Johnny Gargano will challenge NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas in the main event of NXT’s next Takeover special, which takes place on Saturday, January 27th from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia during WWE Royal Rumble weekend.
Wednesday’s NXT TV tapings featured a segment with Almas, which will air next Wednesday night, where he announced that Drew McIntyre will be unable to compete for his rematch at Takeover. A series of qualifying matches were held to build to a Fatal 4 Way with the winner becoming the new #1 contender.
Killian Dain defeated Trent Seven and Johnny Gargano defeated Kassius Ohno in matches that should air on the December 6th episode. Lars Sullivan defeated Roderick Strong and Aleister Black defeated Adam Cole in matches that should air on December 13th. A Fatal 4 Way then took place, which should air on December 20th, that saw Gargano defeat Dain, Sullivan and Black to become the new #1 contender.
Takeover will be Gargano’s first shot at the NXT Title.
New NXT Tag Team Champions were crowned at Wednesday night’s TV tapings from Full Sail University (Full Spoilers).
Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish of The Undisputed Era are your new champs after defeating Eric Young & Killian Dain of SAnitY. The match, which saw interference from Adam Cole, should air on the December 20th episode.
This is the first title reign for O’Reilly and Fish in NXT. SAnitY won the titles back on August 19th at the “Takeover: Brooklyn III” event with a win over The Authors of Pain.
Dawkins and Moss started off the match. Moss shoved Dawkins and then rolled out of the ring and had a conversation with Sabbatelli. Moss got back in the ring and leveled Dawkins with a shoulder tackle. Moss followed it up with a Body Slam and started to trash talk Dawkins.
Dawkins connected with a shoulder tackle and a slam of his own and then tagged in Montez Ford. Montez locked in a Headlock but Sabbatelli was able to tag himself in. Sabbatelli connected with a Crossbody and then started barking at the crowd. Ford got back up and hit Sabbatelli with a Dropkick. Moss sprinted in the ring and the Street Profits knocked him back out of the ring with a Clothesline and posed in the ring as NXT went to a commercial break.
When NXT returned, Ford booted Moss on the ring apron but Sabbatelli connected with a forearm that knocked Ford to the floor outside the ring. Sabbatelli brought Ford back into the ring and hit him with a flurry of right hands. Sabbatelli once again got distracted by the crowd for a moment but still launched Ford into the corner.
Moss was tagged in and he hit a Splash onto Ford in the corner. Moss stood over Ford and started dancing like the Street Profits. Moss hit Ford with a right hand and started taunting Dawkins on the ring apron. Moss connected with an elbow for a two count and then punched Ford in the face a few times.
Moss applied a Chin Lock in the middle of the ring and the crowd started chanting “lets go Profits!”. Ford slowly powered to his feet and connected with a couple of punches to Moss’ ribs. Ford tried to leap across the ring to tag in Dawkins but Moss blocked him and sent him to the corner. Moss charged at Ford in the corner but missed and slammed into the ring post.
Sabbatelli and Dawkins were tagged in and Dawkins planted Tino with a Bulldog. Dawkins connected with a Splash to both Moss and Sabbatelli. Dawkins leveled Sabbatelli with a right hand and went for the cover but Moss broke it up. Dawkins launched Moss out of the ring and went for a roll-up on Tino but Sabbatelli kicked out.
Moss hit Dawkins with a forearm and then Tino went for the cover. Moss tried to hold Dawkins’ feet down so he couldn’t kick out but the referee caught him. Ford booted Moss in the face from the ring apron and then the Street Profits teamed up on Sabbattelli. Dawkins slammed Tino to the mat and then Ford hit a Splash off the top rope for the pinfall victory.
Mark Andrews stated that he was teaming up with Pete Dunne tonight under one condition. Andrews said that if they win, he will become the #1 contender for the UK Championship. Dunne and Andrews will face Trent Seven and Tyler Bate later tonight.
Billie Kay accompanied Peyton Royce down to the ring for this match. Royce connected with a forearm that knocked Sane to the mat to start off the match. Royce planted Sane with a Hip Toss and went for another one but Sane reversed it into a roll-up for a two count. Sane connected with a Dropkick for a two count.
Billie Kay distracted Sane and Royce connected with a spinning kick for another two count. Royce went for a Suplex but Sane countered into another roll-up and Royce kicked out at two as NXT went to a commercial break. When NXT returned, Royce was in control and had Sane in a Chin Lock in the middle of the ring.
Sane broke free but Royce knocked back to the canvas with a kick. Royce launched Sane into the corner and charged at her but Sane ducked and Royce bounced off the turnbuckle. Sane connected with a Spear and both Superstars fell to the mat. Both Superstars got back up and Royce went for a punch but Sane blocked it and hit a Blockbuster.
Sane then marched to the corner of the ring and connected with a sliding forearm as Royce was leaning against the bottom turnbuckle. Kairi leaped off the top rope but Royce got out of the way and hit a running knee for a two count. Sane knocked Royce to the mat and beat her down with a series of stomps. Billie Kay hopped up onto the ring apron but Sane quickly knocked her to the floor with an elbow to the face. Sane then climbed to the top rope and hit the Insane Elbow for the pinfall victory.
There will also be a celebration for new NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas next week.
A new chapter in #WWENXT will begin with a Championship Celebration for #NXTChampion @AndradeCienWWE and his business manager @Zelina_VegaWWE, NEXT WEEK! pic.twitter.com/5fvsV97Xeg
Tyler Bate & Trent Seven vs Pete Dunne & Mark Andrews
Bate and Dunne started off the match as the crowd chanted “UK!”. Dunne wrestled Bate to the mat but Bate escaped and both Superstars got back to their feet and stared at each other. Dunne pretended that he was going to tag in Andrews but instead turned around and clocked Bate in the face. Dunne then did tag in Andrews and Bate greeted him with a Dropkick.
Bate connected with an uppercut and tagged in Trent Seven. Bate leaped off of Seven’s shoulders and hit a Senton Bomb. Seven went for the cover but Andrews kicked out at two. Andrews connected with a Dropkick for a two count and then locked in an Arm Bar on Seven. Dunne tagged himself in and started twisting Seven’s fingers.
Seven hit a chop and then a DDT for a two count. Dunne elbowed Seven in the face and tagged in Andrews. The referee didn’t see the tag and prevented Andrews from getting the ring. Seven was distracted by this and Dunne leveled him with a Clothesline as NXT went to a commercial break.
When NXT returned, Andrews was tagged in and he locked in the Arm Bar again on Seven. Andrews launched Seven to the corner and tried to leap onto him but Seven caught him. Dunne tagged himself in and planted Seven with a Backstabber for a two count. Dunne stomped on Seven’s shoulder as he screamed in pain. Dunne then hit Double Knees into Seven’s lower back.
Andrews tagged back in for a moment but Dunne slapped Andrews in the back to tag himself back into the match. Dunne booted Seven in the face and stared at Andrews on the ring apron. Seven leveled Dunne with the Seven Stars Lariat and crawled across the ring to tag in Tyler Bate.
Bate connected with a series of uppercuts and then planted Dunne with an Exploder Suplex. Bate hit a standing Shooting Star Press for a two count. Andrews tagged back in and hit a Double Stomp onto Bate’s midsection. Andrews charged at Bate in the corner but Tyler blocked it and kneed Andrews in the chest. Both Superstars were on the top rope and Dunne tagged himself in.
Andrews hit a Frankensteiner on Bate and Dunne caught Bate in midair and planted him with a Powerbomb in an absolutely ridiculous sequence. The crowd chanted “fight forever” as Dunne and Bate traded shots in the ring. Seven was tagged in and he connected with a Suplex. Bate was quickly tagged back into the match.
Dunne hit an Enziguri to Seven that knocked him out of the ring. Bate lifted Dunne in the air and Andrews tagged himself in. Bate planted Dunne with a German Suplex and Andrews connected with a Splash off the top rope for a two count. Bate lifted Andrews up onto his shoulders and spun around several times. Dunne tagged himself back in and went for a roll-up but Bate kicked out at two. Bate hit a massive Clothesline and followed it up with the Tyler Driver 97 for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Dunne attacked Mark Andrews from behind and knocked him to the canvas with a forearm to the back of his head. Dunne went to walk backstage but sprinted back into the ring and hit Andrews with the Bitter End as NXT went off the air.
Shawn Michaels, the Miz, and Becky Lynch are filming “The Marine 6” at the moment. Miz recently lost the Intercontinental championship and WWE created a storyline injury for Lynch to explain her absence.
The crew is only on their 3rd day of filming but already Lynch has managed to get under Miz and HBK’s skin.
and also has numerous credits for his time in WWE.
Shawn Michaels has been in:
Avengers of Justice: Farce Wars (post-production)
Pure Country Pure Heart
The Resurrection of Gavin Stone
South Beach (TV Series)
Pacific Blue (TV Series)
Baywatch (TV Series)
And numerous credits from his work in WWE
Becky Lynch has been in:
Vikings (TV Series) – stunt work
Becky Lynch graduated with a degree in theatre from the Dublin Institute of Technology and has attended acting classes at the Gaiety School of Acting. She is also said to have been involved with many community theatre projects in Ireland.
Since returning at WrestleMania earlier this year, Matt Hardy has been teasing that the WWE Universe might soon be introduced to his “Broken” alter ego. With brother Jeff out of action until early 2018 due to injury, Matt has been ramping up the references to his ‘primal passenger.’ A new incarnation of ‘Broken’ Matt will emerge in the near future, but with some notable changes.
My physical contact with Bray Wyatt on #RAW seems to have TRIGGERED & AWAKENED my PRIMAL PASSENGER. https://t.co/IBeryV4mQZ
Sports Illustrated reports that WWE is finally pulling the trigger on a new character for Matt Hardy. The new character will be similar to the one which captured the attention of the entire wrestling world in 2016, but the WWE version will not be labeled “Broken.”
The Hardy family’s legal battle with Impact Wrestling and Anthem is well-documented, with some colorful aspects playing out on social media throughout this year. That dispute may be settled. Ed Nordholm, Anthem’s Executive Vice President, tells Sports Illustrated that the company is laying the groundwork to allow Matt and Jeff Hardy to use aspects of their “IMPACT persons” in WWE.
Nordholm told Justin Barrasso of SI, “We have seen the character development and will be interested to see where they take the concept. Our new talent agreements all incorporate language that allow talent to continue to use their IMPACT persona after they leave the company. We are working with our legal team to amend our existing agreements to extend this to all of our current and former talent.”
This is great news for all involved parties. With the legal dispute over the ‘Broken Universe’ seemingly behind them, Matt can focus on channeling his creativity in a new direction and developing his ‘primal passenger’ for a whole new audience.
The #GreatWar is merely beginning on this plane identified as @WWE. I must recruit LOYAL Soldiers from around the planet of Earth to join me as I battle in a DOMAIN overflowing with DARKNESS & DEMONS.
Fomer Smackdown women’s champion, Naomi, has suffered a separated shoulder, cervical strain, and facial contusions as a result of her match last night. The storyline injury most likely means she will not be on Smackdown for a period.
During the 6-person match, Sarah Logan gave Naomi a slingshot into the steel steps.
Naomi is the 2nd recent babyface in her division to be taking a sabbatical. Becky Lynch was also recently injured by the Riott Squad to explain her absence while she films the Marine 6.
“Cody is honest, sincere, and I can’t say enough good things about Cody Rhodes as a person and performer,” said Flair. “I think it was a huge loss for the WWE for him to go away for a while, but if it worked out good for him, then I’m happy for him.” His ESPN 30 for 30 special:
“ESPN wanted me to be honest, and I gave them the best I could,” said Flair. “I didn’t pull any punches. There are always going to be things that are upsetting, but I thought they were very fair to me. The reactions I’ve got from people have been really good, including from professional athletes and pro coaches, and that’s always real nice to hear.”
During the interview, he was asked about the possibility of the second season of his WWE Network series, The Edge and Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness. This is what he had to say:
“In terms of where we could have time to film it and fit it in, that was the big difficulty,” said Edge, whose drama series, Vikings, premieres its fifth season tonight on the History channel. “The show was a lot of work, but we had a great time with it. “We wrote it, produced it, directed it, and were really hands-on. There were 14-hour days and it was pretty intensive from a time perspective. There are still talks, and they want to do it.”
“If I can somehow cram it in, we’ll make it happen,” said Edge. “We have a hiatus on Vikings over the summer, so maybe I could squeeze it in there, but I want to spend time with my family, too. It’s a matter of trying to juggle all these things, but the top priority is being dad and partner, and then comes acting and any other commitments, all the while doing the podcast, too. It’s a matter of wearing a lot of hats, but I just don’t know if my head is big enough for all of them.”
During a media event to promote this weekend’s UFC 218 pay-per-view from Detroit, Michigan, UFC boss Dana White revealed that he’ll be meeting with CM Punk to discuss his future with the promotion.
“CM Punk is coming to Detroit and wants to talk to me,” White said. “I love the guy. We’ll see what he’s doing.”
Punk’s professional MMA record stands at 0-1 after getting steamrolled by Micky Gall last September at UFC 203. The 39-year-old was choked out just minutes into the first round of his debut fight.
Punk continues to train at the Roufusport MMA Academy in Milwaukee, but there are no guarantees he’ll get the green light to compete in the Octagon again. Of course, if the whole MMA thing doesn’t work out, Punk certainly has some options in the world of pro wrestling that don’t involve working with WWE.
Just a few weeks ago, Punk’s coach Duke Roufus posted the following photo on Instagram, noting that Punk was, “Working hard & getting better every day. Working on his next Fight”
New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star and IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega recently did an interview on The Art Of Wrestling podcast. “The Cleaner” discussed the heat he has within the professional wrestling industry, most notably his heat with WWE, wrestlers who criticize The Elite, and revealed which WWE Superstar he used to bounce ideas off of. You can check out the highlights here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiV4Mwfp24w&t=4s
Getting heat in the professional wrestling industry:
“I never purposely try to get heat with anyone. I try to just be a good human being, but with the way that we carry ourselves, just the way we run our show, our matches or whatever, heat’s just going to come with it.”
Being fine with having heat with WWE:
“If someone says to me, ‘hey, you probably have heat with this guy, or this guy, or this guy, in The Fed or The E,’ or whatever you want to call it, I don’t really pay too much attention to it because I know I haven’t done anything directly.
“I’m never actually directly trying to offend anyone from any other [pro wrestling] promotion. If someone says I have the greatest match of all time, that’s great. I’m going to use that to make my next match mean something or make the rematch mean something more.”
Wrestlers who criticize The Elite can not perform to The Elite’s level:
“Maybe I’m going to catch a lot of heat for saying this right now, but I think what all these people need to understand is whether they like it or not, and whether they’d like to admit it or not, is all three of us, we could go where they are and do what they do and do it better, but they could never do what we do.”
Bouncing ideas off Sami Zayn (a.k.a. Rami Sebei):
“The live house opinion is going to mean a lot, of course, because you can feel it, you can hear it. But yeah, but, like, if I ask The Young Bucks’ opinion that is pretty much the opinion that counts the most to me. Back in the day, like, before I was with The Young Bucks all the time and I was in DDT, it was always Rami, ‘Rami, what did you think?’ and if Rami gave it a stamp of approval.”
You can listen to Omega’s interview on The Art Of Wrestling by clicking here.
– As we’ve noted, former WWE Champion Chris Jericho will be taking on Kenny Omega for New Japan Pro Wrestling at Wrestle Kingdom 12. Omega is a member of the infamous Bullet Club; which has seen high-profile members such as Finn Balor, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, The Young Bucks, and many more.
The tagline for Jericho and Omega’s match has bee deemed “Alpha vs. Omega,” and it seems Jericho has launched the “Alpha Club” in a slight jab towards Omega and The Bullet Club. “Y2J” posted the following picture of himself wearing an Alpha Club t-shirt which you can buy here. All proceeds go to The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcDil_SDcUm/
– Triple H and former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal will be going head-to-head in the main event of WWE’s live event in New Delhi, India on December 9th. WWE posted a video of Triple H cutting a promo on Mahal from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. Check it out:
For whatever reason, there have been rumors circulating that WWE Champion AJ Styles could be retiring from professional wrestling after next year’s WrestleMania 34 event from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. “The Phenomenal One” saw one of these rumors floating around on Twitter and flat out denied the bogus reports:
Styles has been wrestling since the late 90s and has competed all across the world throughout his illustrious career. After competing in promotions such as Ring Of Honor, IMPACT Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and so many more – Styles finally found his way to WWE in 2016 as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble.
In his short time with the company Styles is already a two-time United States and WWE Champion (which he currently holds). At 40-years-of-age it should be interesting to see just how much more Styles can accomplish under the WWE’s banner.
A photo has been making the rounds online for a WWE live event in Florence, South Carolina featuring Baron Corbin holding a redesigned United States Championship. The photo was even published on the official Facebook page of the Florence Civic Center, the venue hosting the upcoming show. For fans who have emailed us asking about the “new” US title belt, it’s Photoshopped and not a design WWE will be changing to any time soon.
– WWE posted a backstage interview with Jinder Mahal after last night’s SmackDown Live. Mahal ranted about being forced to defend the WWE Title against AJ Styles when he was focused on preparing for a match with Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series. Mahal also stated that Styles robbed him of the opportunity of visiting his homeland of India with the WWE Title. Check it out:
WWE Hall Of Famer and Monday Night RAW General Manager Kurt Angle recently took part in a Q&A session with fans, and answered a variety of professional wrestling questions. Angle was asked about getting cleared to wrestle for WWE again, and why SmackDown Live General Manager and former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan hasn’t. Angle also discusses wanting a dream match with Bryan if at all possible. Here are the highlights:
Why he was cleared to wrestle for WWE again and Daniel Bryan wasn’t:
“No, it’s not Daniel Bryan’s neck. No, it’s concussions. That’s a serious thing today. You obviously see in the NFL there are a lot of lawsuits being thrown back and forth. It’s a very dangerous thing. I talked to Daniel personally. I passed the physical. I haven’t had an issue with my neck in 12 years. I did break it four times in two years back between 2004 and 2006, but I’ve been fine since. You have a protocol you need to follow. The physical entails a certain amount of things and the most important is the concussion test.
“Daniel couldn’t pass it. He had 10 concussions that he knows of. That’s huge liability. Can Daniel eventually wrestle? I think he can, but it comes down to him passing the concussion test. I know in time your brain heals, so we don’t know how much damage has been done thus far. Is there a possibility of him wrestling? Maybe, I hope so. I feel bad that he took it personally that I was able to wrestle. He wasn’t mad or upset; he just couldn’t understand how they passed me but not him. But they were two different things”
Wanting a dream match with Bryan:
“If I had a dream match that I wanted, it would be against Daniel Bryan. He’s awesome.”
WWE has taken some creative license with the ring name of recent NXT call-up Ruby Riot. As of this week, the tattooed grappler is now going by the name “Ruby Riott” – that’s Riott with an extra T.
WWE also changed the spelling for her new “Riott Squad” faction, which includes Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan.
Back on April 4th, WWE submitted a trademark application for the name Ruby Riot. The application status is listed as “RESPONDED STILL UNRESOLVED.”
Accoring to Trademarkia.com, that means, “The Trademark Office has amended your trademark application as per your request or that of your attorney, however more information is needed and response is required.”
WWE has until the end of December to respond to the open issue, but it appears they have moved on with their own variation of ‘Ruby Riott.’
For more details on the trademark filing, visit Trademarkia.com.
Our book isn’t about butts, but you should still buy it. It’s mostly about turning lemons into lemonade, lemon squares, lemon cough drops, lemon meringue pie, and a whole host of citrus products & shamelessly shilling & profiting off the sale of the aforementioned products. https://t.co/5QBp0ZMbvV
“A fun, full color book for fans of WWE’s The New Day trio with all the silliness, positivity, and tag team triumphs fans can get.
“A source of constant entertainment as duplicitous positive-energy evangelists.”
—Rolling Stone
“New Day—via hard work . . . a splash of comedy, and the power of positivity—are now the most made-for-TV act in WWE since the days of ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and The Rock.”
– Before facing Kane in a match during the main event of this week’s episode of Raw, Finn Balor cut a promo on the Big Red Monster which didn’t air due to a commercial break. Below is the unseen footage of Balor calling out Kane for a match from the show:
– Former Cruiserweight Champion TJP has been kept off TV for a while now which has left people wondering about his status. Many speculate that he may have suffered an injury since he had appeared on crutches during the August 15th episode of 205 Live.
However, Dave Meltzer revealed on Wrestling Observer Radio that the former Champion is not injured and he has been away from WWE Programming because writers have nothing for him to do.
In January, Triple H called 205 Live a “work in progress” but it is unclear how long WWE will let the work progress if fans aren’t watching.
Then in April, it was reported that 205 Live’s ratings were quite low. In October, it was reported that ratings had increased after Enzo Amore debuted for the brand, however.
It has been over a year since Mickey Gall defeated CM Punk at UFC 203. Dana White said Punk should “probably not fight in the UFC again” after the bout but he has never officially released him from his contract.
During a media event for this weekend’s UFC 218, White revealed that Punk will be in town for the show and the two will be meeting.
"CM Punk is coming to Detroit and wants to talk to me. I love the guy. We'll see what he's doing." – Dana White
Punk’s team at Roufus Sport say they have been lobbying for Punk’s next fight since not long after the Mickey Gall bout.
While Punk is under a contract with UFC he is unable to fight for other promotions. If the UFC won’t offer him another fight, Punk could request a release from his contract.
Depending on the terms of his contract, the UFC might be required to offer him a fight within a certain time frame. Punk signed a multi-fight agreement with the promotion in late-2014.
As noted before Kurt Angle recently appeared on iPlay America in Freehold, New Jersey where he took part in a Q&A session. Below are a few more highlights from his appearance:
Leaving Impact Wrestling:
“I left WWE in 2006 and I went to another company for about 11 years, Impact Wrestling. I was there until 2016, and then I took a year off. I did take some matches on the independent circuit; one was Rey Mysterio, I wrestled Cody Rhodes three times. I wrestled [Alberto El Patron] and he’s phenomenal, a great ring general. He’s better than you think.”
Why he left Impact:
“I did that because I wanted to stay fresh for when WWE brought me back. The reason it took me so long to get back to WWE was because… I was trying to get back since 2013, but Vince McMahon wasn’t real happy with my drug problem. I had to prove to him that I could stay clean for a lengthy period of time, and I guess it took four years.”
His long road back to a WWE ring:
“When they brought me back, they wanted to make sure… I’m 49 years old, I’ve had five broken necks, so Vince McMahon wasn’t going to bring me back right away to wrestle. He wanted to see if I could pass the drug tests, he wanted to see if I could pass the physicals, he wanted to see if I could stay clean. He brought me in just for the Hall Of Fame, and then a month later he asked me to be an ambassador for the company, then I started doing appearances. A month later he wanted me to be the GM of RAW, and I have done that for the past six months. Now he’s asked me to wrestle. He wanted me to ease into the company. He didn’t want to push me too hard; he wanted to make sure that I stayed clean for that period of time. Why am I at this point? It’s because Vince was very cautious, and I don’t blame him for that.”
If he will be wrestling more:
“Will I be wrestling more? More on than off in the future? Probably. Right now I’m doing a little bit of both, the GM and wrestling here and there. I’m sure that I’ll be wrestling much more in the future; it just took a little bit of time. I don’t blame the company for what they did; I would have done the same thing. I’m glad Vince McMahon did that because I did want to prove to him that I could do what I did the last year, year and a half. So I’m happy to be able to start wrestling, and when I did take the physical, the doctor did tell me ‘You aren’t going to wrestling full-time. They don’t expect you to.’ I think they’re going to put me in different programs, with different athletes at different periods of time. At my age, I’m glad to do that. I don’t expect to be wrestling like Seth Rollins or AJ Styles where they’re wrestling four or five days a week. I did that. With the injuries and doing that, that’s the reason I left the company in the first place, so I’m glad to be able to do it more part-time than full-time.”
After defeating AJ Styles at Survivor Series many speculated that the Beast Brock Lesnar may not appear on WWE programming again this year, though that’s not the case.
Dunkin’ Donuts Center, the venue for the December 18th episode of Raw tweeted the following, revealing that the Universal Champion will be making an appearance on the show:
It’s worth mentioning here that this will be the first Raw after the upcoming SmackDown Exclusive PPV Clash Of Champions, which will also be the final WWE PPV of the year.
No word yet on what he will be doing at the show, but it’s likely that The Current Champion will start the buildup for his next match at the Royal Rumble PPV.
As we noted before, WWE reportedly nixed the planned match between Brock Lesnar and Finn Balor for the upcoming PPV because Mr. McMahon is not high on Balor anymore.
Who will replace Finn at the upcoming PPV is not known either, though things should become clear when Lesnar returns to WWE Programming next month.
– Below is video of The New Day gaming backstage after their win over Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable on tonight’s SmackDown. Xavier Woods says they are the franchise tag team of the industry and they will definitely be SmackDown Tag Team Champions again as it is written in the stars. Kofi Kingston goes on about how “piping hot” they are.
– The dark main event after tonight’s WWE 205 Live in Lexington, KY saw Bobby Roode and Shinsuke Nakamura defeat Dolph Ziggler and WWE United States Champion Baron Corbin in tag team action.
– Hideo Itami tweeted the following after his latest vignette aired on tonight’s WWE 205 Live. No word yet on when his main roster debut will happen.
– As noted, tonight’s WWE SmackDown saw WWE Champion AJ Styles defeat The Singh Brothers in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match, despite a pre-match attack from Jinder Mahal. WWE posted this video of the beatdown continuing during the commercial break:
– WWE has confirmed that the Fatal 4 Way on next week’s RAW will feature Drew Gulak, Tony Nese, Mustafa Ali and Cedric Alexander. As noted, the winner of that Fatal 4 Way will face Rich Swann the next week with the winner going on to face WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore the following week.
– Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley took to Twitter tonight and tweeted the following after Mojo turned on Ryder following their loss to Rowan & Harper in a rematch from last week’s loss.
The November 28th episode of WWE SmackDown aired live from the Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY. Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s episode of SmackDown:
Shane McMahon & Daniel Bryan Settled Their Differences
Photo Credit: WWE.com
This week’s SmackDown, like most SmackDowns nowadays, opened up with SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon coming down to the ring. Shane got a couple of cheap pops from the crowd and then quickly transitioned into talking about Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens.
Shane brought up the fact that he wanted to fire Zayn and Owens, but thought Daniel Bryan’s idea of a Lumberjack match was great. Shane added that he thought Daniel Bryan was going to fire Zayn and Owens, but that didn’t wind up happening. Shane then introduced SmackDown GM Daniel Bryan and Bryan came to the ring as the crowd chanted “yes!”.
Daniel Bryan stated that he believes in second chances. Shane reminded Daniel Bryan that Kevin Owens beat the hell out of Vince McMahon. Shane brought up Sami interfering in his Hell in a Cell match with Kevin Owens and then went on to betray team SmackDown at Survivor Series.
Bryan replied that if they fire Zayn and Owens, they will just end up on RAW. Shane said that would be great because they would then be Stephanie McMahon’s problem. Shane then commended Daniel Bryan on making a match between Kevin Owens and Randy Orton tonight. Shane announced that Sami Zayn is barred from ringside and that the match is now no disqualifications. Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon then shook hands in the ring.
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens were backstage and approached Daniel Bryan. Zayn complained about Shane McMahon’s decision to bar him from ringside. Owens then complained about having to face Orton in a No DQ match because Orton is crazy. Sami told Bryan to do something about it and Bryan responded with “hell no” and then walked away.
Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon seem to be back on the same page for now. It feels like this storyline is far from over between the SmackDown Commissioner and GM.
SmackDown’s Tag Division Is A Mess
Gable and Benjamin faced New Day tonight on SmackDown. Big E was ringside for the match and The Usos were on commentary. The match started out back and forth for the first few minutes.
Woods connected with a Dropkick off the top rope onto Gable and then tagged in Kofi Kingston. Gable tagged in Benjamin and Kofi hit him with a Crossbody off the top rope. Kingston connected with a Clothesline and then went for Trouble in Paradise but Benjamin caught him.
Benjamin and Kingston fell out of the ring and Woods launched Gable over the ropes. Woods then flipped onto Gable and Benjamin outside the ring. Back in the ring, Kingston and Woods connected with the Midnight Hour for the pinfall victory.
After the match, The Usos and the SmackDown commentary team hinted at New Day getting another shot at the SmackDown Tag Team Championships. I thought that Gable and Benjamin were going to get another shot at the titles, but it appears that we may be getting yet another feud between The Usos and New Day. I have no want to see that feud again so soon after it ended at Hell in a Cell. I would much rather see teams like Gable and Benjamin be built up now, rather than WWE just go back to focusing on two teams and completely neglecting the rest of the tag division on SmackDown.
Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder faced The Bludgeon Brothers this week on SmackDown. Just like last week, Harper and Rowan beat the hell out of the Hype Bros and defeated them with ease.
After the match, Zack Ryder was interviewed about the loss. Ryder stated that the Hype Bros need to change. Mojo then attacked Ryder from behind and started screaming that the Hype Bros are dead. Mojo beat down Ryder for a minute before storming up the entrance ramp to a chorus of boos.
Mojo was asked why he attacked Ryder backstage and Mojo responded that the landscape has changed and then walked away.
WWE has been hinting at the Hype Bros breaking up for some time now. The Hype Bros were going nowhere as a team and have barely been on SmackDown recently. We’ve seen what Ryder is capable of on his own, it will be interesting to see where Mojo’s character goes from here. There just aren’t enough viable teams on SmackDown right now. It would be nice to see Breezango compete in the ring once in awhile instead of just appear on the Fashion Files every week.
Jinder Mahal Attacked The Singh Brothers
WWE Champion AJ Styles was set to face the Singh Brothers in a Handicap match tonight on SmackDown. Jinder Mahal attacked Styles from behind and beat him down as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
When SmackDown returned, the match started and Jinder Mahal was ringside. Samir and Sunil Singh beatdown Styles in the corner as Mahal cheered them on. The Singhs Suplexed Styles for a one count.
The Singh Brothers then focused their attack on AJ’s knee. The Singhs went for a Superplex off the top rope but AJ knocked them both off the turnbuckle. Mahal hopped up on the ring apron and Styles booted him in the face. AJ then hit a Styles Clash off the second rope for the pinfall victory.
AJ Styles will defend his WWE Championship against Jinder Mahal next month at Clash of Champions. It is looking like Mahal will have to defeat Styles on his own, unless he finds two new Superstars to replace the Singh Brothers in the next couple of weeks. The Singh Brothers are awesome sellers and they both took a couple of great bumps in this match. The best moment of Mahal’s title reign was when Orton knocked Samir Singh off the Punjabi Prison and he fell through a table.
The “Riott Squad” Picked Up Their First Victory
Ruby Riot, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan faced Charlotte, Naomi and Natalya tonight on SmackDown. Even though Riot, Morgan and Logan beat the hell out of Natalya last week, Natalya still decided to abandon her team.
Morgan, Logan and Riot took turns beating down Charlotte. Riot applied a Chin Lock to Charlotte in the middle of the ring. Charlotte broke the hold with a Jawbreaker but Riot was able to prevent Charlotte from tagging in Naomi.
Morgan and Logan took out Naomi outside the ring by slamming her into the steel steps. Charlotte battled back in the ring and bashed Riot’s head into the turnbuckle. Charlotte hit a Spear onto Liv Morgan. Logan then booted Charlotte and Riot connected with a kick for the pinfall victory.
I don’t think it is possible to come up with a lamer name than “Riott Squad”. After all of these years of watching WWE, I sometimes still find myself amazed at their lack of creativity. Riot, Morgan and Logan were still dominant again tonight and pinned the SmackDown Women’s Champion.
Owens & Zayn Prevailed Again
Randy Orton and Kevin Owens battled in the main event in a No DQ match. Sami Zayn was barred from ringside during this match. Orton immediately attacked Kevin Owens and bashed him several times with a kendo stick. Owens finally was able to retrieve a kendo stick of his own and he hit Orton with it. Owens then connected with a Fallaway Slam that sent Orton flying into the barricade as SmackDown went to a commercial break.
When SmackDown returned, Kevin Owens was still in control and hit Orton with the kendo stick a few more times. Owens followed it up with a Senton for a two count. Orton took control of the match and hit Owens with a Superplex. Orton then slammed Owens onto the announce table and then threw Owens back into the ring.
Orton geared up for the RKO but Owens rolled out of the ring and tried to escape through the crowd. Orton followed him and caught him by the entrance ramp. Orton connected with a series of punches and Owens fell on the entrance. Sami Zayn then appeared on the entrance ramp and attacked Randy Orton with a chair.
Owens brought Orton back to the ring and Orton planted Owens with a DDT while he was hung up in the ropes. Orton went for the RKO but Owens blocked it and took a shot at Orton’s knee. Owens then hit a Superkick and followed it up with a Frog Splash off the top rope for the pinfall victory.
Sami Zayn was barred from ringside, thus he was allowed to attack Orton on the entrance ramp. The storyline between Bryan, McMahon, Owens and Zayn is mildly interesting, but nothing really happened on this week’s episode of SmackDown. It was more boring than usual and viewers didn’t miss anything at all if they couldn’t tune in this week.
– It looks like the upcoming WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view may see WWE United States Champion Baron Corbin defend against Bobby Roode. Tonight’s WWE SmackDown saw Roode issue a challenge to Corbin but Corbin turned him down. Below is video from that segment:
– Tonight’s SmackDown also saw WWE Champion AJ Styles defeat The Singh Brothers in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match, despite a pre-match attack from Jinder Mahal. Styles tweeted the following after the match and commented on his upcoming match with Jinder at WWE Clash of Champions:
Tried beating me 3 on 1… Couldn’t do it 2 on 1…. …And at #WWEClash you will NEVER beat me 1 on 1. #Phenomenal#SDLive
– Ruby Riot revealed on tonight’s SmackDown that her stable with Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan will be called The Riott Squad. The trio later defeated Naomi and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair after Natalya walked out on her partners. As seen below, Naomi was stretchered out after being double teamed by Liv and Logan.
