Opinion: Unanswered Wrestling Mysteries Chapter 3 - What Was In The Lockbox? - Part 1

Chapter One - Who Kidnapped Samoa Joe?
Chapter Two - Who Was the Higher Power of The Nexus?

A lot happened in the WWE in 2016: AJ Styles turned up, the brands got split again, Brock Lesnar got murdered by your Dad's ripped friend, Bill, something called a Wild Card Finals. Despite a year full of big questions and many big answers, there is one question that many people still ask to this very day: What was in that lockbox? Let's take you back to the halcyon days of the 22nd of February 2016. Vince was in the ring to announce the very first Vincent Kennedy McMahon Legacy of Excellence Award which unsurprisingly he awarded to his daughter, the stylish and unlikely to ever get demoted, Stephanie McMahon. When much to everyone's surprise (that's a rare use of that phrase without sarcasm, kids) 'Here Comes The Money' hits and out came Hot Dad Shane himself, big money Shane McMahon to run down the poor business practices of the WWE, his sister and basically leave everything in what I believe the kids would call #rekt. He then announced to Vince he would be battling for control of the company and as collateral, he reminded Vince that he had a lockbox containing a secret Vince wouldn't want to come out. So Vince put him in a match at Wrestlemania against The Undertaker in Hell in a Cell. 

Some more things followed, Shane did the ghost punches, everyone called each other 'bitch' a lot and eventually after a solid ten-fifteen minute match trapped in a forty minute match's body, Taker won and per Vince's stipulation, the lockbox went away and Vince made Shane a Co-CEO because reasons. But here's the thing, you might have expected a Chekhov's lockbox like that to have been opened by now as we have to have hit Act Three of the story by now but no, it went away, never to be mentioned again. Till now. You see, we here at ATPW, don't like leaving a stone unturned so we've put our best minds together and come up with our explanations of what could have been in that lockbox and here they bloody well are...

1. A gritty, Nolan-esque reboot of The Gobbeldy Gooker.

What else could it be? Cast your mind back to 1990, a time when men were men and Fred Ottman was Tugboat. In the lead up to Survivor Series, the question on everybody's lips was 'what is inside that giant egg?' Not in fact the question they should have asked which was 'why is there an egg near this wrestling?' It turns out the obvious answer was Eddie Guererro's brother Hector, dressed as a turkey hatched out of the egg, calling himself The Gobbedly Gooker and proceeded to dance around the ring with 'Mean' Gene Okerlund who had to pretend Thanksgiving hadn't just died for him. The Gooker appeared intermittently over the next few months in the lead up to the Rumble but the fact that everyone seemingly hated it didn't lead to a devastating Gooker heel turn but just for him to disappear completely for about a decade. 

Now, for my theory to have worked, they would have needed to keep that lockbox out post-WrestleMania, by the commentary booth, until Survivor Series. They would have it turn up at Live events, on NXT, even turn up to and EVOLVE show, compete in a Triple Threat with Matt Riddle and Fred Yehi. Come Survivor Series, Hot Dad Shane would be getting a beat down from Braun Strowman when he'd manage to crawl over to this bizarrely human sized lockbox and unleash the gritty, Nolan-esque Gooker 2.0. As played by Shaul Guerrero. Just for legacies sake. It would be a brutal, nihilistic take on the dancing turkey with washed out colour palette and brooding, monotone voice modulation that could be put into just about any storyline and make sense. 

Now, why would Vince want this creation kept locked away? It had a Hans Zimmer-seque entrance theme that made CFO$ weep when they created it. Aiden English was finally able to get some main roster traction by playing on his real-life marriage to Guererro. Sadly, it would never be because they forgot to put air-holes in the box and the stand-ins for Shaul they had (because they couldn't risk injuring any more talent) all passed out and had to be sent to the farm with Randy Orton's multiple fake TV wives. Probably for the best as, like all Nolan creations, it had such a tragic backstory that the writing staff could never capture its depths of emotion. Sadly, all we are left with, is the thought of what could have been and the dreams of what may still.

2. The Scripts from that time Vince wanted to be the father of Stephanie's illegitimate child.

This actually nearly happened. Vincent Kennedy McMantuar actually wanted this to happen. Many people believe this was the moment that Stephanie McMahon realised that her father was more evil than the man he portrayed on television. Even when Mr. McMahon did this:

Luckily for Vince, even if he never got to have a TV Child with his REAL daughter, he did at least get to have that I Quit Match with Steph. That'll teach her to not want to have sex with Dad.

3. Vince's legitimate illegitimate son (aka not Hornswoggle)

Everyone here may remember shortly after dying in a limo crash, there were plans for a storyline about Vince's illegitimate son inheriting his company. Originally slated to be Mr. Kennedy, then revealed to be Hornswoggle (because of some real world shit that presumably we all know about and don't need to discuss again) then revealed to not be Hornswoggle (who was the son of Finlay because... haha Leprechauns) but it was never said who the real son was. Many people have hypothesised who it could be: Brad Maddox, Paul London - the Smiler upon exit, HHH (those people also wanted Vince to be Steph's child's father), Ross Kemp but there's only one person who makes sense: Husky Harris. Think about it, what if Irwin R. Schyster had two children: Bo Dallas and food presenter Mika Rotunda, Vince however had an affair with Stephanie Windham (he liked women called Stephanie) and the result was a third child named Windham who they pretended was not of Vince's lineage. 

As the years went by, he began performing under the name Husky Harris and made his way to Daddy's Own WWE and found himself thrown into the hot angle of the Nexus because Vince wanted all his children to be big names. Now, Harris wasn't quite as well-versed in Wrestling lore as Steph and Shane and quickly found he was floundering, especially within the weak sauce faction The Nexus became. He began hearing voices, a fair maiden named Abigail whispered to him. She told him to follow the buzzards. And he did. And more joined him along the way, they became a terrifying force, well for a while, till the losses started racking up. As the losses happened, so his promos became more tangential and less connected to reality but the question was asked, why would Mr.McMahon want to keep around an insane cult that wish death to his corporate machine? Because he keeps the spirit of his son, Husky Harris inside a lockbox, waiting for the day he can re-connect him to his body and vanquish the villainous spirit of Bray Wyatt once and for all. 

Obviously he didn't want to tell anyone because it's part of a grand plan, we all know that Vince plans everything years ahead right? No decisions made on the fly here.

*Check back at 6.30 GMT tomorrow for a shit load of other possibilities*

Words & Images: Jozef Raczka - (@NotJozefRaczka)

Editing: James Marston - (@IAmNotAlanDale)

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Blu-Ray Review: WWE Survivor Series 2015 (The B.O.D. vs. Wyatt Family)

WWE Survivor Series 2015 is out on DVD and Blu-Ray now in the UK. You can order here at WWEDVD.co.uk and all other reputable Home Video stockists. Broadcast live on PPV (and on the WWE Network) from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia USA on 22nd November 2015. The show features The Brothers of Destruction clashing with The Wyatt Family's Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper in the main event. The Blu-Ray edition includes nine other matches featuring the likes of Dean Ambrose, The New Day, The Lucha Dragons, King Barrett, Charlotte, Paige, Sheamus, The Usos, Roman Reigns and Ryback in prominent bouts. Commentary is provided by John "Bradshaw" Layfield, Michael Cole, Jerry "The King" Lawler, Byron Saxton, Booker T & Rich Brennan.

survivor series 2015 blu-ray match card

Match 1 – WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semi-Final – Roman Reigns vs. Alberto Del Rio w/Zeb Colter

Match 2 – WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Semi-Final – Dean Ambrose vs. WWE Intercontinental Championship Kevin Owens

Match 3 – Traditional Survivor Series Elimination – Ryback, The Lucha Dragons & The Usos vs. Mr. Money in the Bank Sheamus, 2015 King of the Ring King Barrett & WWE Tag Team The New Day

Match 4 – WWE Diva's Championship – Paige vs. Charlotte ©

Match 5 – Singles – Tyler Breeze w/Summer Rae vs. Dolph Ziggler

Match 6 – Tag Team – The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper) w/Braun Strowman & Erick Rowan vs. The Brothers of Destruction

Match 7 – WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Final – Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose 

Match 8 – WWE World Heavyweight Championship – Roman Reigns © vs. Money in the Bank Contract Holder Sheamus

Match 9 – Five on Five Traditional Survivor Series Elimination – The Miz, Bo Dallas, Stardust & The Ascension vs. “The Man That Gravity Forgot” Neville, The Dudley Boyz, Titus O'Neil & Goldust

Match 10 – Tag Team – WWE Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens & Alberto Del Rio w/Zeb Colter vs. Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns

main feature

Survivor Series 2015 kicks off with a solid bout between Roman Reigns and Alberto Del Rio, as the pair battle it out in the Semi-Final of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament. At times it feels like ADR is simply going through the motions, however it is some competent selling from Reigns that manages to drive the clash. A second semi-final bout between Kevin Owens and Dean Ambrose is probably of a similar quality, with Owens standing out as the star of the bout as he works hard to lift a initially flat crowd. Despite an excellent finishing stretch, there are still portions of the match that one would expect to have been a lot tighter from workers of this calibre.

The only Traditional Five on Five Elimination contest on the bout begins brightly with King Barrett and Sheamus bringing a different energy to The New Day's pre-match promo. However, the clash with Ryback, The Lucha Dragons and The Usos suffers from some bizarre booking, an off-beat pace and a crowd that doesn't seem to be interested at all. That being said, there are some nice spots peppered throughout the contest. 

The first title match see's Charlotte defending the WWE Diva's Championship in a scrappy fight with Paige, who was in the middle of another ill-advised heel turn. Whilst there are some nice ideas on display, the contest never really comes together, which isn't helped by a flat finish. Dolph Ziggler and Tyler Breeze then run through some decent sequences of action, but a lack of time, character-depth and crowd interaction hurt what feels like another throwaway match.

The main event of the evening has The Undertaker and Kane teaming up once more, as The Brothers of Destruction, as part of the celebration of 25 years of The Undertaker, an idea that dominates the presentation of the bout. Opposite Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper of The Wyatt Family, there are a lot of cool moment that play well off the different characters signature move and mannerisms. The crowd being so into the action makes the match a lot more watchable than perhaps it would've been otherwise. 

To close the show, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose are back to compete over the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, in what is a good, little match, which it's difficult not to feel disappointing by. The crowd continue to give a korma reaction to action, but they do wake up for the big post-match angle. 

special features 

From Survivor Series 2016 Kick-Off, there's another Traditional Five on Five Elimination bout, with The Miz, Bo Dallas, Stardust & The Ascension taking on Neville, The Dudley Boyz, Titus O'Neil and Goldust in a very meh kind of match. The wrestling throughout is all completely fine, but with no real drive and a lack of quality booking there's no real reason to check this one out. 

Onto the Blu-Ray exclusives and we start with a fun, back and forth between The Undertaker and Bray Wyatt on the mic from Monday Night RAW #1173, that build towards the PPV well. From the same show there's a contract signing between Charlotte and Paige for their bout, which features some strong mic from Charlotte and an enjoyable ringside brawl. An edition of Miz TV from Thursday Night Smackdown #848 with appearances from the four semi-finalists in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament is highlighted by a comedic appearance from R-Truth. The set rounds off with a fairly straight-forward tag bout from the same show, with Kevin Owens teaming with Alberto Del Rio against Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns.

finally...
blu-ray rating - 5.02

A distinctly average show here. The WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament provides the best action across the disc, but with the four performers involved I think many would expect a lot better quality. The Brothers of Destruction make for a fun main event, but one that ultimately lacks substance. The special features are also a bit of a downer, for not including any of the prelimary tournament matches. A miss opportunity to include the likes of Cesaro vs. Reigns, Owens vs. Neville or Ambrose vs. Ziggler, all of which could have boosted the quality of the content on the disc.

PPV Review: WWE Survivor Series 2015

4 weeks after Brock Lesnar went over The Undertaker at Hell in a Cell, it was time for the 29th addition of Survivor Series! After a tumultuous build-up that saw Seth Rollins have to surrender the WWE World Heavyweight Championships two weeks into the build for a match between he and Roman Reigns, this show featured the final three matches of a tournament to crown a new champion with Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Alberto Del Rio and Kevin Owens battling for the belt across the show. With The Undertaker appearing alongside Kane to take on The Wyatt Family to celebrate his 25th year in the business, this show had to be great....didn't it?

Fast-Forward...Lilian Garcia sang the Star Spangled Banner, which apparently no one else sings along to...The opening package focused on The Undertaker's 25 year anniversary and upcoming tag bout with Kane against the Wyatt Family, as well as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament involving Roman Reigns, Alberto Del Rio, Kevin Owens & Dean Ambrose, before closing with a nice twist on a clichéd saying “History is written by the Survivors”...During the entrances for the first match of the evening, Michael Cole made it absolutely clear that the whole WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament was about Roman Reigns, by only talking about Reigns' story heading into the show...

Match 1 - WWE World Heavyweight Championship Semi-Final Tournament - Roman Reigns vs.United States Champion Alberto Del Rio with Zeb Colter

A strong opener between the two least popular remaining members of the tournament (Well least popular amongst the "cool" fans anyway). Whilst some of Reigns early offence was a little sloppy, the pair strung together some enjoyably slick sequences, with a simple and effective story. It was clear that Reigns was being put over as the stronger and more capable performer inside the ring, with Del Rio having to go to the outside to gain the upperhand, sending the Juggernaut into the ringpost, barricade and steel steps at various points. We also got the United States Champion working Reigns shoulder, riffing off the Reigns previous victory over Cesaro on Monday Night RAW. Reigns selling was good and we did get a superb submission sequence with Del Rio locking on the Cross Armbreaker, but I felt at time that opportunities to continue the work weren't taken, such as when "Mexico's Greatest Export" pulled Reigns throat across the top ring rope, when an attack to the arm would have made much more sense. There was clearly only ever going to one winner here, but the lively crowd made the near falls much more exciting. A much better outing for Del Rio than his bout with John Cena at Hell in a Cell and a contender for the match of the evening for me.

Winner - Roman Reigns via pinfall (Spear) in 14 minutes, 4 seconds

Fast-Forward...As Reigns celebrated his victory, Michael Cole continued his obsession with tournament brackets, how he'll cope when the tournament is over is yet to be seen...Whilst Jo Jo stood awkwardly about the backstage area with a microphone, Roman Reigns was interrupted by both Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens, with the Intercontinental Champion putting in the strongest showing on the microphone ...We didn't have to wait long for more Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens as the pair made their way to the ring for the 2nd Semi-Final in the title tournament...

Match 2 - WWE World Heavyweight Championship Semi-Final Tournament - Dean Ambrose vs. Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens

The quality of action didn't drop for the 2nd bout of the evening, and whilst Ambrose and Owens didn't quite connect as well as many would have hoped for, they still put on a sound physical encounter. In comparison to the opener, the crowd were pretty subdued in the opening stages, perhaps because Owens and Ambrose are favourites amongst the livelier fans, therefore I was very impressed with the Intercontinental Champion who managed to bring the crowd onside with a couple of adlibed lines, that whilst they weren't particularly creative ("And that's why I'm the next champ") pulled the crowd into the action and allowed for a much more enjoyable second half of the bout. After a handful of exciting near falls, like Owens Fisherman's Buster off the top rope, Ambrose escaping two Pop-Up Powerbombs to hit Dirty Deeds 2 was a skillfully frenetic finish. The IC Champ being kept strong by clearly having the match won if he'd have hit his Pop-Up Powerbomb made me happy and the potential for a rematch over the belt with some added toys at TLC in three weeks is a mouth-watering prospect.

Winner - Dean Ambrose via pinfall (Dirty Deeds 2) in 11 minutes, 18 seconds

Fast-Forward...With Ambrose being afforded plenty of time to celebrate, Michael Cole was busy putting over the main event bout with Reigns, just in case anyone was thinking of changing the channel on PPV...A well-produced vignette on The Undertaker interspersed with clips from WWE Network show, Legends with JBL, airing reminded us once again that this was the 25 year of Taker in the biz, if it was anyone else it might have been a little bit of over-kill...

With a Survivor Series match advertised but no competitors announced it was a rather weird experience as Ryback, The Lucha Dragons, The Usos, The New Day, King Barrett and Sheamus headed down to the ring. TEN SURPRISE COMPETITORS! Of course, the New Day were given time on the microphone and with Barrett and Sheamus at their side, the trio were on fine form. Sleekly flicking between the various sports teams of Atlanta and their opponent, the trio got the crowd chanting "New Day Sucks" with ease. Barrett looked to be having absolute ball beside them, but I'm not sure why WWE opted to make Sheamus the butt of the joke with his awkward "Tonight we're going to get jiggy on these posers" line.

Match 3 - Traditional Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination - Ryback,  The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto & Sin Cara) & The Usos (Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso) vs. "Mr. Money in the Bank” Sheamus, “The 2015 King of the Ring” King Barrett & The New Day (Xavier Woods, Big E & Kofi Kingston)

The only Survivor Series bout on this year's main card, this wasn't a classic. That isn't to say it wasn't without it's moment, with the quad dive by The Usos and The Lucha Dragons and the extended Unicorn Stampede standing out as highlights of the earlier chunk of the bout. Whilst the eliminations of the contest were booked well (especially the first few) and kept a nice pace once they started to flow, the crowd had very little reason to care about this. They weren't into anything the babyfaces, and especially The Usos were doing and with Jey spending a lot of time as the Usos in peril, it was disappointing to see his hot tag to brother Jimmy get absolutely no reaction. But the effort just wasn't there to deserve.

I didn't like the booking for the finish however, as for me it went WAY too long. The New Day leaving after Big E was eliminated (to help him to the back) was a nice idea, but poorly executed with no announcement that they had been counted out made and the commentary team hinting that they would be back out. Having Sheamus as the only member of his team left opposite Jey Uso, Kalisto and Ryback was a strange decision and could have worked with we'd had seen Sheamus get quickly taken down after the distraction of New Day leaving but it just dragged on and on, without ever seemingly having anything but one outcome. No one gained anything from this, despite it being the longest contest of the evening.

Winners

Jey Uso, Kalisto & Ryback in 17 minutes, 33 seconds

Order of Elimination

King Barrett via pinfall (Sin Cara after Springboard Senton) in 7 minutes, 47 seconds

Jimmy Uso via pinfall (Xavier Woods after Double Stompp/Backbreaker Combo) in 9 minutes, 22 seconds

Sin Cara via pinfall (Sheamus after Brogue Kick) in 10 minutes, 43 seconds

Big E via pinfall (Jey Uso after Superfly Splash) in 11 minutes, 30 seconds

Sheamus via pinfall (Ryback after Shellshocked) in 17 minutes something

Fast-Forward...The promo package for the Divas Championship bout interestingly decided to omit Paige's comments about Reid Flair on last week's Monday Night RAW...Whilst the commentary team did allude to the controversial comments during the entrances of the pair, it was only mentioned how personal the feud had become, without the specifics...

Match 4 - Diva's Championship - Paige vs. Charlotte ©

The bout played out like a grudge match in the ring, but you wouldn't have thought it from the crowd, who decided pretty early on that they couldn't give a fuck about this. I thought the action here was of a high quality with both women throwing heavy strikes and taking some punishment on the outside, with Charlotte's Electric Chair drop onto the apron standing out. The only stuff that got the crowd anywhere near interested was anything involving Ric Flair, which has to be down to the way WWE has portrayed the Divas' Champion since her main roster debut. She may as well be announced as "Ric Flair's daughter" for all it's worth. Whilst the effort was put into the action, neither girl tried to get the crowd involved, beyond Paige's couple of "Woo's", even when given the opportunity to reply to the growing "We Want Sasha" chants. I enjoyed what I saw, but the fact that the crowd was silent throughout is something that needs to be addressed quickly. Hopefully that addressing isn't reverting back to the previous Divas style of the last five years.

Winner

Charlotte via Submission (Figure 8) in 14 minutes, 15 seconds *STILL CHAMPION*

Fast-Forward...The Kick-Off Panel (Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Booker T & Corey Graves) chatted about Charlotte vs. Paige a bit before, previewing the main event...Roman Reigns returned the favour to Dean Ambrose by interrupting his former Shield stablemate during an interview with Jo-Jo, which was oddly given a "Earlier Tonight" caption...Tyler Breeze's main roster debut was shown during the entrances for his match with Dolph Ziggler...

Match 5 - Singles - Tyler Breeze with Summer Rae vs. Dolph Ziggler

A decent bit of filler, but filler non the less. The feud got lost in the mix of the World Heavyweight Championship tournament, despite it being a real opportunity to intensify the feud and therefore the crowd couldn't have given a knat testes about what was going on. There was plenty of solid action, including a satisfying back and forth pinfall section, but there was just that little spark missing that could have made this a stand out match. Breeze picking up the clean win with Christian's old finish was a surprise as I expected to see him cheat to win, especially after Prince Pretty used a couple of heel antics to get the upperhand earlier on. It'll be interesting to see where Breeze springboards to from here, but isn't it sad to see how WWE wasted Ziggler's tremendous performance at last year's event, in what should have been the breakout moment for the Show-Off.

Winner

Tyler Breeze via pinfall (Unprettier) in 6 minutes, 43 seconds

Fast-Forward...More Undertaker fan-fare, as the package for The Brothers of Destructions clash with The Wyatt Family was up next...

The Undertaker's entrance was quite something, wasn't it? Especially for a show like Survivor Series, if it was Mania it wouldn't have been as big of a deal, but there was his funky logo on fire and other things on fire and lots of fire. Plus a sweet coffin screen situation that showed The Undertaker's past selves, well not past selves obviously it's the same bloke, but you get what I mean. Erick Rowan reminded us all that he's the member of the Family that we couldn't give a flying fuck about, when he ran into the ring and the WWE Universe let out a collective sigh, believing he'd be one of the two to take on B.O.D! Then the sigh of disappointment was replaced by one of relief as Rowan got double chokeslammed to fuck and Luke Harper and Bray Wyatt stepped up to the plate.

Match 6 - Tag Team - The Wyatt Family (Luke Harper & Bray Wyatt) with Braun Strowman & Erick Rowan vs.The Brothers of Destruction (Kane & The Undertaker)

This contest was a fun watch, with The Undertaker running through his greatest hits and Kane coming along for the ride. Playing to the strengths of everyone involved and with a crowd that was into everything that went on, this was one of the easiest watches of the show. Whilst I'd have liked to have seen Kane worked the "Demon in Peril" role just a little bit longer than he did, to really milk the moment for 'Takers hot tag, the rest of the booking was spot on, with Strowman allowing the Wyatts to take control twice in the bout, as well as taking a Double Chokeslam through the Spanish announce table. The finish was excitingly paced, and whilst if you didn't see The Brothers of Destruction double sit up coming you'd probably never seen wrestling ever before, it was still a pretty damn cool moment. Many will focus on The Brothers going over Wyatt (and Wyatt losing yet another marque feud), but I had a great time watching and that's all I care about right now. 

Winners - The Brothers of Destruction via pinfall (Undertaker on Harper (Tombstone Piledriver) in 10 minutes, 18 seconds

Fast-Forward...The Brothers of Destruction doing their classic hand raise pose on the entrance ramp capped off the nostalgia trip...A promo for upcoming WWE Network shows offering the likes of the TLC PPV, pre-recorded Stone Cold Podcast's with Shawn Michaels & Ric Flair, a new reality show Ride Along, new episodes Breaking Ground & Edge & Christian's Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness showed WWE's continued commitment to produce fresh content for their channel...It was main event time, we'd see a new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, there was definitely a big fight feel heading in...

Match 7 - Finals of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament - Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose

This is a difficult one to review for me, because I thought the action we were given was of a high quality, but we just didn't get enough of it. Cutting the match to just over 9 minutes was a ridiculous decision, quite simple. Just as things were getting going and beginning to look like we could be breaking into something really quite special, between two men with chemistry and heaps and heaps of back-story to play off, Reigns hit his second spear and won the title. It didn't feel like it should have, I didn't feel like I'd just watched the main event and final match of a sixteen man tournament, I felt like I'd watched a great main event for Monday Night RAW. For what they did do, all credit to Reigns and Ambrose as both brought great energy, paced the contest as well as they could have and sold the heavy hitting nature of the contest to a tee. Give me ten more minutes and more exploration of Reigns' arm injury and I'd have been very happy.

Winner

Roman Reigns via pinfall (Spear) in 9 minutes, 1 second *NEW CHAMPION*

Fast-Forward...It all went on in the next four minutes, Reigns and Ambrose shared a brotherly moment, Reigns refused to shake Triple H's hand and speared him out of his boot, before taking a Brogue Kick from Money in the Bank Contract holder Sheamus and we quickly had another title match on our hands...Sheamus only went and won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, connecting with his second Brogue Kick after dodging a spear attempt by the Juggernaut...

Wow, that was an interesting finish, tying into what was an intriguing night of booking for WWE. It was however clear that Sheamus, despite winning the World Heavyweight Championship was not the star here, as we closed with pictures of Roman Reigns leaving the ring. Yes, we did see Sheamus standing on the ramp with Triple H and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but I'm not expecting him to be holding onto that belt for long. He's another road block for Reigns to get to on his chase for the title (that now he's already actually held) and a rushed replacement for Seth Rollins within the Authority. There's a couple of avenues to explore over the next three weeks heading toward TLC, like Sheamus' relationship with King Barrett, the repercussions of The New Day leaving Sheamus to the wolves in their Survivor Series bout, Ryback getting the pin on the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion and of course, the small matter of a rematch for Roman Reigns sooner rather than later. 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.97 - Average/Good

Whilst the show came just shy of recent outings like Hell in a Cell, Night of Champions and SummerSlam on the ATPW Scale and had a number of issues throughout the card, this was still a pretty easy watch for me. The WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament offered some good quality outings, with the opening Semi-Final contest between Roman Reigns and Alberto Del Rio being the best of the bunch for me, even if I'd mark the Brothers of Destruction and Wyatt Family contest as my favourite of the evening.

Some bouts suffered from either a lack of build or an uninterested crowd or a mixture of the two. There was potential for this to be one of the best PPV's of the year, if Charlotte and Paige could have garnered some crowd involved in their Diva's Championship encounter and if the Survivor Series Elimination match hadn't been thrown together and booked in such a haphazard fashion. The Elimination match going over 15 minutes also meant that it had a big effect on the rating for the entire show. There was however nothing on this card that I would pronounce as being outright bad.

Here's hoping WWE builds on the positives of this show and quickly addressed the weaknesses, with the 2016 WrestleMania season quickly approaching.

Second Opinion...

Here's our buddy Marc Pearson's Youtube review of the show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILIe6W2w_Tw&feature=youtu.be&a

TV Review: WWE Monday Night RAW #1173

After a flat episode last week in Manchester, could WWE step up their game on the go-home show for Survivor Series? With Paige and Charlotte's Divas Championship contract signing, The Brothers of Destruction opening the show, Cesaro and Roman Reigns battling in a World Heavyweight Championship quarter final and a lot more over the three hour show from the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, how did WWE do as we head towards one of their biggest events of the year...lets take a look.


Fast-Forward...The commentary team laying out the four World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Quarter Finals was a quaint way to start Monday Night RAW into 2015, but it gave the viewer a complete view of what to expect over the next three hours...

The Brothers of Destruction ended last week's RAW in Manchester and this week they got to open the show. The Greenville, South Carolina crowd were popping loud for Taker's BONG at the start of his music was a cool moment and The Deadman managed to keep the entire crowd hanging onto his every word, even if the promo was full of mystical gubbins. Bray Wyatt's reply was a similar effort, and through some loud "What?" chants, the Eater of Worlds did manage to pull out a couple of cracking lines, like "After Survivor Series you'll just be remembered as the brothers that I destroyed". The Druids turning on Undertaker and appearing with sheep masks on was a nice visual, even if the attack on B.o.D was a little flat. By the end of the segment, I was much more interested in a clash between B.o.D. and two members of The Wyatt Family than I was previously and that's exactly how a segment like this should make one feel. Here's hoping the match can live up to all the special effects and pyro. 


Fast-Forward...The commentary team did a strong job of putting over the previous encounters of Neville and Kevin Owens as we headed into the first match of the night...

Match 1 - WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Quarter Final - "The Man That Gravity Forgot" Neville vs. WWE Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens

This was quality opening contest, that set the tone for the type of show we'd be getting this evening nicely. With a hot crowd that quickly sided with Neville, the pair worked well together to create a number of creative sequences, the Pop-Up Powerbomb escaped into a Reverse Rana standing out in particular. With an on-going story of Neville attempting to put Owens away with the Red Arrow and never quite managing to hit it, despite the crowd willing him on all the way, was easy to follow and the face/heel dynamic kept things simple but effective throughout. There was space perhaps for a little extra time to really up the ante and tell an even stronger story, but as Quarter Final for the World Heavyweight Championship, both men came out looking better than they came in.

Winner - Kevin Owens via pinfall (10 minutes, 45 seconds) 

Fast-Forward...During Owens celebration, Michael Cole ran us through the brackets for the tournament, a site that we'd become all too familar with by the end of the night...The coverage of Seth Rollins surgery was a good tie-in with the tournament and hopefully we'll see The Architect back in the ring sooner rather than later...R-Truth was stupidly over in his entrance, but Byron Saxton joining in on the "What's Up?" chant was cringey...Truth's contest with Tyler Breeze did a lot in a short space of time, with Prince Pretty picking up the win with the Beauty Shot...The announcers desk was at it again during Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose's entrance, putting over each man's relationship with the World Heavyweight Championship well.

Match 3 - WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Quarter Final - Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose

This could have been a bit of a disaster. By that I'm certainly not doubting either man's abilities in the ring, but judging by the crowd's reactions to the first to match, Greenville seems like a town that loves cheering their babyfaces, so I was a little tentative about how the sound scape of the bout would be. I needn't have worried, Ambrose and Ziggler held the crowd throughout the 16 minute contest. They worked an intriguingly slow pace early doors, adding layers of complexity into the bout as things progressed, gathering up more content like a snowball rolling down a hill. Back and forth with lots of near falls and a split crowd, you can't ask much more for a television contest, can you? Like the previous tournament bout, both men came out of the contest all the better for being a part of it, even if Ziggler did the job clean following Dirty Deeds.

Winner - Dean Ambrose via pinfall (16 minutes, 45 seconds)

Fast-Forward...Ambrose's post match promo was blisteringly captivating and his promise of "putting Michael Cole in a fish tank" if he won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on Sunday should surely be enough for anyone to will on the Lunatic Fringe...

Don't you dare be sour! Yes, it wouldn't be RAW anymore without a New Day promo, would it? The threesome put on another entertaining display, as they complained about the lack of coverage their 1st anniversary as a team was getting. With a little bit of continuiation of their feud with The Usos thrown in for good measure and reference to some thing called "Booty Juice" what wasn't to like about the WWE Tag Team Champions sermon? 

Match 4 - Six Man Tag Team - Ryback & The Usos vs. The New Day

This was an enjoyable six man tag team contest, but unfortunately we only got half of the bout. The New Day continued to work their arses off, with plenty of trash-talking as they dominated Jey Uso and worked quick tags. During the old school heel antics, the crowd got more and more behind Ryback, who was in desperate need of a rebuild following having to job to Kalisto on Smackdown. I'd suggest that because of this, WWE decided to have Ryback run in to take out the New Day after one trick too many, but it did leave a match that seemed to be heading in the right direction feeling rather flat.

Winners - The New Day via Disqualification (5 minutes, 47 seconds)

Fast-Forward....Ryback destroying The New Day was again a very transparent way to protect the former Intercontinental Champion, but I'm not sure it should have been done at the expense of the tag champs...Michael Cole and co pushed the benefits of watching Survivor Series on the WWE Network as opposed to PPV, a real treat for wrestling fans...Triple H and Cesaro's backstage segment was an interesting one, with Trips seemingly push The Swiss Superman on to "grab the brass ring"...Roman Reigns pre-match promo was the shits with the Samoan seemingly attempting to destroy the English language...

Match 5 - WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Quarter Final - Cesaro vs. Roman Reigns

I was surprised to see this not go on last, seeing how strongly Roman Reigns has been pushed on television over the last month. However, it certainly didn't effect the tie, as both men worked hard for each and put on another cracking quarter final contest. Cesaro looked great early door with a series of quick reversals and movements, that made him look more than capable of hanging with now bonafide main eventer Reigns. If you're not convinced by Reigns as an in-ring performers yet, there's probably little I can do here, but the selling of his injured arm, after hitting the ring post, brought an extra dimension to things. It certainly turned Cesaro's Sharpshooter transitioned into a Crossface look even more special. The third contest in a row where both men managed to come out of the match looking better than they did going in.

Similar to the Ziggler vs. Ambrose, the crowd could have made or broken this match. Had this been in one of the more "cool" wrestling cities, it perhaps wouldn't have had the same energy behind it. Part of the crowd were behind Reigns, part of the crowd was behind Cesaro and that suited the hard-hitting, alternating contest. The reactions to the various near falls as the bout picked up steam heading towards the finished told you all you needed to know. Everyone involved in the match (including the referee who put in a brilliant performance) took what was in it's essence a pretty predictable win for Reigns into a clash that Cesaro looked like he could have won at various points, non-more so that a backslide reversal of Reigns' signature Superman Punch.

Winner - Roman Reigns via pinfall (20 minutes, 23 seconds)

Fast-Forward...A big thumbs up for Reigns post match celebration, as he looked like he'd been through a battle, which only empathises the quality of his victory...The Dudley Boyz went over The Ascension in a short and meaningless piece of tag team filler...The awkward duo of Alberto Del Rio and Zeb Colter were met by Triple H backstage (during an interview with Renee Young) in what was another pretty clumsy moment...I got a strange sense of joy seeing Del Rio struggle with his "Mex-America" flag on the way to the ring, whilst Kalisto handled himself well in an in-vision promo...

Match 7 - WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Quarter Final - Alberto Del Rio with Zeb Colter vs. Kalisto

The final match of the evening was another enjoyable encounter, even if it didn't quite manage to reach the heights of the three tournament bouts that had gone before it. Del Rio looking to put the match away as quickly as possible, whilst trying to hit his Tree of Woe Double Stomp, not only gave the match it's narrative back bone, but also put over Kalisto well, following his surprise victory over Ryback on Smackdown last week. The flurries from Kalisto were worked well and his offence works best in that kind of environment, whilst the closing stages of the bout with Del Rio hitting the Double Stomp was sublime. With an extra five or ten minutes, I've a feeling that this could have found itself in the same area as the other tournament matches.

Winner - Alberto Del Rio via pinfall (10 minutes, 5 seconds)

Fast-Forward...The three amigos pushed the WWE Network's Undertaker Week...

A Diva's contract signing to close Monday Night RAW? Can you imagine that happened two or three years ago? The girls needed to hit it out of the park to make sure there was no real argument against the Diva's Revolution occurring this year. Paige and Charlotte got their characters spot on and whilst there will come a time when Charlotte will have to look for something other than her family for content, it made perfect sense to do so in Carolina. Paige's words about Charlotte's late brother, Reid, seem to have pissed off a lot of people (Including Charlotte's Mother) but it really made me want to see Charlotte beat the living piss out of the Norwich lass...surely the exact reaction I should have been having? Heels are supposed to get under peoples skin and if Paige's comments offended you, then she was doing her job right. Both women looked comfortable closing the show and I'm hoping that they are afforded the opportunity to do so again over the next few months.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 6.69/10 - Very Good, almost Superb TV

After last week's blip, this was another strong offering from WWE. In my opinion, this was the strongest we've seen Monday Night RAW in the bumpy build-up towards Survivor Series. The tournament quarter finals were all given plenty of time and a tournament that seemed to be lacking in star power heading in managed to raise the profile of pretty much everyone involved in those contests. With two very different segments book-ending the show, the Survivor Series card was promoted strongly and even though I'd side with the opener being the strongest of the two, it was great to see Paige and Charlotte getting the chance to close the programme. 


A big shout out to the Greenville crowd who were excellent throughout. More crowds like this one please.


Here's hoping WWE can continue this form into Survivor Series on Sunday!