Charlotte Flair made her surprise return on Smackdown last night and won the Smackdown Women’s title in an impromptu match against Ronda Rousey.
Flair has not been seen on WWE television since Backlash in May when she lost the title to Rousey. During that match, Rousey “broke” Flair’s arm and tapped out, writing her off WWE television. The reality was that Charlotte was going to get married and was going to be out for six months.
Charlotte’s return came after Rousey defeated Raquel Rodriguez to retain her title. As Rousey was addressing the crowd, Flair’s theme song hit the speakers to a huge ovation from the crowd.
“Yes! The queen is back,” screamed Michael Cole on commentary.
Flair, ready in wrestling gear, entered the ring and Rousey made fun of her, asking her if she wants a title shot at SummerSlam, or even at the Royal Rumble since that’s sooner.
“It depends how your elbow’s feeling. How you feeling, queenie?” Rousey sarcastically asked her.
Charlotte said she’s challenging her tonight as fans started a “Yes!” chant. Baszler tried to talk Ronda out of it but Rousey didn’t care.
Flair immediately hit Rousey with a kick and had a close two-count. She followed by a spear but Ronda countered with an armor and Flair turned it into a pinfall, successfully covering her for the three-count.
Fans inside the Amalie Arena went crazy as the new 14-time champion celebrated with them.
“Holy hell,” said Michael Cole. “What the hell did we just witness?” continued Wade Barrett.
Last Week’s Rating: 566,000 overall; 0.18 in 18-49 demo
That’s the best 18-49 since April. These ratings at the moment are weird, so up and down.
It’s Friday Night, and you know what that means… it’s time for our Rampage Review!
…..
Show started on a sad note, with a tribute to Don West. R.I.P.
Orange Cassidy vs Trent, All-Atlantic Title
Backstory: Kip eliminated Cassidy again in last week’s battle royal but then Trent eliminated Kip so…
Straight to the ring, no entrances, the two shook hands for an hour. The comedy title’s definitely on the line.
Kip Sabian had joined on comms. Paul Wight was filling in for JR.
The start of the match saw both guys highlighting the fact that they knew each other’s moves. Trent blocking the pockets; Cassidy wary of Trent’s strength. Amid mutual friendship and respect.
Trent missed a suicide dive, landing in Chuck’s arms (he and Danhausen were at ringside) for a hug.
But as it progressed, the pair got more and more violent, breaking down into a slugfest on the outside, Cassidy suckering Trent into diving right into the barricade at ringside.
Back from the first break, they were exchanging punches in the middle, then Cassidy launched deliberately weak paws/slaps until breaking back into a fistfight. A thrust kick caught Trent, who responded with a stiff lariat, then countered stundog millionaire into a half & half; Cassidy popped up to catch him in a Michinoku driver.
First really good sequence of the match.
Cassidy thought about the Punch but didn’t want to do it to his friend, setup Beach Break, the pair rolled through some counters until Trent got 2 with a roll up.
Orange hit a swinging ddt after countering Trent’s, following up with a diving one off the top for 2.9. Orange Punch countered but Cassidy countered back into a crucifix for two. Then went for a tejeiras, Trent planted him with a twisting tombstone. Things picking up.
Trent deadlifted Cassidy up into a piledriver for another close call which is when Penelope Ford distracted him: Beach Break, very close kickout, Orange Punch for the win.
Sabian cackled on comms. Tbf, if I were married to Penelope, I’d be randomly giddy all the time too. He then danced right past Orange, who didn’t hit him for some reason.
There was at least a story here, albeit with far too much comedy. There was enough good action to suggest this could’ve been very good if given more time and less haha.
Other than giving Cassidy something to do, this belt is worthless – the closest thing to 24/7 left in the business. And putting it on Rampage every week sends totally the wrong message about the show.
WINNER: Orange Cassidy
Backstage, Tony Schiavone with Darby and Sting after Dynamite. To announce the former’s TNT title shot in his hometown next Wednesday.
After Highschool – Darby had listened to people who told him not to wrestle, and he was dying inside, but when he started listening to himself, he did what none of them thought he could.
And now no-one believes that he can beat Joe next week.
He then aggressively questioned whether Sting believed in him. The veteran didn’t want to say ‘no’ because he didn’t want to doubt Darby, but couldn’t say ‘yes’ because then Darby would ‘lose the chip on your shoulder, and Joe’s a killer. Stop worrying about what others think and just do it’.
Good, fiery segment, assuming this isn’t another in the endless list of teams who don’t like each other.
Kip Sabian vs Atiba
Backstory: None
You might have been mistaken for thinking the crowd had left during this match. Kip won quickly after putting on Cassidy’s elbow pad and parodying him.
WINNER: Kip Sabian
Preston Vance with Lexi. He’s now going to be Perro Peligroso. He made a blonde joke, talked about how handsome and good at talking he is. Then rhetorically asked if he had any remorse. If he’d known he could’ve ditched the DO and his mask this easily, he’d have done what he did three years ago. Then made a swear! This dude’s face is stone when he talks.
……
In-ring with Moxley and Schiavone. For the past few years ‘two men stood above the rest and beat everybody else there was to beat: Jon Moxley and the Cowboy Hangman Adam Page.’ A showdown was inevitable and when it happened he proved he’s the real top guy, the Ace.
While Hangman woke in the hospital, he slept like a baby. Because the BCC work harder, prepare harder than everybody else. So when they get in the ring, they don’t care about hurting other people. It’s a tough business and this is the major leagues.
‘January 11th, if you wannit? I’ll be there waitin for ya. This is a tough business so if you make it I’m gonna remind everybody just how tough this business can be. Hangman, keep your hands up bitch’.
(Good promo, again verging on heel. And it’s nice that at least one star in the company isn’t obsessed with/wants to leave for WWE.)
……
Jarrett and co. promo for their upcoming title match with the Acclaimed on Wednesday. Lethal and Dutt shouted like it was 1985. Jarrett at least cut a good promo, even if I’d rather dine on diarrhea than watch the match. He said he’s made plenty of mistakes in his career but none as big as the Acclaimed made on Wednesday.
(If they knew these two title matches were coming – which they surely did – why not announce them on Dynamite which twice as many people watch?)
Jade Cargill vs Kiera Hogan, TBS Title
Backstory: Hogan was kicked out of the Baddies by Jade, and her team lost to Jade & co. the week after, so she’s quite the challenger
Hogan countered a delayed suplex into a cradle for a one count, then was planted via chokeslam.
Ads.
Hogan was being choked atop the ropes as we returned, leapt off, was caught but slipped out, had to stand still and wait because Jade mistimed the pump kick, which she then barely hit as Kiera bailed outside.
Where Red Velvet stopped Jade from slapping Hogan but the two didn’t even exchange words afterward.
Back inside, Hogan countered Jaded, hit a hip attack, drilled Jade with a couple kicks to the face, baseball slide in the corner, came off the top with a cross body for two.
Then tried a suplex which of course she had no chance of executing; Jade turned it into Jaded and pinned her with one arm while counting the pin.
Velvet then left without the others.
Happy to be wrong but does anyone out there think Velvet’s ending the streak?
WINNER: Jade Cargill
Jamie Hayter promo: last week she and Shida beat the ‘piss’ out of each other. At LA Forum, she doesn’t care who Saraya brings. ‘Hayter. Hits. Hard’.
(They really need to ram home the mystery partner next Wednesday. And again, if it isn’t Sasha, they should make that clear, even if it means announcing the partner ahead of time.)
…..
Mark Sterling, on behalf of MJF, and via Tony Nese who interrupted, challenged Bryan Danielson to a match on Wednesday. If that goes more than five minutes…
…..
Mox cut the pre-match promo on Yuta’s behalf, saying they’ve programmed him to be relentless. While acknowledging that Killshot (Swerve’s persona in Lucha Underground) was his favorite wrestler for years.
Strickland said he wants to get ‘dirty, gritty, violent like y’all do’. Next year, Mogul Affiliates will prove they’re the most violent. Yuta fired back, Swerve said ‘say less’, which seems to be his new sign-off.
He’s such a good talker with so much charisma. How could they weigh him down with these tattooed anchors?
Still no update on Keith Lee, who was only mentioned in passing vis-à-vis the cinderblock. In the same way Simone Johnson might be mentioned because of her dad.
Wheeler Yuta vs Swerve Strickland
Backstory: Yuta grew tired of Swerve badmouthing Keith Lee, who wasn’t there to defend himself
Yuta came unaccompanied, which suggests bravery but could easily turn to stupidity. Which Paul Wight basically said on comms.
Should be a good one.
(Excalibur talked about win/loss records resetting so maybe they’re bringing them back in 2023?)
A cagey start saw both looking for wrist control, neither able to get it, returning to their respective corners as the crowd chanted for Yuta. Swerve began to target the legs, Yuta kicked him away, hit a bodyslam and a senton, couldn’t even buy a one with the first pin of the match.
(Liking the fact that there’ve been covers which aren’t 2 or 3 tonight.)
Yuta then locked in a single-leg crab after countering a Strickland suplex, into a bow and arrow stretch until Strickland slipped out to buy a quick count of one. Before heading to the apron; Yuta ready for the springboard, countering with a dropkick to drive Swerve outside, following up with a suicide dive.
Then stupidly allowed himself to be distracted by the nondescript white boys with tats. Swerve took advantage to bring the break.
Nice start.
A back body drop brought Wheeler a breather before he bagged a two with a roll-up. Before heading to the top – his leg apparently injured during the break – then flying for a diving elbow strike and a German suplex for a close count.
Strickland hit a discus elbow, kicked at the injured leg, then struck with a brainbuster for two of his own. Weak shots to the chest led to a standing switch, Yuta countered the JML Driver, Swerve countered back to bag a two via the trunks, Yuta swung back in through the ropes to hit an Angle Slam for two.
The clear underdog, Wheeler was now basically on one leg.
After the knee buckled, Strickland hits shots in the corner, dropkick to the knee, to the top, Yuta caught him with an enziguri, raked the back a la Mox then hit a superplex before psyching himself up.
Before launching h&a elbows, seeking the Seatbelt, Swerve slipped out, hit his leaping kick to the face, setup the JML Driver, the ref got taken out, low blow, JML Driver, one, two, three.
The only outcome which made sense and honestly Strickland winning by himself is hugely preferable to putting the spotlight on his backup dancers.
Good but not great. Perhaps had unreasonable expectations.
WINNER: Swerve Strickland
…..
Next Dynamite:
Darby Allin vs Samoa Joe, TNT Title
The Acclaimed vs Jarrett & Jay Lethal, Tag Titles
Chris Jericho vs Ricky Starks
MJF is contractually obligated to appear
Bryan Danielson vs Tony Nese
Jade Cargill & Red Velvet vs Kiera Hogan and Skye Blue
Update on Hangman
Attempt to learn more about Saraya’s mystery partner
Next Rampage:
Battle of the Belts straight after: Kip Sabian vs Orange Cassidy, All-Atlantic Title (no thanks)
Perro Peligroso’s first match
Jan 11th Dynamite:
Jamie Hayter & Britt Baker vs Saraya and ???
Death Triangle vs the Elite, Match 7 of 7 for the Trios Titles
…..
Overall impressions
This was fine. I’m susceptible to any show highlighting Strickland – he’s completely unique. They also did a good job – much better than Wednesday – of pushing the next two Dynamites.
The entire middle of the show – sans Moxley’s promo – was a complete waste of everything.
Former TNA commentator Don West passed away at age 59 after a battle with cancer. The announcement was made by his long-time friend and former colleague Mike Tenay.
“Just heard from wife Terri that our brother will be spending New Years in heaven,” Tenay wrote. “Terri said D-Dub finally had to tap out from his match with lymphoma. We bonded as soon as we met, both as broadcast partners and friends. Years of great moments both on and off camera.”
West has been battling brain lymphoma since June 2021 and although he initially went into remission, the good news only lasted a few months as his cancer returned in December.
West spent 10 years doing commentary for TNA Wrestling between 2002 and 2012 and was recently working for a radio station in Washington state.
His former employer, Impact Wrestling, issued a statement following the news of his passing.
“IMPACT Wrestling is heartbroken to learn of the passing of Don West, one of the defining voices of our 20 year history. Don’s enthusiasm and passion elevated every second he called and uplifted the spirits of everybody he crossed paths with. He will be dearly missed,” the statement read.
French-Canadian television broadcaster RDS announced on Facebook that they will not be renewing their broadcast deal with AEW for 2023 due to budget constraints.
This week’s episode of Dynamite was the channel’s last broadcast of AEW television on RDS, ending a short-lived partnership which started in August of this year. RDS did have an option year for 2023 which they decided not to pick up.
“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for joining us tonight and the past few weeks. Sadly, Dynamite tonight was our last broadcast of AEW in French on RDS. Due to budget constraints, we unfortunately won’t be back in 2023.”
The channel is available in around 2.5 million homes and had viewers mostly from Quebec.
2022 was a very successful year for All Elite Wrestling’s pay-per-view business, with sold out crowds at the five shows held.
AEW held one more pay-per-view than 2021, with AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door added to the calendar schedule. The Forbidden Door show seems like it will be a yearly tradition now and considering it was a major success, it would make sense for AEW and New Japan Pro-Wrestling to keep teaming up.
Revolution in March started with 8,359 fans in attendance and that was followed by Double or Nothing in Las Vegas where 14,459 packed the T-Mobile Arena. Forbidden Door was the most-attended AEW PPV of the year with 16,529 at the United Center in Chicago. All Out returned to the Chicago area in Hoffman Estates with 10,014 fans in attendance and Full Gear finished 2022 in Newark with 12,106 fans.
The last Smackdown of 2022 will be a big one as WWE is closing out the year in style with John Cena’s return to the ring.
Cena will be teaming up with Kevin Owens to take on the Undisputed WWE Universal champion Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn in a tag team match. This will be Cena’s first match for 2022, keeping his 20-year record of wrestling at least once every year in his WWE career.
Two other big matches have been announced for this end-of-year broadcast with Sheamus taking on Solo Sikoa and Ronda Rousey defends her Smackdown Women’s title against Raquel Rodriguez.
The New Year’s Smash episode of Dynamite drew 876,000 viewers on Wednesday, down 81,000 viewers from the previous week. Dynamite had competition from football on ESPN and FOX which left a dent in the numbers. The show did a 0.28 in the 18-49 demo, down 0.02 from last week and placed #5 in the cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Speaking to The Ringer, AEW star Sting said that he already knows how his retirement will be and it will also involve Darby Allin.
Shooting down a singles match as his final one, Sting said that Allin would be “part of it for sure” as he doesn’t see himself doing a singles match at this point in his career.
“Darby will be along with me and I’ll be along with him and we can add more to it as far as I’m concerned,” Sting said, adding that he has a few opponents under consideration but he doesn’t really want to say anything now.
“I want them to just be left with a memory that they’ll never forget, a good positive memory. I want fans to be thoroughly entertained and just having a good time and reminiscing with me,” he continued. “As history begins to come to an end, as the last wave comes into shore, I want to ride it with all those who want to come on with me. Absolutely.”
Sting will be turning 64 in March but he didn’t specifically mention when he is deciding to hang up his boots once and for all.
WWE had a very healthy attendance for its premium live events in 2022 although they cannot be compared to 2021 as the company was still observing COVID protocols last year and only returned to full touring in July.
WWE had 12 premium live events throughout 2022, three of which took place overseas. There was no PLE for the main roster during the month of December.
NXT had five PLEs, with Stand & Deliver, In Your House, Worlds Collide, Halloween Havoc, and Deadline. Apart from Stand & Deliver which was held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, the remaining four took place at the WWE Performance Center.
Approximately 448,000 fans attended all the 12 WWE premium live events this year. These attendance figures are the ones quoted by WWE.
The most-attended show was obviously WrestleMania 38 at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. Night one had 77,899 and night two had 78,453 as an announced attendance although those were a bit inflated as always.
Clash at the Castle in Cardiff, Wales was next with 62,296 in attendance. This was the first WWE PLE in the United Kingdom in 30 years.
SummerSlam in Nashville at the Nissan Stadium had 48,449 fans while the Royal Rumble in St Louis had another 44,390.
The two shows in Saudi Arabia – Elimination Chamber and Crown Jewel – had 33,328 and approximately 25,000 respectively, although WWE doesn’t get paid based on ticket sales for those shows and get a flat fee of $50 million per show.
The remaining six PLEs which took place inside the smaller arenas all sold out. Day 1 in Atlanta was at 13,657, Backlash in Providence was at 8,050, Hell In A Cell in Rosemont did 12,834, Money In The Bank in Las Vegas was 12,076, Extreme Rules in Philadelphia did 15,944, and the Survivor Series in Boston wrapped up the year with 15,609.
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A mixed six-person tag match featuring The OC vs The Judgment Day was cut short after AJ Styles suffered a leg injury and the referee stopped the match.
The match, which took place at the non-televised live event in Hershey, Pennsylvania, saw Styles teaming with Karl Anderson and Mia Yim versus Finn Balor, Damian Priest, and Rhea Ripley, but Styles landed bad on his leg after diving over the top rope and on to the floor outside. Fan witness reports state that Styles immediately grabbed his leg and the referee then held up the X hand sign to notify the people at the back that there was a legit injury.
After he was checked out at ringside, Styles was helped to the back by Anderson and the referee. WWE has not addressed the potential injury yet.
Brian Myers has signed an extension deal with Impact Wrestling which will see him stay with the company till the end of 2023. The news was originally reported by Sports Illustrated.
“This was an easy decision for me,” Myers told SI. “It’s a place where my talent is going to get the most opportunity. That’s what is important to me.”
Myers has been with Impact since July 2020 and was one of the many talent who were fired by WWE during the pandemic. The man formerly known as Curt Hawkins worked for WWE between 2016 and 2020.
Myers said that his goal is to become the Impact World champion and said he believes this is his time.
He is currently teaming with Matt Cardona as The Major Players in Impact but Cardona is rumored to be on his way back to WWE as well.
Going against ESPN’s College Football Bowl game, NXT had a massive drop in viewership with this week’s episode doing just 588,000 viewers, down 117,000 viewers from the prior week. The show did a 0.12 rating in the 18-49 demo, down 0.02 from last week and placed #25 on the chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
As expected, the best of seven series between Death Triangle and The Elite will go down to match seven after The Elite tied the series 3-3 yesterday on Dynamite.
The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega beat Fenix, Penta, and PAC in a falls count anywhere match last night with Omega hitting the One Winged Angel on Fenix off the stage and through a set of tables to get the pinfall victory.
The Elite needed the win to tie it or else Death Triangle would have retained the AEW World Trios titles. It now goes to match seven which will take place at the January 11 Dynamite at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
Match seven will be a ladder match and will probably be just as insane, if not more insane, than the previous six matches between these two sets of teams. The winner of match seven will be declared the AEW World Trios champions.
The Absolute Best of 2022 episode of Raw drew an average of 1,074,000 viewers, down 631,000 from last week’s show. This was the only Raw of the year which was just a clip show. NFL on ESPN dominated the night with 11 million viewers.
Hour one started with 1,331,000 viewers, then dropped to 1,041,000 viewers in the second hour, before finishing the night with just 852,000 viewers. The drop was highly expected since this was not an ordinary Raw episode and just a review of the year highlighting the best moments.
Raw did 0.34, 0.25, and 0.22 in the 18-49 demo and finished #7, #10, and #11 in the top 50 cable chart for the night. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
WWE referee Jessika Carr got in on some action last night at the non-televised live event in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The main event of the show saw a six-man tag team match featuring Braun Strowman, Ricochet, and Kevin Owens, taking on The Usos and Sami Zayn. After the original referee took a bump, Carr came down to continue officiating and Sami Zayn kept pointing his finger at her…until she had enough.
Carr looked like she was calming down and walking away from the argument with Zayn but then turned around and hit a picture-perfect Stunner which was followed by another Stunner by Owens and then a three-count.
“#WWEGreensboro you were so special. Thank you,” she tweeted after the show.
Quién nos iba a decir que veríamos, en WWE, un stunner de una árbitra a un luchador. Jessika Carr con Sami Zayn. Maravilloso. pic.twitter.com/N0oB03AS8P
WWE has signed 27-year-old Mexican pro wrestler Dragon Lee who will report to NXT starting in January 2023.
The announcement was made by Lee himself last night at the AAA Noche de Campeones show after he and his brother Dralistico beat FTR to win the AAA Tag Team titles. As a result of his signing with WWE, the two immediately vacated the titles.
“An unbelievable athlete who has collected accolades and held championships across the globe… and he’s just getting started,” Triple H wrote. “The next chapter of @dragonlee95’s career begins with @WWENXT!”
Lee had one appearance for AEW, teaming with Andrade El Idolo and his brother Rush in the first round match of the AEW World Trios title tournament against The Elite. Lee, who was pinned in that match, was then attacked by his team mates and had his mask ripped.
The Mexican star has also wrestled for CMLL, Ring of Honor, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
FTR, the team of Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood, lost their AAA Tag Team titles last night at the Noche de Campeones event, dropping them to the team of Dralistico and Dragon Lee.
In an interesting turn of events, Lee then announced that he signed with WWE and the titles were declared vacant.
The loss brings to a close FTR’s title reign which lasted a total of 438 days. They originally won the titles from Lucas Bros on Dynamite in October 2021.
FTR also lost their ROH Tag Team titles a few weeks ago at the ROH pay-per-view to the Briscoe Brothers and now remain in possession of the IWGP Tag Team titles, titles which they will defend at the upcoming Wrestle Kingdom 17 pay-per-view against Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi.
Last Week’s Rating: 957,000 overall; 0.30 in 18-49 demo
Hope everybody did and is – the holidays don’t end on Boxing Day – enjoying themselves.
It’s Wednesday night, it’s Dynamite. Let’s go.
…..
Ethan Page vs Bryan Danielson
Backstory: Page interrupted Danielson last week, accusing him of queue jumping as regards MJF
Dasha’s handling ring announcing tonight. Stokely’s rocking a cap after Danielson made fun of his bald head last week. Appreciate stuff like that, nice little character quirks.
MJF’s music hit before the match started, distracting Danielson and allowing Page to strike from behind. Max was up in the crowd with ‘the only hot girl in Colorado’.
Side headlock from Page, he ran through Danielson with a shoulder then dropped him via bodyslam. ‘Let’s go Bryan’ started as Danielson mounted his comeback – the flip off the buckle etc, then hurled chops with Page in the corner. A single reply from Page dropped BD to his knees.
Fighting back, Danielson threw more chops, kicks in the corner, kitchen sink to the gut, Page crumpled backwards before being dragged center as the vet targeted the legs, looking for the Romero Special but settling for dropping his weight on the knees then stomping the achilles.
Page responded with a back elbow then shots to the face out of the mount. Another bodyslam, Danielson down in the middle, hauled upstairs, where he countered a superplex with headbutts then soared to hit a shotgun dropkick. The crowd roared their approval.
They, like the match, have started well.
Hathaway hopped onto the apron and had his cap snatched. Danielson launched a suicide dive but was distracted again by Stokely, allowing Page to hit a pumpkick, bringing the break.
Still down after a very short break, Danielson slipped behind to launch a German, leaving both guys down as the ref began his count. Both up on four, the two exchanged heavy shots in the middle; Danielson caught Page with a drop toehold running in. Then back to chops and kicks in the corner.
Taking Page up top, Danielson hit a hurracanrana then sized him up for Yes! kicks. Page tried to respond but was low-bridged and hit with a dropkick. BD then missed with diving knees off the apron. Page deadlifted Danielson up off the floor into a powerslam, scarily easily.
Back inside, a cutter off the bottom rope bought Page two with the first pin of the match, a good fifteen minutes in.
Danielson grabbed the wrists, Page desperately kicked his way free, hoisting Danielson up until the vet reversed into a swinging ddt, got a count of two, straight into the LeBell Lock, Page scraping the ropes with his foot to bag the break.
After a counter, Page was readying an avalanche Ego’s Edge, Danielson fought him off with h&a elbows, Page managed to hit an avalanche powerslam anyway for another two count.
Ego’s Edge at the ready, up in the crucifix, Danielson slipped out, busaiku knee, wrist control, KYHI stomps, into a crossface from which Page seemingly passed out rather than tapped out.
Immediately we cut to MJF who exhibited a mix of fear and ‘I’m not worried’ cockiness.
(This was an excellent opener. Though I find MJF less and less interesting with each week that passes. A lot of the same stuff. And a feud which did not exactly begin with a bang.)
WINNER: Bryan Danielson
Samoa Joe video promo – he’s a hunter who studies his prey, so he knows exactly who he’s up against.
Cut to Renee with Wardlow. Who said there’ve been too many words, tonight we need actions. At which point Joe burst in to attack the knee with a lead pipe, screaming that if Wardlow wanted action, he’d got it.
……
Backstage, the doc was checking on Hangman Page, he snapped at Renee that she of all people would want an update, then apologized. Before announcing that he still didn’t know when he’d be ready. At the mention of Moxley’s match coming up next, Page had to be restrained. The doc said he’d potentially be ready in two weeks, i.e. Jan 11th. But if Hangman kept going after Mox, he might never be able to return.
(Do appreciate the line they walk with Renee: acknowledging that she’s married to Mox without having his opponents try to target her for cheap heat.)
Top Flight vs Claudio Castagnoli & Jon Moxley
Backstory: Mox destroyed Darius last Wednesday; TF responded by ditching Claudio to win the Battle Royal on Rampage
Hell of a reaction for the BCC boys. Very enthusiastic crowd thus far. I’ll allow them to come back here.
Schiavone basically said the Wardlow/Joe match was still going ahead, and it’d main event.
The BCC weren’t waiting, attacking the youngsters before they’d finished their entrance, Moxley launching himself through the ropes. Before bringing Darius back inside to begin things then immediately tagging in Claudio. More quick tags cornered the youngster on the wrong side of the ring. He hadn’t even removed his jacket as Mox bagged a one count after a sliding clothesline. After a fallaway slam, Claudio rectified the dress situation.
More quick tags from the excessively aggressive vets, Mox being roared on by the crowd as he choked Darius in the corner with his boot, then raked the back before setting up a superplex.
Darius fought it off then launched a dropkick, allowing the tag to Dante who came in via springboard, dropped Claudio with an enziguri then bagged barely-two on Mox after a standing moonsault.
After a brief slugfest, the youngster was dropped via belly-to-back, hit with h&a elbows until Darius snuck in to hit a chopblock as the ads arrived.
Very sensibly, Darius was still working on the knee upon our return. The announcers again brought up Wardlow’s injury ahead of tonight’s match.
Moxley blocked a suplex then dropped Darius out of one before bagging a tag. Dante came in too and was beaten corner-to-corner, Claudio legit flinging him across the ring at least eight times, striking with a running elbow after each. A two count his reward.
Attempting to interrupt, Darius was on the receiving end of a Giant Swing, Dante jumping rope to interrupt then hitting a senton to bag two on Castagnoli. Who countered a double suplex to drop both.
A lightning double team flurry saw Moxley just break the count before three, still struggling to move on his injured knee.
A double thust kick took Mox out: Claudio about to hit a pop-up uppercut on Dante who was rescued by Darius, another double thrust kick to CC, Darius Spanish fly for a very close two. This is impossible to keep up with. Absolutely rapid. Didn’t catch everything in that sequence.
Pop-up uppercut setup again, Darius countered into a backslide for two, Neutralizer hit, Darius kicked out at 2.8. Castagnoli complained to the ref afterward. Now annoyed, he went right to h&a elbows, not even stopping when Dante hit a shot to the face, who was thereafter wiped out by a KKL.
The h&a continued until Darius slumped to the floor, Mox hit a double-arm ddt on Dante outside. Darius showed some fight with a shot to the face, only pissing off the ROH champ who blasted him with an uppercut to bag the win, afterward leering threateningly over the youngster.
The BCC continue to be ultra-aggressive, bordering on heelish.
The announcers put over what a fight TF had put up but they’ve basically had their asses whupped two weeks in a row. If this is the end of the story, it didn’t do them a ton of favors.
WINNER: the BCC
Backstage with the Best Friends, Orange, Danhausen, Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford. Kip said a bunch of words. Then asked for a title shot since he’d again eliminated Cassidy from a battle royal. Trent interrupted to say he’d eliminated Kip so he should get the shot. Orange agreed to the latter.
We have that to look forward to on Rampage.
Hook vs Baylum Lynx (Could be the next NXT champ with a name like that)
Backstory: None
Taz informed us that Hook was not in a good mood. It still sounds completely ridiculous when the announcers mention the ongoing problems with ‘Big Bill’.
Stiff shots and throws from Hook, who then nearly broke the guy’s neck with an overhead belly-to-belly: crossface shots, Redrum, win.
Hathaway interrupted immediately with Moriarty and ‘Big Bill’. Just as a two-on-one was on the cards, corny eighties pop blared and Jungle Boy leapt at Moriarty. Hook and BB went face to face to emphasize the Big in Big Bill. The two slipped in and out of each other’s finishes until JB sent BB packing with a two-by-four.
Despite being chokeslammed against the apron and into a bin, the youngster seemed fine, begging the question Why?
Like this babyface tag team. Not so keen on the heels.
WINNER: Hook
Jericho video package showing the vet losing to Action Andretti, approaching Starks about joining the JAS, Andretti preventing a beatdown on Starks then being burnt by Jericho.
Cut to Jericho backstage, who said Starks had mocked the JAS before calling him a ‘flash in the pan.’ Next week, he’s going to ‘school’ Starks. ‘I’m a wizard, I’m the Ocho, and I always win.’ He then warned Andretti not to come back to AEW before vowing to embarrass Starks, who’d pay the price when Jericho ended the ‘experiment’ next week.
Death Triangle vs the Elite, Falls Count Anywhere, Match 6 of 7
Backstory: Death Triangle lead 3-2 after leaving the Elite bloody last Wednesday
Can see this just being utter chaos with all six allowed to go anywhere around the arena.
Don Callis had joined on comms. They then cut backstage to Swerve and the Mogul Affiliates. He promised we’d find out about the other guy in the group ‘real soon’. Wheeler Yuta interrupted to say he wasn’t surprised Strickland was talking about someone (Lee) who wasn’t there to defend themself. Yuta challenged Swerve to a match Friday.
No update on Lee. Cinderblocks aren’t what they used to be.
…..
Immediately we cut to a hallway where the six-man had already commenced, the two sides brawling backstage, trash cans and all. Omega was suplexed onto a bunch of wooden crates by Pac, who then climbed atop metal trays to hit a moonsault on the Bucks, held in place by the Bros.
Fenix was backdropped through a table by Matt, Nick wheeled Pac into a superkick for a two count broken up by Penta. Nick then headed atop the metal trays to launch a senton, landing badly on his right arm and clocking Penta in the head with his leg.
Omega and Fenix had disappeared as the other four neared the arena, the Bucks dragging Pac and Penta onto the stage, followed by Cutler and Abrahantes. Fenix then appeared atop the entrance as his teammates were hit with a superkick party, launching a tornillo onto all four but then run over by a V-Trigger out-of-nowhere courtesy of Omega.
No pin attempt. Omega instead went after Pac, both slipping in and out of suplexes atop the ramp until Pac hit a German. A limping Matt Jackson broke it up, slugging it out with Pac, the only two left standing. Matt then took Pac down the ramp locomotion-style, grabbing Fenix too as Nick launched a crazy dive over all three onto Penta, right into the camera, almost as if coming into your living room.
The six had made it to the ring as we returned, Death Triangle firmly on top, a trash can placed over Omega before a triple dropkick. Two count.
Still a three-on-one with the Bucks nowhere to be seen, Fenix and Penta were bundled outside, Omega avoided a charging Pac, Nick hit a step-up knee, Penta a slingblade, Matt a destroyer, Fenix off the top, Omega a snapdragon to Pac. The crowd going nuts as Omega began working over Pac with the trash can, prepping a V-Trigger, crushing the can against Pac’s head, a gut-wrench up into a Dr Bomb onto the can, Pac kicked out at nearly three.
With the OWA ready, Penta dragged Kenny outside, the Bros hit a Fear Factor on the floor, Fenix coming off the apron. The Bucks broke it up. Fenix matrix’d to avoid a Superkick Party, hit a rolling cutter to Matt, then a sound-barrier-breaking tope to blast Omega before slumping to the floor in exhaustion.
Penta readied a package piledriver on the apron, Nick backdropped free, Matt with Penta in a piledriver position, Nick off the apron into the Meltzer Driver, Pac just broke it up.
Then hit a pumpkick to Matt in the ring, set up a Black Arrow, Nick flung a chair at him, then Penta, Matt limping inside to hit a BTE Trigger to Penta, Pac again broke it up at the last. ‘Fight forever’ broke out.
Another Meltzer Driver readied, Matt waved bye to Pac, series of standing switches, Pac knocked Nick off the apron and grabbed Matt in the Brutalizer, the screen splitting to show Kenny hitting a OWA off the stage, through a table to pin Fenix.
Pac was furious, believing he’d won.
This match was mental.
Omega was really selling his backside/lower back after that OWA. I think legitimately. His shoulder was taped too ahead of his match with Will Ospreay next week. Nakazawa helped him up.
Excalibur then again talked about Lebron beating the Warriors, down 3-1. (Does that mean a low blow is going to decide things? 😉)
WINNER: the Elite
We cut to a music video by the Acclaimed and Daddy Ass, spoofing Jarrett and Lethal (mainly Jarrett). Caster repeatedly called JJ a ‘carny’. ‘Jay Lethal’s only known for mimicking dudes and ain’t nobody mimickin’ you’. Ouch. With plenty to work with, the Acclaimed eviscerated the J’s here. Worth watching if you dislike them as much as I do.
Willow Nightingale & Ruby Soho vs Anna Jay & Tay Melo
Backstory: Melo broke Soho’s nose; Anna then intervened in their match so Ruby got a partner
Ruby had to be held back before the match started. Melo danced and twerked, not taking Willow seriously. Nightingale dropped her then twerked herself, to the crowd’s delight. A couple chops had Willow on top until a blind tag from Soho. Melo darted to tag Anna.
Soho took Jay down, firing shots to the face, dropped her with a shoulder, back to firing away at the face. Willow back in, snapmare and kick to the spine from Ruby. Quick tags ended in an assisted cazadora.
Nightingale hit a splash in the corner, high boot, falling cross body/splash for two.
Willow went for a tag, Melo pulled Ruby off the apron, allowing Anna to take advantage. Bundling Nightingale into the heels’ corner, she tagged Tay, the announcers again talked about the main event before bringing us to break.
(Presumably this is another suggestion of their new tv man; don’t ever remember them pushing a main event so consistently through the show. Nor actually doing an angle on the same show for that night’s main event.)
In trouble as we returned, Nightingale was being doubled in the wrong corner until blocking a lariat, hitting one of her own then making the crawl as Soho and Melo finally faced off.
More shots to the face from Ruby, both standing and on the mat. A very slow sequence led to Ruby planting Tay in the corner, then hitting an STO to Anna, No Future to Tay; Melo kicked out (from the way the anouncers talked, Anna was supposed to break that up).
Willow hit a lariat, pumpkick from Melo, all four down.
Anna made the save at two, sent Willow to the apron, thrust kick to Ruby, DDTay – Nightingale shoved Anna down into the pin to break it, the two brawling outside where Willow hit a snap suplex. Tay and Soho going back and forth inside with chops and strikes until mutual headbutts dropped both, Ruby falling on top for a two count.
Anna grabbed a chair, Willow ducked, Aubrey grabbed the chair. As she did, Soho very kindly held a chair in front of her face for quite a long time so Tay could kick it. The heels getting the win.
(There wasn’t a lot wrong with this but it was still a long way from last week’s women’s contest. These girls are a hell of a lot tougher than I’ll ever be, but there were sequences which just completely took me out of the action.)
WINNER: Anna Jay & Tay Melo
Lexi Nair – soon to be Lexi Bill – backstage as the Gunns were leaving because they had a reservation. They’ll address their win over FTR next week.
……
Renee and Ricky backstage. In answer to how he’s feeling, Starks said he’s doing a lot better than Action Andretti. So he’s going to fight on his behalf next week. Observing that the reason Jericho doesn’t like Ricky is because he can’t control him. Next week will be a masterclass of whoopass, he’s going to take Jericho down several notches. ‘Why? Because I can’.
(As befit the situation, Starks was all business here, calm and serious. Might have preferred him saying he’s going to take Jericho down ‘for myself, for Andretti and for the fans’ to end the thing but who am I to give Ricky Starks promo pointers?)
Wardlow vs Samoa Joe, TNT Title
Backstory: Wardlow’s been calling out the ‘King of Television’
Be interesting to see the reaction to both guys here. A loud ‘Joe, Joe, Joe’ chant quickly answered the first half of that. Very few boos, if any.
Schiavone had been backstage and informed that Wardlow would wrestle if he could.
The latter’s music played for a long time with no sign of the former champ. Interrupting, Joe announced that ‘It is I, your one true king of television’ – huge cheer. Before noting that Wardlow was suffering from stage fright. He then fired shots at the Broncos as Wardlow stormed down the ramp, officials trying to stop him.
Straight to a slugfest, Wardlow bodied Joe to the corner and hit shoulders to the gut as the fans chanted that Joe was going to kill him. After favoring the leg, Joe targeted it but was dropped via spinebuster then shots from the mount.
A slap to the face dropped Joe across the middle rope, the ref breaking a choke, allowing Joe to move to the corner, from where he hit an STO as Wardlow ran at him. Chops to the chest were quickly shaken off, Wardog coming back with a huge lariat then shots to the gut. Joe then reversed an irish whip, dropping Wardlow off the shoulder into a kneebreaker as the ads arrived.
With Wardlow limping back into the ring just as we returned, Joe went right back after the knee then threw more chops in the corner. Snapmare out, he then launched more shots to the knee after trapping the lower leg.
Before hauling Wardlow up top, the ninety-ninth superplex attempt of the night shaken off, Joe crashing to the mat, Wardlow flying via a beautiful senton atomico. From which he bounced off and rolled halfway across the ring: both down, the ref’s count reaching six before both got up to begin slugging it out mid-ring, a brace of German suplexes to Joe, clothesline in the corner, Wardlow shook off the injury to run up the buckle and vault off via moonsault for two.
A loud cheer as Joe went for the Kokina Clutch, Wardlow slipped out and hit that really lame lean-back lariat/punch. Joe swept the legs, eyeing Wardlow in the corner, more chops, back to the top, Wardlow slipped under to powerbomb Joe off the buckle. A mixture of cheers and boos as he readied the second act of the symphony.
Which he couldn’t execute. The leg giving way as Joe immediately took advantage via chopblock, right into a choke as Wardlow passed out and a large, very male, portion of the crowd cheered loudly as the ‘Joe, Joe, Joe’ chants began anew.
(If this was going to be the main event finish, they might’ve gone with a different one for the opener)
After coming to, Wardlow tried to get his bearings as Joe nodded approvingly, lulling the crowd before blasting the challenger in the head with both titles. He then reached under the ring for a toolbox – to more cheers – finally finding what he was looking for. A pair of scissors. Bringing the Acclaimed out – I kid. He then dropped the ref with a ‘headbutt’ before lopping-off Wardlow’s man-bun.
While posing with his belts, Darby Allin’s music hit and he hit Joe – with a skateboard. Sending Joe bailing up the ramp as the crowd chanted Darby’s name loudly. Joe bailing so quickly he left his belts in the ring. Darby posed with the TNT title (because honestly, who cares about the ROH one) to end the show.
Man, this made Wardlow look bad. Yes, they gave him an out via injury. It’s more the fact that the crowd were far from solidly behind him and they seemed to immediately move on to Darby/Joe after the match ended (the latter of whom the crowd were happy to embrace). Probably needs a heel turn to reboot him.
On the plus side, Joe/Darby should be a great feud. Hopefully a long one too.
WINNER: Samoa Joe
…..
Next Rampage:
Wheeler Yuta vs Swerve Strickland
Orange Cassidy vs Trent, All-Atlantic Title
Hear from Hayter
Ditto Mox
Jade Cargill vs Kiera Hogan, TBS Title
Next Dynamite:
Jericho vs Ricky Starks
More announced on Rampage
…..
Overall impressions
There was a lot of good action tonight. The opener and the six-man were excellent, everything else was at least solid. And they set up some stuff going forward. But only some.
With next week expected to debut a new look, there’s only one match ready to go. And though it’s a good one with some steam behind it, they really should’ve had damn near a full card announced here if they really want to start the new year with a DDP.
And despite a clear emphasis on the 11th and their debut in LA, they didn’t push Match Seven hard and this makes three weeks in which Saraya has barely appeared, with no mention of her upcoming mystery partner.
When Tony Khan pens his resolutions at the weekend, clear planning and continuity should be top of the pile.
Check Out
Elite vs Death Triangle
Danielson vs Ethan Page
Thanks for reading. Enjoy the rest of the holidays.
WWE’s The Bump published the top 10 matches of 2022 during today’s broadcast, featuring comments from several WWE personalities, including Superstars themselves, on every match listed.
The #1 match went to Cody Rhodes vs Seth Rollins at Hell In A Cell in June. This is the match where Rhodes wrestled with a torn pec and pulled one of his best matches of his life. #2 went to the banger match of Gunther vs Sheamus for the Intercontinental title at Clash at the Castle. Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar in a last man standing match for the Undisputed WWE Universal title at SummerSlam was #3.
Becky Lynch vs Bianca Belair at WrestleMania for the Raw Women’s title came in at #4 while Roman Reigns vs Logan Paul for the Undisputed WWE Universal title at Crown Jewel placed #5.
Another match from Crown Jewel, Bianca Belair vs Bayley in a last woman standing match for the Raw Women’s title was #6, followed by the incredible tag team match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles between The Usos and The Street Profits at Money In The Bank which was #7.
#8 went to the men’s WarGames match featuring The Bloodline vs Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens, and The Brawling Brutes at Survivor Series while Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Kevin Owens at WrestleMania was voted #9. The triple threat match for the United States title at the Survivor Series between Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, and Austin Theory wrapped up the list at #10.
