Posted on 12/28/124 by Bob Magee
– Video of Cody calling out Kevin Owens from last month
opened the show. From there, the video extended to the high
points of their ongoing feud.
– Nick Aldis spoke backstage. Aldis said Owens is not a
champion, but Owens is in possession of the Winged Eagle
Belt. Aldis said the belt represents greatness and Owens has
no claim to the belt. Aldis said Owens has until the end of
the night to relinquish the belt or he will face severe
consequences that will affect his future in WWE.
– Cathy Kelley was shown in guerrilla interviewing Naomi and
Bianca Belair. Naomi said she was grateful to hold the tag
titles with Belair. Belair said they won’t forget about what
happened to Cargill. Bayley stepped in and asked Belair if
they were good. Belair said they were and then her music
hit. The three walked out for the first match.
– Nia Jax made her entrance with a microphone and reiterated
that they didn’t mess with Cargill. Jax half made fun of
Stratton and called out Belair for doing fine without
Cargill. Jax said she thinks Belair is trying to avoid
suspicion on Belair. Jax said Belair couldn’t stand the
share the spotlight with Cargill because Cargill is better
than Belair. Jax said Belair snapped. Jax told Belair to own
up to what she did or Jax will make Belair own up to it.
Naomi, Bianca Belair & Bayley defeated Tiffany Stratton, Nia
Jax & Candice LeRae [16:10]
A fine six-woman television tag match. We’ve officially
reached The Point Beyond when it comes to Stratton teasing
cashing in her MITB briefcase because this is far past old
these days. It’s to the point where you almost think it will
be one of those cash ins that are called ahead of time and
it turns into a regular planned match and that’s never fun.
We’ll see. As for the match, there were some fun spots and I
can’t say Jax didn’t say the things a lot of us are thinking
about Belair as we watch the fallout of the Cargill attack
unfold. Again, we’ll see.
Stratton and Belair started the match. Belair had control
early. With the heels outside of the ring, Belair, Bayley
and Naomi all took them out with various mistimed splashes.
The show then went to a quick commercial break. The show
returned and Jax was taking punches from Belair inside the
ring. Naomi gave Jax a stink face after tagging in. Jax came
right back and planted Jax and got a two-count out of it.
LeRae tagged in and kept control for the heels. Naomi made a
brief comeback and Belair tagged in to hit a pair of
splashes on LeRae.
Belair pounded on LeRae until Stratton distracted Belair and
Jax tagged in. From there, Jax hit a leg drop on Belair and
earned a two-count. LeRae tagged in and then Stratton hit a
splash from the top rope after a blind tag. Stratton yelled
at LeRae about not being tagged in enough and it ultimately
leg to Belair tagging in Bayley. LeRae tagged in and was the
recipient of a back suplex. Bayley went for a dropkick
through the turnbuckles onto LeRae, but LeRae ran Bayley’s
head into a ring post. LeRae planted Bayley face-first on
the ring apron and the show went to another commercial
break.
The show returned and Bayley and LeRae were down in the
ring. Stratton tagged in and Naomi tagged in, too. Naomi
kicked Stratton in the head and followed it up with a Mule
Kick and a Bulldog for a near-fall. Things broke down and
everyone traded power moves. Jax found herself on the second
rope and Naomi pulled her off with her legs before hitting a
split-legged moonsault, but Stratton broke a pin attempt up.
With Jax down, Stratton teased cashing in her briefcase, but
LeRae pulled the briefcase away from Stratton. LeRae tagged
herself into the match and fit a full-nelson slam on LeRae
for the win.
**********
– Grayson Waller and Austin Theory were talking to Aldis
backstage and Sami Zayn walked in. Zayn told Aldis they
should talk. The show then went to a commercial.
– Back from that break, Zayn was still talking to Aldis and
said he thinks it’s only fair he gets his crack at The
Bloodline. Carmelo Hayes walked into the room with Christmas
cards to hand out and Zayn told Melo to wait his turn. Zayn
crumpled up a card and threw it in Melo’s face. Melo told
Zayn to stay off Melo’s show. Zayn told Aldis that The
Bloodline stuff could wait and instead, he wanted to face
Melo later. Aldis said, “Consider it done.”
Braun Strowman defeated Austin Theory [7:26]
A result that was never in doubt. In fact, this was probably
a little more competitive than it should have been. That
said, I also understand they needed this to fill a space
that included a commercial break, so as always, television
rules all. Still, I wonder if Theory was actually supposed
to land his finisher on Strowman near the end and the two
stumbled, of if what we got was what the plan was supposed
to be. Either way, this amounted to nothing more than a long
squash that cements Strowman in the middle of the card,
which is a bit of a shame, but that’s a conversation for
another day.
Strowman face-palmed Theory out of the ring to start.
Strowman followed that up with a series of strikes and
eventually, after Strowman threw Theory, Theory rolled out
of the ring. The show went to a commercial break after that.
The show returned and Theory hit a DDT on Strowman. Theory
chop-blocked Strowman and punched Strowman for a one-count.
Strowman dropkicked Theory and Theory rolled to the outside.
Strowman pulled Theory up to the apron and eventually threw
Theory onto Waller on the outside.
Strowman clotheslined Theory on the outside of the ring and
threw Theory back into the ring. Strowman then went to the
top rope, but Waller stalled Storwman and Theory went for an
A-Town Down, but Strowman stumbled out of it and landed a
running powerslam on Theory for the win.
**********
– Owens cut a car promo and said he heard what Aldis said.
Owens said he deserves to have the winged eagle belt because
he is the true WWE Champion. Owens said he think he and
Aldis need to have a discussion and he’ll come into the
arena on only his terms – no security guards or office
people, with just Aldis and Owens. In that case, they can
talk.
The Chelsea Green Celebration
Meh. I was hoping this would be better, but a lot of this
felt forced. It just wasn’t as witty or as funny as you
could tell the people who wrote it thought it would be and
the crowd didn’t help matters. Even so, it was entertaining
enough. I have so much hope that Michin and Green can get
their program over – especially with a brand new title
involved – but we’ll see. It should be interesting to see
how things shake out as WWE gets a mild reset with the
Netflix premiere and a new calendar year on the horizon.
Piper Niven stood in the ring behind a podium that looked
like it could be used for an American president. Niven
introduced Green. The crowd cheered when Green’s music hit
and Green walked out dressed as the Statue Of Liberty. Green
stepped to the podium and thanked the crowd. Green said she
wanted to address the people of the WWE universe and said
they have officially turned the blue brand into the green
house. Green called herself the most glamorous, most … you
get it … Women’s United States Champion. Green walked over
to Niven and teased giving Niven credit, but instead gave
herself the credit for helping herself.
Green spoke to Michin and said she had two words for her:
Good riddance. Green said she’d say Michin could be a
champion, but she doesn’t want to say that because she
doesn’t lie. Green challenged the crowd to ask themselves
not what Chelsea Green could do for them, but what they
could do for Chelsea Green. She said 2025 will be the year
of Red, White and Green. Michin’s music hit and Michin
walked out with a kendo stick. Michin said she’d introduce
Green to her little friend – her kendo stick – and walked to
the ring. Michin hit Niven a bunch with the kendo stick.
Michin entered the ring and went after Green, but Green got
out of it. The segment ended with Niven carrying Green to
the back.
**********
– #DIY and The Street Profits were shown talking to Aldis
backstage and Aldis asked #DIY who attacked The Profits a
couple weeks ago. Pretty Deadly walked in and it turns out,
they were witnesses to the attack. Pretty Deadly tried to
bribe everyone and nobody bit. They said it was Garza who
attacked the Profits and the Profits went looking for Garza
and Berto. They found them and brawled. Aldis then made a
match for the teams after the break.
The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) defeated
Los Garza (Berto & Angel) [11:04]
Another weirdly overly competitive match for acts that just
aren’t on the same level, speaking in terms of the booking
these teams have received in the recent past. In some ways,
good for Berto and Angel because they have been throwaway
characters for so long; on another level … yeah, if I’m
Montez Ford, I’m probably a little fed up with the
irrelevant booking his team has been receiving for a long
time now. As such, the match was pretty good and I like the
edge that the Profits continue to show. In fact, I’d like to
see more of it, going forward, but seeing is believing.
The match was joined in progress and the four wrestlers
fought in and out of the ring. Ford and Berto ended up alone
in the ring and Ford clotheslined Berto. Dawkins tagged in
and the two hit a double flapjack on Berto. Angel tagged in
and the two worked over Dawkins. Angel pummeled Dawkins and
tagged in Berto. Dawkins fired up and took Berto down. Ford
tagged in and things broke down between the four wrestlers.
They brawled outside of the ring and the show went to a
commercial break.
Back from the break, Angel had control over Ford, complete
with a spinebuster. Berto tagged in and kept the momentum
up. Angel tagged in and before long, Ford hit a DDT to even
things out. Ultimately, Dawkins received the hot tag and
Dawkins came in to take out both heels. Ford tagged in and
Berto was on Dawkins’s shoulders, but Angel broke things up.
Berto and Angel threw Ford off the top and Berto landed a
moonsault on Ford for a nice near-fall.
Angel tagged in to become the legal man, but it wasn’t long
before Dawkins tagged in to take care of the heels. With
Berto and Angel on the outside, Ford landed a splash and
then the Profits set up for their finisher and this time
they hit it for the win.
**********
– An Andrade vignette aired during which Andrade was taking
aim at Nakamura. Next week, Naomi will face Nia Jax for the
WWE Women’s Championship and Andrade will take on Nakamura
for the U.S. title.
– Pretty Deadly were shown walking backstage and ran into
#DIY. Pretty Deadly said they scratched #DIY’s backs, so
they hope they can scratch theirs. The Profits walked in and
B-Fab told Pretty Deadly they were thankful they told them
the truth. The Profits started walking and ran into Motor
City Machine Guns, who said they deserve a title shot.
Apollo Crews walked in and told the Profits that it was #DIY
who attacked the Profits. Crews then walked away as everyone
looked confused.
Sami Zayn defeated Carmelo Hayes via DQ [11:34]
A good match and a worthy main event, match-wise. The smoz
finish was expected, but it’d be nice to see Zayn get a
clean win sometime soon, considering how many loses he’s
been taking from Drew McIntyre. The Strowman wrinkle was fun
and I hope we see more of that moving forward (as referenced
above). Kevin Owens appearing to get involved in Sami Zayn
business – even if it’s just his music hitting after an
unrelated angle is show – is always a nice way to get people
to wonder about what might happen next, so kudos to the
cleverness of those involved.
The two locked up to begin things and “Sami Uso!” chants
broke out in the crowd. Zayn chopped the hell out of Melo
until Melo came back with a dropkick for a one-count. Melo
found himself on the outside of the ring and Melo dragged
Zayn to the outside. Ultimately, Zayn landed a moonsault off
the crowd barricade onto Melo and then the show went to a
break.
The show returned and Melo had control. Melo landed a
springboard splash onto Zayn and worked a ground and pound.
Zayn fired up and hit a clothesline to reset the match. Zayn
went to the second rope and hit a double axe-handle. Zayn
hit his Blue Thunder Bomb for a good near-fall. Zayn went to
the top and missed a splash, which turned into a First 48
from Melo for a very good near-fall. Melo landed a
springboard DDT on Zayn and went to the top, but he leapt
into a clothesline from Zayn, who then fired up.
Zayn landed an Exploder on Melo into the corner. Zayn set up
for the Helluva Kick, but Melo rolled to the outside and
started to walk to the back, but Strowman appeared and Melo
ran to the back. Out of nowhere, The Bloodline appeared and
attacked Zayn, so Zayn got the DQ win. Strowman was shown
bringing Melo back to the ring and saw what was happening
and threw Melo down to walk to the ring and battle Solo
Sikoa. Strowman shoulder-blocked Sikoa to the ground and
Jacob Fatu stared down Strowman. The crowd went wild. Tama
Tonga cho–blocked Strowman before anything could happen and
Sikoa hit a Samoan Spike on Strowman. Zayn came back into
the fold, but the Bloodline took Zayn out all over again.
Kevin Owens’s music hit and Owens walked out with the
winged-eagle belt. He walked slowly, so his entrance didn’t
really have much to do with the carnage in the ring.
**********
The Nick Aldis/Kevin Owens segment
A good segment to end the show. Cody showed great fire and
Owens keeps trying to get heat as a heel, but these crowds
are slowly but surely rallying behind him and it will be
very fun to see how this all shakes out by the time the
Rumble comes around. At some point, we should pay attention
and give credit to the fact that Owens and Cody have managed
to work a program that keeps people interested all these
months into it. The ladder match should be very good, but
it’s going to have to be the end of the road for these two …
maybe? … Hopefully?
Aldis told Owens to do the right thing and hand over the
winged eagle belt. Owens told Aldis to explain why he’d give
the belt back because it’s the only bargaining chip he has.
Owens said he’d give the belt back if he can get a rematch
with Cody. Owens said he had Cody beat and everyone knows
it. Aldis noted how he said it’s not a negotiation and
because of that, Owens needed to hand the belt over or Owens
would never step in a WWE again. Cody’s music hit to a huge
pop. Cody walked out with a microphone and Aldis told Cody
to turn around and let Aldis handle it.
Cody said he wasn’t going to walk away and he didn’t want
Owens to be a martyr. Cody brought up how Owens claims Cody
teamed with Reigns and that’s why Cody is a bad person. But,
Cody argued, Owens attacked Cody at SNME like Reigns would
have. Cody listed off all the people for whom he does what
he does. Cody said it’s his responsibility to take the
winged eagle back. Cody said he wanted a match with Owens
and entered the ring. Cody challenged Owens to a ladder
match and to put the winged eagle up there with the
Undisputed Championship. Aldis announced that at the Royal
Rumble, it will be Cody vs. Owens for the Undisputed WWE
Championship in a ladder match. Owens stuck out his hand and
said he’d see Cody there. Cody didn’t shake it and Owens
attacked Aldis before attacking Cody. Owens eventually
walked away and yelled that he was the true champion. The
show ended with Owens holding up the winged eagle and
walking to the back.