#the second you asked for xavier's ref i went to WORK >:]

[lurinoodle]

surprise for @chiryxushi 💕

[reisabrisingr]

Honestly, I was thinking of Romans return and fuck, I couldn’t help but to write this.

Honestly, when Roman returns, I don’t want it on RAW or a random PPV.

I want it at Wrestlemania, I want it to be the main event of Wrestlemania. I don’t want anyone knowing about his return, not even Seth or Dean.

I want Seth and Dean to be in the main event of Wrestlemania. I want them to be versing one another for the vacant universal title. I don’t care who’s heel,who’s face.

I want it to be a triple threat, but whenever someone was qualifying to be the third, Seth and Dean are told to take them out. I want Seth and Dean to act like all they care about is for them to be facing one another, because this isn’t about a third, this is about them. One V One on the biggest stage of them all.

I want The New Day and The Usos hosting wrestlemania. I want them to make it fun, to make everyone laugh in between the matches by how much charisma they have with one another.

When Seth and Dean are in the ring, facing each other down, ready to put on the biggest fight of their lives. I want the new day and usos to come out.

I want the five of them being so confused by what’s going on as they’ve been told to announce there will be a third added into the match.

Jimmy comes out all confused,”well, myself and Uce have no idea what’s going on here.” Jey will lift the mic up and shrug,”I’m just as confused as you are.” Kofi will look between the four of them, trying to puzzle what’s going on,”we’ve just been told that Vince isn’t happy without the triple threat going on.” And for Xavier to lift up his mic and hold franchesca whilst looking at the crowd, “HHH and Vince are currently trying to figure out who’s going to be in the match right now. But who is it going to be?” And for the four of them to start a who chant along with Xavier on franchesca.

Whilst they’re doing it, Dean and Seth are arguing with the ref because it’s not fair. No one else was able to beat them to rightfully gain their place. The only people who deserve the main event spot is them.

And during all the chaos, all of a sudden out of no where the lights go black. The whole crowd is brought into silence, whilst on the titantrom it’s going crazy with letters. For a brief second one sentence stands out,”I can.” Then it scrumbles up the letters again ,”I will.” And then it stops. The whole place goes black again, some of the crowd were able to pick up the messages.

Then there’s a single sentence. “I did.” The whole crowd is confused.

Then all of a sudden, the whole place is lit up and surrounded by the familiar and symbolic guitar sounds. The same ones they used to be annoyed at hearing. Seth and Dean instantly freeze in the spot. Their mouths hanging open whilst they’re staring at the ramp.

Corey Graves is freaking out,”IT CANT BE, SURELY NOT?!” The New Day are shouting questions at Jimmy and Jey and they’re just shouting,”we didn’t know!! We have no idea.”

And then the spotlight is placed at the enterance of gorrila and Roman walks out with a massive smile. His hair is noticeably shorter but it’s slicked back, his logo on his vest is orange. Jimmy and Jey instantly jump on him, along with the new day.

Seth and Dean can’t help it, they know they have to fight one another. But they instantly climb out of the ring and start running up the ramp.

Roman finally gets the five other guys off of him when he spots his brothers almost half way up the ramp.

He has the biggest smile on his face, because fuck, he’s missed them. FaceTime, phone calls and texts just aren’t the same.

He starts jogging down to them, when they get to each other Seth and Dean practically throw themselves onto him.

They’re holding onto one another for dear life because fuck, they were so terrified that they’d never get to do this again.

The camera is catching each of their faces, Seth is crying because he finally has his big brother back. Someone he’s always been able to count on, someone whos never judged him. Dean is shaking, he can’t. He’s still angry as fuck at the world for doing this to his best fucking friend.

And Roman? He has the biggest smile on his face. He’s home. He’s got his boys back, as much as he wants to slap them upside the head right now and let them sort out their problems in a locked room. He’s so fucking happy. He’s missed them, he’s missed this. He’s missed us, the WWE universe.

Roman is pulled out of his thoughts by the “welcome back.” And “Yes” chants. He lets go of Seth and Dean, the camera picks up him saying,”We’ve got work to do.”

Corey is in complete and utter shock,”I can’t believe this. Renee did you know anything about this!” Renee is smiling so hard,”I can honestly say I had no idea, but I’m so happy for Roman Reigns right now.” Corey smiles whilst chuckling,”i can’t believe I can finally say this, welcome home big dog, your yard has missed you.”

When they get into the ring, the three of them lock up and Roman manages to out power Seth and Dean. He laughs and shouts at them,”THAT ALL YOUVE GOT? Come on! Do your worst, I can take it.”

The match is intense, theres broken tables and chairs are lying along the outside of the ring. The crowd have been wild, they’ve chanted so much during the match. From, the typical “let’s go, —— *clap,clap,clap*” to ,”this is awesome.” But the ones that stand out are,”Welcome back.” “You’ve still got it.” And,”Roman.”

Seth and Dean end up back in the ring, they’re leaning on one another for support. Roman is lying on the edge of the ring, trying to regain himself after Seth and Dean had teamed up to take him out.

Once Seth and Dean have locked up, Dean goes to set up for the dirty deeds, but Seth managed to stop him just before he went down.

Just as Seth is standing back up, they both feel the wind being knocked out of their stomachs as Roman had managed to spear the both of them. They land on the mat, lying flat on their backs. Romans puts an arm around both of them, too exahusted to move over and cover one of them fully.

1... 2... 3... DING DING DING.

The crowd arrupt, it’s the loudest they’ve cheered the whole night.

Jojo stands up with the biggest smile on her face,” ladies and gentlemen, the winner of this match and your NEW UNIVERSAL CHAMPION... Roman Reigns. “

The crowd goes wild, Roman pushes himself up in shock,he looks at the ref,”No..” whilst shaking his head. The ref walks back over and hands Roman the title, his title. He looks at the title in his hands, memories flodding back to the night he had last held it. “My real name is joe, and I’ve been living with Leukemia for 11 years.” “Thank you, Roman.” “Because after I’m done whopping Leukemias ass once again, I’m coming back home.” He doesn’t even realise that he’s started crying until he feels someone wrap their arms around him.

He opens his eyes and realises it’s Seth, he let’s go of the title and hugs him back. He feels a light pressure touching his arm and looks over to see Dean, trying to help them both up. “Come on Seth, works done here.”

They both stand up and just as Seth’s about to walk away, Dean grabs onto his wrist, Seth jumps thinking he’s away to be attacked. Dean shakes his head, “don’t worry.” Dean pulls Seth into joining his hug with Roman.

Once they pull away Dean hugs Seth seprately,”I’m so sorry Seth. I just, I couldn’t be with you whilst Roman was gone, you reminded me too much of what we had. I’m so sorry.” And Seth can’t believe his ears, he’s waited over two years for that apology.

Romans music starts again and they separate the walk up the ramp, as they’re walking up the ramp, the McMahon’s and HHH start walking out to the top of the ramp to congratulate Roman followed by the entire RAW and Smackdown locker room and even the refs.

Once they get to the top Roman hugs each one of the McMahons and HHH before turning around, he raises his title and puts out his fist. He doesn’t even need to ask, he feels his boys placing their fists beside his.

Romans smile is massive.

Because my god, does it feel so good to finally be back home. This, this is what his life is all about.

[hazyheel]

WWE Smackdown Live 7/23/19 Review

Well the show opened up in an interesting way, with us finding out that the commentary team for the night would be Tom Phillips, David Otunga, Xavier Woods and Big E. Well, that is certainly a way to stir things up. 

Shane McMahon opened up the show properly, with a promo. He got CM Punk chants right as he started talking, and later got you can’t wrestle chants. He put over the Raw Reunion show, and he talked about how Kevin Owens wasn’t on the show. He called him a coward for not showing up, but he was happy that he was not there. He acknowledged that Owens challenged him to a Summerslam match, and even accepted. He also accepted the stipulation that if Owens loses, that he would quit. He then said that he was skeptical about the truth of that, and he played the footage of him losing an Intercontinental title match last year and quitting, but returning a week later. Shane said that he wanted to make sure the stip will stand, and said that he wanted it in writing. Owens then showed up, and said that the quitting was the lowest point of his career. He said he was broken down then, and he has changed. He said that it didn’t matter, because he wouldn’t quit. He would beat the hell out of him in that match and win, and nearly attacked him tonight, but Shane said that he couldn’t attack him until the match. Shane then booked a match between Owens and Roman Reigns. 

Grade: B. A pretty basic promo, but we had a nice twist at the end there. I like Owens and Reigns matches, so I was excited to see that later. Of course the summerslam match would happen though, that was no surprise. I’m happy to say that the opening promo this week was good, even enjoyable. 

Backstage, Shane talked to Elias and Drew McIntyre, who kissed his ass about booking that face vs. face match. Shane then said that he wanted the match to be special, and booked Drew McIntyre as the referee, and Elias as the timekeeper. He then said that he would be the special ring announcer. Okay, lots of overbooking, but I thought that was kinda funny. 

Then we had Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Apollo Crews. Crews had control early on, hitting some of his nice offense, and reminding us all that he is a great talent. He gave Nakamura a nice delayed vertical suplex, holding him for around 15 seconds. He then gave Nakamura a clothesline out of the ring, and followed it up with a moonsault off the apron. Nakamura was in control during the commercial, but Crews gained control again when when we came back to live, hitting some nice strikes. However, Nakamura responded to the strikes with an awesome sliding German suplex. He went for the Kinshasa, but Crews countered with a ensiguri and an olympic slam, but only a near fall. Crews tried to follow up with a standing shooting star press, but Nakamura dodged it and hit a Kinshasa for the win. 

Nakamura continued the attack after the bell, giving him another Kinshasa at ringside. 

Grade: B. Good match here, lots of offense for Crews, and some close near falls. Crews has gotten a lot of TV time lately, which ups his stock, and Nakamura got a good win on TV to solidify his title reign. Good booking and a good match. 

Then we had Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville backstage. Rose said that she told Shane that the IIconics were making fun of him last week, so he gave Fire and Desire a match against them next week. Deville asked if that meant they had a Women’s Tag Team Title match next week, to which Rose responded, “Yep. And if we win, we deserve a tag team title match!” Then they stared into each other’s eyes lovingly. They really stumbled over their words here, it was kinda funny. 

Then we had a promo from Ali, who was sitting in a stairwell looking upset. He said that he has to rewrite his story. He said that he needs to change his story from a guy to had to scratch and claw his way into the WWE, and then to a WWE championship match only to have the rug pulled out from under him. He says that he refuses to let that injury be his whole story, and he refuses to be forgotten. He said that if his pen ran out of ink, he would use his blood to write his story, and he will go down in history. Good stuff, I like that. 

Then we had Miz TV, with Shawn Michaels as the guest. As he came down, Woods and Big E sang along to the song. They were kinda get on my nerves on commentary. The fans chanted for HBK, and he ate up the applause. He said that he loves coming back and seeing people, because they are his family. Michaels talked about how they inducted Rollins into DX/ The Kliq, they plugged one of the marine movies, and then they plugged Summerslam. Then Dolph Ziggler interrupted. He said that he never wanted to be a legend that couldn’t learn to let go. Michaels then said that he was fine with letting Ziggler get stuff off his chest, and Ziggler said that Michaels didn’t need to come back. He called Michaels embarrassing, as embarrassing as Goldberg in a wrestling ring. Jeez, leave the guy alone, it’s been a while. Michaels said that he wouldn’t disagree with him, but it was more embarrassing to work a full career, and be known as nothing more than a Shawn Michaels wannabe. Ziggler said that Michaels was second rate, and said that Michaels will only be known for kissing ass, and Miz told him to just do something. Miz was sick of his complaining, and said that if it should have been him, he needs to make it him. The crowd chanted for Ziggler to do something, and he swung at Michaels, only for him to hit Miz, giving Michaels a superkick instead. 

Grade: B+. I was super into this. These are three great talkers, and they cut a good promo. Ziggler came off as a whiny bitch, as he should have, who was confronted and led to his breaking point by a couple guys who were sick of it. Good way to build the probable match with Miz. And Michaels sold the superkick well, so that was nice. 

We came back for a match between Ember Moon and Charlotte Flair. Bayley came out right at the beginning, which distracted Charlotte and got Moon a rollup for the win. Bayley celebrated with Moon, but Moon threw Bayley back in the ring, and Bayley ate a big boot from Charlotte. Moon then gave both women an eclipse. 

Grade: C-. I would prefer an actual match, and this will probably lead to a triple threat when I would prefer a singles match. This is all more than likely leading to stuff that I don’t want to happen, and this was a very rushed segment. But it was effective, and not actively bad. 

Then Kofi Kingston came out to choose his challenger for Summerslam. Michael Cole replaced Woods and Big E on commentary for some reason. Kingston said that he wants to challenge Randy Orton, and he called him out quick so that he wouldn’t get attacked from behind. Orton came out, as commentators talk about Orton’s win over Kofi last week. Kingston said that he and Orton have history. He talked about how Orton killed his push ten years ago, because he was pissed about getting destroyed in a falls count anywhere match, which is a clever way to incorporate that whole moment in a kayfabe sense. Kingston said that he refused to stay down. Orton then confirmed that he held him back, saying that he was not ready then, and he isn’t ready now. Orton said that he was world championship material, while Kofi’s Jamaican accent and pancakes were not. He said that he was the reason Kofi became world champion, because he injured Ali. He said that Kingston doesn’t deserve the championship, and he can take it whenever he wants. Orton accepted the match for Summerslam, but said that he would destroy him with the RKO. As Orton was leaving, Samoa Joe came out. Orton refused to leave, and Joe vs. Kingston was next. 

Grade: B+. Another really good promo. I liked the way they incorporated things into Kayfabe. Plus I forgot how good Orton was on the mic, and Kingston is no scrub. This story makes sense, and it made me look forward to the championship match. Highlight of the night.

We went right into Joe vs. Kingston. They grappled around a bit, no one really getting the advantage early on. The part of this match that really stood out to me was how good Cole and Phillips were together. I liked their commentary a lot. Joe mostly dominated their match with submissions and big power moves, similar to their other matches. Kofi was about to get a win, when Orton ran into the ring and tried for the RKO, but caused a DQ. Kofi stood off with Orton in the worst fighting stance that I have ever seen, and Orton dropped Joe with an RKO instead. Kingston then gave Orton a trouble in paradise, and stood tall.

Grade: C-. Not very good stuff here. The match was boring, the post match angle was predictable, but it was necessary and effective. For whatever reason, Kofi looked so stupid in his fighting stance that it dropped the grade a lot. Seriously, if you haven’t seen it, look it up. It’s awful.

Then we had Finn Balor come out. He was interviewed in the ring, where they also plugged Smackville (which I will be reviewing, but not doing predictions for). They talked about Bray Wyatt’s attack on him, and Balor talked about how he doesn’t care about why Wyatt attacked him, he just wants to put him down. Balor challenged him to a Summerslam match, and Wyatt appeared on the titantron as apart of the Firefly funhouse. He talked about the Fiend as if it was a different creature, and said that the fiend accepted the challenge. He ended the promo with a “let me in,” and then showed choppy image of the fiend. 

Grade: B. Pretty good. Could be a good match for Summerslam, plus Wyatt kept up the creepy vibe of the Fiend. Good build. 

Then we had an interview with Charlotte Flair, who was pissed about not being booked on Summerslam. She said that she demands to be booked on the show, and will prove that she is the greatest female superstar of all time.

Then we had the main event. Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns, with Drew McIntyre as the ref, Elias as the timekeeper, and Shane as the ring announcer. As he announced the participants, Shane made sure to mention that he beat Roman a couple times, and called Owens a quitter. Owens then got on the mic, and said that he was going to drop Shane tonight and run threw Reigns to do it. Reigns took offense to that, and they started the match. McIntyre made sure to be right in the middle of the action in the early goings, pushing both of them around. However, Reigns quickly attacked McIntyre, and then Owens attacked Elias. They almost had their hands on Shane, but the heels came out to fight them off, and the heels beat them down. Owens was actually able to hit Shane a bit, before giving Elias a stunner, and Roman giving McIntyre a spear. They destroyed Shane with a superman punch and a stunner, and the two faces stood tall. The crowd begged them to attack him one more time, and Owens gave Shane another stunner.

Owens then got on the mic, and he said that his attack tonight will be nothing compared to the one at Summerslam. He said that he will actually make Shane enjoyable with the beatdown. I sure hope so. 

Grade: C+. Not bad, but certainly not great. I was hoping that we would have a match here, but watching a bunch of finishers was nice too. Reigns inclusion here really was just to get him on the card, so that didn’t make much sense, but it was fine otherwise. Still don’t care about that match though. 

Overall grade: B-

Pros: opening promo; nakamura vs. crews; Miz TV; kingston promo; Wyatt promo

Cons: Moon vs. Charlotte; Joe vs. Kingston

I would also like to offer a special message to Byron Saxton, whose father recently passed away. I wish you and your family the best in your time of suffering, and I am sorry for your loss.

[junker-town]

Calais Campbell played every spot on the Jaguars defensive line and dominated in Week 1

Campbell had 3.5 sacks in an upset win over the Texans. His dominate performance earned him retired NFL defensive end Stephen White’s Hoss of the Week award.

Last season when the Jacksonville Jaguars went out and broke the bank to sign Malik Jackson I immediately got excited. The reason being is that while Gus Bradley was the head coach, the Jags tried to emulate the Seattle Seahawks defense, where Bradley had been a defensive coordinator. I felt like Jackson — who played defensive end and three-technique in a 4-3 defense in college for my beloved Tennessee Vols and played four years in Denver all around the line in a 3-4 defense in the pros — would be the perfect guy to step into the "Michael Bennett" role in Jacksonville.

Welllll that didn't happen, much to my chagrin, as the Jaguars decided to instead play him almost exclusively at three-technique which to me was somewhat a waste of Jackson's biggest asset; his versatility. But hey, Bradley was fired last season and while several staff members, including new head coach Doug Marrone, were held over I figured there was a chance that they might re-think how they used Jackson this season.

Then the Jaguars went out and signed Calais Campbell this offseason to a four-year, $60 million dollar deal. I was basically like what the shit?

Don't get me wrong, I'm a Calais Campbell fan. The dude kicked ass in Arizona the last nine years. At the same time, with Campbell being 31, I wondered why the Jaguars would be paying a guy that much money who might be on the downside of his career. Bigger than that I wondered just where the hell they planned on playing him.

Campbell is one of those rare guys who is really tall at 6'8, but is so good with his pad level that he played well inside. In Arizona's 3-4 defense you could find him lined up in several different positions both inside and outside. I thought he did the most damage from the interior rather than the edge.

With the Jaguars having two young defensive ends in 2015 first-round pick Dante Fowler and their third-round pick from last year, Yannick Ngakoue, who burst on the scene as a rookie with eight sacks, it didn't appear that there was a big need for a defensive end. And of course, with all that money they had already given Jackson, Campbell wasn't going to be his similarly high paid backup.

It looked like maybe this meant they re-thought things and would move Jackson around more and have Campbell as the three-technique. Turns out I had it exactly backwards.

In the first game of the year on Sunday it was Campbell who was playing that "Michael Bennett" role, and my goodness, was he fucking great at it.

I know everyone is jazzed about the four sacks (as they should be) but Campbell was stout against the run as well. But what was most impressive to me was his versatility playing all over the defensive line and dominating pretty much every where he lined up.

I'm seeing him basically two gap the left tackle to give his linebacker a free run to make a tackle for a one yard gain. I'm seeing him bench press the left tackle back into the running back with just his inside arm to help keep him to a minimal gain. I'm watching him haul ass to help make a tackle near the sideline on a smoke screen.

And that's before we get to the damage he did as a pass rusher.

Even then just saying Campbell got four sacks, and that they all came in the first half still doesn't do his performance justice.

The first sack came on the Texans' opening drive on offense with them facing a second-and-9.

Campbell was lined up at left defensive end and he absolutely destroyed Breno Giacomini, the Texans' right tackle.

He ran No. 68 slap over, and I swear it looked like a fucking avalanche had fallen on Houston quarterback Tom Savage when Campbell took him down on that play.

It really doesn't get much better than that.

Campbell's second sack came early on in the second quarter with the Texans facing a third-and-12.

This time it was all effort that allowed him to take Savage down again. Campbell was lined up as the right three-technique over Texans left guard Xavier Su'a-Filo's outside shoulder. Off the snap he tried to knock Su'a-Filo's outside hand down with his outside hand down, but unfortunately Campbell missed which allowed Su'a-Filo to grab him in a bear hug.

Hey, that shit happens to the best of us.

But instead of shutting it down and allowing himself to remain blocked, Campbell stayed active and when Savage tried to scramble up the middle because nobody was open, Campbell was able to rip off inside of Su'a-Filo's block and take Savage down before he could get past the line of scrimmage.

The third sack came with 10:55 left in the second quarter and the Texans facing a third-and-6.

The Jaguars ran what was either a called pass rush game or just a "natural" game where one guy sees an opening and just goes. Campbell was lined up as the three-technique again. Ngakoue was lined up outside him as the right defensive end.

Ngakoue got upfield four steps and then tried to come inside Texans left tackle Kendall Lamm with a rip move. Campbell, who had initially bull rushed Su'a-Filo, looped outside around Ngakoue to exchange pass rush lanes with him.

Campbell was so quick that he ended up scott free and took down Tom Savage down like it was nothing.

(Mind you there is a whole other conversation to be had about how the Texans' coaching staff didn't do either of their quarterbacks any favors and how there wasn't anybody open on a lot of the plays when Savage got taken down, just like this one. Sacks don't come with an asterisk, and Campbell still worked his ass off to get that one so he still deserves all the credit for making the play).

The fourth sack came after the Texans had already moved the ball down to the Jaguars 31-yard line with a little over a minute left in the first half.

Houston appeared to be threatening to score for the first time all afternoon.

Campbell was lined up as the right three-technique again, but this time he hit Su'a-Filo with what I like to call the ghost move. Instead of going with a power rush, Campbell came off and used his inside hand to knock Su'a-Filo's hand down. In one motion Campbell then swatted Su'a-Filo's shoulder with his outside hand while turning his hips to get skinny through the B gap. It looks like initially Cambpell planned on finishing the move with an arm over, but he went to a rip move to escape off and beat Su'a-Filo clean.

Savage was BBQ chicken.

In addition to those sacks Campbell also hit Savage on two other occasions that didn't result in a sack.

The first hit came with 2:02 left in the first quarter and Campbell lined up at left defensive end. He took a couple steps up field then beat Giacomini like a drum with a quick arm over inside. The only thing that saved Savage's ass that play was he was already in shotgun and it was a three-step drop, but Campbell still blasted him pretty good.

The second hit came with 10:20 left in the third quarter after the Texans switched quarterbacks to Deshaun Watson. Campbell was again lined up at left defensive end, but this time right before the snap he stood up and moved inside on left guard Jeff Allen's outside shoulder.

Campbell's power was on full display as he literally knocked Allen on his ass on the way to knocking Watson on his. Once again the only thing that saved the quarterback from taking a sack was shotgun combined with a three-step drop.

Unfortunately the play technically didn't count since Nuk Hopkins was called for offensive pass interference on the play. Even though the pass was incomplete, which would have made it third-and-10, the Jags decided to accept the penalty (I'm still trying to understand why, especially when the Texans eventually ended up scoring their first TD on that drive but what evs). Ask Watson if thinks that hit counts, though.

But that's not all.

Campbell also forced a holding call late in the fourth quarter with my favorite pass rush move; the long arm.

He was once again lined up as the left defensive end and came off and stabbed Giacomini in the middle of his chest with his inside arm. As Giacomini tried to shoot his punch at him, Campbell effortlessly knocked Giacomini's outside hand off with his outside hand, then took his inside hand off Giacomini's chest and finished with a rip with to escape off the block. Campbell was just about to take Watson down when, out of desperation, Giacomini grabbed him and dragged him to the ground.

Thankfully the refs actually called the blatant hold for once and the Texans had to go back 10 yards. I have to say, for the refs to be full time now they still missed a bunch of those this weekend.

But I digress.

Plain and simple Calais Campbell balled TF out this weekend. I’m not sure he can keep up this level of play all season, but one thing is for sure — Campbell started this season off with a bang on Sunday. The Jaguars came away with a huge division road victory in no small part because of his play.

While he isn't the guy I thought would be playing that "Michael Bennett" role it turns out he was the right dude for the job after all. For his efforts I'm happy to award Calais Campbell the first Hoss Of The Week for the 2017 season.

If he keeps playing like that he might mess around and be the run away choice for Hoss Of The Year, tbh.

[hazyheel]

WWE Smackdown Live 6/18/19 Review

We kicked everything off with The New Day. They talked about Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship match for Stomping Ground. Big E talked about the freaky hour, but Dolph Ziggler came out to interrupt. Ziggler said that Kofi didn’t deserve to be WWE Champion, and said that he would be nothing without the New Day, and that he would be destroyed in the cage. Kingston pointed out that his whole journey started in a cage, the elimination chamber. He then said that he had to worry about Xaiver woods for the night. Ziggler said that he would destroy Woods to the point where he couldn’t help him ever again. Then he did the classic it should have been me stuff.

Grade: C. This was a classic promo between all of them, but I have gotten much more wary of the over the top Ziggler promos. I’m not a fan anymore, it’s gotten kinda annoying, and this didn’t really add anything. But they were all still okay, so I don’t want to punish it too much. 

Then we went right into Dolph Ziggler vs. Xavier Woods. The two had pretty good chemistry, but were limited to the classic TV match formula. Woods was about to win, but Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens ran down to attack the rest of the New Day. Woods hit them both with a splash, and some refs came down to clear the ringside area. At one point, they brawled on the apron, and Ziggler hit an awesome looking superkick, which Woods sold perfectly. He followed that up with a zig zag, but kept up the punishment. He tied Woods up in the ropes and nailed a superkick before getting the win.

Grade: B. Pretty good match, they have some good chemistry. Ziggler showed a far more sadistic side here, in line with his character as of late. This match actually got me more excited for the steel cage match, so I guess it did it’s job. Good stuff, and match of the night.

Backstage, B-Team and Shelton Benjamin were lined up outside of a room for Baron Corbin where he was begging people to be his referee. Benjamin really didn’t want to deal with it, but stayed anyway to get a TV paycheck, probably. The B-Team didn’t really get why they were there. As they were talking, Matt Hardy walked out of the room, referred to Shelton as Senor Benjamin and told him he was next. Funny, I like the reference. 

Then we had a Moment of Bliss, with Bayley as the guest. Bayley came out drinking Alexa’s coffee. Bayley told Cross that Bliss was just using her, and Bliss got quite irritated. She told Bliss to confront her right now if there was a problem. Bliss then told Bayley that her and everyone that she was with in NXT made her feel worthless. Bayley then pointed out that Bliss has done this same manipulation to Mickey James and Nia Jax. Bayley then called Bliss an entitled brat, and Bliss said that she was just the best. Bliss then said that Bayley peaked in NXT, so Bayley attacked her. Cross pulled Bayley off of Bliss, only for Bliss to get a shot in from behind. Cross looked horrified as they walked out.

Grade: B+. I liked this, good promo war from two wrestlers who can talk.

Backstage, Apollo Crews confronted Zelina Vega about finding Andrade. Vega distracted him a bit with flirting, which Crews wasn’t into, before Andrade attacked from around the corner. Then Chad Gable was taking notes. So Gable is taking notes on Apollo Crews, interesting. 

Then we had the B-Team vs. Heavy Machinery, with the Planet’s tag team champions on commentary. On commentary, Daniel Bryan said that they didn’t take Heavy Machinery seriously because they treat everything as a joke. At one point, Bo Dallas was attacking Otis, but Otis still was able to keep the advantage. Heavy Machinery quickly got the win after the compacter. 

After the match, Seth Rollins showed up and beat both of the B-Team with a chair. 

Grade: B-. Inoffensive squash match. Daniel Bryan on commentary made this better. Plus I didn’t think that Rollins would be on the show tonight. 

In the parking lot, Shane McMahon talked to Zayn and Owens about Rollins’ conduct, they asked him to do something. They also complained about Kofi. So, in response, Shane booked a 2 out of 3 falls tag team match between Seth and Kofi against Sami and Kevin for the main event. Fun.

Aleister Black did his promo. It was the same that it always was. 

Then we had Shane complaining about Roman’s attack, before McIntyre said that same things, and then the Miz came out. Sorry to give such a paraphrase, but this was the same as always as well. Miz then showed a replay of Reigns’ attack on Raw. Miz made fun of Shane for being sweaty, and Shane threatened to fire anyone who aired further footage of the attack, and Miz said that he was the bosses son. They then insulted each other’s fathers, and Miz said that Shane was sucking up too much airtime, and this is one of those things where the faces say things that the fans think to get cheers. Miz then said that he blamed himself for this, because of his injury at crown jewel. Miz then said that he would be the one to put shane down. Shane then challenged Miz to a tag match, Drew McIntyre and Elias vs. Miz and any partner he could get in 10 seconds. He didn’t know what to do, but R-Truth emerged from underneath the ring, and became Miz’s partner. Shane then made it an elimination match for some reason, and the match was next. 

Grade: B. Another good promo, with a shocking inclusion of R-Truth, which was unexpected. I like that though, more Awesome Truth. And they actually were good at speaking in this segment, with Shane doing some good work with his delusions of grandeur. 

Backstage, The IIconics made fun of the Kabuki Warriors, which is a match that should happen. Paige tried to challenge them, but they refused. They then said that there was a big match at the Tokyo show next week. If they win the match, then they get a women’s title match. I’m glad that’ll happen, but my god how far Asuka has fallen. Bayley vs. Asuka on the main roster needs to happen like, now.

So then into the elimination tag match, R-Truth and the Miz vs. Drew McIntyre and Elias. This match made me remember that Truth can still go. I always forget because he is such a comedy guy right now, but he is good. Truth was beaten down, and almost got the tag to Miz, but Shane pulled him off the apron. Elias then pinned Truth, but for some reason didn’t lose the 24/7 championship, so the lower card guys chased him out of the ring. Miz then fought off Elias for a bit, until being sent into the ropes for a glasgow kiss from McIntyre. Elias then tagged out, so McIntyre hit the claymore for the win. He gave Miz another Claymore after the match.

Grade: C-. Meh match that definitely suffered from the fact that Truth didn’t lose his belt during it. He totally should have. This match should’ve had low card guys running through the ring to attack Truth for sure. Plus they just sacrificed Miz for Shane’s stuff again, when he should be the one to put Shane down, not Roman.

Backstage, Ember Moon and Carmella talked a bit about Fire and Desire, cuz they both hate them. Moon then sound Rose and Deville, and confronted them. Moon attacked them for a wild brawl backstage. God I miss Ember, she was my favorite in the women’s division in NXT. 

In the parking lot, Truth was trying to escape, but Drake Maverick, disguised as Carmella came up to him, and pinned him for the 24/7 championship, before booking it. Finally he won it.

24/7 grade: C-. I love that the 205 Live GM finally got the belt, because that story will be funny on 205 Live, but Elias should be the champion right now. He pinned Truth, with a ref present. He was screwed.

And we came to the main event, Kofi Kingston and Seth Rollins vs. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens in a 2 out of 3 falls match. Kingston hit a trouble in paradise right away on Zayn to win the first fall. The heels quickly gained control during the second fall, but when the faces got control, things got fast paced. There was an awesome point where Zayn grabbed Seth’s leg from outside of the ring, so Kingston gave him a flying clothesline. Rollins and Owens then traded superkicks and rollups, before Rollins hit the curb stomp for the win.

Grade: B-. Fine match. Again, I don’t know why this was 2 out of 3 falls. You would think it would be to give one of the losers a little victory to keep them strong, but nope. And the first fall was right away. Just weird that they did that two nights in a row.

Overall Grade: C+.

Pros: Woods vs. Ziggler; moment of bliss; Miz and Shane promo; drake maverick won the 24/7 title!

Cons: opening promo; elimination tag match; truth didn’t lose the 24/7 championship to Elias for some reason.