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WWE Week In Review: October 14-21, 2018

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Chairshot WWE Week In Review

We are coming into the homestretch for the first all women WWE PPV and a lot has been happening in WWE!

On RAW, the feud between the Shield and the Dogs of War takes a surprising turn. Dean Ambrose’s issues with his brothers continue to grow over the WWE World Cup. Baron Corbin looks for revenge for his humiliating loss to Kurt Angle last week. The ladies of RAW look to gain momentum heading into Evolution. The war of words between the Bellas and Ronda Rousey gets very personal, and a legit return makes waves.

On SmackDown’s 1000th episode, the final two World Cup slots are filled, with some surprising results. Edge tries to show Becky Lynch the error of her ways. The Bar gets a big assist in their match against the New Day, and AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan’s mutual respect is put to the test against the Usos.

NXT UK kicked off with an amazing Championship match, as the stars of the UK seize the chance to show off the unique British style of wrestling.

On 205 Live, Akira Tozawa’s campaign of revenge against the Party of Gulak continues. Mustafa Ali and Hideo Itami prepare for their Fall Count Anywhere match, and five top superstars jockey for position in an amazing Fatal Five Way Match.

On NXT, War Machine looks to take the tag team championship from Undisputed Era. Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch gain momentum, and Nikki Cross is called to a reckoning over what happened to Aleister Black.

So how did WWE do with all this? Let’s find out!

Raw

 Shield vs Dogs of War: After last week’s disappointing loss to the Dogs of War, Dean Ambrose walked out on his brothers, raising more questions about his mental state and the state of the Shield.

On Monday, a very smug Pack came out, crowing about their victory last week, claiming that they’d broken the Shield. Turning their attention to Crown Jewel, which is still on, McIntyre vowed to destroy Rollins in their qualifying match and Ziggler will do the same to Ambrose.

Reigns and Rollins, but not Ambrose come out, claiming that the Shield is still alive, which seems hollow without Ambrose there. Ziggler asks where Dean is and says he’ll take a forfeit. Rollins tells him that Ambrose runs on his own time and he’s not getting that forfeit.

As for McIntyre, Rollins says that he’s always loved Philly, and not just because they have great cheesesteaks. He loves Philly because Philly is a fighting town and since he and McIntyre are both in the same area, why don’t they just have their match right now.

Rollins vs McIntyre was great, as expected. It looked like Ziggler was going to help McIntyre steal the win by distracting Rollins and the ref, so McIntyre could hit Rollins’ shoulder with a weapon.

Fortunately for Rollins, his hour of need was Ambrose O’Clock, because the Lunatic Fringe came to his friend’s aid, helping Rollins secure a countout victory over McIntyre and qualifying for the WWE World Cup.

Backstage, the Shield were joking when Rollins made an offhand comment about Dean being on Lunatic time, which Dean didn’t appreciate.

Dean’s World Cup match didn’t go as well. Seth tried to save Dean from McIntyre’s interference and ended up costing Dean the win, which enraged Ambrose, which resulted in he and Rollins nearly coming to blows. Reigns managed to break up the fight, but it’s clear that things are at a breaking point.

Corbin came out and expressed faux concern over the situation and proposed a solution: A Six Man Tag match against the Dogs of War.

Much like Super Show-Down and last Monday, the match between the Shield and the Dogs of War was defined by chaos, but this time, the Shield’s talent for getting a victory out of chaos came through after a well-timed ducking by Reigns caused McIntyre to hit the devastating Claymore Kick on Strowman instead of Reigns. After that, Ziggler got hit with a patented Triple Powerbomb and Ambrose got the pin. The Shield celebrated, even though their brotherhood came close to disintegrating due to the machinations of Ziggler, that almost ended with Rollins taking a Dirty Deeds from an irate Ambrose.

As for the Dogs of War, well, they were never a brotherhood, they were an alliance of convenience and that alliance fell apart. Strowman attacked Ziggler for costing them the match and hit his powerslam, only to get hit with a second Claymore Kick by Drew McIntyre, who left Strowman, and his tag team partner, Ziggler, in the ring.

 Raw Women’s Division: Ember Moon and Nia Jax took on Dane Brooke and Tamina. We also got another update on Evolution: There will be a battle royal for the women who don’t have one-on-one matches and the winner gets a title shot.

Moon/Jax vs Brooke/Snuka was really good. Dana Brooke has improved so much and we got a pretty good exchange between Tamina and Nia. Ember and Nia would pick up the win after Ember hit the Eclipse on Brooke. Afterwards an enraged Tamina attacked Nia and then threw her over the top rope, then Ember moved to throw Tamina out and both were eliminated by Dana Brooke.

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Ronda Rousey and the Bella Twins’ war of words went from social media to RAW with…mixed results. Rousey wanted an explanation and the Bella explanation is that Ronda wouldn’t be in WWE if not for them.

According to Ronda, the Bellas were using her for her spotlight, which both Bellas scoff at. They don’t need Ronda’s spotlight, they have their own spotlight. Not only are they successful as a pair, Nikki is the longest reigning Diva’s Champion of all time. They made the term ‘Diva’ mean something more than mediocre, they made it strong. Total Divas is a huge success.

Rousey claims that she’s trying to be respectful since the Bellas were there first, which rings hollow when she calls the Bellas ‘talentless disease’ Nikki points out that for ‘talentless diseases’ the name ‘Bella’ has gotten more attention than anything else going and tells Rousey ‘You’re welcome’. and then throws Nikki’s past relationship with John Cena, which pissed Nikki off.

Just when it looked like things were going to get physical, Nikki does her trademark hip swing and sends out security, who promptly get their asses handed to them. The Bellas took off, but it’s clear that this match has gotten deeply personal for both sides.

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The Riott Squad, still smarting from their string of defeats, were wreaking havoc backstage when they ran into Bayley and mocked her and also defaced Nattie’s dressing room. Nattie and Ruby Riott faced off, but Nattie had a couple of tricks up her sleeve, namely Bayley and the returning Sasha Banks. The match was fantastic, but Nattie and company would have to settle for a moral victory as Sarah Logan interfered to give Nattie a DQ victory instead of a pinfall. Hopefully, this will be a six woman tag match for Evolution, instead of all six women being lumped into the battle royal.

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Team Hall of Fame Besties were in the house again. They talked about their upcoming tag match with Bliss and James, but before they could get started, Team Disingenuous came out.

Bliss mocked Stratus and Lita, stating that they must be so intimidated by the thought of facing herself and James. Never mind that Trish and Lita have both faced people a lot scarier than Alexa Bliss and Mickie James. Why would they be intimidated by Bliss and James? Because they ‘know’ Bliss will humiliate them by running circles around them at Evolution.

James chimes in, agreeing with Bliss. She knows Trish better than just about anyone and Trish knows that Mickie likes to take it up a notch every night. Plus, Women’s Royal Rumble aside, Trish and Lita haven’t been in the ring for a very long time.

Bliss chimes in again and says that James is spot on. Trish and Lita are great for nostalgia but the thought they’re going to come off the couch and beat superstars like James and Bliss is ludicrous. Bliss suggests that Trish and Lita go home and practice.

By this point, Trish and Lita have had enough of this nonsense. Trish points out that the point of Evolution is to elevate the Women’s Division. However, Trish and Lita are willing to practice, if Bliss and James are willing to get in the ring, Trish and Lita will be willing to ‘practice’ on them right now. Bliss and James decline to have practice time this week, they’ll wait until Evolution.

Finn Balor (with Bayley) vs Jinder Mahal (with the Singh Brothers and Alicia Fox): The never-ending feud between Team B and B and Mahalicia continued on Monday and, much like previous encounters, Mahalicia came out on the short end. Even the return of Samir Singh couldn’t save Mahal from an ignominious 2 minute defeat.  While Balor and Bayley were celebrating, they were confronted by Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush.

Rush wasted no time talking up Lashley to Balor’s detriment, while Lashley showed off. However, Bayley pulled Balor away before things could get ugly.

Bobby Lashley (with Lio Rush) vs Tyler Breeze: Sadly, there isn’t much to say about this match. Lashley basically beat the snot out of Breeze, got the pinfall and then beat him up some more while Rush kept talking.

 RAW Tag Team Division: Authors of Pain have been on a path of destruction since teaming up with Drake Maverick. This week, they took part in a handicap match against Kurt Angle, who is still on vacation, judging by his…interesting outfit. Angle was put in the match by Baron Corbin who wanted revenge for his humiliation last week.

The match between AoP and El Conquistador de Oro was a surprisingly quick one. Could the legendary Kurt Angle be vanquished so easily? Well, not quite. When they took off El Conquistador’s mask, they found out that it wasn’t Angle at all, just some poor schlub that got put in the costume.

While Corbin was distracted by yelling at AoP over the non-Angle conquistador (like it’s their fault), he was treated to an Angle Slam by the real Kurt Angle, still in his vacation clothes and the audience was treated to a little dancing by the Olympic Hero.

 DX vs Brothers of Destruction: We got video promo from Undertaker and Kane about respect. BoD said that they lost their respect for DX at Melbourne because of their dishonesty and that HBK stayed away from fear of being humiliated by Undertaker again.

Elias: Elias was doing his usual musical insult to the crowd when he was confronted by Apollo Crews. Apparently, Apollo has split from Titus Worldwide and he’s got a fire lit under him. Apollo says that he’s tired of being overlooked and he’s looking to make a statement. Elias insults Crews’ talent, saying that he’s never seen the talent Crews is supposed to have and that Crews could never hope to be as great as Elias.

That turned out to be the wrong thing to say. Apollo hit Elias with an enzuguri and then held him in a trophy hold for ten seconds before pressing him and dropping him on the mat. It seems that Elias has poured some gasoline on this fire and got burned.

 

SmackDown

This week was the 1000th episode of SmackDown and so the show was full of moments and memories. One of the big stories going into SmackDown was that Evolution, the Four Horsemen knock-off from the mid-2000s was coming back, which was surprising since Evolution had never been on SmackDown during it’s original big run. ANYWAY, after Batista’s sob-inducing tribute to Eddie Guerrero, there was a lot of mutual praising and ass-kissing, until Batista pointed out that the only thing Triple H hasn’t done in WWE is beat him (Batista), which Triple H didn’t appreciate, guess we know what will coming down the road.


WWE Championship: AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan, who will be facing off at Crown Jewel, teamed up this week against the Usos. This match was really good with plenty of back and forth, but it took a miscued punch from Bryan to Styles to turn the tables, allowing the Usos to pick up the victory. Guess Team Sweet Beetz need to work on the teamwork some more.

After the match, neither man was very happy with each other and we got a staredown before a montage of great SmackDown moments.

 SmackDown Women’s Division: The Cutting Edge is back! Edge made his triumphant return to SmackDown and discussed his long history with the show and all the great moments he’s been part of. Now he’s back to discuss the current situation in the Women’s Division between Charlotte and Becky. Edge confronted Becky about her conduct, but his attempts to get her to change her ways was met with scorn by both Becky and the crowd. In Edge’s defense, he was speaking from experience and probably see Becky making the same mistakes he did.

Becky, tired of what she viewed as Edge’s condescension, told the Rated-R Superstar, that she doesn’t hate herself for what she did, she loves herself for what she did to Charlotte. She then suggested that Edge get out of her ring and watch his neck, so he doesn’t break it again.

By this point, Charlotte had come out to ‘save’ Edge, though what she thought she was saving him from is a little beyond me since Becky hadn’t touched him. Charlotte trashed Becky for her comments, stating that if Becky loves herself for what she’s done, she’ll love what Charlotte’s going to do to her.

The fight between Becky and Charlotte was a quick one, the refs and security must’ve been warned by Paige to make sure things didn’t get out of hand. In the end, Becky was holding the ring as security got Charlotte into the back.

 SmackDown Tag Division: The Bar got another chance to take the tag titles off of New Day and join the 5 Time Champs club and they seized on it, with a big amount of help.

The match itself was pretty good, as expected, but New Day had the numbers advantage, as usual. The real surprise came when Big Show came out during the match. No one knew what to expect, until Show chokeslammed Kofi Kingston, who was the odd man out in the New Day equation this week, through the announce table. The distraction was enough to let Sheamus hit the Brogue Kick on Big E, giving the Bar the win and we have NEW SmackDown Tag Team Champions! Congrats to The Bar!

WWE World Cup Qualifiers: With the RAW card for the World Cup finalized, SmackDown had two qualifiers of its own to fill out the card.

Match 1 – Miz vs Rusev: This really promised to be a great match. Both men were eager to make it to the World Cup finals. However, Adrian English, still smarting from his humiliation last week on SmackDown, was looking for revenge and he got it. With Miz’s help, English was able to distract Rusev enough to let Miz get the roll up win and advance to the World Cup. Rusev and Lana are furious! I have a feeling Rusev is going to make English regret this over and over again.

Match 2: Rey Mysterio vs Shinsuke Nakamura: After a three-year absence, the biggest little man in wrestling is back! Rey Mysterio made his triumphant return to the show that made him a WWE legend in a dream match against United States Champion, Shinsuke Nakamura.

The match was really good, if a little typical for a Rey Mysterio match, a lot of ducking, fading, and kicking to a much bigger opponent. However, Nakamura gave as good as he got, but Mysterio would hit his magic combination of 619 and Droppin’ Tha Dime to get the pinfall victory and advancement to the World Cup. Welcome back, Rey!

Truth TV: Truth TV is back!! Truth and Carmella started us off with a nice dance off and introduced their guest: The first General Manager of Smackdown, Stephanie McMahon. Before the interview could really get going, current Commissioner of SmackDown, Shane McMahon, who then introduced Vince. Vince wasn’t interested in the usual arguments that characterize anytime the McMahons get together, he wanted to dance.

 

NXT UK

 NXT UK Championship: Pete Dunne, who is currently the longest reigning champion in WWE, took on Scottish Supernova, Noam Dar in an amazing Main event to bookend the first episode of NXT UK!

It was Dar’s birthday and he was looking for the best birthday gift of all, to become the man to take the UK Championship from Pete Dunne, but Dunne wasn’t in the mood to cooperate with that little plan.

The match was amazing, both men seemed determined to end the pilot episode of NXT UK on a big note and they succeeded. The crowd was firmly behind Dunne, but both men got plenty of respect from the crowd.

Dunne would pick up the victory after hitting the Bitter End on Dar. The crowd loves it and we get a great moment to end the first episode of NXT UK.

NXT UK Women’s Division: The Gold Coast Rock n Roller, Toni Storm took on Nina Samuels. As of the time this show was taped, NXT UK didn’t have a women’s champion, but it’s clear that these ladies aren’t strangers, and each is jockeying to put herself on top of the fledgling women’s division.

Toni was clearly the fan favorite, but she had her hands full with Samuels, who was a great wrestler in her own right.

Samuels dominated much of the match, but Storm proved that she was nothing if not tough. She took the best that Storm could throw at her before finally hitting a Storm Zero to pick up the pinfall.

 Mark Andrews vs Joe Coffey (with Mark Coffey): The Coffey brothers made quite an impression during the last UK Championship Tournament back in the spring, beating up several superstars, including Andrews.

The match was a great showcase for British Strong Style, which is a lot stiffer looking than the US Style. Andrews and Coffey took each other to the limit, but Coffey would eventually prevail with a little assist from his brother. However, the Coffeys aren’t satisfied with the win, they attack Andrews some more, which brings out Flash Morgan Webster, who sticks out like a sore thumb. Very…flashily dressed compared to the stock trunks and boots favored by most of the UK competitors, or at least the ones that I’ve seen.

Anyway, Webster comes to Andrews’ rescue and chases away the Coffeys. It looks like our first tag team feud just got started.

Dave Mastiff vs Sid Scala: Dave Mastiff certainly lives up to his name, he’s a BIG dude, even on TV and Sid Scala didn’t have a prayer, though God knows he tried.

Mercifully, this was quick. Mastiff made quick work of Scala, putting the hapless young chap away with a cannonball for the win.

 

205 Live

WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Buddy Murphy wasn’t in action, but he was full of confidence as his buddy, Tony Nese, will be facing four other superstars in a Fatal Five Way. Murphy and Nese promise that the competitors of 205 are going to find out that everything runs through them.

Hideo Itami vs Mustafa Ali: Next week will be the Fall Count Anywhere match, which should put an end to this feud, though I hope not.

Itami sent out a dire warning: Ali should’ve walked away when he had the chance and showed Itami the respect he deserved. Since he wouldn’t, Itami vowed to end Ali’s career in the Falls Count Anywhere match.

Ali, for his part, showed no fear of Itami. Ali says that they’ve been on this road for a long time, but now it’s time for both of them to find new paths. Ali vows that this path has no twists and turns, just collision.

Drew Gulak (with Jack Gallagher) vs Akira Tozawa: Tozawa has already gotten his revenge on Brian Kendrick and Jack Gallagher for Gulak’s post-SummerSlam temper tantrum, now he looks to take a pound of flesh out of Drew Gulak.

The match was fast moving and rough. It honestly could’ve gone either way, but when Gallagher was caught trying to trip up Tozawa, the ref disqualified Gulak, giving Tozawa a moral victory, if nothing else.

Enraged, Gulak and Gallagher attacked Tozawa, even though it was Gallagher’s fault Gulak got disqualified. At this point, Kendrick runs out and chases Gulak and Gallagher away, much to the surprise of Tozawa. It looks like we’ve got a new team to counter Un-Gentlemen.

Fatal Five Way Match – Tony Nese vs Cedric Alexander vs Lio Rush vs Gran Metalik vs TJP: I’m going to be honest, I hate multi-man matches with no stakes involved, which is what this was. The goal was jockey for position and nothing more.

That issue aside, this was a really great match. Everyone really left it all in the ring and there was a great mix of high spots and wrestling. Ultimately, Tony Nese would pick up the win when it looked like Cedric Alexander. This means that Nese, ostensibly, should be first in line for a title shot against his friend, Buddy Murphy, leaving Alexander in the cold.

 

NXT

NXT Women’s Division: To say that Shayna Baszler has been in a bad mood since her loss to Kairi Sane at TakeOver: Brooklyn, would be putting it mildly. The Queen of Spades cannot accept that Kairi beat her by being the better woman, it has been easier for Baszler to believe that Sane got lucky. Needless to say, two months of stewing about it, and undergoing some rigorous new training, Baszler has developed an even bigger mean streak, that she put on display against Britt Baker. Baker put on a great effort, but Baszler’s nasty side was unleashed, causing the ref to stop the match and give Baszler the win. Not satisfied, Baszler attacked Baker again, just because she could.

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For weeks, Nikki Cross has been dying to tell someone what she knew about the attack on Aleister Black, problem is that she hasn’t been as inclined to tell William Regal just what that secret was, and Regal’s getting tired of waiting.

Before she dealt with that, Nikki finally got her second round of ‘playtime’ with the EST of NXT, Bianca Belair. The last time these two met, it ended in a double countout, preserving Belair’s undefeated streak, but not adding to it either.

The rematch between Belair and Cross was as great as their first meeting. Both women were looking to put the other away in a definitive manner. Unfortunately, Nikki’s assertions that she knows who attacked Aleister Black had gotten around and just as Cross and Belair were recovering from a superplex, the light went out. When they came back on, Aleister Black was sitting across from Nikki. They need to talk.

 NXT Tag Division: Undisputed Era faced the War Machine in an incredible match put together by William Regal after the Undisputed Era made the mistake of insulting the NXT General Manager.

This match was odd. The War Machine are humongous and have been a two-man wrecking crew worthy of the Road Warrior, but they somehow couldn’t put Strong and O’Reilly away. Just when it FINALLY seemed that the Machine had the titles in the bag, they were attacked by the returning Bobby Fish, giving the War Machine a Disqualification win, but not the titles. To add insult to injury, Fish continued to attack Hanson, and then Rowe with a chair.

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Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch have been on a tear since returning to NXT a few weeks ago. This week, they took on Tian Bing and Rocky.

This was a quick one. Bing and Rocky put up a heck of a fight, but the Bald Brawlers have been on a tear since their return and Bing and Rocky were just in their way. They quickly put Rocky way with a DDT and got the pinfall. I think it’s safe to say that Undisputed Era needs to be VERY worried about these two.

Aleister Black Mystery: Nikki Cross finally spilled her secret…to Aleister Black. Black interrupted Cross’ match with Bianca Belair and demanded to know what Nikki’s secret was. Nikki whispered the secret into Black’s ear and cleared out as Black looked angrier than he had after Gargano cost him the title.

 Tiffany’s Takeaways

 RAW: Dean having a problem with being called ‘Lunatic’ isn’t new, but it’s very interesting to see it addressed. My theory is that the ‘Lunatic Fringe’ name is linked to goofy, funny Ambrose, and that character is gone.

I’m not a fan of everyone throwing Nikki’s past relationship with Cena in her face. Also, I love Ronda, but I was out of her promo after ‘eviscerated like smallpox’. It made her sound incredibly stupid.

Welcome back Tamina! The exchange between Tamina and Nia was interesting.

Dana Brooke has improved so much, I really hope she wins this battle royal.

The implosion of the Dogs of War was interesting.

Welcome back, Sasha! RAW hasn’t been the same without the Boss!

 SmackDown: The McMahons should never try to dance like Truth and Carmella again.

I was surprised to see Styles and Bryan lose, but it progressed their story.

Rusev/Miz did more for the Rusev/English story than anything else.

Adding the Evolution stable to SmackDown caused a lot of confusion since that stable was never on SmackDown, but it gave us the seeds of Batista/Triple H.

The Bar are FINALLY champions!!!

Becky and Charlotte on The Cutting Edge was fantastic!

Kudos to WWE for including at least one picture of Eddie Guerrero in every montage and all the tributes and nods. Eddie’s run on SmackDown was only three years, but he made such a huge impact on the show during the first Brand Extension.

 NXT UK: I’m pretty intrigued by what I saw of NXT UK so far. The British style is so different from the US style, it looks like bare knuckle boxing and fighting.

I like the effect of having things shake when Mastiff comes out.

 

I like that we’re building towards the NXT Women’s Championship.

 205 Live: I’m not a fan of Alexander not getting his rematch right away and having to earn the shot. I get that they want to make 205 more competitive, but Alexander’s rematch is in his contract.

I love watching Akira Tozawa get some revenge on the Party of Gulak and that the Kendrick storyline is being continued. That suicide headbutt of Tozawa’s scares me.

I’m intrigued by the storyline of Alexander being on a losing streak after he was so dominant for most of 2018.

 NXT: That tag match hurt War Machine more than anything. They should’ve torn the Undisputed Era apart.

I feel bad that Britt Baker was fed to Shayna Baszler because she’s a really great talent.

I’m guessing that Oney and Lorcan will be the ones to take the tag titles away from Undisputed Era.

I’m not a fan of NXT’s version of War Games, I like the original War Games concept too much.

Black and Cross is magic!

 Mae Young Classic: I honestly thought Lane/Satomura was going to be a squash, but Lacey really proved herself. Hope she sticks around.

I feel bad for Deonna Purrazzo. Would have loved to see her vs Toni Storm.

Poor Tegan Nox. The fact that she kept fighting is a testament to how badly she wanted this opportunity. Hopefully, she’ll be back before too long. I’m guessing she’ll be a surprise entrant in the 2019 Women’s Royal Rumble.

Yim vs Storm wasn’t the barn burner I was expecting, but it was still really good. Toni Storm also acts like she’s not sure what’s going on.

 Tiff’s Tantrums:

Can we talk about how WWE Evolution is supposed be about the empowered women of WWE, yet a promo for the main event match had the RAW Women’s Champion saying that her opponent, who worked very hard, came back from a career-threatening injury, and has become a successful entrepreneur, slept her way to the top? Seriously? You don’t have to like the Bellas, but to say that Nikki Bella didn’t work her ass off to get where she is because she was dating Cena is nonsense.

I’ve been seeing some criticism of the reactions of Naomi, Lana, Peyton, and Carmella to the announcement that they were going to be in a battle royal at Evolution. Just going by WWE’s MO of telling people things and reading between the lines, it sounds like the ladies of SmackDown thought they were going to be doing something else at Evolution and only found out about the battle royal when the rest of us did. It’s not entitlement to feel disappointed that you’re not being given a better spot on a show that your hard work helped make possible, it’s a human reaction.

If people really want WWE to cancel Crown Jewel and take a big financial loss, that puts superstar jobs on the line, they need to do more than just complain. Start a GoFundMe or petition their congressmen to offer to pay WWE back whatever they stand to lose by breaking the Saudi contract, otherwise, shush.

That’s it for WWE Week in Review! I’ll be back next week with all the happenings of WWE as well as Evolution results. Have a great week and be good to each other!

 


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Opinion

Greg DeMarco’s Top 5: The Final Opponent For John Cena In WWE

It’s obvious that John Cena is nearing the end of his legendary career, and he’s suggested ending it at WrestleMania 41. Who should be his final opponent?

Published

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John Cena Last Match Randy Orton WWE WrestleMania 41

It’s obvious that John Cena is nearing the end of his legendary career, and he’s suggested ending it at WrestleMania 41. Who should be his final opponent?

John Cena recently appeared on the Pat McAfee Show, the Monday after his surprise (but mostly expected) WrestleMania 40 appearance during Cody Rhodes’ win over Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Championship. During that appearance, he confirmed what many expect, that he is nearly done with his in-ring career. But Cena even tossed out the idea of a time-frame, detailing that his acting schedule will likely take him through Christmas, and maybe Hollywood could “pump the brakes” to allow for one final run.

That run could easily begin at the Royal Rumble with a surprise entrance (or entering himself via TV appearances as part of the build), with a tease for his 17th world title win before finally settling in on his final match.

Fantasy booking and storytelling aside, the goal here is the final match–more specifically the final opponent. With a John Cena, you’ve got a ton of options. As such, it’s hard to narrow it down to 5, and one of your favorites is likely missing–be warned!

Greg DeMarco’s Top 5: The Final Opponent For John Cena In WWE

Honorable Mentions:

  • The Miz – A feud with John Cena gave The Mix a WrestleMania 27 main event–and a WrestleMania  main event victory on top of it. Miz has been receiving more love than ever lately, and a match with John Cena would not be misplaced. Maybe he can use their WrestleMania 33 contest (and Cena’s personal aftermath) as fodder for it, too.
  • AJ Styles – The man who once made it popular to “BEAT UP JOHN CENA” is also nearing the end of his run, and could be the one candidate on this list that could realistically give us a double-retirement match. He would also be the guy who retired both The Undertaker and John Cena (and would probably end up being the guy who lost in both).
  • The Rock or Cody Rhodes – Both great options, but you have to figure their dance card for WrestleMania 41 is already full, potentially standing across the ring from one another. Either is an amazing option (including “Thrice In A Lifetime”), but I just don’t think it’s in the cards.
  • Trick Williams – Potentially a surprising addition to the Honorable Mentions, but the comparisons are there in terms of in-ring style/ability, promo skills, and the interplay they had in NXT (remember, it was Cena who is credited with encouraging Trick to not be afraid to go for it himself despite his relationship with Carmelo Hayes).

5. CM Punk

The fifth spot on this list was nearly interchangeable between several of the honorable mention names, but it really came down to Punk and Seth Rollins for me (with a hint of AJ Styles). The 2011 feud between CM Punk and John Cena was legendary, and is a moment that will forever be seen by me as the one that truly cemented CM Punk as a member of the growing list of all-time greats in WWE.

Punk is uniquely qualified for this match as he would make it mean more than a showboat for John Cena’s career and final match. It’s entirely believable that CM Punk would want to put John Cena’s career into the ground, and WWE has the video archive to support it.

Despite being #5, this could actually be a dark-horse for the match we get, and I can’t see anyone reasonably being upset about that.

4. Roman Reigns

John Cena and Roman Reigns have had two separate legendary programs. the first saw Cena, at times, embarrass Roman in promo exchanges in a feud that took place in the “pre-Tribal Chief” era. The second is more fresh and likely more memorable, as John Cena put Roman Reigns over in a football stadium in Las Vegas at SummerSlam (although it might be more remembered for the return of Brock Lesnar).

Reigns, a legend himself at his point (he’s featured alongside Steve Austin at the top of the “Forever” portion of the Then/Now/Forever/Together video that recently debuted) would provide a pairing akin to The Undertaker serving as Shawn Michaels’ retirement opponent at WrestleMania 26 9notice I didn’t say “final opponent). The end of Roman’s 1316 day world title reign has brought about a new appreciation for Reigns, which would further enhance this pairing at WrestleMania 41.

3. Bron Breakker

Bron Breakker is the picture-perfect definition of a juggernaut in WWE, a fast rising star who almost seems like a lock to main event WrestleMania one day (you never know–Seth Rollins JUST got his first WrestleMania main event last weekend). Breakker recently said farewell NXT as the natural in-ring competitor makes a transition to full-time main roster competition.

https://cdn.wrestletalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/bron-breakker-john-cena-nxt-october-11-b.jpg

Breakker also fits the category of who “needs it.” Bring the man to retire John Cena would be quite the feather in the cap of Breakker’s early career, and would give him a moment that would be relived for generations to come. The only question mark is WWE “trusting” Breakker with this moment, as a sudden change of character could mean that Cena’s final match wouldn’t be seen or discussed as much. Breakker, to me, has given no reason for anyone to suspect that might happen, regardless of any controversies his father and uncle have been linked to.

2. R-Truth

Despite being 5-years older than John Cena, and making his in-ring debut in the same year (1999), R-Truth’s childhood hero hanging up the boots will undoubtedly be a hard-hitting moment for the  man who has basically become the WWE Mascot. Truth emulating Cena in his matches, and of course the RawAfterMania moment with Cena, Truth, and The Miz hitting a Fifteen Knuckle Shuffle (thank you, Michael Cole) on The Judgment Day makes this a near can’t miss final match for both John Cena and the WWE Universe.

R-Truth himself is equally deserving of this match, as it would be a reward for all of his years in the ring as part of a career that seems age defying while proving that age is not only a number, but also a number that can be ignored (see Child Hero, John Cena).

While a rematch of their 2011 WWE Capital Punishment main event is an unlikely WrestleMania 41 match-up, it’s one I believe everyone would love to see.

1. Randy Orton

I mean, is there anyone more perfect? John Cena and Randy were inseparably linked for a good portion of their careers, and have shared the ring more times than Big Show has turned babyface/heel. Both are far into legendary status at this point, and Orton specifically is obviously focused on enjoying this stage of his career.

But Orton is still delivering great performances inside the ring, too.

Randy Orton vs John Cena was an exciting proposition many years ago, became a punchline for WWE booking a few years ago, but is now coming full circle as the perfect match-up to end the amazing career of John Cena. It has my vote, and should have yours, too.

Even if R-Truth would be the most fun option.

What say you? Who is the best candidate to stand across the ring from John Cena in his final WWE match, potentially at WrestleMania 41? Who did I leave out?


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Greg DeMarco’s WrestleMania 40 Saturday Results & Review

It’s the Granddaddy Of ‘Em All, WrestleMania! Night 1 of WrestleMania XL and Greg DeMarco has your results and review!

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Sami Zayn WrestleMania 40

It’s the Granddaddy Of ‘Em All, WrestleMania! Night 1 of WrestleMania XL and Greg DeMarco has your results and review!

It all comes down to this–at least for the first night! A loaded card in front of a packed house, and I’d expect everyone to deliver one hell of a performance.

Women’s World Championship – Becky Lynch vs. Rhea Ripley (champion)

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Rhea Ripley retains

In my opinion, this match should be the main event of Night 1, but The Rock is back and that was going to take precedence (even if I disagree). Becky won this title shot at the Elimination Chamber, even though they were already building the feud before that event in Perth. Ripley herself main evented that event in a stadium, defeating Nia Jax.

  • It was revealed during her entrance that this is Becky Lynch’s “Flu Game,” as she has temperatures as high as 102 degrees throughout the week.
  • Rhea Ripley enters to a life performance of her entrance theme, which you can tell she dug.
  • Prime logo is center ring, just the black outline with “Prime” in the middle, and it is not at all bothersome. I can’t believe people made such a big deal out of bitching about that.
  • The stage looks dope, not at all “too small” as some had said. The whole environment looks great, honestly.
  • Rhea Ripley has been dealing with a wrist injury. She said on the Pat McAfee Show she didn’t expect to work with the wrist brace on tonight, but there it is.
  • Corey Graves points out that Becky’s training was likely impacted by her illness, and Pat McAfee scoffs at him for stating the obvious. I hope that isn’t what we get all night.
  • Commentary notes that is is 52 degrees and windy in the stadium, and I am reminded of Nick Khan’s comments about moving an outdoor WrestleMania to late April in the future, if they don’t get an indoor building (he did say “2026” when talking about that, which likely means the 2025 venue is indeed set).
  • Rhea’s Prism Trap is a fell of a submission finisher. Add in the body lock the way she did, and it’s even more impressive.
  • I just noticed the “Prime” turnbuckle pads and it’s…weird. I just didn’t expect it and can’t think of the last time we didn’t have the WWE/WWF logo on the buckles outside of Black and Gold NXT. WrestleMania 2?
  • I am also noticing that Dude Wipes seems to have sponsored the ring posts. Kudos to WWE (and the wrestling industry behind them) for being so damn desirable to sponsors!
  • That combo to get into the Riptide was fantastic–and the kickout was even better.
  • During the DisarmHer you can clearly see the commentary position, and Michael Cole is legit reclined all the way back. Love it–Cole is living his best life.
  • Rhea’s Riptide into the buckle before the proper Riptide was pretty sweet as well. Made Becky look insanely strong in defeat.

Winner via pinfall AND STILL your Women’s World Champion: Rhea Ripley

Hell of an opener, and if you didn’t know Becky was sick, you wouldn’t have known. Props to them both. That would have satisfied as a main event, but can now go down as one of the best openers in WrestleMania history.

Ladder Match for the Raw Tag Team Championships and Smackdown Tag Team Championships – DIY (Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano) vs. Awesome Truth (The Miz & R-Truth) vs. New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate) vs. A Town Down Under (Austin Theory & Grayson Waller) vs. The New Day (Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston) vs. The Judgment Day (Finn Balor & Damian Priest, Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions)

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Awesome Truth (Raw titles) and A-Town Down Under (SmackDown)

As many expected, the belts are hanging separately, meaning we are most likely splitting the tag titles here. Triple H and company have put some serious work into building up the tag team divisions of both brands, and even though I expect the two winners to not be actual “teams,” but either way I actually like the way they didn’t make a big deal out of splitting the titles up, they’re just doing it. They have been defended separately since being unified, albeit rarely.

  • R-Truth makes a joke about DIY being DX and that’s now taken off. I love it.
  • The Miz is very under appreciated. Can literally do anything.
  • Someone is struggling with the “Titan Tron” videos tonight.
  • Not gonna lie, I am the biggest Pat McAfee fan, but he’s actually quite annoying right now.
  • Sign of the night: SANTA DESERVED IT.
  • Lots of green in this match, half of the teams wearing their “WrestleMania Green” gear.
  • Also, loving the Consequences Creed gear for Woods.
  • God Bless Finn Balor for taking that Airplane Spin into the ladder.
  • 205 combined years of experience in this match. That’s an average of 17 years (Waller has the least with 7, Balor and Miz are tied for the most with 23).
  • “Dunne Mountain?!?!” Thank you Michael Cole for fixing that.
  • HOT TAG TO R-TRUTH!
  • Poor Finn Balor, not he takes the AA to the ladder after John Cena’s Five Moves Of Doom
  • R-TRUTH WITH THE PIN!
  • Hilarious.
  • A-Town Down Under gets the SmackDown tag titles!
  • And Grayson gets tossed through a ladder, still holding a title!
  • The match does continue until the Raw tag titles are also retrieved.
  • If Theory also got the Raw tag titles down, I will laugh my ass off.
  • Birminghammer is a fantastic name for a tandem (somewhat) Burning Hammer.
  • Tornado DDT through a table!
  • Air Raid Crash from the ladder!
  • And we still have more tables set-up.
  • JD McDonagh trying to get Finn–who has taken a beating–to get the Raw tag titles.
  • McDonagh through the tables!
  • PERFECTLY placed Razor’s Edge onto that chair.
  • Dude, that ladder is trashed. (And very unsafe.)
  • AA sends Damian outside!
  • I think everyone wants R-Truth to get this. EVERYONE.
  • YES!

Winners via belt retrieval, AND NEW:

  • SmackDown Tag Team Champions – Grayson Waller & Austin Theory
  • Raw Tag Team Champions – R-Truth & The Miz

Really good Ladder Match, but it’s hard to have a bad one. The tag team titles are split and it was really well done. It made perfect sense to do it that way, not make a big deal out of it and just let it happen. I am excited to see both teams win–not because I picked both, but because I think one team (Waller/Theory) have amazing futures and the other (Miz/Truth) will be a lot of fun, even if their run will probably be short lived.

Santos Escobar (with Legado Del Fantasma members Angel, Humberto, & Elektra Lopez) & Dominik Mysterio vs. Rey Mysterio & Andrade (with The LWO members Carlito, Joaquin Wilde, Cruz Del Toro, & Zelina Vega

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Dominik and Santos win, giving Dominik “revenge” for his loss at WrestleMania 39.

Look, this match doesn’t make a lick of sense–Dominik shows up two weeks ago and finds his way into another WrestleMania match with Rey? Definitely shoehorned. But Dominik is outstanding, so if this gets him on the card, I’ll take it.

  • More green in this match, and I am here for it.
  • Innovative Double Cross Body by Rey & Andrade.
  • Dominik showing experience beyond his years, making sure the ref sees his tag with Santos.
  • At this moment, I am wondering who turns–Carlito or Andrade. Gotta assume it’s one of them.
  • Three matches in and I don’t even notice the Primo logo in the center of the ring or on the turnbuckle pads.
  • Santos Escobar trying to unmask Rey Mysterio, as if we don’t all have Google.
  • Corey Graves making a great point about Rey taking some responsibility for the issues in his life, and Michael Cole immediately dismissing it.
  • It’s so hard to do a really good Dragon Screw Leg Whip, and Andrade (along with Dominik and Santos) just pulled off two to perfection.
  • Camera shot of Rey’s cross body shows the heaters above the ring. Good–keep ’em warm!
  • This could have easily been an 8-man tag team match. Maybe we get that Monday on Raw (which can also be where the turn happens, making my prediction here likely wrong).
  • Joaquin Wilde gets to do his NXT spot at WrestleMania, and that’s probably more important than officially being in the match.
  • Two masked men–definitely the Kelce Brothers–are here.
  • My bad, it was Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson. Good call, honestly. Great pop for them, too.
  • Looking at the reply, Dominik sold that ringpost spot like a champ.

Winners via pinfall (Rey on Santos): Rey Mysterio & Andrade

Fun tag team match that served its purpose. Needed? Maybe not, as I really wanted to get Liv Morgan vs. Nia Jax onto this card. But when you can get Rey & Dominik on the card, everyone will be happy. and of course the Jason Kelce & Lane Johnson appearances.

Brother vs Brother: Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Jimmy Uso follows in the footsteps of Owen Hart and Matt Hardy and beats the “more talented brother.”

They’ve wanted this match all their lives–and the preview video was insane. Very well done.

  • Jey in the WrestleMania whites tonight.
  • And we get a hot start to the match!
  • “Big Brother Jimmy” is always a fun thing to hear.
  • More Dude Wipes sponsorship on this one–you have to wonder if having Dude Wipes on the posts for the opener was in error.
  • Superkicks. Lots of Superkicks.
  • Very enjoyable YEET/NO chants from the crowd.
  • Jey just kicking the hell out of Jimmy, including a Jumping Super Kick.
  • This has “Fight Without Honor” feels from old school ROH, where the winners have respect after. We will definitely see these guys together again.
  • Jimmy apologizing to Jey. Crowd is not buying it.
  • Of course it was BS, and Jimmy gains the advantage.
  • SPEAR. USO SPLASH. DONE.

Winner, via pinfall: Jey Uso

Jey breaks the babyface curse by beating his heel brother. Thought we might get an embrace between them, instead we faded out. A good match that was more about the story than the in-ring action. I can see some feeling like this hasn’t “lived up to expectations” because of the high expectations you’d have for an Usos match. Their best work will always be as a team, but I know this is a lifelong dream come true for both.

As for all the Superkicks, I mean….it’s an Usos match.

Six-Woman Tag Team Match – Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai, Asuka, & Kairi Sane) vs. Naomi, Bianca Belair, & Jade Cargill

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Bianca, Naomi, & Jade win when Jade scores the pin (probably on Kairi, who always seems to eat the fall)

This match is all about getting Bianca Belair on the card (she had to be), and Jade Cargill’s debut. It also got Damage CTRL on the card, which they truly deserve–even if it is to lose.

  • Respectfully, Dakota Kai. (Good thing the ring and surrounding area is heated)
  • Not gonna lie, Jade looks nervous. But this is a six-woman tag, and her portion is likely highly choreographed. Gonna be all good.
  • As I watch and enjoy the match (but am not typing much lol), this seems like a match where we’re all just waiting for Jade to come in and win.
  • No one has told Jade about the tag ropes yet, apparently.
  • And now Jade is in, and Damage CTRL makes her look like a million bucks.
  • Dakota Kai nicely gets herself into position for the finish, and Jade gets her WrestleMania win.

Winners via pinfall (Jade on Dakota): Jade Cargill, Naomi, & Bianca Belair

We knew what this one was about going into it, and that’s what it should have been. Jade still ain’t ready. I know it might be an “ego hit” for her to go to NXT, but she needs it. If Giulia can go to NXT, so can Jade.

Intercontinental Championship – Sami Zayn vs. GUNTHER (champion)

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Sami Zayn pulls off the major upset and is the one to dethrone Gunther

Gunther has had a stranglehold on the Intercontinental Championship, defending it like crazy in 2023 but slowing that down here in 2024. It’s not fair to say he’s outgrown the title, but that might actually be the case. It’ll be really interesting to see what happens with Imperium leading up to the draft, and at the WWE Draft itself.

  • Sami Zayn was the perfect wrestler to have their journey form backstage to the ring followed by the cameras. From his family to Chad Gable to Kevin Owens, it was all so perfect–maybe too perfect? (Not in that someone will screw him, but in that it might be too heavily foreshadowing his win?)
  • Gunther looked oddly nervous standing on that stage.
  • You know, the Intercontinental Championship is basically a third world title at this point. And we could see the end of a legendary reign. I think this deserved the Samantha Irvin In-Ring Introductions (aka “Japan Style”) treatment.
  • Gunther is smiling confidently now, we’re good.
  • Crowd is ON FIRE for these guys (and evenly split with their chants for each guy).
  • This is the 21st time the Intercontinental championship is defended at WrestleMania, and it makes you wonder what in the hell they were thinking for the other 11.
  • Looks like Dude Wipes is back on the ringpost!
  • Hell of a nearfall, followed up by a Helluva Kick from Gunthcr, and one from Sami!
  • That finish….AMAZING.

Winner via pinfall, AND NEW Intercontinental Champion: Sami Zayn

The athletes… the moments… the storytelling… professional wrestling is such a beautiful business. Sami Zayn’s win over Gunther was everything I had hoped it would be when I picked Sami to win. Absolutely beautiful.

Cody Rhodes & World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins vs. The Rock & Undisputed WWE Champion Roman Reigns

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Seth & Cody get the win after tons of interference and surprise appearances, making Roman vs Cody on Sunday a match where The Bloodline is banned from ringside.

So much involved in this one. As you know, If Rock & Roman win, Sunday’s WWE Championship match will be held under Bloodline Roles. If Seth & Cody win, then that mach will see ZERO Bloodline involvement. Personally, if Cody is winning the title, I’d rather it be straight up. But I wouldn’t be at all surprised if I am wrong.

  • Honestly, after the introductions, I realized I was just watching!
  • This was very much Steve Austin vs The Rock inspired, with them fighting all over the stadium, and pushing the envelope.
  • I loved The Rock basically neutering the referee–normally I hate that, but here it works.
  • That finish and the condition of Rollins both lay perfectly into night 2, I would imagine.

Winners via Rock pinfall on Rhodes: The Rock & Roman Reigns

Per rule, Sunday’s main event will now be Bloodline Rules. And given that, my prediction of Roman retaining might be harder to pull off. This was a good return for The Rock, and perfectly played into the whole story. Job well done.


Greg DeMarco’s Overall Thoughts for WWE WrestleMania XL, Saturday (Night 1)

in a vacuum, this was  highly enjoyable show. Night 2 might end up being legendary if both Bayley and Rhodes win, and it could overshadow Night 1. But the scene was fantastic, production was top notch as always, and the fans went home having enjoyed one for the ages. The Triple H Era s well underway, and will likely kick into a higher gear with Night 2.


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