TV REVIEW: WWE Monday Night RAW #1186 (Styles vs. Miz)

Broadcast on the 15th February 2016, the 1186th episode of WWE's Monday Night RAW aired from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, USA. The show featured AJ Styles taking on The Miz, Paul Heyman calling out Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose defending the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Dolph Ziggler, Tyler Breeze, Stardust and Kevin Owens in a Fatal Five-Way Match...but was it any good? Let's take a look.

match card

Match 1 - Fatal Five-Way for the WWE Intercontinental Championship - Dean Ambrose (C) vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens vs. Stardust vs. Tyler Breeze

Match 2 - Singles - Big E w/The New Day vs. Mark Henry

Match 3 - Singles - AJ Styles vs. The Miz

Match 4 - Singles - Paige vs. Summer Rae

Match 5 - Singles - Heath Slater w/The Social Outcasts vs. Zack Ryder

Match 6 - Six Man Tag Team - League of Nations w/King Barrett vs. Neville & The Lucha Dragons

Match 7 - Singles - Becky Lynch vs. Naomi w/Tamina

Match 8 - Singles - Braun Strowman w/The Wyatt Family vs. The Big Show

wwe intercontinental champion dean ambrose and stephanie mcmahon open the show

A short and sweet opening, there was no messing about at the start of Monday Night RAW. The pace was spot on, as WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose kicked off the show by calling out Brock Lesnar, only for Stephanie McMahon to turn up and force him to defend his title against four other men. There was no long winded promo, there was no back and forth chat. It was this is what's going to happen, there's nothing you can do about it, here's your first match of the show and it's gonna be a fun one. With the added element that if Roman Reigns interfered that Ambrose would be removed from the Triple Threat main event at Fastlane, there was even more intrigued poured onto the opening match. More opening segments like these please, WWE. 

kevin owens defeats dean ambrose, dolph ziggler, stardust and tyler breeze to win the wwe intercontinental championship

This a sweet opening match, that was pretty much everything that you'd expect it to be. Lot's of big spots with all five guys pulling their weight in busy twelve minutes of action. It was easy to watch action that kept the good times rolling throughout as bodies flew everywhere. Kevin Owens hitting a Powerbomb on Tyler Breeze to the outside stands out as one of the particular highlights. The finish was cleverly done to involve all five men in the match, as whilst Ambrose seemed set to win the match with Dirty Deeds on Stardust, Dolph Ziggler caught The Lunatic Fringe with a Zig Zag (coincidentally causing Ambrose to hit his finish also) before Breeze sent Ziggler out of the ring and walked straight into a Pop-Up Powerbomb from Owens to allow the Prizefighter to pick up the win and begin his second run with the Intercontinental Championship. It was a shame that the match was filled with guys who have struggled for victories in 2016, with Stardust and Breeze without wins on either RAW or Smackdown this year, as having four strong competitors would have added more danger to the match for Ambrose and added to the titles recent re-build. Having Ambrose drop the title does give him a more realistic chance of winning the Triple Threat at Fastlane though.

fast-forward...Renee Young interviewed Dean Ambrose backstage, as the now former WWE Intercontinental Champion cut a passionate promo about how The Authority had just presented him with even more motivation heading into Fastlane...Straight back to Renee as she caught up with new WWE Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens, who was interrupted by Dolph Ziggler, with Ziggler laying dfown a challenge for Sunday's Fastlane PPV...

wwe tag team champion big e defeated mark henry

Following a boisterous promo from The New Day, that included Big E pretending to play the recorder (which was definitely not intending to look like the act of fellatio, at all) and the group referring to Mark Henry as "The World's Largest Booty Hole" we got a pretty typical big man bout. Pretty much here to tie up the loose ends from last week's random eight man tag team tables match, that saw Mark Henry walk out on The New Day, leaving them to ultimately lose to The Dudley Boyz and The Usos. Big E looked dominant throughout, and picked up the win with an impressive Big Ending, that leaves Big E currently unbeaten in his last four singles matches. With The New Day without an opponent at Fastlane, this was mostly used to hype their appearance on "The Cutting Edge Peep Show" talk segment with Edge & Christian, which was announced during this match to take part on PPV.

wwe diva's champion charlotte and ric flair interrupt byron saxton's interview with brie bella

Somehow, despite Charlotte laying it on thick about Brie's husband Daniel Bryan having to retire from pro wrestling last week on Monday Night RAW and gloating about being the reason for Brie's sister Nikki being on the injury list, Brie's reply still felt insincere. In a moment, where her real emotion about the situation involving her husband should have came boiling through, it just didn't. I didn't feel like Brie was upset by what Charlotte had to say or even pissed off. This was Brie trying to act her emotion, instead of just showing it for real. Charlotte carried this segment by coming across like a real dick, whilst Ric Flair just standing behind her and smiling away was the highlight for me. The sooner was can move past Fastlane and back into Charlotte's feud with Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch the better. 

aj styles defeats the miz via submission

In the words of John "Bradshaw" Layfield, "AJ Styles looks like a Hogwarts" Powerful words by the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion. That being said, whilst whether Styles does or does not look like "a Hogwarts" The Miz certainly allowed him to look like a star in their 2nd televised encounter. Miz was bumping all over the place for the former 2 time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, making numerous elements of Styles arsenal look devasting. The build up to Styles' hitting the Pele Kick in particular stands out. It's clear that the two have been working a number of house show matches opposite each other. Then there was Styles kicking out of the Skull Crushing Finale, which the commentary team put over strong, aided by a strong facial performance from The Miz. Whilst Styles is clearly one of the best wrestlers in the world, he was put over huge as a competitor to fear, whilst having a pretty decent bout of a good length against someone who is recognisable to the WWE fanbase. Picking up the win with Calf Crusher, Styles has quickly been positioned as one of WWE's premier competitors. Miz on the other hand has had a TV win in 2016.

With Chris Jericho putting in a satisfying performance on commentary, it was clear that we'd see him get involved with Styles at some point, but we had to wait until the match was over to see exactly where things would be heading. It was good to see Styles get an opportunity to talk on the mic and whilst it wasn't the home run that he could've done with, The Phenomenal One got over what he needed to do and set the stage for an upcoming match was Fastlane. An interesting side-step however saw Jericho tell Styles that he'd have to wait until this week's Thursday Night Smackdown to find out his answer. Now, I'm pretty sure we're all expecting Jericho to agree to the match, but to hold it off until Thursday then you'd have to think that WWE has something up it's sleeve for the PPV match. Maybe an extra gimmick for the third match between the two? 

the dudley boyz explain their attack on the usos last week

The Dudley Boyz had a five minute promo segment to explain their attack on The Usos last week. Basically, the 2 time IWGP Tag Team Champions don't want to be a nostalgia act and are therefore dropping their Tables gimmick. Both men put in strong performances on the microphone as they worked the Anaheim crowd well, reminding them to check out the WWE Network if they want to see them put people through tables. With The Usos supposedly still out selling the attack from last week, the promo didn't really have anywhere to go, but this performance was certainly the strongest work Bubba Ray and D-Von have put in since they returned to WWE in late-August 2015. I'm actually looking forward to seeing where this heel run can take them over the next six months.

summer rae defeats paige

This was a strange one, as Summer Rae had her first TV match since June 2015 (a loss to Naomi on Main Event), won her first TV match since April 2015 (a victory over Emma on Main Event) and won her first match on Monday Night RAW since June 2014 (a mixed tag team win with Adam Rose over Fandango and Layla). The contest was moving along just fine, with nothing much going on, when Summer nicked a roll-up victory. Neither girl has been doing much of late, beyond Paige working a handful of tag bouts with Natalya, so this one came really out of left field. Nothing bad about it, nothing for anyone to crazy about. Who the fuck knows where this is going. Hopefully somewhere that doesn't involve Paige shouting each of her spots.

paul heyman calls out roman reigns

I wish I could've looked past the inaccuracies in Paul Heyman's promo, because it was the type of passionate, story-telling that we've come to expect from The Advocate, but it was bugging me throughout. Heyman told Reigns that one Sunday at Fastlane, he'll have to choose between winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for his family or keeping his friendship with Dean Ambrose. Which is fine on paper, it's cool way to add even more drama to the main event of the PPV that's just six days away. But here's the problem, Ambrose and Reigns main-evented a PPV together in November and fought over the title, and they're still pals. They were also both in the final three of the Royal Rumble match and our still pals. If you hadn't really been keeping up with WWE's product you might have bought into it, but even Reigns' promo ended up cutting this level of intrigue out straight away. We did however get to see Ambrose attempt to jump Reigns with Dirty Deeds, after initially fighting off an attack from The Dudley Boyz, only for the two to fist bump to close the segment.

fast-forward...Zack Ryder jobbed to Heath Slater in 2 minutes, leaving Slater with a 3-1 singles record for 2016 so far...Goldust interrupted R-Truth's Valentine's Meal as their wacky segments continued...

the league of nations defeat neville and the lucha dragons

Another entirely watchable, but throwaway bout. For me, there was no feel that this match was being used to push a lengthy feud between Kalisto and Alberto Del Rio over the WWE United States Championship, and could just have easily slotted into a space on Main Event. That isn't to say the match was without it's high points, as the babyfaces trio of dives to the outside looked superb and deserved more of a spotlight than it was given here. The finish continued to see Del Rio given the push heading into his rematch at Fastlane Kick-Off as he pinned Sin Cara. I'm unsure as to why Del Rio was playing up to the crowd as he hit his double stomp finish half way across the ring, as if he was babyface. Giving him such a spectacular finish to the match was also another bizarre decision. King Barrett looked weird in his ring gear in a managerial role at ringside.

fast-forward...As part of their Black History Month coverage, WWE showcased the life and career of World Heavyweight Champion, Booker T...Alberto Del Rio cut another short promo about mosquitos, when interview by Renee Young...

becky lynch defeats naomi via submission

This was pretty much a straight-up squash for Becky Lynch as she dominated Naomi at every turn. Despite that, I thought the two worked well together and created a nice little finishing sequence that saw Becky manage to kick out of roll-up attempt by Naomi and simultaneously lock on his Disarmer submission hold to pick up the victory. Sasha Banks making the save following Team B.A.D.'s post-match beat down was the little bit of extra fuel needed for their tag team clash in 6 days on PPV. It's clearly a stop gap before bigger things at WrestleMania for Sasha and Becky, but all four have taken their chances and performed well when given the opportunity. A bit more time wouldn't have gone a miss her though, perhaps giving them the time that was given Summer and Paige's seemingly pointless bout earlier in the night would've allowed the match to really kick into the next gear.

the big show defeats braun strowman via disqualification

An interesting choice for a main event match that's for sure. I guess WWE was hoping that a bout between two big men would pop a rating or at least they were experimenting with the idea. Maybe, they don't even feel that the final segment is necessarily as important as it used to be? Because with no disrespect to anyone involved, but this is a mid-card feud. The segment we got was actually an enjoyable watch as after a few minutes of pushing each other about, The Wyatt Family pounced to take out Big Show before Ryback and Kane made the save to close the show. Kane coming up through the ring was a nice touch and the former Tag Team Championship duo of Show and Kane hitting a Double Chokeslam on Luke Harper was also pretty cool. Ryback being referenced to as part of the "old guard" was also a bizarre piece of commentary. It feels like The Wyatt's feud is to give them something to do until a collision with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, however, a well-booked match at Fastlane could not only position them for such a clash, but also be a damn good bout in the process.

finally....

atpw scale rating - 5.44/10

A solid outing from WWE here, even if it wasn't quite the bigger hitter it needed to be with Fastlane just six days away. The opening segment with Stephanie McMahon and Dean Ambrose and the title defense that followed, as well as AJ Styles' rematch with the Miz stand out as particular highlights of the show. Apart from the random Paige vs. Summer Rae match, everything felt like it had some kind of purpose and had a reason to continue watching, even if the in-ring quality wasn't particularly outstanding. There was nothing that stands out as bad, just a couple of moments of booking that seemed to have not been thought through as much as they could have been (Tyler Breeze and Stardust being placed in the Intercontinental Championship match felt like lazy, making-up-the-numbers booking), but for the most-part this was an entirely watchable Monday Night RAW, that added a little extra to a handful of matches at the upcoming Fastlane PPV on Sunday.

TV Review: WWE Monday Night RAW #1172

After Seth Rollins had unfortunately had to vacate the WWE World Heavyweight Championship due to an injury sustained at a live event, would WWE come out swinging with a killer of RAW? Or would the absence of The Architect end up seeing WWE's flagship programme slip in quality after two strong weeks of television. We got The Wyatt Family's eulogy to the Brothers of the Destruction in the main event slot, Cesaro facing off with Sheamus, and Roman Reigns scrapping with The Big Show, both in the first round of a tournament to crown a new champion, and more across the show, but was this week's edition worth staying up til 4am for?

If you had Triple H opening RAW with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on a red velvet plinth in your office pools then you'd have been a happy chappy! Let's be honest, the show was only going to start this way, and with The Game getting roundly cheered by the Manchester Arena (who also started a "Thank You Rollins" chant when the former World Heavyweight Champion was mentioned). Certainly not the strongest opening segment in the world, as Trips called Roman Reigns down to the ring, to put him over (strongly) and offer him Rollins spot as "The Man". Whilst I can leave and take Triple H's big long monologues, this fell apart on the fact that the crowd HATED Roman Reigns (especially when Triple H lay the belt across his shoulder) and mostly cheered Triple H, something which the creative seemingly hadn't bargained on. Not terrible, but certainly needed a bit more thought on how to get this smarky Manchester crowd on board with the direction. 

Match 1 - WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Round 1 - Roman Reigns vs. "The World's Largest Athlete" The Big Show

My absolute highlight of this match was Big Show shouting "I am a giant" and Michael Cole on commentary hollering back "Indeed you are". In fact, the commentary team was full of gems in this one. From Cole losing his shit when Show got a near fall of a jumping splash or asking "Who can forget the Last Man Standing match earlier in the year between these two?"...erm...obviously you think some people will have forgotten...because you're reminding them, right now! While the commentary team was unintentionally making me chuckle, the crowd was pissing me off big time. A Mexican wave followed by "We Are Awesome" chant...no, just no Manchester. Embarrassing. Oh yeah...the match...kind of what you would expect. Show battered Reigns early door, couple of hope spots, Reigns hit a Superman punch out of nowhere and a spear for the win. Not terrible, although Big Show shouting spots should have been editing out seeing as they had the opportunity, but failed to capture the crowd in the way that should have.

Winner - Roman Reigns via pinfall (Spear) in 11 minutes, 50 seconds

Fast-Forward...The first of a handful of video packages looking at The Brothers of Destruction's careers aired, with a look at their WWE debuts at Survivor Series 1990 (teaming with Ted DiBiase & Rhythm & Blues to defeat Dusty Rhodes, Koko B. Ware and the Hart Foundation)  and Bad Blood 1997 (interrupting the Undertaker's Hell in a Cell match with Shawn Michaels) respectively...Before his bout Intercontiental Champion Kevin Owens cut a promo that had the crowd cheering him, until he called them dumb, it really was that easy *slow clap for Manchester*...Owens defeated Titus O'Neil in a short bout, which saved me having to talk too much about how the hell O'Neil managed to get himself into the 16-man World Heavyweight Championship tournament in the first place...Owens strutted around with JBL hat on, looking a fat, white, male Alicia Fox...In an interview with Renee Young, Paige called Charlotte a cunt, really, go check it out if you don't believe me...More Brothers of Destruction highlights, as Undertaker goes over Psycho Sid at WrestleMania XIII and Kane cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Rey Mysterio at Money in the Bank 2010....The crowd singing along with Paige's theme music was probably the best thing they did all night...

Match 3 - Singles - Paige vs. Becky Lynch

This should have been another break out moment for the Diva's division...and it wasn't. It would be easy to blame the fact that the two were only given just over five minutes, but for me, that's enough time for a quick and enjoyable TV match. The dynamic was pretty undefined here, in terms of who was supposed to be the heel and the babyface, which meant the crowd had no idea what to do. They clearly wanted to get behind Paige, but how do you get behind someone who's just locked on an abdominal stretch? Either have Paige come out and trash Manchester (a la Bad News Barrett) to get the crowd behind Becky or do it the other way round and have Paige as a babyface for one night in her home country. Whilst the bout was poorly booked, both girls looked a little lost out their at times and it all contributed to what was a decidedly shoddy encounter. Becky Lynch winning with Paige being the Number One contender for the Diva's Championship also made very little sense, even with a handful of tights.

Winner - Becky Lynch via pinfall (Roll-up) in 5 minutes, 5 seconds. 

Fast-Forward... The crowd erupted for the post-match action however, with Paige locking Becky in the P.T.O. on the announce table, before the booed the fuck out of Charlotte for making the save and chanted "We Want Sasha"...A short WrestleMania 31 promo video aired, focused around the tickets going on sale, with your regular mix of excitable people queing up for tickets and such...As The Miz made his way to the ring for another WWE World Heavyweight Championship first round bout, JBL noted that he's more popular in England than Daniel Craig, which is definitely true for any Americans that were sceptical 

Match 4 - WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Round 1 - The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler

The main problem I had with the Tournament matches were that they were just too damn predictable. Take this match for instance, I could have told you what was going to happen move for move and would have been pretty damn close. Miz worked the leg, Ziggler sold the leg, Ziggler escapes the Figure Four Leg Lock, flash win off a Superkick for Ziggler and done. It was perfectly fine, but I just couldn't bring myself to care. Miz has been doing a whole lot on television recently and Ziggler has been treading water in a feud with Tyler Breeze. Neither man did anything that stood out particularly, this was a decidedly average bout, in a tournament that needed to catch the imagination of everyone from the very first match.

Winner - Dolph Ziggler via pinfall (Superkick) in 5 minutes and 1 second

Fast-Forward... More Brothers of Destruction highlights as The Undertaker returned to haunt Randy Orton and destroy most of the Smackdown roster at Survivor Series 2005 and Kane won the WWE Tag Team Championships with Daniel Bryan from Kofi Kingston & R-Truth at Night of Champions 2012....Zeb Colter and United States Champion Alberto Del Rio came out on the ramp for a bit, to berate the crowd and continue to leave me to ask questions as to why WWE creative thought they would have any chemistry...I was cringing throughout Natalya and Naomi's bout, in which Natalya tried to join in with the "We Want Sasha" chants like an annoying Auntie trying to be cool... Rightly the crowd erupted when Sasha put Natalya in the Banks Statement post-match...More Brothers of Destruction highlights as things began to get a bit much, with The Undertaker defeating Edge inside Hell in a Cell at SummerSlam 2008 and Kane ruining Edge & Lita's wedding on RAW #630...Before Sheamus' contest with Cesaro we got shown some interaction between King Barrett and Wayne Rooney (An English footballer, who plays and captains both Manchester United and the England National Team...for anyone who was a bit clueless last night)...

Match 6 - WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament 1st Round - Sheamus with King Barrett vs. Cesaro

The first bout to really attempt to break out of the 1st Round tournament bracket, Cesaro and Sheamus showed the chemistry we've seen out of them time and time again. A hard-hitting clash as one would expect from these two European bruisers, but also featured some quite lovely reversals and sequences, like Cesaro ducking under a Brogue Kick and turning it into a Sharpshooter. The Swiss Superman's selling of an injured arm was spot on throughout and added a lot to his comeback towards the end of the bout, consisting of series of strong European uppercut and dropkick that knocked Sheamus off the top rope to the outside. Obviously, the moment that got everyone talking was Rooney's involvement as he slapped King Barrett at ringside, allowing the distraction that gave Cesaro the win. I thought the whole sequence was incredibly well done, and whilst you could see it coming a mile off, it did give the bout that little sports entertainment flourish that will have people remembering it for much longer than they would have otherwise.

Winner - Cesaro via pinfall (Small package) in 15 minutes, 30 seconds

Fast-Forward...Rooney awkwardly standing next to Cesaro, whilst "Scottish legend" and West Bromwich Albion widget Darren Fletcher stood on like a proud Uncle, was something I never thought I'd get the opportunity to see...Tyler Breeze's backstage interview with Renee Young, whilst being oddly placed in the middle of the entrances for his tournament match with Dean Ambrose, was a lot of fun, with Breeze adding lots of little touches and wealth of depth to the character that many current WWE roster members lack....

Match 7 - WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament Round 1 - Dean Ambrose vs. Tyler Breeze with Summer Rae

Topping off a really pleasing selection of action and certainly the most enjoyable part of the show, this was a cracking TV encounter. Breeze was allowed to shine in his RAW in-ring debut, with some great character touches like moving Summer into the path of an Ambrose suicide dive, and a chance to show off his vicious streak by focusing in on an Ambrose shoulder injury. The shoulder injury for Ambrose off an English-style dropkick was done finely and kicked the match into the next gear. The narrative didn't feel contrived and I reckon it would have been pretty easy to get drawn in, if you had been watching as a channel hopper. More Tyler Breeze and Dean Ambrose on RAW please and thank you.

Winner - Dean Ambrose via pinfall (Roll-Up) in 11 minutes, 5 seconds

Fast-Forward...Another Brothers of Destruction highlights package, this time with The Undertaker jousting Triple H inside Hell in a Cell at WrestleMania 28 and Kane setting the Royal Rumble eliminations record during the 2001 event...

Whilst this week's New Day pre-match promo wasn't exactly still a home run, but it was certainly still entertaining. Big E, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods make we want to sit up and listen every time they come on the screen and this was no different, even if the content wasn't quite as coherent as it should have been. The promo basically poked at the plot holes that had arisen out of none of The New Day being involved in the World Heavyweight Championship tournament, despite Big E and Kingston being involved in a Number One contender's tournament two weeks ago and the fact that all three members were part of Seth Rollins' team in last weeks' main event. 

Match 8 - Six Man Tag Team - WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day vs. Neville & The Usos

Another average bout, that was perhaps a little disappointing with the talent that was in this match. There was some nice spots, like The Usos dual superkicks and stereo dives, followed up by a Corkscrew press by Neville to the outside, but the contest as a whole never looked to become anything other than lengthy filler. The finish was done well, with The New Day using all three members to steal a pinfall on Neville, but it strangely took a little bit of the momentum away from The Usos who only returned last week and Neville as the only man in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship tournament in the bout. Continually teasing Neville's Red Arrow finish and not delivering was a little shitty as well.

Winners - The New Day via pinfall in 8 minutes, 43 seconds

Fast-Forward...The New Day's gyrating in victory is still a joy to behold...The final Brothers of Destruction highlight of the evening saw things take a turn with The Wyatt Family taking both men out at Hell in a Cell 2015 and then Monday Night RAW #1170 respectively...

I still haven't gotten my head around the finish to the show. It was so rushed and put out the majority of my interest in the B.O.D. vs. Wyatt Family feud, but it got a massive reaction out of the live crowd. Basically Bray Wyatt said some words about Kane and The Undertaker, the legendary repair returned, the Wyatt Family turned up and The Brothers of Destruction battered them to end the show. It made the Family look shit, as four of them struggled to take out the end-of-the-road duo, and eventually all got took down. I can certainly see why someone would have enjoyed this segment, but in terms of continuing to build interesting in an upcoming Survivor Series match it was a pretty poor close to the show. I'll accept that WWE was backed into a corner with Seth Rollins injury, but they could have done many better things with this main event spot.

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 4.66 - Average-Good TV

It was very clear that this was a WWE scrambling to pull something for the penultimate RAW before one of their biggest PPV's of the year, without a WWE World Heavyweigt Champion and with a house show elsewhere on the same night. Whilst the tournament for the main championship seemed to be picked completely at random, there was two quality match out of the five that were broadcast. Cesaro vs. Sheamus and Ambrose vs. Breeze were both very good television matches, whilst Wayne Rooney's involvement with King Barrett was a lot of fun. The main event segment gets by on having a "surprise" appearance from The Undertaker in Manchester alone, even if the content wasn't quite for me.


Elsewhere the tournament wasn't exactly setting the world on fire, Roman Reigns and The Big Show's being unable to grab the crowd standing out as a particularly weak bout. However, the ropiest contest of the night for me, was Paige and Becky Lynch short bout, that couldn't deliver on expectations, due to a number of mistakes in-ring and with the booking.


This was a bit of a step-back on the previous two weeks and it's a real shame that WWE had to change direction just as the Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins feud was beginning to gain traction on the back of two good episodes of WWE's flagship. I'm willing to be kind on WWE who not a whole lot of time to sort something out for the show and had the added problem of having half a roster elsewhere during the show. Here's hoping we get a return to form for the go-home show for Survivor Series next month.

Special Preview: WWE NXT Takeover: Respect

NXT Takeover: Respect is almost here! It feels like ages since Takeover: Brooklyn, doesn't it? What have we got to tuck into tonight then? Let's have a look, shall we?

NXT Women's Championship 30 Minute Iron Man

Bayley vs. Sasha Banks

How exciting is this? For years, people have maligned the state of WWE's Women's Division and after three years of NXT steadily chipping away all the preconceptions about women's wrestling in the main stream, we are left with this. Two women main eventing an NXT Special and deserving to be there. Bayley and Sasha Banks tore it up at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, unarguably having the best match of the night, and now it's time for them to take it up a notch. The thirty minute Iron Man match makes sure that the duo will have plenty of time to do what they do best, and offers another element for them to play with creatively. 


Who will walk out with the title? Undoubtedly, Bayley will be holding onto the title, but I expect that we'll see plenty of twists and turns throughout. Sasha recieved a huge spotlight on this week's Monday Night RAW, with segment arguably being the highlight of the entire show, so I'd expect to see Banks come very close here, potentially even grabbing the first fall of the bout. There's every chance that this could be Sasha's last match in NXT, so here's hoping for an emotional rollercoaster of a match and a fitting send-off for The Bo$$.

Prediction - Bayley retains the NXT Women's Championship

Singles

Apollo Crews vs. Tyler Breeze 

This is a real chance for both men to stake a claim that they deserve a place in the upper echelon of NXT. Tyler Breeze has struggled to get momentum, and despite putting on good matches on almost every NXT Takeover, he constantly finds himself as the bridesmaid of the promotion, whilst others have jump ahead of him the queue. Let's not forget that Breeze has been in developmental since 2010! On the hand you've got Apollo Crews, who's come of the Indies like a house of fire, since débuting at Takeover: Brooklyn, steaming through Martin Stone, Solomon Crowe and Johnny Gargano. Whilst Crews has impressed, this is a real chance for him to show this wider audience exactly what he can do in a longer and more competitive match.


This is a difficult one to predict. Personally, I believe that Tyler Breeze can't afford to lose here, after putting Jushin Thunder Liger over a Takeover: Brooklyn. There's an opportunity to create a compelling feud between the two, if Breeze is able to pull out a cheap victory over the former Dragon Gate star. But I've been disappointed on a number of occasions with Breeze not being given the big victory and with Crews clearly popular amongst his new fans and the back a like, I think we'll see the former PCW Champion go over here in a breakout match.

Prediction - Apollo Crews wins

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semi-Final

Finn Balor & Samoa Joe vs. The Mechanics 

Whilst it's been great to see a focus on tag team wrestling on television over the last few months, we've yet to see a break out tag team contest on television (at least in full anyway). Now is the time to give the tag team division a real spotlight and allow that division to take as much of a spotlight as the singles and women's division. For me, for that to be done, any angle between Finn Balor and Samoa Joe (it's inevitable, isn't it?) needs to happen in the semi-final. Keep the focus on the tournament for the final and not on Joe and Balor relationship. Therefore I'm hoping to see The Mechanics pick up the victory here, after some kind of rift between Balor and Joe to set up the title match for the next Takeover event. However, I have a feeling that NXT will want to keep Balor and Joe's star power for the final and think that will be the over-riding factor in the outcome here and eventually win the tournament.

Prediction - Finn Balor & Samoa Joe advance to the final.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semi-Final

Baron Corbin & Rhyno vs. Chad Gable & Jason Jordan

Similar to the match before, I'm hoping that we get to see the legitmate tag team triumph over the two singles stars. I'm certainly not Baron Corbin's biggest fan, so any momentum for him is a bad thing in my eyes! Gable and Jordan have bought plenty of entertainment factor to their act over the past few months and both are more than capable of putting on a solid match when giving the chance. Out of the two semi-finals, I'm expecting this to be the weaker of the two, simply because Baron Corbin is in it. Even if his match with Samoa Joe was decent, he's still to prove on a consistent basis that he actually knows what's going on when he's in the ring. Also what's with his belly? 

Prediction - Chad Gable & Jason Jordan advance to final

Singles

Asuka vs. Dana Brooke

Apart from her appearances on NXT, I have to admit that I'm not familiar with Asuka's work. I have heard nothing but good things. However, I am familiar with Dana Brooke's in-ring work and quite frankly have never seen (or heard for that matter) anything resembling good from her. Will the utter shitness of Dana Brooke shine through? Will Asuka just batter Dana? I'm hoping for a short squash, just so we can all quickly get through Dana Brooke being in the ring.

Prediction - Asuka wins

Finally...

Let's all get excited! We've another NXT Takeover event to tuck into. These events are always excellent on the whole and are usually the highlight of the month. Bayley and Sasha Banks have a chance to make history and produce one of the finest women's matches there has ever been, whilst simultaneously main eventing a show. The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic coming to a close also presents an interesting opportunity for the tag team division to make a claim that they deserve more attention each week.


No matter what, enjoy the show and have a good evening. 

Special Event Review: WWE NXT Takeover: Brooklyn

Over thirteen weeks removed from Takeover: Unstoppable, it was time for the highest attended event in NXT history, Takeover: Brooklyn, live on the WWE Network. The over 15,000 in attendance at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York witnessed Kevin Owens chasing Finn Balor's NXT Championship in a Ladder match, as well as Jushin Thunder Liger, Samoa Joe, Sasha Banks, Apollo Crews, The Vaudevillains and more in action, but could it live up to the hype? Let's find out.

Kick-Off

The panel this time round saw Renee Young as the host, with 4 time WWE Women's Champion Lita, former NXT Tag Team Champion, Corey Graves and Byron Saxton joining as the guests. 


A video package for Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin piqued my interest, being very well put together and included some nice promos from each man, after I'd ripped into this match in my preview it actually had me believing the match could be interesting. Lita chatting about where Joe had come from made me chuckle as she had clearly been told not to mention TNA, because TNA. 


The same Apollo Crews promo that's been airing for the last few weeks was next, it was a shame that the panel didn't spend too much time talking about Crews' début following it.


Perhaps the pick of all the promo videos for tonight's show was the one looking at Bayley and Sasha Banks bout over Women's Championship, not only where the production values the usual high standards, but it told a relatable story with both women coming across very well. Whilst talking about the match, Graves cutting off Saxton in the middle of a sentence to disagree with his point, was a great touch and showed the passion both men had for their chosen performers. 


A link up outside to Greg Hamilton and Dasha Fuentes with some fans was the worst thing all night long, with the pair looking completely out of their depth. 


It was time to look at the main event, with another solid promo for Kevin Owens and Finn Balor's NXT Championship Ladder match, with a sound look at the build up heading in, including their bout at Live in Tokyo: Beast in the East. The panel got a little lost talking about this one, as Saxton started to talking about Mr. T for reasons that will never be fully understood.

Special Event

Triple H kicking off the show with a distinct off-mic promo to the camera was a great way to start the show, with The Game having complete control over his audience. 


Whilst it was surreal to see Jushin Thunder Liger make his way to the ring for his first ever WWE match, at the age of 50, Tyler Breeze's entrance, with a New York catwalk theme, was a simply ridiculous spectacle and set the tone for the intentions of the rest of the show.

As an opener, Tyler Breeze taking on the débuting Jushin Thunder Liger worked nicely, with the pair working well together to create a smooth encounter. Whilst the in-ring action was decent, the narrative took the match up a level, with Breeze quick to escape two Liger Bomb attempts, whilst Liger himself was busy mocking Prince Pretty's signature poses, which the crowd lapped up. Liger picking up the win was a big surprise here, just because I expected NXT to put over their regular Breeze, and I'm still not quite sure how I feel about Breeze coming out on the losing side. Having Breeze's arguing with the referee eventually lead to his downfall (and allowing Liger to finally hit a Running Liger Bomb) at least protected The King of Cuteville some what and losing to someone of Liger's calibre is hardly an insult, but it felt like this match was a missed opportunity to make Breeze.


Winner - Liger via pinfall in 8 minutes, 42 seconds.


As the replays ran, I couldn't help thinking if WWE plans to use Liger again soon, I certainly wouldn't mind seeing a rematch between he and Breeze.

Before the Tag Team Championship bout began, it was time to find out who The Vaudevillains had found to counteract Blake and Murphy's valet, Alexa Bliss. It was only Blue Pants! The crowd went nuts for the SHIMMER regular, with the other talents building well to the reveal with some nice back and forth on the microphone and a call back to previous episodes of NXT with Alexa attempting to slap Aiden English. The segment got an even bigger thumbs up from me because English and Simon Gotch were both sporting blue wrestling gear.

In the preview for this show I talked about how it was time for the tag team division in NXT to really step up to the plate, and that they certainly did here. The two teams just seemed to click from the outset, with all four men looking very comfortable working with each other and knowing seemingly knowing each others characters inside out (Something to be expecting considering they've worked 25 matches on TV and Live Event since September 2014) The match built well on a solid foundation, with two very good false finishes, that had the crowd right where they needed to be, with English coming close off a Senton and Blake almost stealing a win with a school boy roll up. English picked up the win for his team, following the Whirling Dervish, and it definitely felt like the right time for the Vaudevillains to pick up the titles and bring this chapter of their feud with Blake and Murphy to a close. 


Winners - The Vaudevillains via pinfall in 10 minutes, 14 seconds.


The Vaudevillains reaction to winning the titles, framed by an appreciative crowd, really helped to put over the titles meaning further, and with William Regal announcing a Tag Team tournament in memory of Dusty Rhodes, it certainly set the ground work to build a stronger division on. 


A SummerSlam promo, centred around the rematch between The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar, reminded us that there was some other show on this weekend. 


It was a real treat to see Apollo Crews walk out, in-front of all those people, his ad-libs to the camera were a nicely touch that sold his moment well. His match with Tye Dillinger was an extended squash, but a very entertaining one that showed off what TAFKA Uhaa Nation can do. Believe me, there is a lot more to come from Crews, the crowd already seemed into him by the time of his victory celebration, so here's to more from the former Dragon Gate star.


A video package for Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin piqued my interest, being very well put together and included some nice promos from each man, after I'd ripped into this match in my preview it actually had me believing the match could be interesting. Seeing Samoa Joe walk out in front of 15,000 people in New York was a far cry from the last set of TNA tapings in the city in January. 

This SO much better than I thought it was going to be and was exactly what it needed to be. The back and forth between the two, with the pair almost mirroring each others actions, made for a satisfying start to the match. Both men managing to foil one another dive attempts, and latter spending a long time in one another's submission holds, made the pair look evenly matched in the ring and allowed Corbin to shine against the more experienced former ROH World Champion. My only real criticism would be neither man selling the submission they had been in later in the match, with Joe especially seeming to forget how long he spent in Corbin's heel hook. With the Lone Wolf unable to hit End of Days despite a few attempts, Joe turned a pin attempt from Corbin into a Kokina Cluth and picked up the win when Corbin passed out, in a strong finish that won't hurt Corbin, but also gives Joe some more momentum heading towards the next Takeover event in October. The best match either man has had in NXT.

Winner - Joe via submission in 10 minutes, 28 seconds.


With the replays running, I couldn't help but think what NXT are going to do with Samoa Joe next, they're still searching for the best way to use Joe, hopefully this is them turning the corner. 


Having Stephanie McMahon do a little intro for the Women's Championship match was a nice touch that gave the match some extra weight for those who aren't regular NXT viewers. Perhaps the pick of all the promo videos for tonight's show was the one looking at Bayley and Sasha Banks bout over Women's Championship, not only where the production values the usual high standards, but it told a relatable story with both women coming across very well. Sasha Banks came to the ring in fucking Escalade and surrounding by body guards, Bayley had wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube men and lots of them, what more do you want.

WWE fans are used to having a Diva's match before the main event, it gives them chance to go to the toilet or perhaps exchange cash for delicious food stuffs. This wasn't a Divas match, it was a wrestling match. A bloody good wrestling match. Bayley and Sasha Banks worked their arses off from start to finish to create a compelling collision, that despite lagging from tiredness kept me completely engaged from start to finish. Part of me wishes that this had gone on last, because there was everything that you'd want as a main event, great physical action, a brilliant story, dramatic near falls and a red hot crowd.

Let's talk a little about that story, which stands out as the strongest element of the bout. Sasha's frustration at being unable to put Bayley away early, lead to her removing Bayley's protective gimmick on her hand (She broke her hand earlier in the summer) and then the fun really got started. Sasha's character really shone again in this moment, with a viciousness that a lot of WWE women's performers just don't show in matches, helped along by some tremendous spots focused on the hand, included drilling the steel steps into the hand. Sasha stamping the hand with Bayley locked in the Bank Statement was another fantastic touch, that allowed Bayley to look super tough when she made it to the ropes. The match built to it's conclusion tremendously, with Bayley hitting a SUPER REVERSE RANA, before hitting the second Bayley-to-Belly of the match for the victory. 


Winner - Bayley via pinfall in 18 minutes, 22 seconds *NEW CHAMPION!*

Following the match, Charlotte and Becky Lynch arrived to congratulate Bayley on her victory, making for a great moment, that fit in with the storyline leading in of Bayley feeling like she being left behind (as well as being able to defeat Charlotte, Becky and Sasha in consecutive matches). Even Sasha joined in the celebration (after some thought), which was an interesting development considering her issues with Charlotte and Becky in WWE at the moment. I have to admit to feeling a little bit emotional watching the four standing in the ring, having watched what they have helped to build over the last year or so, so I'll forget that it didn't make a lot of sense in kayfabe, because fuck kayfabe.


NXT is coming to the UK, hell to the yeah...if you're asking, I'm going.


It was time to look at the main event, with another solid promo for Kevin Owens and Finn Balor's NXT Championship Ladder match, with a sound look at the build up heading in, including their bout at Live in Tokyo: Beast in the East. Seeing Finn Balor's entrance on a big scale was pretty damn special, with added Demon's knocking around the entrance ramp, Balor looked like a star as he made his way to the ring.

A completely different match to Sasha vs. Bayley, Finn Balor and Kevin Owens' Ladder match over the NXT Championship was much more spot-focused, than it was a story-telling epic. Luckily the spots that were used were top quality, with Owens missing a cannonball and colliding with a ladder in the corner, Owens falling off the ladder onto another bridging from the corner, Balor taking a vicious powerbomb on the apron and a lot more. This style of match worked here, thanks to the intensity that the two performers bought to the match, with Owens especially doing some strong character work throughout. It was a real shame that the crowd just didn't want to get on Owens back, even with the former NXT Champion pulling out the old tease a cool move, then do an eye poke spot, as this could have added an extra element to the overall package.


The small amount of storytelling that was there was done well, with Owens seemingly losing his cool when unable to get the belt, delivering two big superkicks to Balor, before attempting a Fisherman's buster off the top of the ladder, of course, this didn't end well for Owens (see above). Having seen two other ladder matches this weekend already (Fight Club: Pro and Futureshock Wrestling reviews coming soon), I was probably one of the hardest to please fans watching this bout! But when Balor reached and grabbed the belt, following a silly Coup de Grâce off the top of the ladder, I'd been thoroughly entertained once more. Both men worked hard for each other and the fans and I'll always appreciate that.


Winner - Balor in 21 minutes, 26 seconds. *STILL CHAMPION!*


Balor's win completed a clean sweep for the babyfaces on the show, so it'll be rather interesting to see who steps up to challenge him next, with Kevin Owens seemingly rapping up in NXT.

Finally....

ATPW Scale Rating - 7.33/10


Another wonderful NXT show and this time in front of a ridiculously sized crowd. Without a bad match on the show, and two outstanding main events, Takeover: Brooklyn has left SummerSlam with a huge challenge. Sasha Banks and Bayley in particular deserve all the praise that is coming their way right now, for their superb encounter, maybe it's time for Vince to take notice and really allow his female performers to shine.