#tearing up over bianca mention and also daniel

[butchybats]

The hardest part of being a Daniel fan is having to read about him wearing a polo shirt and dungarees like clearly there was a reason that Armand was dressing him in dm 😭

[darkarfs]

This is gonna make so many horrible people unhappy. EVERY Takeover has had at least one match-of-the-year candidate on it. Some of the most emotional moments in that brand have come from cards that even aren't quite as good. I even considered not doing this list, because, by all accounts, NXT Takeover: Tampa isn't even going ahead. But then I thought, fuck it, let's celebrate, taken all together, for my taste, the best wrestling product in the history of mankind. It's not just moves; it's emotional investment, sharply-focused, character-based storytelling, intricately-performed spectactle from the greatest physical specimens ever to lace their boots. It FINALLY legitimized Western women's wrestling in the mainstream (Michelle McCool, Trish, Molly, Mickie, Jazz, Victoria, you all were stunning performers in your own right, but you and your kind were, until NXT, only given 3 minutes: the longest women's match IN HISTORY, until 'Mania 32, was Trish Stratus vs. Mickie James at Wrestlemania 22, and it got 9 minutes.), it's got some of the greatest tag wrestling ever seen on ANY brand, it's created the longest-drawn storytelling ever, it's the best of the indies, the best of the WWE, wrapped up in a sequence of shows that were epic without being FIVE FUCKING HOURS LONG.

Where do I even start...?

Honorable mention: Takeover: R Evolution (I have to, because I've only got 10) Sami Zayn spends over a year, clawing and sweating and tearing walls down, just to get to the top of the mountain in NXT. He has the opportunity to cheat, but does it his OWN way, as beautiful, unique babyface Sami Zayn...before being no-scoped by his best friend, who debuted THAT NIGHT. The undercard isn't as strong, so I can't officially include it, but this payoff, this triumph, and this tragedy represents everything the first era of NXT was, and kickstarted it, truly, onto its first golden era. So, properly, then...

10. Takeover: Rival If you leave this list feeling like the title reigns, and thus, ERAS, of Zayn/Owens are a little under-represented by it, I completely understand. After all, so much good came from that time. American Alpha soldifying themselves as the dominant tag team, the Iron-Woman match between Sasha and Bayley, Becky Lynch putting all the pieces together, Enzo and Cass actually being GOOD...it was, still, at its heart, a developmental brand at that time. It had indie megastars, yes, but it also had the likes of Bull Dempsey. And that's not a dig at Bull Dempsey, it's just that those early Takeovers were an eclectic mix of skill levels, which is what NXT was at that time. It was a place to showcase these people. That said, some of these cards were truly *fantastic.* Case in point: Takeover: Rival. Not only was the undercard completely stacked (Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze over-delivered; we had the first and still SOMEHOW ONLY Fatal 4-Way match between the Four Horsewomen; and Finn Balor vs. Neville was a solid match of the year candidate), but the main event was the first step in one of the most storied rivalries in the history of wrestling: Zayn vs. Owens. The video package is one of the best NXT ever did, and the match...was a masterpiece of simple-but unexpected booking. Zayn mistimes a leap to the outside, hits his head, and Owens responds by powerbombing him over...and over...and over again, until the ref stops the match. Zayn loses nothing, because he was never pinned, Owens is made to look even MORE the loathsome monster, and Zayn's title reign ends after just a month, without the champion nor the championship devalued in any way. It showed that NXT knew, even then, how to reward fans for their emotional investment.

9. Takeover: Portland Right now, NXT feels like it's approaching the very end of a special time in its life. Like it's on the verge of hitting critical mass. One of either Gargano or Ciampa probably leaving the company after the next Takeover, and the reign of the Undisputed Era seems to be crumbling, too. In yesteryear, this would indicate a raft of very important call-ups, neccessitating a shift in the roster and a period of calm centered around more patient character-building. NXT's existence now as a third brand throws that formula into uncertainty, but it definitely feels like they're ramping up to a finale, because goddamn, this is NXT almost at a point of self-parody. Every match is so. MUCH. Lee/Dijakovic is the pinnacle of HOT wrestling (and Lee, will you marry me?) Bianca Belair breaks out as an actual superstar...just as Charlotte decides to visit and to ruin everything, which is just dreadful timing. Gargano/Balor being everything we need it to be, and also Balor pinning Gargano with his fucking dick. And the Broserweights being VERY DUMB...but also VERY, VERY GOOD. The only thing that lets this card down...and this is obviously subjective...is that NXT has almost come TOO FAR, now, in its delivery on its main events, in that every kickout starts to beggar belief. On the level of Triple H/Undertaker at Wrestlemania 28, in that I still love it, but...hoo, it can be exhausting. Depends on how much Ring of Honor you like in your gumbo, I guess, but it feels like everyone on the roster is racing toward Tampa to explode, like a wrestling Crisis on Infinite Earths, and then MAYBE...things can calm down. Just a hair. Y'know, if Tampa even...still happens.

8. Takeover: Philadelphia If there's one man that's become synonymous with NXT, it's Johnny fucking Wrestling. You know, what would happen if a meerkat put on muscle mass and became the best set-piece wrestler this side of Daniel Bryan. We knew since he started his tag team with Tommaso Ciampa that he was an exceptional wrestler, but it wasn't until Philadelphia, and his INSANE match with Andrade "Cien" Almas, that we saw him as truly the industry's next star. It was the first Takeover match to go over 30 minutes (Sasha/Bayley at Respect went EXACTLY 30, don't @ me), it was the first NXT match to get 5 stars from Dave Meltzer (if that matters to you), and it set a new bar for Takeover main events. And while the undercard doesn't live up to it, it's still loaded with excellent matches. A.O.P. vs. the Undisputed Era is something special. Shayna Baszler makes her Takeover debut, and while she's nowhere near her prime, it cemented her immediately. Velveteen Dream and Kassius Ohno have a very fun match, and Aleister Black and Adam Cole have a ludcriously stupid no-holds-barred match, featuring two men doing with chairs what no one ought to do with chairs. But as good as all of that is, it's really a one match show, but what a match, and Ciampa ending it by being an utter bastard yet again.

7. Takeover: Brooklyn I Does the first Brooklyn Takeover feature Canadian Destroyers, 18 kick-outs and "fight forever" chants? It does not. Does it create moments of wrestling happiness that are rarely, if ever, replicated? It sure does. Firstly, Blue Pants appears and helps the Vaudevillains defeat Blake and Murphy. Seems quaint to look back on it, but it made everyone SO goddamn HAPPY that night. If you're forgetting, Leva Bates (that wrestling librarian in AEW right now) was once a comedy jobber in NXT, who wore Blue Pants. Adorable. Ignore what happened on the main roster (which is something you'll probably have to do with a lot of these shows, I imagine), but the Vaudevillains were once incredibly over (I promise!), and their win was one of several beam-inducing moments from this stellar night. Samoa Joe destroyed Baron Corbin at the height of his game, Apollo Crews debuted brilliantly (again, ignore what happens next!) and Balor and Owens' ladder match was also fantastic. Also, what's Jushin Thunder Liger doing here?? Wrestling like he's in his early 30s, that's goddamn what!! But of course, the reason we're all here is Sasha Banks vs. Bayley, and...there's still something in my eye. Anytime people want to rag on NXT for being "predictable," remind them that giving the people a moment they've genuinely prayed for...is a good thing. Bayley besting Sasha Banks at her prime just made us all...so happy. All of us. Everyone. When that curtain call took place, it was so earned. The narrative of women's wrestling dominated most of 2015, and this moment, this match, was the apex of that narrative.

6. Takeover: Chicago I And speaking of feelings...hello, Ciampa, you godless fuck. And so begins maybe the actual greatest rivalry in all of NXT. It is truly an odyessy, with twists, turns, injuries, betrayals, wounds torn open, and this is the nexus point. Well, the seeds had already sort of been planted, because Triple H knows what he's doing. Ciampa almost ALMOST turns on Gargano after their terrific match in the Cruiserweight Classic, only for the team to die another day...and what a death it was. After a great ladder match, the two stand atop the ramp, and you think "will it happen?" And the absolute bastards show you the copyright logo, just to make you think the show ends there, because it always does, seconds after that happens. You unclench, you breathe out, relax...Ciampa whispers "this is MY moment" and then...It is a perfectly engineered bait-and-switch, and exactly as vicious as it needs to be. Pats on the back, all 'round. This moment alone makes this a worthwhile Takeover, but there's also a hell of an undercard. The women's triple-threat (Ruby Riott vs. Asuka vs. Nikki Cross) is stellar, Bobby Roode and Hideo Itami have their respective best Takeover matches ever, and then there was Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne. An absolute show-stealer of a match, a star-making performance for both men (especially Dunne), it cemented the career of several men, and was a fully-formed GREAT show, as opposed to a good show in service to a storyline.

5. Takeover: Brooklyn IV Gargano and Ciampa's battle of brotherhood, betrayal and brainwashing was supposed to blow off at Takeover: New York, but because God hates necks, Tomato Champion was out of action, making this the final singles encounter to date, until Tampa (again, IF it even happens). This is the weakest of their 3 excellent encounters (which still makes it better than any match over SummerSlam weekend), but it also features Johnny Stupid running into a speaker, because his dumb ass can't seem to quit Ciampa. It's one of the greatest long-form feuds for a reason, mirroring Bret and Owen from 1993 into 1994, with all the repeated imagery, the callbacks, the nuances, the psychological cruelty. The street fight at Chicago II is MAYBE better, but this undercard, for me, is a lot stronger. It featured the Undisputed Era vs. Moustache Mountain, aka the Brothers Shithead vs. the Proud Circus Bear and His Beautiful Son. Velveteen Dream vs. EC3 was the closest NXT got to WWE-style storytelling and was still brilliant (remember when EC3 wrestled?), and HEY, wouldn't you know it, Kairi Sane was once a character with dimensions, as evidenced by an amazing match with Shayna Bazsler. But what makes this undercard truly stellar is Adam Cole vs. Ricochet. It is so nice to see Ricochet used well, etc., but I will still never stop pissing myself at Cole nailing him square in the jaw with a superkick WHILE HE'S MID-MOONSAULT UPSIDE-DOWN SWEET JESUS. Sometimes...sometimes...things fall exactly into place.

4. Takeover: WarGames (2018) The WarGames Takeovers are just so silly. It's a silly shoebox, filled with huge, silly men who only barely know why they're killing each other. It's as close as we ever get to WWE's now-terminal problem of "set aside whatever feuds you have right now, because it's Stipulation Month!" (see: Hell In a Cell, most Money In the Bank shows, though Elimination Chamber largely sidesteps this). The other Shoebox Takeovers are really good, no doubt, but this one stands head-and-shoulders above the rest. But there is not a bad match on this card. Kassius Ohno rides Matt Riddle's knee all the way to heaven; NXT shows why 2-out-of-3-falls is fast becoming its signature stipulation with the excellent blowoff between Sane/Baszler; Sexy Mindgames Prince had a star-making match against Tommaso Ciampa, showing why he may be the best overall character in NXT right now, and sweet lord, Aleister Black vs. Johnny Wrestling. It somehow showed that Gargano was JUST AS, if NOT MORE engaging as a dirtbag than as a good guy. And those Black Masses are presents just for me, a guy who tends to like more community theater in his wrestling than flips ("I ABSOLVE YOU...OF ALL YOUR SINS!"). And then we get to the Shoebox, and gosh it's silly! The Viking Experience, Ricochet and Pete Dunne take on the Undisputed Era, and...its a fucking LOT. 45 minutes of spots and smashing, with just a sprinkling of story, with Fish locking Dunne in his cage so he can't participate in the match. Since this seems to be what this match is designed for...let's rattle off some spots! Ricochet, jumping from one ring to the other! That amazing face-off that recreates the Captain America: Civil War poster! Perhaps the beefiest Tower of Doom in all of wrestling! And then Ricochet proving just how amazing he is...with the double moonsault off the top of the cage. What a stupid thing to do in an amazing, amazing show.

3. Takeover: Dallas I get it; a lot of people might not rank this Takeover quite so high. But it might be my actual personal favorite...? Overall...? More than any other Takeover, this show feels the most like it's filled with living, breathing superheroes. Many NXT stars are seen as just indie guys whose only gimmick is "I'm a very good wrestler," making them almost anti-WWE at the core. But NXT doesn't get enough credit for being, at its core, the best aspects of WWE. The showmanship, the things that elevate mere wrestlers to things like monsters, gods, and demons. I will always like my NXT WWE-style: the best wrestling cut with the most theater, the most camp. And Dallas is that concept, writ large. Baron Corbin coming out with lil' skulls on his shoulders. American Alpha finally becoming Super Saiyan Nerds. Asuka killing our hero, because Bayley is a person, and Asuka is a goddess who can perform brain surgery with her feet. Finn Balor coming out and going actual Texas Chainsaw Massacre on Samoa Joe. It's excellent wrestling, near-mythic visuals...and then we get to Nakamura/Zayn. The most special moment of a very special night. It is, from nearly every perspective, perfect. The hype of the crowd, salivating with anticipation. That moment when Nakamura appears in silhouette, and that violin note slides like a knife across steel, to reveal the man who set New Japan aflame. Sami Zayn getting the best possible swan song in a promotion built almost entirely on HIS back. The end of his era. That bit where they just KEEP PUNCHING ONE ANOTHER. I know it's not a perfect show (Balor/Joe stops for 3 minutes to address a cut on Joe's forehead, stalling its momentum; that Corbin/Ares match isn't as good as it could be) but that all means nothing. It's a sentimental choice, and I'd make it #1 if I could.

2. Takeover: New Orleans I went around and around in my head, and this one and #1 kept jockeying for position in my brain. But these top two Takeovers are literally note-perfect, from ship to shore, soup to nuts, top to tails. So if this is YOUR favorite? (Honestly, maybe 1 person I know who loves wrestling as much as I do will even see this mess). I'm here for you, and I understand. But this show has TWO 5-star matches from the Wrestling Observer, and I don't ever agree with that. In this case, I agree with BOTH, in the North American Championship ladder match, and the first (and so far, BEST) match in the Gargano/Ciampa feud. Everything. Is. Amazing. Shayna Bazsler became Women's Champion after BEAST-MODING her SHOULDER back INTO IT'S SOCKET to show that, YES, she gets pro-wrestling. Roderick Strong shocked the world (and the System) by joining the Undisputed Era and becoming the final Chaos Emerald needed to make that stable Super Sonic. Aleister Black took the championship from Andrade "Cien" Almas and SMILED, I fucking SAW IT! And it all depends on what you want from your wrestling, but Gargs/Tamps might actually be the best main event in Takeover history, at least from a storytelling standpoint. The crutch, the neckbrace. Each man going back to their DIY roots (the tag team - they didn't build another ring when that one broke), and then sitting side-by-side, like they did at the Cruiserweight Classic. Brothers. Completely spent. Destroyed. No one but each other. And then Ciampa shits any chance at redemption up the goddamn wall, cementing his own destruction. Every. Bit. Counts.

and #1...

Takeover: New York For a whole bunch of other wrestling fans, this has the greatest main event in Takeover history. But first, let's take a minute to appreciate how lucky we are, or were, that NXT exists. It justfies the existence of WWE, artistically, almost by itself. If this one's only slightly worse than New Orleans, it is argued, it's that the North American title ladder match was TOO good, and hurt every other match on the card. It has been argued. Not by me, but this one is somehow the most perfectly paced, perfectly sized wrestling card, on its own, ever. Every match, through alchemy or magic, manages to enthrall the crowd equally, and completely. The Viking Raiders vs. Grumpy Smaller Undertaker and the Human Pinball was off the hook incredible, and that warm "thank you" feeling has translated, currently to a man trapped in a room and a man trapped in Vince McMahon's scorn for smaller wrestlers, respectively. Matt Riddle and Velveteen Dream put on an absolute fantasy match, pitting the best of MMA vs. the best of WWE-style theatricality, and adds to the complete, demented character-world of this brand, and the fact that Dream WINS against one of the hottest new prospects is so deserved, and shows that he can, and will, shine forever brighter. Then AAAAGH WALTER vs. Pete Dunne! WALTER LAYS into poor Dunne, his chops alone having you believe that after the match, he's going to run into the arena's parking lot to FIGHT THE CARS. Then Shirai vs. Baszler vs. Sane vs. Belair and goddammit how do I even expound on that without crashing thesarus.com? And then Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole wrestled for. 40. MINUTES. With Gargano as the defacto heel because it was allegedly Cole's time. And by the match's end, he had the crowd more behind him than maybe they ever had been before. Is it a bit much? Yes. Too many kickouts? Probably. But it stands as the apex of Johnny Wrestling's journey. After everything had been taken from him: DIY, his health, his sanity, even his chance at revenge...the only thing he has left is the NXT Championship. And in that moment, he is invincible, he is more than enough.

What a show. What a host of shows.

Thanks for reading, everyone.

[cr-scribbles]

I need to go to school really soon, but that won’t stop me from posting the third chapter review which is going to be right now because I got them all down and just need to copy and paste them over to here!

This chapter was something I was hesitating more on for a while because personally I didn’t know that I would be talking about it that much, but then I did?? like a lot?? sO WOO

Like usual, here’s the link to the comic itself if you want to read it!! I highly suggest doing so because it’s really good and i love them sm,,, > http://children-rekindled.top/?c=1&p=1

And also the two other reviews I did which I suggest checking out if you haven’t already!

> https://cr-incorrect-quotes.tumblr.com/post/190279246139/cr-incorrect-quotes-hello-welcome-to-my-first

> https://cr-incorrect-quotes.tumblr.com/post/190281892974/cr-incorrect-quotes-oh-no-whats-this-its

When jumping right into it with this, we already know that unlike before, we're going to be getting more perspective!! Which means more sadness bECAUSE OH GOD I FEEL SO BAD FOR THESE POOR PARENTS THAT ARE JUST TRYING TO LOOK FOR THEIR CHILDREN EVEN IF THEY'RE ALL DEAD

AHAHA SHE REALLY WENT "B O I-"

The denial that is shown really hurts me internally. It just doesn't feel right knowing that any amount of search they try will get them nowhere because their children never ran away. They didn't refuse to come home. if anything they would much rather want to come home than be stuck at Freddy's where they are dead.

the panic finally starts to set in because everyone is realizing 'wait our children are actually missing'. Little do they know that they didn't even want to go-

I'm still surprised there hasn't been a runaway au where the kids just ran away from home instead of dying. I don't know their reason for doing this. No one really wanted to leave their parents behind I think so?? Poor babeys,,

this is where I started sobbing beCAUSE DANIEL HAS A SISTER?? A LITTLE ONE TOO?? OH THAT JUST ADDS ONTO THE SADNESS SO MUCH

He will now never be able to grow up with her or even see her grow up,,if they were missing, there would still be a chance for them to come back, but nah. There is no way of them coming back from this. Once they are free, they are just going to gone, leaving everyone else beHIND AND GOD I FEEL SO BAD FOR DANIEL BECAUSE WHAT IF HE JUST WANTS TO SAY GOODBYE TO EVERYONE?? OR BE THERE FOR HIS SISTER??

THEY'RE NOT COMING BACKKKK

I really just want to hug everyone in this comic apart from the murderer!! It really shows how if someone dies/is murdered, the people they were close to get effected too. Don't die y'all.

AH I LOVE THIS TRANSITION

Honestly though it was a really good way to go back to where they were ghosts!! The blood coming from the eyes in the picture just going right to the scared babey makes me sOB

ah I want to hug him sm

Poor boyo just wants to make sure his sister is ok,,I would be sad too if I was suddenly taken away from my own life and am now unable to even say goodbye or be there for someone who I really cared about!! His pain is really understandable here.

Daniel really needs another hug at this point because he looks so sad over this. He looks as though he is basically on the verge of tears again and that just breaks my heart.

BIANCA HELPS MAKE DANIEL FEEL BETTER AND WOW THAT HIT HE HARDER THAN I SHOULD HAVE

Is this the ship content we're getting this time? I'm glad because it's been really cute so far!! Just Bianca helping out this smol blind boyo makes me so sad yet happy because I know they have eachother for support if needed!!

lots of things in here that I could mention, but the one thing I do want to point out is bRIAN AND KENNY AAAAA THEY'RE STILL AROUND IN THIS CHAPTER AND IM REALLY HAPPY ABOUT THAT

I really wanted to see Lily and John here since we saw them last time in the redrawn version, but hey this is still fine as well!!! We got to see the cup die for the 3rd time?? That's so sad,,,,

y'all the sign said no yelling?? Why are all these kids yelling?? that's against the rules wtf,,

Wow it must feel weird just having to watch all of these kids around having fun while you're heckieing dead. Like Bianca said, they were once there before, but now they're not. How quick things could change really shows here and it makes me qwq,,no one knows all of this horrible stuff had happened while they think "oh yeah this place is a happy place!!! Nothing wrong here!!"

Also Bianca trying to stay positive just gives me more of a reason to call her a favorite?? She's really trying her best to get through this positively even though they are heckieing dead and honestly that would take so much courage so congrats to her!!!

ok so it's confirmed that Charlie still has that 'don't touch me' thing!! We just didn't see it before so I was unsure if they kept it in or not, but I'm sure they had to if they wanted to make it accurate to how she really would feel-

Edit :: hey shout out to the time I thought the fucking background was a hand. I feel like a dumbass everyday of my life, but I feel like this is the worse. No wonder Bon didn't tell me, were you just waiting for me to realize? I'm sure you were laughing 😭

OH NO BIANCAAA,,,,

Poor girl,,her positivity went down right when realizing how hard this is actually going to be and that broke my heart. She just wants to help her friends and now she can't even touch Charlie?? This is not going to be a good time for her and she knows that for sure. She needs all the hugs please I'm begging-

ALSO BON THREW IN REFERENCES TO THE ORIGINAL COMIC AND I SOBBED AHAHXJSOV IT'S THE OLD DESIGNS YESS

Oh boy two background characters want to find out what's going on!! I'm glad some background characters actually have a role now since that really changes a lot in this version

Also yEAH THAT'S NOT TOMATO SAUCE U DUMB HECKIES DO YOU NOT SEE THE FACES OF THE MURDERED

AAAAA LOOK!!!! ME AND ERIC ARE FAMOUS!!! WE GOT OUR KIDDOS INTO CR!!!  WE DID GOOD!!!!

If you didn't know, before me and Eric changed our story to more of an original thing, we had a FNAF comic!! Or at least we were going to. We stopped it before we even got past 3 pages because of how slow it was going. Now we got a different story that I'm actually drawing this time! Same characters and all too!

When we were still making the FNAF comic, we put in Bon's characters as background characters so he returned the favor and put two of our kiddos there(?l We're still keeping his characters in the comic we are now making, but they have more of a role!! I love them,,

gOD I LOVE FRANCIS SO MUCH AHAHCIAOFIW

His reaction to all of this is so great because he is just a big angry boy that wants to get this over with and I love that a lot. He's been bringing himself up to a favorite for a while now and this really got me well, but so did the ending?? The ending got me harder honestly.

I LOVE SAMMY'S POSE SO MUCH AHAHAIFAHAUDAI

Sammy's personality has already changed,,,right?? He wasn't like this before if I remember correctly,,before he was at least more helping. I'm glad my headcanons that Francis and Sammy don't really get along are correct though!! God I love how my incorrect quotes turned into correct quotes when Francis called Sammy a shorty-

SAMMY IS HIDING SOMETHINGGGGG

I love how Sammy just called out Francis even if Francis has only been there for what- a couple hours??? Nice going, Sammy! You are actually right with that one I believe?? Francis is hiding much more than he shows and god I'm so ready to see his character development through all of this

And poor Bianca!! She looks so tired unlike before when she was actually positive. Someone really needs to give this girl a hug,,I'm just glad they are actually able to chill unlike last time where they were trying to control the animatronics cause Sammy was like "yeah that totally works"

Daniel looks so squoft and cute in that picture?? Like he just went baby mode for that picture,,HE STILL IS A SQUOFT NOW, BUT SHH HE MORE BABEY HERE

Big sad though?? It would suck to hear that the children you left at this place are suddenly gone and weren't even seen at night. That would be so heartbreaking and scary?? Where would you even go? If these people can't help you, you will just need to trust in the police and let's see if they would even be able to find a ghost-

BIANCA WHY DID YOU TELL HIM IF HE CAN'T SEE AND IS ALREADY REALLY EMOTIONAL-

I’m sure she was trying to help by showing that his parents really did come to look for him!! She wouldn't have thought he would go crazy,,,it really makes me wonder if she would do the same thing if her parents were there. Does she have more self control enough to stop herself?

DANIEL GOES CRAZY AND GOD THIS MADE ME SO SAD,,HE REALLY JUST WANTS TO SAY SOMETHING TO HIS PARENTS QWQ

He is trying his best y'all,,he just wants to see them again, but babey I don't think you'll even be able to do that if you could considering uhh- you can't see-

gOD THAT MAKES ME EVEN MORE SAD

Do you think that after the curtains close, Bianca has to calm Daniel down because he really wants to go see them again?? My headcanon is yeah that's what happened. Once the animatronics were turned on, Daniel just started breaking down again because he failed at getting the chance to even see his parents. He had messed everything up. Bianca would just pull him into a hug again to try to calm him down and just,,be there as a support. It probably hurts her to see him so emotional too. I really wanna make a short story on this noW AA!!

anyways!! That is the first part! I will be putting out the next part eventually and then we will just have to wait till Bon finishes the fourth chapter for me to make another review.

Oh god I'll have a lot to talk about next time AHAHFOAKG

Have a great day and remember to cry over kiddos.

[cassie-archive-blog]

CASSIDY ➝ DASSIE.

TAGGING ➝ Cassidy Holliday, Danielle Lopez.

LOCATION ➝ The hospital.

TIME FRAME ➝ 1/25 (2015), early morning.

WARNINGS ➝ Hospital mention.

NOTES ➝ Dani tells Cassie the baby’s name.

Cassie was exhausted, although that wasn’t something she was at all worried about. The main concern here was her sister, her niece, and even the woman giving birth to her. Still, she couldn’t help the way her eyes had been closing as she’d sat in an uncomfortable chair out in the hallway. Until all of the actual birthing process had started; then it had been impossible to sleep through the sound of Gaby screaming. Not only that, but Cassie was way more worried about all of them than she could even really explain, so she was practically wide awake whether she wanted to be or not. She was pretty sure she probably wasn’t supposed to be out here, and should’ve been in some actual waiting room somewhere, but since Gaby had been asleep a good majority of the time before she’d had to start pushing, Cassie had been sitting here to keep her sister company. Even if she’d been falling asleep while doing so. She wasn’t sure how long all of the pushing and screaming had been going on, but she had to hand it to Dani’s wife; she had a hell of a lot of stamina, since it felt like hours. Eventually, the screaming had stopped, and been replaced by the sound of a baby crying. Cassie had been so on edge that she literally felt tears beginning to pool in her eyes at the sound of the crying. That meant the baby was okay, right? She desperately wanted to see for herself, but she wasn’t about to just burst in there, so she waited as patiently as possible, catching a glimpse of the baby once she’d been wheeled out of the room in some little see-through crib thing. She was hooked up to wires, but Cassie could already tell she was gorgeous, and she couldn’t help but smile as her sister came into view, despite Dani’s tears and obvious exhaustion.

Dani couldn't believe that she managed to keep it together, but somehow she did. Their baby girl was here and she knew that they weren't out of the woods, yet, but she did know that she was okay. That made her feel a hell of a lot better. It was like the biggest weight had been lifted off of her chest. The second she heard Cassidy cry; she was a huge mess. She didn't even try to stop herself from sobbing. Whatever they had to do from there, she knew that they could handle it. She was going to be okay; Dani was sure of that now. Things weren't going to be easy, but that she could handle. As far as she was concerned, the worst part was over. That's what she had to tell herself as they moved her daughter to the NICU. It really sucked that she and her wife couldn't hold her. She understood, of course, but she got it. At least they got to see her. Not being able to hold her will be a struggle, but she could look at that beautiful baby all day. She hadn't seen anything more perfect since Josef was born. It made her sad as they moved her, because she wanted to keep looking at her. She'll have to go later, of course, but before she could do that; she had to talk to her sister. As soon as she saw her sister, she wrapped her arms around her. She wasn't even sure if she was still there. Not that expected her to leave; she just wouldn't blame her if she had. It was rough being here. "I wouldn't have been able to do this without you." She said, feeling so thankful for Cassie.

Cassie knew there was nothing she could do to help either Dani or Gaby in this situation. The only thing she could do was be there to offer support, and bring them things that they may have needed. She also wanted to know what was going on, though. She almost asked the nurses as they wheeled the baby past her, but she didn’t want to get in the way. Usually, Cassie was selfish enough to not care, but not when it came to her family. That baby was apart of her family now. She just had to trust that the medical people knew what they were doing, and that the higher powers she believed in were working in their favor while she continued to be her sister’s shoulder to lean on. It was almost an automatic reaction for her arms to wrap tightly around Dani once she’d joined her, which was weird, since they were usually not like that at all. It was obvious how much Dani needed her, though. “I’m pretty sure I didn’t do anything but sit out here all night,” she laughed, holding her sister tightly, before letting go and stepping back to look at her. “Tell me everything. What happened? Is she okay? She’s so beautiful, Dani. I just saw her for, like, a second or two, but you guys have been seriously blessed with those two babies.”

Dani shook her head when her sister said she didn't do anything. As much as Dani hated to admit it; she needed help sometimes. No one could be as strong as she and Cassie seemed to be. And no one knew that like her sister did. Just being there is exactly what Dani needed. It had to be Cassie, too. Even when they were fighting; it didn't matter. She rushed over just like Dani knew that she would. Even praying with her made her feel better, as unbelievable as that was to Dani. It just made her feel better. "Maybe that's all I needed you to do." She said, hating the fact that her voice sounded like she had been crying. Which, she had, but she was happier now. Just really exhausted. "I couldn't even give you a play by play if I wanted to. I pretty much just did what they asked me to until the baby came. It was like, I couldn't even breathe until I heard her cry." Again, she found herself having to control her tears. They were happy ones this time, though. "She really is beautiful, isn't she?" She smiled, thinking about her tiny baby. Whether she came early or not; it didn't matter. She was beautiful. "Do you want to know her name?"

Cassie and Dani rarely had these emotional moments. They were very, very few and far between. But, one of the good things about their relationship was that no matter how much of a hard faced bitch act they may both put up most of the time, when one needed the other, they were always right there. They could always lower their guard for one another when they needed to, and it was clear that now was one of those times. Now was maybe the most crucial time for it, in fact. “Well, whatever. For once, I’m not the star here. I’d say it was more about you and your little family today,” she smiled at the other girl, more concerned with the details than with herself for once. Cassie could be selfish, she knew she could. Not right now, though. This time, when Dani cried, it was less of a heartbreaking sight. Instead, it was actually kind of heart warming, because Cassie could feel the relief behind them, and she couldn’t even explain how happy she was for her sister. “I don’t need a play by play. The main thing is that she’s here, and that she’s okay. I mean, she is okay, right? Did they say she is?” She figured she knew the answer, given how much happier Dani seemed, but she still wanted to make sure. The thought of the baby’s name had never even entered Cassie’s mind in all of the fear and exhaustion. “You picked one? Yeah, of course I want to know it.”

Dani couldn't help but it. When Cassie said she wasn't the star here, she laughed. Dani knew that they were all going through something here. It wasn't just her and Gaby; even if this effected them more than anyone. The truth was; baby Cassidy already had a lot of love. So many aunts and uncles who were going to be there for all of this, but in her eyes, none of them were more important than Cassie. It was funny to her that her sister said that, because she was sure she would agree with her. The fact that she didn't was kind of amazing. It made Dani even more sure about naming her daughter after her. "Just accept my appreciation, okay? Whether you choose to acknowledge it or not; you are the reason I didn't lose it." For a moment, Dani thought about how Cassie was always the reason she stayed sane. She had her wife and kids for that, too, of course. It just wasn't the same; especially when she couldn't lean on them for this. She honestly didn't know what she would have done if Cassie wasn't in town for this. That was how she felt and would continue to feel. "I mean, she's as healthy as she can be. She's going to need to be here awhile, but other than that, yeah. I really think everything is okay." She smiled, letting herself believe what she was actually saying. This was the happiest she felt since they came to the hospital. Things weren't perfect, but she didn't need them to be. She just needed them to be okay. "We had it picked out for awhile. We just hadn't told anyone, yet." She shrugged. "Her name is Cassidy. Cassidy Leah Bianca Lopez. I guess Gaby's sisters had to be in there somewhere, but I don't really care about that."

Cassie felt much better for seeing her sister laugh. The worst had been going through her mind all night, although she would’ve never admitted that to Dani or Gaby. It was impossible to not assume the worst in situations like this, though, and she was sure her sister had been thinking the exact same thing. The fact that she was able to laugh now made Cassie feel like things were brightening up for them, at least a little bit, and that was good enough for her for now. They’d take the next few weeks as they came. “Fine. I accept it. You’d have lost it long ago without me around, so I guess it’s about time you give me the credit I deserve,” she teased. It made her feel good to know she’d been some help here, even if all she’d done was sit out in the hallway and wait for everything to be over with. She wasn’t going to literally turn down praise. That just wouldn’t be Cassie. She nodded along as Dani explained things to her, the smile on her sister’s face mirrored by the one on her own. “Thank God. I told you your wife and daughter are strong.” Cassie generally found things out before anyone else when it came to Dani, but this was definitely something that made her feel special, especially since it seemed like they hadn’t told anybody else the baby’s name. She almost had her repeat it once she’d said it, though, wondering if she’d misheard her. “Wait, what?” she questioned, her brows tugging together. It shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise, considering their son was named after Gaby’s other siblings, but for some reason it was. Cassie wasn’t sure whether it was because she was so exhausted, or because she was just genuinely touched by the gesture, but she could feel her eyes starting to sting a little bit, and she was definitely a little choked up as she spoke. “Cassidy…” she repeated, nodding her head, “Well, we Cassidy’s are all fighters. I think it suits her.” Without even thinking about it, Cassie reached out and pulled her sister into her arms again, hugging her tightly, before whispering a soft, “Thank you.” It wasn’t like Cassie could have her own kids, so this meant more to her than Dani even knew.

Dani found herself laughing once again when Cassie talked about getting the credit she deserved. As much as she appreciated everything her sister has done, it felt nice to feel like themselves again. She still needed her there and she wasn't ashamed to admit it, but it was nice not to be the sobbing mess on the hospital floor; like she had been before. It had definitely been the longest night of her life. The fact that she made it through felt like some sort of miracle. She couldn't do it again if she had to. Or maybe she could, because she would still have her sister there with her. A part of her felt bad for not telling her other sisters about their new arrival, but not bad enough to actually reach out to them. As far as she was concerned, she had much more important things going on. They were free to see their niece, of course. If they came to her, she would give them every detail and encourage them to come. The one she needed was already there, though. And she was sure she knew it. "Yeah, well. Don't get used to it." She shrugged, knowing she was full of shit. The truth was; she was so grateful that she almost felt like she should stop giving her crap for leaving. Almost. Dani wasn't mature enough to actually stop. "Yeah. Thank God." She said softly. She wasn't even sure if she meant what she said, but what she believed or didn't believe wasn't really the point. Praying with her sister helped, she was sure of that. She felt like it was less about the praying and more about her sister just being there, but still. "If she has the same fight that you do then I have no reason to worry." Before she can say anything else, she was pulled in for another hug. She knew that Cassie would appreciate the name, but she wasn't really expecting that. Still, it was nice. "You're welcome."

[placetobenation]

SmackDown on Fox Episode #57 SmackDown Episode # 1,106 Orlando, FL – The Thunderdome (Amway Center) 10/3020

We don’t have an intro video this week as we immediately go into the Thunderdome for the entrance of the WWE Universal Champion and Tribal Chief of the WWE Roman Reigns, as Reigns makes his way to the ring we get footage of what happened at Hell in a Cell in his match against Jey Uso. Uso is already in the ring and it’s time to find out exactly what the consequences of saying I Quit to Reigns entails. Heyman goes to introduce Reigns but Uso snatches the mic from him as Uso is full of emotion and is already on the brink of crying, Uso says that Reigns didn’t beat him and Reigns knows that wouldn’t say I Quit no matter how much Reigns beat on him. Reigns says that Uso can make all the excuses he wants and he can feel any kind of way, but he did what he said he was going to do which is make Uso say I Quit and now Uso has to fall in line. Uso says that what Reigns did was a snake move and he doesn’t respect Reigns and he thinks the title has changed Reigns. Uso says Reigns used the closest person to him to make him say I Quit and that Reigns knew exactly what he was doing. 

Reigns says that Uso still doesn’t understand that those types of things are what you have to do in order to remain champion. Reigns says that the consequences are real and as he saw on Sunday night the entire family from the oldest to the youngest stand with him and if Uso doesn’t fall in line he is out of the family. Reigns understands that Uso is angry as he would be too, but what can Uso do about it, Reigns knows that Uso wants to hit him and then he continues to ask Uso what he is going to do and this leads to Uso screaming “I Hate You” to Reigns as he completely breaks down in tears. Reigns knows that Uso hates him right now, but he loves Uso and always has, however, by the end of the night Uso will fall in line. Reigns and Heyman walk up the ramp leaving a broken Uso alone in the ring. 

Damn these two make magic every time they are in the ring together whether it is during a match or just cutting a fantastic emotion-filled promo like this one was. If you had told me at the beginning of the year that we would be getting this kind of emotion out of a Jey Uso promo I would say you were crazy, but here we are at the end of October and we are getting just that and he is knocking it out of the park. Roman Reigns may be the first person in WWE since Jake Roberts who is able to cut such a soft-spoken promo but still come off just as menacing and intimidating as if he were shouting during the promo.   

The announcers hype up that later tonight Jey Uso will take on Daniel Bryan for a spot on the Men’s SmackDown Survivor Series team and we will also see Kevin Owens vs Dolph Ziggler in another qualifying match and that is coming up right after the break. 

We come back and go straight to our first qualifying match.

Match #1: Kevin Owens vs Dolph Ziggler w/ Robert Roode (Men’s SmackDown Survivor Series Team Qualifying Match) Ziggler goes for a single leg right out of the gate but KO blocks it and grabs a side headlock, Ziggler shoots KO into the ropes but he comes back with a shoulder block which sends Ziggler rolling out of the ring for a breather. KO goes out after Ziggler but he slides back right back in and puts the boots to KO when he tries to get back in the ring and then hits him with a neckbreaker. Ziggler continues to work over KO for a few minutes until KO starts to fight back as he takes Ziggler down with a back elbow. 

KO goes to pick up Ziggler after having some words with Roode, but Ziggler kicks him in the knee and then attempts a ZigZag but KO hangs onto the top rope and then charges at Ziggler who sidesteps him and sends KO to the floor. KO distracts the referee inside the ring which allows Roode to hit KO from behind on the outside, Roode throws KO back into the ring but as he is doing so he is caught by the referee and this leads to the referee sending Roode to the back and this sends us to a commercial break. 

We come back and Ziggler has KO grounded on the mat with an armbar but KO fights his way out of it only to be hit with another neckbreaker from Ziggler and then he rakes the eyes of KO. Ziggler goes for a third neckbreaker but KO is able to escape and hit Ziggler with a big chop but Ziggler comes back with some strikes of his own and then he kicks KO off an Irish whip when KO lowers his head too early, Ziggler runs off the ropes and gets caught with an inverted atomic drop and KO follows that up with a big clothesline and a senton. KO clotheslines Ziggler out to the floor and then looks to dive out onto him but Ziggler slides in the ring and goes for a clothesline but KO ducks and hits Ziggler with a swinging slam into an air raid crash for a 2 count. 

KO goes up top and looks to hit a swanton bomb but Ziggler gets his knees up, Ziggler sets up for a superkick but ends up getting hit with one by KO. KO sends Ziggler into the ropes and looks to hit him with the pop-up powerbomb but Ziggler counters it into a fame-asser for another 2 count. Ziggler goes for another superkick, but this time KO ducks and tries for a Stunner only for Ziggler to push him away and try for the big DDT only for KO to block that and go for a sunset flip which fails as Ziggler falls on top of him and then we get both men trading pinning combinations which prove unsuccessful. Ziggler goes for the superkick for the third time but KO catches his leg, spins him around, and hits him with the Stunner and that is enough to finish the match. Winner: Kevin Owens via Pinfall   Match Rating: **¾ 

This was a fine match but nothing too special to mention other than I’m glad that KO is on Team SmackDown instead of Ziggler because in 2020 any show where we don’t have to watch Ziggler is a blessing a he is one of the most overused guys on the roster that could really benefit from a year-long break so that we can have some time to miss him. 

We go to the back where Billie Kay and Natalya are campaigning to be on the Women’s SmackDown Survivor Series team and Billie even came with her own headshot and resume, Bianca walks up and says that since this year’s Survivor Series is being billed as the Best of the Best she should be on the team because she is the EST of SmackDown and she is ready to lead a team to victory. All three women start arguing and this leads to Adam Pearce making a triple threat match where the winner will qualify for the women’s team at Survivor Series.

Natalya promos will always be cringeworthy but at least Bianca and Billie were there to make this watchable. 

We then cut to an interview Corey Graves conducted earlier in the day with Lars Sullivan. 

Graves puts over how Sullivan has demolished everyone in his path since coming back and then Graves asks him if it is ok to call him Lars. Sullivan asks Graves if he would rather call him “The Freak” because that is what Graves always calls him while he is in the ring, Graves tries to explain that he calls him that because of his freakish athletic ability, and that reasoning is fine with Sullivan. Sullivan goes on to tell a story of the first time he was called a freak, it was when he was in school, and once he was called that he started crying and that made everyone laugh including the teachers but after a while, the laughing stopped and the screaming started and that screaming lasted a lot longer than the laughing did and after that day he was not allowed back at school. Graves then asks Sullivan what his plans are in the WWE and he says that it is to make the WWE into his own personal hell. 

Yeah, I don’t know if Sullivan is one of those monsters who should be talking as I think he would be way more effective if he had a manager (Malcolm Bivens) talking for him as the lisp he has makes him a lot less intimidating. 

Bianca Belair makes her way to the ring as we go to commercial.

We come back from break and randomly cut to a video package that highlights what happened last week between Seth Rollins, Murphy, & the Mysterio family. We cut to the back where we see Murphy and Aaliyah Mysterio talking and Aaliyah says that while her mom supports her and just wants her to be happy the same cannot be said for her father and brother as they won’t even speak to her about Murphy. Murphy completely understands why they hate him but he wants them to understand that he isn’t the same guy he used to be months ago and to prove that he is going out to the ring tonight and publicly apologize to Rey and Dominik. 

We then go back to the ring for our second match of the night.

Match #2: Bianca Belair vs Natalya vs Billie Kay (Women’s SmackDown Survivor Series Team Qualifying Match) Billie shoves both Natalya and Bianca and they look to team up on her but when Natalya goes for a slap Billie ducks and she hits Bianca instead. Bianca hits Natalya with a big forearm but Natalya reverses a whip into the corner only for Bianca to jump up and over Natalya and then she takes Natalya down with a shoulder block. Billie tries to get a quick win with a schoolgirl but Bianca kicks out and when Billie tries to escape the ring Bianca grabs her by the foot only to get hit from behind by Natalya. Bianca reverses a whip into the ropes but ducks her head too early which ends up costing her as Natalya takes her down with a discus clothesline. Billie throws Natalya out of the ring and tries to pin Bianca but once again Bianca kicks out. 

Billie kicks Bianca in the corner and then blocks an attempted atomic drop from Natalya but then she is able to hit Bianca with a hurricanrana thanks to an assist from Natalya. Natalya hits Billie with a snap suplex and then sits up only to be hit with a basement dropkick from Bianca. Bianca hits a handspring into a standing moonsault on Billie which gets a very close 2 count when Natalya breaks up the pin. Natalya charges at Bianca in the corner but receives a back elbow and then Natalya slingshots Bianca off the top rope and slams her to the mat in a sitting position so that she can run over the top of her and then connect with a basement dropkick of her own. 

Natalya locks Bianca in the Sharpshooter and to make things worse Billie comes back in the ring and locks in a reverse chin lock and this doesn’t make Natalya happy as she breaks the Sharpshooter and goes to attack Billie, but Billie hits her with multiple knees to the midsection and then she sends Natalya into Bianca who holds her long enough for Billie to run off the ropes and take Bianca down with a big boot which in turn caused Bianca to hit Natalya with a DDT. Billie tries to cover both of her opponents multiple times but both women end up kicking out every time. Billie picks up Natalya only for her to take Billie down with a double leg and then she locks Billie in the Sharpshooter, Bianca eventually recovers and sends Natalya shoulder-first into the ring post. Billie tries to pick up a win with a schoolgirl as she puts her feet on the ropes as leverage but Bianca is still able to kick out and then she ducks another big boot attempt and catches Billie in the K.O.D. which leads to the 1-2-3. Winner: Bianca Belair via Pinfall    Match Rating: **

This wasn’t that great of a match outside of Bianca showing off her greatness and being the best thing about the match. I think one of the smartest moves WWE could make is to have Bianca be the sole survivor in the tag match as she is a star of the future that they need to start building up immediately and being the sole survivor could be a great way to start that build up. 

We cut to the back where Carmella cuts a promo where she says there is a difference between who the world wants you to be and who you really are, Carmella says she is the one that calls the shots and gives the orders and the one who is willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead and no matter what she will always win. Next week the world will find out why she is untouchable. 

Murphy and Aaliyah Mysterio come to the ring as we go to a commercial. 

We come back and go to the ring with Murphy and Aaliyah Mysterio.

Murphy says that he understands why Rey and Dominik hate him as he did some terrible things to the both of them while he was aligned with Rollins, but he has changed, and to prove that he wants to talk to Rey and Dominik face to face, Murphy asks Rey and Dominik to come out but we get nothing so Murphy reiterates that he needs to apologize and he begs them to come out but we still get nothing from either Mysterio, however, this does bring out Seth Rollins. 

Rollins says that the Mysterios will never accept Murphy nor will they accept whatever is going on between Murphy and Aaliyah, however, he will always accept Murphy for who he is and he will forgive him for what he has done and on top of all of that he embraces whatever is going on between Murphy and Aaliyah in fact he would be glad to marry them right there. Rollins says there is a place for them in the greater good and he can tell that Aaliyah is finally able to see that he is not the bad guy and Rey has forced all of this to happen. Rollins says that it seems like Rey is controlling Aaliyah by telling her who to talk to and who to see and as for Dominik he is a coward and jealous of Aaliyah.

Before Rollins can say anymore he is attacked from behind by Dominik but Murphy pulls Dominik off Rollins and goes on the attack himself and sends Rollins to the floor. We then get a shoving match between Dominik and Murphy until Dominik decks Murphy and starts beating him down while Aaliyah is in the corner screaming for him to stop, Murphy gets in control and starts fighting back against Dominik and this brings Rey down to the ring. Rey and Murphy shove each other and then Rey goes on the attack and hits Murphy with a back elbow and then Dominik hits Murphy with a drop toe hold onto the middle rope, but when Rey goes for the 619 Aaliyah steps in between them. 

Rey tells Aaliyah to get out of his way but she isn’t moving as she tells him not to hurt Murphy and then he grabs her arm as he wants her to go with him, but she pulls away and tells him she isn’t going with him and then she says the words they Rey least wanted to hear which was that she loves Murphy. Rey and Dominik leave the ring while Aaliyah helps Murphy to his feet and when Rey once again demands that she go with him Aaliyah starts kissing Murphy. Rollins (who is at the top of the ramp) is pleasantly surprised at this latest development in the Mysterio family telenovela. Rey and Dominik walk up the ramp dejected while Murphy holds Aaliyah close to him as the segment comes to an end. 

I know that I shouldn’t be into this story as it is corny AF and has absolutely nothing to do with wrestling but I can’t help it I am hooked on this story and look forward to seeing where it goes next, I guess the hopeless romantic part of me is to blame for me liking all of this Romeo and Juliet esque storytelling. I will say that while all of this is corny at least it is more believable than the last time Rey and Dominik acted out a telenovela when Eddie Guerrero was claiming to be Dominik’s father. I guess you can consider this love story my guilty pleasure storyline of 2020. 

We go to the back where Kayla Braxton interview Daniel Bryan and asks him if what happened between Reigns and Uso earlier in the night changes his thoughts on his match with Uso later tonight, Bryan says that Uso has changed over the past few weeks and despite his best effort Reigns has been unable to beat Uso and it is for that reason that he is sure whoever wins tonight will be a great asset for Team SmackDown. 

The SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits make their way to the ring as we go to commercial. 

Street Profits cut a promo on how they love and respect New Day and they will always be one of the greatest teams in WWE history, but at Survivor Series they are not showing up to get a box of Booty O’s signed they are showing up to take the torch because they are the best of the best and they want the smoke. 

Match #3: Street Profits vs Cesaro & Shinsuke Nakamura Cesaro catches Dawkins with a kick and an uppercut to start the match and then he tries to hit Dawkins with a hip toss but Dawkins blocks and then we get a drop-down and leapfrog spot that ends with Dawkins taking Cesaro down with a shoulder block. Dawkins tags in Ford who hits Cesaro with a dropkick and then Dawkins slams Ford onto Cesaro for a 2 count as Nakamura comes in to break up the pin. Dawkins tries to take Nakamura out but ends up getting kicked in the head and then Ford takes Nakamura down with a dropkick. Cesaro looks for a suplex on Ford but he escapes and runs off the ropes where he hits Cesaro with a running blockbuster, Cesaro rolls to the outside and Ford goes to dive on both of his opponents but Cesaro is able to get out of the way in time so Ford just takes out Nakamura. Ford runs at Cesaro but gets caught and is thrown up in the air and ends up landing in the “crowd” of Thunderdrome screens and this takes us to a commercial. 

We come back to Cesaro having an armbar locked in on Ford and when Ford tries to fight out of it Cesaro knees him in the gut and tags in Nakamura, Cesaro drapes Ford across the top rope and Nakamura knees him in the gut and then Cesaro hits him with a suplex which gets a 2 count. Nakamura lifts Ford up and looks to hit the inverted exploder but Ford lands on his feet, Ford dodges a couple of kicks from Nakamura before dropping him with an enziguri. We get a tag on both ends as Dawkins comes in on fire as he hits Cesaro with a couple of clotheslines and a spinning back elbow and he follows that up with a dropkick to Nakamura. Dawkins hits Cesaro with a flapjack and then he hits both men with a spinning splash in the corner and a one-handed bulldog onto Cesaro. Dawkins tries for a slam but Cesaro blocks it and hits an uppercut and then he tags in Nakamura. 

Cesaro and Nakamura try for a double clothesline on Dawkins but he ducks and hits Nakamura with a right hand and then he hits Cesaro with an exploder. Nakamura hits Dawkins with a spinning wheel kick and then tries for a German suplex but Dawkins blocks it and hits Nakamura with a back elbow, Dawkins goes to hit Nakamura with the spinning splash in the corner but Nakamura is able to move out of the way and then he hits Dawkins with another kick. Nakamura sets Dawkins up on the top turnbuckle horizontally and hits him with the running knee in the corner which gets another 2 count. Nakamura tags in Cesaro and they hit the diving knee strike and gutwrench powerbomb combo for a 2 count when Ford breaks up the pin. 

Nakamura throws Ford out of the ring and follows him and then he sends him into Cesaro’s boot which he has outstretched from the ring. Cesaro goes over to pick up Dawkins but gets caught in a surprise small package for a 2 count and then he levels Dawkins with a lariat for a 2 count. Cesaro tags in Nakamura and then he lifts Dawkins up in an electric chair while Nakamura climbs up top, but before anything can happen Dawkins slips out of the electric chair and shoves Cesaro into the corner causing Nakamura to crotch himself. Dawkins hits Cesaro with the Anointment which causes him to roll to the outside, Dawkins goes up top and hits Nakamura with a superplex and then Ford finishes things off with a big Frog Splash to pick up the win.  Winners: Street Profits via Pinfall    Match Rating: **¾  

This was a fun match which you would expect from these two teams and that spot where Cesaro threw Ford into the crowd area was great. I’m sure this will be the first of many many many many matches between these two teams seeing as SmackDown only has four teams in their division which is only one more team than what Raw has. 

We cut to the back where Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn cuts a promo to hype his match with US Champion Bobby Lashley at Survivor Series. Zayn says he is the perfect man to be Intercontinental Champion because people on all continents love him and although WWE has never marketed him as the people’s champion he says he is the champion of the people because the people know that he always speaks the truth. Zayn says he represents the people of every country and continent while Bobby Lashley only represents one country and he doesn’t even want to get into further details about that country. Zayn says he is going to show at Survivor Series that the Intercontinental Champion is greater than the United States Champion. 

The NEW SmackDown Women’s Champion Sasha Banks comes to the ring carrying the chair that Bayley took her out with months ago and this sends us to a commercial. 

Sasha says that she told Bayley she was going to finish what Bayley started and in the process, she would take the one thing that Bayley values the most which was the SmackDown Women’s Championship, and at Hell in a Cell, she fulfilled all of those promises. Sasha thanks Bayley for stabbing her in the back because it ended an era of them constantly being linked together as the two of them were supposed to dominate the WWE and be unstoppable, but when Bayley hit her with that chair it made Sasha realize that it wasn’t their friendship that was unstoppable it was her because she is the Boss of Friday nights and the new SmackDown Women’s Champion. Sasha says that now Bayley is in her past she will move on to Survivor Series where she will prove that she is the best of the best when she goes up against Asuka. 

Bayley comes out and says that while Sasha did win her title she knows and even Sasha herself knows that she won’t be able to keep it as she did for 380 days. Bayley says that Sasha is lucky that she isn’t coming in that ring to beat her down for parading with her SmackDown Women’s Championship considering that Sasha didn’t legally beat her for it as Sasha forced her to sign the contract under duress. Bayley says she is going to do Sasha a favor since everyone knows that Sasha can’t beat Asuka without Bayley in her corner so she is going to take that title off Sasha before then as she is challenging her to a title match next week. Bayley tells Sasha to enjoy her short yet predictable title reign because it ends next week. Sasha hopes that Bayley brings everything she has got because backstabbing bitches never win and with that Sasha drops the mic.  

Remember a few years ago when we wanted to see Bayley and Sasha face each other, well we are finally getting it and in true WWE fashion, it looks like we are going to get to see them against each other so much that by the time the feud is over we will have Bayley vs Sasha fatigue, which is something that doesn’t seem possible but giving WWE’s overkill of every feud it is a definite possibility. I like the fact they play into Sasha not being able to keep a title after her first defense as that has been one of the biggest parts of her story on the main roster and hopefully that story will get a happy ending next week when she retains the title against Bayley. 

Daniel Bryan makes his way to the ring for the main event and we go to commercial. 

We come back and go straight to our main event.

Match #4: Daniel Bryan vs Jey Uso (Men’s SmackDown Survivor Series Team Qualifying Match) They circle the ring and lockup and Uso pushes Bryan into the ropes but we don’t get a clean break as Uso gets in a kick and a headbutt and then Uso starts to turn up the aggression as he takes Bryan down with a back elbow. Uso lands some punches on Bryan but Bryan comes back with a couple of uppercuts and then he connects with a kitchen sink. Bryan goes to work on the arm momentarily until Uso reverses a whip into the ropes and hits Bryan with a Samoan drop. Uso crawls over to the corner and it is clear that everything that has been going on with Reigns is taking a toll on him mentally. Uso puts the boots to Bryan in the corner and then he sends him into the corner, but Bryan backflips off the top rope and takes Uso down with a clothesline. Bryan hits Uso with the Yes Kicks which sends Uso to the outside in order to get away from Bryan. Uso tries to recover as he leans against the barricade as Roman Reigns comes out to watch the match and this sends us to a commercial break. 

We come back to Uso hitting Bryan with punches as he sits up on the top rope and then Uso tries for a superplex, but Bryan slips out and crotches Uso on the turnbuckle. Bryan pulls Uso down into a tree of woe and starts kicking him repeatedly and then connects with a running dropkick. Bryan raises Uso back up and climbs up to join him and then he tries to hit Uso with a back suplex but Uso counters the move by shifting his weight and this gets a 2 count and then Bryan immediately turns it over into a pin of his own but that only gets a 1 count. Uso hits Bryan with a kick to the gut and then hits him with a big right hand. Bryan tries to make a comeback with a series of kicks only to get hit with an enziguri moments later. Uso charges at Bryan but gets backdropped to the floor and then Bryan looks for a tope suicida only to get caught with a kick by Uso from the floor. 

Uso goes up top looking for the Uso Splash, but Bryan gets his knees up and then transitions into the Yes Lock but Uso is able to get to the ropes. Bryan hits Uso with the kicks in the corner and then hits a running dropkick in the corner, but when Bryan goes for a second running dropkick he is hit with a superkick from Uso and then another kick for good measure. Uso goes up top and connects with the Uso Splash and that is enough to pick up the win. Winner: Jey Uso via Pinfall    Match Rating: ***

After the match, Reigns enters the ring and stares at Uso and then Uso says he is with Reigns and that Reigns is the head of the table. Uso hits Bryan with a kick and another splash and then he tells Reigns that he understands now and that he loves Reigns. Reigns tells Uso to make Bryan understand and that leads to Uso dragging Bryan out of the ring and sending him into the steps and then he dives off the top and puts Bryan through the announce table with a splash. Uso slams Bryan’s head into the announce table repeatedly as Reigns looks on with a smile on his face. Reigns walks up the ramp with a smirk on his face as SmackDown comes to a close. 

I was not expecting Uso to win this one as I expected that with everything he had going on with Reigns that he wouldn’t need to be apart of the elimination tag match and was sure that Bryan would be a shoo-in and would even be deemed, team captain. While I liked the ending segment and the brutality shown by Uso I think it would’ve worked much better had it happened next week as it felt very abrupt to have him say that he hates Reigns at the beginning of the show and then have him say he understands and that he loves Reigns by the end of the show, he should’ve at least had a week to think about it before joining Reigns, I look forward to seeing where this story goes next. This was a decent episode of SmackDown as I enjoyed everything involving Reigns and Uso as usual and I also liked the segment involving Murphy and the Mysterios. That’s it for me this week but I’ll be back next week for more action from the blue brand.

[placetobenation]

SmackDown on Fox Episode #55 (SmackDown Season Premiere) SmackDown Episode # 1,104 Orlando, FL – The Thunderdome (Amway Center) 10/16/20

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have to admit that going into this week’s SmackDown report I am a bit down in the dumps as I am deeply saddened that after tonight’s show I will no longer be able to talk about some of my favorite WWE wrestlers for at least the next year (or until they show up randomly on SmackDown for no reason) in my SmackDown report, as many of the men and women I have enjoyed talking about over the past year have been moved over to Raw during the draft. After this past Monday, I had to play some Sarah McLachlan’s “I will remember you”, shed a few tears, and then I poured some sweet tea out (since I don’t drink alcohol thus I don’t have a 40) for all my SmackDown homies that were drafted to Raw. The ones that I will miss the most are Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods, Drew Gulak, Sheamus, Nikki Cross, and of course the gruesome twosome that is The Fiend and Alexa Bliss. I will also say that the people from Raw that were drafted to SmackDown in no shape, form, or fashion match the quality of all of those we lost, outside of Riott Squad, Bianca Belair, Kevin Owens, & Aleister Black I don’t care about most of the people SmackDown acquired from Raw. 

I was so looking forward to covering the Alexa Bliss aligning with The Fiend story as along with the feud between Roman Reigns and Jey Uso it had been one of the things that got me excited to watch SmackDown each week so I will miss talking about how that story develops over time, but at least I have a reason to get excited to watch Raw now. I will probably end up giving my thoughts from time to time on their segment each week because I love both of their characters. I loved what they did with the two on Raw with Alexa doing the Wyatt back bend pose in the corner and then her and The Fiend hitting stereo Sister Abigails on Andrade and Zelina Vega, it would’ve been fun if that had let to a feud between the two duos but unfortunately for Raw and very fortunately for me, Zelina Vega was drafted over to SmackDown. I look forward to what Alexa and The Fiend do next on the red brand. 

Now that I have that out of the way I will move on to the reason why I am here and that is to review this Season Premiere episode of SmackDown. 

We open the show with a new intro video that includes all of the new names that were drafted to SmackDown and then we go into the Thunderdome where the SmackDown roster is standing at the top of the stage, Triple H & Stephanie McMahon are in the ring and they welcome us to the season premiere of SmackDown. Triple H & Stephanie hype up the new stars that are on SmackDown and also run down what we can expect on the show tonight, but when they mention the SmackDown Tag Title match between The Street Profits and Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler we see Ziggler and Roode attack the Street Profits and this leads to a giant brawl between all of the men on the roster that ends up in the ring. Once the ring clears out some we get the appearance of “The Freak” Lars Sullivan who takes out Kalisto, Apollo Crews, & Chad Gable but then Hardy attacks Sullivan from behind and then low bridges him over the top rope and that sends us to commercial. 

This whole segment felt completely unnecessary as it didn’t do anything to help anyone and it really didn’t lead to anywhere except a match which we already knew was going to happen. This was the first of several times where we got both the rundown of matches for the show and some of the talents that were drafted over from Raw mentioned, I don’t know about you but I would rather see those people that were drafted over actually do something rather than be mentioned multiple times on the show. 

We come back and go straight into the first match of the night.

Match #1: Jeff Hardy vs “The Freak” Lars Sullivan Hardy dropkicks Sullivan in the knee and lands some punches and a mule kick on “The Freak” only for Sullivan to run through Hardy with a clothesline and then hit him with a series of crossface punches, Sullivan throws Hardy across the ring and then hits him with a sliding clothesline but “The Freak” only gets a 2 count. Sullivan goes up top looking for a diving headbutt but Hardy is able to move out of the way and “The Freak” crashes to the mat. Hardy makes a comeback with repeated right hands and then he takes “The Freak” down with a sitout jawbreaker, Hardy looks to send “The Freak” into the ropes but Sullivan blocks it and sends Hardy into the ropes instead which results in Hardy coming back with a running forearm and then he hits Sullivan with an inverted atomic drop. Hardy tries for the double leg takedown but Sulivan blocks it and clubs the back of Hardy. “The Freak” shoves hardy into the corner and charges in but eats an elbow and then is hit with Whisper in the Wind, but that only gets a 1 count as “The Freak” throws Hardy off of him. 

Hardy goes for the Twist of Fate, but Sullivan blocks it and shoves Hardy which sends Hardy through the ropes and to the floor. “The Freak” follows Hardy to the outside and catches Hardy when he attempts a Poetry in Motion and slams him on the apron (which is the hardest part of the ring just in case you didn’t know). “The Freak” rolls Hardy into the ring but Hardy catches Sullivan with a Twist of Fate and then goes up top looking for the Swanton Bomb, but Sullivan gets to his feet and grabs Hardy by the throat and then hits him with the Freak Accident which is enough to keep Hardy down for the count. Winner: Lars Sullivan via Pinfall    Match Rating: **¼ 

Hey, did you catch how I said “The Freak” a bunch of times during that match well just in case you didn’t allow me to remind you “The Freak”, “The Freak”, “The Freak”, “The Freak”. I just want to make sure I make it clear that Lars Sullivan’s nickname is “The Freak” because Vince was screaming in my ear the entire time I was writing this just like he was the announcers while this match was going on. This was a fine match that allowed Sullivan to show off his power and I’m actually surprised Hardy got in as much offense as he did given how they are doing everything in their power to skyrocket Sullivan to the moon as fast as they can. I can say right now that “The Freak” is one of the people I am least looking forward to writing about each week, but if all of his matches are this short I will be able to tolerate it. 

The announcers hype up the return of Daniel Bryan tonight as we go to commercial. 

We come back to a video hyping up one of SmackDown’s newest stars Bianca Belair. 

New Day come out for their farewell match but before that, we get a promo from the trio where they talk about their last six years as a team, Woods thanks Big E and Kingston for taking a chance on him when he was doing nothing in his career. Kingston talks about some of the moments they have had during their run and says that Woods and Big E started out as his friends but now they have become his brothers. Big E talks about how as great as their in-ring accomplishments are the things he will miss will be those mornings in some random town sitting down at a Waffle House and just talking about their families and then Big E gets a bit sad that he doesn’t yet have a family like the other two, but he is quickly cheered up when Kingston tells him he will have a family one day. Woods finally says that’s enough of the sappy stuff as they are there to get it done one more time and whoop that tale the only way they know how and that’s because New Day Rocks!

New Day’s opponents are interviewed backstage and they say the usual heel stuff about sending New Day packing for good.

The heels make their entrance and then we go to a break before the match starts.

Match #2: The New Day vs Sheamus, Cesaro, & Shinsuke Nakamura (New Day’s Farewell Match) Nakamura gets Woods in a rear waist lock to start the match but Woods gets control of Nakamura’s arm to break the waist lock and he looks to work over the arm but Nakamura lands a couple of knees to the midsection and some forearms in the corner to regain control of the match. Nakamura sends Woods into the corner but Woods jumps up and over Nakamura and then takes him down with an arm drag and looks to drag Nakamura over to the babyface corner in order to make a tag, but Nakamura stomps on Woods’ foot to prevent that from happening. Nakamura sends Woods into the ropes and he ducks a clothesline and then slides under Nakamura’s legs and then he throws him into Kingston (who had made a blind tag) who hits him with a mushroom stomp to the chest. Nakamura blocks a whip into the ropes with a kick to the midsection and then he takes Kingston down with a spinning wheel kick. Nakamura brings Kingston over to the heel corner and makes a tag to Cesaro.

Cesaro and Nakamura hit Kingston with a double hip toss and then they wishbone his legs. Cesaro gets Kingston in the corner and works him over with some body shots and then he whips him into the opposite corner, but Kingston springs out of the corner with a dropkick that connects on Cesaro. Kingston makes a tag to Big E and then he leapfrogs over Big E to hit Cesaro with a senton and then Big E tags in Woods who lifts Big E on his shoulders and slams him onto Cesaro for a 2 count. Cesaro no-sells a chop and then he levels Woods with an uppercut before tagging in his former Bar teammate Sheamus, they send Woods into the ropes and take him down with a double clothesline and then they remind Woods that they don’t just set the bar they are The Bar. Sheamus works Woods over for a minute but when he lifts Woods over his shoulder Woods slips out from behind and nails Sheamus with a rolling elbow and a sliding knee and this gives Woods the opportunity to make the tag to Big E. Woods runs off the ropes and Big E catches him in a powerbomb position and slams him onto Sheamus and then Kingston (who made a blind tag that was even blind to me as I couldn’t find when he tagged in) comes off the top with a frog splash which gets a 2 count. 

Sheamus sends Kingston into the ropes but ducks his head and gets kicked for it, Kingston looks to run off the ropes but Nakamura low bridges the ropes which sends Kingston to the outside. Sheamus tags in Cesaro who then tags in Nakamura, the heels go out to the floor, and The Bar hold Kingston in position as if they were going to hit a Magic Killer, but instead, they leave an opening for Nakamura to hit a running knee to Kingston’s midsection and then Cesaro takes Kingston down with a vertical suplex. Nakamura rolls Kingston back into the ring and goes for a cover, but only gets a 2 count. Nakamura gets Kingston into the heel corner and hits him with some good vibrations and then The Bar stomp a mudhole into Kingston. Kingston tries to fight back but Cesaro takes him right back down with a slam followed by a leg drop. The heels continue to make frequent tags as they work Kingston over in their corner, Kingston tries to fight out of the corner with everything he has but Cesaro catches him and sets him on the top rope where Sheamus grabs Kingston by his hair and pulls him down which causes Kingston to take a nasty bump to the floor and this sends us to a commercial break. 

We come back to Kingston trying to fight out of a hold, but Sheamus knees him in the gut and then knocks Woods off the apron. Sheamus looks like he wants to go for the Irish Curse, but Kingston catches him with a crucifix pin out of nowhere which gets a 2 count and then he follows that up by hitting Sheamus with an S.O.S. and now both men are down. Kingston slowly crawls over and makes the hot tag to Big E while Sheamus tags in Cesaro on the other side, Big E hits Cesaro with the trifecta of belly to belly suplexes and then hits the big splash. Big E gets in position to hit Cesaro with the Big Ending, but Cesaro blocks it and hits Big E with a gut wrench suplex. Cesaro hits Big E with a running uppercut in the corner, but when he goes for a second one he is met with an elbow, Woods makes a blind tag and then he shoves Cesaro toward Big E who lifts Cesaro up in a uranage but when he goes to slam him down Woods slides under and puts his knees up so that Cesaro hits Woods’ knees back-first, this gets a very close nearfall. 

Woods lands some punches on Cesaro but as they get closer to the heel corner Cesaro shoves Woods away to create distance and when Woods charges in Cesaro backdrops him to the apron, Woods looks to hit the rope-assisted tornado DDT, but Cesaro stops that in its tracks as he hits Woods with an uppercut and then he tags in Nakamura who hits Woods with the sliding German suplex which gets a 2 count. Nakamura kicks Woods in the head a few times and then goes for a strike combo but Woods ducks and then he takes Nakamura down with a drop toe hold into the middle rope and then he slides through the middle rope while making a tag to Kingston at the same time. Cesaro takes Woods down with a clothesline on the outside and then Big E low bridges the top rope which gets Kingston plenty of room to dive out onto their opponents. Sheamus takes Big E down and then he tries to reach out and grab Kingston but gets hit with a kick. Kingston rolls Nakamura back into the ring and then goes up top but when he dives off Nakamura catches him in mid-air with a kick and then he makes a tag to Cesaro. Cesaro puts Kingston in the big swing and Nakamura catches him with the Kinshasa, Cesaro catapults Kingston into Sheamus who hits him with a White Noise which gets a 2 count when Big E makes the save. 

Big E hits Cesaro with the Big Ending and then turns around into a kick from Nakamura and then Nakamura is taken down by a missile dropkick from Woods. Sheamus clotheslines Woods out of the ring and then he goes over to Kingston and starts trash talking him which gives Kingston time to hit Sheamus with a headbutt and then he moves out of the way when Sheamus charges at him in the corner which sends Sheamus shoulder-first into the ring post. Kingston tags in Woods who immediately tags in Big E and they hit Sheamus with the Midnight Hour to pick up their final win as a trio.  Winners: The New Day via Pinfall   Match Rating: ***½ 

After the match, New Day huddle up, and Big E thanks Kingston and Woods for one last time.

I am so glad they gave New Day time before the match to vocalize how they were feeling as it has clearly been an emotional week for all three of them just as it has been for the fans because New Day going their separate means the end of an era for tag team wrestling in WWE. I don’t think there ever has been or will ever be a team that is equally fun and entertaining before, during, and after matches like New Day has been over the past 6 years. It was clear that every time they were together they were genuinely having fun and that made it even more fun for us to watch. I thought the match was really good and did what it was supposed to which was to let New Day get all their stuff in one last time. I was getting worried after the match that we could get Big E turning on Kingston and Woods as he kept thanking them for the past six years, but thankfully nobody had to turn and the door is still left open for a reunion of the team down the road. All in all, this was a really nice send-off for one of the best teams in the history of the WWE. 

We go to the back where Otis is interviewed about all the bad luck he has been having lately but before he has a chance to respond he is interrupted by Sami Zayn who mocks Otis for losing both his best friend and his girlfriend to Raw and thus he will probably lose the lawsuit against The Miz as well, Otis screams at Zayn and shoves him to the floor. 

Daniel Bryan makes his way to the ring as we go to commercial. 

We come back from break and see that Brie Bella and Bryan’s daughter Birdie have taken up one of the audience spots in the Thunderdome, this would happen several times throughout the night with different legends showing up in the audience and we would be shown a grainy up-close shot of them. 

Bryan talks up the Thunderdome and says that as much as he loved being home he couldn’t wait to come back and experience the Thunderdome. Bryan said he came back on a great night as there are so many new faces that he both can’t wait to watch (Bianca Belair & Riott Squad) and also can’t wait to get in the ring with (Aleister Black, Kevin Owens, & Apollo Crews). This would eventually lead to Seth Rollins coming out to the ring.

Rollins is disappointed that Bryan didn’t mention him in the list of names he would like to face, but he will forget about that as he has an important question for Bryan, Rollins asks Bryan which side of history does he want to be on? Rollins says that in the matter of the greater good you are either with him or against him and surely someone as smart as Bryan would want to stand beside him and help mold the future of SmackDown in his vision. Bryan says that while he is all about changing for the good he thinks Rollins’ vision is short-sighted, self-indulgent, and quite frankly it’s just dumb. Rollins instantly becomes furious at Bryan calling his vision dumb and they go back and forth until Rollins hits Bryan, but Bryan makes his comeback really quickly as he hits Rollins with a flying clothesline and then he delivers some Yes Kicks which sends Rollins fleeing from the ring. 

Rollins walks up the ramp and now I bet you all can guess what happened next, that’s right Dominik and Rey Mysterio come out which has Rollins back-peddling back into the ring. Rollins once again tries to get Bryan to join him against Rey and Dominik, but Bryan is like Nah and leaves the ring. The Mysterios stare down Rollins and look to attack him but before they can Murphy runs down to the ring and it looks like he is going to help Rollins, but he turns and starts attacking his former “Messiah” and then he sends Rollins out of the ring with a big knee strike. Murphy extends his hand looking for a sign of mutual respect, but they both refuse to shake his hand and then they leave the ring. 

It is always nice to see Daniel Bryan when he comes back and this time was no different. I had a feeling when Bryan came out that this would lead to Rollins coming out because that is a fresh feud that we haven’t really seen as Bryan and Rollins have been on separate rosters ever since the brand split in 2016. It seems like from this segment they could be transitioning Rollins out of the feud with the Mysterios and putting him into a feud with Bryan while the Mysterios deal with Murphy on his own. I love that due to Rollins screwing with them for the past however many months the Mysterios are now the ones turning into assholes as they won’t even accept a handshake from Murphy after he beat up his former leader so in that way Rollins got what he wanted out of his feud with the Mysterios as now they are just as self-righteous as he is. I enjoyed this segment even though it did involve Rollins, Murphy, and the Mysterios. 

The Street Profits make their way to the ring and we get an inset promo where they talk about defending their titles and that sends us to a commercial. 

Match #3: Street Profits © vs Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode (SmackDown Tag Team Championship) Ziggler goes for a single leg takedown but Dawkins blocks it and grabs a headlock and then he is shot off into the ropes where he takes Ziggler down with a shoulder block and then moments later he takes him down with a dropkick. Dawkins goes for the spinning splash in the corner, but Ziggler moves out of the way and makes a tag to Roode who stomps a mudhole into Dawkins in the corner, and then he hits him with a vertical suplex for a 2 count. 

Roode knocks Ford off the apron and then hits Dawkins with a front suplex before tagging Ziggler in, Ziggler hits Dawkins with a leapfrog rocker dropper with help from Roode and goes for the cover but only gets a 2 count as Ford makes the save. All four men are in the ring and as they are brawling they are ignoring the referees 5 count and she is forced to call for the bell. Winners: N/A – Double DQ    Match Rating: *½ 

After the match, Ziggler and Roode throw Ford out of the ring and then they hit Dawkins with a Spinebuster and ZigZag combo, Ford gets back to his feet and climbs up top, and takes both of his opponents down with a big crossbody. 

Not sure why we needed this match on the show especially after Ziggler and Roode lost a tag title match on Monday not sure what warranted them having another title match on the other brand just four days later. I would’ve rather seen this time (although it would be short) go to some more of the women on the show like a Bianca, Carmella (who’s big return they have hyped up for weeks), or if they had to have a tag match in this spot then showcase The Riott Squad in this spot. This segment could’ve involved anyone else except Ziggler and Roode and been much better. 

We get a video package highlighting the entire Sasha vs Bayley feud. Sasha Banks makes her way to the ring looking like a true star and this sends us to a commercial break. 

We come back and Bayley makes her way to the ring with a steel chair in hand. 

Adam Pearce will be overseeing this contract signing.

Sasha signs the contract first and says she has been waiting for this moment for a very long time and Bayley says she has too and she is ready to move on so she can continue her reign as longest-reigning SmackDown Women’s Champion and then Bayley says that she lasted that long as champion all by herself, this lights a spark under Sasha as she dares Bayley to say that she did it all by herself again and this time to her face. Bayley tells Sasha to calm down as that kind of attitude and the look in Sasha’s eyes are the reason why she turned on Sasha as she knew it was only a matter of time before Sasha turned on her so she decided to strike first and that is the main reason as to why Sasha is upset. 

Sasha said that if she wanted to turn on Bayley she would’ve done it years ago, but friends don’t turn on each other. Sasha says she has been by Bayley’s side for her entire career in the WWE as she was the one that made the call to bring her up as a tag partner for that one time match when Bayley was still down in NXT, she was by Bayley’s side when she helped her win her first Raw Women’s Championship, and finally, she was by Bayley’s side when they were the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. Sasha congratulates Bayley on becoming the longest-reigning champion but reminds Bayley that she was by her side the entire time and helped her keep that title for as long as she has had it. Sasha says that Bayley tried to end her career and come Hell in a Cell she will end Bayley because she is Sasha Banks and her name is bigger than the SmackDown Women’s Championship. Sasha says that when she walks out of Hell in a Cell with Bayley’s title that will be the icing on the cake.

Bayley stands up and gets in Sasha’s face and then she backs up and leaves the ring without signing the contract. Sasha tells Bayley to go ahead and run away just like the coward that she is, but when Bayley is locked inside the Hell in a Cell there will be nowhere to run. Sasha says that Bayley will sign that contract one way or another. 

Whew! Sasha was on fire tonight both in terms of her looking like a true star and during her promo, she was scorching hot to the point where Bayley was left speechless. It was clear that Sasha wasn’t going to put up with Bayley’s bull shit on this night as she called Bayley on her shit throughout the entire promo. I love how Sasha becoming the Women’s Champion is just the cherry on top as she doesn’t even really care about the title as she is bigger than the title, but if taking the title means that Bayley will suffer then she will gladly take that title after she beats Bayley’s ass.  I am really looking forward to this match at Hell in a Cell and if the rumor is true that this will be the main event of the show then I have to say it has definitely earned it as this feud has been really great. 

We cut backstage where Braun Strowman is preparing for his big Universal Championship match which is coming up next after the commercial. 

We come back and Ken Jeong, Joel McHale, and several other celebrities congratulate WWE on their season premiere, these would run throughout the night and most of them included people from NFL on Fox. 

Earlier in the day, Goldberg had teased that he would be in the Thunderdome and this caused Twitter to collectively let out a groan, but thankfully his appearance in the Thunderdome was limited to just being in the crowd much like the other legends had throughout the night.

Match #4: Roman Reigns © w/ Paul Heyman vs Braun Strowman (WWE Universal Championship) We get a lock up as both men jockey for control around the ring and Reigns surprisingly uses Strowman’s momentum to throw him out of the ring. Strowman jumps back up on the apron only to get hit with a big Superman Punch that knocks him back down to the floor. Reigns waits for Strowman to get back to his feet and then he slides outside so he can hit Strowman with the drive-by and then he throws the bigger man back into the ring, Reigns goes for a cover but only gets a 1 count as Strowman powers out. Reigns works Strowman over with some strikes in the corner and then he attempts to whip Strowman into the corner, but Strowman reverses and sends Reigns into the corner, Strowman charges towards Reigns and is met with a big right hand and then he takes Strowman down with a big boot. Reigns goes for a cover, but once again Strowman forcefully kicks out to the point where Reigns rolls out of the ring. 

Reigns gets up on the apron and Strowman charges in but Reigns low bridges the ropes sending Strowman to the outside. Reigns sends Strowman face-first into the steps and the announce table and then Strowman comes back with a knee to the gut which creates some distance between Reigns and himself, Reigns leaps off the steps looking for a Superman Punch but is caught by Strowman and is sent into the ring post and then Strowman throws Reigns across the announce table. Strowman rolls back in the ring but when he sees Reigns getting back to his feet he goes back outside and pounces Reigns over the barricade and that sends us to a commercial break.

We come back to Strowman hitting Reigns with an avalanche in the corner and then he biels him across the ring and he follows that up with a big clubbing blow to the chest which gets a 2 count. Strowman waits for Reigns to get to his feet and looks to hit him with an avalanche in the corner, but Reigns is able to get a boot up and then when Strowman tries to charge in again Reigns moves out of the way sending Strowman shoulder-first into the ring post. Strowman goes for another Superman Punch, but Strowman catches him by the throat and screams at him before hitting him with a knee in the gut and then he drops Reigns with a Yokosuka Cutter. Strowman grabs Reigns by the throat and lifts him up from the mat and drops him back down with a chokeslam in the center of the ring, Strowman goes for a cover but only gets a 2 count and then Strowman starts rolling around on the mat and is holding his groin area and we later find out that Strowman got the same treatment that Jey Uso did at Clash of Champions as Reigns low blowed him at the same time he was kicking out of the pin. 

Reigns gets into position and hits Strowman with a giant Spear, but somehow Strowman is able to kick out at 2. Reigns sets up for another Spear, but as he runs in Strowman scoops him up looking for the powerslam but Reigns slips out from behind and shoves Strowman into the corner. Reigns runs off the ropes and Strowman looks to hit him with a flapjack, but Reigns is able to lock in a guillotine choke and even though Strowman drives Reigns into the corner he won’t let go, and eventually, Strowman collapses to the mat and it isn’t much longer before the referee calls for the bell as Strowman has been choked out. Winner: Roman Reigns via Submission    Match Rating: ***¼ 

After the match, Jey Uso comes out and Reigns continues to punish Strowman as a way to send a message to Uso. Reigns grabs a chair and this causes Uso to move closer to the ring as Reigns tells him this is how they eat and if he isn’t on top that isn’t possible and he doesn’t want Uso to end up like Strowman is right now. Reigns brutalizes Strowman with the chair repeatedly and this is enough to get Uso to come into the ring. 

Reigns tells Uso that he loves him but the fact that he is trying to take his place makes zero sense and then he gives Uso a chance to prove himself as he turns his back because he wants Uso to hit him with a chair, Uso refuses to hit Reigns and this brings a smile to Reigns’ face and he goes in for a hug but instead he catches a big right hand and a superkick from Uso and then Uso grabs the chair and starts hammering Reigns with it repeatedly while he screams that he loves Reigns too, the referees and agents pull him back and while they have him restrained Reigns gets back to his feet and lays Uso out with a Superman Punch. Reigns says that was Uso’s last chance and now he has to turn his back on Uso. Reigns and Heyman walk up the ramp as Reigns doesn’t look happy about what he is going to have to do to Uso at Hell in a Cell. The show ends with Uso getting checked on in the ring.  

I forgot just how well Strowman and Reigns work together as this was a lot of fun to watch. I’m not sure what Strowman is supposed to be right now as he is supposed to be the heel going into the match against Keith Lee on Monday, but here he was made to look like they sympathetic babyface that kept getting beat down after the match, perhaps he has already reached Big Show status where they feel they can turn him back and forth without any kind of explanation. After the match, we got another chapter in the awesome Roman Reigns and Jimmy Uso feud. I liked how Reigns got so confident when he thought Uso wasn’t going to hit him with the chair, but come to find out Uso was just treating Reigns the same way he had been treated as he attacked Reigns on his time and not when Reigns told him to and the fact that he was screaming that he loved Reigns while doing it made the moment even better. I can’t wait to see what these two can do inside Hell in a Cell next Sunday. 

This was a pretty good episode of SmackDown although I would’ve liked to see more of the new names that came over from Raw, I’m sure we’ll get them next week since some of the guys that were on this show will now be on Raw so there will be more time for the new guys. I really liked how they handled the New Day being separated as well as the main event match and post-match angle involving Reigns and Uso. 

That’s it for this week I’ll be back next week for more action from the blue brand.