corino a match against Josh Daniels.
The showdown on November 29th, 2003 was dubbed ‘War of the Wire’ as the brutal match between Homicide and Corino took place in a no ropes barbed wire ring. As expected, it was a hard hitting, crazy match that saw both men give their all to settle the feud. Corino was able to win the barbed wire match when Julius Smokes tossed in the towel for Homicide because Corino had a cobra sleeper locked in on Homicide while wrapping him up in barbed wire! Corino tried to shake hands with Homicide afterwards, but Homicide refused the gesture. After the match, Corino announces he is done with ROH.
On September 11th, 2004 Steve Corino came back to ROH to be by CM Punk’s side as he was feuding with Generation Next. Homicide tried to shake hands with Corino this time to make up for not shaking hands nearly a year ago. But, Corino wasn’t interested in that happening.
Corino would again return to Ring of Honor on October 14th, 2005 when he would team with Colt Cabana to take on Homicide and Low Ki as at the time, Homicide was feuding with Cabana. Anyway, Corino pinned Homicide and the feud between Corino and Homicide seemed to have picked up where it left off. They would wrestle oagain n December 3rd, 2005 at ‘Steel Cage Warfare’ where Corino would get another victory over Homicide after Colt Cabana’s interference against Homicide.
The feud would continue at ROH ‘Final Battle’ on December 17th, 2005. Corino lost to Alex Shelley on the show and was attacked Homicide, who was looking for revenge. Homicide was looking to literally “kill” Corino by pouring Drano down his throat. Thankfully for Corino, Colt Cabana came out to make the save and Cabana instead had Drano poured down this throat.
Corino and Homicide’s next singles match wouldn’t happen until November 4th, 2006. This was one of the three wishes that Homicide wanted for helping ROH beat CZW in the promotion wars feud. Jim Cornette decided to make things difficult for Homicide by allowing the match to be “anything goes” for Corino and Homicide had to pin Corino for a whole ten seconds instead of the three seconds. Homicide would win the “Fight Without Honor” as Cornette’s rules had been thrown out before the match. After the match, Corino would shave his head and both men ended up respecting each other to finally end the feud.
The stuff between Corino and Homicide was top of the line entertainment from 2002 – 2003. Corino wasn’t able to be with ROH full-time and I think that may have prevented the feud from excelling to even better things. After all, there was roughly six months in 2003 where Corino didn’t make an appearance, but to both Corino and Homicide’s credit the feud remained very entertaining.
There are countless memories for this feud, whether it be the riot, Corino legit losing his hearing, the Drano incident, the barbed wire match, their violent match at ‘Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies’, and even the promos by both men throughout the conflict were top notch.
The only negative I can see for this feud was the countless times Gabe Sapolsky tried to bring it back. By 2006 the feud didn’t really need to be back, and it was overkill. In 2005, the feud was more of a sub-feud to help advance the issues between Homicide and Cabana, so it was still beneficial.
It’s a feud that truly showed how good Corino is, and if he was able to give ROH a full-time commitment I have to think he would’ve won the ROH World Championship at some point in 2002 or 2003. The shows were billed around him a lot in the early days.
Instead, the feud really made Homicide a star in ROH and on the indy’s. Yeah, he was already known on the indy’s but this really gave Homicide momentum and credibility that eventually landed him in TNA and all that. This was Corino and Homicide at their very best and people should watch this feud to appreciate both men.
Feel free to leave your memories on this feud below.
Next week I take a look at “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle!
Thanks for reading.
Written by: Bob Colling of Wrestling Recaps
World Championship Wrestling presents Saturday Night
Date: 5/6/1995
From: Atlanta, GA
Matches:
1.)Sting defeated El Cubano
2.)Meng defeated Ken Brewer
3.)WCW Television Champion Arn Anderson defeated Eddie Jackie
4.)WCW World Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat defeated Barry Houston & Frankie Lancaster
5.)Randy Savage defeated the Butcher in the WCW United States Title Tournament
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.The actions starts off with Sting competing in singles action. Bobby Heenan predicts that Sting will win the WCW United States Championship tournament. He is never wrong. Sting makes Cubano submit to the Scorpion Death Lock to win the squash.
2.Heenan now picks Meng to win the WCW United States Championship. He’ll get it right no matter what. Meng wins the squash match after a savant kick. After the match, Tony Schiavone talks to Col. Robert Parker. Parker says he isn’t worried about who wins their matches because Meng is going to win the WCW United States Championship. Meng will be wrestling Brian Pillman next in the tournament. Parker is going to change Pillman’s name to being a beaten up young boy.
3.Arn Anderson took care of business this week and won his squash match after hitting a DDT.
4.A video of Diamond Dallas Page looking to buy a new care since winning millions of dollars is aired. He makes it clear that it’s easy spending money.
5.Harlem Heat prevailed this week when Booker pinned Houston after hitting a top rope forearm smash and Ray slammed him down to the canvas. After the match, Harlem Heat is interviewed. They assure the Nasty Boys that at Slamboree it will be their last shot at the titles. Stevie Ray says that the Nasty Boys just don’t got it and they will not lose the straps.
6.A video promoting Ric Flair and his recent alliance with Vader and Arn Anderson is shown. They are looking to end Hulk Hogan once and for all.
7.Butcher attacks Savage before the bell and chokes him across the top rope. Butcher locks in a sleeper hold but isn’t able to put Savage to sleep. Savage breaks free with a jaw breaker. Savage sends Butcher to the floor and hits a top rope double ax handle onto Butcher. Savage slams Butcher and connects with a top rope elbow drop to win the match. He will now wrestle Steve Austin in the tournament. After the match, Ric Flair and Arn Anderson run out. However, the Renegade runs out as well to prevent anything form happening. Vader comes out with a chair but Hulk Hogan comes out and hits Vader over the back with his championship. They have a stand off.
8.To close the show, Hulk Hogan and company cut a promo. Hogan says that Jimmy Hart has covered every detail and says that Savage is in the best shape of his life. Hogan says his secret weapon is Randy’s father Angelo. Hogan says he has Vader’s number. He says that Angelo taught them the reversal of the figure four. I thought that was just turning over on your stomach? I didn’t know that was difficult to know.
Final Thoughts:
This was a rather boring show. Yeah, it was only hour and thank god for that. It’s been over a month since their last pay per view and it’s just been the same old build up for the matches. I can’t wait for Slamboree just so the programming can consist of new feuds. This weeks show gets a thumbs down from me.
World Championship Wrestling presents Saturday Night
Date: 5/13/1995
From: Atlanta, GA
Matches:
1.)Stars & Stripes defeated Barry Hardy & Chris Speaker
2.)The Nasty Boys defeated Todd Zane & Chuck Donovan
3.)Sgt. Craig Pittman defeated Scott Armstrong
4.)Blue Bloods defeated Mark Starr & Kip Abee
5.)Alex Wright defeated Big Bubba by disqualification in a WCW United States Title Tournament Match
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.Stars & Stripes competed in tag team action to kick off the show. They won the squash after a vertical suplex/top rope cross body by Bagewll.
2.Tony Schiavone introduces Sting for an interview. Sting will wrestle Paul Orndorff next week in the WCW United States Title Tournament. Sting says that Big Bubba should watch out for Alex Wright tonight because he is a good, young wrestler. He says he is a magician and that’s how he is going to deal with Orndorff and Bubba.
3.We hear comments from Ric Flair, Vader and Arn Anderson. Vader says that Hogan has put his foot in his own mouth this time around. He says that we are looking at the Big Three. Anderson thinks that Hogan has brainwashed The Renegade because he is young. They keep on whispering making it tough to hear them. Flair mocks Savage and Hogan before saying that it’s their last fight at Slamboree.
4.The Nasty Boys get some fine tuning in before their pay per view match next week. They won their squash match after hitting a top rope elbow drop.
5.Sgt. Craig Pittman made Scott Armstrong submit to his Code Red to win the squash match.
6.The Blue Bloods continue to be undefeated since forming their tag team. Eaton hit a top rope leg drop and Regal got the submission victory when he locked in the Regal Stretch on Abee.
7.A rather humorous video of Angelo talking to Randy about the match at Slamboree is aired. It clearly wasn’t supposed to be humorous but the music they chose to air with it was rather dumb.
8.Bubba backs Wright into a corner early but is slapped by Wright. Wright dropkicks Bubba chest first into the corner and nearly wins with a roll up. Bubba casually shoulder blocks Wright and slaps him before missing a sit down splash. Wright monkey flips Bubba out of the corner. Bubba catches Wright as he runs the ropes and plants Wright with a spine buster! Bubba takes his time on the corner but only gets a two count. Bubba drops Wright with an uppercut but only gets a two count on the cover attempt. Wright gets out of an abdominal stretch with a hip toss but Bubba maintains control with a right hand. Bubba leaps off the top rope but misses a splash. Wright nearly wins with a sunset flip. Wright drops Bubba with a standing spin kick and goes to the top rope where he hits a missile dropkick but Bubba kicks out at two! Bubba catches Wright on a cross body attempt and tosses Wright over the top to the floor causing the DQ. After the match, Bubba looks to attack Wright some more. Sting runs out and slams Bubba off the top rope! Sting knocks Bubba to the floor to save Wright.
Final Thoughts:
Yet another lackluster episode of Saturday Night. I really hope this isn’t the point where Saturday Night becomes a burden to watch. I believe once Nitro started it was a tough watch, but that’s still four months away. This episode gets a thumbs down from me, folks. Next week, Ric Flair will be in action against the Patriot.
World Championship Wrestling presents Saturday Night
Date: 5/20/1995
From: Atlanta, GA
Matches:
1.)Johnny B. Badd defeated Bobby Starr
2.)Meng defeated Eddie Jackie
3.)Kevin Sullivan defeated Barry Houston
4.)WCW World Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat defeated Two Jobbers
5.)Sting defeated Paul Orndorff in a WCW United States Title Tournament
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.We are only twenty four hours away from third annual Slamboree. The program starts off with Johnny B. Badd competing in singles action. Badd wins the squash match following a top rope hurricanrana. That goes by the name of Badd Day.
2.Tomorrow night, Meng will be in action against Brian Pillman in a United States Tournament match. But, first he was to get past the ever tough Eddie Jackie. Okay, that was me just being sarcastic. Meng won the contest after two savant kicks. After the match, Tony Schiavone talks to Col. Robert Parker. Parker talks about how they are going to find out how smart Brian Pillman really is tomorrow night. They will be competing on the pre-show telecast for the pay per view. Parker requests that Meng wreck Pillman up good, and he is confident that Meng will do just that for him.
3.Kevin Sullivan roughed up Barry Houston this week. Houston actually got some offense in, even hitting a dropkick to knock Sullivan down. However, that would be the only positive for him in this match. Sullivan won the match following a double stomp.
4.A video of the newly rich Diamond Dallas Page golfing with Diamond Doll is aired. Doll says that her real name is Kimberly. DDP enters and says he has no time to talk to Eric Bischoff. I’m not sure if this was supposed to be funny, but it wasn’t.
5.We hear comments from Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage regarding their match at Slamboree. Hogan says that everyone is shaking in their boots, and says that they have Flair’s number. Savage believes they are going to be an explosion heard around the world. Renegade appears in the background, thanks to a green screen, and will be the guy to hold Arn Anderson in check.
6.The names of the jobbers in the next match were not disclosed. Harlem Heat wins the match following a power bomb/middle rope forearm drop.
7.Sting opened the match with a few shoulder blocks for a near fall. Naturally, Orndorff argues about what happened to him and believes it wasn’t fair. There is just a lot of stalling between these two wrestlers. I’m going to consider this a match where they just mailed it in. Orndorff gets out of a side headlock with a back suplex. Orndorff misses a top rope forearm smash and Sting gets control of the match with a dropkick. Sting is dropped throat first across the top rope. They end up going to the floor but they don’t do anything. What was the point of that? Sting blocks the pile driver with a backdrop and locks in the Scorpion Death Lock to win the match. That was really, really boring. There was nothing during that match that would make it even remotely close to being entertaining or fun. What a complete waste of a main event. After the match, Tony Schiavone interviews Sting. He talks about his match with Big Bubba tomorrow night. Sting says that Big Bubba will find out what he is all about!
Final Thoughts:
This was a bad episode of Saturday Night. I understand that the pay per view is tomorrow night, but there was nothing here that got me excited for the pay per view. The matches, especially the main event, were just awful. This one gets a big thumbs down from me.
World Championship Wrestling presents Saturday Night
Date: 5/27/1995
From: Atlanta, GA & Charlotte, NC
Matches:
1.)WCW World Tag Team Champions The Nasty Boys defeated George South & Mike McKeefer
2.)WCW Television Champion Arn Anderson defeated Tim Horner
3.)Paul Orndorff defeated Jim Duggan in a Slim Jim Challenge Tournament Match
4.)Meng defeated Mark Starr
5.)Randy Savage defeated Steve Austin in a WCW United States Title Tournament Match
6.)Brian Pillman defeated Big Bubba in a Slim Jim Challenge Tournament Match
7.)Diamond Dallas Page defeated Kip Abee
8.)Paul Orndorff defeated Brian Pillman in a Slim Jim Challenge Tournament Match
9.)Ric Flair defeated Alex Wright by disqualification in a WCW United States Title Tournament Match
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.Yes, this show took place from two different locations. The portion of the show that took place in North Carolina saw the wrestlers compete in rainy weather. It’s safe to say that there could’ve been some serious injuries due to that.
2.There will be a Slim Jim challenge where the winner of the tournament will meet WCW Television Champion Arn Anderson the Bash at the Beach pay per view in July.
3.Yes, the Nasty Boys have finally won the tag team titles after six months of chasing Harlem Heat for them. The champions continued to be on the winning side of things when Sags got the pin after a top rope elbow drop. After the match, Eric Bischoff interviews. They talk about how they promised to win the titles and they did. They issue a challenge to the Blue Bloods for the Great American Bash. The Blue Bloods had attacked them before their match, which they won anyway at Slamboree.
4.We see stills from Slamboree. Angelo Poffo was attacked by Ric Flair and Arn Anderson!
5.Arn Anderson had no problem with Tim Horner as he plants him with the DDT to easily win their match. After the match, Mean Gene interviews Arn Anderson to talk about who Anderson will wrestle after the tournament tonight. Anderson says the championship is his manhood and he feels like he is the greatest champion going today. He says the winner is going to have to rip into his soul to take the title away from him.
6.Ric Flair shares some comments about the Great American Bash. He says he was at the first one and he will be at the last one. Flair tells Savage that he came into his domain and tried to impose his will on the great one. He will see Savage at the Great American Bash.
7.They accidentally play Orndorff’s theme music during Duggan’s entrance as well. It is rather humorous to me. Orndorff attacks Duggan from behind and stomps away on him in the corner. Duggan rams Orndorff face first into the corner and battles back with a series of right hands. Orndorff delivers a forearm shot on the apron but on the floor Duggan sends Orndorff onto the hood of a race car. Orndorff has the 2×4 but the referee tosses that out of the ring. Orndorff avoids a splash in the corner and rolls Duggan up using the tights for extra leverage to win the match.
8.As per usual, Meng won his squash match following a savant kick. After the match, Col. Robert Parker talks about Road Warrior Hawk who may have surprised Meng by appearing. Also, Meng will be wrestle Sting in the WCW United States Championship Tournament.
9.Huh, Col. Robert Parker sure did travel quickly to get to Georgia after just being in North Carolina with Meng. Austin slaps Savage in the face to open the bout, and Savage quickly knocks him down with a back elbow. Austin tosses Savage to the floor and continues to pound away on Savage. Austin misses a top rope splash back in the ring. They go to the floor again where Savage sends Austin into the ring post and guard railing. Savage slams Austin and hits a top rope elbow drop to win the match. Well, that was disappointing. They just completely jobbed Austin out there, really.
10.Pillman drives Bubba down to the mat face first but Bubba quickly slams Pillman down to the mat with a choke slam of sorts. Bubba clotheslines Pillman in the corner to keep the advantage. Pillman knocks Bubba down, who tripped over the referee and Pillman gets the win.
11.DDP won his squash match with the Diamond Cutter. After the match, Eric Bischoff looks to interview the new millionaire. Bischoff wants to know what the card said, but Diamond Doll can’t answer the card she gave to Dave Sullivan, I think. DDP says he is rolling through all the competition. Bischoff wants to know how DDP truly won the money. DDP sticks to his story.
12.Pillman hits a cross body on Orndorff for a near fall in the opening seconds of the contest. Orndorff kicks out of a sunset flip attempt by Pillman. Pillman begins to work on Orndorff’s left leg. Pillman is stopped by Orndorff after he hit a back suplex. Pillman ends up hammering away on Orndorff in the corner but Orndorff is able to pull him down and rolls Pillman up using the tights for extra leverage to win the match.
13.Wright is chopped by Flair in the corner but he knocks Flair off his feet with an upper cut. Flair returns but trades blows with Wright a few times. Wright back drops Flair and monkey flips Flair out of the corner! Flair stomps away on Wright in the corner. Wright flips out of the corner and dropkicks Flair a couple of times sending Flair over the top to the floor. Flair returns to the ring but Wright continues to have control after hitting a back drop. Wright leaps off the top to hit a missile dropkick! Wright looks to backslide Flair and gets a two count. They both go down after they collide. Flair heads to the top rope but Wright cuts him off and slams Flair off the top down to the canvas! Wright sends Flair to the floor and dropkicks Flair on the floor. Flair pokes Wright in the eyes and returns to the ring. Wright attempted a sunset flip but Flair prevented himself from going down with a right hand. Wright drops Flair with a kick to the head and has a single leg Boston Crab locked in! Wright gets a two count after a spinning heel kick. Wright hits a top rope cross body but Savage prevents the pin and sends Wright to the floor! Savage wants to get his hands on Flair! Several wrestlers and officials come out to prevent Savage from getting at Flair.
14.Tony Schiavone conducted an interview with Randy Savage and Alex Wright. Savage tells Wright tonight was not his night because he is going take out Flair. Savage tells Wright that he messed with his father. Wright appears to understand why Savage screwed him over. Wow. Next week, Savage will wrestle Flair in a singles match.
Final Thoughts:
From a wrestling standpoint this show was loaded. I mean, just on paper this would probably have to be considered a must see show. Well, it isn’t a must-see program. Flair/Wright was the only good match while the other ones were short and didn’t consist of much. I have to think that if it wasn’t raining in North Carolina the matches would’ve gone differently as they probably would’ve been entertaining. Anyway, I didn’t like Austin jobbing out so quickly to Savage. He clearly isn’t a priority. I’m going to consider this an average week for Saturday Night. It could have been a much better episode.
Thanks for reading.
Date: October 30th, 2014
Location: Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 400 Fans (Super No Vacancy)
Another new promotion to review for this year, hooray! REINA was part of WNC, but when WNC merged with WRESTLE-1, REINA split back off again into their own promotion. They have had many events in 2014, this is just the first one I have been able to track down, more may pop up later. As this is the Syuri Festival, she has two matches on this event. Here is the full card:
– One-Sided Two Count Rules: Kana vs. Koharu Hinata
– Black Jujidan #1 and Black Jujidan #2 vs. SYURI and Ray
– Arisa Nakajima vs. Haruka Kato
– Brahman Shu vs. Brahman Kei vs. Danshoku Dino vs. The Bodyguard
– Leon and Tomoka Nakagawa vs. Makoto and Maki Narumiya
– Kyoko Kimura and Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Syuri and Shiro Koshinaka
Let’s get straight to the action.
The special rule for this match is that Hinata only needs a two count to win, but Kana still has to get a three count. Kana offers her hand to start the match but instead hits a snap German suplex. Roll-up by Hinata but it gets a one count. Another roll-up gets another a one for Hinata, as does a crucifix hold. Kana punches Hinata to the mat, cover, but it gets a two count. Kana picks up Hinata and hits a neckbreaker, cover, but it gets another two. Running knee to the face by Kana, cover, but Hinata gets a shoulder up. High kick by Kana but Hinata sneaks in a school boy for a two count. Waistlock by Hinata but Kana reverses it and applies an armbar. Hinata is forced to tap out. Your winner: Kana
Match Thoughts: Since I love Kana my natural inclination is to love the match, but obviously there just wasn’t much to it. I liked the gimmick of the match to try to even the playing field, but the match was still just way too short to really put it over. Matches under a minute are a hard sell, it was a good idea that just needed a bit more time. Score: 3.5
Black Jujidan #1 and SYURI start things off. SYURI avoids Black Jujidan #1’s attacks and kicks her in the stomach, Irish whip by Black Jujidan #1 and she hits a shoulderblock. SYURI goes off the ropes but she can’t knock Black Jujidan #1 off her feet. Black Jujidan #1 goes off the ropes, drop toehold by SYURI and she delivers a dropkick. Cover, but it gets a two count. Kicks by SYURI, Irish whip to the corner, reversed, SYURI kicks Black Jujidan #1 back and she hits a tilt-a-whirl headscissors. Dropkick by SYURI and Black Jujidan #1 tags in Black Jujidan #2. SYURI tags in Ray, Ray and Black Jujidan #2 tie-up, takedown by Black Jujidan #2 but Ray quickly gets away. Black Jujidan #2 asks for a handshake and Ray obliges, kick to the stomach by Black Jujidan #2 but Ray hits a hurricanrana. Ray picks up Black Jujidan #2 while SYURI runs in the ring, double Irish whip to Black Jujidan #2 and they connect with a double dropkick. SYURI goes off the ropes but Black Jujidan #1 grabs her from the floor. SYURI is slid back into the ring, and Black Jujidan #2 stomps on her. Black Jujidan #2 throws SYURI into the corner and chokes her with her boot. Dropkick by Black Jujidan #2 and she chokes SYURI against the ropes. Black Jujidan #2 tags in Black Jujidan #1, stomps by Black Jujidan #1 and she hits a scoop slam to SYURI. Elbow drop by Black Jujidan #1, cover, but it gets a two count. Black Jujidan #1 picks up SYURI, Irish whip, waistlock by SYURI but Black Jujidan #1 elbows out of it. Black Jujidan #1 goes off the ropes but SYURI catches her with a backstabber. SYURI tags in Ray, and Ray hits a missile dropkick. Space Rolling Elbow by Ray and she hits a lariat on Black Jujidan #1, cover, but it gets a two count. Ray goes up to the top turnbuckle but Black Jujidan #1 avoids the missile dropkick. Kick by Black Jujidan #1 and she hits a vertical suplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Black Jujidan #1 picks up SYURI and tags in Black Jujidan #2.
Snapmare by Black Jujidan #2 and she stomps on Ray’s face. Black Jujidan #2 chokes SYURI with wrist tape while applying a sleeper hold, stomp by Black Jujidan #2 and she punches Ray to the mat. Black Jujidan #2 picks up Ray and goes for a slam but Ray lands on her feet. High kick by Ray but Black Jujidan #1 kicks Ray from the apron. Black Jujidan #1 holds Ray for Black Jujidan #2, but Ray moves and Black Jujidan #2 hits Black Jujidan #1 by accident. Tilt-a-whirl DDT by Ray to Black Jujidan #2, and she makes the tag to SYURI. Dropkick by SYURI to Black Jujidan #2 and Black Jujidan #1, Black Jujidan #1 recovers and they Irish whip SYURI but SYURI hits a double crossbody. Stomp by SYURI to Black Jujidan #2, she goes off the ropes but Black Jujidan #2 hits a lariat. Black Jujidan #2 goes off the ropes but SYURI hits a body scissors into a bulldog. Cover, but it gets a two count. SYURI goes up to the top turnbuckle but Black Jujidan #1 and Black Jujidan #2’s manager knocks her off the top down to the mat. Black Jujidan #2 picks up SYURI and hits a Fire Thunder Driver, cover, but Ray breaks it up. Black Jujidan #1 attacks Ray, and both Black Jujidan #1 and Black Jujidan #2 try to take off their opponent’s masks. They finally get Black Jujidan #1 and Black Jujidan #2 back after some trickeration, Ray goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a moonsault onto Black Jujidan #1. SYURI runs in and hits a tilt-a-whirl school boy on Black Jujidan #2, and she picks up the three count. Your winners: SYURI and Ray
Match Thoughts: I have no idea who Black Jujidan #1 and Black Jujidan #2 are, I am just assuming they are women. I guess the ending meant something to people that follow REINA but to an uneducated viewer it just came across as weird and a silly way to end the match. Besides that, the action was fine, Ray is really fun to watch and SYURI of course did her fair share. I would be interested to know who Black Jujidan #1 and Black Jujidan #2 are since they obviously know what they are doing. Nothing exciting and the ending was bizarre, but not bad. Score: 5.5
Tie-up to start, Kato gets Nakajima into the ropes and clubs her in the chest, but Nakajima returns the favor. Irish whip by Nakajima and she delivers a dropkick. Nakajima picks up Kato, snapmare, and she applies a sleeper. Kato gets out of it, front facelock by Nakajima but Kato slides out of it and gets in the mount. Nakajima applies the stretch muffler but Kato gets a hand on the ropes. Nakajima picks up Kato and throws her into the corner before throwing Kato down by her hair. Nakajima throws her again and a third time. Nakajima stands on Kato’s face in the corner, Kato fights back but Nakajima elbows her to the mat. Nakajima picks up Kato but Kato takes Nakajima down. Stomp by Nakajima and she hits a scoop slam, but Kato rolls up Nakajima for a two count. School boy by Kato but she gets another two. Nakajima kicks Kato in the back and then knees her in the face. Irish whip by Nakajima and she hits an elbow in the corner. Irish whip by Nakajima, reversed, reversed again, but Kato grabs Nakajima’s arm and applies an armbar over the top rope. Kato gets back in the ring but Nakajima avoids her dropkick attempt. Nakajima kicks Kato in the head, she goes off the ropes but Kato kicks her in the stomach. Nakajima kicks her back and drops Kato with a DDT. Sliding kick by Nakajima, cover, but Kato gets a shoulder up. Nakajima applies a waistlock, Kato elbows out of it but Nakajima elbows Kato. They trade elbows, Irish whip by Kato but Nakajima elbows Kato. Nakajima goes for a backdrop suplex but Kato lands on her feet. Sleeper by Kato and she goes for the cross armbreaker, Kato then applies an armbar but Nakajima gets a foot on the ropes. Dropkick to the arm by Kato, and she hits two more. Kato goes off the ropes but Nakajima elbows Kato. Kick to the head by Nakajima, she picks up Kato and Nakajima hits a backdrop suplex. Nakajima goes up to the top turnbuckle and she hits a missile dropkick. Cover, but she gets a two count. Nakajima picks up Kato and she hits a German Suplex Hold for the three count. Your winner: Arisa Nakajima
Match Thoughts: A good back and forth match, Nakajima was the better wrestler but Kato got in a fair amount of offense as well. Even though the action was largely forgettable as nothing really stood out, it was fluid from start to finish and both wrestlers were on point. A solid mid-card match but not much else beyond that. Score: 6.0
Dino harasses the referee before the match starts, Shu spits water at The Bodyguard and he attacks him along with Kei. Kei and Shu hold The Bodyguard for Dino, Dino goes off the ropes but The Bodyguard shoves Kei and Shu off. The Bodyguard hits a press slam on Kei and throws him at Shu. The Bodyguard and Dino are alone in the ring, tie-up, Dino goes for a kiss but The Bodyguard blocks it and throws Dino to the mat. The Bodyguard goes off the ropes and hits a shoulderblock. Cover, but Shu breaks it up. Shu spits water at The Bodyguard as he rolls out of the ring, and they both exit the ring to go after him. Well Shu does, Kei mostly talks to the crowd. They all battle around the ring and into the crowd, and after a bit Shu gets in the ring with The Bodyguard. Shu hits The Bodyguard with a metal sign, Kei goes up to the top turnbuckle and spits green goo onto The Bodyguard. Shu gets some luggage and rams it into The Bodyguard’s groin, he then gets a bowling ball and rolls it into the piece of luggage. Double Irish whip to The Bodyguard but The Bodyguard hits a lariat on both of them. The Bodyguard puts Kei on his shoulders, Shu tries to break it up but The Bodyguard keeps the hold on Kei. Dino gets in the ring and puts his hand into The Bodyguard’s trunks, getting The Bodyguard to release the hold. Kei and Shu stomp on Dino, Shu gets the bowling ball but Dino hits him before he can use it. Dino grabs Shu and Kei by the balls and flings them both to the mat, he then goes to The Bodyguard and gives him a big ‘ol kiss. Cover, but it gets a two count. Dino pulls down his pants and goes up to the top turnbuckle, but The Bodyguard stomps himself from being thrown into Dino. Shu returns and kicks The Bodyguard from behind, and The Bodyguard lands in the same corner as Dino. Shu goes to spit the black mist at The Bodyguard, but The Bodyguard moves and Dino is hit instead. Shu and Kei then ram The Bodyguard face-first into Dino’s ass, before pulling him off the top turnbuckle. Kei gets a metal sign and goes to hit Dino, but Dino moves and he hits Shu by accident. Dino then makes Kei and Shu kiss and they both fall out of the ring. The Bodyguard gets back into the ring, elbows by The Bodyguard to Dino but Dino Hulks Up until green goo starts coming out of his mouth. The Bodyguard goes off the ropes and hits a lariat onto Dino, but then he starts spitting up green goo as well. Everyone is laid out on the mat and the referee calls for the bell. The match is declared a Draw.
Match Thoughts: This match was ridiculous. In pretty much every way possible. I mean I don’t mind a weird spectacle every now and then and this match definitely qualifies as that. I actually like the green goo spot, which may not say a whole lot about me, but besides that there wasn’t much going on here. Half of the match was brawling around the crowd, we got our usual spots with Dino and the match ended soon after that. I guess it is what it is, a decent change of pace with some laughs but a missed opportunity in some ways. Score: 5.0
Leon and Narumiya start things off. Tie-up to start, side headlock by Leon, Narumiya reverses it into a wristlock but Leon trips her. Leon goes off the ropes and Narumiya hits an armdrag. Armdrag by Leon, they take turns tripping each other and both wrestlers return to their feet. Makoto and Nakagawa are tagged in, they lock knuckles, waistlock by Nakagawa but Makoto reverses it. Wristlock by Nakagawa, Makoto reverses it but Nakagawa reverses it back. Hammerlock by Nakagawa and she applies a wristlock. Armdrag by Makoto, she goes off the ropes and kicks Nakagawa to the mat. Makoto tags in Narumiya, they pick up Nakagawa, double Irish whip and they hit a double boot. Narumiya stomps on Nakagawa, Irish whip by Narumiya, reversed, and Nakagawa delivers a dropkick. Nakagawa tags in Leon and Leon dropkicks Narumiya in the corner. Leon picks up Narumiya and hits a scoop slam. Leon goes off the ropes and hits a rolling senton, elbow by Leon but Narumiya delivers a dropkick and she tags in Makoto. Makoto goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick to Leon. Cover, but it gets a one count. Makoto picks up Leon and goes for a suplex but Leon blocks it. Vertical suplex by Leon and she tags in Nakagawa. Nakagawa picks up Makoto and throws her into the corner, elbow strike by Nakagawa, snapmare, and Nakagawa hits a dropkick. Cover, but it gets two. Nakagawa tags in Leon, double Irish whip to Makoto but Makoto hits a crossbody on both of them. Narumiya comes in the ring, she throws Nakagawa into the corner and Leon is thrown into the same corner. Dropkick by Narumiya and Makoto hits a big boot. Cover by Makoto but it gets a two count. Makoto picks up Leon and applies a double underhook, but Leon backdrops out of it. Elbows by Makoto, she goes off the ropes but Leon catches her and drives Makoto into the corner. Running shoulder tackle by Leon in the corner, cover, but it gets a two count. Leon picks up Makoto and hits an underhook suplex. Cover, but it only gets two. Leon picks up Makoto, waistlock by Leon but Makoto elbows out of it. Leon goes off the ropes but Narumiya kicks her from the apron. Elbow by Makoto, Irish whip, reversed, and Makoto kicks Leon in the back of the leg. Narumiya adds in a dropkick as well, cover by Makoto but it gets two.
Makoto tags in Narumiya, and Narumiya dropkicks Leon. Narumiya throws Leon in to the corner but it is reversed, Narumiya flips herself out to the apron and kicks Leon back. Waistlock by Narumiya, reversed by Leon but Narumiya rolls her up and applies a stretch submission hold. Rocking Horse by Narumiya and she stomps Leon in the back. Narumiya goes off the ropes but Leon hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Leon picks up Narumiya, she puts Narumiya in a backbreaker but it is broken up. Leon charges Narumiya but Narumiya moves out of the way. Leon slams Narumiya to the mat, and Leon tags in Nakagawa. Nakagawa stomps on Narumiya in the back and hits a double kneedrop. Nakagawa picks up Narumiya and rolls her up before applying a single leg crab hold, but Narumiya makes it to the ropes. Nakagawa picks up Narumiya and goes for a Fisherman Suplex, but it is blocked. Narumiya kicks Nakagawa back and delivers a dropkick. Cover, but it gets a two count. Narumiya picks up Nakagawa and gets her onto her shoulders, but Nakagawa gets out of it. Nakagawa goes off the ropes but Narumiya hits a Polish Hammer. Cover, but it gets a two count. Narumiya tags in Makoto, and Makoto hits a superkick to Nakagawa. Makoto picks up Nakagawa, Nakagawa goes off the ropes but Makoto dropkicks her in the knee. Double stomp by Makoto, cover, but it gets a two. Nakagawa kicks Makoto and throws her off the top turnbuckle, Leon then goes up top and hits a missile dropkick onto Makoto. Makoto rolls up Nakagawa, but it only gets a two count. Makoto throws Nakagawa into the corner, reversed, and Makoto kicks Nakagawa in the stomach. Makoto goes up top and hits a diving crossbody onto Nakagawa, but it gets a two count. Bridged double underhook suplex by Makoto, but Nakagawa gets a shoulder up. Makoto charges Nakagawa, but Nakagawa applies a crab hold. Narumiya quickly breaks it up and hits a spear onto Nakagawa. Makoto hits a spear of her own, cover, but it is broken up. Leon hits a spear onto Makoto and Nakagawa hits a stunner. Submission hold by Nakagawa to Makoto but Narumiya breaks it up. Inside cradle by Makoto to Nakagawa and then a backslide, but Nakagawa gets out of it and hits a step-up enzigieri. Nakagawa picks up Makoto and hits a Fisherman Suplex Hold, but Makoto barely gets a shoulder up. Step-up kick by Nakagawa and she hits a lariat, cover, and she picks up the three count. Your winners: Leon and Tomoka Nakagawa
Match Thoughts: An entertaining match, a few of these girls can really bring it. This is the first match on the card that really felt like it got enough time, as it clocked in at almost fifteen minutes. They used the time wisely and the match was just non-stop action to the point I had to pause it a few times to catch up on my play by play. And I type very fast. I’m not a big fan of Makoto, I just find her average overall, but Nakagawa is great and Narumiya held her own as well. A fun mid-card tag match with more upside than downside even if it was a bit chaotic at times. Score: 7.0
Kimura and Koshinaka start things off. They circle each other, Koshinaka punches Kimura to the mat and hits a quick hip attack before tagging in Syuri. Kimura and Syuri jockey for position, Kimura pushes Syuri into the ropes and takes her down to the mat. Kimura goes for Syuri’s arm and tries to lock in the cross armbreaker, but Syuri quickly gets out of it. Kimura tags in Mochizuki and Syuri tags in Koshinaka. Koshinaka and Mochizuki tie-up but break cleanly, side headlock takedown by Koshinaka but Mochizuki quickly gets out of it. Irish whip by Koshinaka, Mochizuki goes for a shoulderblock but Koshinaka doesn’t go down. Mochizuki goes off the ropes but Koshinaka delivers a hip attack. Mochizuki tags in Kimura, kick by Koshinaka and he clubs Kimura to the mat. Koshinaka picks up Kimura and hits a scoop slam. Koshinaka picks up Kimura again and headbutts her to the mat. Another headbutt by Koshinaka and a third headbutt, Koshinaka picks up Kimura and clubs her in the back. Kimura tries to fight back but Koshinaka gives her a forearm shot before tagging in Syuri. Syuri kicks Kimura in the chest, she picks her up but Kimura drives Syuri into the corner and tags in Mochizuki. Mochizuki and Syuri circle each other and trade leg kicks, snapmare by Syuri and she kicks Mochizuki in the back. Mochizuki gets back up, strike combination by Syuri and she delivers a high kick. Mochizuki returns to his feet, kicks by Syuri but Mochizuki slaps her to the mat. Mochizuki picks up Syuri, snapmare, and he kicks her in the back. Mochizuki picks up Syuri and throws her into Kimura’s foot before tagging in Kimura. Kimura grabs Syuri by the hair and flings her to the mat, and she does it a few more times. Kimura throws Syuri into the corner and tags in Mochizuki, and Mochizuki hits Syuri with a hip attack. Kimura runs in the ring and hits a hip attack as well, and Mochizuki hits another one. Mochizuki picks up Syuri, elbows by Syuri and she kicks Mochizuki in the chest, but Mochizuki kicks her to the mat. Cover, but it gets a two count. Mochizuki tags in Kimura, Syuri fights back against Kimura but Kimura hits a hard elbow. Kimura picks up Syuri, Irish whip, but Syuri hits a knee. Syuri tags in Koshinaka, and Koshinaka hits a hip attack on Kimura and Mochizuki. Syuri comes back in, double Irish whip to Mochizuki and they hit a double hip attack. Koshinaka picks up Kimura and throws her down by the hair. Side Russian leg sweep by Koshinaka to Kimura and he puts her in a crab hold. Kimura crawls to the ropes and reaches them to force a break.
Koshinaka hits a hip attack on Kimura and a second one. Koshinaka picks up Kimura and he hits a vertical suplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Stomp by Koshinaka, he picks up Kimura and throws her into the corner. Stomps by Koshinaka and he throws Kimura into Syuri’s boot. Koshinaka tags in Syuri and Syuri throws Kimura into Koshinaka’s boot. Koshinaka comes in and the ring and they both kick Kimura, hip attacks by Syuri to Kimura and she goes for a suplex, but Kimura blocks it. Grounded front facelock by Syuri but Mochizuki muscles out of it and hits a vertical suplex. Kimura tags in Mochizuki, Mochizuki picks up Syuri and throws her into the corner. Irish whip by Mochizuki but Syuri moves when he charges in, kick by Syuri but Mochizuki comes back with a big boot. Mochizuki goes off the ropes and kicks Syuri in the chest, but Syuri hits a leg sweep. Syuri tags in Koshinaka, hip attack by Koshinaka to Mochizuki as Syuri comes back into the ring, double Irish whip to Mochizuki and they hit a double lariat. Koshinaka throws Mochizuki into the corner, Syuri hits a jumping knee and Koshinaka delivers a hip attack. Koshinaka picks up Mochizuki and goes for a powerbomb, but Kimura breaks it up. Koshinaka punches Kimura out of the ring and goes back to Mochizuki, but Mochizuki hits a back bodydrop. Koshinaka tags in Syuri, kicks by Syuri to Mochizuki but Mochizuki kicks her back, snapmare by Mochizuki and he hits a PK. Cover, but Syuri gets a shoulder up. Mochizuki tags in Kimura, kicks to the head by Kimura, cover, but it gets a two count. Syuri pushes off Kimura, kicks by Syuri and she goes off the ropes, but Kimura hits a big boot. Syuri blocks the next one and hits a release German suplex, punches by Syuri but Kimura hits her back and they trade slaps. Headbutt by Kimura, and both wrestlers fall to the mat. Knees by Syuri, she goes off the ropes but Mochizuki knees her from the apron. Koshinaka runs in, he goes out to the apron and hits a hip attack down to the floor on Mochizuki. In the ring Syuri picks up Kimura and applies a waistlock, Koshinaka comes in and tries to hip attack Kimura but Kimura moves and he hits Syuri by accident. Kimura holds Syuri for Mochizuki, but Syuri moves and Mochizuki boots Kimura. German suplex hold by Syuri to Kimura, but it gets a two count. Syuri kicks Kimura in the side of the head, cover, but Mochizuki breaks it up. Syuri picks up Kimura but Kimura hits a headbutt, inside cradle by Syuri but it gets two. Syuri goes off the ropes but Kimura hits a big boot, cover, but it gets two. Kimura picks up Syuri and applies a sleeper, Syuri struggles but can’t get out of the hold, then Mochizuki comes in and kicks her in the head. That effectively puts her out and the referee calls for the bell. Your winners: Kyoko Kimura and Masaaki Mochizuki
Match Thoughts: I really enjoyed this one, it was a unique pairing but all four worked well together. While the male wrestlers were obviously stronger they gave the women a fair amount of offense and didn’t treat them like they were beneath them which I thought made the match a lot better. Koshinaka still does way too many hip attacks, but then everyone started doing hip attacks which was fun. The ending was really well done, with Kimura already having the sleeper locked in, and Mochizuki running in to kick Syuri in the head to just make sure she didn’t get out of the hold. Even though I like him Koshinaka can sometimes drag a match down, but he didn’t here and overall it was just a fun match to watch even if it did slow down at times. Score: 7.5
Best Match: Kyoko Kimura and Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Syuri and Shiro Koshinaka. The uniqueness of this match definitely helped it, but even without that I thought that it was a fun match. Syuri and Kimura were great and the men did enough to enhance the match without dominating it. They let the women shine, which was good since it was Syuri’s festival after all. It had a good blend of 1 vs. 1 and tag spots, and even though it wasn’t fast paced it kept going enough that it never dragged. A fun once-in-a-lifetime type match that delivered.
MVP: Syuri. Duh, right? She wrestled in two matches and looked really good in both. She got respect from both Mochizuki and Koshinaka, two respected veterans. And she was involved in two entertaining matches on a card that only had six matches. Syuri is a great wrestler, she should just be in every match next time.
Overall: Not the longest event but still a pretty solid one. The Joshi matches were all decent (not counting the first match that was under a minute long), and the bizarre four way will certainly be enjoyed by some people. The event lacked a real standout must-see match but it was a lot of fun seeing Koshinaka and Mochizuki in a different setting. The women weren’t treated as inferior wrestlers which helped the match a lot, and in general on the card every match felt competitive. It is hard to recommend an event with really only five matches, but there is definitely some good here to be seen.
I generally post my Raw Report, live as the show happens on TV. I had every intention of doing so tonight as well, but after reading these spoilers I feel I’m just going to save myself the hassle. I’ll be posting spoilers for the show below along with my personal thoughts on each segment in a condensed version of my usual Raw Report…
Thanks to Sierra, Ben and Niall Thomas for the following WWE RAW spoilers from today’s tapings in Liverpool, England. I’ve also added in some missing promos and such.
* Lilian Garcia kicks off RAW with God Save the Queen. There are “where’s our Network” chants. (My thoughts: LOL)
* John Cena comes out to a rowdy reaction. Cena announces Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler for Team Cena at Survivor Series. Swagger will face Seth Rollins tonight. Cena then calls Ryback to the ring to discuss tonight’s main event. The Authority interrupts with Triple H leading the way. Mark Henry is also with them. Stephanie McMahon announces Henry vs. Ziggler for tonight. Both teams want Ryback but he ends up attacking Cena and joining Team Authority. (My thoughts… Well, either they’ve already killed Ryback’s heat… AGAIN… ORRR this is a set up to get Ryback more over as a babyface. Unfortunately, this being WWE I assume it’s the former, but I hope it’s the latter. We shall se. Also, Jack Swagger on Team Cena??? I guess every team needs a Tito Santana to do that early job.)
* Seth Rollins defeated Jack Swagger with a Curb Stomp. This was a good back and forth match. Rollins hit a second Curb Stomp after the match. (My thoughts: Well, Swagger certainly looks prepared for Series. Then again, the way they’re acting on Raw, these Curb Stomps will take Swagger out for weeks for some reason, so we may still have to wait for this spot to be filled “again”.)
* Promo from Dean Ambrose on the big screen. He’s not afraid of demons and will drag Bray Wyatt to hell at Survivor Series. (My thoughts: That’s great and all, but we need more from these two IN THE RING. Good promo though.)
* Segment with Kane and Ryback. Kane tries to rally Ryback, but Ryback says he has his own back and isn’t worried. (My thoughts: Hmmm. Well, I can’t blame Ryback because Kane sucks.)
* Paige defeated Alicia Fox. Huge pop for Paige. (No thoughts)
* Stephanie McMahon points out to Rusev and Lana that The Authority gave him a title shot last week.
* Lana and Rusev come out for his United States Title victory celebration. Sheamus interrupts after the Russian national anthem begins.
* Sheamus vs. Rusev for the title is next. Rusev retains after a rather dull match. They brawl to the floor after the match and The Authority makes the assist for Rusev. Stephanie congratulates Rusev and asks if he’s joining the team, which he does. (My thoughts: Even reading this I’m dying from boredom, we’ll call this the bathroom break. Rusev joining Team Authority is pretty interesting though.)
* The Miz and Damien Sandow defeated Los Matadores. (My thoughts: A match with Sandow? Sure, I’ll watch. Loved the spot with Sandow “bouncing off the ropes” on the apron.)
* John Cena and Dolph Ziggler are backstage. It’s confirmed, Jack Swagger is OUT. Triple H interrupts and bans Cena from ringside during Ziggler’s match against Henry. (My thoughts: The plot thickens… Dun Dun Dunnnn)
* Luke Harper eyeball promo while Dolph Ziggler is in the ring for the next match. It would appear Harper is coming for Dolph.
* Dolph Ziggler defeated Mark Henry by DQ when Henry uses a steel chair. Henry beats Ziggler after the match until Big Show makes the save. Show announces he’s on Team Cena. (My thoughts: This was a little more interesting than the Sheamus/Rusev match, which isn’t saying much.)
* “A New Day” Promo, this time the focus is Kofi Kingston, so that should answer the question on if it’s a faction. Will we get preacher Big E next week?
* A backstage segment welcomes Sheamus to Team Cena. (My thoughts: Ugh. Yawn. Why? No thank you.) So now we’re up to Cena, Ziggler, Show, and Sheamus, with Swagger removed. So the fifth man is a mystery for now…
* Divas Champion AJ Lee defeated Brie Bella in another dull match. Nikki Bella attacked AJ after the match and posed over her with the Divas Title. (No thoughts again. On second thought, why even groom Divas in NXT to work great matches when we get the same half dozen women on WWE programming working the same 2 minute match week after week.)
* Backstage segment with Ryback and Mark Henry talking about their WrestleMania match. Mark teases Ryback about the loss. Henry welcomes Ryback to Team Authority. (My thoughts: Umm, okay. Ryback didn’t seem to like that very much.)
* Tyson Kidd defeated Adam Rose when The Bunny distracted Rose. Rose attacked The Bunny after the match. Erick Rowan appeared at ringside for no apparent reason during the match but stated “she’s not here”, so I’m not sure if he’s going to be a woman stalker or what the deal is. (My thoughts: There’s WTF written all over this mess of cow poo. Rose goes heel on his bunny friend, even though the bunny deserved it. Does this make him Adam Lemon? Tyson Kidd’s current “push” is based on him being on Total Divas, oh, and it’s lame too. Just let Kidd wrestle. Erick Rowan gets set free, when clearly he wasn’t ready. I don’t get the point of keeping someone as talented as Harper off TV for this long. Obviously they have no direction for a lot of these guys, and that’s just pathetic. What is “creative” being paid for.)
* Bray Wyatt promo on Dean Ambrose. He compares himself to Ambrose once again, but continues to exposes Dean’s past issues with his father. Bray gives Dean a choice, to walk with him, or walk away and burn forever. Good promo.
* John Cena defeated Ryback by disqualification when Kane came in the ring. Kane and Ryback had words and Seth Rollins got in between them. Ryback nailed Rollins, Kane nailed Ryback. Team Authority beat down Cena. The rest of Team Cena came down but they got taken out also. Ryback came back in the ring and cleaned house of The Authority. Ryback left on his own to a big pop as RAW ended. Cena looked on confused, as did HHH and Stephanie from backstage. THEN, as the show is about to end, a bettered Dolph Ziggler is thrown into the Authority’s Office. The camera pans out to show LUKE HARPER standing over Ziggler. Luke informs the Authority that HE IS A TEAM PLAYER….. END SHOW…
(My thoughts… Well, that was cool… Sort of. Having Ryback join Team Authority in the first place sort of makes the average fan wonder whether to cheer for Ryback or not. Clearly, Ryback is playing the rogue character, but I thought we already had Dean Ambrose, and Randy Orton for that, now Ryback too? Had it been me booking, I would have simply had Ryback swerve the Authority and join Team Cena, or stay face, or whatever. Instead, we have a guy who went heel, but turned face again because somebody pissed him off. Still, thank God they didn’t have him go full on heel, that would have been the second career homicide of Ryback. Interesting to see what happens from here, will Ryback join Team Cena? Then Luke Harper shows up to try and fill the final spot on Team Authority… Even more surprising. Certainly sounds like the best thing on Raw.)
The following matches were taped today in Liverpool, England for tonight’s RAW:
* Seth Rollins vs. Jack Swagger
* Paige vs. Alicia Fox
* Damien Sandow and The Miz vs. Los Matadores
* Dolph Ziggler vs. Mark Henry
* Sheamus vs. Rusev for the WWE United States Title
* Brie Bella vs. AJ Lee
* Adam Rose vs. Tyson Kidd
* Ryback vs. John Cena
– Alex Riley worked Saturday night’s WWE NXT live event in Daytona Beach, conducting an in-ring interview with Hideo Itami. Our correspondent Tara noted that Itami’s English is improving with every appearance.
– Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling is hyping another announcement. They tweeted the following today:
“Tomorrow we make a HUGE announcement! 11/11 at 11AM ET. #GFWJan4 #WK9”
– WWE is teasing that Lana and United States Champion Rusev will give Stephanie McMahon an answer for Team Authority on tonight’s RAW.
WWE announced that internet sensation Grumpy Cat will guest star on RAW next week. Here is the official announcement:
CAN WWE MAKE GRUMPY CAT SMILE?
STAMFORD, Conn., November 10, 2014 – Internet sensation Grumpy Cat will guest star on WWE’s flagship program, Monday Night Raw, Monday, November 17 at 8/7C on the USA Network.
Grumpy Cat has become a pop-culture phenomenon and currently boasts 7 million Facebook fans, 500,000 Instagram followers and her YouTube page has received 29 million video views. With countless media appearances including The Today Show, American Idol and Forbes Magazine under her collar, Grumpy Cat has taken over with a best-selling book, a beverage line and her own line of merchandise. Next up for this celebrity feline is the original movie Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever which will air November 29th on Lifetime.
“WWE’s mission is to put smiles on people’s faces – and now we will attempt the same with Grumpy Cat,” said WWE Chief Brand Officer, Stephanie McMahon. “We are going to do everything in our power to make sure she has a good time.”
Monday Night Raw is the longest-running, weekly episodic program in U.S. primetime TV history and is the most-watched, regularly scheduled programs on cable, airing live every Monday night on USA Network. Each week, it is rated one of the most socially active shows on cable television and continues to be a “must-stop” for celebrities to reach WWE’s TV audience and its more than 420 million social media followers.
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