The John Report: The WWE Raw Deal 12/12/16
Live from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania this is the Raw Deal for episode #1229. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport.
The Raw intro video aired.
The New Day’s music hit and they made their entrance to a good ovation.
They went into the ring for the opening promo. Xavier Woods said this is for everybody that believed in them whether they are there or if they have passed. Woods said this is for his grandma, who it sounds like passed away recently. Fans chanted “grandma” and Woods liked that. They talked about how they are all part of a team with Big E saying he’s the meaty third leg, which is a dick joke. Kofi Kingston said it’s time to bring out their opponents so New Day can take their place in history.
Analysis: A match taking place five minutes into Raw? Is this the same WWE show I write about every week? Crazy.
The team of Gallows & Anderson made their entrance. Anderson is wearing tights instead of trunks like he usually wears.
There was a shot of the locker room with champagne for the celebration if New Day wins to become the all time record holders for longest Tag Title reign in WWE history.
Sheamus and Cesaro made their entrance.
The announce team of Michael Cole, Corey Graves & Byron Saxton were shown on camera. Cole noted that if New Day retains the titles then they will have 478 days as champions, which ties the record of Demolition.
Analysis: I think WWE has done a great job of building this up to be a big deal. I know some fans are annoyed by it, but if they ignored it that would be much worse.
Raw Tag Team Championships: Kofi Kingston & Big E (w/Xavier Woods) vs. Cesaro & Sheamus vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
Kingston with a cross body block on Cesaro for two. Cesaro hit a delayed vertical suplex. Sheamus tagged in with a running kick in the corner. Double axe off the top by Sheamus gets two. Dropkick by Kingston on Sheamus and Big E got the tag with a shoulder tackle to Sheamus followed by the running clothesline. Kingston with a jawbreaker on Sheamus and Anderson tagged Sheamus so that he could get into the match. Gallows tagged in with a corner splash, Anderson with a kick to the head and a Gallows kick earned a two count. Break time.
(Commercial)
Back from break, Anderson hit a back elbow on Kingston for a two count. Gallows tagged in with a boot to the face. Gallows running elbow drop on Kingston, but Big E made the save at two. Double team neckbreaker by Gallows & Anderson on Big E. Gallows punched Cesaro off the apron. Kingston nailed a springboard dropkick on Gallows. Sheamus tagged himself in by slapping Kingston. Sheamus hit the ten forearms to the chest of Gallows with the crowd chanting along. Powerslam by Sheamus on Gallows earned him a two count as Big E made the save. Sheamus with the backbreaker to Big E. Gallows boot to Sheamus. Anderson tagged in with the running kick to the head known as the Boot of Doom for a two count as Cesaro saved Sheamus.
Hot tag to Cesaro with a spinning uppercut on Anderson followed the 619, a Thesz Press on Big E on the floor, an uppercut to Kingston, double stomp to Gallows and then back into the ring with a top rope cross body block on Anderson for two. Wow what a great nearfall. Cesaro Swing on Anderson followed by the Sharpshooter. Sheamus into the ring. Woods distracted. Big E with the save to break the Sharpshooter. Cesaro tagged in Sheamus. Cesaro held Anderson and Sheamus hit a Brogue Kick. Kingston tagged himself in and hit the Trouble in Paradise kick on Sheamus for the pinfall victory. It went about 12 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: The New Day
The New Day celebrated the win. Replays aired of the fast paced finish.
Analysis: ***1/2 Very good match. That was a lot of fun with so many believable nearfalls and a creative finish with New Day finding a way to win the match once again. I loved the sequence when Cesaro was in there kicking ass and destroying everybody with different moves. The crowd really came alive for those spots. Smart win for New Day with Kingston making the blind tag and hitting the Trouble in Paradise for the win. I’m glad the champs retained and that it was a damn good match too.
Later on Raw: Seth Rollins hosts The Rollins Report with Kevin Owens as the guest.
The announcers appeared on camera talking about how there’s over 7,000 hours of original content on WWE Network.
(Commercial)
There’s some “Rusev and Lana: Behind Closed Doors” segment for later.
There was a shot of an area of the locker room that’s a party for New Day retaining the titles and breaking the record. It was a mix of unknown people, midcarders and even Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon was there with GM Mick Foley. Stephanie did a toast to the longest reigning WWE Tag Team Champions in history. They sprayed champagne bottles and Stephanie was soaked by Woods. Stephanie knocked the bowl of Booty O’s cereal out of Big E’s hand and left in anger.
Analysis: Uh oh. Trouble brewing.
Clips aired of the ongoing arguments between Raw GM Mick Foley and Sami Zayn, who wanted to face Braun Strowman. They showed a tweet from Zayn earlier in the day saying he wanted a match with Strowman.
Braun Strowman made his entrance.
(Commercial)
Stephanie McMahon was backstage with a towel to dry herself off. Kevin Owens showed up to suggest that somebody needs to teach New Day a lesson. He said he had an idea he wanted to run by her and she said she has to get cleaned up and for him to wait.
Braun Strowman vs. Curtis Axel
Strowman tossed Axel across the ring. Running attack in the corner by Strowman. Axel hit a kick to stun him, but it didn’t have much affect. Axel jumped off the ropes and Strowman punched him. Strowman picked him up and slammed him stomach first for the pinfall win. One minute win.
Winner by pinfall: Braun Strowman
Analysis: 1/4* A squash win for Strowman like we’ve seen many times over the last six months.
Post match, Strowman was interviewed in ring by Byron Saxton. Strowman told him to congratulate him on his victory. When asked about Zayn, Strowman said that Axel looks just like Zayn – another annoyance. Strowman said that Foley is protecting Zayn because he can’t last two minutes with him nor can anyone else.
Analysis: He’s mean and strong. We get it.
Foley was watching on a monitor backstage. Sami Zayn showed up to say he wants the match with Strowman. Zayn told him that he didn’t need to be saved because nobody saved Foley. He wondered who Foley would be today if somebody saved him and Foley said sometimes he wishes somebody did save him. Foley said that Zayn wants to win a match and Strowman wants to end his career. Foley told Zayn he knows he can’t beat Strowman. Zayn suggested that if Foley doesn’t give him the opportunities on Raw then maybe he doesn’t need to be on Raw (crowd cheers). Foley said out of respect to Sami, he’ll call Daniel Bryan to work on a trade. Zayn left.
Analysis: It’s an interesting story. I also find it very interesting that the crowd cheers at the thought of a trade. Is that because it would be something different for Zayn or because Smackdown is the better show? I think it’s a bit of both and yes, Smackdown is better.
(Commercial)
Cruiserweight time as we get a clip of Ariya Daivari attacking Jack Gallagher after Gallagher won last week on Raw.
Ariya Daivari vs. Lince Dorado
The crowd barely reacted to anything as Dorado hit a hurricanrana and a springboard cross body block. Dorado missed a corner attack. Daivari hit a clothesline leading to a flip bump for Dorado. Gallagher’s music started up and he walked down to the ring. Gallagher did a promo saying he intended to interfere in this match. He called Daivari a scoundrel with some fans chanting “scoundrel” at him. Gallagher said he would give him a thorough thrashing. Daivari left the ring to go after him, so the ref rang the bell for the disqualification. Call it three minutes or so.
Winner: Ariya Daivari by disqualification
They had a brief brawl in the ring. Gallagher hit a headbutt and then a dropkick. Daivari was on the floor selling the dropkick while Gallagher was in the ring and that ended the segment.
Analysis: 1/4* It was an angle more than a match. The idea was that Gallagher is a different kind of guy that would say he’s going to interfere before doing it, so that’s what he did. It was mildly amusing. The whole thing felt like a waste of time.
Seth Rollins was shown walking backstage.
(Commercial)
Seth Freakin’ Rollins made his entrance. The ring was set up for his “talk show” known as The Rollins Report. Way to add a name between The and Report it’s so creative. (Wait a second!)
The Rollins Report with Kevin Owens
Rollins started off by saying he wants to face Triple H. He said he knows he can’t isolate Kevin Owens until he gets rid of KO’s “maybe” best friend Chris Jericho. He mentioned he can get rid of Jericho this Sunday at Roadblock. He said he had a question about Sunday and if it’s going to be Rollins vs. Jericho alone or will Owens be there too. He introduced the Universal Champion Kevin Owens.
Analysis: During this whole segment I noticed the TJRWrestling sign in the crowd. Thank you to long time reader Anthony Vee for bringing that. I really appreciate it. I’ll post a pic later.
Owens walked out to the stage, then went to the back and brought a stool to sit on the stage. Rollins wondered why Owens can’t walk down to the ring. Owens told him it would be silly to come down there. Owens said he didn’t care about his stupid Rollins Report. Owens told him that the only reason he came out there is because he’s got an announcement to make. Rollins wondered how KO’s friendship is with Jericho. Rollins reminded him that he hit a Pedigree on Owens last week and Owens cut him off saying that on Sunday, Jericho will have his back against Roman Reigns while Owens will have Jericho’s back against Rollins.
Owens moved on to talk about his announcement. He said that Stephanie has decided to put New Day in another Tag Team Title match later on Raw. That match will be against Owens and Jericho. Here comes Jericho.
Chris Jericho walked out with the scarf around his neck and the List of Jericho in his hands. Jericho asked Owens if he’s crazy considering what Owens has done in the last couple of weeks. Owens admitted that he should have listened to Jericho last week. He said that they could ruin New Day’s chance to break the record as the longest reigning Tag Team Champions. Owens told him that Stephanie made the match, so it’s going to happen one way or another.
Rollins butted in to say it sounds like Owens is trying to tell him what to do. Rollins said this is like a reunion between Bon Jovi and Meatloaf. That drew some laughs. Jericho busted out his line: “You shut up you stupid idiot!” Rollins wondered if “sparkle crotch” is going to go down to the ring or put him on the list. Jericho did his routine asking Rollins if he knows what happens when people talk to him like that. “Seth Rollins, you…” and he paused. Jericho dropped the pen. He said he’ll put Rollins on the disabled list and he went down to the ring. Owens went with him.
The heels double teamed Rollins with Jericho hitting him with a punch to the head. They brawled outside the ring with Jericho and Owens sending Rollins back first into the barricade. They went back into the ring, which was the cue for Roman Reigns, who made his way down to the ring. Not a big reaction for him. Reigns nailed uppercuts on Owens and Jericho. Rollins recovered to take down Jericho with a punch. Reigns with a boot to the face of Jericho followed by a Superman Punch. Rollins with a kick and a Pedigree attempt, but Owens pulled Jericho out of the ring. Owens and Jericho went up the ramp while Rollins and Reigns stood together in the ring.
Analysis: It was a basic promo to set up the Reigns save. You could see it coming from a mile away. The promos were pretty standard. It’s nice that Rollins is calling out Triple H, which should lead to Hunter coming back around the Royal Rumble to possibly cost Rollins that match. Owens and Jericho continue to have problems, but it will be interesting to see what happens on Sunday if they end up still having problems or if it’s all just a swerve to fool the dumb faces. Reigns barely got a reaction making the save. They set him up for the hero spot, yet the crowd still doesn’t care about him that much.
This Sunday at Roadblock it’s Banks vs. Charlotte. There will be a special look later. Rusev and Lana are up later. Perkins vs. Kendrick up next.
(Commercial)
Later on Raw: New Day faces Jericho and Owens for the Tag Team Titles.
The Cruiserweight Champion “The Outlandish” Rich Swann was interviewed backstage by Charly Caruso. A clip aired from 205 Live last week when TJ Perkins got involved in the issues between Rich Swann and Brian Kendrick. Swann didn’t get very far in the promo when Kendrick showed up. Kendrick told him that Swann’s buddy Perkins kicked him in the teeth last week. Perkins showed up with Swann telling him that Kendrick is accusing Perkins of being a traitor. Perkins told Kendrick he can find out his intentions right now.
The match at Roadblock is Swann vs. Perkins vs. Kendrick for the Cruiserweight Title.
Analysis: I’m tired of triple threat feuds, but it’s no surprise that WWE is going in this direction for Roadblock since they seem to do a triple threat match at every PPV.
TJ Perkins vs. Brian Kendrick
Kendrick wanted a pre-match handshake, but Perkins didn’t shake his hand. Slow start to the match as each man tried to get the advantage and was unable to do so. Perkins nailed a kick and hit a clothesline that sent Kendrick over the top to the floor. Perkins hit the wrecking ball dropkick sending Kendrick to the floor as the show went to break.
(Commercial)
Back from break, Kendrick had a headlock. Perkins came back with a spin kick as Rich Swann was shown watching on a screen backstage. Perkins with an atomic drop followed by clotheslines and a running dropkick to the knee. Perkins nailed a running dropkick in the corner. Missile dropkick by Perkins gets a two count. Kendrick hooked the arm and leg of Perkins leading to a bridging back suplex for a two count. Perkins with the knee bar and Kendrick got to the ropes. Kendrick sent him into the turnbuckle followed by the Sliced Bread #2 for the pinfall win after about eight minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Brian Kendrick
Analysis: **1/2 It was a solid match. We’ve seen them wrestle a lot in the last few months, which is a problem on Raw where they repeat matches way too often. That’s why there’s barely a crowd reaction because they have seen the match so many times. Giving Kendrick the win is fine since he has lost to Swann so much in the last month or so. I think Swann will retain the title on Sunday.
Rollins and Reigns were shown walking backstage. Raw GM Mick Foley said they looked really good out there fighting together. Foley said he’s there to talk about an opportunity for them. The main event is going to be New Day vs. Jericho & Owens vs. Rollins & Reigns for the Tag Team Titles. The crowd cheered.
Analysis: To sum up the crowd reactions they don’t like Reigns on his own, but if he’s with Rollins they like it. Okay then. Got it? Good.
(Commercial)
Back from break, the graphic informed us that it’s official: New Day defends the Raw Tag Team Titles against Jericho & Owens and Reigns & Rollins in the second tag team triple threat match of the show.
The announcers talked about Charlotte vs. Banks with Graves noting that there’s no rematch clause, so this is the “end of the line” for their feud.
A video package aired to set up Sasha Banks defending the Women’s Title in the Ironman Match against Charlotte Flair at Roadblock End of the Line this Sunday night. Highlights aired of their matches as they talked about raising the bar in the women’s division. They showed highlights of three of their title changes since July. There have been five title changes since July.
Analysis: Awesome video package to set up their match on Sunday, which is a big deal. This has been one of the best feuds of the year – no doubt about that. While I’ve enjoyed their matches, I look forward to the end of the rivalry so that we can see something different in the women’s division. I think Charlotte leaves with the title again.
Bayley was shown backstage hugging people.
A clip aired from some movie called Sing. Way to be creative with the title.
(Commercial)
Bayley made her entrance. She’s facing Alicia Fox again. There was a clip of a Bayley bear that Fox destroyed earlier in the day because Fox thinks Bayley had a crush on Fox’s man Cedric Alexander.
Analysis: Please get better writers, WWE. This is a terrible idea for a feud. Not only that, but Bayley got destroyed by Charlotte after Survivor Series and has done nothing to get revenge. It makes Bayley look like the biggest idiot on this show.
Bayley vs. Alicia Fox
Remember when I said WWE likes to repeat matches? Apparently, we need to see Bayley beat Fox again. Bayley nailed a back elbow. Axe kick to the back of the head by Fox gets two. Fox with a suplex and then a Northern Lights suplex for two. The crowd is dead for this match. Fox hit a forearm. Bayley just came back with a Bayley to Belly for the win at about three minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Bayley
Analysis: * Easy win for Bayley. The ending felt so sudden that they may have just told them to go home because the crowd was so dead for this. It felt like a repeat of last week. I can’t even remember the last time Fox won a match on Raw.
The announcers plugged WWE Network and Roadblock this Sunday with their usual “you’re an idiot if you don’t have WWE Network” spiel. I’ve subscribed since day one. Leave me alone, nerds. At least they stopped plugging the WWE App.
Rusev and Lana are up next.
(Commercial)
The Ravishing Russian Lana was in the ring to introduce us to her husband Rusev. He entered in his ring gear even though he doesn’t have a match.
Rusev said ever since he’s got there he has destroyed all of our American heroes one by one. I guess he forgets his feuds with John Cena and Roman Reigns. Rusev said that last week he took out American trash Enzo Amore. He said the “Certified G” that Enzo talks about stands for garbage. Fans sang the “Oh Enzo Amore” song although it didn’t pick up that well. He said that after he threw Enzo in the hallway last week, he and Lana “did our business.” He re-iterated that they took care of business. Rusev asked if the crowd wanted to see what he’s talking about. Fans chanted “yes.” When Lana asked the fans if they are ready to see what she does behind closed doors the fans cheered.
A replay aired of last week when Rusev beat up Enzo in the hotel room. The fans booed because apparently they were stupid enough to think that they would be shown something else. Rusev and Lana mocked them for being so gullible. She called Americans delusional and pathetic just like Enzo. Rusev credited Lana for setting up the plan to trap that little mouse Enzo and when the time was right, Rusev trashed him. Rusev reminded us that he’s the only man that can have her. She said “CRUSHED” the way Enzo & Cass do their “SAWFT” bit.
Big Cass walked out on his own. He said that Enzo’s recovering at home. He said that Enzo likes to run his mouth, but at least he’s got the balls to back it up. Cass said this isn’t a hotel room, his pants are on (he’s wearing trunks) and he said he’s not Enzo.
Cass went down to the ring. They threw punches with Cass in control. Rusev tackled him and they went out to the floor. The brawl was even for a bit as they brawled some more. Rusev sent Cass into the ring post and Rusev ran away. Cass was standing tall in the ring to end the segment.
Analysis: That took a while to get to the point, but they finally got there. The storyline was about using tiny man Enzo in order to give the big guy Cass a PPV match with the big man Rusev. Why? Because WWE sees Big Cass as a future main eventer since he’s 7 feet tall. They want to see what he can do in a featured PPV match, so we’ll see that at Roadblock.
Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho were in the locker room with Owens offering up a pep talk. Jericho said they should just concentrate on the tag team titles later on Raw.
Sami Zayn was shown walking backstage.
(Commercial)
The Emmalina photo montage aired again telling us Emmalina is premiering soon. Graves said she’ll show up when she’s ready.
Analysis: Last week they said that Emmalina will “premiere” this week, but apparently that plan has changed. In other words, they have three hours to fill, yet this Creative team was unable to fit her into the show. Get better writers. Then again it’s probably a Vince McMahon call because they had no room for it.
Sami Zayn vs. Jinder Mahal
Zayn with a dropkick. Clothesline by Zayn. Mahal came back with a back elbow to no reaction. Dropkick by Mahal gets two. Knee drop by Mahal followed by a chinlock as the announcers bickered about Zayn’s storyline issues with Mick Foley. Zayn came back with a clothesline and an Exploder Suplex into the corner. Zayn hit the Helluva Kick for the win after about three minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Sami Zayn
Analysis: *1/2 It was an easy, predictable win for Zayn. They brought back Mahal a few months ago to appear on Raw once per month to put people over apparently. What a comeback. Don’t hinder Jinder.
The Raw General Manager Mick Foley walked down to the ring. They went to break.
Analysis: That must have been an awkward three minutes of standing there during the break.
(Commercial)
The Foley song was still playing as they returned from break. Really awkward.
Foley said that he got off the phone with Daniel Bryan and said that they will be trading Zayn to Smackdown Live for a talent of equal value because that’s what Zayn wants. Zayn asked him if he’s going to give him the match with Braun Strowman. Foley said no. Zayn said that’s all he needs to here and said he’ll sign whatever he needs to sign.
Foley asked him if he wants to know who this talent of equal value is. Zayn said nothing. Foley said that he and Daniel Bryan agreed to do a trade straight up for…Eva Marie! Graves: “Yes! Yes!” The crowd let out a big “ooohhh” while Zayn was mad. Zayn said he’s worth 100 Eva Marie’s and 1000 Eva Marie’s. What blows his mind is that Mick doesn’t get him and that Mick doesn’t realize that Sami is like him. Sami bitched about how Mick is treating him like he is made of glass. Foley went into yelling mode asking him what he wants. Zayn said he wants Strowman. He actually shoved Foley a bit. Foley told Zayn to remember this moment in time and recall how bitter he feels. He wants Zayn to bottle it and duplicate it on Sunday night when Zayn faces Strowman at Roadblock. Foley admitted that he would not trade Zayn from Raw. There was no trade. He told Zayn that he believed in him. Foley wondered if Zayn had it within him to tap into that dark part of his soul to survive a monster like Strowman and the answer is a resounding yes. Foley said that Strowman claimed that Zayn couldn’t last two minutes, but Foley is going to give him ten minutes to prove to the WWE Universe why they should believe in Sami Zayn. Foley’s song played to end it. Zayn just nodded at him.
Analysis: That was well done by both guys. As I have said in the last few weeks, I like that Zayn finally has a storyline for the first time since the brand split started. I like the idea of Foley trying to get Zayn to become a tougher guy. I think this is WWE’s way of trying to build up Zayn as a more serious wrestler. I don’t know if he’s going to beat Strowman on Sunday, but if he survives the ten minutes then WWE can push this idea that Zayn has the toughness to be a top guy. In four months if Zayn is in a featured match at WrestleMania then I’ll look back on something like this as a positive for his career. If not then it’s just a waste of time. Zayn has main event talent, but he isn’t booked strong enough. Maybe this angle will get him there.
The New Day were shown walking backstage for their second match of the night.
(Commercial)
There were highlights from John Cena hosting Saturday Night Live this past Saturday night on NBC.
Analysis: I thought he did a pretty good job although some of the skits weren’t that funny. The Karate Kid parody was my favorite part. It’s still a major thing for Cena to do and should lead to even more acting opportunities for him.
It was officially announced that Big Cass will face Rusev at Roadblock this Sunday.
There were highlights of New Day’s win earlier in the night. They also aired the part where Woods sprayed Stephanie with champagne leading to her freaking out.
The New Day trio made their entrance for the main event.
Kevin Owens, the Universal Champion, made his entrance. He defends his title against Roman Reigns at Roadblock this Sunday. Roman’s US Title is not on the line because he is booked as a terrible champion. Chris Jericho made his entrance and he’s against Seth Rollins at Roadblock this Sunday.
Seth Rollins made his entrance. Roman Reigns made his entrance last. Commercial time. This crowd seems pretty quiet.
(Commercial)
The introductions for the main event took place. Here’s a good shot of the TJRWrestling sign on Raw from reader Anthony Vee. There’s no G at the end there, but it’s the thought that counts.
Thanks for the sign! Here’s a link to past John Report/TJRWrestling signs over the years.
Raw Tag Team Championships: The New Day’s Xavier Woods & Big E (w/Kofi Kingston) vs. Kevin Owens & Chris Jericho vs. Seth Rollins
Woods is in the match because he didn’t wrestle earlier. Big E was barely in the ring for the first match so he’s fresh as well. Woods with an uppercut on Rollins, but Rollins came back with the Slingblade. Big E tagged in against Reigns for the power showdown. Big E dumped Reigns to the floor, Reigns came back with a knee to block a spear and hit a leaping clothesline. Jericho tagged Reigns to get into the match. Owens and Jericho worked on Big E on their side of the ring. Jericho stomped away against Big E in the corner. Jericho up top with a back elbow to knock Big E down. Owens with a back senton on Big E. When Big E got back to his feet, they did the double clothesline spot as both guys went down hard. Woods got the tag against Owens with Woods hitting a flying forearm. Woods with a dropkick to the back as Owens was up against the ropes. Owens set up Woods on the top rope. Jericho joined the action. Rollins went over there as well. It was a double suplex leading to Big E and Reigns hitting Powerbombs so it was a Tower of Doom spot with all six guys. Show went to break there.
Analysis: The Tower of Doom spot is done in nearly every multi-person match in WWE. Doing it with six guys is certainly different although it looks ridiculous with how they set it up.
(Commercial)
Owens had Woods in a headlock as the show returned from break. Owens missed a senton splash due to Woods moving out of the way. Big E got the hot tag against Jericho. Big E hit three belly to belly suplexes. Big E hit a running splash, but as he hit the ropes Rollins tagged in. Rollins with a clothesline on Jericho out of the ring followed by the suicide dive by Rollins on Jericho. Rollins with a suicide dive on Big E on the other side. Rollins with a flying knee attack on Jericho. Rollins with another suicide dive to the floor as Reigns tagged Rollins to become the legal man. Reigns nailed Jericho with a sitout Powerbomb for two. The crowd thought that was it even though he never wins with that move. Reigns hit a Superman Punch on Owens. Jericho rollup on Reigns good for two. Reigns kicked Jericho away and Woods tagged Jericho to become the legal man. Woods with a kick on Reigns. Woods with a flying elbow smash across the ring on Reigns for a two count. That was impressive. Rollins tagged in, Reigns held Woods in his arms and Rollins nailed a flying knee attack on Woods. Rollins kicked Owens out of the ring. Rollins went up top, Jericho tripped him up and I guess that’s enough to count him as being legal. Owens with a cannonball on Rollins in the corner. Lionsault by Jericho gets two. Another great nearfall. Jericho applied the Walls of Jericho on Woods in the center of the ring. Woods sold it well and got out of it. Woods got a rollup. Owens saved Jericho from a Tornado DDT, Owens kicked Woods and they did a double team Codebreaker spot on Woods. Jericho covered Woods, but Rollins shoved Owens onto Jericho to break up the pin. That was sweet. It led to Jericho getting mad at Owens for falling on him. Owens told Jericho that Rollins pushed him. Rollins with a knee to the back of Jericho. Rollins hit a Pedigree on Jericho. Big E pulled Rollins out of the ring. Woods covered Jericho for the win at the 21 minute mark.
Winners by pinfall: The New Day
Analysis: **** Awesome tag match. Four stars out of five for that effort. The action was incredible in the last five minutes with so many believable nearfalls with thoughts that maybe New Day wouldn’t break the record. The crowd really brought into the nearfalls as did I because I thought it was possible that New Day wouldn’t break the record. They really came up with some creative stuff as far as breaking up some of the pin attempts to, especially with Rollins shoving Owens onto Jericho while he was making the pin. It was another crafty win for New Day with Woods capitalizing on the Rollins Pedigree to steal the victory. I like how smart New Day has been booked as champions and they did it again here. No surprise that Jericho took the pin considering the other guys in the match.
The New Day went up the ramp to celebrate the win as they made history for tying the longest reigning Tag Team Title record at 478 days. As of today it’s 479 days, so they are the record holders. Congrats to them.
Analysis: It’s no surprise that they set the record since Demolition are currently suing WWE.
Owens and Jericho argued in the ring. Owens told Jericho that Rollins pushed him. Jericho said it’s done. Owens told him to listen. Jericho told him it’s over. While that was going on, Reigns set up in the corner. Jericho could see it, so he just left the ring and Owens turned around right into a Spear from Reigns.
With Owens down on the mat, Reigns grabbed the Universal and United States Titles. Reigns held both titles in the air as Owens was down in the heap as a preview of what could happen at Roadblock on Sunday.
Analysis: Reigns gets the upper hand going into Roadblock. Is he leaving with two titles? It’s certainly possible, but I’m still leaning towards an Owens win. I’m honestly not sure what my prediction is yet. It’s 50/50 at this point.
Three Stars of the Show
1. The New Day’s Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods
That’s it. The three of them can share it after their performance. Great job by them.
The Scoreboard
7 out of 10
Last week: 6.5
2016 Average: 5.82
2016 Average since brand split starting July 25: 6 (Smackdown is 6.23)
Last 5 Weeks: 6.5, 7, 7, 6, 4.5
2016 High: 9 (April 11/July 25)
2016 Low: 4 (Feb. 29/Mar. 21/Aug. 15)
Final Thoughts
I give it a 7 out of 10.
That’s the fifth straight week where the score is above the average since the brand split started, so I think that’s a good sign.
I thought both tag matches were awesome and the main event was one of the best TV matches of the year. While I’m not a huge fan of triple threat matches or triple threat tag matches that much, they managed to put on two entertaining matches.
Sami Zayn was featured a bit more than usual, so that’s a positive. He deserves more of a spotlight.
There was no Charlotte or Sasha Banks on the show aside from a video package, which was a surprise. I guess the match is already established and WWE felt like they didn’t need even more TV time.
There is still a lot of filler and boring segments on the show to prevent it from being great, but a 7 out of 10 means it was a very good show. I enjoyed it for the most part.
Here are the matches announced for Roadblock: End of the Line on December 18.
Universal Championship: Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns
Raw Women’s Championship: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte
Seth Rollins vs. Chris Jericho
Sami Zayn vs. Braun Strowman (Ten Minute Time Limit)
Triple Threat Match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Rich Swann (c) vs. Brian Kendrick vs. TJ Perkins
Big Cass vs. Rusev (Kickoff Match)
I assume there will be a Tag Title match, but nothing has been announced yet. Full preview up on Friday.
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That’s all for now. See ya next time for the Smackdown review.
Thanks for reading. Go Toronto Raptors. Go Toronto Maple Leafs.
John Canton – mrjohncanton@gmail.com
Twitter @johnreport