Episode six of season six of Total Divas airs tonight on E! with the title Too Many Cooks.
The synopsis of tonight’s episode reads, “Brie challenges Nikki to an I.Q. test to see who is the smarter twin, Trinity battles her nerves on the set of her first movie, Nattie brings her sister to a mental breakdown when she pushes her too hard on a new cooking school, and Lana and Rusev fight over Nashville-themed engagement photos.”
It’s good to note that E! lists the episode starting at 9PM EST instead of 8PM EST.
WWE Superstar Dana Brooke, whose real name is Ashley Sebera, is among the list of invited competitors to the 2017 Arnold Classic, making it in the Fitness International group of only 16 individuals.
The 29th Annual Arnold Classic starts on March 3 and the Fitness International competition which Brooke will be part of will take place on that day. The event is held in Columbus, Ohio.
This is not the first time that she has participated in the Arnold Classic. Last year, while she was in NXT, she also made the list.
With new contenders for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and Tag-Team Championship (albeit, one is injured), how will WWE World Heavyweight Champion A.J. Styles and Tag-Team Champions The Wyatt Family “matchup” their challengers in Dolph Ziggler and The Hype Bros? Will Mojo Rawley have to find another partner as it is Zack Ryder that is out-of-action, or does The Hype Bros’ title shot get relinquished and we have to have another way to find new #1 Contenders?
Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss and Becky Lynch are still going at it; what is next in this rivalry?
Lastly, John Cena is set to return next week. Will someone step up tonight and challenge him for anything in a week?
All those and much more, so read on!
Tuesday Night Smackdown! Live TV Report for December 20th, 2016 – “New Contender(s)?”
Introduction Segment: Video Promo and Welcoming
The regular opener plays and the pyro goes off in the Joe Louis Arena. Mauro Ranallo tells us that our first match is for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship!
Match #1: Single for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship – A.J. Styles (Champion) VS. James Ellsworth (Challenger)
After formal in-ring introductions, James puts up his “dukes” but A.J. throws him into the corner. Ellsworth tries a superkick, but Styles catches his leg and punches away, knocking James out. He covers with two hands on his chest and receives the quick victory!
Winner via Pinfall and STILL WWE World Heavyweight Champion: A.J. Styles
Post-match, A.J. decimates Ellsworth on the outside, shoving and sling-shotting him into the steel underside part of the ring. He walks away but then goes back and suplexes James into the corner of the barrier. He gets back into the ring with a microphone and says the attack “was a long time coming.” Medical attendants bring a stretcher out for Ellsworth.
“The Phenomenal One” wants to move on to 2017, but his new challenger, Dolph Ziggler, won’t let him. They verbally-joust at each other, and then insinuates that he’ll do anything “to get my hands on that WWE Title.”
Baron Corbin suddenly interrupts, and declares he should be the #1 Contender. Dolph retorts that he made his title shot happen while Corbin was absent last week. Baron replies that Ziggler “wastes opportunities,” and then punches him. Dolph tries to fight back, but is driven to the mat with End of Days. The crowd chants “one more time…” but “The Lone Wolf” waves them off and walks away.
Commercials.
Segment #2: Office Promo
Dolph is furious with Corbin and wants General Manager Daniel Bryan to book them in a match. GM Bryan tells Ziggler not to be concerned about Dolph, but “The Show-Off” insists; he even says that he will make his WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match next week on Smackdown! up for grabs! Daniel reluctantly agrees.
Match #2: Single for the Intercontinental Championship – The Miz (with Maryse) (Champion) VS. Apollo Crews (Challenger)
They circle around and then Apollo almost takes this with a couple of roll-ups! He continues to one-up Miz with leaps and a dropkick for a near-fall! Miz tries a leap-frog, but misses a front-dropkick and Crews jackknifes him for two! He follows with a baseball-slide, and then moonsaults off of the apron onto a standing Miz! Back in the ring, Apollo soars off of the top turnbuckle with a crossbody, but only gets two!
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Both are down as Referee Mike Chioda is counting. Apollo kicks at Miz and then hits him with a leaping-clothesline! He gears up for an enziguri and just about gets the I.C. Title after another couple of pin-variations.
Crews splashes in the corner, but Miz moves and Maryse tries to take advantage. Referee Chioda sees her and forces her to go to the back. Apollo tries a backdrop a bit later but Miz flips out of it and pokes Crews in the eye; he follows with his Skull-Krushing Finale and gets the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winner via Pinfall and STILL Intercontinental Champion: The Miz
Post-match, interviewer Rene Young asks Miz about his “obsession” with Dean Ambrose. Miz retaliates harshly with a comment about Rene and Dean’s relationship, saying “you’re the one sleeping with him.” Rene slaps Miz and marches away, tearing her microphone gear off in the process.
The announcers recap Zack Ryder’s injury and announce that on next week’s Smackdown!, there will be a Four-Corners Elimination Match for the Tag-Team Championship between The Usos, American Alpha, Heath Slater and Rhyno, and Tag-Team Champions The Wyatt Family!
Natalya makes her entrance and then we go to break.
Commercials.
Segment #3: Video Promo
Career highlights of John Cena are shown, and he will be back next Tuesday on Smackdown! Live, in Chicago, where his WWE career started.
Segment #4: Arena Promo
Natalya is in the ring and asks Nikki Bella to join her so they can clear the air on who attack Nattie. Before they can talk, Carmella interjects and tries to stir the situation more between Natalya and Nikki. Her and Nattie argue for a bit while, and then Carmella goes over the line, making Natalya call her a “dirty little Stanton Island snitch!” Nikki wonders if it is Nattie did attack her, but Natalya chases Carmella to the stage, where she chucks her into the Christmas tree and presents.
Natalya comes back and admits that she really did assault Nikki at Survivor Series. Nattie says that Nikki and Brie were handed everything to them, while she is “wrestling royalty.” Natalya’s final insult to Nikki is “John will never marry you.”
Up next, Dean Ambrose meets Luke Harper!
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Segment #5: Office Promo
GM Bryan is on his cell-phone when Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss limps in. She wants him to “punish” Becky Lynch for “injuring” her leg, but Daniel reveals he knows that Alexa is faking it, as he just finished chatting with the trainers. He makes Bliss wrestle Lynch on next week’s Smackdown! for the Women’s Championship; Alexa warns him off what could happen to Becky and not to blame her (Alexa), as he put them in the position.
Match #3: Single – Dean Ambrose VS. Tag-Team Champion/Wyatt Family member Luke Harper (with Tag-Team Champions/Wyatt Family members Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton)
Dean and Luke measure each other, and then they go back-and-forth until Harper slings him throat-first into the bottom rope.
Commercials.
Luke and Dean are standing on the second turnbuckle, and then Ambrose headbutts Harper off. He follows with a leap, but Luke moves and swing-slams Dean to the canvas. He locks in a modified-crossface, but Dean battles back, eventually hitting a clothesline that puts Harper to the canvas! He runs in the corner but is caught and dropped face-first on the second turnbuckle. Harper follows with a superkick that makes Dean tumble to the floor!
Luke throws him back in the ring, but Dean jawbreaks Harper with the top rope. He then dives off of the top turnbuckle onto Bray and Randy on the outside! Luke just about gets this with a sit-down powerbomb in the ring! Harper spins around for his Discus Clothesline, but Dean reverses into a La Majistral Cradle to finish this!
Winner via Pinfall: Dean Ambrose
Post-match, Randy and Bray pounce on Ambrose. Bray sets up for Sister Abigail and throws him into Orton’s R.K.O. The entire Wyatt Family poses over Dean with Luke holding the Tag-Team Championships and Bray calling out “follow the buzzards.”
The lights go out and then come back on shortly after, with The Wyatt Family gone. Ambrose has a hard time standing up and then Intercontinental Champion The Miz, and Maryse, stomp out. Miz stalks and then gives Dean the Skull-Krushing Finale. They kiss and stand over a downed Ambrose.
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Match #4: Single – La Luchadora/Miss Mascaras VS. Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss (Non-Title)
(Note: La Luchadora/Miss Mascaras is dressed in a full head mask and spandex full-body outfit.) La Luchadora gets the better of Alexa for a while until Bliss forearms her hard and hammers away. Luchadora counters out of the corner and rolls into a Disarmer! Alexa quickly gives in!
Winner via Submission: La Luchadora/Miss Mascaras
Post-match, after an exuberant celebration, Mascaras unmasks herself to really be Becky Lynch.
Segment #6: Backstage Promo
Ryan Phillipe – star of Shooter (great show!) – is searching for Randy Orton. Instead, he finds both Mojo Rawley and Curt Hawkins, who argue; they agree to wrestle later.
Commercials.
Match #5: Single – Mojo Rawley VS. Curt Hawkins
Mojo finishes this with a running-punch in the corner decently quick!
Winner via Pinfall: Mojo Rawley
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Segment #7: Backstage Promo
A bandaged-up James Ellsworth is interviewed but he can’t talk; Carmella walks up and helps James away.
Match #6: Single – Dolph Ziggler VS. Baron Corbin
(Stipulation: #1 Contender’s Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship)
Prior to the bout, WWE World Heavyweight Champion A.J. Styles proceeds to the commentator’s area.
Commercials.
Dolph slugs away at Corbin right off of the bell, and then Baron goes to the outside for a break, but soon takes over after Ziggler can’t trip him up. Dolph fights back a bit with corner-punches, but Corbin ruthlessly Irish-Whips him into top turnbuckle. He chucks him shoulder-first into the ring post, and then follows with a jumping-forearm.
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Baron is still dominating until he misses a corner shoulder-ram! Ziggler capitalizes with the Fameasser, but only gets two! Corbin shoves Dolph back into turnbuckle and goes for a powerbomb, but Ziggler flips over into a jackknife for a near-fall! Baron takes over again after a slam and hard punch! He almost gets pinned with a roll-up but fires back with a big clothesline!
Dolph counters with a neckbreaker on the middle rope and then hits his Zig-Zag finisher! 1 – 2 – Baron just raises his shoulder! Ziggler punches in the corner and then props Corbin on the top-turnbuckle. Baron counters with a few elbows and then his Deep Six Spinning-Backdrop! 1 – 2 – Dolph gets his shoulder up!
On the outside, Corbin hurls Ziggler into the timekeeper’s barrier, and then into another corner of the barrier. He then throws Dolph into A.J., and then the bell sounds! Referee Mike Chioda goes to the timekeeper, and Styles whacks both Corbin and Dolph with a steel chair!
General Manager Daniel Bryan walks to the ramp; he announces that there will be a Triple-Threat Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship between Dolph, Baron, and A.J. next week on Smackdown! Styles yells at Bryan to close the show.
WWE has just announced that AJ Styles has been cleared to compete…tonight and will grant James Ellsworth his WWE title match that he won when he defeated Styles in a ladder match to get a Smackdown contract.
Styles has been out of action since the TLC pay-per-view earlier this month following a leg injury. He was taken off all non-televised events to heal up. Styles was not originally part of tonight’s broadcast but now he will not only wrestle, but also kick off the show with the title match.
“Let’s get this over with for once and for all and let Ellsworth go back to where he belongs…FAR AWAY from the @WWE Championship,” Styles tweeted.
The post-Roadblock Monday Night Raw drew a total of 2,955,000 viewers, up 197,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast.
Hour one drew 3,062,000 viewers, followed by 2,971,000 in the second hour, and then down to 2,834,000 in the third and final hour.
The number was on the higher-end of what the show has been doing lately since football started again on ESPN and this week it was good enough for Raw to finish in #4, #5, and #6 in the cable chart among the 18-49 demographic. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Tickets for the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony will go on sale on Friday, January 13 at 10AM EST on Ticketmaster.com.
The event, this time held on the Friday before WrestleMania, will take place at the Amway Center. The Amway Center will play host to NXT, Raw, and Smackdown as well that week.
Ticket prices are $27, $54, $80, and $110 plus additional taxes and fees. There are no inductees yet but the headliner is most likely to be announced before tickets officially go on sale to help with the initial push for sales.
The 2017 Royal Rumble started to take shape yesterday on Raw with the first match announced, and it’s good news for Roman Reigns haters as has no chance of winning the Rumble…again!
The WWE Universal title will be on the line as Kevin Owens will be defending against Roman Reigns in a rematch from the Roadblock pay-per-view. The only thing different this time around is that Chris Jericho, Owen’s BFF, will be suspended above the ring in a shark cage! Jericho will have an awesome view of the stadium!
As for the 30-man over-the-top Rumble match itself, only two participants have been announced so far: Goldberg and Brock Lesnar.
The Rumble next year will be at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. It was first held there in 1997 and then the show returned to San Antonio in 2007 so this looks to be once-in-every-10-years thing.
The WWE Raw Tag Team titles got another “makeover” as new champions Sheamus and Cesaro were handed the newest version of the title belts on last night’s episode of Monday Night Raw.
The black leather strap and bronze title plates have been swapped with a red leather strap and silver plates. Basically, it’s exactly like the Smackdown Tag Team titles but has the red strap instead. Raw now has both the Universal and Tag Team titles on a red strap and the Women’s title on a white strap but with a red large plate to represent the Raw brand.
Hey everyone! Welcome to tonight’s Raw report. Hope you have an awesome holiday season, however you spend it. We are LIVE from THE Ohio State University. Cool, the Christmas set is out! Someone’s getting thrown through a Christmas tree, right? Right?
We start with Owens and Jericho in the ring. KO welcomes us to the “Chris and Kevin Show!” Chris tells the monkeys in the back to play the stills from last night’s main event from Roadblock. KO screams “MONKEYS!” right as Cole starts to describe the stills. I…don’t think he was supposed to do that. Owens says he should’ve known that Jericho would have his back. Jericho calls the fans “Muttonheads” and declares a moment for THE HUG OF JERICHO: BRING IT IN, MANNNN…..Awesome. I love it. KO and Jericho start to ridicule Santa Claus, and Jericho officially adds Kris Kringle to The List!
This brings out Foley. Uh oh…you shouldn’t have dissed Santa in Jolly St. Mick’s presence. Foley shows clips from the end of the PPV, where Owens and Jericho get put through a table. Owens, a Canadian, declares himself a “National Treasure” in Ohio. Foley says that Santa actually has a present for the both of them. It’s a shark cage, a la Jim Cornette and JJ Dillon from NWA shows of yesteryear.
Foley says Jericho will be in the cage during Owens’ Championship rematch with Reigns at the Royal Rumble, or else he will lose his job. Whoa, the Alamo Dome is pretty cavernous…you sure you wanna do that? They test the cage, and Foley ends up locking Jericho inside the shark cage. Foley can’t find the key, and ends up giving the signal to raise the cage by accident. Foley apologizes and says he’s going to look for the key, but until then…have a nice day! Maybe it wasn’t an accident. Good, but scattered opening promo.
When we return from the break, Jericho is agonizing in the back as Owens consoles him. Jericho’s overacting is so funny right here.
Big Cass and Enzo are in the house! Ooh, some light boos from the jaded 30-year-olds. Kids still love their act, even though the act is PG-13. Go figure. Cass is interrupted before his catchphrase by Lana and Rusev.
Match #1: Rusev vs. Big Cass
Cass hits some haymakers and body shots as the crowd chants, “How you doin?!” Cass continues to punch and kick Rusev, dropping him in the corner as the ref counts to five. Wait, what?! There was literally no wrestling moves in this match. Just punches, kicks, and a quick DQ win for Rusev. Zero stars. Rusev taunts Enzo and Cass as he cowers to the back.
Sasha Banks promo. She has the Tiny Tim thing going on, walking to the ring with just one crutch. Hey, just in time for Christmas! At least we know what role she’ll play if Vince decides to do a full version of “A Christmas Carol” (don’t laugh, he’s done parts of it in the 1980s. Go find it.) Sasha once again tells us she left everything in the ring last night. I’m telling you…she’s gonna forget something one of these days.
Sasha says that last night, she walked to the back without her title. Wait, she walked?! I thought she almost broke one of her legs. Sasha says, “I don’t feel like The Boss anymore.” She asks Charlotte to come out to the ring. Instead, she gets Nia Jax. This is a present that you can’t exactly return. Nia says, “You’re weak. You’re wounded…and above all else, you’re just a little girl.” Then she kicks her leg out of…her leg. Owen would be so proud. Then she proceeds to destroy her. God bless us, everyone. I guess we know who wants to be Scrooge.
Cedric Alexander and Alicia Fox are on their way to the ring. Cruiserweights next!
Sheamus and Cesaro are admiring their tag titles as Foley shows up. Foley gloats about putting the team together, congratulating them on their win vs. The New Day last night at Roadblock. Foley unveils new tag team championship belts as a gift. The crowd audibly groans. Way to go, guys. It’s basically the same belt with a silver plate instead of the bronze plate, and a red strap (for Raw).
As Cesaro and Sheamus argue, a referee asks Foley to come help him with a situation. It’s an angry and frothing Braun Strowman, who’s throwing furniture and screaming. Strow says he wants Zayn. Foley says that Zayn has the night off, and won’t be at Raw. Braun tells Foley, “IT’S GONNA BE OR ELSE.” What does that even mean?
Match #2: Cedric Alexander vs. Noam Dar
Austin Aries makes his Raw debut! He’s on commentary for this cruiserweight match. Dar with a killer elbow, but Alexander responds with an elbow of his own, followed by a headscissors and a dropkick as Dar goes to the outside. After the break, Dar has the advantage. He misses a double stomp from the top, and Alexander hits Dar with an incredible handstand in the ropes, and crushes Dar with a back elbow.
Alexander hits a floating lariat from the top. He follows that with the Lumbar Check for three! Wow. Another short match. Didn’t even last two minutes after the commercial break. 1/2* Dar says this isn’t over because he’s still crazy about Alicia Fox. His accent is such that it literally sounds like he’s saying “Alicia Fucks”. I wonder what USA Network thinks about that.
New Day make their way to the ring! They declare that their tag title reign hit a “Roadblock”. Xavier looks back on 483 glorious days when they were the tag champs. Kofi says that Ric Flair had 16 title reigns and 15 losses, trying to put their title reign in perspective. Big E interrupts with a SWEET dig, saying “Just like Charlotte in a month.”
They vow to once again become tag team champions. Cesaro and Sheamus come in with some bad odd couple comedy. Crowd cheers Cesaro and boos Sheamus. It’s definitely a unique dynamic. New Day gets SALTY over the new champions getting new belts. Sheamus is publicly shamed by Xavier, and holy cow…I wouldn’t be surprised if that sticks. “SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!” I’m dying laughing over here.
Sheamus then predicts a 20-year title reign. Xavier harkens back to the days of Unicorns, Breakfast Cereals, and “The Old Day”, which Kofi and Big E ask him not to bring up. Hilarious. Gallows and Anderson come out and do a bizarre promo while doing a bunch of insider hand gestures. What?! Then the COLONS come out to sell timeshares! This leads to a schmozz. This promo just flew off a cliff after the champs arrived.
We’re 70 minutes in, and there’s been about 3 minutes of in-ring action. Yeesh.
After the break, we apparently have an impromptu eight-man tag team match!
Match #3: Eight-Man Tag Team Match: Kofi, Big E, Sheamus, and Cesaro vs. Primo, Epico, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows
Crazy action to start. Most notable is Epico turning a double-arm suplex into a Codebreaker on Kofi! This gets two. Epico tags Gallows into the match and hits a sweet kick on Kofi for two. Gallows hits a headbutt and tags in Anderson. I kinda feel bad for Karl…I just don’t think he fits in with the WWE Universe. Great worker, just doesn’t fit in. He tries a reversed dropkick for two on Kofi. Gallows comes in with some serious fists. He misses an elbow and Kofi finally tries to tag. He’s interrupted and chokeslammed to HELL for two.
After the break, Kofi fights out of a sleeperhold from Anderson. Anderson takes Kofi to the top, but Kofi counters with a Tornado DDT. Anderson tags Gallows before Kofi can get to the corner. Gallows hits another Mafia Kick, followed by an Anderson Boot of Doom for two! Kofi finally tags in Big E who is a HOUSE OF FIRE. Big E hits three monster suplexes, but he gets tagged by Sheamus as he’s going for the big splash. Sheamus hits the forearms on Epico, followed by the running rolling senton. Primo distracts for a nearfall on Sheamus! EVERYONE’S HITTING BOOTS AND KNEES. Cesaro hits the lifting uppercut on Anderson and the Giant Swing to Epico! This leads to the Sharpshooter, and Epico taps immediately! It was fine. ** Nice to finally see some wrestling on this show.
They recap the first segment, and then we’re backstage with Enzo and Cass. Enzo is saying that he’s holding Cass back, but Cass isn’t having it. Enzo is given a letter where he’s told that he needs to attend “Sensitivity Training” as a result of exposing himself last month. So…that’s all he’d be punished with? WWE: Setting a good example for everyone.
Neville’s on his way out to the ring. If you missed it last night, he laid out Rich Swann and TJ Perkins, and it was pretty awesome. In a great promo, Neville tells the fans he doesn’t want their sympathy or their pity. He tells the fans, “Take your cheers and shove it!” He declares that he will obliterate the entire Cruiserweight division. This brings out Rich Swann, who is immediately told to shut up.
Neville said, “It was me that took you under my wing in Japan. Where’s the gratitude! Where’s the respect to the true King of the Cruiserweights?!” Swann says that Neville can call himself anything he wants, but he can’t call himself champion. This brings out Kendrick, who says that Swann has no respect for the people that paved the way for this division. They proceed to destroy Swann until TJ Perkins comes to save the day! Actually, TJ was destroyed in one shot by Neville.
Oh, wow. I got a bad feeling about this segment. “Sensitivity Training” with Enzo. The other cast members in this are Bob Backlund, Darren Young, Bo Dallas, and Jinder Mahal. Enzo says that he exposed himself because of his partner. The host tries to ask about his partner, and it goes as well as you’d think. This actually gets kinda stupid, because Enzo comes off as an obnoxious geek. You’d think he’d be able to keep his cool in a situation like this, but they booked him like some punk teen who hasn’t been officially diagnosed with ADD yet. It was really, really weird. I have no idea where this is going.
Match #4: Sin Cara vs. Titus O’Neil
They have a 15-second match that immediately ends when BRAUN STROWMAN comes in to clear the ring of the jobber crew. Zero stars. He powerslams Titus and plants Sin Cara onto the mats on the outside. Strowman carries Sin Cara up the ramp, but he’s interrupted by Mick Foley. Braun screams, “I TOLD YOU SAMI ZAYN OR ELSE.” Then, like a real Grinch, he throws Sin Cara into the Christmas Tree (YES!), knocking him unconscious…and then Mr. Grinch destroys a Christmas tree just to drive the point home. So THERE’S our Scrooge. This is supposed to be serious, but it’s just so silly and ridiculous.
Jericho is backstage when Owens tries to calm him down once more. Great comedy here. Jericho declares himself a “Sexy Pinata” hanging in the air. Well, alright then.
Charlotte comes out for a promo. She says to the crowd, “Bow down to your Queen!” She states that she has solidified herself as the greatest superstar that the WWE has ever seen. Charlotte then starts namedropping past women’s wrestlers (including Moolah and Trish) saying that they are nothing compared to her. She flubs up her cheap heat football reference. Good one, Charlotte.
Before the train goes completely off the tracks, Bayley interrupts. Charlotte screams, “Why….ARE YOU INTERRUPTING ME?!” Bayley says she’s here to congratulate Charlotte. Charlotte dismisses her, and says she deserves to be a fan and not a wrestler. Bayley says that Charlotte’s feud with Sasha was over, but their feud is just beginning. Bayley is not exactly a lovable geek here. Charlotte says that Bayley has always been the ass-end of the Four Horsewomen. Bayley then challenges Charlotte to a match right now, and Charlotte accepts!
Match #5: Bayley vs. Charlotte (non-title)
Bayley has a headlock on Charlotte, and gets a shoulder block early on. Charlotte warns her, “It’s gonna take more than that.” She’s great…she really is following Flair’s path. Great sequence leads to Charlotte rolling Bayley around by a headscissors. The crowd cheers on Bayley as she resets. She takes advantage of another headlock, but Charlotte rolls out of it. Bayley catches Charlotte with a back elbow and a knee to the breadbasket. Bayley’s definitely had control early on.
Just as I say that, Charlotte muscles Bayley to the mat for two. Bayley gets some offense going, followed by a flying press for two. Bayley starts strutting and woo-ing! Then she starts doing the “Around the World” spot on Charlotte and…wow. The air just got sucked out of the crowd. After the break, Charlotte has Bayley in another headscissors. Now she’s driving Bayley’s head into the mat using her headscissors. After a 30 minute match? You need to sell more, honey. Charlotte hits a huge chop to the “Woo!” from the crowd. After another two-count, Charlotte is in control but Bayley is trying to fight back. They clothesline each other, and the crowd is pretty darn silent. They trade forearms and then Bayley hits a sloppy Thesz Press. Bayley hits an elbow and a clothesline, and then tries to hit a neckbreaker from the ropes. Her offense isn’t exactly connecting. Running back elbow in the corner by Bayley, but Charlotte counters and knocks Bayley to the ground. Charlotte hits a moonsault for one, two, no! Bayley rolls up Charlotte! One, two, no! Charlotte quickly knocks Bayley down.
Out of nowhere, Bayley catches Charlotte with the backslide for the ONE, TWO, THREE!!! **1/4 Kinda sloppy, but again…just happy to get some wrestling on this show. Controversy is created by Corey Graves, as he declares Charlotte’s shoulder to lift before the three count. He’s right!
We’re back to “Sensitivity Training”. Enzo buries Jinder Mahal and calls him a “Schmuck”. Dude, Enzo vs. Jinder. I’m buying tickets for all of my friends. During the break, these guys somehow graduate training. This leads to Jinder and Rusev cornering Enzo and destroying him before he could give the host his Instagram username. That’s just wrong.
Main Event: Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns vs. Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens
Rollins with a slingblade clothesline for two. Rollins literally stomps Jericho out of the ring. Reigns is tagged in after Rollins hits a suplex. Reigns gets a two after a big elbow, as Jericho makes the tag to Owens. Reigns hits a huge right hand, and Owens tags out to Jericho. Reigns catches Jericho with a clothesline in mid-air. Rollins comes in and Owens saves Jericho before a double team attack can happen.
They head towards the exit, but the former Shield members bring them back into the ring. Reigns tags in Rollins and levels Jericho with a clothesline. Rollins and Reigns hit a double-team move as we go to break. The show returns with a hot tag to Reigns, who catches Owens and Jericho with some clotheslines and rights. He throws Kevin into the barricade and hits the dropkick on Owens. Jericho distracts Reigns and Owens then catches him with a kick for two. Owens screams at Roman, “YOU’RE NOTHING BUT BARK.” Ouch…I’ve heard of people being called a robot before, but Owens just flat out called him a tree. Oh. Wait. Big Dog.
Reigns fights out of a sleeperhold, but Jericho dropkicks Reigns and tags in Owens. Acting like sixth grade buddies, Owens kicks Reigns and asks Jericho, “Did you see how far I kicked him!” Jericho slaps Reigns around, but Reigns turns around with right hands. This guy needs some new offense. Owens and Jericho are hilarious with the trash talk in this match. Reigns fights out of a second sleeperhold with a Samoan Drop. Dueling tags, and Rollins hits the Block Buster on both Jericho and Owens. Rollins hits running forearms, and then an incredible DDT/neckbreaker combo on BOTH guys.
Rollins and Jericho trade counters, and Rollins hits a Ghetto Blaster, sending Jericho to the outside. Suicide dive by Rollins to Owens and Jericho! Owens hit by Reigns with a Superman Punch. Inside the ring, Jericho counters a moonsault and puts Rollins in the Walls of Jericho. Rollins gets to the ropes, and Jericho gets blasted with the Superman Punch by Reigns.
We’re back to another hot tag, but THE GRINCH IS BACK. Braun Strowman comes out and literally throws Reigns from the apron to the ground. I guess the match is over. ** Braun catches Rollins and destroys him with a forearm and a running powerslam. Owens and Jericho throw Reigns into the ring, where Braun destroys him with a powerslam. Owens and Jericho celebrate on the outside as Strowman continues to froth at the mouth. Credits.
Final Thoughts: I think the total time of the matches was around 30 minutes. That’s pretty pitiful for a three-hour show. The skits were seriously hit or miss, though Braun Strowman frothing and throwing grown men through Christmas trees gave me some holiday cheer. Tonight’s show just wasn’t as good as their previous efforts this month.
On December 15, a video was posted online of a young girl with cerebral palsy finding out that she was going to WWE Roadblock on Sunday.
The girl, confined to a wheelchair, screamed with joy when she got the surprise and clapped. The video was shot at a school in Steel Valley and the person filming said that all the kids chipped in money for Jahnelle to attend the WWE pay-per-view. Jahnelle also happened to be a big Sasha Banks fan, and was overwhelmed when she also had a Raw Women’s title replica toy as a present.
It seems that someone from WWE saw the video and Jahnelle and her family were invited backstage at the show to, guess what, meet Sasha Banks! Decked out in Sasha Banks sunglasses, shirt, and the Legit Boss ring set, little Jahnelle could not contain her excitement when Banks came up to give her a hug.
“I saw your video and made me so happy,” Banks tells Jahnelle, before meeting the rest of the family.
Mick Foley, who was supposed to be off WWE television till the January 2 Raw, showed up at the Roadblock pay-per-view yesterday and will indeed be on Raw tonight as well.
ProWrestlingSheet.com, who broke the original story that Foley will be given time off to do his Christmas work, reached out to WWE to get clarification on his appearance.
In a statement, WWE said that Foley was in Pittsburgh for a previously scheduled charitable event and decided to work the show and will work Raw as well but will “then take time off until January 2.”
Zack Ryder underwent successful knee surgery last week in Birmingham, Alabama, however he has a long road ahead before he steps back in the ring.
The former Intercontinental champion wrote on Twitter that the rehab process will take anywhere from four months to nine months, noting it could also be done in six depending on several circumstances.
Ryder injured his knee on last week’s Smackdown when he went for the Rough Ryder, a move he performed thousands of times. He and Mojo Rawley won the match and a shot at the Smackdown Tag Team titles however that title shot will probably not come before sometime late 2017.
Ryder suggested that while he’s out injured, Rawley should team up with his former partner Curt Hawkins.
The WWE’s 30th edition of the yearly event is billed to be one of the most exciting of all time, with multiple stories and paths coming to a collision.
With just two official entrants so far, the event is still wide open, in terms of guessing who might win. However, the bookies seem to already have some strong opinions on how this rumble might go down.
WWE legend John Cena is the joint-third favorite to win the 30-man Royal Rumble on his wrestling return, following a hugely popular Saturday Night Live outing and some time out of the sport.
The Cenation Leader is a bolstered 5/1 to take down the rest of the ring entrants, a price he shares with old favorite Chris Jericho.
Fresh from a stint on SNL, the 15-time champion could now have his sights set on the WWE Championship.
Cena will be making his full debut on December 27th’s Smackdown event, having last been seen in a No Mercy Triple Threat match against AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose.
As if by fate, this WWE return comes just a month before the January Royal Rumble event that officially kicks off the Road to WrestleMania.
The event will be of great importance to Cena, who will be eager to match Ric Flair’s 16-title wins.
So far, fan favorites Brock Lesnar and Goldberg are the only official entrants to the 30-man event. However, with over six weeks still to go, Cena seems a very likely addition to the bill.
Having defeated the mountainous Lesnar in under two minutes, Goldberg was asked to compete in the Royal Rumble event by Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon. Having accepted, Lesnar was quick to also throw his name into the ring, telling sources he had “something to prove”.
Goldberg, whose swift disposal of The Anomaly appears to have impressed fans across the world, is the current favorite to dispatch competition, at just 2/1 on Ladbrokes. His display, which stunned audiences, turned out to be quite the crowd-pleaser.
The highly-touted Brit became the first ever wrestler in professional history to become a title champ on his pay-per-view debut.
Although he was originally touted to be out for 5 months, after picking up a shoulder injury in that very title match, the rumour mill now suggests he could be ready to return to the ring early.
Fortunately for fans, he’s now the second favorite to win, behind Goldberg, at 7/4 with a Ladbrokes bet, suggesting he could well make an appearance on the night.
The path could be clear for the Irishman, after Raw made it clear they were willing to make a big deal of the young superstar. Now, it looks entirely possible that he could go on to defeat Goldberg, Cena, and the others, to take the Royal Rumble 2017 crown.
Here are the results from last night’s Roadblock: End of the Line pay-per-view which took place from the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Rusev defeated Big Cass via countout in the Kickoff match; Cesaro and Sheamus defeated The New Day to become the new WWE Raw Tag Team champions; Sami Zayn defeated Braun Strowman by lasting the 10-minute time limit; Seth Rollins defeated Chris Jericho; Rich Swann defeated TJ Perkins and The Brian Kendrick in a triple threat match to retain the Cruiserweight title; Charlotte Flair defeated Sasha Banks with 3 falls to 2 in a 30-minute Iron Man match to become the new WWE Raw Women’s champion; Kevin Owens defeated Roman Reigns via DQ in the WWE Universal title match.
After three weeks in first place on the box office chart, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s movie Moana slipped to second to an expected newcomer, Rogue One.
Disney’s Moana is expected to bring in over $11.6 million this weekend according to Box Office Mojo, sending its domestic total to $161,858,745. Moana has done $118,400,000 in foreign box office revenue, for a worldwide total of $280.2 million.
His next movie is going to be another monster, The Fate of the Furious in April and just a month later, Baywatch, gets released nationwide.
Roman Reigns is currently the favorite to win – and not necessarily the Universal title – tonight as of this writing, with odds at 2/5 while the current champ, Kevin Owens, is at 7/4. Owens has been champion since the day after SummerSlam after Finn Balor has to surrender the title due to a shoulder injury 24 hours after he won it.
The Raw Women’s title will be defended in a 30-minute Iron Man match and the ladies have swapped the title several times since their program started in July. Tonight, Sasha Banks is the favorite at 2/7 to retain while Charlotte is at 5/2 to win the title for a 4th time.
The Raw Tag Team titles are also in danger of a change of hands as bookies have Cesaro and Sheamus the favorites at 4/9 while The New Day are at 13/8 to continue the longest WWE Tag Team title reign in history.
In the last title match, Rich Swann and his Cruiserweight title seem to be safe with 1/4 odds on the champ while TJ Perkins and The Brian Kendrick are both at a distant 11/2 odds for the upset.
The other two remaining matches have Seth Rollins as the favorite at 1/4 over Jericho who is at 11/4 and Rusev at 4/11 to win against Big Cass at 2/1.
These odds will most likely change once the smart money start rolling in as the PPV gets closer to start time.
Former WWE Universal champion Finn Balor made a surprise appearance at an Over The Top Wrestling indie show in Ireland yesterday and received a massive pop when his music kicked in after a minute or so of teasing on a video screen.
The Irish crowd chanted “holy shit” and “welcome home” to the injured star who in return said that there’s nothing better than coming back home to Ireland. The appearance was made possible because Balor was in the area for the announcement of the United Kingdom Championship tournament and WWE will be using some of the stars from OTT in the tournament as well.
Last month, Balor showed up at the ICW event in Glasgow, Scotland, replacing Mick Foley who was tied up with the Survivor Series.
You can see the video and speech that Balor delivered in the ring below.
Live tonight from the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, WWE presents the last pay-per-view of 2016, Roadblock: End of the Line. The card is as follows:
Kevin Owens vs Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal title; Sasha Banks vs Charlotte in a 30-minute Iron Man match for the Raw Women’s title; The New Day vs Cesaro and Sheamus for the Raw Tag Team titles; Rich Swann vs TJ Perkins vs The Brian Kendrick in a triple threat match for the Cruiserweight title; Chris Jericho vs Seth Rollins; Sami Zayn vs Braun Strowman in a 10-minute time limit match; and Big Cass vs Rusev as the Kickoff match.
Roadblock: End of the Line will air on the WWE Network. First-time subscribers can watch the show for free by subscribing for a 30-day trial at http://w-o.it/wwentwrk.
This week on Total Divas, one Diva experienced more drama than all the rest.
Maryse, wife of WWE Superstar The Miz was shocked to hear of the burglar who entered her home while she and the Miz were miles away taping an episode of SmackDown Live. Maryse’s mother who lives with the couple was frightened by the appearance of the burglar as she sat watching television. However, she was not as frightened as Maryse who feared that a similar attack would occur while the Miz was away filming his most recent movie.
Maryse decided that the best solution was to purchase a gun. However, her husband did not agree. At first, Maryse tried other methods of protecting herself. She invited her friend, WWE’s superstar, Eva Marie over to spend the evening and night with her on the first night that The Miz was away. Eva Marie thought that she would bring some levity to the situation by creating homemade booby-traps to deter would-be burglars from entering Maryse’s home.
Some of her brilliant ideas included, placing marbles on the stairs so that burglars would trip on their way up, and putting bungee cords on the door knobs to make them more difficult to open. The downside to this plan, however, was that the women could not exit the house themselves, and almost tripped over the marbles on their way up to bed. Eva Marie’s next plan proved to be more constructive.
Eva Marie suggested that Maryse take a trip to a shooting range in order to learn about various firearms and how to use them. Eva did this in spite of having knowledge that The Miz didn’t want Maryse to use or own a gun. It turned out that Maryse was quite adept at using the gun managing to place a bullet directly in the head of a target.
The next hurdle that she had to face was bigger than the first it seemed. She had to inform her husband that not only had she gone to the shooting range, but she had purchased the gun even though he had told her that he did not like the idea of her carrying one. It seems as though Maryse has not learned her lesson about making important purchases without consulting her husband. Perhaps she is operating under the theory that it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission.
This situation turned out well for Maryse because when she informed The Miz that she had purchased the gun; he informed her that he had decided that he was going to get her a gun anyway. I still think that she was playing with fire by doing something that knew her husband was so strongly against. Hopefully she won’t make any more rash decisions this season. Meanwhile, another diva was getting used two making decisions in a whole new city.
Renée Young, WWE interviewer, and girlfriend of WWE Superstar Dean Ambrose, has officially decided to make her home with her boyfriend in Vegas. So, like any good Diva, Renée began the task of turning Dean’s bachelor pad into a cozy home for two, and once her decorating was done it was time to throw party.
The only problem was that Renée had been too busy to make a ton of new girlfriends in her new city. So, if you don’t have new girlfriends invite the old ones up to your place for a nice weekend away with their fellows. Renée’s plan seemed simple enough when she invited WWE Superstar Brie Bella and her husband Daniel Bryan up for the weekend, however, Renée should’ve known that wherever Brie goes her sister Nikki is sure to follow even if she hasn’t been invited.
Apparently, Brie decided that with Nikki’s boyfriend, John Cena, away filming his new project, American Grit, it was cruel to leave her sister alone in Tampa. While this thought was nice, I’m surprised that it didn’t occur to Brie to consult the person hosting them, namely Renée Young before inviting her sister to stay for the weekend.
As it turns out, Renée didn’t mind Nicole staying, but she wasn’t quite prepared for Nicole’s staying as she had been for Brie and Daniel’s. Brie’s oversight caused Renée to feel as though she had to rush around preparing for Nicole’s arrival the same way that she had prepared for the others. Here’s a little etiquette tip for Brie, the next time you’re a guest at someone else’s house it’s probably best not to invite your own guests.
All of Renée’s rushing around caused Nikki to feel extremely uncomfortable, further Brie didn’t allow Renée the opportunity to plan activities for all the guests to enjoy while they were in Vegas. She planned to take Brie and Daniel for rides on ATVs, however Nikki was unable to ride the ATVs due to her recent neck injury, and was left sitting alone while the others had fun. Because of her extreme discomfort, Nikki ended up leaving Renée and Dean’s house for a hotel room, which made Renée sad.
However, all was not lost, because the girls ended up having a great day by the pool at Nikki’s hotel. Another Diva was planning for a much larger event than a house party this week.
WWE superstar Lana was excitedly planning her Malibu wedding to her fiancé, WWE Superstar Rusev, however, there was just one problem, Rusev’s mother. Because Rusev is Bulgarian, his mother wanted him to have a traditional Bulgarian wedding in his homeland so that all of his relatives could attend.
However, Lana had always dreamed of a wedding on the beach. So, this created a lot of tension between the two ladies in Rusev’s life. Rusev complained that Americans have no wedding traditions, but Lana accused him of not respecting one American tradition that was important to her. Lana had always wanted Rusev to ask her father’s permission to have her hand in marriage, however, he had found this tradition to be silly and old-fashioned. However, when faced with having his own Bulgarian traditions ignored by Lana Rusev decided to compromise and ask her father very late for her hand in marriage. Once he had made this compromise, Lana agreed to have two weddings one in Bulgaria, and one in Malibu which will be televised on the season finale of Total Diva’s.
TNA will be without a television deal in the United Kingdom starting next month as their partnership with Challenge TV wraps up in the beginning of January.
Despite Dixie Carter saying that they will have a new partner, the partner is still a ghost as of this writing, leaving UK fans without an outlet to watch Impact. To come up with a solution, TNA will be releasing a mobile app starting January 5 exclusively for the UK market that will allow fans in the region to watch Impact…at a cost of £1.99 per month. That is the equivalent of $2.50.
The app, which will be only available for iOS and Android devices on launch day, will screen Impact Wrestling episodes in real time with the US broadcast. The same app will also let UK viewers to watch TNA’s Greatest Matches, TNA Classics, and TNA British Boot Camp.
John Pollock from Live Audio Wrestling adds that there are plans to convert the app to streaming devices such as the Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku. The name of the app will be Total Access TNA Impact.
