NXT 280 Review // Johnny Gargano vs. Aleister Black vs. Killian Dane vs. Lars Sullivan

On 28th December, WWE aired its 280th Episode of NXT, filmed at Full Sail University in Winter Gardens, FL on 29th November. Our main event was a Fatal Four-Way for the position of Number One Contender to Andrade Almas' NXT Championship. Our four contenders were Killian Dain, Johnny Gargano, Aleister Black & Lars Sullivan. Also on the show were Absolution member Sonya Deville trying to take the NXT Women's Championship to RAW as she faced Ember Moon & Street Profits taking on 

Street Profits [Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins] def. Kris Starr & Riley Apex // Pinfall

Ford and Starr (who has been working Evolve shows as Shane Mercer) to start, lock-up to start as Ford whips into leapfrogs around Starr and hits a shoulder block and a bodyslam before tagging in Dawkins and they hit a bell-to-back splash before hyping up the crowd, this give Starr a chance to tag in Apex who runs straight into a rolling forearm, Dawkins hits a splash on Starr and a corner 360 forearm splash on Apex, he then drops him with a Pop-Up Spinebuster allowing for a tag to Ford and a Frog Splash for the pin.

Quick squash m8. It did what it had to do and nothing more. If WWE decide to run with Ford, they might just have money on their hands.

Post-match, the Profits celebrate their win in the crowd. On the mic, they say how in 2017 the Profits came, they saw and in 2018, they conquer. Then they run down the NXT Tag Team division. Or most of it, they forgot Heavy Machinery and Sabbatelli & Moss but heck, what have they done?

NXT Women's Championship: Ember Moon [Athena] [c] def. Sonya Deville [Daria Berenato] // Pinfall

Deville recently defeated Ruby Riott in a No Holds Barred match so it makes sense that she'd get a title shot, they lock-up to begin as Deville gets a waistlock takedown, she holds on picking Moon back up who gets a standing switch but Deville is straight in with a kneebar, Moon breaks, they circle and returning to a lock-up position and Moon gets a headlock, Deville escapes and runs the ropes but runs them straight into a deep armdrag, they both dodge a succession of kicks, Deville tries to get Moon into a test of strength but when close enough, psyche, she just kicks her in the stomach but Moon immediately returns with a single leg dropkick sending Deville out of the ring and into the ad-break, back from the break and Deville kicks Moon in the gut for a 1, she grounds her with strikes and plants her back down for a 2, she maintains her grounding strikes and picks up Moon into a bearhug, just as Moon is fading, she nails a wheelbarrow facebuster onto the turnbuckle to buy herself some time, Deville goes in for a crucifix but Moon turns it into a butterfly suplex, hits a baseball strike, a low kick, a high kick and a straight right for a 2, rushing Deville in the corner, she gets kicked away and Deville hits a high stomp for a 2, Deville is straight back in but misses whatever she was going for allowing Moon to hit a springboard dropkick, a corner forearm and The Eclipse for the pin.

This was just good enough. Moon looked every bit the champion, selling Deville's offence to make her look good but there just wasn't enough here to make Moon seem in any jeopardy. Deville looked confident out there but this lacked the intensity of her encounters with Riott. Hopefully, with the post-match shenanigans, better things are coming in 2018.

Post-match Kairi Sane comes out, probably to ask Moon if she has any better names for the Insane Elbow, she taunts wanting a Women's Title match. Moon seems into the idea of a match, but out comes Shayna Baszler chokes out Sane on the ramp in an act of revenge for the Mae Young Classic finals. Moon doesn't help out because she's got her title to hold up.

Paul Ellering is hanging out near an old, steel wall. He warns The Undisputed Era that they will not be writing the next chapter, he tells them this is their house, they are judge, jury and executioner and the Era is on borrowed time. So I guess we know what the NXT Tag Title match will be at TakeOver: Philidelphia...

Christy St. Cloud asks Moon what she thinks about the post-match shenanigans, Moon knows the title is a target on her back but should it be Sane or Baszler, she wants to settle it in the ring and that's where they'll find her. So I guess we know what the Number One Contender's match is to find out what the NXT Women's Title match will be at TakeOver: Philidelphia.

We get a video package of the build-up to tonight's Fatal Four-Way.


In Two Weeks Time: SaNItY invoke their rematch clause for the NXT Tag Titles. Next week is the Best of 2017, probably.

NXT Championship #1 Contender's Fatal Four-Way // Johnny Gargano def. Killian Dain, Lars Sullivan & Aleister Black // Pinfall

The four men size each other up till the two bigger lads remember they are big lads and go in with strikes in the corner, Dain destroys Gargano but Black begins kicking everything. knocking Sullivan out of the ring to allow Black to do his fakeout moonsault into a full lotus, goes to the apron, Dain tries to strike but he gets kicked away, Black goes for the asai moonsault onto Sullivan but is caught and we're meant to believe dropped to the apron but Sullivan somehow DDTs himself, Gargano follows with a slingshot crossbody but is also caught and dropped to the apron but this time without obvious damage to Sullivan's head, talking of damage to Sullivan's head, Dain hits Sullivan with a big lad tope suicido onto the ramp and into the ad-break, back from the break, back from the break and Dain hits a corner splash on Gargno for a 2, Sullivan throws Dain out of the ring and rams him to the post before hitting a corner splash on Gargano for a 2, Dain pulls Sullivan out of the ring but Sullivan throws him back into the post, Black is back up and kicks Sullivan up the ramp but Sullivan throws him straight off it, Gargano comes in and tries to light up the man we knew as Dylan Miley but Sullivan just gorilla presses him onto Black, Sullivan tears apart the announce table and tries to powerbomb Gargano through it but Gargano clings to a nearby pillar allowing Black to come in with a knee strike as Gargano superkicks him onto the table and Dain his a running crossbody sending Sullivan through it, Black and Gargano head back to the ring and both are over as fuck, they circle before Johnny runs in with a forearm, Black kicks and sends Johny to the apron, running in Johnny sends him back with a kick, goes for the slingshot spear but is caught with a knee to the head, they continue to throw moves at each other unable to get anything until Gargano lands a SUPERKICK and locks in the GargaNo Escape, before Black can tap, Dain returns with a senton to break it up, he picks up Black hitting a fireman's carry slam and a senton for a pin but Gargano breaks it up, for this Dain hits him with a powerbomb and an elbow drop but can't get a pin without Black breaking it, Dain places Black on the top rope, they tussle for control and Black slides out, unable to hit a move on his own Gargano joins in and they hit a double super-bomb, Sullivan makes his way back to the ring taking down Black and Gargano and hitting a double clothesline sending Black out of the ring, he hits a twisting slam on Gargano but Dain prevents a pin, Gargano is sent out of the ring as big lad things happen, they trade strikes before Sullivan hits a clothesline and Dain responds with a lariat, they run at each other, hitting simultaneous clotheslines dazing each other allowing Black to come in and nail them with all the kicks before hitting a straight-leg moonsault on Sullivan and murdering him with Black Mass but before he can get a pin, in come The Undisputed Era to pull him out but Black easily boots both of them away, he tries to get back in the ring but Adam Cole pulls him out and nails the Last Shot only for Gargano to take him out with a tope suicido, rolling Black back in, Sullivan intervenes but Gargano dodges as he goes into the steps, Dain tries to stop him with a powerbomb but Gargano hits a rana on him into the ring steps, back on the apron and Gargano hits a Slingshot DDT on Black for the pin. Johnny's going to Philly, Boys!

While a lot of fun, this match fell just shy of greatness. It worked well as all four men threw themselves at each other thick and fast with Black being the standout showing a unique integrity to his moves as everything he did was crisp and clean but looked painful as all hell. While Dain played his part well, sadly the disappointment here was Sullivan who never quite seemed confident in his place in the match but then I guess this is developmental so at leat he showed enough to suggest that he could be more convincing with a few more big matches under his belt. This however, was Johnny Wrestling's show. Since Johnny and Tomasso lost the tag titles in January, Gargano has been on something of a rebuilding, having great matches everywhere but not really getting the win (much like Travis Banks' iconic 2016 in Fight Club Pro), it was so gratifying to see him get this and clearly was a great moment as the crowd fully came alive. Depending on how healed up he is, don't be surprised if come January, whether Johnny claims his first WWE singles gold or not, if a certain Mr. Ciampa gets involved.

On The YouTubes

Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford encourage a small child to take up casual drinking by gifting him a solo cup.

Johnny Gargano gets an ovation as he walks backstage but Andrade Almas is there to remind him he beat him. Twice.

Finally...

It wasn't the slam-dunk that last week's episode was but it was still pretty good with the ending of the main event featuring a pop that I don't think has been rivalled this year. It's been one hell of a year for the yellow ropes and this was a good way to end it with the heart of NXT getting one step closer to being the face of the brand. Now let's just see what the new year brings...

Article By Jozef Raczka (@NotJozefRaczka)

NXT 279 Review // Pete Dunne vs. Tyler Bate

On 21st December, WWE aired its 279th Episode of NXT, filmed at Full Sail University in Winter Gardens, FL on 29th November. Our main event saw the third WWE match this year for Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate as Bate sought to regain the UK Championship. The card also featured Lars Sullivan [Dan Matha] taking on Roderick Strong for the last spot in the NXT Championship Number One Contender's Fatal Four-Way & a Tag Team Title match as The Undisputed Era's Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly took on SaNItY. But was it any good?

NXT Tag-Team Championship: The Undisputed Era [Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly w/Adam Cole] def. SaNItY [Eric Young & Killian Dain w/ Nikki Cross] [c] // Pinfall

Fish and Dain to start, Fish kicks to the legs of Dain, ducks under the ropes, tags in Kyle, Kyle does the same shit, tag to Fish, Kyle ducks a strike from Dain, lays into him but Dain remembers he's a big lad and no sells their shit, tag to Fish who dodges under a lariat and jumps on Dain's back, applying a sleeper,Kyle comes in to help but Dain just bumps him away and throws off Fish before htting a lariat on Kyle sending him out of the ring and Fish follows, chilling on the outside, back in and a tag to Kyle who runs into a tag to Young and a gutbuster-knee drop combo, Young goes in for the attack but Kyle immediately tries to lock in an armbar, Young escapes, laying in with forearm palm strikes, Kyle slides out, Young chases him, ducking a roundhouse from Fish and punching him away, he slides back in after Kyle and straight away is back on top with strikes, he's whipped onto the apron but he hits a shoulder tackle, only for Fish to pull his leg out from under him sending us into an ad-break, back from the break and the heel team play quick tags beating down Yong in their corner, a slingshot senton earns Fish a 2 and they are immediately back on the corner kicks, Kyle keeps him from crawling back to his corner with an elbow-lock, Young manages to escape but is straight into a high knee, Kyle places Young on the turnbuckle but Young boots him away, he goes for a dive but Kyle roundhouses him straight out of the air, Young responds with a  swinging neckbreaker, he tries to crawl but in a dazed moment heads towards Fish instead of Dain giving Kyle time to make a tag instead, as Dain tries to join the fray anyway, the heels use the distraction to stomp the hell out of Young's back, Young throws Kyle out of the ring and low bridges Fish and crawls towards Dain but Kyle pulls him back, trying to keep him in the centre of the ring, Young kicks him away, crawls underneath and makes the tag to Dain, Dain runs insane throwing forearms with the force of a train, clotheslines Fish so hard he impacts his brain and drops a hot senton-dropkick move combo chain, he hits a michinoku driver on Fish onto Kyle for a 2, throws Fish aside, tag to Young, they set up for a powerbomb-combo, Fish low bridges Dain out of the ring but Young still hits the bomb, he forces himself up top for an elbow drop but Adam Cole comes from the crowd and knocks him off, a spinning kick and a forearm hit Young for a 2, Cole is playing coach in the corner when Nikki Cross comes in and hits an apron crossbody and repeatedly punches Cole in his face till the refs come and drag her away, Young lights up both men with palm strikes and hits a leaping neckbreaker for a 2, Dain on the outside picks up Cole but the baybay slides out, posts Dain but takes a tope suicido from Young for his troubles, back in the ring and Young is hit with a Leg Sweep-Jumping Kick Combo for the pin. NEW CHAMPION!

This was a good, fun match with both teams playing off each other well, even if the crowd were weirdly muted, they still brought enough energy to get them involved, especially by the end as Full Sail clearly adore Nikki Cross (and so they should). Beyond the frustrating booking where Young always seems to be the one taking the pin at the moment, this match lacked a certain excitement or invention that could really push it over the merely 'good' mark but certainly we know the ReDragon boys are capable of some spectacular tag work and I can't wait to see what they do next.

We get a Roderick Strong video package ahead of his semi-final match tonight.

We also get another hype-up video for Shayna Baszler.

Heavy Machinery are trying to lift Sabatelli & Moss' car so they can park there. The joint car owners don't like this and an argument starts out when Moss fucks up their catchphrase saying 'pork and weights'. Why do all their feuds revolve around their joint car ownership and what the fuck even is joint car ownership.

We get a recap of Sonya Deville defeating Ruby Riott last week, in a 360p backstage interview, Deville declares that she's going to beat Ember Moon for the NXT Women's Title next week.

As with Roderick Strong, so Lars Sullivan also gets a video package.

NXT Championship #1 Contender's Tournament Semi-Final: Lars Sullivan def. Roderick Strong // Pinfall

Strong is straight in with strikes but pushed away, he goes straight back but gets pushed to the corner, he escapes and continues striking, Roddy tries to go for a throw but I guess he's not, Strong enough, goes for more strikes but takes a clothesline and a grounded knee strike, ullivan hits a huge pair of forearms to the back, he splashes Strong on the ropes and ragdolls him for a 2 before immediately applying a big bearhug, Strong tries to slide out but Sully keeps it going, Strong escapes with a pair of bell-clappers and some forearms before hitting a single leg dropkick, an enziguri and some big slaps, this serves to make Sullivan extra angry and he charges but Strong dodges, catching Sullivan in the ropes, allowing Strong to hit some running forearms from all directions, Sullivan is sent out of the ring but comes straight back in, knocking down Strong with a double axe handle, Sullivan goes up top but Strong follows with a superplex for a 2, he hits knee strikes but Sullivan goes for a lariat, Strong dodges hitting an olympic slam for a 2.5, Strong is straight in with strikes and goes for the first proper backbreaker of the match but Sullivan says 'nahh' and slides out, hitting a pop-up powerslam and The Freak Accident for the pin.

This was way better than it had any reason to be with Sullivan having so quickly made his spin on the standard WWE 'monster heel' act incredibly entertaining, helped out by a performance by Strong that made him look ten times better. They couldn't help that the one down-side of Sullivan's position is it makes anyone beating him clean seem like it's never going to happen but if anyone can make him look beatable, it's Strong. Now the Number One Contender's match is set: Dain v Gargano v Black v Sullivan. This could be very interesting...

A recap of last week's Street Talk. 

Christy St. Cloud is backstage with Tyler Bate, Bate talks about how he and Peter go way back, trading titles with each other, tonight is his night and he takes back his title.

UK Championship // Pete Dunne [c] def. Tyler Bate // Pinfall

These two have had an incredible year be it teaming up with or competing against each other and here's hoping this is the perfect capper to their WWE Trilogy. They feel each other out to begin before Dunne rushes in and immediately grabs Bate into an armbar before manipulating those finger joints, eventually Bate manages to do a flipping escape and locks in a wristlock of his own but Dunne manages to power him down and uses a head-clamp leglock before going back to the arm, Bate attempts to escape but is powered down by Dunne until he manages a superb release practically bouncing off his own head, Dunne is unimpressed with the flippy stuff and goes straight back onto the arm, slapping at the shoulder and elbow before getting Bate in a knee-assisted modified surfboard, Bate powers to his feet and hits a dropkick to escape but even this isn't enough to keep Dunne from attacking the arm as he pushes Bate's arms down, he tries to go for pins but Bate maintains a strong bridge, Dunne tries to use his full body weight to push Bate down but it's not enough so Dunne just kicks him in the stomach and retreats to the ropes for safety, Dunne pushes Bate over, trying to wrench and bite at the foot but Bate escapes as Dunne cartwheels away, Bate kips up and hits Bop & BANG for a 2, attempting to lock theankle, Dunne crawls to the ropes and as Bate separates, Dunne hits a big ol' forearm and chops him into the corner, Bate escapes with a knee lift release and a second rope diving uppercut to send Dunne out of the ring, Bate follows out into a forearm, Dunne drags him to the steps and goes to stomp the hand but Bate is wise to his tricks, dodges and instead stomps Dunne's hand, Dunne powers through and hits a low angle suplex off the steps, back in the ring and a penalty kick leads to a rear chinlock as Dunne puts more weight on Bate's shoulders, Bate crawls to the ropes but Dunne separates, kicks him in the back and pounds at it with forearms, Dunne wrenches at the nose and hits another forearm before stomping on a floored Bate's hand, one of Bate's fingers has popped out of place but he jams it back in, Dunne with no mercy hits a judo throw into a hammerlock and is back on the injured arm, stomping the elbow and kicking him to the ropes and back again until Bate's ear is bleeding, Bate calls for more kicks, Dunne obliges but Bate hulks up and hits an exploder, he drops running corner uppercuts till Dunne grabs him by the hair, he goes for an X-Plex but Bate flips out of it and hits a running shooting star press & a belly-to-back suplex for a 2, Dunne gets up with a forearm but Bate hits a rolling kick, he goes for the Tyler Driver '97 but Dunne manouvres into a triangle armbar, hammering Bate's head with forearms, Bate powers through into a powerbomb but Dunne doesn't let go of the triangle, Bate powers through again and traps Dunne's neck between the second and top ropes before whipping him upwards, on the ground and Bate picks up Dunne for a triple aeroplane spin covering for a 2, Dunne crawls to the apron but Bate climbs to the second rope and hits another exploder sending Dunne back into the ring for a 2, Dunne gets back up and kicks Bate in the head but Bate responds with a roundhouse and some head kicks of his own, Bate picks up Dunne who twists into a Bitter End for a 2.9, Bate throws Dunne to the corner, he flips over it and hits a step-up enziguri, Bate responds with a rebound lariat, Dunne with a clothesline but Bate with another clothesline, the two lads are down, from their knees to standing they just lay into each other chests with punches Bate dodges a shot from Dunne and lands a massive forearm but with the previously injured hand, on the apron and Dunne throws up Bop but Bate hits BANG, Dunne with a forearm, Bate with a rolling kick, back in the ring and Bate dives off the top rope into a forearm, Dunne goes for the X-Plex, can't quite get it so turns it into a sit-out powerbomb for a 2.9, Bate rolls out, Dunne follows and tries to throw Bate back in but he hits a rebound lariat onto the ramp, rolling back in, Dunne appears to be accepting a countout to avoid losing so to stop the count Bate hits a big ol' tope and rolls Dunne back in and hits the Tyler Driver '97 for a 2.99, he climbs up top and just about hits a spiral tap on Dunne for a 2, Dunne's elbow is now visibly bleeding as he sees Bate heading back up and heads up too, Bate powers into a super German suplex but Dunne flips out of it, hits a suprise Bitter End for the pin.

Holy shit-snacks everyone, this was just about as good as it gets. Over 23 minutes (presented as an early Christmas gift, without ad-breaks) these two put on a dramatic contest that not only cemented the legacy of Dunne and Bate as having put on the best trilogy of matches in WWE 2017, maybe only rivalled by The New Day vs The Uso series in terms of consistency. As a match, this was full of callbacks to the former two contests but it still managed to weave them in so seamlessly that I don't think you'd need to see the other two to understand it. The only real negative of this match is that it did perhaps feel a little flabbier than their outing in Chicago but outside of wider context, this was as good a contest as you're ever likely to see, especially on TV. Maybe they should just give the Main Event every week to the UK lads. I can't see anyone complaining.

On The YouTubes

Nothing to see this time. Make use of this and spend some time with your loved ones.

Finally...

I don't think I'm speaking with too much hyperbole when I saw this might be one of the best episodes of NXT. The Tag-Team Title match wasn't a classic but it was still a lot of fun, Strong & Sullivan delivered big-time and Dunne v Bate III was as always spectacular, not quite topping Chicago but easily matching if not bettering their UKCT Final effort. It's always a rare and refreshing thing to recommend watching an episode of NXT from beginning to end but here we are. Now let's hope they can stick the year's landing next week with the Number One Contender's Fatal Four-Way.

Article By Jozef Raczka (@NotJozefRaczka)

RAW 1282 Review // Cesaro & Samoa Joe & Sheamus vs. Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose & Jason Jordan

The penultimate RAW of 2017 brought us another Shield heavy episode, even if Roman Reigns was absent and weirdly not even mentioned on the show. The main event would feature Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose being joined by Jason Jordan to face rivals Cesaro, Samoa Joe and Sheamus, after the prior had demanded a match with Joe following Joe's attack on both Rollins and Jordan after the show's opening contest (originally scheduled as Rollins vs. Joe). The Cruiserweight's also got a big spotlight as Drew Gulak and Cedric Alexander clashed in the finals of the #1 Contender's tournament that's been going on for the last few episodes, whilst Stephanie McMahon returned to interrupt a division-wide brawl between the Women's roster with a big announcement regarding Royal Rumble. 

But was it any good? Let's take a frickin' look.

Seth Rollins def. Jason Jordan // Pinfall

then...

Cesaro & Samoa Joe & Sheamus def. Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose & Jason Jordan // Pinfall

This saga began with Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan arguing over who should be facing Samoa Joe and then played out across over half an hour of screen time. If the opening segment was awkward and riddled with terrible dialogue, I was begging for it to return by a few minutes into the Rollins vs. Jordan match that came next. Suffering from Jordan not quite being a heel, a general apathy from the live audience and an uncharacteristically lethargic performance from Rollins, the first five to ten minutes of this match bored me to tears. You know I love my some storytelling and there was a degree of that here as Jordan focused on Rollins back to control the match...but he did so by hitting the same two moves (most shoulder charges into the corner). The crowd got restless with the plod of the contest, chanting "This is boring" and appeared to boo when both wrestler got in the ring at nine on a double countout spot. The highlight of the match came when Joe finally made his presence known, bringing some much need fire to the contest, before taking a snug superkick from Seth. Rollins won with the King's Landing, before Joe retaliate the early attack, before twatting Jordan for good measure on the way out. I can only imagine that this was for making The Samoan Submission Machine sit through such a dreary match.

Following this Kurt Angle booked the main event, with Rollins, Jordan and Dean Ambrose all wanting to fight Samoa Joe and The Bar seemingly with fuck all else to do that night. This was a much improved effort from the opener, with a trope-busting finish that opens up a number of possibilities for future storylines. The body of the match was the heel trio working over Rollins and whilst again I wasn't particularly wowed by Rollins performance and selling, there were a number of well-crafted hope spots, with Ambrose did a marvellous job of keeping the crowd invested from the apron. The sheer number of times it appeared like a hot tag was imminent as the momentum swung to Rollins was what bought real life to the contest, with the Kingslayer putting on a good sequence with Sheamus in particular. I'm trying to give Jordan some credit for something, but his short spell as face in peril at the beginning was worst part of the bout, with very little energy and he didn't really do much else. 

The finish was a fascinating piece of booking, as Rollins hit a suicide dive onto Cesaro and Joe, with Ambrose caught in the crossfire. It seemed like a pretty regular spot as the match picked up the pace, but then the referee began checking on the Lunatic Fringe, replays showed Ambrose grabbing his arm after Rollins connected and Sheamus nailed a Brogue Kick outta nowhere to pin Rollins. It felt like a bold booking decision with it seeming more like an angle than a legit injury (at least one caused by the move), especially after the lengthy face in peril sequence. There was an element of disappointment at not seeing the resulting hot tag, but that was mostly replaced with intrigue at what WWE's plan was. It felt like they were planting seeds for an Ambrose heel turn, which is what I've been hoping for ever since the Shield reunion storyline began. Later on, a violent backstage segment seemed to write Ambrose off television for a while as Cesaro, Joe and Sheamus jumped Rollins and Ambrose in the trainer's room, with Joe pushing a heavy looking production box onto Dean's already injured arm. 

Cruiserweight Championship #1 Contender's Tournament Final // Cedric Alexander def. Drew Gulak // Pinfall

The best action on the show was found in the Cruiserweight division as Cedric Alexander and Drew Gulak put together a lovely match to conclude the tournament to a find Enzo Amore's next opponent. The bout had a similar story to that of the Rollins vs. Jordan, but a much better job with it, with big spots, credible selling and variety. The spot where both men tumbled to the floor stuck in a verticle position is always a hit with me and the fact it was used to build a story around a back injury for Alexander gets a double thumbs up from me. Gulak worked over the injury with numerous holds, whilst we also got to see that Alexander could potentially struggle to hit some of his offence. Within the constraints of the TV time the two did a stellar job of telling that story, whilst also putting on some lovely pro wrestling sequences along the way, making the most of contrasting styles. The sequence following a fire-up from Alexander was the highlight, with the two going back and forth, before Alexander nailed a running spanish fly for a good pop. Unfortunately the finish came across a little flat and forced, as we saw Amore leave the commentary table on his phone, inadvertently distracting Gulak and allowing Alexander to pick up the win with a Lumbar Check.

Around the match, there was a fair deal of storyline advancement, mostly involving the relationship between Gulak, Amore and Nia Jax. Amore's pre-match promo about Star Wars was a thing, but Gulak again stole the moment by comparing himself to Jar Jar Binks for a nice reaction. I'm unsure what to make of Amore's stretch on commentary as he had a severe case of verbal diarrhoea and just babbled utter nonsense all over the match. It stopped the commentary team from telling the story of the bout as effectively as they could have and had very little to do with anything at all. It was incredibly annoying, but arguably still entertaining. As a reviewer who is going to continue watching no matter what, it's hard to say whether annoying bable would've been enough for someone else, especially a casual to change the channel, but I certainly think Amore both as a performer and a character continues to walk a very thin line in that regard. We finished on a brilliant backstage segment where Gulak cock-blocked Amore with Jax, hamming it up to fuck as he apologised profusely to Enzo for losing the match. The Gulak/Amore relationship has produced some of the most entertaining television for the purple ropes and I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing how this story plays out and if WWE is able to give it a satisfying conclusion over the next few months. 

Stephanie McMahon announced the first ever Women's Royal Rumble Match 

Who would have suspected that a segment that began with an Elias Christmastime would conclude with Stephanie McMahon announcing the first ever Women's Royal Rumble match for 28th January? Well, it bloody happened, mate. McMahon returned amidst a roster-wide brawl after the match between Absolution and the team of Sasha Banks, Mickie James and Bayley ended in DQ win for the protagonists. The announcement is significant, of course, and there's argument on both sides for the Women's Royal Rumble, but having McMahon play such a pivotal role in it's announcement, whilst the division was presented as an almost faceless bunch of women, didn't sit well with me. The promo McMahon cut was fine, the usual motivational chatter about what the women have done in WWE for the last few years, but it felt unfair to make McMahon the star, whilst the everyone else was reduced to supporting cast, all happy for the opportunity. Credit to WWE for doing a couple of out of the box things though, having Sasha Banks and Mickie James interrupt the sing along produced a fun moment, with Banks and James looking more like stars than they both have for a while, whilst some of Michael Cole's quips on commentary got a chuckle from this cynical reviewer. 

Finn Balor def. The Miztourage // Disqualification

then...

Finn Balor & Hideo Itami def. The Miztourage // Pinfall 

Another moment where the booking team had seemingly switched their coffee brand this week, the debut of Hideo Itami came out of left-field and was a nice little surprise. Obviously, it would've been better if it hadn't been trailed for 205 Live for the last few weeks, but I'm not sure anyone was expecting him to turn up in a match with Finn Balor, Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas. I'm not quite how the handicap match that lead into Itami's debut was, as it went for way too long and I went to make a bowl of Tomato soup. (It was lovely, thanks for asking) The disqualification seemed like an odd move, but I popped for Itami's music and him storming the ring to help out the man who debuted on NXT by helping him out with The Ascension was lovely touch for long term fans. The tag match was also probably longer than it needed to be, but the stretch with Balor and Itami kicking ass was big fun and showcased the former GHC Heavyweight Champion wonderfully. The GTS to Axel was the cherry on top. Itami's appearance here and the fact that 205 Live house show tickets are not flying out, has me wondering if Vince is considering Balor to the brand as well...it's not a move I would be completely against, if Vinny hasn't seen the potential of Balor as a main eventer.

Brock Lesnar's Royal Rumble challengers revealed 

Basically, this segment revealed what most had worked out already. Brock Lesnar will defend the Universal Championship against Braun Strowman and Kane at Royal Rumble. They may as well have said that Kane would be taking the fall in the match whilst they were at it. The angle was a mixed bag all in all, with Kane cutting a terrible promo and relying on cheaply referencing The Undertaker, Braun Strowman looking a little weird in the face and then Lesnar struggling to F5 the Devil's Favourite Demon. I say mixed bag, but what I really meant was this segment was a bit shit. The highlight came from Kurt Angle announcing the match as soon as Lesnar got in the ring and then quickly saying his "It's true" catchphrase and bailing from the ring. Oh and Kane sat up after an F5...oooooooh.

Asuka def. Alicia Fox // Submission

Asuka went to 8-0 on RAW, in her longest match since beating Emma on the RAW after TLC. Foxy got a nice little bit of offence in, including her Northern Lights suplex that I'm a mark for, before succumbing to a cross armbreaker in shy of four minutes. The presentation of Asuka since that initial week has been much closer to the mark, lets hope WWE can continue to build the aura and mystique around the Empress of Tomorrow.

Matt Hardy presented the battlefield for "The Great War"

DELIGHTFUL! Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy dazzled in their promos this week, benefiting from the two being placed in separate segments, rather than sliced up together like last week's. Wyatt's promo to camera was dark and mesmerising, whilst Hardy's daft "Woken" antics, including playing chess with a goldfish he believes to be Napoleon, felt so far removed from anything else WWE is doing. Holy shit, is WWE going to get this feud right? 

The Revival def. Heath Slater & Rhyno // Pinfall

After being off TV since July, The Revival are back and ran through Rhyno & Heath Slater, picking up the victory with the Shatter Machine. We later saw Kurt Angle tell Rhyno & Slater that they needed to sort their shit out or he'd fire them. 

This week's great moment in WWE history was Chris Jericho's WWE debut from RAW is WAR 324. (Originally aired 9th August 1999 from Chicago, Illinois), whilst a clip from this week's Total Divas saw The Miz make his wife Maryse eat some meat for some reason.

Finally... 

Almost every segment this week felt like WWE was trying to do something creatively different. It didn't always pay off and in fact it probably flopped more often than not, but I'd much rather see creative that is distinct and appears to have effort behind it than the same old tired segments and patterns. The Ambrose injury angle, the interplay between Amore/Jax/Gulak, Elias' interaction with Banks, James and Bayley, Itami's debut and the magical things going on with Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt were all good examples of this. Gulak vs. Alexander was the best match on the show by some way and with a little more time could've been a stand-out bout for the Cruisers, whilst unfortunately on the flip side Rollins vs. Jordan ended up being a snorefest.

I was surprised to see not a whole lot promoted for next week's Christmas Day episode, which considering WWE has made the decision to air the show live for the first time is a little baffling. I was expecting WWE to put together almost a B PPV for the event with no RAW PPV this month, but it seems the company has decided to stick with announcing John Cena and hoping that will be enough for the event not to bomb.

The Non-Fan Review // Alberto Del Rio runs over Santa Claus (RAW 1022)

Two blokes who've had little time for professional wrestling...watch professional wrestling...then write about professional wrestling. That's pretty much the premise that we're building this series around. Our two non-fans will be given iconic moments from the history of wrestling and this month they'll be looking at that time Alberto Del Rio ran over Santa Claus on a Christmas Eve edition of Monday Night RAW in 2012, as well as ADR's subsequent Miracle on 34th Street Fight with John Cena. IT'S FREAKING CHRISTMAS! What will our intrepid graps newbies make of this one? 

---

Nick is a 5'11" homo sapiens who never watched wrestling before in his life before embarking on the project.

Born at an early age, he is currently finishing off a PhD in linguistics and has never referred to himself in the third person. He doesn't intend to start now.


---

Who doesn't love a good Christmas special?

They can absolutely make or break your Christmas experience for a whole year - whether it's chortling along with Del Boy or watching the Queen's Speech or trying to work out when Doctor Who started being so difficult to watch, there's nothing that brings us all together like yuletide-flavoured telly!

They understand this as well as we do in the faraway land of WWE, but surely nobody could have seen this coming: the 2012 WWE Christmas special begins with a Jingle Bells parody being "sung" (using the term as loosely as I possibly can) in an impossibly wholesome living room by scores of what I presume are WWE all-stars. Personally, I find that this item brings enormous joy to my heart.

It proves there are people with less musical talent than I have.

But that was just the starter in our holiday feast, the Brussell sprouts if you will - the show begins in proper as we cut to the wrestling arena. The commentator announces the "special guest referee" - it's only Father bloody Christmas!! (Or as Americans insist on calling him, the far less endearing Santa Claus. Sigh.) Why the man has yellow ribbons up the middle of his outfit and around his waist is unclear, maybe he's disguised as a birthday present. But he can't be more confused than the commentator, who can't remember his lyrics: "you better not shout, you better not... shout?" Maybe being utterly hopeless at anything to do with singing is a prerequisite for this company. As our favourite red-clad housebreaker hands out hats and dolls -- ahem, sorry, ACTION FIGURES -- to the children in the audience, the music suddenly goes weird and then a man in a tux appears smugly. Hmm.

But then it happens. The toy-distributing chap falls over an enormous white BWM that was right behind him, after which a Christmas tree immediately falls onto his face! Although why the man is holding the tree so close to his face is beyond me. Whatever the case, the man behind the wheel of the car exits the vehicle - he is wearing only a white scarf, golden boots (just like Batgirl) and a nappy, so clearly being caught injuring someone with his car is the SECOND most embarrassing thing to happen to him today. With that said, he looks understandably rattled. As the audience boos, smug tux man comes over and bursts into tears, before starting to play with the driver's scarf. He's a bit of an odd duck.

As the audience stars chanting "YOU KILLED SANTA", we get a replay to show what happened - a loudly honking BMW VERY SLOWLY entered the arena, although somehow the Lapland resident didn't realise it was there.. and stagily fell over it. Huh. So is the driver really completely at fault in this case? If anyone at InjuryLawyers4U can shed some light on this, I'd appreciate it immensely.

The beardy-weirdy is taken away by medics on a stretcher, giving us a thumbs-up so we know it's all fine. I admire such determination in a man who breaks into my house once a year to eat my mince pies and leave Nintendo 3DS games in my stocking.

After what is presumably an advert break, we learn from the commentary that the driver of the vehicle is one Alberto Del Rio, who drove in honking like a madman because he "entered the arena as he usually does". This raises a lot more questions than it answers. The tux man who is traumatised by the whole affair is called Ricardo Rodriguez; he's clearly mid-panic attack. To be honest, at this stage I can happily believe that this was all just one big accident with nobody to blame.

Cut to outside the "Trainer's Room"; if only this meant the room where they keep all the Pokémon. A man with glasses steps outside the room to address the scores of people waiting outside. He says - with a COMPLETELY STRAIGHT FACE - “Guys, I’m not going to sugarcoat this: Santa’s down”.

Enter Alberto, whom everyone hates, especially an overacting man in a hat who marches over and starts mugging to the camera: "MESSAGE FROM THE NORTH POLE, WHADDYA DOING MAAAN? TODAY’S CHRISTMAS EVE AND YOU RAN OVER SANTA!” Alberto's excuse that everyone knows where he drives his car so technically it's not his fault goes down less well than he expects: the throng yells their disapproval, culminating in overacting hat man shouting "ST NICHOLAS IS A SAINT!" No flies on this chap, clearly.

Mr Glasses lets us know the last thing Father Christmas said before losing consciousness: “Alberto Del Rio is going to be in a fight tonight, a Miracle of 34th Streetl Fight vs. John Cena". A man with his priorities in order, clearly. From context, I gather that overacting hat man IS John Cena. What is John's reaction to this request? "FOR SANTAAAAAAAAA!" It's on, bitches.

* * *

One hour and 45 minutes later - I counted - and they've put police tape around the BMW and the old chap's ECG monitor is playing Jingle Bells. The crowd reacts as if this is good news rather than a horrifying case of arrhythmia, so I'll follow suit and join the melee as it unfolds: 

From West Newbury, Massachusetts and weighing 251 pounds, John Cena bursts into the arena and looks thoroughly confused about it; he sprints to the ring starts pointing at random people. As one does.

One ad break later he has lost his t-shirt, now wearing only three-quarter shorts and fetching blue trainers. He mentions that he is running out of material to someone offscreen - maybe that's why his shirt had to go? In the meantime, Ricardo is still sobbing (seriously, THAT man needs medical attention more than anyone by this point, he's dehydrating at a rate of knots) and out slinks a very guilty-looking Alberto, still in the nappy and Flash Gordon boots. Alberto skulks to the ring, clearly knowing he's in the bad books.

DING-DING-DING! I'm impressed that they don't immediately start hitting each other and begin by trying to explain their points sensibly. Eighteen whole seconds without any physical contact go by until Alberto needlessly pushes John: "It was just an accident!" Well, that's opened the floodgates: Mr Cena shoves Mr del Rio into a corner, stands on his thighs and starts hitting his head. He then throws Alberto out of the ring, the commentator claiming that John is "fighting for Santa Claus and for Christmas". Well, that escalated quickly.

John follows his opponent out of the ring, only to be thrown into the metal stairs and receive a couple of kicks while he's down. As they roll back in, Alberto hugs John's leg - ONE, TWO... Nope, not out yet. Weirdly, Alberto asks for and gets a microphone from Ricardo - this the kind of thing I wish we'd see more often, running commentary from participants!

"It was just an accident!" pleads Alberto, before hitting a supine John.

"I was not trying to hurt Santa, okay!" he adds, then hits John with the mike as he tries to get up.

“A mí me gusta la navidad, John Cena," Alberto explains bizarrely as he attempts another whack with the mike... But John dramatically pulls it down, yells "SANTAAAAAAA" into it and then kicks the loquacious dangerous driver away. This could be a great PIF for safe driving with very little editing.

One of life's showmen, John allows the fans to pick whichever present he should open of the half dozen scattered around the ring. Opening the white paper around the box, he finds a black folding chair! Leaping back into the ring, he sets about his opponent with it, then grabs his leg: one, two... HANG ON! Ricardo just pulled the ref away before he could count to three! WHY would he even do that, I thought he liked Father Christmas?? John chases Ricardo around like Benny Hill, only for the latter to give him the slip and for Alberto to knock him down. Now it's time for Alberto to open a present - Ricardo (who, I'm increasingly realising, is just Alberto's bitch) brings a small red present containing... A custard pie. One comedy routine later, John ducks so Alberto gets Ricardo in the face with it. Well, now we know what a wrestling match choreographed by Sooty and Sweep looks like.

A few more blows exchanged and John drags Alberto up the aisle to the giant Christmas tree; unwrapping a green box, John discovers a mini-TV monitor with infectious childlike glee. Seriously, he's stroking it like a baby Triceratops. Straight into Alberto's mush it goes, the cad being on the verge of losing consciousness, then... Another advert break?

We come back and WHAT THE MERRY HECK HAS HAPPENED WHILE WE WERE AWAY? Now it's John rolling around on the floor in agony, while Ricardo offers his dungeon-master-- sorry, I mean his FRIEND Alberto a giant, white present. After a quick replay to show what we missed (not a lot to be honest), Alberto opens the present and looks up to heaven as if to say "WHAT IN THE NAME OF CAROLE ANN DUFFY IS THIS???"

Ricardo desperately tries to guess what it is there: "It's a bazooka! It's a tank! It's a bazooka, I swear!" Alberto reaches in and pulls out a teddy bear.

The crowd and commentators wet themselves laughing while John looks even more baffled than earlier. Alberto roars mightily and throws the toy into John, who simple says "Is this seriously happening?" He might well ask.

Alberto grabs Ricardo by the collar - he's clearly the sadist in their relationship - only for John to pull him off (AHEM!) and slam him into the nearby screen. Putting Ricardo out of the way by putting a wreath around him and a present on his head, John knocks Alberto to the ground, then nips back to looks at more presents. "USE THE TREE! USE THE TREE!" chant the fans; John obliges and whacks his foe with the metal-painted-green decorative arboreal, only to nip back and find a bowling ball! After a moment's calculation, he rolls the orange sphere into Alberto's orange spheres, causing him to double over in AGONY.

John's in a playful mood, he goes back to the other side of the ring and unwraps a fire extinguisher, to the delight of the commentators. As the two brawlers reenter the ring, John covers Alberto with carbon dioxide, which the commentator say is like snow. How they reached this conclusion is beyond me, but it seems to be doing the trick.

But zounds! Ricardo has leapt onto John's back like a koala in what the commentary calls a "sleeper hold"; the magnificent ham is starting to sink groggily...

But no. Jingle Bells plays. He's back.

Ricardo's face suggests he's on the verge of orgasm, he's so happy to see him - he lets go of John and dashes towards Father Christmas, arms outstretched for a hug... Only to be knocked unconscious from one swing of his big, red sack. (AHEM!!)

But he doesn't stop there, St Nicholas. No sir, he puts a stocking on his hand and does what the commentators call a "Santa Socko", which is a lot less rude than it sounds. This creates the opening for John to flip his foe, grab his leg, one two three - AND THAT'S IT!

So, there we have it - a TV special wherein the personification of Christmas was run over by a nearly naked beefcake, teddies were used as weapons and it all worked because it was played so straight.

Once a year is too infrequent for this level of madness.

FINAL SCORE: 8.5/10

Father Christmas, do not touch me...

---

Andrew suspects he may be an alien from another planet, frequently finding human rituals baffling. Wrestling is one of the many things that continues to baffle him, but no doubt his findings will be subjected to rigorous study back on his home planet (wherever that is).


---

It's Christmas at WWE, and we start with a singalong. Well, I call it that. Suffice to say that most wrestlers should stick to what they're good at. And then... Santa! He strolls in and throws random gifts to the crowd, while an instrumental "Jingle Bells" plays. There are a surprising number of children in the audience for this very occasion.

Then OH NO! A car drives in and v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y runs Santa down! It even takes out the tree! Who is this careless hit and run hooligan, and why is he only in a scarf and his underwear? The crowd boos: "You killed Santa!" The driver's tuxedo-wearing companion (what the hell was going on in that car?) dry heaves into a handkerchief a few times.

I think Santa will pull through. The paramedics have got him, and he's still moving, though I see a neck brace. There's not even any blood. And yes - there's a thumbs up from Santa, and a strained and muffled "ho ho ho".

Oh lord. Now it's a crime scene. They've got police tape and everything.

The wrestlers gather backstage. There's a pep talk and a lot of bad acting. In essence, they decide that the show must go on. The driver - I gather this is Alberto Del Rio - states that this was just an accident, but the others aren't happy. "Saint Nicholas is a saint!" says John Cena. Thanks for that.

We then hear that Santa's last words before he lost consciousness was that there should be a street fight. This seems unlikely, but none of this has been at all likely so far, so what the hell. And it's going to be with Cena. He doesn't look keen at first, but he'll "do it for Santa!"

--

We start with a Santa Claus Update. Apparently, he's taken a turn for the worse. But things can't be that bad - his heart monitor has started beeping "Jingle Bells".

Meanwhile, John Cena runs into the ring while Del Rio's friend (chauffer? I have no idea who this guy is) sobs on the sidelines. Del Rio himself seems fairly settled - he hasn't even changed, but then, he seems to wear trunks and kneepads as his usual wardrobe. The only addition in deference to the cold weather is that scarf.

The two men face off in the ring. Del Rio seems reluctant to fight, while Cena apparently blames him for ruining Christmas. Del Rio slaps back, and Cena goes nuts - pummelling the other guy into the ropes. He pins him into the corner, climbs the ropes and punches him repeatedly on the top of his head. The referee - no-one special today - breaks them up. One rule I've seen universally enforced in WWE seems to be "variety". You can't have two wrestlers get stuck doing the same thing for too long. I think this is a rule against boredom rather than anything fighting-related.

Cena slings Del Rio out of the ring. He follows after, ready to sling him about a bit more, but the second attempt backfires and Del Rio sends Cena flying into those metal steps. You'd think, after the number of times this has happened, they'd replace them with something softer.

Del Rio kicks Cena in the head a couple of times, then helps him back into the ring. An attempt to pin him down fails. A yell and a flying kick onto Cena's head seems more effective. "It was just an accident!" Del Rio yells into the microphone. Then he plants another kick on Cena, which rather undermines his innocence.

Now this is the scene of the "alleged crime", according to the commentators. Hmm. Perhaps justice in WWE is based on who wins their fights more than evidence. Del Rio is angry now. Cena is fighting back, apparently wrestling for... the microphone? Is this a battle of words? But Cena has just one word - "SANTAAA!" - before he kicks Del Rio in the tummy and sends him crashing down. The microphone is tossed aside.

John Cena steps out of the ring. He seems more interested in opening a present under one of the trees (one at each corner of the ring - how festive). A bit early, but it's not like Santa can complain. The size and shape of this box make me wonder - could it be...?

IT IS! IT'S A METAL FOLDING CHAIR!

Cena quickly puts it to use, jabbing Del Rio in the stomach and then whacking him on the back with it. He puts it to one side as he goes for a pin, but Del Rio isn't ready to quit just yet. Del Rio's tuxedoed weird friend argues with the referee - I'm not sure whether this is about using a chair or opening his presents early, but either way, Cena gets mad and comes charging out of the ring.

Weird Tuxedo Dude (WTD) runs for his life. He takes a shortcut through the ring itself, and as Cena follows he is intercepted by WTD's mate. Del Rio is not happy. Cena receives a hell of a kicking.

WTD returns with a present of his own, for Del Rio. It's... a pie? I'd prefer the chair myself. Cena avoids a face full of food, however, by ducking at the last moment. WTD gets a pie in the face instead. Well, that was pointless.

Battle rejoins, with Del Rio thrown face first into a post and then out of the ring. Cena decides to entertain the audience by taking Del Rio out for a walk and bashing his head on random things. Like his fist. He pauses to open another present. This one has a portable TV monitor in it with a convenient carry handle (ahh, 2012 technology). It clobbers Del Rio back into a pile of display boxes.

We pause for a commercial break. In this brief period, WTD returns to distract John Cena while Del Rio regains his wits. The latter sneaks up behind Cena and whacks him on the back of the head with something. We return in time for WTD to give Del Rio another present. The last one was a pie - despite his promises of a tank or a bazooka (I suspect even WWE would balk at using these in a match) Del Rio finds...

...a teddy bear?

Cena just stands there and watches. He doesn't react even when said teddy bear is hurled at his chest. With battle rejoined, Cena charges in with a punch and then hurls Del Rio into the display boxes again - via the wall. He then ensures WTD can't cause any more mischief with the restraining powers of a holly wreath around the chest and a large box on his head.

Back to Del Rio, who likes to kick. This time a low kick to the shin/calf area distracts Cena long enough for a punch to the head and another large box to follow. The punch to the groin was a low blow in every sense, however. The two men drag, punch and headbutt each other back to the ring, Cena gaining the upper hand and slamming Del Rio into the commentary desk.

Cena goes hunting for more presents, finding nothing of interest. The crowd offer their own suggestion - "USE THE TREE! USE THE TREE!" And that's just what he does - charging down Del Rio as he struggles to his feet with a fully decorated Christmas tree. Careful, Cena - you might get Tinsellitis.

Cena goes back for another present, this time finding a box he likes. Inside is... a bowling ball?? He lines up for a strike... right into Del Rio's, um, pin. The look of horror on Del Rio's face is matched by every adult male in the audience.

Cena's not done. There's a present left by the tree near the ring, and this one has what must be the final straw - a fire extinguisher. Del Rio struggles upright, crawling back into the ring. Cena follows. Del Rio begs for mercy - "it's Christmas! It's Christmas!" - but Cena is unmoved. He fires a continuous blast over his opponent. Del Rio bounces helplessly from floor to ropes, unable to see or do anything in the spray.

Then a small blur leaps in from nowhere - it's WTD! He leaps onto Cena's back, trying to grab him in some sort of headlock. Cena somehow falls to the ground under this unlikely attack.

And then we hear Jingle Bells. Suddenly, Santa is back! Perhaps we'll get some sanity restored to the proceedings... wait, what am I saying??

Cena and Del Rio are both prostrate, but WTD is thrilled at this turn of events. He runs out to greet the jolly old red suited weirdo - who clobbers him with his sack.

Santa then puts on a red glove, and shoves it into Del Rio's mouth. I have no idea what's going on any more, but Del Rio is roused in a hurry. Cena is up again behind him, grabs him, flips him over his head and slams him into the mat. Pinned, Del Rio is counted out very swiftly and the match is over.

Santa seems mystified by his own red glove. Cena seems happy, however, basking in the cheers of the crowd, then sharing a hug with Santa.


Verdict: Very, very silly. And Santa is surprisingly bloodthirsty.

---

Next time // We mix up the format as Andrew watches Sasha Banks vs. Bayley from NXT Takeover: Brooklyn...

 whilst Nicholas views Trish Stratus & Lita vs. Stacy Kiebler & Torrie Wilson in a Bra and Panties Match from WWF Invasion! 

Article by Nicholas Peat and Andrew Williams