#here's how ariya can still become cruiserweight champion

[ariyadaivaris]

205 live 2 coming any day now. you'll see

[hazyheel]

Clash of Champions 2019 Predictions

Clash of Champions is WWE’s last pay per view before the wrestling landscape undergoes a massive overhaul. NXT is getting TV time, Smackdown is moving to fox and Fridays, and of course, we have the Wednesday Night Wars starting up. NXT vs. AEW. Right now, WWE really needs their pay per view to impress to get some good buzz going around them, because AEW has been really outperforming WWE pay per views that happened around the same time. So this is a big show for WWE, and they have packed it full of matches as such. The King of the Ring final was bumped to Raw, but other than that there are plenty of big matches. And here are my predictions as to who will win.

Roman Reigns vs. Rowan in a No Disqualifications Match: This is the only non-title match that is scheduled for the show, and the story is so weak that it hurts. Reigns was attacked several times before Summerslam, but no one knew who did it. So, we had a whodunnit storyline that was very promising. Samoa Joe was the first suspect, but he was quickly proven innocent. Then Reigns interrogated Buddy Murphy, who said that it was Rowan who was responsible. Daniel Bryan and Rowan both denied it, and at Summerslam, Rowan attacked Murphy during his match and called him a liar. He and Bryan attacked Murphy again backstage on Smackdown to force him to take his claim back, which he did. The two bearded men then said that the real culprit was a guy who looked exactly like Rowan. That was around the time that this all fell apart, not only because it is a bad plot point, but they also ignored the doppleganger for the rest of the story. But eventually, Reigns somehow got security footage of Rowan walking away from the forklift incident, and Rowan admitted it was him. Remember, he easily could’ve said it was the other guy, but he just confessed. Rowan then beat down Roman and Bryan, and eventually this match was scheduled. Bad story, real bad. Hopefully there is a swerve coming, because Rowan is not the guy for this spot. I think Roman will win here, but I hope to God that someone else is actually behind the attack. I think that the No DQ stip should make this match more fun, but I doubt it’ll be one of the highlighted matches of the night. I think this match will be pretty good, but not a classic or anything.

Drew Gulak vs. Humberto Carrillo vs. Lince Dorado for the WWE Crusierweight Championship: This is a pretty simple match. A few weeks ago on 205 Live, we had a Captains challenge match: 5 on 5 tag, elimination rules. The only two survivors of that match were Oney Lorcan and Humberto Carrillo. The two then faced off in a #1 contenders match the next week, with Carrillo winning. However, Lince Dorado and Carrillo had been having some problems for the past few weeks, with Dorado being pissed about Carrillo scoring a win on him. Dorado went as far as to say that he wasn’t a real luchadore, and while Carrillo seemed to keep taking it in stride, the tension was building. Underneath all of this, Ariya Daivari was trying to sow insurrection in the Lucha House Party by telling Dorado that he could and should be the breakout star, so Dorado is slowly turning heel. Carrillo and Dorado had a singles match eventually on 205 Live, with Dorado winning and being inserted into the match. I think that Carrillo should win here, and lead the Cruiserweight division as it moves down to NXT. I think that he should pin Gulak, his old nemisis and mentor, and start to feud with Dorado in a one on one scenario. He deserves to be champion, and I think it is time for that face to be leading the division. I think Gulak could win as well, as his time doesn’t really need to be over. This should be a pretty good match. Lots of high fliers in here, and the Gulak will have to work hard to keep them grounded. I think this is one of the matches that I am more looking forward to, even if it’ll end up on the pre-show.

Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. Fire and Desire for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: This one was built in a pretty simple way. Fire and Desire just pinned the champions in a non title match recently. Beyond that, the only story is really between Cross and Mandy Rose, because Rose keeps telling Cross that she is ugly. Ouch. This pains me to say it, but Bliss and Cross are probably gonna win here. They haven’t held the belts for very long, and they need some wins under their belts before the two split up. I really don’t know how good this match will be, because Rose and Deville are great together, but Bliss and Cross haven’t really impressed me just yet. This could be their breakout match as a team, and I hope it will be, but I won’t get my hopes up.

The New Day vs. The Revival for the WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championships: The brunt of this feud will be explained later on when I talk about the WWE Championship match, but there are some small things to go over. While Orton feuded with Kingston, Orton decided to get some help on his side in the form of the Revival. The Revival then assisted Orton in dismantling the New Day, and they put both Big E and Xavier Woods out of action for a while. So now that Woods and Big E are back, the two want revenge. So that is the origin of this match, and it is actually one I’m looking forward to. We’ve been robbed of this match in the past, and now we can get it on a proper pay per view. I think that the Revival will win here, because I don’t think that this feud will be over, and the heels being able to take the title off of the faces is a good way to keep things exciting. I am looking forward to this match a lot, and I think it has the potential to be one of the best on the card.

Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Roode & Dolph Ziggler for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championships: This match is only happening because they needed an extra bit of intrigue to add to the Universal Championship match. So Strowman and Rollins both had problems with the OC, so despite the fact that they were basically feuding over the Universal Championship they decided to challenge for the Tag Team Championships, and they ended up winning. So Seth is a double champ, and Strowman made it no secret that he wanted the Universal Championship as well. To decide a #1 contender, there was a tag team turmoil match, where Roode and Ziggler were thrown together randomly but ended up winning after beating four other teams. So I think that due to the tension between Strowman and Rollins, they will choke this match and Roode and Ziggler will get the win. The tag team belts should be contested in the midcard, and Roode and Ziggler have the name value and talent to elevate them a bit. I think this could be an exciting match, but I’m pretty unsure. If they don’t overbook this match to all hell, then I bet it’ll be good or even great. But if the only thing that is important to the writers is the World Championship match, then this will probably suffer. I’ll choose to be optimistic though, and look forward to this match.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. the Miz for the WWE Intercontinental Championship: this match sorta arose from a feud between the Miz and Sami Zayn. The two argued on Miz TV about how Zayn hasn’t been performing very well, and Zayn announced that he’d be taking time away from being in the ring to start managing. His first client is Nakamura, who immediately attacked Miz. Miz received another couple of beatdowns over the course of a few weeks, until Miz decided to challenge for the belt. I think that Shinsuke wins this match, because the pairing of him and Zayn is working out really well. They need to go on a bit of a win streak, because this pairing is a breath of fresh air into both of them. I think that this could be a secret good match, because Miz can really turn it up when he wants to. I have high hopes for this, and I hope that I’m not disappointed.

AJ Styles vs. Cedric Alexander for the WWE United States Championship: this match started off in an odd way, with Styles and the OC attacking Alexander backstage one week in a seemingly random way. A few weeks later, Alexander and Styles fought in a singles match that ended in a DQ, and then Alexander pinned Styles in a 10 man tag later that night, scoring him this opportunity. I think that Alexander is going to pick up the win, just because I think AJ needs to be elevated into the main event scene. Alexander deserves a midcard run with the title, and he can put on some great matches. That belt needs to be used to elevate people again, and to make more main event stars. Hopefully this is a way to do it. This is the match that I am most looking forward to given how great these two guys are, and it’s a match I haven’t seen before. I bet this one will steal the show, and I can’t wait to see it.

Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair for the WWE Smackdown Women’s Championship: originally, this match was made because Charlotte was being incredibly cocky, to the point that Bayley had to challenge her to a match. But since Bayley turned heel alongside Sasha Banks, it has now become an interesting heel on heel battle. Bayley still feels like Charlotte is too entitled and wants to put her in her place, while Charlotte says that Bayley is a snake, and wants to expose her. For a heel on heel match, I’m into this. I still think Bayley should win, especially now that she’s turned heel. She wants some momentum coming out of the heel turn, and this is how you do it. This could be a great match, and I think given the story, it just might be.

Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks for the WWE Raw Women’s Championship: this match started with Banks’ return. She came back and immediately turned heel and attacked Natalya in order to get Lynch’s attention, and she certainly did. Since then, the two have dueled on the mic, with Banks saying that Lynch was gifted her success by having her face broken, and Lynch saying that Banks was the greatest wrestler to have never been great. I’m really excited for this, because this is Lynch’s first challenger that feels like has a chance against her, and I actually think Banks will win. Banks will win this match, and then her and Lynch can feud a bit more and have Lynch win it back in a few months. There is money to be made with Banks and Bayley at the top of the women’s division as heels, and I think that is the story they should go with. I also think this will be a great match, because these two have put on awesome matches in NXT, and I suspect they can do it again.

Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship: This match definitely goes back far. Orton challenged Kingston for the Championship at Summerslam, and in the lead up to the match, they referenced how Orton actively held Kingston back from the main event ten years ago. However, at Summerslam, the match ended in a double count out when Orton started to taunt Kingston’s family, and the two brawled. Those attacks on Kingstons family have continued, with Orton and the Revival constantly ambushing the New Day, even taking Big E and Woods out for a time. Now things have become more and more personal over the course of the feud, with things climaxing here. I think this match will have some sort of screwy finish once again, like maybe with Orton winning by DQ. So that will be my pick, and they will probably go on to have a match at Hell in a Cell. I don’t expect much out of this match, but maybe the actual blowofff will be good.

Seth Rollins vs. Braun Strowman for the WWE Universal Championship: this match doesn’t have the strongest story, but a lot of intrigue. Strowman made his intentions known for the WWE Universal Championship, but he and Rollins continued to have problems with the OC, so they teamed up and won the belts from Anderson and Gallows. Now, their Universal Championship match is still on, but they are partners as well, very exciting. I think Rollins will win here, because he is more than likely going to take on Bray Wyatt at Hell in a Cell, and that is a match that I need to see. So Rollins will more than likely retain here, because this just isn’t the time for Strowman. Maybe this will be a good match, but I’m not looking forward to it beyond the tension that this match will cause during the tag match earlier.

[queenlegacyproductions]

Miss Officer

Summary: Riley Carter is a WWE superstar dating Mustafa Ali in the cruiserweight division. During his tag match with Kalisto, She hears Enzo spew out a personal insult to Mustafa. After his victory, Riley gets an crazy idea on how to celebrate his victory and surprises him at the hotel with a new outfit.

Warnings: Smut, Fluff, Roleplay

Author’s Note: Hey, It’s me again. Back at it again with another fic. This time with the ever handsome and good looking Mustafa Ali! (Prince Ali! Fabulous he! Sorry, I’ll stop.) Anyway, enjoy!

Riley was walking - well, skipping backstage with Mustafa after he gets ready for his match with Kalisto going up against Enzo and Ariya. They meet uo with Kalisto at gorilla position.

“Good luck, Kalisto. Show Enzo what a true cruiserweight champion is.” She said.

“Don’t worry, Riley. I will.” Kalisto said before leaving when his music hits.

She turns to Mustafa. “Kick his ass, babe.”

Mustafa chuckles while pulling her close to him. “I will. For you, baby.”

Riley giggles before kissing him. He smiled at her before leaving to make his entrance.She skipped all back to his locker room to watch the match.

Enzo had had the upper hand over Mustafa. he tagged in Ariya and began to taunt him.

“Is it true you used to be a police officer? you wanna talk about police brutality? How about when hit me with the 450?”

Riley’s eyes bugged out of her head.

“Oh, he’s gonna pay for that.” She thought.

And he did with a swift kick to the face.

He then went to tag in Kalisto. Kalisto picked up the win with Salida De Sol on Ariya. She smiles as Kalisto holds up the title, staring down Enzo as Mustafa kneels beside him. She smiles mischievously as she leaves a note on his luggage as she grabs her things and left the arena.

She arrived at the hotel 20 minutes after she left. She quickly ran into the bathroom to change into her surprise before Mustafa gets back. She was slipping on her boots when she heard the door open.

“Hey, baby. You’re in there?” She heard him say.

She called out from the bathroom. “Yeah, baby. In here! I’ll be out in a minute!”

She hears him walk up to the bathroom door. “Whatcha planning, princess?

“You’ll see in a minute Just wait on the bed for me, ok?” She said, adjusting her  breasts in the outfit.

“Ok, baby girl.” He chuckles as he walks away from the door.

She breathes in and exhales as she looks at herself in the mirror.

‘He’s gonna flip his shit when he sees you in this.’

‘Good.’ She smirked in the mirror before opening the bathroom door.

“Holy shit, Ri.”

She giggled at his wide eyed, jaw dropped reaction at her current attire of a naughty cop.

She noticed that his eyes lingered on her chest a little longer when he was checking her out.

“Hey! My eyes are up here, boy.” She snapped, getting into character.

He throws his hands up in surrender with a smile. “Sorry, Miss officer.”

She walks over to him with a slight stern look on her face and grabs him by the collar. “You think this is a joke, son? I got a special place to put you in, pretty boy.”

He straightens up and loses the smile as he gulps. “No, ma’am. I don’t think it’s a joke, officer.”

She lets him go as she looks him over at the scared look at his face. “You know what? I’ll let ya go. under one condition.”

He licks his lips in anticipation. “What condition, Miss officer?”

“well, I’ll let ya go if you discipline me properly.”

His eyes bug out. “What?”

“I want you to spank me for abusing my authority.” She said. She sees the look of hesitation in his eyes.

“Then, bend your sexy ass over my lap.” He then gives her a hard look before patting his thigh.

She does what he commanded with no problem. He than caresses her ass gently. He then gives her a harsh smack on the ass.

“Ah!” She yelps as he keeps going. He chuckles as he stops spanking her and continues to rub her ass.

“So, princess likes to be spanked, huh?” She nods quickly.

“Yeah. Yeah, I like it.” She whimpers. He grabs her gently by the hair to pull her up.  

“Get up, baby. And lose the outfit. I wanna see you.” He whispered in her ear before nibbling on her earlobe.

She strips slowly to tease him. She gasps as she felt a smack against her ass when she bent over to take off her panties. “Quit teasing me, Princess.”

She turns around to face him and he kisses her passionately as he pushes back to the bed.

She falls back on the bed and he pulls back and he takes off his pants and strokes his dick as he stands at the foot of the bed. He curls a finger at her.

“Come here, baby.”

She crawls to the foot of the bed and strokes his dick before taking it into his mouth.

“Ah, fuck…” He moans, throwing his head back.

She takes him deeper into her mouth while massaging his balls.

He pushes her hair back as he thrusts slightly while he holds her hair in a makeshift ponytail.

“Oh god, baby. You’re so good at that.” he groans out. She smiles as she looks up at him and wiggles her ass. He chuckles and spanks her ass as she keeps sucking him.

“Mmm, fuck….” She moans as she takes a breather and strokes his cock. Mustafa pushes her back so he lays on her back on the bed. She whimpers as she spread her legs and rubs her pussy.

“Look at you. Already dripping for me.” He said with a smirk and got on the bed with her.

“I’ve been dripping for you since you put that little rat in his place tonight.” She said, biting her lip.

He chuckled and he kisses down her body. “So you like it when I get angry, huh?”

She smiles then bites her lip. “A little…” She bats her eyelashes at him. He smiles, shaking his head at her.

“You’re such a naughty girl, Riley.”

“And you’re such a saint, Mustafa.” He laughs with a smirk on his face.

“Oh trust me, babe….” He trailed off, kissing up her legs and stopping at her thighs. “I’m far from a saint.” He said before diving in between her thighs to the place where she need it most.

“Oh, fuck!” She screamed as he picked up his pace almost immediately.

She tugged on her hair as she felt herself draw closer to the end.

“F-Fuck! Mustafa, I-I’m gonna cum! Please!” He sucked on two of his fingers and shove inside her leaking hole.

“Cum for me, Princess.” He muttered against her lips, sucking on them. She squeals as she begins squirm as she release her sweet juices on Mustafa’s tongue. He growled at her taste, licking and drinking every drop of her essence.

“You know, I never get tired of your taste, baby.” She blushes at his comment and hides her face in the pillow nearby. He snatches the pillow away from her.

“Don’t hide from me, princess. You know I hate that.” She blushes deeper.

“Sorry, my prince.” He smiles before he kissed her, putting himself in between her legs. She gasps as he slides inside her, stretching her.

“Oh, fuck…..” She moans, wrapping herself around Mustafa.

“Shit, baby. So fucking tight.” He muttered in her ear as he runs a hand from her shoulder to her ass.

She moans as he begins a slow pace, his hands resting on her hips. “Oh, fuck…” She wrapped her hands in his hair. “Yes!”

“Fuck Riley, baby!” He growled as he began to thrust firmly into her.

“Shit! Mustafa!” She screams, arching her back as he keeps his pace.

Mustafa growls as he feels her walls tightens up. “Fuck, I can feel you tightening up against me. You wanna cum so badly, don’t you?”

She whines as she feels him hit her g-spot. “Yeah! Yes, I wanna fucking cum! Please let me cum! Please, Mustafa!”

He kisses her lips as he thrusts harder, drawing her closer to her release. “Then cum, baby. Cum on my dick, Miss Carter.”

She squeals as she cums, clawing at Mustafa’s chest. “Fuck! Mustafa!” He groans as his thrusts become sloppy. ‘F-Fuck, baby. I’m gonna explode inside you.”

She wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him. She then whimpers, “Do it. Fucking shoot your cum inside me. I want it.”

‘Fu-Fuck! R-Riley, Ah!” He throws his head back and shouts as his hips still, shooting his warm load inside her. He pants as he pulls out of her, their juices dripping from her hole. He watches as she dips a finger inside her leaking hole and drops his jaw when she sucks the juices off of it.

“Mmm…” She moans with a smile. “So good. I want more of it, Mustafa. I want more of your sweet cum.

“Marry me.”

She giggles at his comment. “You’re stupid.”

He chuckles and pulls her closer to him, kissing her. “Well, I can’t help it when I’m around you. You’re insatiable, baby.”

She giggles and she pulls the covers over her and Mustafa as he spoons her from behind. He smiles after he hears her snoring a few minutes later. He kisses her forehead.

“I love you, Officer Carter.”

A/N: Whew! Finally, I’m done! I know it’s late but the story got away from me. I hope you enjoy this

@tacoshu @gold--gucciempress @evilangel84 @ladytea19 @wwevampireamongkpop @nerdlife0612

[placetobenation]

July 25, 2017

From the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, VA

Your hosts are Vic Joseph and Corey Graves

Dasha Fuentes is backstage with Neville. We are shown what happened last night on RAW when Neville confronted Akira Tozawa and got laid out after delivering some trash-talk but Ariya Daivari came in and beat on both men then motioned that he would become champion. Neville tells Daivari that he made a critical error last night by thinking he could takeover the Cruiserweight Division and promises to teach him a lesson tonight.

  Tonight we will also see TJP & Tony Nese vs. Rich Swann & Cedric Alexander

  Akira Tozawa heads out to the ring by himself wearing a suit as he will be on commentary for Daivari vs. Neville. He assures the announcers that his shoulder is fine. Daivari comes out first and tells us he is the only person that deserves a Cruiserweight Championship match and will dedicate his victory to Abdollah Movahed, 1968 Iranian Olympic Gold Medalist.

  Ariya Daivari vs. Neville

Daivari stalls to start. He tries to play mind games then is able to boot Neville off of the apron. Daivari sends Neville into the barricade a few times. He rolls Neville inside and gets two with a frog splash but Neville ducks a hammerlock lariat and drills Daivari with a super kick. Neville then perches himself up top and hits a missile dropkick. Daivari rolls outside then Neville drags him in front of Tozawa and slams his head off of the announcers table before staring at Tozawa. Neville gets in Tozawa’s face and Tozawa heads towards him but Daivari shoves Neville into Tozawa then rolls inside to get the win via countout (4:37) *1/2. After the match, Tozawa is shown grabbing his shoulder as Daivari is smiling on the ramp. Tozawa heads inside but is stopped by a few officials as the crowd chants “let them fight.”

Thoughts: Not much of a match but it did heat up the Neville/Tozawa feud. They are also making Daivari out as an opportunist with his attack last week and the way he won tonight. He just might be able to weasel his way into the title picture, especially with a win over the champion. This current Daivari character is certainly more interesting than hearing him talk about how expensive his shirts and luggage are at least but he still does not stand out much as a performer.

  We are shown highlights from last week’s Mustafa Ali vs. Drew Gulak 2-out-of-3 falls match. I highly recommend seeking this out. Corey even told us he watched this match a few times on the WWE Network this weekend because he liked it so much.

  The Brian Kendrick heads out to the ring. He talks about trying to help and teach us but ended up getting attacked and snarky tweets on social media telling us fighters like himself and clowns like Jack Gallagher. Kendrick says he realized we are just simple people and need pictures to learn. Gallagher is shown on the screen and we see all sorts of clownish stuff photoshopped on him as Kendrick says it looks like a clown to him. Gallagher comes out to tell Kendrick that he is insecure and instead of taking the highroad will “knock his bloody” head off as he runs to the ring but Kendrick bails. Kendrick then leaves through the crowd as he yells at everyone while Gallagher’s music plays. The photoshop comedy segments in the WWE are usually terrible and this was not an exception. The material was incredibly lame. A Kendrick vs. Gallagher match should be good but this feud is not working and the premise is flimsy.

  Dasha is backstage with Swann & Alexander. Swann said he chose Alexander as his partner due to what he did to Dar in the “I Quit” match. Alexander said he accepted because he came to 205 Live for competition and not to deal with crazy girlfriends. TJP & Nese interrupt and there is some trash-talking as both teams accuse each other of not being able to deal with friendly competition. Not the best acting here but the match should be good anyway.

  TJP & Tony Nese vs. Rich Swann & Cedric Alexander

Nese gets on one knee and tells Swann to stop to everyone can appreciate his bicep. He runs over Swann after that but Swann comes back with a dropkick after an Irish whip sequence. Alexander tags and takes control but Nese retreats to the corner. Alexander yanks Nese out and tags Swann as they hit a few double-team moves. TJP tags in after Nese escapes and engages in some matwork with Alexander. TJP pisses off the crowd with some dabbing then Alexander takes TJP down. Swann & Alexander hit stereo dives with Alexander landing badly on his tailbone then they head back inside. Alexander misses an attack and ends up outside where he gets distracted by Nese as TJP attacks from behind. Nese tags in and beats on Alexander in the corner then does his ab crunch kicks from the mat while Alexander is in the tree-of-woe.  Alexander gets a nearfall with an inside cradle but Nese runs him over after that them hammers away. The heels cut off the ring as the crowd rallies behind Alexander. TJP hits a springboard forearm for two then goes back to the arm. Alexander escapes and elbows TJP down then makes the tag as Swann runs wild on Nese. He gets two with a jumping frog splash but Nese blocks a suplex as then avoids an attack with a matrix as they work a great sequence ending with Swann hitting a super kick. Alexander and TJP are in now with Alexander in control. He hits TJP with a Spanish Fly for a nearfall as Nese makes the save. Nese cuts off Swann with a slide then slams him off of the announcers table. Alexander boots Nese off of the apron then hits Alexander with a chicken wing gutbuster for a one count. Alexander comes back with a handspring enziguiri that gets two. The ref checks on TJP as Alexander sets up for a springboard clothesline but Nese shoves him off and Cedric bounces off of the ropes as TJP covers for the win (12:20) ***1/4. After the match, TJP & Nese celebrate while Swann & Alexander are pissed on the outside.

Thoughts: This really started heating up in the last few minutes. The heels getting the win makes sense as they can advance the friendly competition storyline between TJP and Swann with TJP showing that he still wants to take shortcuts, even against his friend. You can also start a singles feud between Nese and Alexander if you want but I would like a rematch in the coming weeks. It could really steal the show. Nese, while not good on interviews, is starting to show a lot more personality in the ring. The crowd was into Alexander here as well.

  Final Thoughts: The main event was good and the Cruiserweight Title feud stuff at the beginning was fine. It had less in-ring action than usual but the show moved along at a brisk pace and was easy to watch. Expect the Title feud to dominate until SummerSlam as it will be interesting to see over the coming weeks if Daivari gets a shot at the Cruiserweight Championship.

[dreamspeardreams]

RAWcap 23/01/17

This week I’m going to try and analyze RAW through a focus on storytelling. Wrestling will be mentioned, mostly if it’s outstanding one way or another, but otherwise I’ll mainly criticize and compliment the storytelling aspect of the show.

We open with a recap of JeriKO saying they���ve ‘Taken over RAW’ for the past few weeks, and this really speaks to why the Main Event scene has been boring for the past month and a half. These guys are all great (Roman is merely fine), but the plot hasn’t gone anywhere since the Title match was announced for the Royal Rumble. And now Roman opens the go-home RAW.

Roman’s promo this week feels a little arrogant, which is a good thing. Better for Roman to be arrogant than to be a blank slate of Superman power. Kevin Owens and Jericho come out and cut a promo on Roman, which is fairly standard, but Chris Jericho being completely silent and miming actions to go along with KO’s promo is fantastic. Also, Jericho is rocking double scarves this week. Jericho has gone completely mean and arrogant, swerving away from his more comedic stuff, trying to get pops. Now he’s funny because he’s completely serious when he refers to himself as a sexy pinata. KO accepts a rematch from Roman for the US Title, which Jericho is not happy about, and that match is set up for the main event.

Next up is Cesaro vs. Luke Gallows (w) Before the match it’s announced that there will be a Tag-title match on the Royal Rumble Pre-Show in a ‘Two refs are present’ match. Personally, I think this is a good kind of stupid match, it makes a lot of sense with where the story has been going, however I think this should be on the main card. Have it open the show, since Cesaro and Sheamus are going to lose, and then enter the Rumble, but this just isn’t a good way to sell the pre-show and it devalues the tag titles. During a commercial Karl Anderson gets chased away from ringside by Sheamus after kicking Cesaro, and in response Luke Gallows’ beard turns more evil in protest; styling into a pointed shape at it’s end, which compliments Gallows’ face fantastically. Sheamus nearly interferes before Cesaro and the ref stop him, and then as the ref turns to shout at Cesaro he interferes anyway. Here the announce desk mentions this is the reason why there needs to be two refs present, and this is just a good example of a small piece of storytelling that helps the PPV match feel more justified. Karl Anderson returns to knock out Sheamus at ringside and prevent the ref from seeing Gallows tapping out to Cesaro, and so Gallows can pick up the win. Fairly decent match for a go home, it furthers the gimmick of the PPV match well, and made both Sheamus and Gallows look strong.

Next is a backstage segment with Mick on the phone with Stephanie where he repeats the gag of remembering the place he’s in by writing it on his hand. Sami interrupts and announces he wants to enter the Rumble, but Stephanie interrupts and says he’ll have to defeat Seth Rollins tonight in order to enter the Rumble.

To hype up the Women’s match Bayley has an interview with Corey Graves. Both Bayley and Corey Graves are pretty good here, although Corey is a little stiff, unlike his commentary. I still find Bayley’s character very endearing, and the promo’s she cuts are very good at embracing that character wholly. At the end of the segment Charlotte’s PPV winning streak is brought up again, which always makes me wonder when they’re going to pull the trigger.

Mick tells Seth Rollins about his match, and clarifies that if Sami wins, he doesn’t just get a spot in the Rumble, he gets Seth’s spot, so their match isn’t a Fingerpoke of Doom situation. This leads straight into the match, where the commentators announce that The Big Show has entered the match.

Seth Rollins vs. Sami Zayn(w) During Sami’s entrance the Camera finds a small kid cheering Sami, and quickly cuts away since the man behind him is wearing a Kenny omega shirt. Seth throws a punch that knocks off his wrist tape, and the announcers mention both guys are fighting dirty. While this was probably completely accidental, it’s a nice accident, that gives this match a little more weight. Sami lands a fantastic looking Blue Thunder Bomb, but Seth Rollins kicks out. RAWs are at their best when they have a throughline story, and not something that is just based on the title. I wish they would do something like Sami fighting three or four matches throughout the night for a spot in the Rumble, which fits his character of never giving up perfectly too. He could fight Seth, then Cesaro, then Kofi, and lose since he is getting more tired, then finally fight somebody who the crowd doesn’t want to see in the Rumble, such as one of the Shining Stars, and although it might be a little strange tonally, it could make for a really compelling small story, which ends with Sami making it into the Rumble, or if he fought Braun last would make him look good and continue his feud. Seth Rollins teases a pedigree from the top rope, before Sami reverses it into a great looking sunset flip, which Seth manages to kick out of. Sami goes for a Helluva kick on the apron, which Seth reverses into a pedigree (also on the apron), but before he can cover Sami Triple H’s music hits. Triple H doesn’t appear, but Sami Zayn steals a rollup and the lower third reads “Sami Zayn: Officially in the Royal Rumble match”.

The announcers let us know that Shawn Micheals will be on the Pre-Show, which satisfies his requirement to show up at a Big 4 PPV in his hometown, and probably confirms he won’t be a surprise entrant. Along with this is another promo spotlightinga Royal Rumble from history, and I really like how they’ve done these. They’ve been tangentially tied to the 2017 Rumble, and it’s nice for fans like me to be able to see some of the Rumble matches from history, and for longer time fans to relive some Rumble matches from the past.

We cut to Seth backstage, where he finds Mick Foley who doesn’t know anything and blames production. Seth doesn’t believe him and storms off to find answers.

Ariya Daivari, Tony Nese and Drew Gulak vs. Jack Gallagher, T.J.  Perkins and Mustafa Ali (w) Mustafa Ali gets a promo package, who has a great looking face, and looks pretty competent as a wrestler. Jack Gallagher comes out with an umbrella so I guess he just always has one now. They mention that Jack Gallagher won the I Forfeit match against Ariya Daivari, however I don’t know if this was the blowoff or if this is leading to something bigger, and honestly I don’t much care for this story, Jack Gallagher has outstayed his welcome. Mustafa Ali picks up the win with an impressive inverted 450 splash from the top rope. This match, simply due to the cirtue of it being a 6-man tag ends up working a faster pace than a lot of the Cruiserweight matches have been of late, which is good. It allows these guys to show off their faster, higher-flying moves, and nothing gets compromised here.

The New Day are coming out to the ring next, but first Big E scares a stagehand backstage by hiding in a small cart covered with T-Shirts and boxes of Booty-O’s. They are interrupted by Enzo and Cass while talking about their entry into the Rumble, however they end up dancing to Enzo and Cass’ music, and mimicking the opening lines of their promo, which is just really fun to watch. Big Cass announces his entry into the Royal Rumble, but Rusev interrupts Cass before he can describe the New Day as SAWFT. Rusev criticizes Big E and Big Cass for needing to describe themselves as big, stating he doesn’t need to call himself Handsome Rusev for people to know he’s handsome; personally I want to see Handsome Rusev shirts. Rusev announces his entry into the Rumble, before Titus comes down. Xavier Woods looks appalled that their segment got so hijacked. Titus annoys The New Day and they cut him off, but eventually he tells them that there’s an 8-man match scheduled; New Day and Enzo and Cass vs. “The Four of us” (Rusev, Jinder Mahal, Titus and Lana.). Xavier points out that although the crowd wants to see Lana wrestle, this can’t be and Braun Strowman comes down.

New Day and Enzo & Cass vs. Rusev, Jinder Mahal, Titus O’Neil and Braun Strowman(w) Titus gets tossed out of the ring by Kofi, and Braun Strowman hops off the apron, saunters over and picks him up to throw him back into the ring, so Jinder can make the tag. Enzo ends up in the ring with braun and Corey Graves exclaims “all my dreams are finally coming true”. Enzo pumps up the crowd before being decked by one hit from Braun. He then picks up Enzo for a running powerslam to win the match. Just as Braun is celebrating the Big Show interrupts, appearing for the first time since the Draft back in July. He and Braun have a staredown in the ring. For the first time pretty much ever, Braun looks a little apprehensive, before stepping out of the ring. He shouts he does ‘what i want, when i want, how i want’, further proving Braun Strowman is one of the best big guys WWE has ever had. The Big Show and the New Day come to talk to the announcers after their ad for the network, and the announcers look genuinely surprised. Michael Cole exclaims “he is huge’ as Big Show leaves and looks distracted.

There’s a recap of the opening segment, and at the end Byron Saxton mentions Romans quest to become a Dual Champion. I might be reading into it a little too much, but I really hope this isn’t foreshadowing or spoilers, because if it is then this will be a program probably until Mania. I doubt he’ll take the US Title back, but I really hope they don’t as that would be very boring to watch. The recap leads into the next match.

Chris Jericho(w) vs. Roman Reigns(w) for the US Title After a commercial, Kevin Owens joins the commentary table, and now I’m very excited for this match, KO is great on commentary. Jericho shouts a conversation to Kevin on the announce table about how good he is in the ring, and then Air-fives him. Owens shouts at the ref from the table after Roman kicks out, however the move that leads to it makes me think Chris might win clean. Owens becomes too worried about Jericho, and leaves the announce table to beat up Roman, disqualifying him and leaving him the winner. Owens calls for the Shark Cage (which is suspended above the ring for some reason) to be lowered, and for some reason Production complies. Corey mentions that if Roman is left in the shark cage, he might not even make it to the Royal Rumble, which is a hilarious mental image, however Roman breaks out before KO can lock the cage, and throws Owens inside, before the cage gets re-raised. Owens grabs Jericho’s hand and Jericho gets reaised with the cage, before Roman Superman punches him down.  Just as we come back from commercial, Kevin’s cage is lowered and Kevin is let out, before the ring announcer informs him that his match against Roman at the Rumble will be a No-DQ match. This is the first inkling I’ve had since the match was announced that Roman isn’t 100% locked to win, because there’s a chance Jericho can interfere and help KO. It’s still very unlikely, but it’s a possibility.

Now to match the Bayley interview, Corey Graves interview Charlotte. Mostly this is just a good promo, but Charlotte is fantastic at everything she does, and it’s a treat to watch her get fired up. The angle of Genes vs. Hard Work is a little strange to me, but it works okay to make the match happen.

Nia Jax(w) vs. Ray Lyn This is a nothing match, it’s over in under two minutes. After the match, Nia dedicates her victory to Sasha’s dead career, but Sasha has other ideas, coming down to the ring walking with a crutch. Sasha attacks Nia with the crutch, and gets her out of the ring, before landing double knees. 

Another Emmalina promo, although reportedly she’s going to debut at RAW after the Rumble, so finally we’ll see where this is heading.

Rich Swann(w) vs. Noam Dar w/ Alicia Fox They mention Rich Swann vs. Neville at the Rumble, which should be a very entertaining match in the ring at least. Noam Dar uses Alicia Fox to protect himself from a suicide dive by Rich Swann, but Rich Swann still picks up a fairly easy win. Swann calls out Neville, and jumps him out of the ring, standing tall at the end.

Backstage Noam Dar and Alicia Fox confront Cedric Alexander, and the only take away I have is that Alicia Fox has an impressively high=pitched and annoying voice.

Nia Jax vs. Sasha Banks is announced for the Royal Rumble Pre-Show, which is a fine fit for it.

Next it’s time for Goldberg. He leaves his dressing room with his head and shirt absolutely drenched for some reason, and a small cut on his head. One audience member rips his shirt open during Goldberg’s entrance, which just made me laugh.  Goldberg messes up his promo big time, but takes it in his stride and turns it around very well by lampshading it. At this point he has a thick line of blood on his forehead, and he looks badass. Paul Heyman interrupts him to introduce Brock Lesnar. Everybody acts surprised that Brock Lesnar is here, although I thought he had been advertised previously. Goldberg is still great on promo’s, and he calls Brock down to the ring before suddenly, the Undertaker’s gong hits, the lights go down and Taker is magically in the ring as the crowd goes crazy. At this point RAW goes off-air, and apparently after the camera’s stopped, the three simply left the ring with no altercation. That’s a fun stare-down to end RAW with, but it felt a little cut short, like they should have held on the three in the ring for at least a minute or so.

Overall, I think this was a fairly entertaining RAW compared to recent weeks, but something of a weak Go-Home show, as nothing much happened to further major storylines. I’d give it an 8/10 for RAW and 6.5/10 for go-home RAW.

There was some good examples of minor storytelling helping to fill out the broader strokes this week, and though I’m disappointed we didn’t get to see Triple H, I think it’s okay since he’ll likely appear at the Rumble. Tomorrow I’ll do a Smackdown recap, and later in the week I’ll bring a predictions post for the Rumble and NXT TakeOver, possibly with a quick NXT recap thrown in there as well. Then on Monday will be a recap of both TakeOver and the Royal Rumble, which will be more feelings based than analytical, as I will be watching with friends and not in a position to take notes.

Thanks if you have been reading, and if this is your first RAWcap, I hope you enjoyed it. Please feel free to leave me any feedback.

[ariyadaivaris]

- christ i hate smug mma dudes more than anything on this earth. you're a man doing mma what do you have to be excited about? washing out of ufc and having to resort to a dying professional wrestling company? the systematic oppression of women? the paul brothers? i'm putting nails in your shoes

- the rare and coveted tshirt ariya. phwew he's really uh. he's very. twirls hair. he's kinda

- ariya using a rose metaphor for himself teehee i love being very smart and always right about everything

- "i guess you don't think tony can do it on his own aye" is soooooo so so far from anything that has ever happened between tony and ariya that it's LAUGHABLE. ariya deserves to laugh in his face. cringe and fail broadway-musical-rock-of-ages-male-lead-understudy looking little man. no i'm gonna argue with the kayfabe enemy actually the WHOLE THING up to this point has been ariya trying to prove himself and the subtle tension of tony becoming champion where ariya never has, the only the ONLY time ariya has ever not believed in tony is when he had a full on spiral breakdown towards the beginning of the year when they were questioning splitting them up again for some fucking reason and then it got retconned because DUHHHHHH why would you ever split tony and ariya up just for fun or a giggle when they;ve got the most complex relationship on 205 if you re*you walk away knowing all of this already because you have heard this every week for the last three years but you can still hear me talking in the distance, talking and talking though no one is there...*

- obsessed with this promo actually...ariya's mannerisms are so good he's SO...FUN. i LOVE watching him. he is so self-assured and so charming and there is so obviously so much frustration buried like, an INCH deep beneath all of it. it takes grey pushing him ONCE for him to lose his verve. im SO interested in this

- the thread here is, of course, "you think tony can't do it on his own?" which, as i've stated, is so far from true or what ariya thinks that it's comic. when ariya spits, "of COURSE tony nese can do it on his own", there are a lot of factors at play. when he concedes that maybe instead of going out there, he WILL stay backstage, there's a lot going on there!!! there IS!!! *voice of an unwell person* there IS a lot going on   - tony doesn't need to prove he can do it on his own, because he already has. ariya's storyline...like i mentioned, he had a weird moment at the beginning of the year, when it seemed like maybe he and tony were going to be split up. that was very much a moment of "okay the writing might change so it's time to set something up" of course but i think it's interesting to think about as a character impulse.   ariya is working to prove he can do things on his own. this has BEEN his thing. he and tony are a team again, but ariya's tried to win with other teams and he's tried to win alone, and though he's successful more often than 205 would have you believe, he's still very shaky. tony has been allowed to work outside of the orbit of other people, and ariya hasn't gotten that chance as much. and, besides that, tony doesn't CARE about it in the same way ariya does. tony...when he gets intense, it's about interpersonal stuff. drew, buddy, cedric, akira, swerve. tony competes with people! ariya competes with himself. does that make sense. i know what i mean. its fine   ariya...is on edge. he likes tony and he likes working with tony, but he hasn't been a competitor like tony is. tony's been very accomodating, stepping back or supporting ariya's feuds and allowing him to do What He Needs To Do, which means ariya can try to work alone without going completely rogue and sabotaging shit. when he tried to cut himself off from tony, it was...well it was retconned. but. that's what he's done before and this time it didn't work because ONE it's just tony and ariya, there's no exacerbating force, and TWO, tony and ariya are, after all, friends. tony wants to be friends with ariya and it is hard work to be friends with ariya but he will do it. so they work it out. and ariya is left feeling very very weird about it, and very very aware of how much he kind of depends on tony, when tony doesn't depend on him, at all. ariya tries to protect tony and gas him up and keep an eye on him to make up for All That He's Done Before and to feel like this friendship is two-sided (which it is, of course, friendship is more than a strategic advantage but that's how ariya's always approached it and it's a hard habit to break), but he doesn't have the wins to back up the feeling of being Worth It as a friend.   it's...i feel like i just sound out of my gourd saying all of this lol and i am. but when ariya bitterly says, "of course tony nese can do it on his own." it's not just the anger at grey being a dickhead towards tony. it's also ariya being painfully aware that tony can do it without ariya's help. there's a threat in that statement, that question that doesn't need to be asked. there's an irony to it. its...think about it this way: if tony was talking to grey about watching ariya's match, grey wouldn't snark about if tony thought ariya could do it. you know?

- that doesnt make sense. whatever <3 im free

- wow love seeing kushida defending the title. imagine if that happened.....on.......205 live

- ariya literally getting successfully talked out of watching tony's match because he wants to show he believes in tony :( i'm hurt...i'm so hurt. so fucked up and twisted. by GREY too, ariya has kind of a BIT with grey huh. him cheating to pin ariya and then going noooo cheating is wrong against all other opponents. the way grey is super hypocritical and shitty to him and then to no one else. ariya almost respecting him for what ariya understands as Someone Who Gets It and then revealing oh no i just really don't like you and want to piss you off. this one dude who keeps targetting ariya specifically in all the ways that most drive ariya into a frenzy and he managed to hit him where it hurts the most enough to drive him into hiding. oughhhh aughhhh   - everyone on 205 being a hater for no reason and seeing ariya trying to deal with his Issues(TM): hm. i can make him worse

- SUNFLOWER JACKET!!!!!!!! SUNFLOWER JIRO. PRECIOUS AND BELOVED. KING AMONG ALL CRUISERWEIGHTS. I DONT KNOW WHO ARIYA IS

- the exaggerated "BOO!""YAY!" cheers for jiro. who am i to say he doesn't deserve them. he DOES. we LOVE jiro. jiro is allowed to homewreck gold standard if he wants to i'll pretend not to see

- UNBREAKABLE!! AUGHHH HE'S SO COOL AND FUN AND HIS MIND IS SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL. jiro has such a fucking bonkers sense of like...dragging a move out. that man can MAKE a sequence! he gets the upper hand and he holds onto it for ages and the entire time its never dull. always with the momentum! always with the visualization of everything around him and how to make it into a show. i just simply think that jiro kuroshio

- HE'S DYINGGGGGGG NOOOOOOOO JIRO. TONY NESE YOU'RE A DEAD MAN. he looks great at this angle though love you weirdo. oh NO your jacket is NOT cool enough to pull this off fkshsdskd  - jiro injecting some MUCH needed humor back into 205 thank you so much

- tony's stupid joth uniform next to jiro's sunflower pattern is SO good. fuckin goth v prep diagram dynamic. creamsicle blogging moments

- OH I LOVE A GOOD PIN. we LOVE a good pin don't we. that kick to tony on the apron ROCKS

- clearly you don't own an air fryer...

- OH HIS FORM IS FUCKING UNREAL. WHAT THE HELL!!!!!!!!!! JIRO KUROSHIO BABEY

- i REALLY like this match. this is 205 to me

- IS THAT A 205 CHANT??? IS THAT A 205 CHANT I HEAR??? OH????? WORM????? ITS BEEN LIFETIMES....................

- ooohohohoohohHOOO tony's recovery from the moonsault. that was. dare i say. Epic

- JIROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

- jiro treating mister nese like a little football. sorry anthony. perhaps you should just be cooler <3

- THAT WAS SO FUN......what a meaty episode this week. harkens back to 205 of old.............i love it. im loving this energy. jiro kuroshio you are going to save 205 i believe it

[hazyheel]

205 Live 5/7/19 Review

Another interesting opening rundown, Mike and Maria Kanellis ran down Akira Tozawa for their main event match. Tozawa and Brian Kendrick did the same to their opponents. Both sides thought that they would benefit from the No DQ stip, and Kendrick was banned from ringside. Very exciting. Oddly enough, Maria was not barred from ringside. That doesn’t make much sense.

First out was Ariya Daivari, still the number one contender. They announced that that match will take place at Money in the Bank. His opponent was Noam Dar, who was really nice to see come back from Injury. Tony Nese was out for commentary, probably in response to Daivari’s assertion that he could have attacked Nese at any time during his matches. Daivari was really getting over his ferocity during this match. Daivari also tried to intimidate Nese while he was at ringside, getting in his face on the outside. Daivari was able to get the win with a Persian splash and hammerlock lariat.

After the match, Nese got in ring behind Daivari, and sort of faked an attack. Daivari was startled, but they ultimately did not come to blows. Nese gave Daivari the same line about being able to take him out at any time, and Daivari seemed shook.

Grade: B-. Good stuff from both guys. Love to see Dar back in the ring, whether that is on 205 Live or NXT UK. Daivari looks like a worthy challenger, but Nese is absolutely in his head. I like this feud, very cerebral, although I feel like they will come to blows next week. Nese has a match scheduled against Ligero, so keep an eye on that.

Backstage, Oney Lorcan talked about how he will not stay down. He will become the cruiserweight champion sooner rather than later.

Into a tag team match, the Singh Brothers took on a pair of jobbers. They were incredibly cocky about their ability. They won with a midnight hour type move, but I’m sure it’ll be called something different. They then cut a promo saying that the Lucha House Party wrestled dirty to win last week. They challenged them to a rematch.

Grade: C. Standard squash, but they didn’t really pull out enough moves to be super entertaining or fun. I am glad that the Singh Brothers are actually doing something, and I am interested to see how much talent they have against a pretty good team like the Lucha House Party.

Backstage, Drake Maverick talked to the Kanellis’s. Maverick banned Maria from ringside, and I am very happy.

Then there was an interview with Jack Gallagher, who is in a fatal 4-way match next week alongside some NXT UK guys. He said that he is excited for the match, as it will give him a lot of momentum towards the championship. One of his opponents, Humberto Carillo, said that he looked forward to beating Gallagher, but Gallagher replied that he wouldn’t. The two shared a tense handshake, and I cannot say how happy I am to see Gallagher as a face again. He is so likeable and adorable and cool. I’m happy.

And in the main event, Akira Tozawa vs. Mike Kanellis in a no disqualification match. Kanellis quickly introduced a table, but they woudn’t come into play until later. Tozawa went for a suicide dive, which Kanellis countered with a superkick in an awesome spot. The two had an awkward spot where they both wanted to suplex the other into a couple chairs, but they kept spinning around to get positioning, and that looked dumb. At one point, Tozawa put a trash can on Kanellis’s head, and then hit him with a suicide dive. At another, Kanellis hit Tozawa with a Michinoku Driver onto a trash can for a near fall. And in the roughest spot of the match, Kanellis tried to put Tozawa through a pair of tables, but Tozawa countered with a hurricanrana through them that looked brutal. And for the win Tozawa hit his big senton onto Kanellis, while laying on some chairs.

Grade: B. Definitely chaotic, but there wasn’t quite enough here. It was a good match that was fun to watch, but not really worth going out of your way to see. I would have preferred to see Kanellis get the win here, because he really does deserve a title shot, but we will see where the story leads us.

Overall grade: B-.

Pros: cruiserweight championship story; main event

Cons: lackluster squash.