Top Ten Thursday: Current NXT Performers

Today, we look at my top ten current NXT performers. This list is based on a few different things. One, they have to currently be part of the NXT roster. Two, if you are injured, you are not included (that mainly means Hideo Itami). Lastly, the criteria to choose the ten consists of overall ability and potential for star power in the future.

10. Dana Brooke and Emma

We start the list with a duo of girls that I never expected to click but just work so well. When she debuted in NXT, Dana Brooke was pretty awful. She didn’t seem to know what her character was supposed to be and she was incredibly green in the ring. Meanwhile, Emma is someone that I’ve always liked, but the heel turn was something she absolutely needed. Pairing them together has worked out so much better than expected. Dana has grown into her role, is now serviceable in the ring and is one of the better Divas on the microphone. Emma has really been clicking as of late in her aggressive role heading into the feud with Asuka, improving on promos and has always been really solid in the ring. They’re become a very enjoyable part of the weekly NXT shows and there is potential for a future on the main roster. Dana and Emma play the mean girl role better than the Bella Twins and I could see them filling that slot if or when the Bella Twins are done with wrestling.

9. Baron Corbin 

Similar to Dana Brooke, Baron Corbin came in and didn’t impress much. He was only given very short squash matches that would barely last thirty seconds. It wasn’t until I saw him live in Cleveland and Columbus against Tyson Kidd and Tyler Breeze that I really started to see something. The fans gave him shit and he just seemed to love the boos. I knew there was a really good heel somewhere in there, which he has been able to bring out lately. The gimmick of a guy that didn’t need the indies and has had successful runs in other endeavors is pretty great. I think they should have gone further with it and had him target guys that were big on the independent scene. Granted he has faced Samoa Joe and Apollo Crews recently, but I still think it would have been sweet if he went after them because of their indy darling status. He is still very much a work in progress in the ring and on the microphone, so while there is potential, there’s still a ways to go.

8. Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady

 It baffles me that this team has yet to hold the NXT Tag Team Titles. In a division that has mostly been the weak point of NXT, Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady have somehow never won the top prize. This is being written before their match at TakeOver: London, where they could very win the titles and make what I’m saying somewhat of a moot point. Not only are they insanely over (just check out the NXT episode from Brooklyn where they were more over than anyone not named Finn, Kevin, Sasha or Bayley), but they’ve improved in the ring. Enzo was among the worst in-ring performers that NXT had a while back though he’s since upped his game. That especially stood out to me at TakeOver: Unstoppable back in May. Carmella has gone from sidekick that nobody liked to one of the more popular females on the roster, while adding something to the duo. With their opening promo, they give off a New Age Outlaws vibe. Honestly, if they can be even half as over as the Outlaws on the main roster, then there is serious money to be made with them. I don’t see either guy as a singles star, so the team should stay together for a long time.

7. Samoa Joe

 Some people are going to find this to be a very low slot for a guy like Samoa Joe. Believe me, I was 100% into Samoa Joe when I first saw him in 2005. The dude was something different and had an aura about him that nobody even came close to matching in the era. Unfortunately, Joe wasted the best years of his career working for TNA. Now, I’m not someone who hates TNA completely, but their handling of Joe was mostly piss poor and it ruined him. By the time he left and signed with NXT, he was just another guy. Now, his heel turn in NXT has seemed to reignite him and lit a fire under his ass, but I just can’t get behind him. It’s like, he’s trying to be the badass that Kevin Owens was back in NXT, but is doing it on a lesser scale in a less impactful way. While I would like to see him on the main roster for some of the matches (especially one against his buddy John Cena), it seems like his deal really only has him working NXT. Combine that with his age and the potential factor takes a big hit. Still, it is pretty cool to see Joe in a WWE ring.

6. Asuka

 Her signing was made out to be a massive deal, with William Regal even calling her the greatest talent NXT had ever inked. I don’t know if I would go that far, but the woman is pretty great. From her debut match against Dana Brooke, it was clear that she was something different. She’ll bust out an armbar from out of nowhere, kick the hell out of her opponent and mock them, all within a minute. Some of her mannerisms aren’t my favorite, but it’s something she can work on. Her in ring work is above pretty much every girl in NXT, so not much work has to be done there. The biggest thing that I think will hold her back is her nationality. Historically, most Japanese Superstars haven’t fared too well in the WWE, partially due to a language barrier. I unfortunately see the same thing happening to Hideo Itami if he gets the main roster call. Personally, I’d pair Asuka with a mouthpiece. Maybe as the first Paul Heyman girl? Have her run over Divas like she’s a female Brock? Just throwing random ideas out but you get the picture.

5. Chad Gable and Jason Jordan

 Chad Gable is really good. Like, scary good. He just gets it. The dude has a blend of charisma and technical skill that I haven’t seen come together so effortlessly since Kurt Angle. Jason Jordan was someone that was going absolutely nowhere until he showed up. Now, that’s not because Jordan is lacking skills. Jordan was just missing something and nothing that was done for him had clicked. His chemistry with Gable is off the charts though and they’ve quickly become my favorite team to watch wrestle in all of the WWE. Honestly, outside of reDRagon and New Day, they’re my favorite tag team in the world. On a recent episode of Breaking Ground, Jordan stated that he wanted them to be THE team in the WWE. He wants them to be the ones called if they need a great wrestling match, an entertaining outing and everything in between. That’s absolutely what they should be. Gable and Jordan should be multi-time WWE Tag Team Champions in the near future.

4. Apollo Crews

 After the signing of the “NXT Five”, there weren’t many guys left on the indies that stood out to me. Sure there was Adam Cole, Jay Lethal, Timothy Thatcher and a few others, but it’s a smaller list than it was a few years ago. The former Uhaa Nation might be the biggest pickup since the likes of Owens, Zayn, Balor, Neville and Itami. While Samoa Joe had the bigger name coming in, the sky is the limit for Apollo Crews. He just seems to have it all. He has a look that Vince McMahon and higher ups love, built similar to a Bobby Lashley, while also having the freakish athleticism, wrestling ability and indy background that a lot of the diehard fans love. Win/win. He’s only been in NXT less than four months, but already has two wins on TakeOver shows (again, this is being written before the London show) and has wrestled against Finn Balor for the NXT Championship. Even though his promo work hasn’t wowed anyone, he’s believable and does relatively fine in that department. If he can step up his game in that department, we could very well be looking at the first fully African-American WWE Champion.

3. Bayley

I’m not sure how legit the report was, but a few months ago, I read that Bayley’s “I’m a Hugger” shirt was the best-selling Diva shirt in all of WWE. She wasn’t beating the Bellas or Paige in total merchandise sales, since those girls have about a thousand things on WWE Shop, but the shirt itself was beating their shirts. While Bayley is on in NXT. If the WWE plays their cards right, they are sitting on a gold mine in Bayley. Adults like Bayley because she’s really good in the ring and she reminds a lot of us of our childhood love for pro wrestling. Children like her for many obvious reasons. Honestly, it’s hard to not love the girl. She is already making tons of waves while in NXT, so more exposure could do her wonders. This is all if the main roster handles her right. Keep Bayley similar to how she is now and you’ve got a star. She could very well be the female John Cena in terms of her appeal as a babyface. She’s gotten much more comfortable in talking roles, meaning that she could advance as a public speaker for the company down the line. Simply put, Bayley is money.

2. Finn Balor

 The current NXT Champion was one of the few guys that I pegged as a star almost instantly. Before his debut in NXT, I had never seen Prince Devitt’s work. Obviously, I’ve gone back and done so, but something about Finn Balor just screamed star. Then I saw him debut the paint at TakeOver: R-Evolution and I was sold. Everything about the guy is just so different and it works. No, he’s not the best on the microphone, but neither was a guy named Jeff Hardy and he was the most over guy of the past decade not named John Cena or Daniel Bryan. Finn can connect with people in different ways. Women seem to love him because he’s attractive, men seem to love him because he’s great in the ring and children seem to love him because he’s really cool. He’s made it clear that he isn’t in any rush to make the main roster, instead wanting to be the face of NXT. That’s fine, but you have to think that Triple H knows there is a potential megastar in Finn Balor and they’ll want to squeeze every last cent out of him. If Finn Balor gets the call up, and of course is handled right, watch out.

1. Sami Zayn

 While I didn’t count Hideo Itami because he’s on the shelf, I included Sami Zayn since he’s already  had return vignettes and is scheduled to work the UK Tour, which should have happened by the time this article runs. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more natural babyface than Sami Zayn. While John Cena is the clean cut, white meat babyface of the current era, he’s nowhere near as likable as Sami. I don’t even think Daniel Bryan is. Notice how I’ve said that a lot of these guys/girls have potential on the main roster if handled correctly. Sami is one guy that I think will become a star regardless. He’s going to have a Daniel Bryan like effect on the crowd. There’s just something about Sami that infects the fans with joy. If he’s mishandled, the fans will want more because you just have to love Sami Zayn. He has it all. The fantastic wrestling skills, the ability to connect with the fans, a great way of drawing emotion and sympathy from the fans, the facial expressions and mannerisms to be a top babyface and even his promo work is really solid and believable. Barring any more injuries, there is no way in my mind that Sami doesn’t become a star. He’s that good.

Raw History: Episodes 25-26

Raw History
Episode #25
July 12th, 1993 – Manhattan Center in Manhattan, New York – Attendance: 1,000

We are now a quarter of the way through less than a tenth of the total episodes in Raw history. Sheesh. This was recorded after last week’s live episode.

WWF Championship
Yokozuna (c) w/ Mr. Fuji vs. Crush
I always like it when the WWF Title is defended on Raw, but Crush is not a good choice since he sucks. Since Raw is a place where anything can happen, the fans are pumped. They even sing parts of the National Anthem, which is probably my favorite patriotic chant ever. They do the whole “Yokozuna is too big to be knocked down” stuff for a while, so Crush goes to a corner splash. Vince calls it WHATAMANUEVER! The once hot crowd now dies as Yokozuna moves to a nerve hold but the commercial break is expertly timed. Scratch that, Yokozuna goes back to the nerve hold because it’s the only rest hold he knows. Crush rallies and gets two on a flying shoulder block. This once rabid crowd has died because both guys are pretty awful. Fuji nails Crush in the back with the flag leading to Yokozuna hitting the Banzai Drop.

Winner and Still WWF Champion: Yokozuna in 11:08
This was as boring as I expected. Two bad wrestlers had a bad match. To kill this red hot crowd is a damn shame. ¼*

Yokozuna continues to hit more Banzai Drops on Crush because even he’s offended by his awfulness. Tatanka tries to make the save but gets laid out. Jobbers come to make the save but they get stopped too. Macho Man finally gets in pull Crush out of harm’s way. He’ll come to regret that when they feud next year. Spoiler alert. Crush does a stretcher job, which just makes me hope he’s gone for a while.

The Headshrinkers w/ Afa vs. Aaron Ferguson and PJ Walker
Good for Walker as he’s back to PH after being BJ recently. There’s an “Afa” chant. They drop Walker on his head on a flapjack that nearly killed him. Samu follows with a vicious clothesline. To hype themselves up, the Headshrinkers headbutt each other. They roll the dead Walker to the corner and bring Ferguson in. Bobby Heenan steals the show by saying that Walker could star in Weekend at Bernie’s III. Commentary completely confuses the names of both guys. I seriously think Walker is dead. A splash finishes off Ferguson.

Winners: The Headshrinkers in 3:20
Well goddamn. That was up there with some of the best jobber killings I have ever witnessed. That made this enjoyable. **¼

An ad airs for the Intercontinental Title rematch next week between Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty.

Tatanka vs. The Brooklyn Brawler
Tatanka is the biggest TV hog the WWF had at the time. I’m so sick of seeing his matches. The Brawler has been part of the WWF for what has to be like 30 years. Commentary pretty much ignores the match to discuss Yokozuna. Tatanka works the arm until Brawler actually gets in some offense. He chokes Tatanka with his shirt but this is getting WAY more time than it deserves. Tatanka does his little rally and wins with the Samoan Drop.

Winner: Tatanka in 7:09
Boring. I see enough of Tatanka that I can live without a seven minute match against a jobber. His style continues to bore me. ¾*

Before the next match, footage airs of kids hyping Lex Luger. One kid doesn’t shut up and rambles. It sucks.

Mr. Hughes w/ Harvey Wippleman vs. Tony DeVito
Tony DeVito is a chubby fella, so it helps that he shed weight during his run with Da Baldies in ECW. Someone walks out with a reef that says “Rest in Peace”. Gee, I wonder who’s behind this. Hughes does a bunch of punches as DeVito puts in more effort bumping then Hughes does in his offense. When he wins with the Bossman Slam, Vince claims that move is reminiscent of the Undertaker. Does he even watch matches?

Winner: Mr. Hughes in 1:52
Mr. Hughes is so awful to watch. I hate his squash matches. ¼*

Mean Gene brings us the SummerSlam Report. The biggest match signed so far is Bret Hart vs. Jerry Lawler. Way to waste your top guy. Lex Luger is petitioning for a title shot as well. Not much here.

Another MOM promo airs. It’s worse than the first one but the shots of the “hood” make me reminisce about my childhood.

Adam Bomb w/ Johnny Polo vs. Scott Amanti
I don’t get the Adam Bomb/Johnny Polo pairing at all. Scott Amanti is tiny, especially compared to Bomb. Bomb throws him around and wins this with a powerbomb, which is an aptly named finisher for him.

Winner: Adam Bomb in 2:14
Better than the Mr. Hughes match but disappointing because I wanted Adam to kill Amanti like the Headshrinkers did to their jobbers earlier. *¼

Next week, we get the King’s Court, which is my least favorite Talk Show segment in wrestling history. However, we also get Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty.

Overall: 2/10; Terrible. Raw has a trend (that will be more evident as time goes on), where it’s a big time match followed by squashes. We kind of get that here but the marquee match sucked hard. The jobber matches weren’t very good either but the Headshrinkers at least had fun in their match. Not one of the better episodes so far.

Raw History
Episode #26
July 19th, 1993 – Manhattan Center in Manhattan, New York – Attendance: 1200

Back to Raw being live this week. We start with shots of the ridiculous Lex Express. After the opening video, Vince McMahon hypes up the debut of MOM tonight. Yuck.

WWF Intercontinental Championship
Shawn Michaels (c) w/ Diesel vs. Marty Jannetty
We see footage of Marty Jannetty returning to win the title from Shawn Michaels in this very building nine weeks ago. The crowd is stoked at the prospect of lightning striking twice here. The competitors feed that as Marty counters everything and gets multiple quick near falls that the crowd eats up. After a breather, Shawn gets back in and they work a standoff that’s a precursor to the stuff that we love on the indies. When Shawn misses the Superkick he gets frustrated again. Marty hits a DDT and seems to win but Shawn’s foot is on the ropes. He celebrates with the title even though Bobby Heenan points out the mistake. Vince McMahon just orgasms all over that. During the commercial, the match restarts. Jannetty goes to a sleeper but Shawn gets out and they do a double shoulder block spot. Returning from commercial, Shawn nails a double axe handle before going to the chin lock. I feel like the chin lock should have come during the break. There’s a “Womp there it is” chant going on. Oh, the 90’s. Marty hits a big elbow for two. Shawn tries a powerbomb but Jannetty counters into a hurricanrana for a VERY close near fall. Shawn comes back with a cross body that Marty rolls through for two again. Marty tries a cross body of his own but misses and crashes and burns over and outside. Diesel rolls him inside and Shawn gets the three.

Winner and Still WWF Intercontinental Champion: Shawn Michaels in 14:20
Really good stuff. Not up to par with their match nine months earlier but I enjoy their chemistry. The finish was a bit anti-climactic though. ***½

Vince McMahon introduces Money Inc. for an interview. They promote their upcoming rematch for the WWF Tag Team Titles while IRS calls people tax cheats. He has just one line and he runs it into the ground. They switch gears to badmouth Razor Ramon, who has now completed his face turn. They offer him a job shining their shoes and such. “Rich mang and tax mang.” I love his terrible Spanish Accent. Ted Dibiase slaps him with money, leading to Razor knocking them out. After Razor leaves, Dibiase challenges the 1-2-3 Kid.

Men on a Mission vs. Rich Myers and Hank Harris
Hearing Vince McMahon get excited for this awful team and their ridiculous outfits is cringe worthy. Also, Oscar somehow thinks that “one” and “mission” rhyme. This is all Men on a Mission but they aren’t very interesting. Mabel squashes one of them to win.

Winners: Men on a Mission in 1:45
For a squash, this wasn’t entertaining in the least. This team sucks and I know we’re going to see a lot of them over time. DUD

SummerSlam Report: Mean Gene dances to the Men on a Mission theme and it’s so bad it’s good. Added to the card, is a WrestleMania IX rematch between the Giant Gonzalez and the Undertaker in a Rest in Peace match. No, we have no clue what that stipulation means.

We now go to a video package for the RIDICULOUS Lex Express, complete with ICOPRO logo. It’s so over the top, I can’t stand it.

Bastion Booger vs. Scott Despres
Bastion Booger clotheslines his opponent before sitting on him. He has quite possibly the worst attire in history. Booger wins in quick and lame fashion.

Winner: Bastion Booger in 1:01
Another dull squash by a terrible wrestler. DUD

An ad for next week shows us that Bam Bam Bigelow will be taking on Bret Hart. Hey, their King of the Ring match ruled, so I’m all for this. We now go to the King’s Court with his guest, Tiny Tim. Mind you, Tiny Tim is from the 60’s. Way to be topical WWF. He’s known for his very high pitched singing while he plays his ukulele. Jerry Lawler gets cheap heat and destroys the ukulele while Tiny Tim cries. Oh my god this was completely pointless.

1-2-3 Kid vs. Chris Duffy
Chris Duffy’s attire is atrocious. He is wearing a black one strap singlet but the butt and knee pads are flower patterned. Kid unloads on him with kicks and gets his stuff in. Money Inc. shows up to scout him, leading to Razor Ramon coming over the guardrail to even the odds. Kid wins in relatively quick order.

Winner: 1-2-3 Kid in 2:10
Basic jobber stuff but a bit more enjoyable than usual since Kid is actually entertaining. *½

After the match, the 1-2-3 Kid can’t choose which side to go to since he obviously doesn’t like Money Inc. but still has issues with Razor Ramon so he just leaves through the crowd. Razor and Ted nearly get into it before things come to a close.

Overall: 4.5/10; Below Average. Things got off to such a good start with the hot Intercontinental Title match but fell hard after that. The Tiny Tim segment was horrible and didn’t achieve a single thing while being dreadful to watch. Men on a Mission and Bastion Booger both suck hard so their stuff was intolerable. The Razor/Money Inc. build was solid though.

Top Five 11/30/15-12/6/15

1) Tetsuya Naito and EVIL: Boy, it's been a really slow week hasn't it? New Japan's World Tag League is still going on and is probably the biggest thing currently happening. The finals are set and on one side, the duo representing Los Ingobernables are in. Tetsuya Naito and EVIL not only made the finals, but they pretty much dominated until the end, finishing with ten points, more than anyone else. They also bested their rivals, Katsuyori Shibata and Hirooki Goto in one of the better tournament matches. I don't see them winning since I think they have something else planned for Wrestle Kingdom, but they still deserve the top spot this week.

            2) Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma: As noted, the finals of the World Tag League are coming up shortly.The other team in the finals of the World Tag League is Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma. There has certainly been a lot of controversy surrounding Honma in the past week with the domestic abuse allegations but New Japan hasn't seemed to change their booking plans. Makabe and Honma continue to rack up the wins and they are honestly my picks to win the whole thing. If Honma isn't getting in any trouble, then having him and Makabe win the Tag Titles at WK10 makes sense. Makabe is still a big name and Honma is absurdly over. They've had a good tournament run.

3) Samoa Joe: In a pretty lame week of WWE television, the standout match was between Samoa Joe and Tommaso Ciampa in the main event of NXT. Since joining NXT, I've been very "meh" on Joe. He's a bit past his prime and wasted his best years in TNA. In NXT so far he's been good but certainly not great. The heel turns seems to have motivated him a bit and it shined brightest against Ciampa this week. The match only went about seven minutes but it was balls to the wall and hard hitting. Joe won, gaining momentum heading into his NXT Title match at TakeOver: London in a bit over a week.

                                        4) The New Day: For a long time, the New Day has been the best part of the main roster WWE programming. This week, they opened Raw with a pretty good segment featuring Sheamus. They joined commentary later on and then closed the show alongside the League of Nations. They may not have had a great match this week, but being put on Raw so often shows how the WWE knows that New Day is golden. On Smackdown, New Day got a really solid win when they defeated the Usos and Dean Ambrose in a six man tag. 

5) Chad Gable and Jason Jordan: The best tag team in NXT is easily Chad Gable and Jason Jordan, even if the champions are Dash and Dawson. Last time out, they beat the longest reigning NXT Tag Team Champions, the Ascension. This week, Gable and Jordan bested another unit of former NXT Tag Team Champions, the Vaudevillains. It wasn't a particularly long match but it was solid and once again showed off the dynamic chemistry between Gable and Jordan. There is something very special about this duo and they are just an absolute joy to watch. I expect to see them on this list a lot in 2016.

Random Network Reviews: Night of Champions 2014

Night of Champions 2014
September 21st, 2014 | Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee | Attendance: 12,000

Coming off of a SummerSlam that saw Brock Lesnar win the WWE World Heavyweight Title, Night of Champions really needed to big. Not only because SummerSlam was a big deal, but because some of the WWE Network subscriptions were coming up and a big show was crucial for the renewals. Also of note on this show was that a big match between former Shield members Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins was booked, only for Reigns to be forced to have emergency surgery and miss this show and about four months.

Normally I would have reviewed the Kickoff Show but there were no matches on it. Instead, it was just an edition of the Peep Show so I’ll jump straight into the actual PPV. The opening video package is cool as it discusses the importance of the top title in the business, before we quickly see every current champion in the company.

WWE Tag Team Championship
The Usos (c) vs. Goldust and Stardust
The Usos are in the midst of a near seven month reign with the belts and have been having good to great matches consistently. After being excellent in 2013, the Brotherhood now turned into Stardust and Goldust here. The Usos get in the first cool move, doing an assisted EDDIE GILBERT HOT SHOT! Both teams have worked as faces for about a year but the Dust Brothers are on a fresh heel turn, which they show off by being aggressive. In an attack a few weeks ago, Jey Uso’s leg was kayfabe injured and it is smartly brought into play. An Uso leaps off the guardrail onto Stardust but runs into a Randy Orton like snap powerslam outside from Goldust. Surprisingly, the heels are working over Jimmy even though he’s not the injured one. This is some good old fashioned tag formula. Jimmy finally gets a nice enziguri in to make the hot tag to Jey. He comes in to show turnabout is fair play by targeting Stardust’s leg. Jimmy flies out onto Goldust, prompting a “that’s Uso crazy” comment from Michael Cole. I hate Michael Cole. Samoan Drop and Umaga running ass attack from Jey but Stardust comes back with Dark Matter. How great is it that Cody changed gimmicks and his moveset with it? He ties Jey up in the ropes like he’s Andre the Giant and slaps him with his glove like this is a cartoon. In a really cool spot, Jey leaps out onto Stardust just as Goldust front flips off the apron onto Jimmy. That DDP Yoga really works doesn’t it Goldust? Jey goes for a splash on Stardust, but he gets the knees up and rolls him up with a handful of tights to win.

Winners and New WWE Tag Team Champions: Goldust and Stardust in 12:49
At the time, this was still a relatively fresh match that hadn’t been beaten to death. They used tag formula very well and these are two of the better, if not best, tag teams that the WWE had at the time. I wish the finish was more definitive and that the leg injury came into play for it but still a really good match. ***¼

Byron Saxton interviews Dolph Ziggler and his stunt double, R-Ziggler. Dolph is like, the perfect choice for the Intercontinental Title and the R-Ziggler stuff was pretty funny.

WWE United States Championship
Sheamus (c) vs. Cesaro
At Payback, these two had a damn good match but this time, there is no longer Paul Heyman at ringside for Cesaro. They begin trying to feel each other out, but when Cesaro doesn’t give a clean break, instead slapping Sheamus, it breaks down into a fight. Sheamus hits the Finlay roll before they just go back to punching each other. After falling outside, Sheamus is back in with a slingshot shoulder block. He goes up top only to be knocked outside with a huge uppercut. Cesaro moves to wear down Sheamus, which makes sense here. We get stiff uppercuts and a clothesline from Cesaro before Sheamus hits the Irish Curse backbreaker twice. Sheamus’ ten beats of Bodhran is countered for the first time I think. Every single counter, strike or move has been impactful. Sheamus slams Cesaro from the top for two. Cesaro comes back with the popup uppercut, which is extra impressive considering Sheamus’ size. Cesaro ducks a Brogue Kick and hits some big moves. He goes for the Neutralizer but Sheamus counters with a backdrop. Cesaro lands on his feet though and then reverses a Brogue Kick into the fucking Alpamare Waterslide for a very close near fall. He’s pissed now and just slaps the taste out of Sheamus’ mouth like 15 times! Cesaro boots him into the corner, still just firing away. Sheamus shoves him off and screams for more so Cesaro brings more. The official pulls Cesaro back, opening the door for a Brogue Kick to retain.

Winner and Still WWE United States Champion: Sheamus in 13:06
When it comes to these two, I want to see them beat the hell out of each other and that’s exactly what we got here. They just went balls to the wall. Everything was hard hitting and impactful. The counters and near falls were great. Even the finish, which seemed slightly heelish by Sheamus, kept Cesaro strong as it was a tiny opening. A severely underrated bout. ****

Mark Henry is backstage prepping for his match tonight when Big Show comes up to him and hypes him up. He’s fighting for ‘MURICA! Then Florida Georgia Line comes to join commentary.

WWE Intercontinental Championship
Dolph Ziggler (c) w/ R-Ziggler vs. The Miz w/ Damien Mizdow
At Battleground two months prior, Miz won the IC Title in a battle royal, last eliminating Dolph Ziggler. Ziggler won the title from Miz to open SummerSlam. It’s hard to concentrate and enjoy the match when JBL and commentary just reel off Florida Georgia Line’s short list of accomplishments. Ziggler hits the heart attack series of elbows which Miz follows with a big boot. As Miz works over Ziggler, commentary starts talking about Miz’s pets. Is anyone watching the match? Ziggler gets fired up, hitting a corner splash but his Famasser is blocked, only for him to turn that into a rollup for two. When things go outside, Mizdow gets involved and badmouths the country duo until they strike him. R-Ziggler chases him off as Ziggler superkicks Miz. Miz comes back with the figure four but Ziggler gets the ropes. As Dolph calls for the Zig Zag, Mizdow reappears to distract him. Miz uses that rollup Ziggler with a handful to tights to reclaim the gold.

Winner and New WWE Intercontinental Champion: The Miz in 9:20
They’ve had better matches for sure. I enjoyed their work at SummerSlam but this didn’t click as well which is a shame since they usually have good chemistry. Commentary was a major distraction and annoyance, while the finish is another issue because we just saw a cheap rollup two matches ago. **

We are reminded of Roman Reigns’ emergency surgery that caused him to miss tonight’s show. Seth Rollins comes out and runs down Roman Reigns, saying surgery is no excuse. He gives him until the count of ten to show up, and he obviously doesn’t, so Rollins gets the forfeit victory. Knowing that the fans paid to see him, Seth brings up how much of an opportunist he is, looking at his briefcase. He issues an open challenge, which never goes well. On the titantron, we see a taxi pull up and A WILD DEAN AMBROSE appears! He hadn’t been on TV in about a month after Rollins Curb Stomped him through cinder blocks. They brawl throughout the arena and Ambrose breaks through security and more to get his hands on Rollins. This would set the stage for their Hell in a Cell match at the next PPV. 

Mark Henry vs. Rusev w/ Lana
Lillian Garcia sings the National Anthem before the bell in a ridiculously over the top show of patriotism. Mark Henry even cries during it. I loathe anti-American gimmicks, not because I’m American but because it is pure lazy booking. I do enjoy Rusev’s ring work though. Henry stands toe to toe with Rusev, not allowing him to get out of the blocks. When he does take control, he throws Henry into the steel steps. He works over Henry’s back in dull fashion for a while before going for the Accolade. Henry powers out though, using the power of America. He hits the World’s Strongest Slam as the announcers are completely unbiased. Like a genius, Rusev rolls out of the ring to avoid the pin. He superkicks Henry from the outside, before entering and winning with the Accolade.

Winner: Rusev in 8:17
Over the course of the year, I really grew to like Rusev’s work but this was arguably his worst PPV showing. He tried and had some cool moments but Mark Henry, for all of his tears before the bell, did not look motivated. He moved at a snail’s pace, hurting things. *¼

Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton
Want to know why these two are fighting? Because Randy Orton attacked Chris Jericho two weeks prior simply because “it was the Season Premiere of Raw.” There went any interest I could have in this. Jericho sends Orton outside and throws him into the steel steps. You can blatantly see Jericho call spots here. Orton crotches Jericho up top, following with a superplex. He moves to a chinlock spot but after Jericho gets out, he moves to his beautiful powerslam. It’s seriously one of the best in wrestling history. Jericho comes back with a double axe handle but the crowd doesn’t really seem to care. Lionsault attempt misses right into Orton’s signature backbreaker. He does end up hitting the Lionsault right after, only for a near fall. The Walls of Jericho get blocked shortly before Orton goes for the punt. I liked commentary bringing up how Orton has done this to Jericho in the past, but he usually only busts it out for big feuds, which this is not. Jericho dodges and locks in the Walls of Jericho. Orton gets out but when he stalks for the RKO, Jericho nails the Codebreaker from out of nowhere for two. Out of desperation, Jericho goes up top and shouts for Orton to get up. As I suspected, it leads to a mid-air RKO that finishes this thing.

Winner: Randy Orton in 16:23
Technically, this was a good match. It was sound, went back and forth, had false finishes and entertained. The problem is that it was just there. The fact that there was no real rhyme or reason behind this makes it easily forgettable and meant that there wasn’t really a hot crowd. ***

The video package that we get for the upcoming Divas Championship match is really good and makes you really feel like it was Paige’s time to shine and get a good run with the belt. Byron Saxton interviews Brie Bella about the upcoming match. It’s not very good since Brie sucks on the mic.

WWE Divas Championship
Paige (c) vs. AJ Lee vs. Nikki Bella
With Paige and Nikki Bella being heels, they both go after AJ, but it fails. AJ sends Paige outside and takes down Nikki with a head scissors. Nikki shows off her power by swinging AJ around whilst in a sleeper. Paige comes back in as Nikki applies a decent looking armbar. She loves that move, but it’s odd as her finisher targets the back. They continue a trend of knocking one girl out while two others fight which is usual in most triple threat matches. Nikki was just starting to get comfortable as a heel, a role she would end up being really good in. Paige kicks her out of the ring before turning to AJ and caressing her. They were playing a near lesbian storyline at times. When AJ shoves her off, Paige gets aggressive with some headbutts. She takes AJ to the apron and just reels off knee strikes. Nikki now comes back as poor AJ is taking a beating. Nikki goes for a swinging slam but AJ counters into the Black Widow. Paige saves this by kicking both girls. Paige takes AJ up top for a superplex, so Nikki powerbombs her down in a cool tower of doom spot. Nikki takes out Paige with the aptly named Rack Attack before taking a SERIOUS back bump to the outside. AJ slams her from the apron and I give Nikki tons of props for taking that. AJ locks the Black Widow on Paige, who has countered it a bunch during their rivalry. She nearly does it here too, but AJ perseveres and Paige taps out.

Winner and New WWE Divas Champion: AJ Lee in 8:42
Outside of NXT, this was the WWE women’s match of the year. Something about AJ/Paige didn’t click the way I had hoped, but the addition of Nikki Bella was just what they needed. This never slowed and had the storytelling factor of the “frenemy” angle between AJ and Paige. The only real issue was that AJ won when she didn’t need to. The other two girls could have benefitted from it much more. ***¼

The month prior, Brock Lesnar won the WWE Title from John Cena in a dominating performance. In a 16 minute match, Cena got just over a minute of offense, was on the met for eleven minutes, Brock hit 69 strikes, 16 German suplexes and more.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Brock Lesnar (c) w/ Paul Heyman vs. John Cena
Brock Lesnar looks for a repeat of SummerSlam as she attacks John Cena instantly. He tries his first German but Cena blocks and hits the Attitude Adjustment. It only earns a one count though, giving the fans a quick false finish. Cena goes to attack, only to get put in the Kimura. Cena reaches the ropes, so Brock just starts to pummel him. As he hits the first German, he starts jumping around in classic Brock fashion. Cena fires away only to eat another German. He channels Eddie Guerrero with a trio of vertical suplexes. He just continues to punish Cena at every turn. Every single time Cena does something, Brock has an answer. Cena never gives up though, continuing to fight back through yet another German. Cena busts out his second AA from out of nowhere for a near fall. He then counters an F5 into the STF! Lesnar counters the poorly executed move into the Kimura but Cena doesn’t fade, getting to his feet with Brock to break it. Cena hits a third AA and goes right into the STF again. He reaches the ropes twice, only for Cena to pull him away each time. Brock won’t tap so Cena does a FOURTH AA only for Seth Rollins to appear and strike him with the Money in the Bank briefcase!

Winner via disqualification: John Cena in 14:21
While it’s not on the level of their SummerSlam match, this told a good story. John Cena was the resilient challenger that tried to do everything in his power to win. Brock is phenomenal in his current role, making this enjoyable. ***¾ 

Seth Rollins knocks John Cena out of the ring and plants Brock Lesnar with a fantastic Curb Stomp. Brock sells that far better than Cena ever does. Seth tries to cash in, only for Cena to cock block him and stop it from happening. Even Brock is upset at Cena being a dick and hits him with an F5.

Overall: 7.5/10; Very good. Here is an example of a show that was better than advertised. The build for most of these matches wasn’t great but for the most part, they delivered. Only one thing was under two stars and only the Intercontinental Title match was really disappointing. We got an entertaining main event, an old school tag opener, a damn good women’s match and a severely underrated, hard hitting bout between Sheamus and Cesaro that is must see. My next “Random Network Review” looks like it will be from the Old School Vault on 3/16/97!