supersonic

SummerSlam 2015: The Good Shit On the kickoff show, Kevin Owens interrupts the discussion of his feud against Cesaro. He is excellent in intimidating Booker T. and Bryon Saxton, asking why he’d be jealous of Cesaro. Fantastic narrative control and bullying from Owens as he just said a month earlier he’s protecting his spot from Cesaro. He fucks with Saxton’s paperwork, assuming there’s a Cesaro Section sign in it, and vows to turn it into the Silent Section tonight. Kudos to Booker for presenting himself in this fashion. Amusing opening segment as Jon Stewart welcomes everyone, then brings out Mick Foley, who expected the Rock, not Brock Lesnar, for a fun interview. He reminds Stewart that Hell in a Cell II was 17 YEARS AGO and no shit he’s terrified of visiting Suplex City. Just a sad reminder, although probably best for both legends’ health, that we never got Brock Lesnar vs. Cactus Jack. Sheamus vs. Randy Orton A notch below their Battleground 2015 match, which I’d point to a hot NYC crowd not measuring up to Orton’s partisan hometown STL crowd. This was further evidence that they phoned in their TV matches though, as both worked really hard. By far the highlight for me was when Sheamus made an attempt to skin the cat in the corner, only for Orton to have it scouted and used the positioning to lock Sheamus and deliver a draping DDT. Orton also counted a slingshot thrust forward shoulder block into an Ace Crusher, but the Celtic Warrior was intelligent enough to roll to the outside. That ultimately is what got Sheamus the much needed victory, as it allowed him to cut off Orton at the ropes. This lead to Sheamus landing the Schwein, then delivering back-to-back Yakuza kicks, and there was no getting up from that damage from Orton. I’d have personally slotted Cesaro vs. Owens in this opener instead to really heat up NYC, but I assume Owens was being given as much time as possible to recover from the prior night’s ladder match. ***1/4 Tag Titles Match Prime Time Players vs. Los Matadores vs. Lucha Dragons vs. Big E & Kofi Kingston MUST-SEE and removed from both the WWE Network and WWE’s YouTube page: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x33mh7l I’m assuming WWE doesn’t want to fight its fair use, but I say that with the most elementary idea of that legal terminology. Only two individual participants can be legal at a time, thus requiring tags. This leads to a tremendous opening strategy by New Day. Now at ROH's Tag Wars 2010, there was a four-way gimmick elimination match, and because of the elimination rules, it was insulting when the Briscoes were legal and told they had to actually go at it in the ring despite being on the same team. However, in this case, New Day maneuvered to have each other both legal and lay down for the other, because the rules of this match, one fall to a finish, would mean that they would’ve recaptured the titles. FUCKING BRILLIANT AND HILARIOUS. The rest of the match is a sloppy, nothing special spot-fest, although nothing irritating. The finish is perfect, as the New Day take advantage of the others doing the work, then get rid of O’Neil to score the pinfall and recapture the belts! All three are sensational in their reactions, highlighted by Big E running around in circles in the ring! Stardust & Wade Barrett vs. Neville & Stephen Amell One of the top celebrity matches thanks to Amell’s sheer effort. While his lack of fluidity, experience, bumping, and wrestling cardio became apparent, there was nothing business-exposing about what he did. He took plenty of bumps playing the Ricky Morton role, while smoothly executing all of his offense when the time came for it. Major kudos to him after the hot tag and Neville got everything in order to insist on hitting a splash to the outside, then collapsing out of pure exhaustion. From a booking standpoint, it’s important to mention that Neville got the pinfall on Barrett, leaving Stardust and Amell out of the decision and the door open should this continue down the road. I’m aware of Steve Austin shitting on Amell working a pro wrestling match based on some type of misguided prejudice; perhaps should he ever read this, he’ll have finally understood how moviegoers with any type of aesthetic standard feel watching his shoddy attempts on the silver screen. Should Amell ever decide to pursue pro wrestling full-time, I’m fully confident that he has the work ethic and respect for the business to make something substantial out of it. While nothing special as an actor in Hollywood, wrestling has such low standards in that regard that he would by default be an elite promo in the squared circle too. Luke Harper & Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns Very good tag match with hot action on the outside early. Ambrose & Reigns first have Wyatt taken out to get the odds in their favor, but in the second act, Harper & Wyatt did that to Reigns. While the kayfabe strategy is obvious (take out the more pushed star of each team), it backfired here. The NYC crowd, rather than view Reigns as being knocked out so that Ambrose would play the FIP, saw this as an easy resting period for him, chanting “Roman’s sleeping!” Someone who’s the next legit top guy wouldn’t get those kinds of reactions. Don’t believe me? Revisit the same scenario for Lesnar in the Royal Rumble 2015 threeway classic from Philly; he certainly didn't get shit on for resting after eating a flying elbow drop on the table from Seth Rollins. The audience was clearly seeing through this program; that Reigns was removed from the WWE Title picture was obviously just short-term, and instead of making him hotter, this was just making it more obvious he’d be back in the hunt by the most important time of the year. Further evidence that Vince McMahon no longer grasps the psychology of the young adult audience, which he of course deflects by blaming us as millennials like that means anything at all in terms of his failure to pick the right guy for the top spot in the business. The finish did Reigns no favors in terms of crowd reaction, Ambrose tagging him in for the clean-up spear and victorious pinfall. Good match as stated though, just a failure when looking at the bigger picture. ***1/2 WWE Title vs. US Title Seth Rollins vs. John Cena In what could just be a coincidence, Rollins has the same colored gear as Bayley and New Day. I definitely prefer the villainous black gear to perfectly reflect his dark complexion. This is my favorite WWE match of 2015 for a number of reasons. Immediately, Cena wasted no time protecting his face due to the broken nose a month earlier. His storytelling in that regard was just flawless. When he and Rollins would exchange strikes, Cena would guard his face, leaving his torso open for any strikes, There was a sensational sequence I’ll get into, but for this part of the story, I gotta point out that once Rollins was finally able to land a corkscrew roundhouse kick, Cena turned his head around first, rather risking a concussion than another broken nose. This might very well be the match that epitomizes why Cena is a truly phenomenal worker. For once, the match was more than an action-packed festival dripping with tremendous scouting and a white-hot audience. After Rollins had just been completely demolished the month before, fate stepped in to give him the menacing credibility he needed by shattering Cena’s nose in their OKC match, resulting in Cena doing everything possible to protect his face. Thus, Cena was putting over what a hazardous striker Rollins is. This went a long way in elevating the stock of Rollins, badly needed since he’s the champion of the entire company. This match, in addition to their OKC classic and other rematches to come, showed just what a deadweight J&J Security had been on Rollins. Rather than have two cruiserweight stooges trying to get involved and give Rollins an advantage, Rollins found himself shining on his own, gripping the NYC audience that was clearly behind him due to his sheer talent and work ethic. From that angle, when also factoring in their first singles classic near the end of 2013 when the Shield still existed, this match serves a reminder of what a fucking waste of screen-time the audience had endured during the first half of 2015 thanks to how Rollins was booked most of the way. Rollins wasted no time on trying to troll the fans, instead reveling in their support. This was actually an effective strategy on his part; rather than waste time talking shit, he pulled out everything in his arsenal, including suicide dives and a follow-up somersault plancha over the top rope! The reason he did this crowd-pleasing shit? Because that is what it fucking takes to get the upper hand on John Cena, as Rollins had just learned a month earlier despite shattering the nose. By also getting the audience behind him, Rollins could hope that this would be one of the rare instances that Cena would mentally break from the atmosphere, which had proven to be a possibility when it happened at WrestleMania XXVIII. As always, these two had each other scouted incredibly well. There were counters and signature move evasions aplenty in this one. As had been done before on at least one occasion (the classic involving Lesnar at Royal Rumble 2015), Cena didn’t allow Rollins to even attempt the jumping corkscrew roundhouse kick, instead immediately giving Rollins a backdrop suplex. Rollins of course kicked Cena in the shoulder during this first Five Knuckle Shuffle attempt, and Cena was lucky that the blow didn’t land on his recently repaired face. Now of course, the teases would pay off later. Cena would land the Five Knuckle Shuffle and Rollins would manage to get the knee face bash on Cena, but this time there would be no shattered nose. Each man would also deliver Release Death Valley Drivers for incredible near-falls, with each having rolled out of moves to land them. Cena would successfully evade a Phoenix Splash attempt, only to eat one later for a great nearfall. Rollins repeatedly teased the Pedigree, only for Cena to continue to deadlift him overhead, because such a move would obviously be devastating to his face. Time to dissect the incredible sequence I had mentioned earlier. First, a preface: when Rollins was monkey-flipped into the corner, he was able to avoid damage, but before he could gather himself, Cena was on him like white on rice, dropping him chest and stomach-first with an Electric Chair Face Plant. Rollins struggled to get up from this, allowing Cena enough time to hit the guillotine leg drop as Rollins was bent at the waist. And now the incredible sequence begins. Cena goes for a Super Release Death Valley Driver, but Rollins slips out and appears to attempt a Sunset Flip Powerbomb, but Cena holds onto the ropes at first, and Michael Cole is tremendous in pointing out this is a sign of the HOFer’s core strength. Rollins holds on though, gets in standing position, and has the leverage to successfully hit a buckle bomb. With Cena down, Rollins sucks up his pain and exhaustion to hit a High Fly Flow, but is in clear pain as he goes for the pinfall. This is when Cena rolls backwards upon kicking out, allowing himself to deliver the Release Death Valley Driver on Rollins. Now we pause the sequence for a moment. This portion of the sequence displays that Rollins is indeed the true predecessor to Shawn Michaels. The struggle Rollins showed in getting up after the Electric Chair Face Plant, followed by almost losing leverage on the buckle bomb attempt, followed by the pain in his face upon executing the High Fly Flow, and then being rolled into a Release Death Valley Driver all happened for one reason: Rollins was selling the pain in his abdomen from being dropped on his front end minutes earlier by Cena. Now, let’s get back to the sequence that includes some portions I had already mentioned. Rollins manages to land on his feet once Cena launches him off his shoulders, then delivers the corkscrew roundhouse kick, but Cena turns his head away to protect his face, which JBL tremendously mentions on commentary. Cena goes for the crossbody, only for Rollins to roll back and successfully hit his own Release Death Valley Driver for an amazing nearfall. What an absolutely tremendous story told between these two workhorses in a span of just a few minutes. After that sequence, the finishing stretch kicks in as Cena evades another attempted Phoenix Splash, then puts Rollins in the STF. Rollins sucks up whatever pain is in his abdomen to break out and use his legs to push Cena, then attempts a Pedigree, but Cena blocks that of course for the obvious reasons, indicating that move will be instant death for him. In another tremendous piece of storytelling, Cena locks in the figure four leglock to pay homage to Ric Flair for what would be his 16th World Title should Rollins tap or pass out. But Rollins has enough strength in his legs and regained in his abdomen to turn over, and Cena’s face selling the pain before reaching the bottom rope is sensational. Both are slow to get up, selling the pain in their legs. Cena gets the first strikes to knock a fatigued Rollins down, and it looks like he’s going for another guillotine leg drop. Rollins has it scouted from earlier in the match though, getting an adrenaline rush as Cena struggled to climb. Rollins delivers a Superplex with a follow-through Falcon Arrow for another fantastic nearfall. Like Cena just moments earlier going to the well too often, Rollins goes for another Phoenix Splash attempt, only for Cena to roll out and Rollins lands on his front end, which certainly can’t be a good thing considering the pain he had been experiencing in that body part. The referee is knocked down by the feet of Rollins as Cena executes a Release Death Valley Driver. Cena checks on the ref and when he returns to Rollins, that’s enough for the champ to hit the face knee bash, then falls back down in exhaustion as Cena sells it. Jon Stewart runs to the ring with a chair and teases he’ll strike both guys, appearing to sell a conflict. No idea why he’d attack Cena, which he does once the HOFer stands up, then Rollins takes advantage, planting Cena’s face on a chair via the Pedigree to bring Cena’s historic US Title reign to a very buzzworthy conclusion! The crowd goes nuts for both the chairshot and the finish, grateful for Rollins to get the glory and Cena not to match Flair’s promoted World Title reigns record! What a coincidence that he wins a championship wearing the same colors as the also successful challengers Bayley and New Day. Now I’d have just personally given Rollins the clean win. I understand that he was being built to as a fraudulent champion, but beating Cena clean would’ve helped his stock significantly, which would then be passed on to Roman Reigns in the future once he’d dethrone Rollins, and Cena loses nothing from it. Stewart’s interference was a bit botched due to apparent mistiming, but I proved in the previous paragraph that it can be covered with an explanation of conflicting emotions on his part. The commentary team failed to do that, surprisingly because they did an exceptional job calling this match and covering for what otherwise could’ve been perceived as minor botches throughout the match. With the exception of the Stewart dynamic and an ugly Springboard Stunner, I love everything about this match. The more I think about this match, the more I write about this match, the more I jump back-and-forth through various parts of this match, I fall even more in love with it than before. That is a clear indication of a phenomenal match, and when looking it from that angle, I believe that years down the road, this will be looked upon as fondly as Michaels vs. Mankind at Mind Games. I know I’ve used that match for comparisons to other works of art that had one glaring flaw to prevent perfection, but this match comes incredibly close by having a similar interference direction. Obviously this one had a finish unlike Michaels vs. Mankind, but there are some striking similarities with the closing moments of each match. Rollins was just fantastic with his abdomen selling, reveling in the NYC audience’s admiration, and giving everything he could to defeat one of the greatest champions of all-time by himself. Cena more than proved his worth as an in-ring performer, selling a prior injury and therefore getting Rollins over as a legitimate menace in the process. These two men scouted each other as always, having a blisteringly competitive contest, desperately going to their wells too often and paying for it. And they lived up to the bloodthirsty New Yorkers’ expectations, having the Barclays Center audience in the palms of their hands from start to finish. If it wasn’t for the awkward/mistimed interference segment involving Stewart, this would absolutely be in the upper-echelon as the company’s best match of the 2015 calendar year, as well as my Road to WrestleMania calendar. This is definitely just as nail-biting of a roller-coaster as Sasha Banks vs. Bayley the night before! ****1/2 Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens I strongly suspect as stated that this was placed before the main event not as a cooldown, but to give Owens as much time as possible to heal and get treatment from the prior night’s ladder match. Unfortunately, I believe this match needed to open the PPV as the audience didn’t emotionally connect with anything in this match despite both men clearly busting their asses for it. Sure, the crowd popped for certain moves, but it became crystal-clear after about 5 minutes that it didn’t really matter to them who won this match. There were two instances in which Cesaro attempted to show fire and the reaction was tepid at best. One was as he got repeatedly slapped, he snapped and then rapidly slapped Owens to get a comeback. The crowd didn’t give a shit. Later, he sold that he was starting to get an adrenaline rush, taking heavy breaths to display he was about to try to regain control. Again, the audience didn’t care, but honestly, his facial expressions here didn’t feel sincere like we’d see from cream-of-the-crop performers such as Bryan Danielson. Compare this to Danielson’s greatest facial expression of his career at ROH’s Vendetta, angrily trying to not sell Roderick Strong’s painful chops, breathing in and out profusely. Maybe Owens wasn't kidding on the preshow when he declared he'd turn the Cesaro Section into the Silent Section. Had these guys opened the PPV, I believe there’s a slight chance the crowd would’ve been more into this and these two could’ve had a show-stealer. I certainly believe in that position, they would’ve delivered something better than Sheamus vs. Orton, which is no knock on that particular match. I’m not gonna make excuses though, other than I believe Owens wasn’t able to keep up his usual pace and heel shtick to his usual standard due to being 24 hours removed from a taxing ladder match. There really are no other valid excuses. Owens received a substantial push on the main roster throughout the entire summer. Cesaro had highly competitive matches against Cena that had some saying MOTYC, with the sequel main-eventing Raw. Cesaro was fed an upset victory over Rusev and then placed in numerous main events on SmackDown! involving Rollins, the champion of the company. This feud itself was given plenty of substantial screen-time, including MizTV which allowed both to have an appropriate amount of promo time. They also competed in two title match opportunities, one of them being for a WWE Title shot. With ALL of that in their favor, there’s the cherry on top that this match took place in Brooklyn, a smark haven with plenty of educated fans aware of their forged legacies on the independents. And these guys failed to emotionally hook in the audience despite having that huge advantage. There was nobody angrier about WWE’s failure to maintain the red-hot momentum Cesaro had in 2014. I became quite irritated that Owens for about a month into his WWE main roster career saw his opportunities to contribute verbally get significantly diminished. In spite of that, by the time that the go-home week for this show arrived, both of these men found themselves on a tremendous roll in a hot midcard feud. I write these reviews because I believe I have a gift to objectively, articulately present the educated insights and passionate fandom that I have for this business. I am not here to provide slanted pieces with clear agendas and transparent excuses to push and favor particular acts, performers, or directions that happen to excite me with no regard for reality and what’s best for business, aesthetics, and connecting with viewers. I love Cesaro. I love Kevin Owens. Both have proven night after night that they’re tremendous contributors to this industry. On the second biggest night of the year for the biggest company in the industry, under the bright lights of a very favorable New York City, these guys failed to deliver. That is the bottom line. After such an incredible summer from Cesaro, this was highly disappointing to see from him, and when considering Vince McMahon’s choice of words to describe him several months earlier on The Stone Cold Podcast, I’d be worried about this push continuing. If I’m Vince, I have my ammunition to move on to other projects on the roster. Cesaro did himself no favors, having two months of great momentum, only for it to go back to Owens to reheat him after four losses to Cena and Finn Balor. I sure hope Cesaro still gets another opportunity to show that he can thrive again, because I know he’s a lot better in regards to connecting with the audience than he showed in his performance on this night. Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker The match starts hot and heavy, as Lesnar attacks Taker during his entrance routine immediately once he steps inside the ring. Taker still fights back though, catching Lesnar off-guard enough to knock him out of the ring via a big boot and clotheslines, still sporting his trench coat. Loved this as Lesnar has every right to go for the cheap advantage immediately after Taker fucked him out of the WWE Title and then low-blowed him at his Minneapolis homecoming ceremony. This also showed that Taker came ready for battle and wouldn’t succumb to any surprises. Lesnar steps back in and the opening bell rings, getting a double leg takedown and trying to get alpha on Taker, only for the Dead Man to punch right back for the advantage as the audience engages in dueling chants. Taker goes for his ropewalk shoulder attack, which seemed surprising to happen so early, but Lesnar showed his excellent gameplan by using Taker’s position to attempt an F5. Lesnar knows it’s gonna take more than brute strength this time to get the job done. Works for me. Taker evades the F5 and tries to go on offense after a boot to the face, only to eat an overhead belly-to-belly suplex, landing in what didn’t look to be very pleasant fashion on his right shoulder. Lesnar than takes him to “Suplex City, bitch!” via one release German Suplex. Taker shows he’s done his due diligence in the film room on the second attempt, stepping forward and causing Lesnar’s face to hit the turnbuckle, busted open in the process. Taker takes advantage with the Snake Eyes then continues the attack when Lesnar takes a powder to gather himself. Taker works the back, which is very smart to make that body part prone for the chokeslam and Last Ride, while also marginalizing the F5, German Suplexes, overhead belly-to-belly suplexes, and possibly even the Kimura Lock if Lesnar can’t hold his position. Taker looks fatigued, but he wins a brief strike exchange, indicating to me that he knows this will be a brutal marathon if he’s gonna conquer the Beast for the first time in his career. Lesnar regains the advantage though by evading a chokeslam and hitting more release German Suplexes. That cannot possibly be healthy for a 300-pound man in his late 40s. As the audience engages in dueling chants once again, Lesnar sets up a commentary tabe for action, but Taker cuts him off. Taker’s attempt at a Last Ride backfires badly, as Lesnar deadlifts him in position for a gorgeous F5 onto the table! Taker of course breaks the count and Lesnar’s face of blood and sweat is just disgusting. “I’ll kill you, you son of a bitch, c’mon! I’ll kill you.” As Lesnar stands over a fallen Taker, getting cocky, the Dead Man looks up and replies “You’re gonna have to!” Lesnar still remained too cocky, leaving himself open for a successful choke slam. Lesnar quickly gets back up though, only to leave himself open to a Tombstone Piledriver for an obvious nearfall. This leads to another highlight of the match and terrific long-term storytelling payoff. Both are down on the match exhausted. Lesnar gets up first and laughs just like a year earlier against John Cena, only for Taker to sit back up too and laugh back at him in mocking fashion, looking like a cunt that truly hates Lesnar and is starting to lose his mind over it. The audience goes apeshit for this as they exchange seated strikes. Lesnar goes for another German Suplex in the corner but Taker evades it, only to get the Kimura Lock on and not listening to the ref. This isn’t good for Lesnar. First of all, he didn’t get the submission locked in fully, so the damage was minimal. Once the referee Charles Robinson got fed up with Lesnar refusing to break the hold, he forced the break, allowing Taker to plant Lesnar with a Last Ride for a tremendous nearfall. Lesnar still has enough energy to quickly get up and deliver an F5, leading to a kickout that surprised him. That makes sense because he’s delivered 3 F5s on Taker so far in the match, the same quantity it took to end the Streak. In addition, one of these F5s was on top of a commentary table. Unfortunately, this was lost on the audience based on their lack of white-hot reaction to the nearfall, and the commentary team failed to bring up this fact as well. Lesnar hits a 4th F5 (but only counted as a 3rd by Michael Cole on commentary since the first one was outside the ring), which is another nearfall that stunned Lesnar. Lesnar is clearly stunned and contemplating his next move as he lays his left arm on Taker’s fallen body, only to get placed in the Hell’s Gate submission! Taker has been dealt so much punishment though that he loses his grip, and Lesnar takes advantage to get him in the Kimura Lock! Taker rolls forward and Robinson jumps to Lesnar’s left side to check for a pinfall. Lesnar kicks out at 1 and Robinson is out of position to see that Taker’s left hand is moving rapidly, indicating a tap-out victory for Lesnar. The timekeeper rings the bells though, then gets berated by Robinson saying it’s the referee’s job to call for the bell. With Lesnar’s attention also to the timekeeper, Taker gives him a textbook low-blow from behind, then locks in the Hell’s Gate again! Lesnar’s in too much pain to escape, his blood pouring off his forehead again, and Taker demands him to tap out, but Lesnar gives him the middle finger and then passes out, giving Taker his first victory over the Beast, but in a very dirty fashion! Lesnar and Paul Heyman are hot afterwards, with Heyman declaring Lesnar the actual victor and mockingly ringing the bell numerous times. This was a hot match, with a hot angle, with a hot crowd, that told an excellent story of two titans that hated each other. The more experienced, grizzled veteran was willing to stoop to any length in his quest for personal redemption towards the man that had ripped away his greatest accomplishment. Lesnar came in at first with guns blazing, falling into Taker’s mind games trap but regaining his composure and bringing the pain to the Phenom. The finish, which received quite a bit of criticism at the time when factoring in the finish of the night’s other marquee match, displayed that Taker had truly become a cunt in his vendetta against Lesnar. He hadn’t stooped to these types of antics in 13 years, ironically months before his first feud against a rookie Lesnar. I’m definitely looking forward to an obvious rematch between these two, even I’d rather these two face other very specific opponents at AT&T Stadium. This match made something else crystal-clear as well: the ONLY reason they stunk up the joint at the Superdome is because of Taker's concussion in that historic match. As if it wasn't already obvious once that news came out by the next day. **** Do I need to spell it out? Tremendous show right on par with Takeover: Brooklyn. What an incredible weekend BK got to experience.

NXT at the Barclays Center – August 22, 2015 The following aired on the August 26, 2015 broadcast The Revival & American Alpha vs. Hype Bros., Colin Cassidy, & Enzo Amore Nothing special in terms of a star rating, but a perfect opener. Cassidy & Amore along with Carmella got tremendous pops, the NYC crowd completely in sync with them. It was a shame to see the Hype Bros. get such little reaction considering Zack Ryder is a Long Islander. The easy highlight was Cassidy tossing Amore to the outside on their opponents. Amore seals the win thanks to a splash on Chad Gable. As has been mentioned before, MAJOR miscalculation not slotting Cassidy & Amore with Carmella to win the NXT Tag Titles here from Wesley Blake & Buddy Murphy with Alexa Bliss. There was no need to wait for London or Dallas, and the bookers clearly should’ve had this foresight. Nobody feels an emotional attachment to the Vaudevillains; the crowd only popped for the Blue Pants and title change novelty. This also avoids the fucking embarrassment that was Carmella vs. Eva Marie. Charlotte and Becky Lynch have their NXT swan songs in a nothing special match that had a botched finish to boot. Terrible match to end such great runs. NXT Takeover: Brooklyn: The Good Shit Jushin Liger’s WWE Debut Jushin Liger vs. Tyler Breeze Very much just a fun novelty match like Liger’s ROH debut 11 years earlier against Bryan Danielson. Breeze brought forth an admirable effort, but for someone looking to have a breakthrough victory, he allowed his emotions to get the best of him and that wasn’t completely due to Liger’s trolling and experience. The most telling moment was the referee telling Breeze to stop repeatedly stomping the HOFer in the corner and Breeze spazzed out, allowing Liger the opportunity to hit him with a palm thrust and somersault plancha. The way this story was told, it’s no wonder Liger came through under the bright lights in such a historic match for his career. *** Apollo Crews wins his debut match against Tye Dillinger. Mind-numbingly structured competitive contest. NXT GM William Regal announces the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament starting September 2, and will culminate at the next Takeover on October 7. Fantastic idea inspired by the Jim Crockett Memorial Cup, and an easy way to fill multiple weeks of TV. Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin Corbin’s first good match, obviously carried by the veteran Joe. This was the match to prove that Corbin was all talk, not quite ready to be in the deep end. Joe got the early advantage, causing Corbin to take a powder. Any time Corbin got an advantage, Joe was quick to cut him off; that he cut off Joe’s elbow suicida showed he was improving, but his inexperience was still glaring. Joe managed to just cut off pretty much every advantage Corbin would get, including a leg sweep on the apron, and in the end the Koquina Clutch was too much. Step in the right direction for Corbin. *** In an eyebrow-raising moment, Kana is at ringside sitting alongside Ric Flair and Sgt. Slaughter. Stephanie McMahon comes to the ring to introduce the first of our double main event. NXT Women’s Title Match Sasha Banks vs. Bayley Tremendous entrances for both here, as Bayley has an extravagant attire and Dusty Rhodes gear, while Banks is brought out via an Escalade and escorted by personal security. Epic, goosebump-inducing presentation already in a billion-dollar venue. Banks gets condescending and talks shit at the beginning, so Bayley gets the brief early advantage as a house of fire. When Banks starts stomping Bayley’s head in the corner, the challenger gets an adrenaline rush and turns it around on the champion, putting her in a Tree of Woe in position for a springboard elbow drop. They tease Banks regaining control with a schoolboy pin, but Bayley cuts that off rather quickly by reversing an Irish Whip in the corner to hits a springboard back elbow. With Banks to the outside, Bayley hits a baseball slide dropkick. But Banks cuts Bayley off was they get back in the ring and have a struggle on the turnbuckle, with Banks getting his first true advantage by kicking Bayley’s right knee to knock her to the outside. She is fabulous as she mockingly counts along with the referee, and is merciless as Bayley slides back in. As Banks continues to have the heat, she mocks Bayley’s signature pose, capped off with a disrespectful slap. It appears that Banks is targeting Bayley’s back, which would make a belly-to-belly suplex difficult later on, and locks on a Straight Jacket Submission. Bayley attempts a couple comebacks in the corner, only for Banks to catch her while in air and ramming her head-first into the top turnbuckle. Bayley’s placed horizontally on the top rope, eating double knees, which is perfect to attack the abdomen to fully marginalize her torso and make a belly-to-belly suplex impossible. As Bayley sells the pain, Banks gets too cocky attempting to belittle her and pays for it via a kick to the shoulder as Bayley regains the advantage. Bayley sucks whatever pain she’s in for a brief house of fire, only to be quickly cut off as Banks gives her right arm a takedown on the second rope, On the outside, Banks finally starts targeting Bayley’s previously damaged right hand, removing its protection just as she stated she would 11 days earlier. This is marvelous storytelling, as Bayley’s right hand is smashed on the steel steps, stomped on in a wristlock position on the floor, and then smashed into by the steel steps. Long Island then gets a reminder of Kurt Angle vs. Rey Mysterio from SummerSlam 2002; the referee tries to keep Banks at bay in the ring, so as he’s down, she hits an over-the-top-rope somersault plancha as the crowd goes apeshit! Definitely alarming to see Banks land back-first on the outside though. Back in the ring, Banks belittles Bayley while running the top rope to target Bayley’s right hand, only to be shoved off the outside. They exchange blows in the ring, and Bayley is sensational selling her right hand, reminding of Roderick Strong in similar situations and having to use her left arm to deliver damage, then going for Polish Hammers. Bayley is finally making a genuine comeback, hitting a splash in the corner and then a corner suplex as she’s got the crowd behind her. Banks blocks a belly-to-belly suplex and what looked to be an attempted Chaos Theory. She manages to hit a Lungblower on Bayley’s right hand, then gets her in the Bank Statement! The atmosphere is just sensation as Bayley desperately crawls for a rope break, only for her right hand to be stomped on by Banks! Bayley manages to still get her left hand close to the ropes, so Banks use her right foot to try to bounce them back into position, but Bayley reverses into her own Bank Statement for a breathtaking near-fall submission! Crowd is bonkers here! Bayley drags Banks up by the legs and hits a sudden belly-to-belly suplex for another sensational near-fall, and “This is awesome!” chants have been reignited. Bayley crotches Banks for a super belly-to-belly suplex but blocks it, then shoves Bayley off on a Super Hurricanrana attempt, and Bayley takes an ugly fall. They have another great near-fall as Banks hit a fluid double knees pin attempt. Banks appear to physically and emotionally exhausted at this point, having never been challenged to this point before as champion or challenger. They have another turnbuckle struggle, only for Bayley to a Super Reverse Hurricanrana, then immediately capitalizing on the dazed champion to hit the belly-to-belly suplex and achieve her dream, capturing the title! In what is their NXT swan song, Charlotte and Becky Lynch come embrace Bayley, and knowing that this was a special moment and match, Banks gives in too, all four having a curtain call moment. True to the Bayley character, all four hug, paying off an incredible journey that had only been kicked off several weeks earlier. Many supposed smarks believe the NXT’s female division is incredibly overhyped. I point to this match as the proof that these women live up to the hype. This match was the result of the division being treated seriously for years, a champion that had survived in wars, and two characters striving for the same goal from two drastically different mentalities. This was a grand stage with major stakes, stealing the show and holding its end of the hype bargain from Stephanie McMahon. This was a match that rewarded its audience for supporting the NXT brand, in the same breath as Neville vs. Sami Zayn eight months earlier. The story was quite simple, a cocky, ruthless champion snubbing her nose down at the injured, less accomplished challenger. The champion did her damnedest to make a statement to anyone else who’d dare challenge her, vocally and physically shouting out her supremacy in the division. Then going deeper than that, Bayley’s selling enhancing the emotional impact of this story, sending a message to other wrestlers, both male and female in every locker room. THIS is the proper way to make a comeback for the ages. With all of that, these ladies still managed to have the perfect timing of near-falls and high-spots to have the crowd in a frenzy. My only nitpick complaint is there were a couple moments when it seemed to indicate that this match was rehearsed, not being quite as fluid as Randy Savage, Kenta Kobashi, and Mitsuharu Misawa at their best. That is an extremely minor complaint on my part. Nonetheless, as Kevin Owens stated on the WWE 24 episode about this show, he and Balor have got a very tough act to follow. This is my Road to WrestleMania 32 Match of the Year up to this point. I’ll be stunned, ever so pleasantly of course, if anything else on the ultimate journey to Dallas dethrones this incredible roller-coaster. ****3/4 NXT Title – Ladder Match Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens Standard wrestling at the beginning with Owens trying to roll to the outside and grab ladders, showing his experience in this type of match. The first real highlight to me was when the crowd chanted “Ole! Ole!” to troll Owens, only for him to mock Sami Zayn’s injury. Amusing for Byron Saxton on commentary to assume Owens was mocking Balor there too, showing he likely has zero education on the business outside of the WWE bubble. Owens teased a dangerous move using the ladder on the outside, only to deliver a regular blow to troll the audience again. They have a brawl that spills into the audience, with Balor taking an Irish whip on the medal site out of the barricade, and then countering a powerbomb attempt by flipping Owens onto the padded floor. Owens still manages to regain control by tossing Ablor around, then stands on the commentary table to bask in his glory. The match then has a tremendous example to use on the next edition of “Don’t Try This at Home” when Balor drop kicks a ladder into Owens, only for the structure to fall on his leg as he's landing. Despite his unbearable pain, Balor manages to hit an over-the-top-rope somersault plancha. When Owens cuts him off in the ring moments later, Balor is tossed outside and his arm scrapes a ladder. Just another reason I would've booked 2/3 falls instead. Owens is planted on a ladder in the corner, so Balor goes for the shotgun dropkick only to get cut off via a lariat for Owens to regain control. Owens dishes out punishment using ladders, planting Balor spine-first on the ladder to eat a senton moments later. Owens sees himself get back-dropped again awkwardly on an upright ladder, thus proving the stupidity of booking him in this kind of match the night before a singles match on a major PPV. Since he’s experienced this kind of pain before, he still sucks it up to go on the attack, only for Balor to evade a cannonball and Owens crashes into a ladder. As teased a few minutes earlier, Balor gets the shotgun dropkick immediately afterwards. But Owens drags Balor from climbing the ladder, dropping him with a powerbomb as both collapse. Balor lifts the ladder as Owens climbs, causing the challenger’s neck to strike a turnbuckle on the way down. At this point the crowd is clearly behind Balor, clapping for him, but Owens drags him out. An apron powerbomb is blocked and Owens eats a soccer kick, but evades a double foot stomp, allowing him to now hit the apron powerbomb. This is pretty damn good psychology since Balor took two brutal bumps back-first into the barricade earlier. It's great to hear the crowd against Owens as he attempts to climb the ladder, then we get another reason why I would’ve avoided booking a ladder match, as Balor’s head hits the ladder after taking a superkick. This match is just begging to be used in court as evidence in the ongoing concussion lawsuits. Owens drags Balor to the top of the ladder and attempts a super fisherman’s buster (thanks Mauro Ranallo!) but that’s blocked. Balor knocks Owens off the ladder, causing the challenger to fall back-first on a ladder platform! What’d I just say about concussion lawsuit evidence? Owens tries to suck up the pain he’s selling, likely legit pain, but Balor kicks him down and then hits a fucking super double foot stomp, hurting his left ankle from the awkward ladder ending earlier. He finally, mercifully brings this unnecessarily dangerous, but still very aesthetically thrilling, car crash to a conclusion by grabbing the belt. As Owens had stated behind the scenes, these two men had a tough act to follow, but no doubt this was a great match. Cesaro’s got quite the task trying to guide a wounded Owens tomorrow. **** Not quite as grand as Charlotte and Lynch, but a fitting NXT swan song: In extensive footage from the broadcast days later, Owens refuses to answer when the interviewer specifically asks him about his future in NXT, just exiting the door. Not even close to show of the year due to New Japan’s cream-of-the-crop major events, but definitely a must-see thanks to the double main event. Banks vs. Bayley in particular will be remembered for many years to come, chronicled in the annals of time as a landmark match both for women and WWE. The following aired on the rest of the August 26, 2015 broadcast: Former NXT Champion Neville has requested Regal to be involved in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament, and of course Regal obliges. Sounds reasonable to me. Regal puts Rhino & Corbin together since they’re both lone wolves. Whatever helps Corbin improve after so much investment, the better. A post-match interview from days earlier has Joe saying his ultimate goal is to win a championship.

If you plan to read this one, strap in and clear the next hour or so. We got a long commute today for our ultimate journey to Dallas. ROAD TO NXT TAKEOVER: BROOKLYN & SUMMERSLAM 2015 Raw – July 20, 2015: The Good Shit The Authority are backstage and ecstatic, as they love and confirm Lesnar vs. Taker at SummerSlam 2015. They’re so full of shit though when HHH says he’ll tell Heyman not to show up and keep the Beast away from the Sprint Center; they’re promoters and know damn well it’ll only stir up emotion for everyone involved as well as the audience. They find Heyman backstage later, and he just wants to verbally present Lesnar’s message at ringside. They don’t trust him so they order everyone not viewed as a top star to provide security should the situation erupt. Heyman cuts a career highlight promo, emphasizing the motivations of Lesnar’s quest for the WWE Title and Taker’s Streak. He questions why Taker would be butt-hurt by bragging about something as historic as breaking the Streak, which makes total sense, but he forgets that he’s been a cunt about it of course. After fucking Lesnar out of the WWE Title, Heyman says it’s personal, so he looks straight at the hard cam and repeatedly states “My client Brock Lesnar conquered YOUR undefeated streak at WrestleMania!” then ends it with “your ass belongs to Brock Lesnar!” This gets a standing ovation from the audience because it ticked every single box for a money promo. The lights then go out, once back on showing Taker in the ring and staring a hole in Heyman, who is begging for mercy. Lesnar’s music hits and in reference to what happened the prior time Lesnar was fucked out of becoming WWE Champion in San Jose, the commentators bail. The HOFers then go to work on each other, but HHH quickly motions for security. When standard security proves to not suffice, all the mid-carders and curtain-jerking geeks rush to ringside and do their best to keep the legends apart, without being victimized in the crossfire. The legends kept finding ways to get at each other, including sliding under the bottom rope and running around the ring to attack the other, or lulling the roster security, then capitalizing and pouncing on the other. As Lesnar is finally dragged to the back, he screams “I will you kill you”! with Taker responding “You’re gonna have to!” We get back from commercial break with Lesnar being escorted by the roster, only for Taker to abruptly pounce on him and this classic pull-apart brawl continues, complete with Lesnar flipping a table over en route to pouncing on Taker. “I will you!” They collide one more time with Lesnar screaming “I WILL YOU!” even louder, and local police arrive to keep Lesnar away from Taker, who is escorted away. Lesnar is zip-tied by them, but is adamant to not be touched. This is simply Raw’s greatest segment of 2015; NOTHING comes close to this. The audience was WHITE-HOT, Heyman cut one of the best promos of his career, he pontificated his and Lesnar’s perspective, he acknowledged Taker’s perspective, he included the “money” when describing the magnitude of their SummerSlam 2015 main event; both legends then had a pull-apart brawl for the ages, put over not just by their body language, but the commentators fucking off for their own safety, the roster struggling to keep them apart, the raw emotional dialogue shared between both legends, and that local police were finally needed to keep Lesnar at bay, making him realize how chaotic the scene had become. I’m not including the YouTube video of this segment; you need to see this masterpiece in its entirety and THAT is why the WWE Network exists. HHH makes it clear he won’t be pressing charges, he just wanted to get things back in order so that the SummerSlam 2015 main event isn’t jeopardized. Total carny as he clearly wanted to give a little tease, then figuratively pull out and keep both the legends and the audience salivating for more. WWE Champion Seth Rollins gloats about still holding the title, completely dismissing the circumstances as to why. Since no official decision was confirmed the night before, he has Lillian Garcia announce that Lesnar won by DQ thanks to Taker’s interference, which means Rollins is still champion. US Champion John Cena interrupts and says he’s thankful for Rollins being such a lousy champion, as it’s allowed the US Title to be elevated by having excellent matches in open challenges almost every week. Rollins, the transparent politician he is, attempts to deflect by saying Cena is just placating the fans by giving chances to undeserving roster members, which Cena easily crushes by sarcastically saying how heartbreaking he always is about being rejected by some of the audience. Rollins buries Cena for carving out a niche, bragging that he’ll be THE champion of the company, whereas Cena congratulates him for walking away yet again, proclaiming that the champ is here! If anybody can be counted on to repair the damage done to Rollins the night before, it’s Cena. My only concern though is that Cena, while a top star, hasn’t main-evented a PPV in 2015, so it’s a step in the right direction for Rollins, but not the same as having a competitive program against Roman Reigns or a part-timer. That said, Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker and Seth Rollins vs. John Cena are the top matches for SummerSlam 2015. I’m sold on paper, and I’m sold even more after one of the greatest segments in Raw history, as well as a competitive rivalry between the two top singles champions in the company. Main Event – July 21, 2015 Lucha Dragons vs. Big E & Kofi Kingston - ***1/2 NXT – July 22, 2015: The Good Shit Tyler Breeze demands GM William Regal to give him a marquee match at Takeover: Brooklyn, rudely waiting in his office and causing Regal to pause his cell phone conversation. Regal says he’s working on it. Rhino vs. Samoa Joe confirmed in 2 weeks during a Joe squash. Bayley slays her first demon, overcoming a hand injury and cleanly defeating Emma via a belly-to-belly suplex. This is how finishers get established. Bayley then proclaims she wants to face Charlotte. The challenge is accepted in a backstage interview. Charlotte is interrupted by an insecure Dana Brooke. In the main event contract signing, the rubber match between Finn Balor and Kevin Owens is official for Takeover: Brooklyn. Owens rubs it into the Full Sail’s audience face that the match is taking place in Brooklyn, ever the masterful troll, and claims that The Beast in the East was a fluke. After both have signed as well as Regal, Owens starts a brawl and assaults Regal when the GM attempts to stop him, then takes a powder when Balor gets the upper hand. SmackDown! – July 23, 2015: The Good Shit Rusev vs. Kevin Owens is nothing special as a whole, but has some tremendous individual parts. The match is a result of Sheamus & Owens walking out on Rusev earlier in the week on Raw, which Owens does so yet again here. The highlight is easily when Owens drags Rusev and bitches about how heavy he is, saying “God, lose some weight.” Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro - ***1/4 In the post-match, Kevin Owens assaults a vulnerable Cesaro. No problem with this program that ROH and PWG never pulled the trigger on. Raw – July 27, 2015: The Good Shit The Authority announce that the PPV portion of SummerSlam 2015 portion will be 4 hours. Hope this means WrestleMania 32’s PPV portion is 5 hours. Sasha Banks vs. Paige - *** The New Day steal the spotlight from the Lucha Dragons vs. Los Matadores match, and their interruption is absolutely phenomenal. Big E & Xavier Woods hold a sign pointing towards Kofi Kingston as “Real MEGA DAD of the Year” and taunting the Prime Time Players at the commentary about it. This allows the Dragons to win, a week after the Matadores had defeated PTP. Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton gets thrown out when the latter is attacked by Sheamus. Cesaro runs to the ring and is a brief house of fire, taking Sheamus out and leaping towards Owens on the outside. After Sheamus holds Cesaro’s foot, Owens gets the upper-hand with a pop-up powerbomb on the former US Champion. If Cesaro can consistently have a fury to this level, he’ll keep this push going and break the glass ceiling for good. US Title Match John Cena vs. Seth Rollins The usual great Cena defense in 2015. Everything was great here, although the drama really picked up when the most newsworthy event of the match took place. Before that, these two men showed how familiar they’d become with each other, although Rollins needed to go to the film room just a bit more, as his signature Enziguri was countered into an Electric Chair Face Plant, one of the same moves Cena used against Owens the night before. Once Rollins broke Cena’s nose with a knee face bash straight out of Tekken character Bruce Irvin’s move set, that’s when the drama really unfolded. Cena’s nose bone had clearly shifted to the right and he was bleeding profusely, but he did his damnedest to fight through it and win the match in quick fashion at the slightest hint of vulnerability from Rollins. This not only proved how much in reality that Cena respected the business and the fans, but in kayfabe how much he valued his US Title and wanted to secure a shot at the WWE Title. It was a sight to behold when Cena kicked out of a Superplex immediately followed by a Falcon Arrow, bringing the Oklahoma City crowd to a frenzy. JBL had an obvious but perfect line to convey the moment: “John Cena is one tough son of a bitch. WOW!” Rollins took a gamble going for the Phoenix Splash, assuming that both of the prior moves and the broken nose was enough to keep Cena down long enough. Instead, Cena evaded it and immediately used the positioning of Rollins to lock in the STF, and then used his leverage to prevent a rope break, causing the WWE Champ to tap out and securing a title shot for himself. One of the most inspiring performances in Raw history in a year that saw Sami Zayn, coincidentally in a US Title match against Cena, do the same. **** NXT – July 29, 2015: The Good Shit A backstage American Alpha interview airs from last week. Their shoddy attempts to bury other tag teams definitely falls under the developmental category, rather than cream-of-the-crop vanity project. Tyler Breeze crashes GM William Regal’s office, demanding an opponent for Takeover: Brooklyn. Regal says he’s reached around the globe, but doesn’t spill the beans yet. American Alpha win a squash match with the Grand Amplitude again. They got the tools in the ring, now they gotta improve their interviews. Charlotte makes pretty easy work of Dana Brooke. Logical booking to groom her for Bailey next week. In a backstage interview, Eva Marie declares her ultimate goal is to become NXT Women’s Champion. Quality troll booking from the writers here. SmackDown! – July 30, 2015: The Good Shit The Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro opener gets thrown out as Kevin Owens makes his good on his promise, leaving the commentary table and attacking Cesaro. The main event is Rollins & Owens vs. Cesaro and a tag partner. A shame Tyson Kidd’s career was finished two months earlier. The New Day cut another fun promo putting themselves over prior to their 8-man tag pairing Big E & Kofi Kingston with the Ascension against the Lucha Dragons & Los Matadores. New Day clearly want the winning pinfall, but they dodge a bullet when the Ascension take the loss, so they’re not eliminated from Tag Title contention quite yet. Rusev vs. Jack Swagger - ***1/2 Main event time. Cesaro’s partner is… Seth Rollins & Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose & Cesaro Hot main event here as every matchup was interesting; it must be mentioned though that Owens and Cesaro made Rollins vs. Ambrose enjoyable in this instance. In this case, rather than be a thrown together filler singles main event, the two former Shield brothers were pitted against each other thanks to organic circumstances, while keeping their issue, which to date has yet to reach an emotionally satisfying conclusion, still alive as they’d turned their attention towards other goals and opponents. It only made sense for Ambrose to insert himself, as he’d be looking for any excuse to get his hands on Rollins again, and Rollins was paired with someone who loved to pick a fight. As proven the week before and during their time in ROH, Rollins vs. Cesaro was a splendid matchup. As always, Rollins and Ambrose provided their natural chemistry, once again displaying that they can sleepwalk their way to a *** match against each other. The most interesting matchup in this of course was a dream match, one that nobody on the indies ever managed to make happen, that being Ambrose vs. Owens. They definitely showed a sample of what they could do down the road, and it certainly wouldn’t be a bad direction to take once Owens is done with Cesaro and Ambrose along with Reigns is done with the reuniting Wyatt Family. It was nice to see these makeshift teams working nicely together; despite not being regular partners or united in a faction, both pairs stood united rather than throwing this match away, which was a nice, logical breather. Owens was determined to cool off Cesaro’s rise due to portraying an on-screen version of off-screen WCW Hulk Hogan, while Rollins saw this as a double opportunity to help Owens with his goal, while rubbing yet another victory in the face of Ambrose. Cesaro’s clean victory over Owens was not only a glimmer of hope that his substantial mid-card push would continue, but a glaring strength for what this weekly program would become later in the year. I also can’t help but laugh at TNA, as that federation had a chance to lure ALL of these men with lucrative offers 4-5 years before this. ***1/2 Superstars – July 31, 2015 Wade Barrett vs. Jack Swagger - *** Raw – August 3, 2015: The Good Shit WWE Champion Seth Rollins has an interesting monologue for once, boasting about breaking US Champion John Cena’s nose and laying down a title for title challenge at SummerSlam 2015. He’s sporting a new T-shirt, reading NEVER SHUTS UP on the front, displaying a thumbs down on the sleeve, and reading U [Can't C] KNEE on the back. In celebration of both him and Cena’s legacies kicking off four months earlier on WrestleMania 31 weekend in Santa Clara, he’s laying down an open challenge to defend the WWE Title. Upon return from commercial, he then says the open challenge is basically to cruiserweights, expecting El Torito to show up. WWE Title Match (Open Challenge) Seth Rollins vs. Neville Neville got the early advantage and if scored on points, he actually dominated this match. That makes sense since Rollins was cockily, idiotically not expecting Neville to accept the open challenge. Before the commercial break, Rollins had no answer for Neville’s kicks and high-flying attacks, finding himself figuratively on the ropes going into the break. Back from commercial, Rollins had gained control by ramming Neville off the apron onto the commentary table. They then had a tremendous series of counters. Neville was able to hit both of his signature Geman Suplexes, including the Irish Whip momentum and the deadlift variations, and as someone with a low center of gravity like Neville, I found the latter pretty impressive considering the height difference. Rollins managed to regain control later via a lariat and then the match truly peaked the rest of the way. Rollins went for the Pedigree, but Neville used his core strength to get out of position and go for an off-the-charts jackknife pin near-fall that had many in the crowd, as well as the commentators, believing the referee didn’t properly count to 3. Neville would move on from that and successfully hit the Sky Twister, and the height of Rollins came into play for the champ; Rollins was down for the count, but his left leg made contract with the middle rope when Neville rolled him for the pin. Neville failed to keep his eye on the ball, allowing emotions to waste his time as he processed that he failed to have Rollins in proper ring position. This gave the champ enough time to recover while playing possum and know that Neville would predictably go for the Sky Twister again. Rollins evaded it and successfully hit the Pedigree as teased before, but the champ left showing that he had been taken to the limit. Since this took place in San Jose: Why the fuck didn’t the fans in attendance at the WrestleMania 31 Aftermath Raw get this match when we were all in town? **** In an 8-man tag rematch from SmackDown! last week, the New Day get the winning pinfall as Big E & Kofi Kingston team with the Ascension against the Lucha Dragons & Los Matadores. That should put New Day in Tag Titles contention. Bella Twins vs. Charlotte & Becky Lynch - *** MizTV Guests: Cesaro and Kevin Owens Before inviting Owens out, Miz pays tribute to Piper for being the talk show pioneer, because before MizTV, The Highlight Reel, and Heartbreak Hotel, there was Piper’s Pit as the originator. Quality screen-time for this feud, as it eventually turns into Owens using his 3 months of main roster success to outshine Cesaro, while Cesaro references that Owens is best at talking and walking, with the walking part being disrespectful and embarrassing every time he abruptly forfeits a match. Miz is tremendous with his gleeful smile and bug eyes knowing he’s about to have a fight erupt. He gets shouted down by both, then Owens walks out, but shoves Miz from behind into Cesaro to try to get an easy upper hand, only for Cesaro to get Owens in position for a giant swing. Owens manages to sneak out of it and take a powder as usual. Not a home run segment, but effective nonetheless, and Cesaro’s mic work is at worst on par with that of the hand-picked Roman Reigns. Paul Heyman delivers another money promo, first showing the footage from Undertaker assaulting Brock Lesnar in the Battleground 2015 WWE Title main event. He invites Lesnar out, who throws steps into the ring and steps on them to literally elevate himself while Heyman provides the verbal goods. Heyman reveals that Taker begged Vince McMahon for the rematch to take place at WrestleMania 31, but it was declined (thus explaining why Taker accepted Wyatt’s challenge). On Sunday, August 23, “My Beast, your Conqueror” will be taking the Phenom to Suplex City. Phenomenal promo from Heyman that saw him sweating profusely and even briefly speaking in tongues. I cannot wait for this rematch as I’m fully convinced the New Orleans match sucked solely due to Taker’s concussion. Stephen Amell, the lead star of Arrow, is confirmed for next Monday in Everett, WA. Interesting. Sheamus, Luke Harper, & Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, & Randy Orton - ***1/4 Fucking excellent episode of Raw that completely blew away what should’ve across the board been a far better, more historically important one in the same arena four months earlier. NXT – August 5, 2015: The Good Shit Charlotte vs. Bayley Good but nothing special. With that said, this elevated Bayley as she found a way to reverse the Figure Eight and break an attempted Super Natural Selection, then using Charlotte’s positioning on the top rope to apply a Super Belly to Belly Suplex for the victory. Another demon slayed for Bayley, this one a main roster star and former NXT Women’s Champion. ***1/4 Michael Cole has a previously recorded empty arena interview with Kevin Owens, who of course questions why GM William Regal is rooting against him in the rubber match against Finn Balor. To avoid a screwjob finish which he claims to suspect would happen, he lays down the challenge for Balor vs. Owens III to be a ladder match. Of most interesting note, since this is a year in review and revisit on the road to WrestleMania 32 weekend, he states his 3 motivations for becoming NXT Champion again are the following: More money in his bank account. Carrying around a championship every time he walks down an entrance ramp. Having a reminder of what he did to Sami Zayn. Owens of course walks out on the interview when Cole asks if he can beat Balor. This once again proves that Owens can be emotionally taken off his game; had he been rational, he’d have referenced the first match he had against Balor, in which he was victorious in Columbus. These two are just tremendous every time they exchange dialogue. Bayley requests Regal to grant her an NXT Women’s Title shot. Instead, he schedules for next week a title shot match between her and Becky Lynch. Bayley is highly appreciative, going for a hug, but Regal cuts that off and shakes her hand instead to keep it professional. I love this match as an official title shot opportunity; Charlotte had been eliminated from contention just weeks earlier losing clean to Sasha Banks, while Bayley was in the middle of a chase but Lynch really deserved to also have a chance after her breakout match at Takeover: Unstoppable. After Tyler Breeze wins an easy squash, Regal comes to the entrance ramp and reveals Breeze’s Takeover: Brooklyn opponent. Making his WWE debut will be Jushin Liger. OH FUCK YES~! A video package of Liger’s time in WCW airs. When he eventually gets inducted into the company’s HOF, expect this to be the majority of the video package for it. Uhaa Nation is featured in a training video; his goal is to become NXT Champion and he will make his debut at Takeover: Brooklyn. His stage name is now official too: Apollo Crews. In tag action, the Hype Bros. get a victory over the Revival, only for the Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard inspired bastards to leave a post-match beating on them for the trouble. Rhino vs. Samoa Joe - ***1/4 Since Owens is on the main roster and obviously in a singles program against Cesaro for SummerSlam 2015, I wouldn’t have booked a ladder match. Granted, brawls can be less taxing, but when ladders are involved, then crazy bumps are involved. Instead, to keep Owens from insane bumps and ladder shots, and because each had a victory over each other, I’d have booked Balor vs. Owens III as 2/3 falls, that way the winner is decisive. SmackDown! – August 6, 2015: The Good Shit Roman Reigns accepts Bray Wyatt’s “family challenge,” as he’ll team with Ambrose to fight Wyatt & Luke Harper at SummerSlam 2015. Works for me since it’s in Brooklyn and these four had chaotic trios matches during the Shield era. Prime Time Players & Mark Henry vs. The New Day - *** The match is good but meaningless, as Henry gets the pinfall victory, sabotaging the New Day’s desire for a Tag Titles opportunity. They have a sensational backstage interview after the commercial break, pointing out that Henry got the victory and he’s not Tag Champ, so therefore it shouldn’t count against their case for a title shot. Tremendous politicking here, with the “he should’ve retired already” sugar on top, and dismissing this “negativity” from the interviewer. Rusev vs. Roman Reigns - ***3/4 (SmackDown! MOTYC) Raw – August 10, 2015: The Good Shit WWE Champion Seth Rollins has the typical opening segment promo, providing a slightly amusing phone interview with a fake John Cena to bury him. Cesaro interrupts and wants a title shot, but Rollins says last week’s open challenge was a one time deal. Kevin Owens interrupts and wants a shot. Randy Orton interrupts and wants a shot. Triple H arrives and announces Cesaro vs. Owens vs. Orton tonight, with Rollins defending the title against the winner in tonight’s main event. As someone who attended this show live, I subjectively loved getting these two matches. But this was objectively a glaring SmackDown! opportunity staring at everyone right in the face to help that show’s ratings. Have Cesaro vs. Owens vs. Orton as tonight’s main event, with Rollins defending the title against the winner at the following evening’s taping in Portland. This also gets the fresh blood of Cesaro and Owens in a Raw main event for a major singles opportunity, rather than being amongst several stars in a trios match as in recent weeks. Stephen Amell, the lead star of Arrow, is shown sitting front row at ringside. Since I was sitting almost right behind him, I’ll include photos from a certain segment later. Big E & Kofi Kingston pick up a victory over Los Matadores to solidify their Tag Titles contention. Everyone needs to experience Xavier Woods talking shit up close like I did. He was absolutely tremendous trying to get Amell’s attention, making references to Arrow’s second season by bragging about Big E being injected with Mirakuru. In a backstage interview, Renee Young reveals to a celebratory New Day that they will get their Tag Titles shot at SummerSlam 2015, but so will the Lucha Dragons and Los Matadores. It’s obviously bittersweet to them, but they’re glad for the opportunity, and they convince Young, with a smile on her face, to clap along as they yell “New Day Rocks!” WWE Title Shot – No DQ, No Count Out Match Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton For once, Owens didn’t walk out on this match, which makes sense due to its important stakes; despite getting the rare clean victory over Cena months earlier, Owens had yet to receive a WWE Title match. Cesaro and Orton have an uppercut exchange early, and Orton eventually dominates the match early. While all of these guys had been involved in threeways before, only Orton had been in a high stakes one within the WWE ring, specifically when he had to defend the title against Batista and Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania XXX, and he left that one empty-handed and had yet to recapture the title too. So of course he came in with guns blazing here. Eventually though this just turned into a sensational roller-coaster ride. There were plenty of highlights in this one. From a scouting perspective, I think my favorite would be when Cesaro countered an Ace Crusher attempt into the Crippler Crossface. Now keep in mind I don’t remember a damn thing about the utterly meaningless but good series of matches Cesaro and Orton had a few years back, and I haven’t watched Orton’s stellar matches against Chris Benoit in literally a decade. But I can’t help but make the educated assumption Cesaro had learned from not just his own history with Orton, but studied those Benoit vs. Orton classics and this counter is the evidence I point to. Since there’s no rope break, Orton had to crawl and fall to the outside to escape the Crippler Crossface, and this gave Owens the tremendous opportunity to hit an over-the-top-rope tope flip on both men as the broadcast went to a commercial break. When the broadcast returns, Orton is still on the outside as Cesaro and Owens continue their ongoing feud in the ring, and Owens clearly has the upper hand. Later on, Owens thrusts Cesaro back into Orton in what looks to have been a botch between the latter two, but JBL covers for it on commentary by saying Orton was accidentally poked in the eye. It’s a minor eye poke though, as Cesaro eats a clothesline and takes an apron bump. That’s followed by Owens eating a signature powerslam, then Orton drops both of them with stereo draping DDTs in another highlight. Cesaro shoves Orton off during an Ace Crusher attempt, allowing Owens to grab the Viper’s boot, drag him to the outside, and execute a Fallaway Slam to the future HOFer on the hard cam side’s barricade. This was the section I was seated in and I can say that the sound effect didn’t seem pleasant for Orton. A tremendous live experience though. Cesaro takes advantage of Owens gloating on the outside to launch himself over the top rope with a twisting plancha! Back in the ring, he strikes Owens with a springboard twisting uppercut for a nice near-fall. At this point we were chanting “This is awesome!” and deservedly so. Owens blocks a super gut wrench suplex attempt, then Cesaro plants his knees in the back of Owens during a Swanton attempt. Cesaro goes for a running uppercut only to get supekicked! Fucking perfect timing. Owens gives Cesaro an Irish Whip for the pop-up powerbomb, but the former US Champion leaps over his head as Orton slides back in the ring and capitalizes on the brief window he has, putting both men down with Ace Crushers to win the match and secure a WWE Title shot in tonight’s main event! Since my return home here to Seattle in July 2013, this is EASILY the best match I’ve experienced live on Pacific Northwestern soil. Bell to bell, I loved this WAY more than the Orton vs. Batista vs. D-Bry match, despite this obviously lacking the emotional storytelling and ultimate stage. This was absolutely splendid and jaw-dropping, telling a great story to go with the packed action thanks to terrific counters and outstanding timing. Even better than the Rusev match the month before and an absolute gem. ****1/4 A fantastic excerpt of SummerSlam Reckoning: The Phenom vs. The Beast airs. Like last year, I’ll be reviewing the documentary. MizTV Guest: Daniel Bryan What’s the only way to get me to watch storyline advancement for Miz, Ryback, and Big Show? Bryan Danielson making an appearance in the Seattle metro area! There really is nothing of note here, but the foreshadowing is depressingly eerie as many fans shout “PLEASE RETIRE~!” at Show while Danielson is sitting right there. I believe this segment is important, as it serves as a reminder – if a booker has a chance to do something FUN with a hometown guy, pull the trigger on it. Doing so helps the rest of the event have an enthusiastic atmosphere at worst, off-the-charts energy at best. A VERY fun segment in person. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApAT848X9L4 A tremendously hot piece of business to experience and I cannot believe it cost me a grand total of zero dollars and zero cents thanks to Bryan Alvarez and whoever comped him. In a backstage interview, Sheamus says he may consider cashing in his Money in the Bank opportunity tonight. Like that has any chance of happening going into the biggest SummerSlam of all-time. WWE Title Match Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton Quality TV main event here, and I point to no Authority B-Team as the reason. Rollins attempted to gain the upper hand by taking early powders and then taking control early, but that was brief. That would explain why Rollins, despite being the fresher participant, largely refused to go at Orton with guns blazing. There were in fact two instances in which Rollins did become aggressive and Orton made him pay. One was Orton elbowing Rollins during an attempted suicide dive, the other was when Orton used the momentum of Rollins to position for and execute a draping DDT. The more physically taxed Orton took this opportunity to regain the WWE Title seriously, not treating this as a free throw-away main event. He seemed to have an answer for EVERYTHING. When Rollins ducked the trademark powerslam, he still managed to successfully execute it moments later, making any film study Rollins may have done seem like a waste of time. Orton lost his positioning when he tried to escape the Pedigree, so Rollins went for it again, only to still get tossed over the ropes. Moments later, Rollins didn’t get close enough to deliver a springboard knee strike, allowing Orton to hit a gorgeous Ace Crusher for what would’ve been a guaranteed title change just yards away from me. But Sheamus yanked Orton out and assaulted him, then delivered a Yakuza kick to Rollins. Before the ref would signal the official MITB cash-in to the timekeeper and ring announcer, Orton got back in and at least got the last laugh as he took out Sheamus. Long-term there would’ve been no good business reason for a title change here, but had it happened, the Xfinity Arena crowd would’ve become unglued, capping off what would’ve been an iconic Raw, rather than just the tremendous one I was lucky to see for free in the second row (behind a celebrity that was involved in a hot-as-shit angle no less.) ***1/2 SummerSlam Reckoning: The Phenom vs. The Beast On par with the prior year’s Cena vs. Lesnar: Prelude to the Biggest Fight of the Summer documentary. In this one, rather than either participant giving sound bites, there were talking heads to put this highly anticipated rematch over, including Paul Heyman, Steve Austin, Big Show, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, Triple H, Edge, and Randy Orton. This simply chronicled the magnitude of their WrestleMania XXX encounter, followed by Lesnar’s journey ever since, including SummerSlam 2014, Royal Rumble 2015, WrestleMania 31, and Battleground 2015. It was a beautiful illustration of Lesnar’s carnage since being catapulted to what was thought to be unreachable heights by breaking the Streak. Then footage from their fight in Kansas City airs, and the editing couldn’t have been more perfect, as the documentary closes with the haunting exchange of “I will kill you!” and “You’re gonna have to!” I’ve clearly articulated the counterproductive booking of the Rollins vs. Lesnar match. At least in this case, unlike the 2015 Royal Rumble match, it led to this absolutely masterful direction. I couldn’t be any more amped for this rematch, and I have full faith that they will smash it as long as there are no major injuries again. NXT – August 12, 2015: The Good Shit Baron Corbin makes quick work of some jobbers and the crowd is sick of him since they saw enough of the same shit already on this taping. He cuts a cocky promo, out comes Samoa Joe, Corbin says “not tonight” when challenged, picks a fight anyway, and Joe gets him in the Coquina Clutch. This is exactly the program we all envisioned for Joe’s first major stage match when he debuted 3 months ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZOmMcBmIxQ Joe vs. Corbin is confirmed for Takeover: Brooklyn. NXT Women’s Title Shot Match Bayley vs. Becky Lynch Damn good main event here. The champ Sasha Banks provides commentary. Amusing dialogue portion when Jay-Z & Beyonce are mentioned as being present at Barclays Center. First Corey Graves gets his fact wrongs by referring to Jay-Z as still owning the venue, then one of the geek babyface commentators asks if Darius Rucker will be present since he’s apparently a WWE fan. The story of this match was Lynch sticking to her own comfortable game plan by working on Bayley’s left arm and shoulder, rather than targeting Bayley’s broken right hand. Banks was smart to point out that if she faces Bayley, she’ll be going after that injury. Lynch wasn’t ruthless, but she was all-business, thirsting for another title shot that she’d yet to receive since her breakout match just 3 months earlier. Attacks on Bayley’s left arm and shoulder included numerous hammerlocks, a hammerlock Northern Lights Suplex, being stuck in hammerlock position while having the left arm dropped onto the top rope, and some hyperextensions. Bayley was magnificent in selling Lynch’s work, mostly relying on her right arm to deliver blows to make a comeback but still constantly nursing her thriving pain. A small detail I really appreciated was the near-fall segment that started after Bayley evaded a pump handle maneuver. Bayley had 3 near-victories right after another, respectively a jack-knife pin, a cradle pin, and a backslide pin. On the last one, Lynch rolled over to Bayley’s left side to break it, remembering all the damage she had already inflicted on that arm and shoulder. Lynch would later execute a successful pump handle suplex and also use Bayley’s positioning to lock on the seated Fujiwara arm bar for a tremendous near-fall. Bayley ultimately won by showing she had gone to the film room to study Lynch’s arsenal. In her second major counter of the match, Bayley blocked Lynch’s second attempt for the seated Fujiwara arm bar (an attempt to counter the belly-to-belly suplex) and successfully put Lynch down for 3 via a schoolboy roll-up pin. She did this using her right arm and shoulder, showing that Lynch should’ve taken advantage of the circumstances rather than relying on her predictable strategy, as Bayley was mentally prepared for it. Not a MOTYC, not even a great match, but I loved this. Great storytelling that displayed the preparation both women brought into the match, having a highly compelling chess game to reach the top of the division. The only thing missing was a Lynch interview earlier on the program since the lack of it made Bayley the predictable winner. ***3/4 SmackDown! – August 13, 2015: The Good Shit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwdyfgX5hds WWE Champion Seth Rollins vs. US Champion John Cena in a title for title match confirmed for SummerSlam 2015, as Cens will be cleared on time. Cesaro vs. Owens also confirmed. Good lord Owens is pulling some admirable double-duty in Brooklyn. Seth Rollins & Kevin Owens vs. Neville & Cesaro - ***1/2 Raw – August 17, 2015: The Good Shit The Authority in the opening segment go over a number of topics, the newest one for you the readers of this project: Jon Stewart is hosting SummerSlam 2015. The more of him, the better I say. Sheamus & Kevin Owens vs. Cesaro & Randy Orton - *** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lku1QkaPY-Y Seth Rollins asks the Authority to have a statue sculpted in his image once he defeats John Cena this weekend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCARYQJsJ3c That is the last reference to that awful Rusev vs. Dolph Ziggler feud, as I just wanted to show that after weeks of being away and not being missed, Ziggler showed he was at last worth a return novelty pop. More superstars give their thoughts on the upcoming Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker rematch. Another must-see segment that I believe has footage not seen in the full documentary. Title For Title Contract Signing Seth Rollins cuts his usual monotonous promo putting himself over for several minutes. It gets interesting once Cena comes out and offers a retort. With the Authority standing in the ring, he clearly points out that his ultimate payback for the broken nose won’t be an injury, but ruining Triple H’s legacy. Rollins will be a foot note and answer to a trivia question when Cena matches Flair’s 16 time World Champ record, which will eat at HHH. He then points out that HHH was never Flair’s bitch, but then tells Rollins, “On Sunday… I’ma make you mine.” Terrific promo from Cena and a rock-solid semi main event for SummerSlam 2015. Brock Lesnar’s Homecoming Magnificent segment with Lesnar clearly enjoying himself as the hometown hero in Minneapolis, confetti flying down. After Paul Heyman puts over Lesnar’s accomplishments, he sings a modified Lesnar-driven version of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” which is a song traditionally performed by the University of Minnesota Marching Bad. EXCELLENT shit going on here and this is right on par with hometown hero segments such as the Rock in Miami, Shawn Michaels in San Antonio, CM Punk in Chicago, Daniel Bryan in Seattle, Eddie Guerrero in El Paso, and pre-2014 Batista in DC. Heyman then delivers a borderline lunatic promo, blowing the roof off the Target Center as Lesnar is reveling in it. He states that if Undertaker formed a trio with God & Satan to have a 3-on-1 handicap match against Lesnar, all 3 would be taken to Suplex City! Right as it appears Heyman is about to have a fucking breakdown because of his passionate pontification, the lights go out, but Taker doesn’t appear. After Heyman accuses Taker of cheap Jedi mind tricks again, the lights go out and Taker appears, hitting a low blow, chokeslam, and Tombstone piledriver to the crowd’s incredibly vocal displeasure. Fantastic go-home segment and it’s crystal-clear that Taker is the heel by now. As someone who’s had the pleasure of attending WWE events involving D-Bry in Seattle, I was very happy for the fine folks of Minnesota, three and a half years into Lesnar’s current run, finally getting to experience the same thing. NXT – August 19, 2015: The Good Shit NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks and Bayley have a contract signing, and Bayley says despite her failures to capture the title before, it feels different this time. She’s definitely got momentum. After Banks talks shit to Bayley and the crowd, he attempts to just leave, but Bayley says she won’t be blown off, that she’s ready for a fight. Banks then just buries her, saying she won’t have a happy fairytale ending and she won’t fight tonight because Bayley isn’t worth the trouble. Bayley boils as Banks is leaving but then has a pull-apart, and Corey Graves accurately states that Bayley attacked Banks from behind. Definitely a hot go-home segment for this match. Tyler Breeze makes quick work of a jobber, puts the jobber in a Jushin Liger mask, and cuts a basic promo about the HOFer, heel-kicking the jobber as a symbol for what’s to come in Brooklyn. After Samoa Joe wins a quick squash match, he’s assaulted by Baron Corbin on the entrance ramp; after a brief brawl that gets into the ring, Corbin gets the last laugh via the End of Days. Kevin Owens closes the evening with a phenomenal heel promo, shitting on Full Sail for disapproving of the next supercard being in Brooklyn, and then of course he takes full credit for the Barclays Center sellout. Many found Owens to be in the right for bringing up Full Sail’s “hypocrisy,” when in fact it was only natural for them to be spiteful. There was no announcement made during the weeks leading up to Brooklyn that Orlando would ever host another Takeover in the future, plus despite wonderful booking, promos, and matches, these episodes were also dripping with plenty of filler that I skipped. Owens climbs a ladder in the ring as he continues to shit on Full Sail, saying he’ll regain the NXT Title and be glad to rub it in their faces again. Once Owens pauses for a moment, Finn Balor takes the opportunity to dim the lights, showcase an empty entrance ramp, and then is seen by Owens sitting on a turnbuckle. Balor had an angry look, but to be honest, it felt forced; I’d have much rather he looked straight forward, having a more silent angry face. Think Chris Benoit staring at Triple H during the Game’s entrance routine at No Mercy 2000, or Neil McCauley's crew dealing with Waingro in the first dining restaurant scene early in Heat. Balor gets the upper hand in their melee, and when he charges with the ladder, Owens takes a powder. Balor vows in his own words to hold on to the title and win the feud. Fun go-home segment, and I certainly wish I’d had the stars lined up to have booked a flight to NYC. SmackDown! – August 20, 2015: The Good Shit Luke Harper, Bray Wyatt, Sheamus, & Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose, Cesaro, Roman Reigns, & Randy Orton Quatlity TV main event with everyone playing their roles perfectly, and a fine go-home segment for 3 of the matches booked for SummerSlam 2015. I actually believe this match epitomizes WWE in 2015: A superstar can come from anywhere, whether being born in the business or carving out a legacy while learning their craft on the indies. This match was a mirror image in a way, as each team had two indy stars and two homegrown stars. ***1/2 While far from perfect, if one started watching WWE for the first time after Battleground 2015, I’ve laid down the evidence that they would’ve hopped during a tremendous month of television. The weeks leading up to Takeover: Brooklyn and SummerSlam 2015 just had a plethora of the Good Shit, and in some ways, surpassed the weeks leading up to SummerSlam 2013 and WrestleMania XXX just thanks to the sheer quantity that comes with building up two mega events on the same weekend. While nothing during these 5 weeks could quite meet the emotionally connecting highs of those two particular journeys, I certainly, when also considering ROH’s events in Philadelphia and Brooklyn on this very weekend, wish I could’ve had everything lined up in a timely and financially appropriate fashion to have booked a week of vacation in the Tri State Area for SummerSlam weekend. I’ll be doing my damnedest to make it happen for 2017, and if possible, I’ll eek it out for 2016. And what a Good Shit lineup I’ve got to revisit and review for both nights. I’ll be sure to do these two events justice. Takeover: Brooklyn The debut match of Apollo Crews Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin Jushin Liger vs. Tyler Breeze Sasha Banks vs. Bayley Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens SummerSlam 2015 Jon Stewart as the host Stardust & Wade Barrett vs. Neville & Stephen Amell Sheamus vs. Randy Orton Prime Time Players vs. Los Matadores vs. Lucha Dragons vs. Big E & Kofi Kingston Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens Luke Harper & Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns Seth Rollins vs. John Cena Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker

Battleground 2015: The Good Shit Sheamus vs. Randy Orton These two were given a boost by being the PPV opener in Orton’s hometown of St. Louis. That’s a smart move. But the crowd itself wasn’t what just elevated this match from their tedious series on TV. These two simply had a compelling match that made it clear that they phoned in the free shit. There’s not a huge amount to really analyze in this match, as it wasn’t gonna be a deep story based on its position on the card. But everything was crisp with some tremendous transitions and finisher teasers plus reversals. As shown in the post-match highlight reel, Sheamus had two perfectly timed counters for Orton. One was Orton grabbing the ropes to break an attempted Texas Cloverleaf, so when Orton got up, he ate a Yakuza kick. The other was when Orton went for the Ace Crusher, only for Sheamus to scout it and go for a schoolboy roll-up. But once the Ace Crusher was hit, everyone in the STL knew their hometown boy sealed the W. ***1/2 The New Day cut a fun group pre-match promo about regaining the Tag Titles, but nothing close to their very best. Prime Time Players retain in a nothing special match. Luke Harper assists Bray Wyatt in defeating Roman Reigns, the first step in reuniting the Wyatt Family. Match was nothing special thanks largely to Wyatt being absolutely tedious while dominating, including lazy rest holds in which he did nothing to increase his leverage or antagonize the crowd. US Title Match John Cena vs. Kevin Owens Definitely the weakest of the three and not due to any of the ring work. This is just what simply happens when one of the wrestlers is cooled off going into a trilogy finale. In this one, Owens got the early heat and did what Wyatt ought to be doing more often, which is taunting the audience for the damage he’s inflicting upon the babyface. This would turn out to be far more back-and-forth than the first match 7 weeks earlier though. I loved that the Springboard Stunner was countered into a release German Suplex; for once, someone had scouted one of the most inconsistent signature moves in Cena’s arsenal and did so with flawless timing. There were a number of other great spots, including Owens channeling Roderick Strong and turning a Cena boot into a backbreaker, Cena delivering the Code Red, and Owens turning Cena’s top-rope leg drop into a powerbomb near-fall. But the standout moments to me were Cena’s willingness to take a Super Swinging Fisherman’s Neckbreaker, and also allowing a Super Death Valley Driver to be kicked out of by Owens. Cena did his absolute damnedest to make Owens as hot as possible in a match that was officially ending the former NXT champion's big main roster push. Even with the obvious descent on the horizon for Owens on the card, these two men managed to have the crowd hot, and Owens was sensational not just trolling Cena and the crowd, but Michael Cole as well. Owens tapping out clean to the STF for many will be viewed in the moment as a burial, but with the video below, made perfect sense for his shtick. Of course, having this trilogy occur within 7 weeks, the program concluding in just 2 months, was a sign of the lazy storytelling model implemented by WWE in recent years, having zero desire and/or ability to generate several months-long arcs with true twists and turns, peaks and valleys, and a genuinely climatic conclusion unless it's to benefit one of their hand-picked favorites. But I will dig into that aspect a few months down the road on this project. ****1/4 WWE Title Match Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar Speaking of a lazy storytelling model, we got this match. To say this didn’t reward my faith that despite a lukewarm at best build these two would deliver the singles classic they’re capable of would be a gross misunderstatement. There’s nothing wrong with Lesnar being the better man; there’s nothing wrong with Undertaker showing up to fuck him out of the WWE Title and going in that direction for a bigger stage. It is absolutely inexcusable for Rollins to have been on the wrong end of a glorified squash for about 10 minutes before the unofficial finish of the match kicked in. Eighteen years earlier, IN THIS SAME EXACT VENUE, a very similar premise took place, that being the obnoxious chickenshit heel Shawn Michaels being locked inside a cage structure to get his comeuppance against the monster babyface Undertaker. The finish even had the Kane character making its anticipated debut to fuck Taker out of winning and leading to their match on a grander stage. Now of course, there’s a difference here. With the original Hell in a Cell, HBK’s buddies were banned from ringside; in this case, the Authority B-team had been put on the shelf by Lesnar en route to this event, leaving Rollins all alone. So HBK could still get help through underhanded tactics, while Rollins had to stand on his own feet since Triple H & Stephanie McMahon were testing him. With all of this said, I want everyone to imagine what a non-iconic classic the original Hell in a Cell would’ve been had HBK not managed to take over the match in underhanded fashion by assaulting the cameraman so that the medical staff would open the cage. So why couldn’t we get something similar here? Why not have Rollins bleeding and hanging around the timekeeper’s area, getting checked by medical staff? He can be begging to forfeit the match due to blood loss, and then talking shit to Lesnar about it, luring the Beast, and then attacking him with the WWE Title belt to intentionally draw a DQ. Have Paul Heyman remind the referee as he’s about to throw the match away “Remember what Brock did a few months ago when you guys screwed him!” to convince the referee to let the match continue. This then allows Rollins to have gained control in such underhanded fashion, showing off his cunning intelligence, allowing him to troll the Beast, Heyman, and the audience, boasting how he didn’t need help from the Authority, Kane, or J&J Security. This reflects the part of the buildup in which Rollins and the Authority B-Team did outsmart Lesnar, except now Rollins has done it alone, thus elevating him in this match despite what the finish would be. After Rollins gets a bit too cocky trolling the audience for a just a bit too long, the Beast capitalizes to make a comeback and they have an off-the-charts closing stretch, the intelligent chickenshit Rollins doing his damnedest to avoid the wrath of the wounded, pissed off Beast. Then, and only then, Lesnar gets the upper hand, plants the champ with the F5, and within seconds, the lights go out, Taker appearing and attacking the Beast (still getting the novelty pop from the crowd), and Rollins hesitantly crawls on top of Lesnar to escape with the title, then he rolls out as quickly as possible so as not to also be assaulted by the glaring Phenom after being in a grueling classic. The show still closes with Taker standing over Lesnar. Depending on how hot the crowd is for Taker glaring at Rollins, this could also potentially tease them having a singles match down the road. The match layout wasn’t the only problem with this angle. The writers truly failed to make this direction mean anything. Unlike Lesnar’s feuds against John Cena, CM Punk, and Roman Reigns, this program had no Lesnar interview vignettes. Imagine how much more exciting those could’ve been, and then Heyman gets plenty of promo time on MULTIPLE episodes of TV to truly, passionately pontificate what Lesnar will do to Rollins. Imagine if Rollins got his own interview vignettes as a retort, making reference to a certain classic earlier in the year involving both him and Lesnar, and bragging about his CrossFit workout routine giving him the edge to slay the Beast. This storyline also focused a bit too much on the closing moments of WrestleMania 31, choosing to present Rollins as an out-of-his-league phony as WWE Champ. Since Lesnar’s return from suspension on June 14, the classic match involving Cena at Royal Rumble 2015 was referenced a grand total of zero times. Why not fucking bring that match up over and over again, as it accomplishes the following? Promote a reason to order the WWE Network and revisit what many called WWE”s best match of 2015. Gives Rollins a reference point to brag that he truly broke out to the main event picture in that match. Gives Rollins a reference point that he’d visited Suplex City once, and proved that he learned from it at WrestleMania 31 when he cashed in, and would do so again in the one-on-one match. Instead, this storyline got Heyman spewing out largely mediocre material, Lesnar showing ass for Kane, Jamie Noble, and Joey Mercury in 2015, Rollins presented as a total chickenshit without any type of credible foundation despite having established it in the first month of the year, had none of the Lesnar interview vignettes that had proven to be effective as recently as just a few months earlier against Reigns, made zero references to arguably the Match of the Year involving both men, and then resulted in a way too quick squash match that devalued Rollins and the WWE Title. Some of you may still feel I’m being overly negative, bitching that I didn’t get my specific preferences met for what had been a HIGHLY anticipated singles match to me for a year. For those of you who jump to that conclusion, read the following courtesy the Wrestling Observer: I also believe it’s not a coincidence that TV ratings sucked during this feud and continued to be a concern for the rest of 2015. After all, the fans had just been told that the champion of the company was no match for a guy who only appears on occasion, without having the established first ballot HOFer foundation of Cena a year earlier. They were clearly told that not only was he secondary to the part-timer he competed against, but also to the one that interfered, and hadn’t even at least gotten a significant portion of control in the night’s WWE Championship main event to elevate him coming out of this match. I do expect a Lesnar vs. Rollins rematch down the road. I’ve a feeling that Rollins will be respected enough behind the scenes by then for these two to have the classic they’re fully capable of pulling off. It should’ve happened on this night; not only would it artistically been rewarding, but with the evidence I presented, I believe it would have legitimately been best for business metrics.

ROAD TO BATTLEGROUND 2015 Raw – July 6, 2015: The Good Shit Paul Heyman cuts a very good promo, although not a great one, making it very clear that Brock Lesnar never hated John Cena, Undertaker, or Roman Reigns. He hates Seth Rollins, so imagine what will happen at Battleground 2015. But the beatings begin tonight in Chicago. Sheamus vs. Roman Reigns - ***1/4 Titus O’Neil is sensational as the Prime Time Players are on commentary, mocking JBL for his all-too-frequent useless banter rather than commentating on ensuing matches, and wins a burn battle over who’s more successful and educated. US Title Match (Open Challenge) John Cena vs. Cesaro Kevin Owens, fresh off of losing the NXT Title to Finn Balor, bitterly interrupts Cena’s standard pre-match promo, and he accepts the challenge. Before the bell rings though, Cesaro interrupts and threatens Owens, who simply walks away, allowing Cesaro to have the opportunity. Owens walks backstage, which is a mistake. He clearly should’ve been on commentary again for these two colliding. This was once again the Cesaro Show, as he dominated this match with power moves, stiff uppercuts, and tremendous technical wrestling. With almost every comeback Cena attempt, Cesaro would cut him off. Whether it was a fallaway slam on the outside, Crippler Crossfaces at different points, a late apron superplex, or a tremendously timed uppercut deep into the match, Cesaro had the Chicago crowd believing on multiple occasions he’d pull off the upset. Major points for calling what I believe was an audible near the end, as there was a botched Springboard Stunner, so since it wouldn’t have stunned Cesaro, it allowed him to hit a cradle faceplant for another great nearfall. Cena often did himself no favors with his comeback attempts, going to the well far too often for one of the best students in the game. This was a night in which had he shown something new, he wouldn’t have had such a difficult time gaining control. His shoulder tackles and “You Can’t See Me” routine were easily countered by Cesaro, forcing the champ to not gain any true momentum. That said, Cena is the master of scratching out a victory from the jaws of defeat, and tonight was no exception once he hit a Super Death Valley Driver. Cena and Cesaro have no time for a post-match embrace, as Owens attempts to assault the physically battered Cena, only to eat a Death Valley Driver and then scurry away. This was a mistake, as mentioned earlier Owens should’ve been providing commentary on here so he keeps his star shining. If the plan was also for Cena to shine due to horrendous TV ratings too, have him attempt the Death Valley Driver on Owens, but instead Owens gets out of the move and scurries away, that way he is still presented as a credible sociopath, rather than another of a dozen or so mid-carders that end up in .500 Hell. Tremendous match of course though, with some business-exposing sloppiness keeping this from reaching their Denver work of art 17 months earlier. It's a testament to these two that they managed to overcome those glaring flaws. **** Main Event – July 7, 2015 Luke Harper vs. Cesaro – ***3/4 NXT – July 8, 2015: The Good Shit Charlotte teams with NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks for a favor in return, successfully defeating Emma & Dana Brooke. Next week is Banks vs. Charlotte for the title. God I just hate when matches are advertised in advance, that’s not how the big leagues do it on cable TV. Speaking of the Women’s Title, Bayley has a backstage interview from the weekend’s live event, showing a broken hand courtesy Emma. She states her #1 goal is to become the champion and Emma will be the first domino to fall once she’s cleared. Kevin Owens is found backstage after his NXT Title loss against Finn Balor the week before and refuses to give comment, instead snapping as the camera quickly fades to black. After months of persistence from Chad Gable, Jason Jordan finally relents and agrees to become tag partners next week. Superstars – July 10, 2015 Heath Slater vs. Neville - *** Raw – July 13, 2015: The Good Shit Paul Heyman comes out with Brock Lesnar to cut a hell of a money promo, getting me excited for the Battleground 2015 main event. He reminds everyone that any time Lesnar challenges for a title, he leaves as champion. Of course, lost in mentioning Lesnar’s history with Seth Rollins is the classic match six months earlier involving John Cena, but I’ll get into that later. Rollins comes out with Kane, and the latter is mocked by Heyman as “Undertaker’s baby brother” as well as once again rubbing in the Undertaker’s broken streak at WrestleMania XXX. Obvious telegraphing from WWE here, all I hope for is the one-on-one classic I know Rollins and Lesnar can deliver. In what is no way categorized as good shit, but certainly must be mentioned, Stephanie McMahon declares a “divas revolution” and introduces Charlotte, Becky Lynch, and NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks to the main roster. A historic but otherwise awful segment that I’m not detailing. The New Day cut another entertaining promo, with Atlanta native Xavier Woods being a cunt about the local sports teams failing to recently win a championship, among other things. John Cena issues his weekly US Title open challenge, which is answered one at a time by Rusev, Kevin Owens, and Cesaro. Rusev and Owens exchange amusing barbs, and this leads to an intriguing threeway to face Cena. US Title Shot – No DQ, No Countout Match Rusev vs. Cesaro vs. Kevin Owens Another excellent, action-packed match with Cena providing commentary at ringside. Weird booking there for Cena to be the fresh guy, but I’ll dive into that after reviewing this classic. There are a number of great near falls in the first act, but the obvious highlight would be something I usually hate. Owens attempts to deliver a superplex to Rusev, and Cesaro goes underneath to use the positioning and powerbomb Owens with Rusev getting suplexed as well. This was crisply done and didn’t expose the business, which is why this instance worked unlike something similar at WrestleMania 31 and so many times on the indies. I consider the second act to have started when Rusev and Owens had a punching exchange, a fresh matchup that I’d been looking forward to for several months. After some Cesaro intervention, the two bulls would spill to the outside, only for Cesaro to charge at them with an uppercut to cut them off and get some momentum in his corner. The action would continue in the ring, not a second of it plodding or contrived. Owens would get cocky and piss both off; once Rusev clotheslined him to the outside, he decided to just walk away since he already had a shot six days away. The broadcast returns from commercial break with an amazing third act between Rusev and Cesaro. They take a scary bump with Rusev giving Cesaro a superplex to the apron. After a couple minutes of gathering themselves, they continue the action in the ring. They tease a number of submissions and tap out, including the Scorpion Deathlock and Camel Cluth, while also mixing in some sweet giant swings and heel kicks. Since this is still under No DQ, No Countout rules, Rusev has to crawl to the outside to escape the Scorpion Deathlock, and he is just exhausted. This allows Cesaro to hit a suicide dive and running uppercut, but Cesaro makes this mistake of going to the top rope. Rusev knocks him down to position him in a fireman’s carry, but Cesaro’s momentum bouncing off the ropes has him also bounce off of Rusev’s shoulders, leaving him in position to be finished off with a superkick. Excellent match that stayed true to the Owens character, kept Cesaro hot, and went a long ways to reinforce that Rusev is still a credible threat despite losing the initial feud to Cena, getting injured, and being dumped by Lana. **** The US Title Match between Cena and Rusev is of course ruined by Owens, making that particular contest a waste of time for this show. So there are a few things that could’ve been done here. This could’ve been a tag pitting Cena & Cesaro against Rusev & Owens, throw in some of ROH”s “Defy or Deny” rules to spice it up (Owens being pinned would be the exception since he has a guaranteed shot at Battleground 2015.) This could’ve just been Rusev vs. Cesaro with Owens ruining it and Cena negating any further assault. This could’ve been Cena vs. Rusev vs. Cesaro with Owens ruining it. But last week, Cena was given the main event, won a grueling classic, and then got the upper hand on Owens afterwards, as a clear attempt by the company to repair shitty TV ratings. If that’s the case, I see an opportunity here for the other TV show that’s been glaringly tossed aside the past couple years. Have the threeway match as is on here, with the winner facing Cena on SmackDown! As a weekly show that had long seen very few segments and matches of consequences, and also saw its attendance severely decline in 2015, having Cena make a special appearance to defend the US Title could’ve made for a great band-aid to that brand. Owens can still interfere on that show, perhaps in the go-home segment to build last-minute heat for the finale of their trilogy. I will be pointing out more easily missed SmackDown! opportunities as this Road to WrestleMania 32 project continues. The main event contract signing involving Rollins, Kane, Heyman, and Lesnar is fine stuff, although I cannot possibly give a shit about Rollins poking fun at Kane and further assaulting him after the latter got fucked up by Lesnar. NXT – July 15, 2015: The Good Shit Chad Gable & Jason Jordan make quick work in their first tag match over a couple of jobbers, debuting the Grand Amplitude as their finisher. An amusing Baron Corbin video package airs, boasting about his non-wrestling accomplishments and attempting to dismiss the guys who had forged legacies as pro wrestlers outside WWE. His argument obviously holds zero water, especially since he neglects to mention he never played a single down in the NFL and was the equivalent of a jobber on the gridiron. Sami Zayn appears to provide a medical update. After a red-hot 2014, 2015 has sucked and it looks like he won’t be back until 2016. He says he isn’t over, which puts it into perspective when considering Daniel Bryan’s status. He’ll be coming back for the NXT Title, and states “there’s no better motivator than revenge,” telling Kevin Owens not to put him in the rearview mirror and that the two of them are still linked, no matter where both were at this point. “Watch your ass ‘cause I am coming for you!” Further evidence that these two will bump into each other again in early 2016. Footage is shown from San Diego Comic Con: OH FUCK YES~! NXT Women’s Title Match Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte - **** SmackDown! – July 16, 2015: The Good Shit After taking care of the Lucha Dragons, the New Day cut an amusing promo on the Prime Time Players, then quickly walk away when being confronted by the Tag Champs. As Cesaro is walking to gorilla position for his match, he walks by Kevin Owens, who sarcastically wishes him good luck. Rusev vs. Cesaro - ***1/4 I cannot think of an overall more disappointing build for Rollins vs. Lesnar, but I have hope they’ll be given the proper opportunity to provide a match for the ages. I’ll wait until after the match to assess the program. I'm certainly thrilled to see Cesaro getting plenty of screen-time, although question why Cena vs. Owens III is getting rushed, once again just like when Kurt Angle burst into TNA and first feuded with Samoa Joe. Why exactly do Ambrose, Rusev, and Cesaro not have matches for Battleground 2015?

ROAD TO THE BEAST IN THE BEAST Raw – June 15, 2015: The Good Shit Dean Ambrose interrupts the self-congratulatory Seth Rollins promo, who is boasting about the victory the night before, and Ambrose threatens to sit in the ring and hold the show hostage unless he gets to have a fight with the WWE Champion. Rollins has a backstage talk with the Authority (who promise an announcement regarding the title later), leading to what should inevitably be an incredible Rollins vs. Triple H match, and then Sheamus comes to rub his MITB briefcase in Ambrose’s face… Dean Ambrose vs. Sheamus - ***1/4 NXT Champion Kevin Owens cuts another outstanding promo, claiming John Cena disrespected him after last night’s match to justify the assault, and also reveals the franchise player is out of action. He wants the rubber match to be for the US Title. Great, so the writers are doing an Angle vs. Joe on this feud after all. Owens decides to issue an open challenge, albeit doesn’t specify it being a title match. Out comes Cleveland native Dolph Ziggler to accept the challenge and says he wants to bring Cleveland a title. Owens gladly clarifies that this is a non-title match. Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler One of my most anticipated matches once Steen was confirmed to be WWE-bound. Owens dominated as a trolling asshole, Ziggler made his underdog comebacks at the right time (a position who’s pigeon-holed himself in unfortunately), the Cleveland audience made the match even hotter. I absolutely loved Ziggler avoiding a pop-up powerbomb, giving the crowd some hope when it was inevitable. Very good stuff and hopefully they have a meaningful series with something at stake in the future. ***1/2 The Battleground 2015 main event is set, as Brock Lesnar returns from suspension to get in the face of WWE Champion Seth Rollins and scare the shit out of him five weeks before their singles match that I’ve been BADLY frothing at the mouth to see. High expectations for that. Here’s the first Bryan & Vinny bonus on this project. NXT – June 17, 2015: The Good Shit “Who is Finn Balor?” Pt. 1 A great brief documentary piece showcasing Balor’s time in Europe both at the beginning of his career and his farewell run there, although the producers and narrators don’t clarify that. The primary point of this is to show that Balor is driven but very humble about himself, getting him over as ethically the complete opposite of NXT Champion Kevin Owens prior to their July 4 showdown in Tokyo. Whereas Owens had bragged over and over again, here Balor was credited by Becky Lynch for her career, which he refused to accept. Why can’t there be time for these on the 5 hours of weekly main roster TV? Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe have a decent if uninspiring main event leading to a Dusty finish. There are glimpse they could have a killer feud-ender, but it was a mistake to have Owens try to use rest holds to wear down Joe (copying CM Punk’s 2004 strategy) rather than chop down Joe’s legs and base, which would’ve been far more compelling. I did appreciate Owens trolling with “Chinlock City” and sparking “Headlock City” chants though. The post-match brawl is admittedly hot. NXT – June 24, 2015: The Good Shit Hideo Itami has an in-ring interview and the interview says he’s “3-4 months away” from competing. Sure thing. Kevin Owens interrupts and cuts a great promo, including saving himself when he got tongue-twisted and the crowd heckled him for it, saying it’s just like Itami trying to speak English. Itami refuses to apologize for calling him a bad person, so Owens says that while he’s not responsible for Itami’s injury, he’ll come fuck him up some more and take responsibility for it. Finn Balor of course comes out and has a brawl with Owens, but finds himself attacked by Rhino on the stage. “Who is Finn Balor?” Pt. 2 This week, the focus is on Prince Devitt’s time in New Japan, that he became a huge star in the company and forged a great friendship with Mall Bloom, the former Albert, A-Train, Tensai, and Giant Bernard. Bloom recruited him around Wrestle Kingdom VIII time and Devitt took the risk after an amazing 8 year legacy he forged for himself that I greatly anticipate to finally taking the time to watch this year. Also shown are clips from his Orlando apartment showcasing his friendship with Sami Zayn and love for both Legos and SummerSlam 1995, which he states is his favorite PPV ever. Who isn’t rooting for this guy come July 4 at The Beast in the East? Finn Balor vs. Rhino Much more exciting match than what they had earlier in the month, and Owens is a sensational cunt on commentary. Balor of course wins a hot main event full of great transitions and momentum shifts, then gets mugged by Owens and Rhino. Samoa Joe makes the save to lead to an obvious tag match for next week. ***1/2 SmackDown! – June 25, 2015: The Good Shit The New Day have a fun full-of-shit backstage interview claiming the power of positivity will help them regain the Tag Titles from the Prime Time Players at Battleground 2015. The champs interrupt and do a great job of mocking them, getting in New Day’s heads about figuring who will be the third wheel out, but Bo Dallas arrives to reinstate their inspirational positivity. A natural pairing. Prime Time Players & Lucha Dragons vs. The New Day & Bo Dallas - *** Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose - ***1/4 Raw – June 29, 2015: The Good Shit Kevin Owens pretends to accept John Cena’s US Title open challenge, only to say he’d rather wait for Battleground 2015 where he’ll dethrone the franchise. Out comes Cesaro instead while Owens joins the commentary team. US Title Match (Open Challenge) John Cena vs. Cesaro Owens is of course sensational in being a hypocritical bully with his commentary. Meanwhile, this was the Cesaro Show in the ring. Cesaro dominated the majority of this, allowing him the opportunity to be elevated yet again by Cena. With his partner Tyson Kidd out indefinitely (more likely permanently), the former US Champ made the most out of this to hopefully rejuvenate his singles career, throwing Cena around like a rag doll on multiple occasions and displaying his trademark deceptive strength. With Cesaro stepping his game up, Cena found himself yet again in 2015 achieving his goal of being forced to step up his game too, especially when Cesaro got out of the STF and turned it into Scorpion Deathlock. Later on, Cena once again showed that the Code Red he used on Owens two weeks earlier was no fluke, this time fluidly hitting on Cesaro, further shedding the cringeworthy narrative that he’d have never fit in with ROH or the X-Division a decade earlier. Cesaro would regain the advantage and get Cena down in the Scorpio Deathlock again. Like Neville several weeks earlier, it looked like Cena’s reign would be ended by a surprise darkhorse, and like that situation, it was ruined when Owens attacked Cesaro for the DQ. He justifies his actions by stating that only HE gets to have the bragging rights of dethroning Cena. A magnificent match with a Dusty finish that made complete sense, paying off the purpose of Owens being on commentary. **** Prime Time Players & Lucha Dragons vs. The New Day & Bo Dallas - ***1/4 Sheamus vs. Neville - ***1/4 In the closing scene, Seth Rollins and the Authority B-Team are presented as dangerous threats, taking out Roman Reigns. Ludicrous, over-the-top booking to try to groom Rollins for Lesnar, as it only made Reigns look like a chump against his sidekick losers. Main Event – June 30, 2015 Luke Harper vs. Jack Swagger - ***1/2 NXT – July 1, 2015: The Good Shit “Who is Finn Balor?” Pt. 3 The final piece of this amazing documentary feature focuses on Fergal Devitt’s time in WWE so far and has connection with the fans. He explains who he settled on the Finn Balor name. The piece also shows some of the flawed mentality in the way WWE produces its events and television, showing that’s the one flaw that won’t be going away when Vince McMahon is no longer in charge. Balor also explains the logic behind his “inner demon” painted persona for major matches. In what is likely no coincidence, Balor is shown backstage at an event with Karl Anderson. Simply put, anyone who watches this collective Finn Balor: The Demon Revealed documentary and isn’t rooting for this guy to dethrone Owens later in the week at The Beast in the East may wanna take a look in the mirror to reevaluate why they watch pro wrestling. This is a guy that busts his ass and makes sure to leave no scorched earth behind whenever he moves on to the next opportunity. I can’t wait to see this guy gives Owens a piece of humble pie, and I’m glad to have a WWE Network subscription to witness it. Now THAT is the definition of drawing money and doing what’s best for business. Kevin Owens & Rhino vs. Finn Balor & Samoa Joe Hot main event here. Nothing to really break down here other than this followed a simple formula, leading to Balor getting the pinfall on Owens thanks to him capitalizing on a heel team miscue. Balor is WHITE-HOT going into Tokyo this weekend, making Owens vs. Balor the obvious true main event. Fuck whatever Cena and Lesnar are doing. ***1/2 SmackDown! – July 2, 2015 Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt - *** WWE in Tokyo, Japan – July 3, 2015 Dream Match Finn Balor vs. Chris Jericho The world-traveled stars exchange mat wrestling early to establish them as equals to the crowd’s delight. After a few minutes, Jericho gains the advantage and becomes the default heel, standing on Balor to choke him on the ropes and trolling the audience. Balor would have his hope spots and teased comebacks, only for Jericho to masterfully cut him off. After significant dominance by Jericho, Balor was established as possibly being the heir to Dolph Ziggler’s throne for whenever he gets inevitably promoted (Ziggler marks, be worried once that happens.) Balor made excellent comebacks with Pele kicks and an over-the-top-rope tope con hilo to pop the audience that had fallen in love with him for the past several years. In addition, he displayed tremendous resilience being locked in the Boston Crab for roughly a minute, refusing to tap out and doing his damnedest to successfully reach for a rope break. But Jericho would cut off by the momentum from that mentioned highspot, crotching Balor when he went for the double footstomp finisher. This showed once again he had gone to the film and is still a student of the game. With the heat back to Jericho’s advantage, Balor tried to end that with a standing shotgun dropkick, but Jericho stopped his own momentum to allow the NXT Title #1 contender to take a flat bump, Jericho went for the Quebrada, only to get knees to his gut! Selling the abdomen, Balor took advantage and gave the future Hall of Famer a running shotgun dropkick in the corner, followed this time by a successful double footstomp from the top rope! This was an easy MOTYC that told a simple story: Jericho still has PLENTY of gas left in the tank when he’s slotted against quality opposition. He dominated this match, preparing Balor for what was to come in 24 hours, and the NXT Title #1 contender had to dig down deep against a future Hall of Famer and multiple time WWE Champion to earn a victory. Tremendous match that ought to be included on a Balor compilation down the road since WWE filmed the event. ****1/2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMjFdNTaKJo The Beast in the East: The Good Shit Chris Jericho vs. Neville A match that brought back memories of the Cruiserweight division during the War. That was assisted by Jericho playing the default heel like the night before, channeling his persona from that period that won him numerous awards and put him on the map. He was tremendous in being a condescending prick to Neville, but not too over the top about it. In some ways, Jericho’s role here reminded me of Pure Champion era Nigel McGuinness. The Tokyo atmosphere obviously helped too since NJPW and DG fans were familiar with both men. They were totally behind Neville during his comeback attempts and aerial attacks, as well as his resilience the first time he got locked in the Boston Crab and kicking out of a Codebreaker counter. That really paid off in the finish, as Neville went for the Sky Twister only to get kneed in the gut, and then Jericho put him in a proper Liontamer for the finish, paying off the tease and some of the back work throughout the match. **** Brock Lesnar vs. Kofi Kingston In a vacuum, this is fun. The Beast Incarnate totally obliterates Kingston and new his New Day buddies with relative ease, leaving all three in his wake. However, there were plenty of problems with the format of this segment, and that it even happened in the first place. Forget that the New Day were the Tag Titles #1 contenders; this is a valuable act on the roster that was completely tossed to the wayside for someone that had plenty of credibility already because he’s BROCK LESNAR. At the very least, it’d have been a smart move to have Big E, the muscle of the New Day, briefly knock Lesnar off of his feet. Show SOME credibility for this faction, especially since this trio had beaten ROMAN REIGNS & RANDY ORTON just two months earlier. Having Lesnar demolish these three single-handedly certainly doesn’t speak well for the heir to John Cena’s throne and one of the most successful stars of the past decade. Paul Heyman’s absence was definitely felt, and perhaps had he been at ringside, while Big E & Xavier Woods would counter him for what could’ve been some utterly spectacular verbal exchanges. With that said, there were two opportunities on here for Lesnar, one that would’ve followed through on his feud with Seth Rollins, the other just a one-off match that could’ve made this show even more memorable. This was the chance with Lesnar and Kane on the card to have them collide, with this being the event to write Kane out to further build up Lesnar. Unlike the New Day, Kane can be obliterated since he’s such a stale piece of the active roster in 2015. At the very least in regards to Lesnar and Kane, the Beast could've targeted the Demon in the night's final match; Lesnar in 2015 has been presented as an irrational ass-kicker, and after what happened the week before on Raw, no way Lesnar would just let Kane go about his business in the ring without consequences. On the other hand, Cesaro, coming just a few days from possibly dethroning Cena and regaining the US Title if not for Kevin Owens, could’ve been rewarded by the Authority with a singles match here against Lesnar. It would be a test for Cesaro to wear down Lesnar for Rollins, while giving him the opportunity to have a career-defining, nail-biting victory in front of an audience that would be highly appreciative of the two fucking each other up with strikes and suplexes. There’s the Paul Heyman guy dynamic going on too to play off of. NXT Title Match Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor Announced during the entrance of Owens is that on August 22, the night before SummerSlam 2015, the Barclays Center will host NXT Takeover: Brooklyn. OH FUCK YES~! The prematch ceremony alone justifies me having initially stayed up late to watch the live broadcast of this, staying true to the puro culture for important championship matches. Of course, Owens tosses his flowers out, not giving a single shit about any of the tradition. The injured Hideo Itami is sitting at ringside, obviously pissed at his body robbing him out of this moment. Like the day before against Jericho, Balor found himself dominated by Owens overall in this one. It appeared not to be that way at first, as Balor channeled what Austin Aries did to Samoa Joe at Final Battle 2004, going right after the champ at the beginning of the match and trying to catch him off guard. But as stated, Owens would find himself dominating this, getting cut off here and there by the favored challenger to the Tokyo crowd’s delight. Those who followed Prince Devitt’s journey prior to WWE will surely appreciate this match even more than I did. Doing my research, it became obvious to me why the audience popped for particular moves being teased and delivered, including the Bloody Sunday, Reverse Bloody Sunday, and over the top rope somersault senton. The teased finishers from Balor’s NJPW days pulled sensational reactions from the crowd, and the pop was ludicrous once he had punished Owens later to deliver them. By no means was this the Finn Balor Show. Owens didn’t just win this had it been based on points, but he did a masterful trolling job as usual of the crowd, mocking more traditions such as bowing. He once again displayed why he is THE top full-time heel in the company, as there is nobody on the roster, active or injured, not Sheamus, not Seth Rollins, not Bray Wyatt, not Alberto Del Rio, better at drawing effective, substantial heat. The dominance of Owens wasn’t enough though, for when he attempted a top rope senton, Balor channeled Jericho earlier in the evening and hit Owens with knees and a follow-up Bloody Sunday for an awesome near-fall. Balor went for the running shotgun dropkick only to eat a superkick and sleeper suplex for another awesome near-fall. Owens resorted to more trash-talk and slapping, which was a huge mistake. Balor avoided a pop-up powerbomb, successfully hitting Owens with a running shotgun dropkick, another running baseball slide style dropkick, and then achieved his destiny, finishing off Owens with the top rope double footstomp in front of the audience that had watched him grow for 8 years! Post-match, Hideo Itami applauds Balor, although he’s obviously torn up, and Tatsumi Fujinami appears to congratulate and pay respects to Balor, while Owens of course refuses to display the slightest bit of sportsmanship. Excellent presentation from start to finish and a match to show anyone that questions why you watch professional wrestling. ****1/2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1STi-qh220 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qeq8aY42nn0

Money in the Bank 2015: The Good Shit Money in the Bank Contract Ladder Match Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kane vs. Sheamus vs. Neville vs. Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton The token useless ladder match of the year. I challenge anyone to point what makes this match anything special at all; the booking was just the cherry on top to truly symbolize what a waste of time this entire match was. With injuries seemingly becoming more frequent for solidified names in WWE, it of course makes sense for these guys to try to tone it down a bit more. That provides a catch-22, though, in that this match provided the formula of solo showdowns while everyone else laid around outside. Unfortunately, none of the solo showdowns had a compelling story unfold, nor was there a grand compelling story throughout the match. Guys did moves, some involving ladders, rinse, repeat. There were no gigantic spots to justify guys laying around outside like we'd seen the year before, let alone in the masterpiece that birthed this annual tradition. Nobody was elevated by this match at all, a key ingredient when Chris Jericho came up with the concept a decade earlier. Bray Wyatt costing Reigns the match makes sense based on what happened a few weeks earlier on SmackDown!, but I have my doubts the writers will bother to remember that detail. Reigns was gonna have his irrational detractors no matter what, so rather than go with a cold Sheamus, who had no momentum going in or coming out of this match based on his booking as well as his performance in this match, I'd have just gone with the Big Dog and have him do the honorable cash-in like John Cena and Rob Van Dam in the past. John Cena vs. Kevin Owens Amazing big fight atmosphere here, similar to Reigns when he faced Brock Lesnar at Levi's Stadium. What a crazy effect from a crazy cause - Owens gets mic time equal to Cena, and goes over him cleanly to solidify him as a dangerous threat, resulting in a rematch the audience takes seriously. I overall enjoyed this more than the original classic two weeks earlier, but one can't go wrong either way. I just couldn't ignored the red-hot atmosphere from Columbus compared to Corpus Christi's more casually cold environment (the difference between Owens being established and not yet established.) This had all the high-impact moves of before, this time though Owens was able to pull off his mockery successfully. There was just no way Cena would be losing a rematch against someone that had been shitting on his ethics, so it came as no surprise that he managed to kick out of a perfectly timed powerbomb, but the work so exciting and suspenseful that the crowd was going apeshit, Owens having proved himself as Cena's equal. Once again, in what certainly couldn't have been best for Cena's shoulders after being taken numerous times to Suplex City, Owens got the super fisherman's neckbreaker on Cena to counter an attempted superplex. It took a lot to take down Owens this time, with Cena having earned this victory after a springboard stunner and Death Valley Driver, and the commentary team did an outstanding job putting over the quality of this match. Post-match, Cena still puts over Owens for the amazing competition, and Owens accepts, only to channel Chris Jericho's actions towards Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XIX and assault the victor, leaving him laying on the outside via an apron powerbomb and laughing hysterically. The laughter was far more convincing than the poor man's soap opera type we get force-fed by Seth Rollins. I actually want someone to cave in the face of Owens now; it'd be wise to make us wait awhile to see that happen on the main roster. Fantastic match and post-match to keep the heat brewing. ****1/2 WWE Title - Ladder Match Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose Not as dull as I'd remembered last summer, but this certainly wasn't the epic they were going for. There was no need for this to go over 30 minutes, as that length isn't conducive to optimizing the pace and drama for ladder match. However, this was a match that had a goal and did its best to achieve it, which was to establish Rollins as a credible threat on his own, without any assistance whatsoever, for when Brock Lesnar would eventually return. With that said, despite Rollins being shown as a cerebral character by going after Ambrose's left knee and dropping Ambrose with multiple running powerbombs on the outside. However, since Ambrose had the home state advantage in Ohio, I wouldn't have made it so lopsided in the last several minutes, as the crowd was instead dick-punched rather than incensed, feeling defeated at what they were seeing. I have a FETISH for manufacturing the optimal white-hot live atmospheres and do not apologize for that. Ambrose still looked like he could've won by them somewhat copying the finish of Packers @ Seahawks from the 2012 NFL season, displaying the company still viewed him as important despite never booking him as a true top guy. I sure hope that all this effort to solidify Rollins as a dangerous motherfucker pays off in the classic I've envisioned he'd have with Lesnar when that inevitably happens later in the summer. ***1/2

ROAD TO MONEY IN THE BANK 2015 SmackDown! – May 21, 2015: The Good Shit Dolph Ziggler vs. Wade Barrett - *** Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt - *** (Of note is that to offset the Authority B-Team fucking with Ambrose, Roman Reigns punched Wyatt. Wonder if that’ll come back to bite him.) Raw – May 25, 2015: The Good Shit Stephen Amell, the lead star of Arrow, has a staredown with Stardust from the front row, prior to the former Tag and IC Champion’s match with Neville. US Champion John Cena cuts another compelling promo, with the moral being that no matter how much buzz NXT Champion Kevin Owens has created for himself, the bottom line will be about who wins their dream match at Elimination Chamber 2015. This was some quality exposition from Cena, articulating what Owens represents for those who’ve wanted Cena to be knocked down a peg for the past decade. With this being WWE’s final event at the Nassau Coliseum, Cena lays down another open challenge, and out come various cast members of Entourage. They introduce Long Island native Zack Ryder, and MAJOR kudos to the company for allowing him to shine in a brief match against their franchise. No matter how anyone subjectively views his gimmick and in-ring performance, the bottom line is that man connected with consumers in 2011 and those in charge dropped the ball capitalizing on (if not maliciously sabotaged) that momentum. This was a pretty damn good one night apology. Of course, after Cena shows great sportsmanship and allowing Ryder a very real moment for himself in his home region, out comes Owens to drop the franchise with a pop-up powerbomb! The New Day cut a great cookie-cutter cheap heat promo to rile the crowd up, shitting on the shithole arena that the Islanders abandoned in favor of the billion dollar Barclays Center. These guys are FAR more charming when whining about things that are “unfair” than Seth Rollins is. NXT – May 27, 2015: The Good Shit NXT Champion Kevin Owens opens the show, wearing a John Cena US Champion shirt and using Sami Zayn’s entrance theme. It worked when CM Punk mocked Jeff Hardy six years earlier, it worked here. Owens spews a bunch of his usual bullshit to justify his assault on Zayn, and magically turns the crowd against him too when they do the “John Cena sucks” sing-a-long by saying Zayn sucks too. He also of course mentions that he avoided Samoa Joe because that’s what a “good person” does. GM William Regal comes out and says had he not touched Owens at Takeover: Unstoppable, Owens would be gone from WWE. He’s fed up with Owens assaulting everyone, then mentions Hideo Itami, who Owens clearly states he cannot take credit for. Solomon Crowe comes out and challenges Owens for a main event tonight that I cannot imagine anyone carrying about. Itami is shown interviewed with a damaged shoulder, making it clear that whoever mysteriously attacked has put him out of action and robbed him of his chance at the NXT Title. Bayley & Charlotte are left laying by Emma & Dana Brooke after both formers in each unit had a match. Sasha Banks is ready for the main roster at any moment, so good to see heels getting elevated in the women’s division. A great video package airs, recycling the Becky Lynch interview feature from the past month, then providing a highlight reel of the classic she had last week with Sasha Banks. Imagine having this on Raw whenever a truly special match has taken place. Earlier in the day, promising athlete in Jason Jordan is caught for a quick interview in the weight room, since he is looking for a competent partner. Chad Gable is also in the room and goofily offers his services in a manner that somewhat reminds me of Chad Collyer, except he lists quite an impressive resume and provides a “Gable” towel when Jordan objects. Owens decisively defeats Crowe in the main event and looks to inflict a career-threatening assault on his former PWG rival, only for Joe to come out and prevent that. Owens warns Joe that he’s next. Yet again, a solid, focused hour of wrestling with all kinds of interesting threads. SmackDown! – May 28, 2015: The Good Shit Lumberjack Match Lucha Dragons vs. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd - ***1/4 Elimination Chamber 2015: The Good Shit Dream Match John Cena vs. Kevin Owens Perhaps the most anticipated match on this year’s Road to WrestleMania project, and boy did this live up to it. Now of course, even though I have the patience to meticulously provide a play-by-play that manages to dissect the match along the way, I’m not gonna do that here. Instead, I’m going to clearly point out why this match was an instant classic, and will likely grow in reverence as time passes on. Surface-level, faux know-it-all dipshits that pollute the majority of message boards and social media often try to pass themselves off as intelligent by stating action-packed matches like this one are just glorified indy spotfests. That is what makes them surface level, and what makes me, along with most of you who will bother reading this, far more in-depth, objective, and just overall accurate when it comes to watching and dissecting a great match. Throughout 2015, Cena found himself challenged by many of the past indy stars that had come along to WWE, resulting in his game being elevated and shredding the insipid “five moves of doom” narrative during his push prime. Perhaps no match defined that more than this one. Simply put, if one were to keep score in this like a boxing or MMA match, Owens pretty clearly dominated this one. Sure, Cena had his hope spots and heat moments here and there, but by and large this was the Kevin Owens Show. With Owens dominating this match, it made sense that Cena got back into it briefly due to Owens getting cocky and trying to mockingly execute the Five Knuckle Shuffle, much like Cena had done when he went for the People’s Elbow at WrestleMania XXVIII. This time though, the mocker didn’t pay the ultimate price, instead finding himself no longer with such an overwhelming advantage. This was actually brilliant, as they would pull off another story from Cena’s rematch with the Rock later on. Now of course, the moves in this were quite amazing and spectacular, leading to suspenseful near-falls aplenty. In particular, I was pleasantly surprised (although now in January 2016, maybe not so pleasant after all due to Cena’s injury) to see a super swinging neck-breaker pulled out. Seeing a new guy on the block get to do that to the franchise displayed what a trust that Cena and the company had in Owens. There were of course the moonsaults, Death Valley Driver near-falls, the modified package powerbomb drop, etc. but the story became quite clear in the finishing stretch. Cena was brilliant in trying to avoid the pop-up powerbomb; it was teased magnificently. But like the Rock at WrestleMania XXIX, Cena became too predictable, going to the lariat well way too much just because it had stopped the momentum Owens had a minute earlier. Knowing that Cena would be busting out his third or fourth lariat in a span of about 60 seconds, Owens ducked it, allowed Cena to run the ropes, and pulled off the upset of the decade, getting Cena to look up at the lights after a pop-up powerbomb! Post-match, Cena has rolled out and left ringside, and Owens exhaustingly brags that he started a fight and now he’s finished it; the real champ is here. This was brilliantly paced, elevated Owens with a spectacular layout and finish, and had a finish that displayed Cena’s desperation due to being outmatched by the NXT Champion. This is without a doubt a tremendous match that is extremely deserving of its place in WWE history, and its legacy will grow as the years go by. This was the symbolic match of 2015 Cena. ****1/4 Cena vs. Owens II in two weeks at Money in the Bank 2015. No matter how much chemistry these two have, I can’t be overly thrilled with them rushing this rematch like TNA did with Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe, rather than ROH’s planned patience with Joe vs. CM Punk. WWE Title Match Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose Another great match from these two, who continue to show the rare kind of chemistry that would result in them sleepwalking through a *** match should they ever have the opportunity. This was just brilliantly laid out like Cena vs. Owens, with this time the babyface Ambrose predictably dominating against the chickenshit Rollins. Of course, I appreciated the trolling Rollins displayed, rubbing in that he had betrayed Ambrose and Roman Reigns a year earlier, bragging that it led to him becoming the top champion in the entire industry on the year’s grandest stage. Little things like this stay true to the characters and their backstory, plus provide an extra layer of emotion and importance. I loved everything about this match, from the transitions, to the near-falls, to even the Dusty finish, Rollins intentionally putting the referee in harm’s way to hold on by DQ. With that said, I can objectively state that I cannot fathom anyone having a strong enough emotional connection to the Authority dynamic of this that they’d actually be significant money to see this story unfold. But the work ethic of these two, along with their in-ring charisma and chemistry, made this quite the match to remember, presenting this decade’s version of the Ric Flair vs. Dusty Rhodes rivalry. Oh yeah, Ambrose leaves with the title anyway, not putting up with the Dusty finish. **** Raw – June 1, 2015: The Good Shit In what is in no way considered “The Good Shit,” but has to be mentioned, Tyson Kidd, real name TJ Wilson, suffers what I ultimately assume is a flukey career-ending neck injury when he takes the musclebuster from Samoa Joe during their dark match. Major ramifications for the tag division and Cesaro in particular, and it’s heartbreaking to see Kidd’s career come to a screeching halt right in the middle of his greatest run, but hey, this is 2015, and that’s unfortunately one of the year’s defining themes. Twenty-four hours after his classic, possibly career-defining victory over John Cena, NXT Champion Kevin Owens cuts another gripping promo, bragging that he backed up everything 24 hours earlier. He then points out that his son expressed concern about Cena’s well-being rather than celebrate daddy’s victory, which he then explained was something that had been pissing him off for many years. Owens is tired of kids being “manipulated” by Cena and “the marketing machine,” claiming kids feel “blind worship” for the company franchise. He shits on and mocks Cena’s trademark mottos, and states that while he paid his dues NOT being on TV prior to signing with WWE, Cena by being on TV became his son’s hero. He then states he’ll be a “real role model” for his son, because he’ll once again back up all the shit he talks and defeat Cena in the upcoming rematch. Cena comes out with an equally gripping retort, saying he wants to respect Owens for beating him the night before, but he can’t because of the NXT Champ’s shitty attitude. Cena then brilliantly shuts down the snide, bitter disapproval that Owens displayed, bringing up that if WWE’s marketing deserves credit for Cena’s connection with children, then why didn’t the same happen for other wrestlers like Adam Rose? He also turns around the “Hustle, Loyalty, Respect” and “Never Give Up” burials, saying the latter actually defines the journey Owens took to get to where he is today. At Money in the Bank 2015, Cena will turns Owens into a “real man.” What a brilliant promo battle from these two, with two characters that have clearly defined motivations. Not thrilled about a rushed rematch, but everyone’s doing their job to make me anticipate it. The New Day cut another great local cheap heat promo, although leave out an important detail when burying Tim Duncan for being old. Why not brag that the night before, they had survived to the very end of their Elimination Chamber match, entering and then leaving as champions, unlike the Spurs, who couldn’t get past the first round a few weeks earlier? They then boast if Kofi Kingston wins the Money in the Bank contract ladder match, all of them have rights to it. That’d be something unique to follow-up the greatest cash-in in the concept’s history. The Money in the Bank 2015 main event is set: Seth Rollins defends the WWE Title against his arch-nemesis Dean Ambrose in a ladder match. There are worse ideas for a main event. Ambrose leaves Raw with the title in possession once again. NXT – June 3, 2015: The Good Shit Eva Marie does a live, on-stage interview, getting somewhat irrational X-Pac heat, but trying her best to shrug it off and saying she wants to be a part of the women’s division since that’s where the best compete. Hilarious segment. OH FUCK YES~! Sami Zayn has undergone successful shoulder injury, including his ongoing rotator cuff tear from his days before WWE. He should make a full recovery! NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks gets a solid interview feature package, completely conceited. Like Owens, she’s backed everything she’s said, so it’s difficult to not respect her. Balor has a boring pretaped promo stating how serious he’s taking the Tokyo opportunity since that’s where he became a superstar, and puts Owens over as the real deal. SmackDown! – June 4, 2015: The Good Shit Seth Rollins cuts one of his better promos on what is the one year anniversary (taped date, not broadcast date) of the Shield’s violent end. Rather that cut his standard tedious promo just shamelessly politicking for 15 minutes, he clearly explains why he betrayed Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns, how it paid off for him, and that the former is beneath him, having to steal the WWE Title to have possession of it. Of course, Rollins twists history, but his calm demeanor and using a chair to call back to the historical event a year earlier, as well as the entire production, made this stand out. Ambrose is fun interrupting him, but on this night, the nod surprisingly goes to Rollins. Damn good opening promo segment. The Ascension vs. Lucha Dragons vs. Prime Time Players - *** NXT Champion Kevin Owens, as usual, cuts a great promo to reinforce his stance as a father sick of his son blindly worshipping John Cena. This time, he buries Cena for being “delusional” for his mottos and that he’ll put an end to the “corruption of our children’s minds.” He’ll show us what a real champion, role model, and man is. Owens issues an open challenge for the NXT Title and makes easy work of Zack Ryder, then rubs it in post-match. A total ***** segment to build heat. Raw – June 8, 2015: The Good Shit This week, we open with US Champion John Cena for the promo formula. Unlike what goes in the WWE Title scene, this is actually compelling, as he is fighting for everyone fan that loves and hates him in his rematch this weekend against NXT Champion Kevin Owens. He promises a victory and reminder that he’s still the WWE’s gatekeeper. Owens interrupts and makes an NXT Title open challenge, which Cena accepts, only to be shut down by Owens, since they have a rematch six days away. After good-and-forth back stuff, each has issued an open challenge, with the challenger choosing which title he wants to fight for. Neville comes out and wants a rematch one day with Cena, but for now would rather keep Owens from continuing to disgrace the NXT Title. NXT Title Match (Open Challenge) Kevin Owens vs. Neville Good match as expected here. Cena is wise to be looking at Hollywood for his post-in-ring career, as his commentary here was horrendously, tediously robotic. Owens took the opening powder as an attempt to get in Neville’s head, who brought the fight in this one and pulled out plenty of bombs and aerial attacks, the highlight being back-to-back separate German suplexes, the latter being an impressive, completely unassisted deadlift on the rotund champ. Owens came close to costing himself the title on live TV, focusing too much on trolling Cena, but the damage he inflicted was too much when Neville went for the Sky Twister, allowing Owens to get up and knock him down to drop him with a pop-up powerbomb. ***1/2 DISSESION BETWEEN SETH ROLLINS AND J&J SECURITY~! SMELL THE RATINGS~! So yeah, even though the casuals in no way give a shit about this, it means we get James Gibson and Tyler Black going at it later in the ring, which is a dream showdown for someone that misses pre-SBG ROH. Next week in Cleveland, WWE welcomes special guest star and WrestleMania XXVIII performer MGK. All to say about the Rollins vs. J&J main event is that Rollins very clearly has chemistry with both, and it sucks we’ll likely never get a competitive one-on-one match between Seth Rollins and Jamie Noble. They could definitely pull off something special together. Rollins loses of course when Dean Ambrose distracts him at ringside. Horrendous go-home segment to build heat, as nobody cares about Authority dissension, but I’ll James Gibson and Tyler Black colliding any way I can just this once. NXT – June 10, 2015: The Good Shit Jason Jordan is interviewed in the locker room, about to announce his next tag team partner, but Chad Gable interrupts to once again offer his partnership, providing another “Gable” towel. Jordan shuts him down and leaves in disgust, allowing Gable to write his name next to Jordan’s at the designated locker. Samoa Joe wins a glorified squash over Scott Dawson in his WWE debut match, while NXT Champion Kevin Owens provides great smug commentary and being a bully to Byron Saxton. Owens vs. Joe next week in non-title action is announced by GM William Regal.

NXT Takeover: Unstoppable: The Good Shit During the preshow, someone that to date has yet to be revealed attacked Hideo Itami in the parking lot, putting him on the shelf still up to this point with a shoulder injury. NXT Champion Kevin Owens casually walks by and shows zero compassion, sarcastically saying "That's a shame." In the opener, Finn Balor secures another shot at the NXT Title by defeating Tyler Breeze. Owens has a great backstage interview, showcasing all the little things that make him a standout promo, and takes credit for Sami Zayn's shoulder injury, and that tonight he's finishing his arch-nemesis for good. Alexa Bliss takes a badly needed heel turn, helping Wesley Blake & Buddy Murphy hang on to the Tag Titles over Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady by attacking Carmella and then interfering behind the ref's back. NXT Women's Title Match Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch For those who miss Nigel McGuinness, this is the match for you. What will make this instant classic hold up so well I believe is that this wasn't a bomb-throwing near-fall extravaganza. Instead, these two outstanding athletes told a magnificently compelling story through body language, submission work, psychology, and old-school storytelling. Lynch of course went after the left arm of Banks, obviously setting up the champ for the seated Fujiwara arm bar. The match would become even though when both were on the apron and Lynch went for a Yakuza kick, only for Banks to grab the leg, thrust the challenger forward, and channel Triple H at WrestleMania XXX with an arm twist takedown right on Lynch's left arm and shoulder. Simply put, this was an absolutely sensational match with all kinds of great storytelling through submissions and limb work, including a London Dungeon, multiple lungblowers on different body parts, and of course Banks putting the sports-entertainment icing on the cake by being a cocky shit, mocking her former ally. It certainly looked like Lynch would pull off the breathtaking win once she was up top with Banks down on the mat, but the champ showed off her own resiliency; she got up quickly, giving a lungblowner on Lynch's badly damaged left arm and shoulder, then finished off her greatest challenger to this point with the Banks Statement. This was Lynch's breakout match in the company, and unfortunately all these months later, it's looking like this will be her career highlight, rather than springboarding her into genuine stardom. But that takes nothing away from this match. Every piece of praise poured on this was earned, and this is a match to show to any aspiring wrestler than storytelling matters far more than a plethora of bumps in order to engage the audience. One need look no further than Lynch's post-match standing ovation for evidence of that. ****1/2 NXT Title Match Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn Whereas the prior match focused on technical wrestling, this right here was a fight between two men who hate each other. Despite his left shoulder injury, Zayn put on another amazing performance on par with the match against John Cena two weeks earlier, but in this one he was booked to dominate early. The champ could barely get an advantage, having awakened an avalanche of determination that was this time fueled by pure anger from Zayn. The match would get thrown out of course when Zayn leaped towards Owens, only to be given an apron powerbomb and never getting back up, as Owens continued to attack the former NXT Champ mercilessly. It got ugly enough that GM William Regal came out and fish-hooked the nostrils of Owens, only to be assaulted by the champ as well. After a couple more minutes, the worst kept secret in wrestling becomes reality... Samoa Joe makes his better-late-than-never WWE debut, getting in the face of Owens, who takes the obvious powder because he's not about doing anything unless it's to his advantage. What should be noted is that Joe showed no acknowledgement towards the fallen Zayn in the ring, and maybe, just maybe, that's a sign that he'd be willing to leave a colleague laying, if not worse, to get a chance at the top spot in NXT. ***1/2 It's a Takeover supercard. The day one of these doesn't justify paying DOUBLE your monthly WWE Network rate is the day the whole operation should shut down.

ROAD TO NXT TAKEOVER: UNSTOPPABLE Raw – April 27, 2015: The Good Shit The New Day cut a fun promo prior to the Big E vs. Cesaro match, 24 hours removed from becoming Tag Champions. What would’ve put this promo over the top into mega heel heat, since this took place in Green Bay: mention that the New Day come through in the clutch, unlike the Packers choking away the NFC Championship against the Seahawks 3 months earlier. King of the Ring Tournament Quarterfinal Luke Harper vs. Neville - ***1/4 NXT – April 29, 2015: The Good Shit NXT Champion Kevin Owens wants a fight with Sami Zayn, but GM William Regal comes out followed by Zayn and then announces a championship rematch at the next Takeover supercard. Owens tries to manipulate the scene hypocritically to make non-title, only for Zayn to turn that around to get into the champ’s head and get him to agree, using “title match or nothing” as well as claiming Owens was always the Triple H to Zayn’s Shawn Michaels as leverage. So refreshing to see an opening TV promo segment that has the purpose of building supercard main event heat, not just fill time and lead to what by the end of the opening segment is usually a cold main event for later in the evening. Zayn is about to sign the contact rematch later, only for Alex Riley to barge into Regal’s office and demand a rematch. Riley is so butt-hurt that he’s a dick to Zayn, who’s being a supportive peer, leading to a singles match for them tonight. A short interview feature with Becky Lynch airs, simply making it clear that her choice to become a pro wrestler was to become a champion, putting over the importance of the Women’s Title. Another crazy concept segment. Bayley loses to new women’s division sensation Dana Brooke, thanks to being distracted by documented thief Emma. Regal announces an NXT Title shot match at the next Takeover supercard between Finn Balor, Tyler Breeze, and Hideo Itami. Bayley is pissed by Emma’s antics. Zayn vs. Riley is a filler main event, albeit a meaningful one since Owens provides commentary. He once again displays a career that should be ready for him once he hangs up the boots, in reality actually reminding me of CM Punk. Very clear voice that commands attention and perfectly smug to build heat for his opponents. He of course gets up and attacks both after several minutes, leaving Zayn laying and giving Riley a powerbomb on the ring apron. Fantastic conclusion to an incredibly focused program. SmackDown! – April 30, 2015: The Good Shit Tag Titles Match Big E & Kofi Kingston vs. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd - ***1/2 Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose Fun backstage segment beforehand, showing that Ambrose is quite the smart character by letting Rollins believe he’d call the match off. The match itself actually did a great job of displaying the hatred between each other, and the commentary actually bothered to explain their history. It was just another very good main event between two guys with the same kind of chemistry as Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, in that they could probably sleepwalk a *** match with each other. Of note is that Kane’s antics ended up costing Ambrose the match. ***1/2 Raw – May 4, 2015: The Good Shit Roman Reigns and Randy Orton exchange barbs about who will leave Payback 2015 as WWE Champ in their scheduled match against Seth Rollins that night, and are interrupted by the New Day, leading to a fun handicap match. There was no shame in Reigns & Orton losing to the Tag Champs. Reigns vs. Orton is scheduled for tonight’s main event by Kane. As a result of the chaos that happened days earlier, Ambrose gets another shot at Rollins tonight, which the champ is none too happy about, trying to manipulate Kane into cancelling it. Later on, Rollins pours more gas on the fire, shitting on Kane and this “pointless” rematch in an interview while on his way to the ring. Before the bell rings for Rollins vs. Ambrose, Kane appears and says to make this rematch not pointless, Ambrose will be entered into the Payback 2015 main event should he win this. Rollins whines of course, already having the “disadvantage” of J&J Security being banned from ringside, but perhaps he should be focused on his arch-nemesis gunning for his title instead… WWE Title Shot Match For Dean Ambrose Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose …As Ambrose takes advantage and tries to finish Rollins immediately with an O’Connor roll. Rollins goes to the outside and Ambrose is on him like white on rice. This certainly has a big fight feel to it and the Montreal crowd certainly deserves credit. Back in the ring, they have great back-and-forth stuff, taking turns getting the heat. Highlights in this classic match include Rollins taking an RVD-style bump off of a tornado DDT, Ambrose regaining control later with a crowd-popping elbow suicida, and an excellently timed rebound lariat that had been teased earlier on the outside (Rollins of course had evaded that one as he had scouted thanks to his matches with Ambrose and Nigel McGuinness.) There were some great nearfalls in this one too of course, the standout for me being a superkick from Rollins to a fallen Ambrose, one that really looked like it connected. It looked like perhaps this will all a tease for Ambrose and his marks when he was given a running powerbomb onto the outside about 15 minutes into this gem. But once J&J Security showed up after the rebound lariat (my goodness, had Rollins fucked up his shoulder on that ugly bump…), their plan to assist the champ backfired, paying off how the match started as Ambrose got Rollins down for the three count via a schoolboy pin. Excellent match that holds up many months later, and will many years later. This marks the first time the former Shield will all collide, but with Orton thrown in; however, Orton being involved means this isn’t about the Shield, but Rollins having to face the three men he fucked over the most in 2014-15 and potentially losing it all in the process. **** US Champ John Cena comes out to cut the usual good sportsmanship promo, soaking in the outstanding Montreal atmosphere in the process. He also focuses on his scheduled I Quit match with Rusev, and I couldn’t possibly care about that feud after WrestleMania 31. The crowd is amazing though chanting “Ole ole ole,” letting it be known they had a pretty good idea who’d be facing Cena tonight. Bret Hart comes out to introduce the challenger, only for Heath Slater to interrupt in an amusing moment, getting knocked out by the HOFer as soon as he gets in his face. The challenger for tonight is of course a Montreal native and one of the hottest stars on NXT… US Title Match (Open Challenge) John Cena vs. Sami Zayn Obviously a bittersweet match due to Zayn’s shoulder problems finally hitting their breaking point, both during his pre-match hype routine and when taking a backdrop suplex. Many felt at the time that his injury took away from the match. I challenge everyone to revisit this match, as it was definitely the Sami Zayn show, Cena really just being a secondary performer in this match, which speaks volumes about the faith the company has in Zayn, as well as his individual performance in the face of such incredibly pressure and adversity. This isn’t anything close to Zayn’s best match, but it may very well be his very best performance due to the circumstances mentioned in the prior paragraph. While he of course had to briefly lick his wound at times, his effort was sensational, busting out all the usual spots fans of the former El Generico had become so engrossed with over the past dozen years. Over the top rope dive, through-the-ropes tornado DDT, blue thunder powerbomb nearfall, the Koji Clutch, you name it, if it’s something Zayn brought to the big leagues once he signed, it was in here. He was not to be denied a quality match on this night. While the match quality doesn’t quite measure up to other matches with very real injuries, Zayn’s performance here is on par with the likes of Triple H in the Two Man Power Trip vs. Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho classic, Bryan Danielson against Colt Cabana and KENTA, Curt Hennig at SummerSlam 1991, Nigel McGuinness against Austin Aries, AJ Styles at Final Battle 2015, and Shawn Michaels both at WrestleMania XIV and Taboo Tuesday 2004. No doubt Zayn solidified his future and reliability for when he’d inevitably return. ***1/2 The Reigns vs. Orton main event is just an excuse for the Authority B-team to attack both of them, and of course that brings out Ambrose, who’s the last one standing of the current month’s four main eventers after he drops Orton to close out the show. Hot finish here to a tremendous night of wrestling. NXT – May 6, 2015: The Good Shit Emma, wearing Bayley’s “I’m a Hugger” shirt, loses to Charlotte in the opener and is hugged post-match by Bayley. An aggressive side of Bayley is displayed that hasn’t been seen before, as she drops Emma with a belly-to-belly suplex to get her shirt back, which she then throws into the audience. Another Becky Lynch interview feature airs, discussing her journey to NXT and the various wrestlers that inspired her, including The Rock, Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, and Dynamite Kid. That’s quite the variety I must say. She wants to be the very best, and to make that happen, she knows she must dethrone Sasha Banks in two weeks. Amazing that this one-hour weekly program has time for this but the three-hour and two-hour shows don’t. In a pre-recorded interview, Michael Cole sits down with NXT Champ Kevin Owens. The champ is amazing with his smugness, wondering why Cole doesn’t acknowledge trivial shit and refusing to admit that he has a personal vendetta against Sami Zayn to justify his actions since debuting in the company. It has to be said: of all the dream scenarios Kevin Steen fans thought for him, the dream matches, the storylines, etc., NOBODY ever took into account the amazing chemistry he’d have with Michael Cole. Women’s Champ Sasha Banks does her meaningless put-down trash-talk, but she’s a fucking star and the promo is short, so it works. In a pre-recorded interview, Michael Cole sits down with Sami Zayn who explains that he’ll fight fire with fire. He’s fed up with Owens ducking an explanation for his actions in WWE, and challenges Owens to see him next week and answer the question for once. The contract signing between Banks and Lynch of course ends in a fight between the two, Banks instigating it and having to scurry away after Lynch locks her in a seated Fujiwara armbar. Effective segment to elevate the challenger and present her as a legitimate threat. In what could be nothing, but we don’t know yet, Finn Balor eats a Yakuza kick at ringside from Hideo Itami during the former GHC Champion’s main event with Tyler Breeze. Before Balor and Itami can react to each other over it, Breeze attacks them both. SmackDown! – May 7, 2015: The Good Shit Dolph Ziggler & Neville vs. Sheamus & Wade Barrett - ***1/4 Fun main event contract signing segment for WWE Champ Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Randy Orton. The dialogue further reinforces that this match about Rollins facing his comeuppance, not “here’s the Shield going at it with Orton thrown in!” Rollins is quite clever, albeit transparent, revealing the shit the challengers may or may not have been saying about each other in the past. It of course ends in a fun brawl as these segments always do. Raw – May 11, 2015: The Good Shit US Champ John Cena comes out, you guys know the routine by now. He has to hold onto the title because of what it represents, etc. US Title Match (Open Challenge) John Cena vs. Neville Pretty damn good match between two men who look like they were manufactured by an action figure company. There’s really nothing to complain about here; sure, Rusev costing Neville the match sucked, but these definitely have a classic in them should they ever have a rematch under the right circumstances. Undoubtedly, Neville was Cena’s greatest challenger to this point, possibly finishing Cena off had the match been left alone, and this is a great example to shove in someone’s face if they question that Cena can’t work; he was clearly the ring general in this one, knowing when it was time for Neville to shine and leading the way to what should’ve been a star-making performance. ***1/2 IC Champ Daniel Bryan relinquishes that title, confirming that he’s in bad health again and has no idea when or even if he’ll ever compete again. Once again, no assessment of his career until the day he decides to hang up the boots. Cincinnati’s own Dean Ambrose is the last one standing to close out the show, laying out Reigns with the double underhook DDT. Decent go-home shot. NXT – May 13, 2015: The Good Shit In a pre-recorded interview, Finn Balor gives a stock answer when asked if he’d rather challenge Kevin Owens or Sami Zayn for the NXT Title. Tyler Breeze gives his one-dimensional narcissistic answer to the same question. Hideo Itami says he wants Kevin Owen because he is a “bad person.” Been waiting almost a decade now for that one… In another pre-taped interview, Zayn says he just has to gut through his shoulder injury if he’s gonna dethrone Owens next week. This really does feel like a sports presentation. In the main event go-home segment, Zayn gets a lot of shit off his chest towards Owens, who still refuses to explain why he’s been such a fucking cunt. Instead, Owens vows to put Zayn out of action for good next week. Excellent, excellent build after a bit of a lull. SmackDown! – May 14, 2015: The Good Shit Dean Ambrose vs. Sheamus - ***1/2 Another fun pre-match promo from the New Day, calling out Cesaro & Tyson Kidd for being “cheaters” and “bad people.” No DQ, No Count Out Match Kane vs. Roman Reigns - ***1/2 The show ends with a backstage brawl that has Seth Rollins scurrying, while Ambrose and Reigns have a staredown with the WWE Title on scene. Payback 2015: The Good Shit Dolph Ziggler vs. Sheamus - ***1/4 Tag Titles – 2/3 Falls Match Big E & Kofi Kingston vs. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd Fun match again between these teams, this team with New Day taking a page out of Demolition’s playbook and having the fresh Xavier Woods pose as Kofi for the winning pinfall. ***1/4 WWE Title – No DQ, No Count Out Match Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns vs. Randy Orton Very good main event weighed down by focusing too much on Kane’s job security. The highlights include the former Shield giving the patented powerbomb to Orton through a commentary table as well as Ambrose and Reigns going at it for the first time in a non-Rumble match since the Shield initially formed. Ambrose and Reigns were also golden in letting Rollins believe for a second that the band would be back together again, knowing he was trying to butter up to onto the WWE Title. With Rollins pinning Orton, that eliminates the Viper from WWE Title contention, a good move to make going into the summer. ***3/4 Raw – May 18, 2015: The Good Shit Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt - *** John Cena’s US Title open challenge leads to NXT Champion Kevin Owens making his main roster debut. Rather than accept the opportunity to become US Champion, Owens instead says he’s happy being NXT Champ and has a GREAT verbal confrontation with Cena, showcasing himself as a natural fit for the company that should’ve been signed many years earlier. He suckers Cena with a kick to the gut and leaves the face of the company laying with a pop-up powerbomb, then actually stands over the US Title and holding his NXT Title in the air! Best main roster debut since the Shield by leaps and bounds. A fantastic advertisement for NXT Takeover: Unstoppable as well. Backstage, Triple H welcomes Kevin Owens to the main roster, and the dream match I've waited several years to see is official, as Cena collides with Owens at the end of the month at Elimination Chamber 2015. OH FUCK YES~! Ambrose is fed up with the Authority’s bullshit and demands Seth Rollins give him a singles match for the WWE Title. After a fun brawl, the Authority relents, but Rollins leaves with the upper hand. Fun segment in a vacuum and it leads to a main event match that never fails, plus this keeps Ambrose up top, but I objectively can’t imagine casual fans caring very much about the Authority being so overexposed.

Extreme Rules 2015: The Good Shit Neville vs. Wade Barrett Fun kickoff match as would be expected in a city like Chicago. Barrett used clubbing blows to get control, Neville busted out the kicks and high-flying shit, and I can only imagine if these two were presented in a substantial fashion feuding over the IC or US Titles. I must mention of course that Barrett is magnetic in his pre-match ringside promo shitting on Daniel Bryan, and WWE's refusal to push someone with his height and microphone ability is my pick for the biggest booking red flag of the past half decade. ***1/4 Loser Kisses the Winner's Ass Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler Another quality undercard match that deserved something far more substantial at stake. Whereas Barrett found himself in an ultimate mismatch against Neville due to the speed and kicks, Sheamus had the advantage here because he had the overpowering strength to maintain control on Ziggler. Of course, Ziggler played the underdog yet again, continuing to pigeonhole himself in a mid-card babyface to groom heels, rather than a top one to be in marquee programs. Ziggler's comeback attempts were all on point, and it was nice to see him catch the cocky Sheamus off-guard to get a victory. ***1/4 My only comment about the post-match is that if anyone wants a shining example of why pro wrestling is viewed as trailer trash, lowest common denominator entertainment, and wonders why it struggles to draw middle and high-income demographics (and thus the same level of advertisers), this is the segment to display for such evidence. At least the original was during a boom period and had Dwayne Johnson involved to shield the utter shittiness of this gimmick. Tag Titles Match Cesaro & Tyson Kidd vs. Big E & Kofi Kingston My pick for the match of the night here. This was an Americanized, 2010s decade version of the heavy/junior vs. heavy/junior tags NOAH loved booking a decade ago, and while not quite on par with the workrate of some of those, this had the personality to compensate for it. Xavier Woods was once again sensational being an obnoxious cunt at ringside, while the four workhorses busted their asses to put on a dandy of a tag match. Everything in this was just crisp stuff, from the juniors having a stalemate at the start, to the New Day cutting the ring in half on Kidd, to the heavies showing off their breathtaking strength. There were of course the near-falls and all kinds of hot action in this one; this overall was a step above the Usos vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan series in the prior year, because this had heels that were emotionally connecting with the audience. Pure brilliance to have Woods grab the foot, and kicking off a New Day for the tag titles. ***3/4 Last Man Standing Match Big Show vs. Roman Reigns Another hot match for the evening and the best possible conclusion to a feud that had long past run its course. This was intelligently orchestrated, allowing the gimmick environment to enhance the generally useless type of match these two have together. For once, Big Show's dominance wasn't tedious, with the rules of the match actually enhancing the drama and giving reason for resting, rather than just relying on them to put forth a lazy effort. Reigns was sensational with his comebacks and stiff shots to knock down the giant, eventually getting one of the smark capitals behind him and in the palm of his hand thanks also to taking some risky bumps, the highlight being a chokeslam from inside the ring to the outside through two tables. This was the obvious spot, along with the beating taken from Brock Lesnar a month before, for Reigns to earn respect and become a man in his detractors' eyes, although it just can't compare to Randy Orton being dropped onto thumbtacks 11 years earlier. No complaints about the finish, as it was common sense for the next chosen face of the company to go over and in a blaze of glory, which he sure did by burying Show underneath a commentary table to keep him down for the 10 count. ***1/2

ROAD TO EXTREME RULES 2015 WWE Raw – March 30, 2015: The Good Shit (AKA The First 2 Hours) The show kicks off with former WWE Champion Brock Lesnar coming to the ring dressed for battle, accompanied of course by Paul Heyman. We get the usual fantastic promo from Heyman hyping up a fight and putting over the prior night’s main event, while also noting he will no longer be singing the praises of Roman Reigns. Out comes Stephanie McMahon to grant Lesnar a one-on-one rematch with the new champion Seth Rollins, who hasn’t arrived yet. Like anyone believed we’d be seeing that dream match on cable TV. Nowhere NEAR the promo Heyman cut on Lesnar’s behalf a year earlier in New Orleans, but that was an all-time upper-echelon, timeless classic promo, so that’s no insult to this one. IC Title Match Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler Quality TV match but nowhere near the classic many in attendance were themselves it was. There was nothing wrong with this match at all. The mat work, the counters, the strikes, the head-butting were all fine stuff on their own, and this was propped up a bit by a highly enthusiastic audience frustrated with these two guys not being in far more marquee positions on the card. D-Bry wins of course and the two of them even fight off Wade Barrett, but the returning Sheamus, complete with mohawk and braided long beard, runs off the former IC Champ and then attacks the beloved babyfaces. He certainly needed to come back with a tune-up, but looks mean nothing, so we’ll see how that pans out as I continue with the rest of 2015. ***1/2 Cesaro, Tyson Kidd, & The Ascension vs. Lucha Dragons, Big E, & Kofi Kingston Totally shallow spotfest to pop many of the supposed smarks in attendance, but no offensive tag legality issues like the day before. The highlight of course was Cesaro being a base for Kalisto, showing off what indy fans got to enjoy from the former Claudio Castagnoli during the 2000s decade. The most important note is that the New Day have all the momentum of Kane & Big Show… if they were stuck in quicksand. A video package for Neville airs. Perhaps if the video actually confirmed that tonight would be his call-up, the crowd would’ve popped with higher enthusiasm. The scheduled WWE Title match between Seth Rollins and Brock Lesnar of course doesn’t happen as Rollins comes up with transparent excuses to bail out on it. What results is easily the highlight of the evening, one that I pretty much foresaw for Lesnar a few months in advance whether he signed a contract extension or not. Lesnar destroys J&J Security, forces Rollins to run away through the audience with the belt, and crushes the commentary crew when flipping their table on top of them. Michael Cole attempts to flee the scene, but that’s for naught as Lesnar grabs him to the crowd’s delight and drops the lead commentator in the ring with an F5! He then goes after a cameraman and Stephanie pleads for him to stop, but he drops him with an F5 anyway, causing the Billion Dollar Princess to indefinitely suspend him. Lesnar responds with another F5 on the cameraman. Moments later, Renee Young catches up with Stephanie, who says the contract extension gives her leverage to fine and suspend Lesnar without allowing him the opportunity to fuck off to the UFC. The Authority would be far more tolerable if the writers threw in details like this for the characters more frequently. Neville makes quick work of Curtis Axel. Totally nothing squash. Why not actually throw Neville into a competitive match with Rollins and let them steal the show so both guys come out looking great and fans like me, who drove fucking 12 hours each way for this particular weekend, get rewarded for investing time and hard-earned money into the company? John Cena comes out and cuts his usual fun promo that does nothing but state the obvious in classy fashion and lays down an open challenge to anyone in the locker room for his US Title. US Title Match (Open Challenge) John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose If I’m in charge, I certainly wouldn’t have a guy who fell off a ladder onto another one from inside the ring to the outside of it take a single bump the night after. But whatever, these two put on another quality TV match, right on par with D-Bry vs. Ziggler earlier in the evening, even earning some of the same overrated reactions from those in attendance afterwards. The standout weak moment was of course the botched sunset powerbomb, but they both just kept moving forward; they made the right call having Cena no-sell it and surprise Ambrose with an STF, since Ambrose’s botch exposed to Cena what he had planned. Everything else was fine stuff, from the transitions to Cena taking powders to stall Ambrose’s momentum to even Ambrose going for the STF himself and getting a nice near-fall out of the double underhook DDT. To the surprise of nobody, the less physically taxed Cena came the victor, like D-Bry kicking off this reign on a high note. Also of note is I believe this is the only clean non-gimmick job for Ambrose since the Shield split, giving this reign a significant beginning. ***1/2 I’m also really glad WWE made the call to give us a two hour Raw for our final night of wrestling in the Bay Area on this magical weekend. Two quality matches to kick off title reigns, a fun Heyman promo, and a white-hot segment to build up the inevitable Rollins vs. Lesnar singles showdown that I’ve been frothing at the mouth for about a year to see come to fruition. I’m glad this edition of Raw made sure not to deliver a totally useless, weekend-closing third hour that killed the goodwill developed with even the most jaded of fans thanks to a hot NXT house show, awesome WrestleMania, and two killer hours of Raw. NXT – April 1, 2015: The Good Shit The brand has returned to Columbus, as has Sami Zayn from his brief sabbatical. His promo is simple but effective – he wants the NXT Title back, and he wants to beat the shit out of Kevin Owens. No cute fluff exposition to fill up 15 minutes of airtime. Later on, Rhino declares he wants the title and interrupts Zayn in a backstage interview. Raw – April 6, 2015: The Good Shit US Title Match (Open Challenge) John Cena vs. Stardust - ***1/2 SmackDown! – April 9, 2015: The Good Shit The New Day turns up the volume on their heel turn, chastising the audience for the “New Day sucks” chants and failure to appreciate positivity. They display total narcissism, telling the fans that they MUST love and like them for what they do. Fucking fantastic. They then go overboard with show-boating for every successful thing they do as Big E & Kofi Kingston face Tag Champs Cesaro & Tyson Kidd in non-title action. The New Day still end up losing yet again, their antics backfiring. Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, & Roman Reigns vs. Big Show, Sheamus, & Wade Barrett - ***1/2 Raw- April 13, 2015: The Good Shit US Champion John Cena does the usual shtick of making rhetorical statements to put everyone and everything over, which very few can pull off, and throws out a teasing gem that I have no arguments against, that being London is deserving of hosting WrestleMania. US Title Match (Open Challenge) John Cena vs. Wade Barrett - ***1/2 Dolph Ziggler vs. Neville - *** SmackDown! – April 16, 2015: The Good Shit The New Day once again chastise the audience about not clapping along, but leave with a victory this time over Los Matadores. Bryan Danielson’s Final Match? John Cena & Daniel Bryan vs. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd I will wait to see when the day comes that Mr. Danielson decides to call it a career until I give a perspective on all the years he gave to the business. The discussion of whether or not he’s finished has been done to death. Instead, I will point out that if this indeed was the end, then London would not be the worst choice to have been the host for such an unfortunate honor, and the other three participants surely would look back on this with pride as well. The most important thing to take out of this match is perhaps Mr. Danielson, should this be the end, taught the greatest lesson for aspiring wrestlers in his career: once he got the hot tag, he finally did the right thing for himself (likely due to WWE’s strict advisement) by having a fun finish without taking a bunch of stupid bumps and risks for a low-priority TV main event. Hopefully, it wasn’t too late for him to have learned that lesson himself. Him going over also shows that perhaps the company knew this could be it, and despite the ups and downs since he signed in 2009, he actually was respected by those in charge. *** Raw – April 20, 2015 NXT – April 22, 2015: The Good Shit Becky Lynch wins an NXT Women’s Title Shot match against Charlotte and Bayley by pinning the latter while the former had the Figure Eight locked on. *** Women’s Champion Sasha Banks talks shit to her former ally and the new #1 contender. The attempted intimidation is futile. To close out the night, Sami Zayn sabotages Kevin Owens from further assaulting Alex Riley, resulting in a tremendous pull-apart brawl, complete with Zayn hitting a moonsault onto the NXT Champion, who then scurries away for the first time in his WWE career. SmackDown! – April 23, 2015: The Good Shit The New Day cut another tremendously effective promo, still butt-hurt over the audience not giving a shit about clapping, smiling, and positivity, then continue their momentum with Kofi Kingston pinning Cesaro going into their Tag Titles match. Seth Rollins & Luke Harper vs. Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns - ***3/4 (easy contender for SmackDown! Match of the Year) The less said about the main event angles, the better. As time goes on, it’s becoming more likely this month will best be known as the unfortunately abrupt end to an off-the-charts career. NXT is a bit cold, but the seeds are being planted for the leaked Takeover event planned for May 20. Who aren’t cold for sure are the New Day, who have finally found their rhythm as obnoxiously narcissistic cunts. Cena and the weekly US Title open challenge are the other highlight. An overall poor month of build coming off a hot weekend in the Bay Area.

The Road to WrestleMania XXX: The Good Shit - http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/33558-the-road-to-wrestlemania-xxx-the-good-shit/ The Road to WrestleMania 31: The Good Shit - http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/33559-the-road-to-wrestlemania-31-the-good-shit/ NXT at WrestleMania 31 Axxess – March 26, 2015 These matches aired on the April 8, 2015 broadcast Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale Qualifier Tournament Semifinal Neville vs. Hideo Itami Staredown triggers a “THIS IS AWESOME~!” chant, and it should for this is a dream match. Eight years ago, this could be manipulated into being ROH vs. PWG. Five years ago, NOAH vs. DG. Easily the best match of the tournament as this would be the only chance for these two to collide while in NXT based on plans in the very near future. While this of course didn’t reach greatness, they showed that such a match of that magnitude is capable in the future. Everything about this match was just so professional, from the mat wrestling (including a battle to gain leverage on hammerlock trades), Neville refusing to be the answer to the Go to Sleep trivia question, and Neville’s cut-offs when Itami took over in the middle and in the closing sequences. In particular, my favorite spot was a teased running corner dropkick from Itami, only to eat a perfectly timed superkick from Neville for a hot nearfall. Of course, the tease became reality since these two are so polished and experienced. This should’ve been the tournament final, and as someone who finds fan conventions totally useless, advertising a match like this ahead of time in the future would make me consider attending the session. ***1/2 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale Qualifier Tournament Semifinal Finn Balor vs. Tyler Breeze Couldn’t come close to breaking ***, let alone the semifinal that this followed. This was paced as a fine TV or house show style match, nothing memorable whatsoever, but just enough for Balor to get his shit in and pop the crowd and lead to the rematch with Itami in the final. Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale Qualifier Tournament Final Finn Balor vs. Hideo Itami Nothing close to their first dream match in NXT’s prior tournament several weeks earlier and for understandable reasons, as both men are in their third matches of the evening, plus have matches booked the next night at San Jose State University. There really are no complaints to make here, as the match was good but nothing special, which is exactly where it needed to land to leave the crowd happy. Itami pulls off the major upset though, which shouldn’t have been with so much Japanese media in town due to Tatsumi Fujinami’s HOF induction. *** Crazy food for thought: I never, ever prior to 2014 would’ve thought I’d see KENTA on the same WrestleMania card as Sting. WrestleMania 31 Tag Titles Match Cesaro & Tyson Kidd vs. The Usos vs. Los Matadores vs. Big E & Kofi Kingston The SF native Usos are of course decked in 49ers colors, and it’s an obvious shame that Jey had the busted shoulder and could only come out to soak in the moment without getting to do anything physical whatsoever. Gut-wrenching, as them winning the straps in a standard tag from the champs to open the PPV broadcast would’ve been something special. The champs and hometown boys are of course the most over, while the New Day are still like a wet fart, looking hopeless to ever catch on. Now as for this match, I hated it on broadcast viewing. Sure it was a fun spotfest live, but the broadcast version exposed this as nothing more than a TNA “go out there and do a video game” match. That’s probably not a coincidence with Rudy Charles as the assigned referee, and this was the first WWE match I think I’ve ever seen in which a referee failed to keep track of who was legal. The match wasn’t THAT crazy to justify such sloppy officiating. Others will love this more than me, but I have no use for this in ROH, PWG, or TNA, let alone WWE, especially on the industry’s grandest card of the entire year. Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale Decent battle royale that didn’t quite live up to the original’s finishing stretch. The segments to mention were of course Show eliminating Itami like a complete, utter jabroni, thus making his appearance useless, as him getting to the final four would’ve done quite a bit to build the NXT brand. Cesaro got his moment to shine by scoop-slamming Kane out of the ring, only for Show to get his win back over him from the prior year. Then of course Damien Sandow (Mizdow) got fed up with the Miz’s bullshit, eliminating him to have a fun final with Show. Show won for what would be obvious reasons at the conclusion of the event, although I sensed live during this match, and now believe even more so with the narrative forced by the commentary when Show won, that Sandow should’ve gone over here. The reason isn’t even about Sandow being the hot hand at the time, although that plays a part (Miz could destroy the trophy leading to their singles match at the next PPV, and maybe it actually would’ve caught on as a singles program for a few months.) Instead, I believe with how limited Show has been in terms of being the slightest bit of an interesting character in 2015, having him choke in this match for a second straight year could’ve made for a compelling undercard narrative going into WrestleMania 32 – would the third time be the charm for Show? Show him preparing for what he feels is his rightful prize in training videos, cutting promos/interviews explaining what it’d mean to him due to the Andre comparisons, etc. Then he is an actual force in that match at AT&T Stadium, perhaps the last highlight of a long and successful career, even though it never reached quite the level of Andre’s. IC Title – Ladder Match Wade Barrett vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Stardust vs. R-Truth vs. Daniel Bryan Fun gimmick match to open the PPV portion although it’s becoming increasingly difficult to have a memorable ladder match. There were stunts in this match, although nothing was timed and delivered to be on par with the memorable spots of prior ladder matches such as the Shawn Michaels splash, Edge leaping spear, etc. Having three of the most organically popular babyfaces (Ambrose, Ziggler, D-Bry) thrown in a match with four geeks obviously didn’t help either. If any moments were standout, they’d have to be the dumbest one and the finish. Ambrose got pushed off by Harper and fell off of a ladder in the ring, onto a ladder platform outside the ring. Now with this being the biggest show of the year, this is the time to do a stupid stunt like that, but I’d have reservations had I been in his shoes, as this spot on the card was clearly beneath him and the other two legitimate stars shoehorned into this match. Those other two provided the other standout moment as Ziggler and D-Bry exchanged headbutts on the ladder, with D-Bry of course winning thanks to experience against Nigel McGuinness, and claiming the IC Title. Quite the lazy way to pacify those upset with D-Bry’s booking since returning a few months earlier, but if anyone could make that belt mean something again, he’s the very best choice. ***1/2 Since WWE was adamant about having a ladder match on this show, here was one of the million ideas I had in fantasy booking: Seth Rollins is forced (thanks to Sting somehow getting leverage on the Authority) into putting the Money in the Bank briefcase on the line against the five guys (minus Roman Reigns) he and his buddies had violated the most since his betrayal of the Shield. That would be Ambrose, Ziggler, D-Bry, Ryback, and Randy Orton. That provides a loaded ladder match, that also manages to put two of the company favorites and the three fanbase favorites as mentioned all in a marquee match for the event, as well as providing quite the compelling story for a match since Rollins would see everything he had gained potentially blow up in his face. Now speaking of the two company favorites I was referring to… Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton Rollins is of course accompanied by J&J Security. My favorite match of the night in person, and maybe still even with something else later on objectively edging this out quite a bit. What I love so much about this match is that it not only overcame the shitty booking since Orton’s return several weeks earlier, but this felt the most like a sporting competition compared to everything else on the card. Sure, J&J Security got involved a little bit and were quickly dispatched by Orton, but that was as minimal as possible. This looked like a match in which both men went to the film room and put in their proper time studying one another. There were great counters and blocks all over this match, plus excellent teases. Whether it was Rollins dodging an early Ace Crusher attempt, or blocking a powerslam only to eat one seconds later, this was a purist’s dream for me. In person, this was an excellent match, but on broadcast with polished production, this held up many months later, and the finish of Rollins going for the SR curb stomp, only for his momentum to backfire and see himself lifted to helplessly fall into a perfectly timed Ace Crusher, is gonna be played in highlight reels and talked about for years to come, no matter how uncomfortable WWE is about the stomp. This lived up to my expectations after the classic they had months earlier in Buffalo. **** Dream Match and Sting’s WWE Debut Match Sting vs. Triple H It sure seemed strange to have two of the most promoted matches taking place so early on the card, but I’ll explain why it was actually quite brilliant in my overall assessment of this event at the end of this review. Charles Robinson is the assigned referee, and I shudder to think had it been someone else not familiar with Sting. This may not have been as much fun live if it wasn’t for him. Unlike HHH’s prior WrestleMania match, I’m not going to provide the detailed move by move analysis. This match wasn’t about putting on a technical masterpiece to pay off an angle several months in the making. Instead, this was about providing a dream match for lapsed fans that yearn for the business to feel like the days of the Monday Night War. Now with that said, the first thing I’m going to address is the storyline going into this match. This was a blood feud based on vigilantism vs. corruption and oppression, so this match based on that storyline shouldn’t have relied on the retro faction warfare smoke and mirrors it got. This match certainly needed to have its smoke and mirrors, as NEITHER man looked to be in the best shape from an appearance or conditioning standpoint, but structured more like a brawl. While color was also obviously being saved for later on the card, I believe it was absolutely essential to have here both for the storyline and hide the shortcomings of both performers, and that it wouldn’t take away from the color in another match later. The decision to have the original New World Order and D-Generation X, while providing for a fun, unforgettable segment, was extremely out of place for the storyline developed between Sting and HHH. Don’t get me wrong – it was something to see the two hottest factions of the Monday Night War finally collide, and I never thought the day would come in which SHAWN MICHAELS GIVES STING THE SUPERKICK. That was definitely a surreal moment. I’m going to analyze that decision and its effect on this match even more. I had been critical that Sting’s perspective shouldn’t have been so limited going into this show, and that it should’ve been hammered down the audience’s throat that the Authority reminded him of the nWo being such a destructive cancer and leading cause in WCW’s death (his mission would be to save WWE from a similar fate.) While that dynamic was mentioned in one great video, it was so brief while the Authority hogged so much mic and screen time that even a detailed viewer like me practically blinked and missed it at the time. So DX comes to help out HHH, and then the nWo comes out minutes later. Some may question that based on Sting’s history with the nWo. Why would they come out to help? The reasons are layered – it’s an opportunity for Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash to appear on the biggest show of the year, so of course they’ll take it. Also, let’s remember (as much as none of you want to) that when the nWo splintered into separate factions, Sting joined the Wolfpac version. Also while in TNA, Sting has shown he no longer held a grudge against any of those three, teaming with and aiding them on multiple occasions. WWE would never mention these details of course, but they exist. In addition, the original nWo are all backstage at Levi’s Stadium, see someone they went to war with and against getting manhandled by D-Generation X. Why wouldn’t they wanna come help out someone they respect, while also feeling a sense of competitive pride dating back to the Monday Night War to prove who the alpha faction of that time truly is? With that part of the analysis out of the way, I move on to this. The way this match was structured, including DX and nWo involvement/brawling, baseball bats, sledgehammers, and HBK attacking Sting to benefit HHH, this didn’t belong in 2015 at all, not even thinking about the vigilante vs. authority angle. This entire segment should’ve taken place at WrestleMania X8 or WrestleMania XIX, with it leading to the Sting vs. Shawn Michaels dream match at the following year’s WrestleMania. The timing would have been far more appropriate with the War wounds far fresher, it’d lead to a hot match nobody could’ve even thought would become reality, and it’s a shame that couldn’t happen as WWE’s insistence on pussy-footing around with established WCW talent rubbed Sting the wrong way after WCW’s death. With all of this said – this was a hell of a spectacle, even with Sting and HHH appearing to both get gassed or out of sync at points. And I’ve no problem with the handshake afterwards – HHH was the one that offered it, both men having earned each other’s respect and moving on despite what lead to their dream showdown. I’d have had Sting win of course for the obvious reasons, but this definitely contributed to me getting my money’s worth live. For the next half hour or so, the show is all filler. A mini concert. A meaningless divas match pitting the Bella Twins against Paige & AJ Lee (I’m sure Divas champ Nikki tapping clean to Lee’s Octopus hold will lead to something, I just know it will), and then the HOF recognition segment. While many hate filler and I’d usually argue against this as I strongly prefer cards to be structured in order of match importance, it worked for me here for two reasons, one which I’ll list here. This half hour or so of pure filler gave me time to walk around Levi’s Stadium while still in daylight and take in the surrounding Santa Clara beauty. HIGHLY suggested for everyone to do the same when at this venue. US Title Match Rusev vs. John Cena By far the hottest, most sensible angle coming into this show, it’s just a shame that this didn’t quite live up to its buildup or even their first match several weeks earlier. This was of course a good match, but it’s not a compliment when stating the best moment was Rusev’s tank entrance (the night’s best gimmick entrance by far), no matter how spectacular that particular piece of production was. Before I explain why this didn’t quite live up to the hype, especially for this being Rusev’s year-in-the-making first loss, the match had its bright spots. Everything was clean and crisp, nothing sloppy like Sting vs. HHH, and I appreciated Cena’s overall no-nonsense demeanor throughout the match. That sold his perception of Rusev as a threat and also his patriotic anger. Rusev also got his fair moments of dominance and had to really work to lock in the Camel Clutch, but of course it finally wouldn’t work out for him. As for why I found this disappointing, which my star rating won’t reflect, is mostly because this didn’t have a super-hot finishing competitive stretch of epic proportions as it deserved. For Rusev’s historic loss, a year in the making, on the year’s grandest stage, more effort should’ve been placed in showing just how difficult that task would’ve been for Cena, similar to how opponents of the Seahawks have felt for the past four years. A distraction sports-entertainment finish thanks to Lana, while obviously leading to a breakup between her and Rusev that those behind the scenes would want, didn’t add to the primary story. Rusev wouldn’t have been hurt by losing without the sports-entertainment booking; but his stock certainly hurt by being down for the count after just one Death Valley Driver, rather than a series of nail-biting nearfalls that would’ve had us all in attendance jumping up and down with emotion. Like the IC Title with D-Bry earlier in the evening, if the plan is for the US Title to have its prestige raised after a solid Rusev reign, Cena certainly is the best pick possible. ***1/4 In the next segment, the Authority gloat over the supposed attendance record and that they drew the box office, rubbing in HHH’s victory over Sting. To be clear, that wasn’t disrespect from HHH towards Sting, but towards the audience for relying on Sting to get the job done and thinking he could take the Authority down and serve them the same humble pie as the Shield and D-Bry did in 2014. Speaking of pie, out came the Rock, predictably so after the Authority threw in a “millions” remark, What followed is one of the greatest segments I’ve ever experienced live and has been discussed to death in what looked to be leading to a huge crossover match the next year at AT&T Stadium. Rock got the cheap pop talking about his very early days in the Bay Area and got slapped by Stephanie McMahon, then convinced Ronda Rousey to come into the ring and help him knock the Authority down a peg. Not quite on par for me personally with the Championship Ascension Ceremony in Seattle, but definitely an all-time WrestleMania moment that blew Rock, Hogan, and Steve Austin’s segment a year earlier out of the water. Bray Wyatt vs. Undertaker Live, this match looked like a sloppy mess to me. That’s explainable as Wyatt reportedly rolled his ankle earlier in the day during warmups or walk-throughs, and he’s not elite enough to overcome that. On broadcast, this match was still nothing special and arguably felt like a waste of time, but Taker still looked a bit lethargic and broken down, albeit still significantly healthier than a year earlier when he was concussed. Of course, Taker gets the win to show he’s still got it, and leaving Wyatt, one of the most pushed acts on the roster without any clear storyline direction. Whatever, the crowd popped for it. WWE Title Match Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns Now of course, was this the right main event? I still say no, even with how shockingly great this turned out to be, as the “right main event” I’m referring to has the potential on paper to be a true all-time classic for the industry should it ever actually occur. Now with that said, I went into Levi’s Stadium, despite how disappointing the Reigns push was, hoping these two would give me my money’s worth and prove everybody wrong that was concerned about the predicted lack of chemistry these two would have. And I’m happy to say that I was totally wrong in that regard. Start to finish, this entire presentation was top-notch art. In a match perfectly structured for each other’s strengths, they went out and smashed it for the top prize in the industry. From Lesnar getting the early domination segment (in a manner far more captivating than Kane or Big Show struggled to reach against Reigns in the months leading up to this), to Reigns smiling to show he could absorb the pain that the Beast Incarnate unleashed upon him, to Lesnar juicing after being slammed head-first into a ring post to transition to Reigns shining, I could not have asked for a better match from these two. It wasn’t just the structure of this match, or even the off-the-charts, unforgettable finish that made this a special match between two bad-ass heavyweights. The crowd provided an AMAZING big fight atmosphere that translated exceptionally well to the broadcast, and I can say that live it was a pleasure to be a part of. Lesnar was the hottest babyface on the roster, and Reigns through no fault of his own was the biggest heel to a significant portion of those in the Bay Area that weekend. Now as for the finish, nobody could’ve really seen it coming after the booking of the prior several weeks and Lesnar signing a contract extension just days earlier. But to see Seth Rollins, the former Tyler Black, sprint to the ring once Reigns had knocked down Lesnar (but still struggling himself to take advantage thanks to the former UFC World Heavyweight Champion’s brutality), and successfully cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase, was a rewarding live experience I’ll remember forever, reminding me of why I remain a fan of such an often-disappointing niche industry after 18 years. He had worked his ass off to achieve the Shawn Michaels spot I foresaw for him a year earlier, and it was the right call to make to give the company a chance to (hopefully) re-evaluate the path for Reigns to reach his inevitable coronation. Plus, Reigns seeing a bit of humility doesn’t hurt him, and Lesnar is still protected since he didn’t do the job. This also adds a layer to the choice Rollins made to sell out and destroy the Shield, in what I hope one day will pay off in that particular threeway dream match so many of us yearn for. ****1/2 Coming out of this show, many who attended it, including Dave Meltzer himself, said this may have been the greatest WrestleMania of all-time. That was a bit hyperbolic, but as someone who has attended every WrestleMania since the 25th edition at the now-named NRG Stadium, this is right behind WrestleMania XXVI in Phoenix as the best one I’ve attended as an overall event and experience. I had mentioned earlier that this show used an unusual but very satisfying format. With many months to have slept on it, it was actually BRILLIANT to split the card into pretty much two halves, with the first half closing with the Sting vs. HHH co-main event prior to going on what was in reality a halftime/intermission show before getting to Rusev vs. Cena to kick off the second half. This allowed those in attendance to get snacks and use the restroom without missing anything important, and for me personally I used the time to admire the geographic and new money beauty surrounding Levi’s Stadium. This was a WrestleMania with two great matches, one of them a MOTYC, plus THREE absolutely unforgettable WrestleMania moments, including a historic first-ever MITB cash-in on the grandest stage (poetically a decade after the concept’s birth), Sting’s first ever WWE match, and what appeared to hopefully be signs of the company re-evaluating some of its storytelling mentalities, both with the one that seems destined to be its next face, as well as two midcard titles that were now placed on true champions. This review isn't quite done yet though. I must throw in my two cents regarding two special documentaries highlighting the WrestleMania 31 journeys of Hideo Itami and Roman Reigns, the former airing on NXT's April 8, 2015 broadcast, the other being a WWE 24 episode. As has been said over and over again, I don't care how much time and money these types of pieces cost, they should be happening more frequently. How anyone could watch these documentaries and not feel some kind of connection to Itami and Reigns, who obviously came from VERY different backgrounds and would both leave Levi's Stadium empty-handed in storyline, would be truly baffling. Not only do these documentaries do a great job of highlighting its particular superstars, but the engulfing experience that is WrestleMania weekend and why everyone should enjoy it first-hand at least once.

Final stop! Quick star ratings Main Event - February 24, 2015 Cesaro & Tyson Kidd vs. Lucha Dragons - ***3/4 NXT - March 4, 2015 NXT Women's Title Match Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte - ***1/4 Raw - March 16, 2015 Wade Barrett, Luke Harper, & Stardust vs. Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, & Daniel Bryan - ***1/2 SmackDown! - March 19, 2015 Dolph Ziggler vs. Daniel Bryan - *** Raw - March 23, 2015 Dolph Ziggler vs. Daniel Bryan - ***1/4 NXT - March 25, 2015 NXT Title Match Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor - ***1/2 For NXT, Sami Zayn has been recovering from his loss (in real life a shoulder injury), while Alex Riley got a nice temporary push against the bully NXT Champion Kevin Owens. It was nice to close out the TV portion of the brand with a quality dream match for the title, but the crowd atmosphere was lacking of the occasional specials to take it over the top into greatness. On the main stage, the MVP has clearly been Paul Heyman. Nobody could've done a more fantastic job of giving Roman Reigns credibility, while managing to explain that Brock Lesnar is still superior. This has probably been the best month of his entire career on the microphone. Lesnar's contribution was easily highlighted by his video package in which he said "I'm going to fuck [Reigns] up." But the less said about how Reigns has been booked in the ring, as well as the tug-of-war to close out the road to WrestleMania 31, the better. And despite Heyman's work, Reigns still isn't over enough or moving enough ratings/merch to be the one to slay the Beast and take Cena's spot, no matter what his fans say. Sting vs. Triple H was a fine program, but there was a missed opportunity in all the mentions of WCW. Sting's comparison of the Authority to the nWo and Eric Bischoff should've been really hammered down the audience's throat since WCW kept being brought up so much. The creative team had no nailbiting followup for the red-hot Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton match a few months earlier. But that's fine - it's my most anticipated match based on quality expectations. I'll be curious to see how Undertaker looks and if all the protection of Bray Wyatt pays off after feeding him Ambrose, Ziggler, and D-Bry. Speaking of the audience's three favorites, their ladder match for the IC Title should be great and hopefully it rekindles the prestige, but what a waste to throw them altogether in an afterthought involving such substantial acts as Stardust and R-Truth. Storyline-wise, the hottest angle has clearly been Rusev vs. John Cena. I absolutely loved Cena having to be cutthroat when locking the STF on Rusev, not breaking it until Lana agreed to his terms: a rematch for the US Title at the Showcase of the Immortals. Then they followup with an awesome brawl on the go-home Raw, with Rusev cleanly getting the advantage after just one forearm and putting Cena through a commentary table. Now if only this obvious match had been teased when they were on opposing teams a few months earlier. This road just couldn't measure up to the road to WrestleMania XXX, and in revisiting this, the decisions made by Vince McMahon have only been more frustrating in light of the potential he had on his roster. But the roster is stacked enough even with CM Punk gone, and credit must be given in elevating Rusev and Rollins. NXT has been an exceptional product thanks to its roster only getting deeper with indy and puro talent as well as consistent booking, and gives hope for the company's aesthetic future when Vince is no longer in charge. Here are the two best video packages on the final road going into WrestleMania 31: The Road to WrestleMania 31: Top Ten Matches in Chronological Order Triple H vs. Daniel Bryan - WrestleMania XXX ****3/4 The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family - Main Event 4/8/2014 **** Charlotte vs. Natalya Neidhart - NXT Takeover **** Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins - Raw 8/18/2014 **** Neville vs. Sami Zayn vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Tyson Kidd - NXT Takeover: Fatal 4Way ****1/2 Sheamus vs. Cesaro - Night of Champions 2014 **** Neville vs. Sami Zayn - NXT Takeover: R Evolution ****1/2 Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins - Royal Rumble 2015 ****1/2 Finn Balor vs. Neville - NXT Takeover: Rival **** Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan - Fast Lane 2015 **** Those who bothered to read this, thank you. I wish there were more detail-oriented fans like you. This now concludes this project, as The Road to WrestleMania 32: The Good Shit will begin with me reviewing the entire WrestleMania 31 event.

Fast Lane 2015: The Good Shit Randy Orton finally returns after the opener to target Seth Rollins. Tag Titles Match The Usos vs. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd Odd to see the Bay Area native Usos in Seahawks colors. Nice match that had its story become the challengers working on Jimmy's left knee, including strikes, pounding it on the apron, and submission holds. Jey did everything he could to keep the titles including all kinds of dives, including a sequence that involved a scary one deep into the match. After superkicking Cesaro, Jimmy found himself dropped with a neckbreaker out of nowhere by Kidd to signify new champs. Really looking forward to seeing these four in a PPV rematch. *** Sting and Triple H confrontation HHH does everything he can to attempt to get into Sting's head, and even suckers the future HOFer to temporarily get the heat, but Sting won't go down. HHH grabs a sledgehammer, only to get put in his place when Sting puts a baseball bat against his throat. Without saying a word, Sting makes his intentions clear, glaring back and forth at the Game and the WrestleMania 31 sign, and the Game accepts the dream match challenge that had been building since Survivor Series 2014. HHH of course tried to sucker him again but got left on the mat after an inverted DDT. Undertaker's music is played with druids carrying a coffin to ringside. It's opened to reveal Bray Wyatt, bringing the obvious to reality, in that his promos from the last month were a challenge to Taker to face him at WrestleMania 31. US Title Match Rusev vs. John Cena Glorified finishers match, but that's the power of protecting a monster heel and the other guy for a decade. They did everything to escape each other's finishers, then reached the ropes and kicked out for quality nearfalls. Cena broke the Camel Clutch, then moved Rusev's arm the second time, but Rusev kept locking it on. Frustrated by his greatest challenge to date, Rusev low-blowed Cena when Lana jumped on the apron, causing the face of the company to pass out in the Camel Clutch. Tremendous layout to lead to the obvious rematch at WrestleMania 31. This show is on a roll with its focused direction. ***1/2 WWE Title Shot Match Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan Excellent main event that showed Reigns is quite capable of being carried to the best match of his career to date by best wrestler on the roster. Time will tell if Rollins will be able to pull this off too. Reigns really shined here with his physicality, and for those who wanna speculate that D-Bry isn't physically ready to work a dream match against Brock Lesnar, eat this fact: Reigns gave D-Bry the same overhead belly-to-belly suplex on the floor that Lesnar gave CM Punk at SummerSlam 2013. This is nowhere near the work of art of that Lesnar vs. Punk classic I mentioned, but this definitely delivered. D-Bry kept pulling out his submission arsenal, digging more into it every time Reigns would power out with his superior size and strength. He then gave a preview of what will come when the day arrives that he faces Lesnar, busting out THREE tope suicidas, only to get caught and powerslammed by Reigns on the third one. They exchanged nearfalls on a spear and Busaiku knee, as well as Reigns reaching the ropes while in the Lebell Lock. Another one later had Reigns trying to pummel on D-Bry, but found himself in a Triangle Hold that was broken via a powerbomb. A spear attempt was countered with a fantastic small package nearfall, a move that D-Bry had used to put down Kane in the past as well as many of his greatest opponents on the indies. With both exhausted, they emptied their gas tanks, ending with Reigns getting a spear on D-Bry during a Busaiku knee attempt for a great finish. Post-match, D-Bry congratulates him and says he better slay the Beast. This was obviously the wrong choice, but they got the most out of it. Reigns showed he was capable of having a great match, and D-Bry proved nobody on the WWE roster is more reliable in getting a pet project over. ****

SmackDown! - February 12, 2015 Fun gauntlet tag with Roman Reigns & Daniel Bryan facing the entire world to make up for the night's thin roster and give them screen time. A shame the Kane & Big Show dissension led nowhere of course. Raw - February 16, 2015: The Good Shit John Cena kicks off the show with a promo vowing to end Rusev's undefeated streak, and ends up standing tall when they have another great brawl. Luke Harper vs. Dean Ambrose - *** Kane vs. Roman Reigns A meaningless match that's must-see strictly for Daniel Bryan's commentary, highlighted by him pointing out Brock Lesnar six months into his reign had only one more title defense than him. Yet another layer as to why Lesnar vs. D-Bry is best for business. D-Bry then does the Yes chant to steal the thunder of Reigns. Triple H is joined by Ric Flair in the ring. The Nature Boy warns the Game about Sting, but HHH becomes irrational enough that he shoves his friend down and leaves, clearly flustered by the future HOFer's vigilantism. Big Show vs. Daniel Bryan Another meaningless match that only matters because of Reigns being ringside for commentary. He goes around signing autographs and posing for fan photos, then this go-home show ends with a tremendous brawl between him and D-Bry. I'm looking forward to this match. NXT - February 18, 2015 Kevin Owens vs. Adrian Neville - ***3/4 SmackDown! - February 19, 2015: The Good Shit Luke Harper vs. Roman Reigns - *** Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins - ***

Raw - January 26, 2015: The Good Shit Due to shitty weather in the Northeast, tonight's show is postponed and the only new shit is a series of live studio interviews. Seth Rollins is great detailing how much his stock was raised the night before, but of course talks the talks then doesn't walk the walk when Brock Lesnar shows up with Paul Heyman. Heyman does a great job in putting over Lesnar as usual, then goes through the nit-picking detail of why Lesnar is head and shoulders above everyone else. Why exactly couldn't Cesaro get even a fraction of the consistent promotion when he was a Heyman guy? Daniel Bryan talks about his failure, then in kayfabe goes into great detail why the correct match to headline WrestleMania 31 would've been Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Title. The guy who never lost the title. The dominating champion. The ultimate Goliath. The ultimate David. The only detail he forgot to include is that the match would've been a year in the making, the two shining stars of WrestleMania XXX finally colliding. Not to mention the athleticism of both participants as well, including strikes and submission wrestling. Such a match certainly wouldn't be a bad idea for America's largest indoor venue. NXT - January 28, 2015: The Good Shit NXT Title Shot Tournament Quarterfinal Tyson Kidd vs. Adrian Neville - ***3/4 Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens have a contract signing moderated by GM William Regal. After very transparent manipulation, Owens forces their hand and makes the match at Takeover: Rival for the NXT Title. Raw - February 2, 2015: The Good Shit The opening segment is the usual 15-20 minutes of talking, but as long as it leads to quality main events like Seth Rollins vs. Daniel Bryan, it's tolerable. I did enjoy the Authority trolling Denver about the Patriots being Super Bowl champs, although it'd have meant more if they said, "Hey, don't get mad just because New England knew how to beat the Seahawks on the grandest stage." They should've trolled D-Bry about it too. Dolph Ziggler vs. Bray Wyatt - ***1/2 Triple H wants Sting for a confrontation at Fast Lane 2015. WWE Title Shot Match Qualifier Seth Rollins vs. Daniel Bryan - ***3/4 NXT - February 4, 2015 NXT Title Shot Tournament Semifinal - Dream Match Finn Balor vs. Hideo Itami - ***3/4 Raw - February 9, 2015: The Good Shit Rusev & Lana air a John Cena tribute video that becomes a burial video, saying that he's past his prime. Out comes Cena to cut a great promo, and calls Rusev a bitch to bait him into a great brawl. Rusev leaves Cena laying after a thumb to the eye and tossing him into the video wall. Dolph Ziggler vs. Bray Wyatt - *** Sting accepts Triple H's confrontation offer in a segment obviously influenced by superhero scenes involving criminals. Paul Heyman comes out with Brock Lesnar and goes over both potential matches: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan. Heyman of course in kayfabe points out in detail why the latter is an objectively far more intriguing matchup. Main Event - February 10, 2015 Cesaro vs.. Sin Cara #2 - ***1/4 NXT Takeover: Rival: The Good Shit NXT Title Shot Tournament Final Finn Balor vs. Adrian Neville Excellent match as expected. Neville gets the early advantage with multiple headlocks but Balor manages to get the heat for awhile with his offense, then is cut off later going for a dive. Of course as the third act arrives the nearfalls become outstanding, as well as the fighting spirit moment of the match. Neville briefly absorbs Balor's Pele kick and gives a superkick before both collapse as the crowd is in a collective orgasm. At the finish, Balor got his knees up during the Sky Twister and went for the small package for a nearfall, but it was enough damage to put Neville down moments later. Rematches of this please. **** Women's Title Match Charlotte vs. Bayley vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks Nice spotfest here with Lynch & Banks working together at first, throwing Charlotte into a hard LED screen hanging off of an apron (what a stupid engineering idea actually.) They'd of course go at it, resulting in Lynch grabbing Banks from behind and giving a pumphandle slam to her friend. They'd all dive on the outside and then Charlotte got back in, only for Banks to get in and go to war with her again. Banks kept Bayley and Lynch on the outside and got a tremendously angled crossface on Charlotte. The champion couldn't reach the ropes but refused to tap out, so after having enough neck damage inflicted, Banks rolled her over for a crucifix pin to get that elusive championship victory. ***1/4 NXT Title Match Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens Quality storytelling here obviously influenced by John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam 2014. After getting corner punches, Owens drops Zayn face-first on the turbuckle and dominates his archnemesis. It is a destruction with Owens busting out all kinds of shit and displaying an attitude that contradicts his claim that this is merely about business and being champion. All of Zayn's hope spots the first half of the match are for naught as Owens constantly cuts him off. Zayn does manage to make a comeback in the second half of the match, selling his beating and thus having to dig down deep to maintain the heat, including a brawl on the outside. But a blow to the face as well as his head hitting the steel entrance ramp caused him to get woozy. This made him lose his balance and footing on a Yakuza kick attempt, so he went for it again but Owens knew it was coming. After numerous powerbombs and medical staff trying to help Zayn, the ref calls the match off, Zayn's reign coming to a screeching halt to his archnemesis due to TKO ref stoppage. Owens is great posing over Zayn's carcass. I want a rematch at WrestleMania 32 dammit. ***1/2

Royal Rumble 2015: The Good (And Almost Complete, Utter) Shit WWE Title - No DQ Match Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena Another of my most highly anticipated matches for this project. The storyline certainly held up several weeks later, now how about this match? If you're looking for a match that's about working on body parts, look elsewhere. If you're a fan of character work and peaks and valleys, then this is the match for you. Lesnar hits a couple German Suplexes on Cena to start, while Rollins is taking a powder. Rollins quickly makes his presence known, but gets eaten up by Lesnar too, including a botched German Suplex in which Rollins appeared to aim to land on his feet, but landed on his shoulder. J&J Security would also eat a botched double German Suplex early, although it's hard to blame anyone for that. Lesnar would eat numerous finishers, including THREE Death Valley Drivers PLUS an SR curb stomp moments later, but that pin would get broken up. With all the false finishes in this one, an important detail I noticed was that finishers were protected, with the exception of Lesnar kicking out at one after a Death Valley Driver, a sign of things to come later in the match. Cena would tackle Lesnar through a barricade, but that wasn't enough to take down the Beast, and neither would being rammed into steel steps. Cena had to smack Lesnar's head with the steps, then Rollins hit a spectacular flying elbow drop on Lesnar, crashing the commentary table he had been laying down on to lick his wounds. Rollins and Cena would have their usual style of match while Lesnar was laid out, but the highly enthusiastic, energetic Philly crowd gave this an extra oomph, making their work more nailbiting than usual. What also made the Cena vs. Rollins segments stand out is that Cena had an answer for everything Rollins threw at him unlike their prior encounters. J&J Security got taken out with the usual double Death Valley Driver (of course Noble not taking the full brunt of the bump to protect his documented back injury that initially put him into retirement in late 2009). Cena also did the usual evasion of an SR curb stomp to use the momentum of Rollins for an STF submission. But he also grabbed the foot of Rollins during the "You Can't See Me Taunt," and then moments later didn't allow Rollins to hit a spinning heel kick after springing up, putting down the future WWE Champion with a backdrop driver. Cena would get knocked down, and for the first time in front of the WWE audience, Rollins went deep into his playbook, whipping out the Phoenix splash. But as soon as he landed that off-the-charts high-risk move, Lesnar was back in the ring, immediately planting him with a German Suplex. Cena would eat one too to take him out of the match. Rollins landed on his feet during another German Suplex attempt, then smack Lesnar with the MITB briefcase, but when he went for an SR curb stomp, Lesnar used the momentum to place him into a fireman's carry position, then dropped him with an F5 for the finish! This was not only a nailbiter, but played off of the previous Cena vs. Rollins encounters, had Rollins digging deep into his playbook, bringing out a move from his days on the independent scene, and a Terminator-style performance from Lesnar. This match will stand the test of time, and I hope at some point we do get Lesnar vs. Rollins one-on-one to deliver the work of art that I know they have in them. ****1/2 The 2015 Royal Rumble Match Fantastic nail-biting match, with all kinds of peaks and valleys, numerous arcs being sparked or built up, elevation of fresh talents that had long seen their anticipated rises get delayed, and a highly creative, off-the-charts finish to boot. Just kidding. Here's my assessment the day after this show took place. There is no fancy formatting, just a bit of polishing for spelling and grammar errors, as well as the addition of one other tiny detail that makes what was one of the most highly anticipated matches of the year an even more abysmal waste of time. There were so many things wrong with this Rumble match, that it's gonna be difficult to really break it down properly. NOBODY benefited from this match other than Dwayne Johnson's bank account and even that's a stretch. I'll do my best. The match kicked off with a bad impression, putting a faceless midcarder in Miz against a complete, utter jobber in R-Truth. Then Bubba only gets a few minutes and has R-Truth play Diet D-Von. Then we get WWE cock-teasing that they'll fix the mistake of breaking up the Wyatt Family for no reason, then "nope, fooled ya" to the crowd's utter apathy. But we're just getting started. So Bray Wyatt, who is reportedly being groomed for Taker, eliminates D-Bry clean in the middle of the match? Okay, I can see the mentality. Elevate Wyatt and get D-Bry out early so hopefully the crowd doesn't hijack the Reigns win. But D-Bry came out of this match without any kind of substantial creative direction to pacify the clearly obvious anger that would come with his elimination. Or this could've been easily pacified with D-Bry just getting his rightfully entitled rematch at the title since he never lost it, doing the clean job in a classic match to Lesnar on the undercard. This would unfortunately only be a sign of things to come. Mizdow, a popular undercard comedy act? Gets his shit in for two minutes, gone. Ambrose? Does a cool "brothers forever" bit with Reigns, then gets dumped by a very stale, ice cold Kane & Big Show. Ditto for Ziggler, although he at least got significant offense on both giants and some others. But both Ambrose and Ziggler, like D-Bry, came out of this match without any kind of substantial creative direction to pacify the clearly obvious anger that would come with their eliminations. Speaking of Ziggler, how about all that TV time spent on him, Ryback, and Rowan, only to get nothing substantial to pay it off in this match? No Wyatt Family reunion, no former Wyatt Family feud, no Rowan going after Ziggler & Ryback out of anger and jealousy for qualifying into the Rumble, and no clear direction for any of them coming out of the match. Remember Wyatt getting the heat on D-Bry to groom him for Taker? Yeah, let's just dump Taker's planned opponent out like a sack of garbage, that'll build interest for that match. Now we get to Reigns winning after having all the other babyface favorites sacrificed. I see the idea - give the old giants the heat, then Reigns is the knight in shining armor. But as I detailed, there was no clear direction coming out of the match for any of the other babyfaces to pacify their eliminations, so Reigns was put in a position to be completely defecated on by the audience. But this wasn't the only problem with how Reigns won. It is completely against Rusev's bad-ass character to lay around on the mat. He is not a chicken shit heel. He is a monster heel. So for him to show up last minute was an assassination of his gimmick. But then on top of that, rather than give us a hot finish between him and Reigns, after they'd already proven last summer in a battle royale that they were more than capable of doing just that, Reigns eliminated Rusev, supposedly being groomed for Cena, in a matter of mere seconds. Again, I get the mentality to make Reigns look strong, but he's not gonna be the only shining star at WM31. So not only did D-Bry, Wyatt, Ziggler, and Ambrose all come out of this colder than prior to the match, without a clear direction for them during the match, but so did Rusev. What exactly did this match do to make Rusev look credible enough to now be programmed against Cena? Who above the age of 10 could wanna see that match now after Rusev got booked like a chickenshit jobber last night? So Reigns wins, all the other new blood has been neutered, and the crowd is pissed. But hey everyone, it's the Rock! Look at him hold up Roman's hand, completely forgetting that RR tried to cripple him two years ago as part of the Shield while getting paid by Heyman! And speaking of Heyman, now Reigns will be opposing him and his Beast! Not only a complete waste of time for Dwayne Johnson in a segment that backfired in every way imaginable, perhaps the biggest waste of money in WWE since Linda McMahon's political campaign or the XFL. Extra assessment: In light of Dave Meltzer's reporting weeks later, I surely hope that Pat Patterson, Michael Hayes, "Road Dogg" Brian James, and James "Jamie Noble" Gibson got ripped a new one for their God AWFUL layout of this sorry excuse of a Rumble match.

Raw - December 15, 2014: The Good Shit The advertised Paul Heyman vs. Chris Jericho match doesn't take place. Instead, we get the first-ever encounter between Jericho and Brock Lesnar. Lesnar treates Jericho as a complete, utter jobber, selling nothing and dropping him with an F5. Had WWE and Jericho been more meticulous with his choice and structuring of programs since both men returned in 2014, this could've likely been a nice one-time program for the title at Royal Rumble 2015 rather than scheduling yet another Lesnar match against John Cena. Cage Match Seth Rollins vs. John Cena - *** Fun match that takes some sacrifice at the end, as Lesnar lays out Cena per Heyman's request to give Rollins the cheap win despite what happened at Night of Champions 2014. SmackDown! - December 16, 2014 Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins - ***1/4 NXT - December 18, 2014 Kevin Owens vs. Adrian Neville - ***1/4 Raw - December 22, 2014: The Good Shit Seth Rollins vs. John Cena - ***1/4 IC Title Match Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper - ***1/2 Hardcore Match Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt - ***1/2 NXT - December 25, 2014 Women's Title Match Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks - ***1/4 Raw - December 29, 2014: The Good Shit Paul Heyman cuts another awesome promo to put over Brock Lesnar. Daniel Bryan teases retirement in one of the most genuinely engaging promos of the year, then announces he'll in fact return to action next month with the ultimate goal of reclaiming the WWE Title at WrestleMania 31. In a segment that went too long to break down, the final moment of the year is The Authority's return. Whatever, them being gone didn't make the product any better aesthetically. NXT - January 1, 2015: The Good Shit NXT Champion Sami Zayn lets us know via cell phone video he'll return next week to comment on what happened at Takeover: R Evolution. The Ascension vs. Finn Balor & Hideo Itami - *** Raw - January 5, 2015: The Good Shit For spearheading the successful attempt to reinstate The Authority, Seth Rollins is inserted in the WWE Title Match between Brock Lesnar and John Cena at Royal Rumble 2015. Lesnar vs. Rollins one-on-one has a chance to be an all-time classic in company history, but I'll take it. Ambulance Match Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt Easily my favorite of their series dating back to June 2014. They mixed in the usual storytelling and chaotic brawling with some psychology this time, as Wyatt slammed one of the ambulance doors on Ambrose's left knee, then targeted it. Ambrose did a great job of selling this joint throughout the entire match, putting forth an incredible effort to slay the monster that only the face of the WWE had been able to put down to date. But a headlock DDT was evaded at the end, as Wyatt hit the Sister Abigail on the ambulance door, going over to groom him for his next opponent. I sure hope there's a payoff in mind for all the times Ambrose is losing and/or getting fucked though. ***3/4 NXT - January 7, 2015 Sami Zayn cuts a brief, passionate promo about how much the NXT Title means to him and how badly he desires to collide with Kevin Owens. This promo is just further evidence as to why Zayn will go on to at least briefly break the main roster's glass ceiling. Raw - January 12, 2015 Daniel Bryan, in the city of his greatest accomplishment, looks to be as good as new when Stephanie McMahon brings Kane out to attack him, as D-Bry pulls out all the dangerous shit he doing prior to his abrupt time off. Paul Heyman cuts another excellent promo to put over Brock Lesnar, in the city that saw the Streak come to a screeching halt. The contract signing main event between Lesnar, John Cena, and Seth Rollins is fabulous. Heyman cuts another blistering promo about the ramifications of the match, and Lesnar is great too, pointing out to Rollins that he had conquered Cena as well as Triple H. Rollins talks about everything he had done to date, smashing every goal he had set, and then laughs at Cena when Cena says they're both coming after him. Rollins attempts to sneak-attack Cena. Lesnar gives them both German Suplexes, but Rollins lands on his front side rather than neck and shoulders. Cena gives Lesnar a Death Valley Driver through a table, but then eats an SR curb stomp. Lesnar gets up only to also eat an SR curb stomp. NXT - January 14, 2015: The Good Shit Finn Balor vs. Tyson Kidd - ***1/4 Kevin Owens walks out on Renee Young interviewing when she says he stole Sami Zayn's sentimental moment at Takeover: R Evolution. NXT Title Match Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville Great adjustments in this one, highlighted near the end when Neville gives a superkick to Zayn during a through-the-ropes tornado DDT attempt. But for obvious reasons, even though this match was totally satisfying, it wasn't gonna capture the emotions of their title change match. Zayn puts Neville down again, only to get attacked by Kevin Owens again. ***3/4 SmackDown! - January 15, 2015: The Good Shit Paul Heyman storms to the ring pissed about what happened earlier in the week. He cuts an another awesome promo that is interrupted by Seth Rollins. The former ROH Champion cuts one of the finest promos of his career with complete conviction, cornering Heyman and getting nose-to-nose with the former ECW owner, threatening to give him an SR curb stomp, as doing so would make Brock Lesnar nothing more than a dumbed-down mass of muscle. Heyman talks his way out of it by bringing up that once the match is over, Lesnar can perhaps help Rollins more. Excellent segment. Kane, Big Show, & Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, & Daniel Bryan This match is booked when D-Bry beat Kane in the opener. Imagine a trios match between this six men a year and a half earlier, it'd have been far more interesting despite this one being really good: The Shield vs. Big Show & Team Hell No. Ambrose plays the Ricky Morton role in this one, with Reigns and D-Bry pulling out their comeback shit at times to really get the crowd into it. It was refreshing to see Ambrose and Rollins going at it again, obviously not the end of their unfinished story. In the end, D-Bry puts Kane down with the Busaiku knee to cap off this highly entertaining match that did a great job in protecting the weaknesses of Kane and Reigns. ***1/2 Raw - January 19, 2015: The Good Shit The opening segment is fantastic at first, as Brock Lesnar cuts Paul Heyman off and wants to brawl with Seth Rollins. Triple H comes out instead and Lesnar threatens him to a huge pop. (Obviously, the people of Dallas are DYING for Lesnar vs. HHH IV at WM32 then.) After this part, the promo becomes neverending, instead taking up another 10-15 minutes to set up a pedestrian Raw main event, rather than building interest for the far more important title match. Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan - ***1/2 John Cena is able to win the jobs back for Ryback, Dolph Ziggler, and Erick Rowan (fired two weeks earlier) in what has to be the most expensive go-home segment EVER for Raw. This segment included appearances by John Cena, Seth Rollins, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Kane, Big Show, Sting, Brock Lesnar, and Paul Heyman. The finish comes when Sting appears on the Titan Tron and walks to the entrance to distract the Authority, so Cena does a roll up for the win. Sting departs as the Authority are incensed, only for Lesnar to show up and leave Kane & Show laying each with an F5 to the crowd's uproarious approval. Money well spent in this highly entertaining segment, unlike what was to come in six days. NXT - January 21, 2015: The Good Shit A tournament for an NXT Title shot is announced, with Finn Balor taking care of Curtis Axel. GM William Regal agrees to grant Sami Zayn a NON-title match against Kevin Owens at Takeover: Rival. Also announced by Regal for Takeover: Rival, due to Becky Lynch interfering during tonight's Women's Title Match between Charlotte and Sasha Banks, as well as Bayley attacking all three in the post-match, is a fourway between all of them for that title. Kevin Owens will comment on his actions next week during the contract signing with Sami Zayn. NXT Title Shot Tournament Quarterfinal Tyler Breeze vs. Hideo Itami - *** SmackDown! - January 22, 2015: The Good Shit Royal Rumble Match Qualifier For Dolph Ziggler Wade Barrett vs. Dolph Ziggler - *** Royal Rumble Match Qualifier for Daniel Bryan - Hardcore Match Kane vs. Daniel Bryan - ***1/2

Raw - December 15, 2014: The Good Shit The advertised Paul Heyman vs. Chris Jericho match doesn't take place. Instead, we get the first-ever encounter between Jericho and Brock Lesnar. Lesnar treates Jericho as a complete, utter jobber, selling nothing and dropping him with an F5. Had WWE and Jericho been more meticulous with his choice and structuring of programs since both men returned in 2014, this could've likely been a nice one-time program for the title at Royal Rumble 2015 rather than scheduling yet another Lesnar match against John Cena. Cage Match Seth Rollins vs. John Cena - *** Fun match that takes some sacrifice at the end, as Lesnar lays out Cena per Heyman's request to give Rollins the cheap win despite what happened at Night of Champions 2014. SmackDown! - December 16, 2014 Dolph Ziggler vs. Seth Rollins - ***1/4 NXT - December 18, 2014 Kevin Owens vs. Adrian Neville - ***1/4 Raw - December 22, 2014: The Good Shit Seth Rollins vs. John Cena - ***1/4 IC Title Match Dolph Ziggler vs. Luke Harper - ***1/2 Hardcore Match Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt - ***1/2 NXT - December 25, 2014 Women's Title Match Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks - ***1/4 Raw - December 29, 2014: The Good Shit Paul Heyman cuts another awesome promo to put over Brock Lesnar. Daniel Bryan teases retirement in one of the most genuinely engaging promos of the year, then announces he'll in fact return to action next month with the ultimate goal of reclaiming the WWE Title at WrestleMania 31. In a segment that went too long to break down, the final moment of the year is The Authority's return. Whatever, them being gone didn't make the product any better aesthetically. NXT - January 1, 2015: The Good Shit NXT Champion Sami Zayn lets us know via cell phone video he'll return next week to comment on what happened at Takeover: R Evolution. The Ascension vs. Finn Balor & Hideo Itami - *** Raw - January 5, 2015: The Good Shit For spearheading the successful attempt to reinstate The Authority, Seth Rollins is inserted in the WWE Title Match between Brock Lesnar and John Cena at Royal Rumble 2015. Lesnar vs. Rollins one-on-one has a chance to be an all-time classic in company history, but I'll take it. Ambulance Match Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt Easily my favorite of their series dating back to June 2014. They mixed in the usual storytelling and chaotic brawling with some psychology this time, as Wyatt slammed one of the ambulance doors on Ambrose's left knee, then targeted it. Ambrose did a great job of selling this joint throughout the entire match, putting forth an incredible effort to slay the monster that only the face of the WWE had been able to put down to date. But a headlock DDT was evaded at the end, as Wyatt hit the Sister Abigail on the ambulance door, going over to groom him for his next opponent. I sure hope there's a payoff in mind for all the times Ambrose is losing and/or getting fucked though. ***3/4 NXT - January 7, 2015 Sami Zayn cuts a brief, passionate promo about how much the NXT Title means to him and how badly he desires to collide with Kevin Owens. This promo is just further evidence as to why Zayn will go on to at least briefly break the main roster's glass ceiling. Raw - January 12, 2015 Daniel Bryan, in the city of his greatest accomplishment, looks to be as good as new when Stephanie McMahon brings Kane out to attack him, as D-Bry pulls out all the dangerous shit he doing prior to his abrupt time off. Paul Heyman cuts another excellent promo to put over Brock Lesnar, in the city that saw the Streak come to a screeching halt. The contract signing main event between Lesnar, John Cena, and Seth Rollins is fabulous. Heyman cuts another blistering promo about the ramifications of the match, and Lesnar is great too, pointing out to Rollins that he had conquered Cena as well as Triple H. Rollins talks about everything he had done to date, smashing every goal he had set, and then laughs at Cena when Cena says they're both coming after him. Rollins attempts to sneak-attack Cena. Lesnar gives them both German Suplexes, but Rollins lands on his front side rather than neck and shoulders. Cena gives Lesnar a Death Valley Driver through a table, but then eats an SR curb stomp. Lesnar gets up only to also eat an SR curb stomp. NXT - January 14, 2015: The Good Shit Finn Balor vs. Tyson Kidd - ***1/4 Kevin Owens walks out on Renee Young interviewing when she says he stole Sami Zayn's sentimental moment at Takeover: R Evolution. NXT Title Match Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville Great adjustments in this one, highlighted near the end when Neville gives a superkick to Zayn during a through-the-ropes tornado DDT attempt. But for obvious reasons, even though this match was totally satisfying, it wasn't gonna capture the emotions of their title change match. Zayn puts Neville down again, only to get attacked by Kevin Owens again. ***3/4 SmackDown! - January 15, 2015: The Good Shit Paul Heyman storms to the ring pissed about what happened earlier in the week. He cuts an another awesome promo that is interrupted by Seth Rollins. The former ROH Champion cuts one of the finest promos of his career with complete conviction, cornering Heyman and getting nose-to-nose with the former ECW owner, threatening to give him an SR curb stomp, as doing so would make Brock Lesnar nothing more than a dumbed-down mass of muscle. Heyman talks his way out of it by bringing up that once the match is over, Lesnar can perhaps help Rollins more. Excellent segment. Kane, Big Show, & Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, & Daniel Bryan This match is booked when D-Bry beat Kane in the opener. Imagine a trios match between this six men a year and a half earlier, it'd have been far more interesting despite this one being really good: The Shield vs. Big Show & Team Hell No. Ambrose plays the Ricky Morton role in this one, with Reigns and D-Bry pulling out their comeback shit at times to really get the crowd into it. It was refreshing to see Ambrose and Rollins going at it again, obviously not the end of their unfinished story. In the end, D-Bry puts Kane down with the Busaiku knee to cap off this highly entertaining match that did a great job in protecting the weaknesses of Kane and Reigns. ***1/2 Raw - January 19, 2015: The Good Shit The opening segment is fantastic at first, as Brock Lesnar cuts Paul Heyman off and wants to brawl with Seth Rollins. Triple H comes out instead and Lesnar threatens him to a huge pop. (Obviously, the people of Dallas are DYING for Lesnar vs. HHH IV at WM32 then.) After this part, the promo becomes neverending, instead taking up another 10-15 minutes to set up a pedestrian Raw main event, rather than building interest for the far more important title match. Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan - ***1/2 John Cena is able to win the jobs back for Ryback, Dolph Ziggler, and Erick Rowan (fired two weeks earlier) in what has to be the most expensive go-home segment EVER for Raw. This segment included appearances by John Cena, Seth Rollins, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Kane, Big Show, Sting, Brock Lesnar, and Paul Heyman. The finish comes when Sting appears on the Titan Tron and walks to the entrance to distract the Authority, so Cena does a roll up for the win. Sting departs as the Authority are incensed, only for Lesnar to show up and leave Kane & Show laying each with an F5 to the crowd's uproarious approval. Money well spent in this highly entertaining segment, unlike what was to come in six days. NXT - January 21, 2015: The Good Shit A tournament for an NXT Title shot is announced, with Finn Balor taking care of Curtis Axel. GM William Regal agrees to grant Sami Zayn a NON-title match against Kevin Owens at Takeover: Rival. Also announced by Regal for Takeover: Rival, due to Becky Lynch interfering during tonight's Women's Title Match between Charlotte and Sasha Banks, as well as Bayley attacking all three in the post-match, is a fourway between all of them for that title. Kevin Owens will comment on his actions next week during the contract signing with Sami Zayn. NXT Title Shot Tournament Quarterfinal Tyler Breeze vs. Hideo Itami - *** SmackDown! - January 22, 2015: The Good Shit Royal Rumble Match Qualifier For Dolph Ziggler Wade Barrett vs. Dolph Ziggler - *** Royal Rumble Match Qualifier for Daniel Bryan - Hardcore Match Kane vs. Daniel Bryan - ***1/2

TLC 2014: The Good Shit IC Title - Ladder Match Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler Quite the spectacle and Ziggler's hometown crowd of Cleveland certainly helped. Although the followup weeks later brought the title back to irrelevance, the commentary in this provided a possible hint of resurgence for it, comparing this to past classic ladder matches for the belts, even if this overall didn't quite live up to those works of art. There was all kinds of dangerous shit in this one, including Ziggler not putting his hands up to protect himself when a ladder was tossed onto his upper region. Harper also took a bump on a platformed ladder, but no spot stood out more than him challenging Seth Rollins for dumbest bump of the year: Ziggler channeled Chris Jericho at Royal Rumble 2001, having a weapon ready for Luke Harper's tope suicida attempt, but rather than a chair going for the head, it was a ladder, with Harper charging at it like a battering ram, then landing awkwardly on it like he may have broken his left arm. Good match and the right finish at least though for the Cleveland fans, and this certainly wasn't boring. ***1/2 Tables Match Seth Rollins vs. John Cena Solid matchup between these two. J&J Security of course got involved, which was tolerable given the rules of the match. But after a good effort from these two, it just became a clusterfuck at the end with Big Show coming out, followed by the returning Roman Reigns to help Cena win. I'm really looking forward to Cena and Rollins at some point getting an interference-free classic like they had in late 2013. Hardcore Match Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt Another match where the guys worked hard. Ambrose pulled out the modified rebound lariat on the outside, and they had a nice game of chicken when Ambrose had kendo sticks, Wyatt kneeling down to dare him to attack. Ambrose made Wyatt wait, teasing that he'd allow Wyatt to grab a chair, only to attack him anyway. Great psychology there. Ambrose would take TWO falling elbow drops from a ladder on the outside, then they'd get back in the ring. A Sister Abigail would be a nice near-fall, as would the headlock driver. But for all the hard work in this match, it had to end with one of the most insulting, crowd-deflating finishes I've ever seen, on par with AJ Styles vs. Frankie Kazarian on PWG's second anniversary weekend and Sting vs. Abyss at TNA's Genesis 2006. Ambrose grabbed a TV monitor from underneath the ring and was gonna smack Wyatt with it, but the cord was too short and sparks flew, stunning him and allowing Wyatt to put him down for the count. This made Ambrose look like a clueless jabroni, and did nothing to enhance Wyatt as a bad-ass to groom him for Undertaker. The company is lucky that Ambrose has enough charisma and work ethic to overcome this inexcusable booking.

NXT - November 27, 2014 NXT - December 4, 2014 Sami Zayn refuses to shake NXT Champion Adrian Neville's hand, instead slapping the chant and vows with 100% conviction that he will finally reach the mountaintop next week. Fantastic segment that went no more than 10 minutes, as doing so like the main roster does would've been completely unnecessary. NXT Takeover: R Evolution: The Good Shit The WWE Debut of Kevin Owens Kevin Owens vs. CJ Parker Great debut here for Owens as he was booked to be a star. Parker still got some shit in that busted the nose of Owens but this was ultimately a mismatch, as Owens got a good chunk of his trademark shit in to finish off Parker to the crowd's highly enthusiastic approval. Simple. Effective. The Ascension vs. Finn Balor & Hideo Itami Balor debuts the OTT style entrance that's gonna make him WWE Champion one day. Basic but very effective tag match, as the former puro superstar tandem go right at the Ascension to kick it off. It breaks down to the Ascension cutting the ring in half on Itami. He goes for a hot tag only for Connor to trip Balor off the apron. Minutes later, hot tag made. Crowd goes apeshit. Puro stars get their shit in with Balor winning the match after a double foot stomp. Like the opener, a simple, effective formula. *** Women's Title Match Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks Another quality showing for this division. Banks, who up to this point had been playing the coward, caught Charlotte off-guard by changing up the psychology and going toe-to-toe, doing her best effort to challenge Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins for the distinct honor of being WWE's best troll. In particular, she used the head-scissors and then turned Charlotte over to deliver a brief Skull Fuck. But Charlotte held her own, using her athleticism and work ethic to escape much of the offense of Banks. Despite a star-making performance from Banks though, she just couldn't measure up to Charlotte quite yet, going down to the reverse Buff Blockbuster. ***1/2 NXT Title vs. Career Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn I've often spoken of rare moments that justify the amount of bullshit that wrestling fans endure thanks to stubborn and utterly clueless carny promoters. Marginalization of potential mega-stars, endless go-nowhere talking segments that are stretched too thin, angles that lack a truly climatic, emotionally satisfying conclusion, and devaluing the importance of titles as well. Add in that this came shortly after CM Punk finally broke his silence on his abrupt departure, as well as considering the other seedy underbelly portions of the business, and this particular match couldn't have taken place at a better time to remind us all why we keep enduring. Speaking of Punk, the atmosphere in this at the beginning is somewhat similar to his work of art against Austin Aries at ROH's Death Before Dishonor III, with Zayn playing Punk's role, the crowd completely behind him as the sentimental challenger, while the champion is playing the default heel simply based on the circumstances. In a career that is drenched with MOTYC performances, Zayn gave perhaps his greatest babyface performance to date in this instant classic. He was on fire in this one busting out his flippy shit, and more than held his own with the outstanding technical wrestling sequence at the beginning of the match. A standout spot early to display Zayn's focus was when he countered a head-scissors attempt with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, then hit a followup Asai Moonsault on the outside. Neville took his time getting back in, clearly flustered just like Aries in the match I mentioned. Zayn used this to his advantage, but that would get cut off by the champ to take control. Zayn would find himself in a headlock and chinlock to wear him down, and the crowd broke out "Ole Ole Ole" chants to give him fire to make a combeback, but Neville would cut him off after a brief hope spot. Neville paintbrushes Zayn's head with his foot, then follows that up with some Kawada kicks. Zayn then makes a comeback with a clothesline and the crowd is happy. But Neville then cuts that off with a head-scissors, only for Zayn to toss him over the rope and then hit a running front flip over the top rope to the outside. Zayn counters a reverse hurricanana attempt with a Blue Thunder Powerbomb for a fantastic nearfall. Neville hits a chinbreaker when picked back up, then does a running uppercut. Neville runs to the corner and knows Zayn is coming with the Yakuza kick, turning around and planting a big boot on Zayn's face, then throwing the challenger to the ropes to hit a German Suplex for another awesome nearfall. Zayn dead-weights a powerbomb attempt, but a corner move is evaded and Neville hits a sitdown powerbomb for another quality nearfall. Neville is becoming frustrated and they exchange forearms. Neville hits a spinning kick to gain the advantage, only to get clotheslined. Zayn goes for another Yakuza kick but that's evaded and he's kicked in the head for his trouble, collapsing on the mat. Neville goes for the Sky Twister, only to have Zayn's knees planted in his gut. We have another fantastic false finish as Zayn immediately locks on the Koji Clutch, but Neville's foot reaches the ropes. Neville counters an Exploder Suplex attempt with a rollup for another nearfall, and when Zayn kicks out, the ref is accidentally struck by Neville's body and it's a genuine accident. Zayn checks on the referee's condition and gets a superkick and reverse hurricanrana by Neville for yet another excellent nearfall, Zayn almost losing the biggest match of his career thanks to his compassion. Crowd is going apeshit for Zayn at this point, knowing they're watching something magical and a special moment may finally arrive. Both men are fatigued and exchange blows. Zayn ducks a roundhouse kick and hits multiple German Suplexes, followed with a half-nelson suplex, but Neville takes a powder when Zayn goes for the Yakuza kick. Zayn pulls out the through-the-ropes tornado DDT on the outside to catch Neville off-guard, which the champ should've known was coming. Back in the ring, Zayn hits the Yakuza kick but Neville puts the ref in harm's way, further reminding me of Aries in the match I mentioned as well as Samoa Joe's feet on the ropes in the trilogy finale against Punk; a champion that has become desperate to hold on to what he cherishes most. Neville brings the belt in the ring and gets another Yakuza kick; Zayn teases using the belt but decides to uphold his integrity to the crowd's approval. Neville goes for a rollup but Zayn kicks out, plants the Exploder Suplex, and with pure focus in his eyes, finally hits the Yakuza kick and capturing the NXT Title, capping off his self-proclaimed road to redemption! The Orlando crowd is fucking APESHIT like they just watched their hometown Magic win their elusive first NBA Finals Championship. Their mood is something to behold, pure bliss, joy, and celebration for one of the most lovable babyfaces in the history of the business reaching the developmental mountaintop. Much of the roster comes to congratulate Zayn, specifically Owens who has tears in his eyes. Neville refuses a handshake, instead opting for an a hug based on friendship, respect, and love for the game. As Zayn is leaving ringside, Owens comes back out to help his fatigued colleague, the man he is most connected to in his career, walk back up the ramp, both men about to celebrate how far they've come, one reaching the mountaintop, the other having debuted tonight in the big leagues. But in a moment that Zayn should've seen coming based on the events of ROH's Final Battle 2009, Owens ambushes the champ and leaves him laying with an apron powerbomb, making it clear what his goal is in NXT. This entire segment is one of the defining reasons as to why I will always be a fan of pro wrestling. It was rewarding with an emotionally satisfying conclusion, a twist-and-turn nailbiter that had many wondering if Zayn would end up failing after all to achieve his goal. And then we get a program that is both fresh and familiar, one that has worked in every single federation that has showcased it. This isn't my favorite match by any means, but it's one I will never get tired of watching. ****1/2

Survivor Series 2014: The Good Shit Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt Fun match as the chemistry issues between these two have nothing to do with in-ring action. They both got plenty of shit in, although they got creative with it. Ambrose did a modified rebound lariat off the apron on the outside early, then a regular one was countered with a Uranage Slam (wouldn't mind seeing Wyatt against a certain Samoan that's also known for using that move.) Ambrose would later hit as a last-ditch effort when going down, but ate a nasty lariat moments later to cut him off. Ambrose was great in selling his back after taking a Uranage Slam on steel steps, and then got himself disqualified when accepted Wyatt's offer to use a steel chair. Wyatt was buried under a table and piles of chairs as Ambrose stood on a ladder in the ring, obviously setting up the rematch for next month. ***1/4 The Authority's Power on the Line - Survivor Series Style Elimination Match Team Authority of Seth Rollins, Rusev, Luke Harper, Kane, & Mark Henry vs. Team Cena of John Cena, Big Show, Ryback, Dolph Ziggler, & Erick Rowan Fun main event with all kinds of creative ups and downs that keep this from being a classic. Henry going down immediately to Show's knockout punch was a great surprise to throw off the Authority. The match did become a chaotic mess both good and bad, and I appreciated that Rollins channeled his days in the Shield to get in sudden attacks to help his teammates out. Nothing wrong with that. I also appreciated Rusev being protected, as he was eliminated by countout when Ziggler evaded a splash through a commentary table. I certainly didn't care for the creative "right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing" dynamic when it comes to Rusev, as he had ZERO interaction with Cena. Not one taunt. Not one verbal exchange. Not one finger they laid on each other. Absolutely nothing to build up to their obvious, inevitable match for WrestleMania 31. Now as great as Sting's debut was, even though it could potentially lead to the biggest gate ever in pro wrestling history at a certain stadium in Texas against the correct opponent (and there's only one for that), this debut had its flaws at the end. I appreciate Ziggler getting one of the three biggest wins of his career here, but he and Rollins laid there at the end while Sting and HHH had their staredown to set up their obvious dream match. I appreciate a vigilante character, but logically speaking, Ziggler and Rollins should've regained consciousness as the Sting vs. HHH segment went on for a few minutes, then they could've had a super-hot ending. Cena coming out to embrace Ziggler was a nice touch too. Sting's historic debut though is creatively off-set by a god-awful awful direction change I had predicted many months in advance, but wasn't expecting to take place here. In a moment nobody wanted to see, but I had the foresight to know would eventually come, Show turned heel again and knocked out Cena, shaking HHH's hand before leaving. I knew this would happen, the giant muscle for the Authority to be fed to the company's next planned golden boy. And in light of how tedious that feud has turned out to be, and the fact that it hasn't exactly been best for business, that does bring this match down at this time. This was a good, fun match, but for all the great shit in it, that was offset by logic holes and incredibly questionable booking that failed to kick-start an obvious program, while leading to one that I could see coming a million miles away because of Vince McMahon's lazy creative formula. ***1/2

Raw - October 27, 2014 Randy Orton gets fed up and leaves Seth Rollins laying with an Ace Crusher to the crowd's approval. Raw - November 3, 2014: The Good Shit Vince McMahon announces a Team Authority vs. Team Cena Survivor Series Style Elimination main event for Survivor Series 2014, putting Triple H & Stephanie McMahon's power on the line. Randy Orton DEMANDS a match against Seth Rollins, which the Authority begrudgingly do for tonight, but with the promise that both will move on to focus on the bigger picture afterwards. One of Orton's finest acting performances here, to be quite blunt, and the Authority are perfect as well with HHH still seeing Orton's value, while Steph is willing to cut him loose. We have another match announced for tonight for the Network-exclusive post-show, as Rusev is granted a US Title shot against Sheamus as a Team Authority recruiting effort. Awesome. Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton Off-the-charts heat from the Buffalo crowd in this one and for once the Authority's ringside presence added to the match rather than water it down. Steph was fantastic as just being a complete cunt with her face, while HHH did a phenomenal job of selling the stress of this match. Orton went right after Rollins and they brawled around ringside, and I can't say how different this match from so many others. Although we need, in fact are ENTITLED, to Ambrose eventually boomeranging back to Rollins for an emotionally satisfying conclusion, Ambrose never was to the level of hatred towards his former friend like Orton was here. Rollins lived up to the Authority hype in this one, doing a great job of trolling Orton when he got the heat, bringing out the trash-talk that makes him WWE's version of Richard Sherman. I can't say enough about the finish though. Orton went for the Ace Crusher, only for Rollins to block it and backslide him for three, proving the Authority right for picking him, bringing this hot piece of business to an abrupt end, and giving Rollins his first clean victory over an A-lister since betraying the Shield. Orton shakes hands with the entire Authority, but hits Rollins, who is willing to put this behind them for the bigger picture, with an Ace Crusher. HHH tries to calm him down, only to get attacked by Orton. Steph orders Orton to be finished which HHH hates having to do; the Viper eats an SR curb stomp on the commentary table, then has his night at ringside end with another one on steel steps, in a fucking white-hot segment, the most genuinely engaging one for the Authority since their program against Daniel Bryan. This was one fucking awesome firecracker and I'm expecting a classic at Levi's Stadium regardless of the lackluster creative followup to this. As great as Orton is in this angle, I have zero sympathy for him. He should've never trusted HHH after what happened between them a decade earlier, he participated in malicious attacks repeatedly against D-Bry, Dolph Ziggler, and Mr. Cena, and then couldn't be the better man when he lost clean to the better fucking wrestler on this night. **** US Title Match Sheamus vs. Rusev Really good match to put over Sheamus as a fighter until the very end, while showcasing what a legitimate bad-ass Rusev had become, a rare bright spot during such a shitty creative period in the company. Sheamus gave absolutely everything he had, but Rusev had done his proper scouting, using Cesaro's counter for the chest drubbings. They got physical with each other, but Rusev was able to manhandle Sheamus on the outside, and he just couldn't put down the red-hot bad-ass. But even in defeat, as Rusev had the Camel Clutch locked on, no chance of breaking it, Sheamus wouldn't tap out, refusing to die. Fucking love this finish as much as Rollins vs. Orton. ***1/2 NXT - November 6, 2014 Sami Zayn continues his road to redemption by finally defeating Tyler Breeze in a ***1/4 opener. He gets another title shot next week. Prince Devitt makes his anticipated debut as Finn Balor to help Hideo Itami out against the Ascension. NXT - November 13, 2014 NXT Title Match Adrian Neville vs. Sami Zayn Another quality matchup here to bring Zayn's road to redemption to an apparent screeching halt. With victory in his grasp since he ducked a Sky Twister, costing Neville to have a bum knee, Zayn instead became sympathetic, leaving him prone to a rollup pin. Not a heel move by Neville at all actually, as his knee really was sore in the story post-match. ***1/2 SmackDown! - November 14, 2014 IC Title - Elimination Match Dolph Ziggler vs. Cesaro vs. Tyson Kidd Excellent spot and counter-fest here. Cesaro focused on Ziggler early, but Kidd, who had developed into a cocky cunt, wouldn't tolerate that. There was one somewhat cringe-worthy move, that being the powerbomb/vertical suplex combo, but nothing to ruin this match. I loved Cesaro being outside the ring selling the Zig Zag after being eliminated, and of course Kidd shoving Ziggler out of the way for the bragging rights. Even though it ultimately wouldn't matter who gets the fall until the very end in an elimination match, it adds to Kidd's egotism and insecurities, staying true to his character. The best part of the Cesaro portion had to be him grabbing Kidd's legs during a Scorpion Deathlock attempt, taking Kidd down and giving him the giant swing. Ziggler of course had taken quite the beating as he always does, so Kidd went right after him after Cesaro was ousted. Kidd put forth a great performance, coming close to the biggest victory of his career against a former World Champion and gaining his first singles title in WWE. But it was not to be, as Ziggler, much my beloved Seahawks in recent years, scratched a win at the end despite the opponent putting forth a superior performance the majority of the way. ***3/4 NXT - November 20, 2014: The Good Shit Sami Zayn will challenge Adrian Neville one last time for the NXT Title at Takeover: R Evolution, and vows to quit if he can't finally pull it off.