SmackDown #945 Review - Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn

On 26th September 2017, WWE aired the 945th episode of SmackDown live on the USA Network from Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona. The show featured Kevin Owens taking on long-term rival Sami Zayn and Randy Orton interrupting a celebration held for Rusev day, as well as appearances from United States Champion AJ Styles, General Manager Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Tag Team Champions The New Day and Shinsuke Nakamura. But was it any good? Let's take a look.

The show began with a recap of the Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon feud, showing the footage of Owens beating up Mr. McMahon two weeks ago and both men's promos from last week as this feud really begins the hard sell with Hell in a Cell in just 12 days.

Kevin Owens Kicked Off SmackDown (7:58)

You'd be forgiven for thinking that Kevin Owens currently has the WWE Championship around his waist, because over the last few weeks (and perhaps beyond that), he has been the undoubted star of the blue brand, getting segments with Mr. McMahon and producing some of the best microphone work across WWE's product. This week we saw Owens return to his feud with Sami Zayn, shining new light on the pairs rivalry and creating a particularly strong opening segment, that touched on a number of themes beyond wrestling. Zayn would interrupt a rant from Owens about Shane McMahon not being present at the start of the show, questioning Owens' actions and claiming that he had snapped. It was a nice way to put over the severity of Owens recent shift towards the maniacal, as anyone who had been watching during the WWE version of the Owens v Zayn feud will know how personal and heated that became. I got a real kick out of the morality play elements here, with Owens talking up his accomplishments, despite signing to WWE to years after his former friend, with Zayn firing back with two hard-hitting lines of dialogue. Firstly the "I will do it my way, I will do it the right way" is exactly how the Zayn character should be positioned, whilst the exclamation point came with "When I look myself in the mirror, I don't see a giant piece of trash looking back at me". Whilst the "piece of trash" bit took away slightly from the impact, the sentiment was right and stirred up a good crowd reaction. It segment ended slightly anti-climatically as after both men dropped their microphones, General Manager Daniel Bryan came out and booked a match for the main event, when everyone just wanted to see the pair brawl and beat each other up!   

Before the next match Tye Dillinger used a distraction from United States Champion AJ Styles to send Baron Corbin out of the ring to the floor. 

Baron Corbin def. Tye Dillinger via Countout (6:10)

The opening of this one played out on a split-screen with the advert break, which is a strange habit that SmackDown has adopted since going live. It makes it difficult to keep track of anything going on in the match, so I just assumed that nothing of any note happened during that period. Once the bout came back from the break, it wasn't much cop either, as the worked through a series of sloppy sequences that some how managed to be both over and under thought. Dillinger's selling of his back was probably the strongest part of the contest and lead to the best moment of the contest when Corbin managed to escape a Tye Breaker attempt, after the Perfect Ten's back gave out. As usual the commentary team completely missed it. The finish was a little contrived as Corbin splashed water at AJ Styles on commentary, before lobbing Dillinger into Styles, sending the pair over the announce table to take the countout victory. I'm down with a character like Corbin revelling in a cheap countout win, but the whole set-up was overly scripted and a little wooden it's execution.  

After the match, Corbin knocked Dillinger to the floor, before being chased off by Styles and then challenging Styles to a United States Championship match at Hell in a Cell. 

Shinsuke Nakamura finally had enough of Jinder Mahal's rhetoric

WWE Champion Jinder Mahal continued to show pictures of Shinsuke Nakamura on the screen, only for one to come to life in a moment that should have happened at least a week ago. It was certainly less offensive than in recent weeks and Nakamura finally coming out to get some revenge produced a great reaction and a cool moment for the King of Strong Style.

The Usos def. The Hype Bros (2:19)

Swift tag bout, with nothing much to talk about beyond the fact that Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley continue to bicker as a team and the Usos won with a superkick, followed with a superfly splash.

Post-match, The Usos confronted The New Day at ringside, with the Tag Team Champions throwing out a challenge for a match inside Hell in a Cell. Yes daddy! 

Rusev Held the Pride of Bulgaria Celebration (7:50)

I can imagine that this Pride of Bulgaria celebration wasn't for everyone, but I ended up getting quite a lot of enjoyment from it for a number of reason. Firstly, I thought it was cool to bring Aiden English in to sing the Bulgarian national anthem as Rusev walked to the ring. It made perfect sense for that character to be involved and it allowed English a chance to take part in a segment that he perhaps wouldn't experience on his own, whilst also allowed him to create more heat for himself as well as Rusev. The segment with the "Major of Plovdiv" presenting Rusev with the key to his home city was perhaps a little dated, but it seemed to know that, revelling in it's hokey elements and using them to entertain, as well as garner heat. As opposed to what we've seen with Jinder Mahal, it felt like it was aiming to garner heat from the ridiculous situation of Rusev getting his own day for a cheap win over Randy Orton, rather than solely the fact he was from a different country. The build to Orton's appearance was timed well, so by the time the Viper appeared to RKO English, you knew exactly what was coming and were waiting to see the Viper strike. Rusev took one two and we'd find out later they'd be facing off at Hell in a Cell, here's hoping the pair get the chance to scrub their SummerSlam fiasco from the record books.

Backstage, Sami Zayn asked Daniel Bryan to make sure that Shane McMahon didn't get involved in Zayn's match with Kevin Owens later in the night. 

Randy Orton asked Renee Young to tell Rusev that they were going to have a match at Hell in a Cell, before wishing her a Happy Rusev Day.

Charlotte Flair def. Carmella (6:54)

Another match that was split screened with the adverts, meaning that the time listed is a bit skewed (I only ever list screen time) and that I didn't actually see about half of the in-ring action, because ads are shiny and distracting. What I did see was mostly enjoyable action with Flair looking competent as she helped the less-experienced performer to create a couple of nice spots. The match was mostly Carmella, who controlled after some helpful interference from James Ellsworth, as the Money in the Bank holder got a chance to run through some of her offence, including a bronco buster and a tilt-a-whirl headscissors takedown. The only sloppy moment was a transition into a reverse DDT, where the pair seemed to have a moment of miscommunication. The out of nowhere victory for Flair, with a big boot (shit finisher) made her look like a threat to Natalya at any point in their match at Hell in a Cell, whilst also allowed Carmella plenty of opportunity to get herself over ahead of the potential run as Women's Champion that the Money in the Bank briefcase offers. 

After the match, Women's Champion Natalya came out told Flair that she was glad her father, Ric Flair, had recovered for illness, because she wanted him to see Natalya beat Flair at Hell in a Cell. 

Dolph Ziggler's absurd entrances were halted by Bobby Roode

Dolph Ziggler came out dressed as The Undertaker and got a great amount of heat for it as the gimmick finally seemed to click with the audience. This resulted in Bobby Roode finally confronting Ziggler and a match being booked for Hell in a Cell in a fun segment.

Kevin Owens def. Sami Zayn via referee stoppage (6:12)

Can you go wrong with Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn? The answer is no. Whilst the 11th televised encounter between the two probably won't be remembered as much as their clashes at Battleground or Payback last year, it played a vital role in the feud between Owens and Shane McMahon, with Zayn offering up a nice storyline comparison with which to drive that feud. Most of the in-ring action was classic Owens/Zayn, brawling early doors, fighting from underneath like no other from The Underdog from the Underground and slick reversals. For some reason they decided to do a brainbuster on the apron during the commercial break, but we'll forgive these two that little error. The sequence that stands out in particular saw Owens block a Helluva Kick with a superkick, before Zayn escaped a Pop-Up Powerbomb and countered with a Blue Thunder Bomb, with the action coming at a great pace and elevating the potential threat of the pairs finishing manoeuvres. Also Zayn hit one of the most beautiful and impactful tope con giros that I have ever seen. It was, of course, disappointing to see the bout end by referee stoppage after Owens hit a beasty apron powerbomb, but as part of the ongoing storyline with Shane McMahon, it made perfect sense. It leaves Owens with seven victories of Zayn in WWE and puts to bed the loss Owens suffered to Zayn on RAW in March. I'm interested to see if Zayn is given anymore to do next week in this feud, but am also hoping he can begin to start some stories of his own on the brand and begin to step out of the spot he's occupied since December 2014, Kevin Owens' shadow.

After the referee stoppage, Kevin Owens continued to attack Sami Zayn, wrapping a steel chair around his neck. This brought Shane McMahon out, only for Owens to throw Zayn into McMahon (with the chair still around his head) before legging it up through the crowd.

A good episode of SmackDown this week, as we finally got rid of the albatross that was Jinder Mahal's awful promos, whilst the rivalries that had kept the show ticking recently were picked up also. Each storyline seems to be hitting it's stride at the right time with only one episode to go until Hell in a Cell, with stuff like Rusev's celebration providing lots of little entertaining moments and Shane McMahon's issues with Kevin Owens providing some over-arching drive to each episode. The only thing that isn't working for me right now is the Baron Corbin v AJ Styles feud, mainly because it's been awkwardly slammed together and Tye Dillinger has ended up being the real star of the piece. 

Review by James Marston

Sin City SmackDown Review - Kevin Owens and Mr. McMahon Confrontation

On 12th September 2017, WWE aired the 943rd episode of SmackDown, live on the USA Network, from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show featured an in-ring confrontation between Mr. McMahon and Kevin Owens and a Sin City Street Fight where The Usos put their Tag Team Championships on the line against The New Day members Big E & Kofi Kingston as well as appearances from United States Champion AJ Styles, General Manager Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin & WWE Champion Jinder Mahal. But was it any good? Let's take a look. 

• MV - Shane McMahon was indefinitely suspended after Kevin Owens goaded him into an attack on SmackDown #942

In-Ring 

Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan 

(7:21)

With Mr. McMahon's visit the main draw for this week's episode, starting off with the man he wanted to speak to in the ring was a good idea, as it set up the main story for the episode and gave viewers a reason to stick around to see how things would play out when the two eventually came face to face at the end of the episode. Even with very little actually happening here, Owens managed to be incredibly entertaining as he talked about his plans to sue WWE and replace SmackDown with "Kevin Owens presents, the Kevin Owens Show, staring Kevin Owens". I couldn't help but be reminded of some of CM Punk's mic work in 2011 in Owens' delivery as he looked like he was having a load of fun as he named a number of changes that he would administer once he was in charge. Stuff like making Byron Saxton and Tom Phillip wear the same suit because they sound like one person and cancelling the Fashion Files because he doesn't get it (which actually got the most heat of the entire promo). A cameo from Dolph Ziggler dressed as Shane McMahon was a quirky touch, developing his new gimmick and producing an air of unpredictability around the character that could pay dividends later on in this run. The segment would conclude with General Manager Daniel Bryan telling Owens that Mr. McMahon would be here later in the night and he "won't like what he's going to say", with KO getting the exclamation point as he replied with the same phrase in regards to McMahon.

• Commentary - Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton - Similar to RAW on Monday, the commentary team spent a minute discussing Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, providing a link for viewers to donate to the relief fund - www.ghcf.org/hurricane-relief 

Singles Match for United States Championship 

AJ Styles (C) def. Tye Dillinger 

(4:03)

I was really into this bout as Styles and Dillinger took the short four minutes of TV time for their bout and seemed to decide to work as quick as possible and fit as much into the match as they, resulting in an exciting back and forth bout that showcased Dillinger perhaps better than anything in his SmackDown run to date. Baron Corbin's involvement produced a couple of distraction false finishes for The Perfect Ten, off a roll-up, before the two worked a lighthing quick series of finisher reversals and after the Tye Breaker didn't put Styles away, the Phenomenal One was able to retain after locking in the Calf Crusher for the submission. After the match concluded, Corbin took out both men, including nailing an End of Days on the floor to Styles, before revealing that he had a shot at the United States title next week.

• Backstage - Kayla Braxton, Rusev - A pretty strong promo from Rusev, who discussed returning home to Bulgaria and being viewed as a loser...he closed things off by saying he must "break a legend" in order to get back his killer instinct.

In-Ring 

The Singh Brothers, WWE Champion Jinder Mahal 

(5:36)

Well, what to say about this...Jinder Mahal's promo made me feel uncomfortable. If I was supposed to feel uncomfortable it did it's job, but it certainly didn't make me want to see Mahal against Shinsuke Nakamura again anymore than I did after watching their dire match at SummerSlam. After awkwardly opening with "Ah! My opponent" and asking answering a question no one had asked or alluded to, "How do I know what the artist will be thinking? I get inside his head", Mahal's promo consisted of showing pictures of Nakamura pulling faces during his match, claiming he was "constipated" and/or afraid of "Godzirra". Yeah, he actually said Godzirra. Things were helped by Mahal bumbling through a series of awkward phrases either. There seemed to be a thing where he tried to turning it round on the fans at the end, saying that he was saying what the crowd was thinking and told Nakamura being the champion wasn't worth it. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what all of this meant. Why make Nakamura look like an idiot and make a joke out of something that makes him enjoyable to watch? Especially if you haven't got Nakamura in the building to reply or beat the shit out of Mahal. To be honest, the whole promo felt like had come directly from Vince McMahon, with the toilet humour and jabs at other cultures seemingly right up the chairman's alley. The Jinder Mahal experiment has bombed like anyone with any knowledge of the Indian market and common booking sense could have told you, but I'm more worried that WWE seems intent on taking Nakamura down in the grease fire.

• Backstage - Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn - As Owens listed off demands to some bloke with a clipboard, before bumping into Zayn, which leads to the Underdog telling Owens that he'd "rather go back to working in armouries than to ever work for you!" 

Sin City Street Fight for the Tag Team Championship 

The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) def. The Usos (C)

(8:14) 

An exciting Street Fight, with lots of weapon spots, a few nice near falls and another Tag Team title switch. This wasn't quite up there with the classic that the two put on at SummerSlam, but for a television clash there was more than enough to satisfy, with these two teams having chemistry by the bucket load in whatever combination we see them. Whilst the match was fought under Tornado rules, the teams worked in "hot tags" of sorts, with Big E initially being dominated with Kingston down on the outside, before Kingston came in and cleaned house with a flippy DDT thing and then a wicked diving double stomp after throwing a chair at Jimmy. Big E would then make a comeback on the outside, nailing an overhead belly to belly on the floor, before lobbing whichever Uso that was over the announce table. I have to say though, that while the match had a breakneck tempo, some of the spots came off as a little messy, with Jey taking a nasty bump to the floor and Kingston getting bundled into barricade after the Usos struggled to send him into the time keepers area. Similar to their match at Money in the Bank, the teams should be commended for their creativity, but there was definitely cases of moments not coming off because they were rushed through. The last few minutes were packed with near falls and momentum shifts, with both teams looking like they could have been walking out with the belts. The finish included the biggest spot of the match with Kingston pushing Jey off the top rope and through a table on the floor, before Jimmy ran into a Trouble in Paradise on the apron and New Day picked up the win with the Midnight Hour to begin their second run as SmackDown Tag Team Champions. This was the sixth match between the two teams since mid-June and we're guaranteed one more when the Usos get their rematch, here's hoping WWE has big plan to blow off this feud, because as good as some of the matches have been it's time to shuffle the SD tag team division up a bit...could we see the teams meet inside Hell in a Cell on 8th October? 

• Singles Match for Women's Championship - Natalya (C) def. Naomi (4:10) - A decent match, but I perhaps expected more, with the two working a shortened, less interesting match to what they did at SummerSlam. Carmella on commentary with James Ellsworth on a leash is a thing now and played into the finish after Naomi hit a diving crossbody onto the pair on the floor, which gave Natty the advantage. 

• Backstage - Aiden English, Kevin Owens - Owens asked English to create a theme song for the Kevin Owens Show, as he continued to put together plans for his WWE takeover and it was actually pretty sweet. 

• In Ring - Dolph Ziggler - "Anyone could do what I just did" was the theme of Dolph Ziggler's segment again this week as he imitated the entrances of Bayley and The Ultimate Warrior (yeah) and claimed that nobody could do what he does in the ring. I'm interested to see where this is heading, but the Ultimate Warrior entrance seemed like a really cheap way to get heat, hopefully it was okayed with Dana Warrior before hand.

• Tag Team Match - Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable def. The Hype Bros (3:32) - Swift victory for the new team, with a Powerbomb combination, after a nothing match. Zack Ryder would refuse to shake hands with Benjamin & Gable post-match, signalling that a heel turn is imminent. 

In-Ring 

Kevin Owens, Mr. McMahon 

(11:17 )

By God, Kevin Owens murdered Mr. McMahon. This was again some uncomfortable television, as watching a 72 year old man get busted open, superkicked and frog splash by a man over half his age is never going to a barrel of laughs. It certainly made Owens look like a bastard, but a conniving one as he outsmarted Vince by asking "I need you word, that if provoked I can beat a McMahon senseless" with Vince believing he was referring to Shane during the upcoming Hell in a Cell match and agreeing. The earlier part of the promo didn't really work for me and seemed a little confused at what it's aims were. As McMahon mocked Owens look, called him nauseating and when Owens threatened to sew the company McMahon told him it would be impossible because Vince is a billionaire and the legal system is designed for people like him. By the end of the promo was I kinda pulling for Owens to batter McMahon because he'd been verbally dressed down by his boss, who had flaunted being a billionaire and wanting to make his employee bankrupt. It was backwards. He also claimed that he suspended Shane, not because he attacked Owens but because he "didn't finish the job", which makes sense to someone, somewhere, but not to me. The attack was uncomfortable in a good way when it came and was played well by everyone involved (including agent Adam Pearce and Stephanie McMahon) but the promo from McMahon hit the wrong beats, especially considering how he's been portrayed over the last twenty years.

ATPW Scale Rating - 4/10

A proper mixed bag this week on SmackDown, as I detested the Jinder Mahal promo and couldn't wait for to be over, but we also got a very good television match, in the form of the New Day and The Usos's Sin City Street Fight. The Kevin Owens Show provided some entertaining moments, with Owens' opening monologue perhaps being the highlight and his attack on Mr. McMahon being a powerful piece of television. There was however some awkwardly positioned phrases and the McMahon promo in particular didn't seem to have any plan and ended up making me sympathise with the heel Owens. The other two title matches could've done with more time, but at least Styles and Dillinger worked hard to make the most of their time. It's also worth noting that there were no appearances from big names like Shinsuke Nakamura, Becky Lynch, Randy Orton, Bobby Roode and quite a few others this week.

Article by James Marston

WWE Backlash 2017 Preview & Betting Odds

The first SmackDown PPV since WrestleMania is upon us as Backlash takes place in the Allstate Arena in Chicago this evening. The seven weeks since the Grandaddy of them All has been interesting for the blue brand to say the very least, but what can we expect tonight from the SmackDown crew? Let's take a look. 

United States Championship - AJ Styles v Kevin Owens (C) 

The US title appears to be being positioned a lot higher up the card than we've seen in previous years, as Styles and Owens look set to main event Backlash with the red, white and blue strap on the line. The feud between the pair hasn't had much time to get into full swing, with Owens still focused on his old rival Chris Jericho, however I doubt that will have much effect on what should be an incredible match between two of WWE's top performers over the last twelve months. There was a time when Styles and Owens held the top two titles in WWE last year, so they'll both be looking to prove that they deserve to be back in contention for the top belts and should push each other even harder than usual. Owens could do with a prolonged spell with a belt, as trading the title back and forth with Jericho heading out of WrestleMania and the belt itself could do with a period of time around one guys waist, so I'm expecting Owens to walk in and out of Chicago as champion. The notoriously vocal Chicago audience should add an extra dimension and help produce a match that we'll be talking about for quite some time.

Betting Odds

Owens - 8/15 
Styles - 11/8

Dolph Ziggler v Shinsuke Nakamura 

Personally, I've not been a massive fan of how Shinsuke Nakamura's call-up has been handled. Him turning up on the post-WrestleMania SmackDown to interrupt The Miz produced a very cool moment, but since then as he's been shifted into a feud with Dolph Ziggler that hasn't exactly caught the imagination, with a series of segments involved Nakkers coming out and doing his entrance and not a whole lot else. If the plan wasn't to showcase Nakamura's real strength, his in-ring ability, until Backlash, I would have preferred to have seen a match announced between the two and then had Ziggler carry the programme on the strength of his mic-work, whilst ploughing through some lower card fodder or even local competitors. The quality of this bout will hinge on how much of a showcase it is for Nakamura. I'd like to see a much more balanced bout with Ziggler allowed to get some heat on the former NXT Champion, but I fear we may just a get a simple squash bout, which won't allow anyone unfamiliar with the Japanese star to fully grasp why Shinsuke is such a special talent. 

Betting Odds

Ziggler - 10/1
Nakamura - 1/33

Sami Zayn v Baron Corbin 

Perhaps surprisingly, this will be the first Zayn v Corbin bout that the WWE has aired, as despite numerous matches on live events in NXT and WWE since 2015, the two have never squared off in front of the cameras. The feud has been pretty simple since Zayn's move to SmackDown, with Corbin assaulting Sami on Talking Smack and building from there. Zayn has always worked best when fighting from underneath and this contest will give him plenty of opportunity to do so against an opponent almost half a foot taller and over 60 lbs heavier. Corbin has come into his own as a wrestler since moving up from NXT, but has yet to have a memorable singles bout that could potentially push him to the next level, so I'm interested to see if he takes the opportunity that is presented to him here. These two are more than capable of putting on a good match and with the right balance and attention they should be able to shine at Backlash. I'm expecting a Corbin victory, ahead of a big push, that could see the Lone Wolf grab the Money in the Bank briefcase next month.

Betting Odds 

Corbin - 1/5
Zayn - 100/30

Luke Harper v  Erick Rowan 

We saw these two lads feud back in late 2014/early 2015, as part of the larger Authority angle, with Rowan bizarrely taking on the babyface role of "Big Red". This most recent development seems to have come out of WWE having nothing much else for the two after Bray Wyatt moved to RAW and hasn't been particularly inspiring, beyond Rowan's creepy appearance on Talking Smack last week. Rowan picked up a win over Harper in four minutes a few week's ago on SmackDown, with very few signs that we should get excited about a potential rematch. Harper has shown against Randy Orton and Dolph Ziggler that he could be much more useful to WWE, so maybe we'll see Rowan step up to provide a big hoss battle against his more accomplished former Wyatt Family brother. Luke should get his win back here and I expect both will be slotted into the Money in the Bank Ladder match next month.

Betting Odds 

Harper - 1/5
Rowan - 100/30

SmackDown Tag Team Championship - Breezango v The Usos (C)

The spotlight that Tyler Breeze and Fandango have been given since becoming #1 Contenders in a Beat the Clock Challenge at the end of April has finally given both men the opportunity to show-off their character work and entertain the masses and the pair have ran with it, creating a series of comedic skits involving their Fashion Police gimmick. The Usos have also upped their game on the mic, bringing their thuggish gimmick up a notch, in a series of promos. Now it's time for the two teams to show us what they can do in a match together. Both duos have the talent to put on a belter of a match and with Chicago expected to be well behind Breezango, this match could give the talent strong, but investment weak, tag team division a much needed boost. I'd love to see Tyler Breeze and Fandango give the blue leather titles a makeover, but I think we'll see The Usos hold onto them for the time being. 

Betting Odds

Breezango - 100/30 
Usos - 1/5

WWE Championship - Randy Orton (C) v Jinder Mahal

The WWE Championship match finds itself towards the end of this preview, because the thing I'm most interested in seeing is how Chicago reacts to it, even more so after Orton's Twitter rants. Jinder Mahal got a title shot outta nowhere, winning a random Six Man bout on SmackDown and then being joined by the Singh Brothers to perform an anti-American gimmick. After spending most of 2017 to that point putting over the New Day, Enzo & Cass and Mojo Rawley it was certainly a bolt from the blue and the brand has worked hard to make Jinder seem like a threat as he's almost wholly got the upperhand on Orton, as well as picked up victories over AJ Styles and Sami Zayn since. If either Orton or Mahal put a foot wrong here, Chicago will be all over them, so Mahal better hope for a career performance or at least some help from his more polished opponent. With so much talent on SmackDown, I'm not quite sure what is achieved by giving Mahal the WWE title, other than to really push the Land of Opportunity situation...however if you only watched RAW and saw that someone you were used to seeing losing in minutes was the other brands top champion (especially so quickly), you'd surely consider that brand a bit of joke? I hope I'm surprised by this bout, but I'm not holding out much hope.

Betting Odds

Orton - 8/11
Mahal - 1/1

Tye Dillinger v Aiden English 

The events opener will warm up the crowd as they get to see the popular "Perfect Ten" and shout "Ten" a lot for a bit, whilst English continues his singing cry-baby gimmick (which is apparently a shot at Mauro Ranallo #lolmentalhealth). There's not much of a feud here, beyond Dillinger picking up a couple of wins over English on SmackDown, so I'm thinking we'll get a relatively straight forward singles match here with a clean win for Dillinger. 

Betting Odds

Dillinger - 1/8
English - 9/2

The Welcoming Committee v Charlotte Flair, Naomi & Becky Lynch 

Rounding off the card we have a tag match featuring the entirety of SmackDown's female division. The Welcoming Committee gimmick for Natalya, Tamina & Carmella has had it's moments, mostly involving James Ellsworth and what seemed like an initially one dimensional gimmick as the group targeted Charlotte Flair has branched out and worked relatively well. For me, the majority of the in-ring talent is on the babyface side, which could lend itself well for hot tags and face in peril spots, giving the heels chance to work the crowd and build. That's where the potential in the bout is for me, however a lot of it depends on if the bout is allowed the time it needs (over ten minutes, at least) and if the demanding audience allows the six women to build towards something. I think we could see a heel turn from one of the face team, most likely Flair, but more interestingly Becky Lynch, as either of those two would produce stronger opponents for Naomi and arguably stronger storylines to play with. 

Betting Odds 

The Welcoming Committee - 1/10
Flair, Naomi & Lynch - 11/2  

That's your lot. Check out the event on the WWE Network from 7ET or 12am BST. 

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WWE NXT #244 Review (Aired - 19th April 2017)

On the 19th of April, WWE aired the 244th episode of NXT, taped at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida on 5th April. After last week's big farewell to Shinsuke Nakamura, this week we would have the last NXT match of Tye Dillinger as he'd attempt to settle the score with Eric Young (if Tye wins, that would put him at 1 win to Young's 5. Settled.) in a Steel Cage match. The Steel Cage match is of course a staple of faces trying to avoid outside interference because it always works! The show also featured NXT Champion Bobby Roode, Andrade 'Cien' Almas, The Iconic Duo of Peyton Royce & Billie Kay and a big return, could it continue with last week's solid effort and produce another fun show? Let's find out...

Itami knocked Roode out cold with the GTS

You may have noted my 'hmmm' about the placement of Hideo Itami last week at the goodbye ceremony for Nakamura, turns out 'hmmm' was correct. Roode would come out, suited and indeed booted to start the show by telling everyone how glorious he was, how he's improving NXT, how he didn't come out to say farewell to Nakamura because he beat him, twice, all lot's of decent 'heat', he even gets some boos from the normally Roode-loving Full Sail crowds. Of course while he was running his mouth, out would come everyone's favourite delayed push due to injury, Hideo Itami, managing to outsuit Bobby Roode but was wearing Plimsolls so Roode maybe still has him there. He would deliver a crisp slap, worthy of a dueling challenge to the face of the NXT champ and then a GTS much to the constant delight of the crowd before looking at the title and walking away. All good things here and putting Itami back in the ring with someone like Roode is a good plan as most of his injuries seem to have been sustained via rookie mistakes so a more seasoned performer like Roode should be able to work around such things.

• Next week we're getting Tyler Bate defending his UK title against the 'Gentleman' Jack Gallagher. That's going to be a lot of fun with a lot of well groomed facial hair.

• After the break, Roode was still in the ring, having only just woken up from that Go To Sleep

• Heavy Machinery lift weights. Almas has stolen the Del Rio 'everyone's a Perro' gimmick and is directing it at Drew McIntyre.

Almas def. Burch

Almas, his entrance and his fucking hat make so much more sense as he's fully embracing his heel role, Danny Burch entered to something approaching a pop. They worked a short, but quite painful looking match with lots of strikes, reversals and quite a lot of attention paid to the arm early on that did not pay off. Burch would quickly fall to a Big Boot into the corner crotch wipe, I mean Double Knees into the Hammerlock DDT. Another week, another match that is the defintion of Squash match but in that the 'official' term for Burch right now is 'Enhancement Talent', he certainly did make Almas good.

• We get a series of talking heads from the NXT Womens Roster talking about how unbeatable Asuka is or at least, how seemingly unbeatable is while also setting her up for her nigh-on inveitable fall by planting the seeds of arrogance being her hamartia.

• We also get a video package hyping up tonight's main event which I can't highlight enough is a Steel Cage match so that will prevent any run-ins.

Morgan & Aaliyah def. Royce & Kay

Morgan and Kay started proceedings, working a slow, feeling-out process. IN fact, most of the match could be described as slow as nothing really happened and none of it was done very quickly beyond Morgan using her legs to roll Kay around the mat. Aliyah worked the 'Canadian who likes cats but isn't Natalya' in-peril role well till Morgan would come in hit a dropkick on Kay who was doing stuff and Aliyah would small package Royce for the pin. An oddly brief match, it seemed planned but at the same time, it seemed like the match was only getting started then it was over. It wasn't the worst.

• Next week: Aleister Black kicks someone's head and Drew McIntyre tries to kick a specific head in the form of Andrade 'Cien' Almas.

Dillinger def. Young in a Steel Cage Match

Turns out, this match had a shit-ton of run-ins. Young did the 'I'm not getting in just yet' bit until Tye attacks and pulls him inside the structure so the match can properly begin. Once the match started, it was, like a lot of WWE Cage matches, not a technical masterpiece but it was a nice, intense brawl with a lot of there signature offense being adapted to suit the environment with one particularly crisp looking Superkick from Tye driving Young's head right into the wall, cutting open his forehead and a 'holy shit'-worthy Elbow Drop off the cage onto The Perfect Ten. The first two thirds of the match had some fine psychology with Tye playing the never-say-die babyface looking to show he can win via pinfall which was sadly hurt by his attempts to escape instead and Young, while the Elbow Drop was spectacular, it did make him seem more heroic briefly but Young, fr the most part wasn't even trying to win the match, just trying to hurt Dillinger. Of course just as Dillinger hit a Tye Breaker and crawled to the cage door, the assorted members of SaNItY would run in and slam the door nearly in his face, followed by Tye's buddies: Roderick 'not as small but still rather small boots' Strong, Kassius 'I look better with my shirt not tucked in' Ohno and Ruby 'my music was the best track from Sonic Generations' Riot to even the odds. Killian Dain would eventually flatten Ohno and Strong against the ring and climb in to make it a two on one but Tye hit a superb crossbody off the top onto both men and rolled out of the cage door for the win. Young and Dillinger play off each other superbly, even if I wish with NXT's love of history they'd have mentioned that Young actually helped train Dillinger back when he was starting out, but both mentioned put in intensity, some fine big spots and using the interference of SaNiTy to tell the final chapter in Dilllinger's NXT redemption tale. The show ends on a deserving 'Thank you, Tye' chant as he's carried up the ramp on the shoulders of Strong and Ohno.

Finally...

Don't be mistaken by the higher score below, beyond the most English promo ever seen on NXT between Bate & Gallagher and some solid work from Roode & Itami, up until the main event, this week's episode was eminently skippable. That said, the highlights of this week far overwhelm the fact that there was only one good match. I liked that for the second week in-a-row, in between match segments were used to push forward next week's action as NXT is the future, and the future is next week. Even I don't know what that was meant to mean. Either way, if you're in a hurry, watch the first segment and the main event and you're away.

ATPW Scale Rating: 5/10

Review: Jozef Raczka

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Supercard Review: WWE NXT Takeover: San Antonio - Bobby Roode v Shinsuke Nakamura

On 28th January, NXT Takeover returned to Texas for the second time in ten months, as San Antonio hosted the event from the Freeman Coliseum, with Bobby Roode challenging Shinsuke Nakamura for the NXT Championship headlining the event, as well as action featuring the likes of Roderick Strong, Eric Young, NXT Women's Champion Asuka and NXT Tag Team Champions #DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa). Could NXT pull out a repeat of Takeover: Dallas? 

Match One

Eric Young 

(with Alexander Wolfe [Axeman] & Killain Dain [Damian O'Connor]) 

def. 

"The Perfect Ten" Tye Dillinger [Shawn Spears] 

(10:53)

Dillinger's role of jobber to the stars continues in another spirited showing that will do nothing to harm the former OVW Television Champion's runaway popularity among fan all over the world (just attend any British wrestling show to find out just how over Dillinger (or at least, the number ten) is right now). The bout set out it's stall early on, with Eric Young and his SAni†Y co-horts doing all they could to hold Dillinger down, with plenty of dubious activity inside and outside of the ring. The Perfect Ten's face shine went on a little too long for my liking, but considering the crowd's reaction for him, it's understandable why NXT had Dillinger running wild for an extended period before settling things down. The numbers game became the cliche from then on in, but a number of well placed near falls and cute spots kept this entertaining, helped, perhaps, by the rocking Freeman Coliseum. The finish featured a nice nod towards the Royal Rumble happening on the 29th, with Dillinger "skinning the cat" straight into Young's signature Youngblood, in perhaps another piece of the story being told about Dillinger getting carried away during the brand's more high profile matches. 

Match Two

Roderick Strong 

def. 

Andrade "Cien" Almas [La Sombra] 

(11:50) 

This match did very little for me, if I'm honest. There was some lovely sequences at times and the two showed they could change gear, but it just felt strikingly disjointed and Strong and Almas never seemed to completely "click". There was early stuff with Strong hurting his arm, which was initial sold well, but got completely lost latter on, almost as soon as "The Messiah of the Backbreaker" had escaped Almas' Ring of Saturn-esque hold. Following this the match upped the pace and went back and forth, with the pair working hard in an attempt to mesh their various signature holds, but with a lack of anything substantial. I don't want you to think that this was a bad match, because it wasn't at all, there was A LOT of good to very good work here and there, and some very pacy wrestling in the closing stages, but none of it seemed to slot together to create a match that could hold my interest for the length required. 

Match Three

The Authors of Pain

Akam [Sunny Dhisa] & Rezar 

(with Paul Ellering) 

def. 

#DIY

Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa

 to win the NXT Tag Team Championship 

(14:25)

I called The AOP taking the titles here (ask Jozef), for the simple reason that #DIY were so good when chasing the titles from The Revival, that it felt like the natural extension of that story to have them go on to chase a bigger, badder, meaner and very different tag team. That's exactly what unfolded here as we got Gargano and Ciampa taking the fight to the challengers and Akam and Rezar, in a hard-hitting clash that ended with AOP swatting the game champions to the side. The match structure kept the rookies protected, lending from #DIY and The Revival's MOTY at Takeover: Toronto last November to bolster the drama when necessary, whilst giving #DIY just enough hope that a potential rematch is still an exciting prospect. The crowd reaction to Ciampa's electric German suplex comeback as well as when #DIY caught The AOP in their respective submissions holds was superb and a tribute to the hard work that all five men involved put in here. By the conclusion both teams had been elevated and a potential rematch, with #DIY looking to win back their belts, is positively mouthwatering. There's more to come in the story of both these teams, here's to the next chapter! 

• Seth Rollins made a surprise return to NXT, calling out Triple H, only to be carried away by security in a segment that was almost perfect tonally.

Match Four

Asuka [Kana]

def. 

Peyton Royce, Billie Kay [Jessie McKay] and Nikki Cross [Nikki Storm] 

(Fatal 4Way)

to retain the NXT Women's Championship

(9:54)

Another storyline driven bout here as NXT looked to make the most of it's female roster which has been heavily depleted since July's brand split and they actually did a cracking job, with Peyton Royce, Billie Kay and Nikki Cross all stepping up to create a fun jaunt, alongside NXT's resident female bad-ass Asuka. The story of Royce and Kay wanting to win the match together was refreshingly handled as it easily could have descended into the cliche of them both trying to nick pins on each other. This lead to some of the most interesting movement in the Women's division for sometime, as Cross was presented almost as an equal to Asuka. The storyline elements were tent poled with a handful of big spots, including Cross nailing a elevated spinning neckbreaker off the apron to the floor, before the SAni†Y member took a double release verticle suplex off the announce table, that sent her crashing through a regular table below. Asuka was eventually able to secure victory with a stunning flurry to remain champion, but it seemed like everyone involved took a step up here and delivered beyond many expectations. With these four ladies, as well as Ember Moon and the likes of Crazy Mary Dobson and Kimber Lee waiting on the sidelines it feels like NXT's Women's division is going to be just fine in 2017. 

• Fuck me on a bicycle made of sticks, the entrances for the main event were all I wanted them to be and more.

Match Five

Bobby Roode

def.

Shinsuke Nakamura

to win the NXT Championship

(27:07)

Genuinely, I hadn't been that excited for Roode v Nakamura, after the oddity of Nakamura's feud with Samoa Joe, the bout came at an odd time in NXT's history. However, by the end of the match I was on the edge of my seat, completely gripped by some marvelous theatricality as Nakamura grabbed hold of his knee after hitting a knee strike from the middle rope that knocked Roode off the apron. From that moment forward Roode and Nakamura knocked their match up several notches, with desperate near-falls or non-falls (The King of Strong Style being unable to cover after hitting a clean Kinshasa). Both men sold every element of desperation and pain across their entire bodies and whilst the Doctors seeing to Nakkers went a little long, the commentary team and the two lads in the ring made it unbelievably captivating piece of television. By the time Roode held the title a loft, after hitting two Glorious DDT's and holding Nakamura in a Boston Crab for about two weeks, I was gutted and ecstatic all in the same moment. 

Okay, that was the finish, but what about the meat and potatoes of the match? The duo took their time early on and allowed the crowd to settle themselves down, so that they could take them on the journey that they wanted to take them on and to be fair to San Antonio, they went with Roode and Nakamura on every step. The two wrestled a little and it was passable, not the smoothest stuff you'll see, but watchable, mainly thanks to the two characters involved and the crowd's energy. The Red Roodester controlled following a nasty moment that saw Shinsuke pushed from the top rope and crash the floor onto his upper back. There was some decent submission work in the middle of the bout, as Nakamura flew into an armbar and transitioned it into a chicken wing, which I think the pair could potentially have built upon. Roode has regularly used a Crossface and Fujiwara Armbar in his past, so I would've liked to have seen them go down this route, rather than the kind of messy power out routine they went down.

In his first Takeover main event and title win, Roode's character work stood out more than his wrestling. He looked great as dominant bruising heel, happy to take advantage of any situation that came his way (Nakamura crashing to the outside and the knee problems). The former TNA World Heavyweight Champion also showed his intelligence as he lay prone on the mat following an inverted exploder suplex that had been well built towards, denying Shinsuke the chance to hit the Kinshasa, whilst also earning strong near falls off a roll up and a backstabber. There did seem to be a few moment however where the Glorious One looked a little awkward taking some of The King of Strong Styles' offence, especially some of the kicks. Yes, it could've have been slicker, but this match showed how strength of character and theatricality are arguably the two most important elements in modern pro wrestling. Any way you shake it, this was Roode's best singles match in over four years and perhaps his crowning glory as a sports entertainer.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 7.31/10

A rock solid show from NXT, with a card that over delivered on my expectations going in. Whilst it wasn't as strong as Dallas, there was still a strong variety of action on display with a focus on telling stories and developing characters. With Takeover: Orlando during WrestleMania weekend so close and with only one hour a week to build, it certainly felt like there was one eye on that show here, but if this event ends up making that show even more compelling and dramatic then I'm all in. All three title pictures look more interesting than they did before and we got to watch some quality wrestling along the way. 

Wrestling is good. Believe in wrestling.

Review - James Marston 
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