This was the 900th episode of SD. In this special event, we had another Miz vs. Ziggler main event-level match, the return of the Deadman to SD after 3.5 years and the Cutting Edge show. It was a much anticipated SD episode and it delivered as per the expectations.
Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan's Address:
This was a typical way to start the show for getting the crowd hyped up. Daniel filled the crowd with Power of Positivity. :P The crowd was ready to roll by this time.
The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler:
The pre-match segment included a powerful entrance by Miz. A man could not take his eyes of the Miz's wife, the ever-graceful Maryse. I still expect Maryse to show her wrestling skills in future if that is a plausible card for the WWE chairman to play in future. We were bestowed with a beautiful starting segment of the match. It was packed with intense action, quick and fast pinups, intense commentary. The Miz's taunt on Daniel Bryan was nicely executed ending with a Running Knee followed by a Skull-crushing Finale. Dolph's Zigzag was also nasty. It looked as painful as it was graceful. The final segment of the match followed by the celebration with Spirit Squad was wonderful. All in all, it was a delicious match for Marks and Smarks alike.
Backstage Promo of Alexa Bliss and Natalya:
Alexa has been cutting nice promos each and every time. In this episode of SD, there was no exception. Natalya too has been building up her gimmick utilising the available TV time aptly.
Oney Larcon vs. Kalisto:
Oney Lorcan, the NXT star, showed great fierceness in the initial segment. Thanks to the SD creative team, new talents are getting a good amount of TV time.
King Booker and Survivor Series Tag Team's Team Backstage Promo:
This segment was funny. "Breezango, you are the reject of POC cast, Can you dig that, Suckkaaa?" The 10-man team of the SD was strong and hilarious.
Nicki Bella vs. Carmella:
Carmella has been a real revelation. She performed her part with the show of apt fierceness. Nicki's struggle-segment was fascinating. She has worked on these minute skills with care. The build-up was slow. Nia Jax's power moves and Naomi's risky yet awesome jump were the most noticeable moment of the brawl between the Raw and SD women's team.
Spirit Squad-The Vaudevillains-The Ascensions-The Headbangers vs The USOs-Breezango-Americal Alpha-The Hype Bros (Accompanied by Heath Slater-Rhyno):
This was an enjoyable 16-man stipulation. It was an acceptable way to show the cohesiveness between SD's 10 men representatives in the Survivor Series. The crowd was going nuts with "We want Slater" and "We want Rhyno" chants. Slater has surely made quite a name for himself. :) Not only for Slater but for the Hype Bros, the crowd was loud and vocal to show their support. The Hype-Bros and the Ascension were delightful. Jason Jordan's power-show was amusing. But the most nostalgic segment of the match came when we got the USO crazy moment: the flying USOs. The USOs had used this move for the last time a long time ago. So, this move coming when they were heels, was a pleasant surprise.
Cutting Edge Show:
Edge was happy to be back. He has always been happy to host the Cutting Edge Show. Notably, someone in the crowd was chanting "Delete Delete" :D. The WWE creative board believed in James Ellsworth. He came to the ring with got the mic. OMG.. cool. The crowd was loud for Ellsworth, AJ Styles, Shane McMahon and the Deadman himself. Shane is indeed an extraordinary on-screen leader. He has been revolutionary back-screen already. One can't miss - Randy's stinging-stare at James Ellsworth when Ambrose and AJ Styles were talking. It was vicious. :P Undertaker's entrance, as usual, was the Holy shit moment of the entire night. I can see a future match prospective of the Undertaker and one of the performers from SD Men's team. The Undertaker will fight soon. Brace yourself. and Rest in Peace.
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WWE Smackdown Live Show 15/11/2016
The show begins with the stand out of the representatives of Raw Brand and a cool speech by Steph and Foley. Mick Foley dancing on Enzo's trademark steps was entertaining. This Sunday night PPV will be great. This episode of Raw, the last one before the PPV, was packed with amazing stipulations. Great chemistry was shown by Charlotte and Sasha in today's match. The same can be expected in Sunday's match as well with the presence of Bayley.
Sheamaro vs. Kevin Owens-Roman Reigns:
In the offset segment, Cesaro demonstrated various escape and jump skills. Sheamus' Battering Ram with the help of Cesaro was a little out of place but it was performed nicely. By the way, Cesaro's over-the-top-rope jump: picture perfect. KO copying Roman's taunts followed by his Cannon Ball just showed how magnificent an improviser he can be. Sheamus' Slaps to the chest of KO near the rope would make any Lazy Smark nostalgic, who followed WWE during the period when he was a face. Remember? We missed those shots in the Wrestlemania in his bout against Daniel Bryan which ended in just eight seconds! :P The end-match segment was neat and elegant.
Jericho-Rolins-Strowman Backstage Promo:
In this segment, Jericho gifted scarf to Rolins and Strowman in a friendly gesture. But Strowman tore Jericho's own scarf. It was a light, funny segment. Considering that it was Jericho's Promo, it was as charismatic as expected.
Bo Dallas vs. Sami Zayn:
It was a solid stipulation. Bo with his new gimmick has been able to show his real skills because of increased TV time in the recent past. Bo Dallas needs such matches. I wanted the match to last longer. Writers were depicting Sami as the man to beat in the Survivor Series, so this stipulation could not have focussed on how good Bo Dallas is performing. But I believe that Bo deserves to showcase his exceptional mic skills and wrestling skills more and more in each and every episode of Raw.
Cruiserweight Backstage Promo:
The cruiserweights have been cool. They have been agile and funny at the same time. Notably, Sin Cara and Kalisto reuniting after the Cruiserweight division joins the SD is a welcome-prospective.
The New Days vs. Jericho-Rolins-Strowman:
The New Day in the pre-match promo advertised their products in a pretty fun way. Mat fight segment between Xavier Woods and Seth Rolins was lovely. Double kick by Kofi and Woods followed by Woods blowing off Francesca 2 turbo: classic New Day stuff, with a little flavour. Strowman delivered many OMG moves on Big E and Kofi Kingston outside the ring. These were perfectly executed. This was the 'Holy Shit' segment of the match. Later, Rolins pulled off a free fall over the rope with the help of Xavier Woods. It was clean, noticeable and classic. Overall, it was a fabulous match.
Paul Heyman-Mick Foley-Steph McMahon backstage promo:
Paul always gives formidable promo cuts. It was not an exception. Especially, Paul praised the SD talents and one can dare to say that was not overrated.
Charlotte-Sasha Backstage Promo:
This segment was fierce. These women are expected to deliver such top class backstage promos. They are certainly the leader of the Women Revolution in WWE.
Kendrick vs. Sin Cara:
It was an okayish stipulation. Kendrick exhibited his in-ring skills smartly. Sin Cara, per my perception, could have showcased more in this match.
Gallows-Anderson vs. Enzo-Big Cass backstage promo:
Enzo was having a lot of fun as usual. I love their gimmick. Anderson and Gallows have posed themselves as a genuine party-pooper team. It will be fun to watch their feud after Sunday's PPV.
Brock Lesnar-Goldberg in-ring promo face-off:
The entrance and the crowd response for both pro wrestlers were magical. Owing to their earlier match, many people predict that their upcoming PPV match will be a repeat of shitshow. But with an increase of Smarks and reduction of Lazy Smarks, we can expect a better crowd of Smarks and Marks which would produce a great match for sure. Goldberg has been practising his cardio. He was a squasher earlier. But recently, he has been more poised and has shown potential to fight longer. If these two guys put up a grand match come Sunday, it would be a happy memory for everyone. The crowd was quite vocal throughout the promo. But I was a tad bit disappointed as I expected a better conversation. Goldberg showed fierceness. But Paul cut a better Promo. He conjured up a good lot of "Goldberg" chants from the crowd which Goldberg himself couldn't have done. I am looking forward to the "The Fantasy Just Got Real" match.
Charlotte-Sasha Bank vs Alicia Fox-Nia Jax:
The match ended a little abruptly. I expect a lot from the women's division. Alicia and Nia could have displayed better performance. Similarly, Sasha and Charlotte also had lots of scopes to build the match up, on which they didn't capitalise. Despite the poor show in this match, I am sure they will give their best in the PPV. Bayley's act as a peace-keeper will be a fresh gimmick on Sunday.
Enzo-Big Cass-Gallows-Anderson vs Shining Stars-Golden Truth:
Enzo did a great in-ring promo playing with words. The match was convenient. Golden Truth and Gallows-Anderson produced nice moves as a team. The stand-off moment between Enzo-Cass and Golden Truth was quite funny. Similarly, the end segment was also amusing.
In-Ring Promo of McMahons and General Managers:
The crowd greeted Daniel and Shane quite heartily at their entrance. The Raw crowd open-heartedly accepted the SD's dominance. This Raw vs. SD scenario is different from what it was 10 years ago. The crowd is quite more learned now and has more Smarks. So it was expected from that crowd. The Charlotte vs. Sasha in the Hell in a Cell match was exceptional as Mick rightly mentioned. The 10-member face-off of Survivor Series men representatives was a Holy Shit moment for the WWE Universe. The crowd was going mad with chants of "AJ Styles". His promo was perfect. The bromance of Jeri-KO was hilarious. Jericho's promo segment was astounding. AJ Styles, AJ's hair and Ellsworth made the List of Jericho in this segment. Well, it was anticipated. :) The brawl segment was surreal with the wrestlers showing off their impromptu skill sets. This kind of ending to the show was a nice way to sell Survivor Series. Hope, it will be a great PPV.
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WWE Monday Night Raw 14/11/2016 @Forbes
The show started with James Ellsworth, Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles talking trash. What could have been a better starting segment to the Smackdown Live than this? It is the best way to put Smackdown on the frontline which was expected to be a hard task after the great show in Hell in a Cell of Raw brand.
The behind-the-screen conversation between Ellsworth and Daniel Bryan may spice up Ellsworth's role in WWE. I sincerely request the writers to include Ellsworth in the storyline so that he can show his skills. :)
Randy Orton vs Kane (No DQ Match):
The match completed pretty fast which was anticipated considering that writers need to put more time and effort building up the relation between the Wyatts and Randy than Randy's singular rivalry. There are still questions pending on Randy's change of intention to join the Wyatts and the logic which the writers are trying to sell.
Baron Corbin has got a new promotional segment which was cool. The writers need to get him involved in a feud as soon as possible.
Alexa Bliss-Carmella vs Becky Lynch-Nicki Bella:
The match was nicely paced with Becky and Alexa showing their nice in-ring skills. The writers are putting a lot of responsibilities on Alexa giving her more TV time. The mic skills shown by Carmella and Alexa was good.
Their discussion about Survivor series was succeeded by Shane McMohan assigning Natalya as SD Women's team's coach. Natalya's presence in the Survivor Series will indeed bring fun to the match.
American Alpha vs Spirit Squad:
The American Alpha have been showing nice moves and producing good matches for a long time. I am still expecting them to better their mic skills personally, though.
MizTV:
Sending Daniel Bryan as the special guest with continuous YES and NO chants was a wonderful way to popularise MizTV. The MizTV soon resulted in an open challenge by Dolph Zack, oops, Ziggler for Intercontinental Championship with the Miz at the ringside. The match with Curt Hawkins, as it turned out to be his debut, was fast, too fast! :D The superkick by Dolph was picture-perfect.
The Wyatt brother's segment with Randy's eyes having a fire was very childish. I really am expecting the writers to write a better story for Randy and Wyatts or else dismiss their band of misfits.
The Usos vs The Headbangers:
The match started with the Usos attack the Headbangers first before the bell even rang. It was nicely booked for the Headbangers to show some good old power moves. The match was okayish in terms of moves. The end segment of the match again showcased the Uso's chemistry being a heel.
Dean Ambrose vs AJ Styles:
It was an awesome match. The match was full of counter moves. Both Ambrose, Styles and, wait for it, the chin that runs the inn, the Idiot, the legendary, James Ellsworth who just settled the score right with Ambrose just threw the roof off with their impeccable performance. Kudos to all.
In this Smackdown episode, most parts of the teams for Survivor Series were declared. The men's team is heelish while the tag team division seems to be the face in the PPV. I hope to see some more heated conversation in Raw and next episode of Smackdown in terms of building up a rivalry in the Survivor Series.
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WWE Smackdown Live 01/11/2016
AA (^;^)
