Opinion
The Good, Bad and Ugly: WWE Raw (12/10/18)
After a somewhat better show than usual last week, we have TLC coming up making this a sendoff show for the Pay Per View. We will solidify story-lines, and possibly add some unexpected drama. With TLC looking like a decent card on paper, can Raw do its job tonight?
THE GOOD
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship Match (3 vs. 2) AOP w/ Drake Maverick (c) vs. Bobby Roode and Chad Gable
Bobby Roode is an incredible talent who could easily be carrying WWE on either brand. He is Champion caliber. Starting off strong, AOP looked good in there. Gable did his thing, and showed some decent work. AOP after isolating the smaller Gable broke him down, and kept him away from Roode. Once free, Roode came in hot and tore the house down, beating down AOP until they were legit destroyed. However it was short lived as AOP crushed both Roode and Gable down to nothing. Just when it seemed lost, Drake Maverick got the tag and before he could finish off Roode got pinned for the 1-2-3. New Champions! Roode and Gable! It was “Glorious.” Great move WWE!
Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler
This is a great feud, with impeccable talent and potential all around. This is the type of match that can possibly turn things around for Raw. Drew McIntyre is of a bigger, better, class than most of the pack. He is refined and is growing into his role better every week. Although the promo in the beginning was unnecessary, McIntyre did well on the mic and got the crowd hot. McIntyre beat down on Ziggler,replaying their roles from last week, as big guy vs little guy. Drew McIntyre showed tremendous power, and looked sharp. Ziggler sells so well, and always looks good at what he does, putting over others. That high spot was brutal, and Ziggler landed horribly wrong but continued. After a close count out, both men were down. Ziggler looking for a super-kick but went down before connecting. McIntyre literally abused Ziggler but got hit with a “Zig-Zag” for a close 2 count. Ziggler went for a decisive “super-kick” again but got destroyed by a “Claymore Kick.” Drew McIntyre Wins! This was a Good Match again, showcasing some of the best on the Raw Brand. After the match McIntyre continued to destroy Ziggler, showing he has no remorse and previewing what may come to Finn Balor at TLC.
Elias vs. Lio Rush (w/ Bobby Lashley)
Babyface Elias is a Good Elias. Same exact character just now on the side of the fans. He has gotten better every week, gaining momentum just by doing his thing. That is a beautiful thing in wrestling. Elias is a star. Lio Rush from his time on 205 Live can definitely go. He is a tremendous talent. This match really had a lot of potential going into it. Heath Slater made his Referee Debut. Elias showcased his power throwing the much smaller Rush all around the ring. Lio Rush took one of the best corner bumps I have ever seen. It was completely unique. Of course Lashley and Elias got into it giving Rush an edge. Elias hit a“Last Ride Sitdown Powerbomb” until Lashley interfered for an obvious DQ. Heath Slater did not ring the bell allowing the interference. Lashley crushed a guitar over Elias. Slater still didn’t ring the bell. Lio Rush Wins! Decent match overall and Heath Slater allowing the craziness was unexpected. A Good unexpected twist.
TLC Intercontinental Championship Match: Seth Rollins (c) vs. GM-Elect Baron Corbin w/ Referee Heath Slater
This match is out of the ordinary especially with the Heath Slater story-line playing out. It really shows some guts before a PPV to have a match like this. So many X-Factor’s; Ambrose, Slater, and others that could come out and assist Corbin to win the title. A TLC Match for the IC Title as the Main Event is huge. Rollins came out on the offensive. The action looked Good. Rollins really can go, and puts it all out there. Corbin is tough to watch sometimes, but has his moments. Corbin bossing around Slater got old very quickly, and sometimes cheapened an otherwise decent match. Corbin really stiffed Rollins especially with the chair shots. Rollins really took an ass-kicking. Corbin pushed the limit the whole match. Even with his horrible gear and overrated appeal, he showed up tonight and put out some good work. Corbin hit a perfect “Deep Six” after a commercial break that looked solid. Even after Rollins got some offense he was greeted with a choke-slam through a table by Corbin after a failed 3rd Suicide Dive. Rollins came back swinging hitting Slater with a chair. Rollins hit a sick frog splash through a table to the outside. Rollins had the victory until Slater knocked down Rollins on the ladder. Corbin climbed the ladder with Slater’s help but Rollins got revenge power-bombing Corbin through a table, super-kicking Slater, hitting a “Curb Stomp” on Corbin and climbing the ladder for the victory. Rollins “Burned it Down” and if the TLC Match is anything like this will be on fire.
THE BAD
Opening Segment w/ Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins looking to “Burn It Down” at TLC this Sunday opened the show with some cheap pop. Unexpectedly,Rollins poked at Baron Corbin who no doubt obliged. Rollins planned on burying Raw’s mistakes and telling Corbin where he is lacking at his job. Rollins made it about protecting his brand “Monday Night Rollins” with the crowd expressing their gratitude with “Corbin Sucks,” and he does. So did this segment. The crowd loved it but I believe this was horrible. The blatant “shooting” was so obvious. It was almost like Rollins was just reading “mean tweets” to the crowd. It was a bold move, but cheap. No you are not CM Punk, and no this isn’t working. Please just wrestle, that is what you do best. Until then, this is just Bad. This set up a TLC Match with Rollins vs. Corbin later in the show surprisingly for the Intercontinental Championship saving it from the Ugly treatment.
Bayley (w/ Sasha Banks) vs. Alicia Fox (w/ the Singh Brothers and Jinder Mahal)
More Bayley almost always should be a Good thing, however overall this wasn’t a Good match. Alicia Fox is extremely awkward, and oversells like crazy. Of course there was some very predictable outside interference from Mahal and company leading to Apollo Crews running down for the save. Sasha Banks and Crews took care of the heels leading to a “Bayley to Belly” on Fox. Bayley Wins a Bad Match! Once Bayley and the Boss get into this Tag Team Gimmick more, we will have some Good things to watch. Recycling Fox every week is not the right move and hurts an otherwise decent match.
Dean Ambrose Backstage Promo
The new Dean Ambrose is Good, but that promo was out of place and completely weird. It would have had a lot more impact if he would have just done a run in during the TLC IC Title Match later in the night. Instead we had a typical promo that accomplished nothing. It’s Bad because of the wasted potential and shear overkill. Dean Ambrose is amazing,but this was Bad.
Alexa Bliss’ Promo w/ Nia Jax and Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey
Tamina Snuka can ruin anything, luckily this had failure written all over it well in advance. Tamina has the charisma of a flagpole, and Nia Jax is unforgivably bad on the mic. Rousey came marching down with her angry face of course. Outnumbered, Ember Moon runs down before anything went down. This was such crap, however it was effective setting up a match that hasno potential to be Good. Ember Moon vs the Heat Killer, Tamina.
Ember Moon vs. Tamina Snuka
Ember Moon is a fantastic talent and a treat to watch. Unfortunately Tamina just shouldn’t be in there. She is the worst talent in WWE, and drags down the people around her. It’stoo Bad that Ember Moon isn’t working someone that can showcase her great skill and hunger. This match was Bad in all possible ways, which literally pushed this show over the edge from bearable, too,hard to watch. After Rousey took care of Nia Jax outside, Ember hits the “Eclipse”for the victory. Ember Moon’s performance was stellar as always, however this just wasn’t a Good match. It left the room with a “who cares” feeling. What Ember provided though was Bad but not Ugly. Although this may have been the best Tamina has ever done, the match just wasn’t Good.
THE UGLY
Natalya Promo
This was a horrendous promo. Natalya is cringe worthy on the mic. She really lays on the “Hart Cheap Pop” every chance she gets. Her Dad was incredible,her Uncles incredible, her not so much. This was a crap promo, and a total waste of time. A match dedication? That is where we are at? I cannot bury this enough, but looks like Natalya did all the burying it needed. On the bright side, more Ruby Riott and The Riott Squad is an awesome thing. We have some great talent there. The match on Sunday at TLC should be a Good one, but until then, it is really Ugly to watch, or should I say,listen too.
FINAL TALLY
Good: 4
Bad: 6
Ugly: 1
Overall: Bad
The tally doesn’t lie, and neither do I. We had a Bad show even with the strong ending. Unlike last week, where the promos carried the weight, it was the action that carried the bulk of the Good this time around. However, we had a lot of not so Good moments. The Women’s Division unfortunately didn’t deliver their usual save this week. Tamina and Natayla were the main culprits of this Bad night. We had a few decent spots in the ring tonight though. Far from a total loss. Hopefully we will have a Good SmackDown to take the Bad taste out of our mouths before a stacked TLC on Sunday.
Let us know what you think on social media @theCHAIRSHOTcom and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!
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Opinion
TheChairshot.com PRESENTS: WWE Bash In Berlin Immediate Reactions
Join DJ and Tunney for their immediate reactions to WWE Bash in Berlin. For the latest, greatest and up to datest, ALWAYS #UseYourHead and visit THECHAIRSHOT.COM
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prowrestlingtees.com/TheChairshot – TONS of Great designs…MAKES A GREAT GIFT!
About Chairshot Radio Network
Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY – Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
TUESDAY – Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)
WEDNESDAY – The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)
THURSDAY – Keeping the news ridiculous… The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)
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SATURDAY – The Mindless Wrestling Podcast
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CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS
Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE’s PPV/PLE history)
TheChairshot.com PRESENTS…IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends
Patrick O’Dowd’s 5X5
Classic POD is WAR
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About Chairshot Radio Network
Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)
WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)
THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)
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CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS
Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)
TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends
Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5
Classic POD is WAR
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Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!
Opinion
AJ’s Top 3 Favorite SummerSlams
AJ is back with his annual opinion article, and this time the SummerSlam buzz got him wondering about his personal Top 3.
It’s been a while since I have done any form of writing and SummerSlam is this Saturday. Of all the SummerSlams I’ve seen over the years; which ones are my favorites? While it’s not a revolutionary idea, I figured everyone loves to debate favorites of well, anything. Don’t worry though because this isn’t just going to be pure recency bias. I’ve watched the majority of them so with the ones I put on the list, it hit me more in some way shape or form whether it was story, a really good match or it just felt like a solid event.
At least this proves WWE is trending in a good direction for me, when it gets the ol’ brain juices flowing just because a show is around the corner!
#3: 2022 (Ol’ Brock Lesnar Has A Farm)
Starting off the show, we get Bianca looking for a rematch against Becky from last years SummerSlam and it was better than the 21 second affair that everyone claims was a squash. This time Bianca holds her own and beats the Man in a fairly decent match, good way to get the event started. Next up is the heat seeking missile, Logan Paul against the former heat seeking missile because, well he wasn’t cut out for it and wasn’t a guy in everyone’s eyes, The Miz. After they had their blow off at Mania with Logan coming out on top which… isn’t awful, I just don’t like Logan Paul because he has that dude bro aura and swagger to make him more hateable than any other person on the card. Which I suppose is his gimmick…so…kudos?
First Championship match is for the US Championship and it’s as expected that in Theory, he should never beat someone to the caliber of Bobby Lashley which is no surprise. Dominik and Rey still back when Dom wanted the good fight against the Judgement Day before joining them later. The former Colts players, which they hammered it dahn in this match up showed that the canal swimming, trash talkin’, podcastin’, current RAW Color Commentatin’ goofball we all love, Pat McAfee came out on top again Bum Ass Corbin.
Usos putting the Street Profits on lockdown in the penitentiary since I believe this was peak Bloodline with the belt collecting and running all of WWE. Liv beat Ronda Rousey which isn’t astonishing but it’s not something people had on their bingo cards for anything with WWE so it was a nice little shock factor. The most memorable part of the night is obviously the Main Event, Lesnar brings the tractor, Roman catching the Microphone and Brock stands on top of the vehicle. Damn good match that showed off what they do in the ring since Roman caught his stride as the main bad guy and Brock… liked people after all of this? That is still a weird statement in my head. Brock being a good guy people person. If Liv wasn’t on bingo cards for wrestling, that is not on bingo cards in any aspect of life really.
That is more of the event that had solid matches and story going for it. No weird double count out, multiple people involved, 5 tag matches on the card. Things made sense and weren’t convoluted, had shocking moments that were great to see like Liv actually getting a title defense and there were the results we all expected at the time like Theory losing in 4 minutes to Bobby Lashley.
#2: 2009 (Are You Ready for The Return?)
This event wasn’t that strong. It was strong with the star power involved in 2009 with guys like Rey Mysterio as Intercontinental Champion, Orton and Cena for the WWE Championship as it was becoming as stale as month old chips and CM Punk was facing Jeff Hardy before he ultimately returned to TNA at the beginning of 2010 after this PPV. For me, it’s not so much of the show itself, it was more of the memories because the Balai as our friends Chris Platt and Rey Cash like to call my brother and I, we were just coming back into wrestling and we were TNA Fans. We didn’t watch WWE that much really, it was just what came on after another channel had old ROH shows before they moved to three hours and swallowed the 8pm Eastern Slot. No, the reason why this has so many memories for me is three main reasons. First, Orton and Cena. They have had their rivalry since the beginning it seems, being each others foils like Hogan and Piper before them and there had to be a stipulation where if Randy was Counted Out or DQ’d, he’d lose the championship regardless. This was prime Viper Randy and the obvious joke we had of Super Cena where he very rarely lost, unless it was SummerSlam surprisingly enough.
Number two reason was CM Punk and Jeff Hardy. Hardys known for the Ladder and TLC matches in the past and this being the penultimate match for this feud and it was a banger of a match. If you didn’t know Punk before, it was a great introduction to his wrestling. I used to like Punk a lot because of this match because he could talk, wrestle… and not insanely personal with things in wrestling. In all seriousness, this was a great match. Ultimate risks, high reward for Punk grabbing the World Heavyweight Championship and he was given his next feud because of the final boss of SmackDown at that time. Thanks, Teddy Long.
The main and final reason though why this match gave me the memories flowing back is more of the fact that one of my closest and longest termed friends of 23 years, also loves wrestling. Back when we were younger, he’d do MoCap videos on YouTube with his figures. We’d have friends come over for parties at his house and we’d do the one thing WWE always told us not to do and that was try it at home. He was always stronger than me, I was always more charismatic. He had the power aspect and did things with brute force, I could talk my way out of trouble with parents if we did something wrong. There was always one thing that our respective mother’s always called us though… it’s on the tip of my tongue… oh right, ‘Degenerates’.
As soon as we were called that, we kind of parodied the DX line. I was limber enough to do the HBK pose and do a Superkick before it became the new DDT and he would just Spinebuster people and knew how to do the water spit. So what do you think was the main reason we even ordered this PPV for his 13th Birthday? I think the two guys we were pretending to be were set to return on a tank and toss out some glow sticks. The return of DX, Shawn Michaels coming back after Mania with Triple H to deal with the Legacy problem was an amazing return for them and made everything so much fun.
So we have the solid card and this one has a personal story… what’s my number one SummerSlam? Is it personal? Well yes but not going into that. Is it a good card? To me, it was a phenomenal card! Is it memorable? Seeing how wrestling fans still mention at least three matches to this day.
#1: 2005 (Octopus in the Washer, Lover’s Quarrel and Where the F%#$ is Vickie?)
Quite possibly some of the best matches I’ve seen and one that was just the most hilarious moments of overselling in wrestling history, I know why I love this SummerSlam but it’s also a really good card at the same time. Redacted beats Orlando Jordan in 25 seconds for the US Title and they made jokes about it like, he can make a coffee faster than he beat Orlando and stuff like that, it’s pretty funny. Angle getting sick of Eugene’s antics for his Gold Medal was also a great bit they had play up, the Year long feud of Randy Orton and Undertaker was still going on where Orton comes out on top this time around to get the win back from Mania, Jericho returning for the match with Cena in a whole promotional thing for each other’s groups, Fozzy for Jericho and the Chain Gang doing Bad, Bad Man for Cena leading up to a match for the WWE Championship. JBL won a 20 man battle royal on SmackDown to win the Championship…… Opportunity to face the newest member of SmackDown, Batista but the three main matches that a lot of people talk about to this day; Edge vs Matt Hardy, Rey vs Eddie for Dominik and Hogan vs HBK in the Main Event.
I have reasons to enjoy the Hardy/Edge match but it looked like a real fight, it really made us believe that Matt Hardy was going to kill Edge because real names were dropped during this tirade from Hardy. It wasn’t Edge and Lita, it was Adam and Amy. Matt was so dead set on beating the hell out of Edge that they made a situation into gold and it was a great moment for this match to happen, I believe it was also an Unsanctioned Match too which added the intensity until matt got concussed and knocked senseless that it looked like he couldn’t fight for anything but the build up was what made it seem like a marque match. It made it feel real, it made it feel awesome and it made it feel personal.
Eddie kept tormenting Rey Mysterio about Dominik not being Rey’s but Eddie’s for the summer. That’s all you heard from Eddie being the weasel he was is hanging out with Dominik, making the world believe it’s his son and what not (Let’s not do a fast forward to today where he has the mullet, mustache and everything like Eddie) but they settle this in a Ladder Match where the top of it is a document for the custody of Dominik and my god, this match is better than it should have been. I expect nothing else from Eddie because the man hated having a bad match, Dom got involved and stopped Eddie, Vickie was late and stopped Eddie. The whole match was good it was just very weird with the premise but was a great match. I wonder if Rey regrets his decision to win the match now…
Octopus in a Washing Machine… those five words have resonated with Shawn Michaels’ performance in this match, forever. It was supposed to be an amazing match up between Hogan and Michaels, Icon vs Icon it said and suddenly Hogan’s back gives out, can’t do a trilogy of matches so we can only do the one and then pull out of everything after. This match was set up to be a classic and instead turned into the most unbelievable sell fest ever. A Hogan big boot caused Shawn to tumble 3 or 4 times, getting crotched on the ropes had HBK bouncing higher than he should have, being tossed out of the ring made it look like Shawn never broke his back in 1998 from how much he flopped and flipped around like crazy. It’s bad… or maybe even good that a lot of current wrestlers watched this match that went, “I can sell like that, I want to be a wrestler” and did. So good or bad, I don’t know but for some reason this PPV has always had a place in my heart for how memorable it was.
Those are my top three SummerSlams so far but who knows, 2024 has potential to maybe bump something or at least get me to consider a shift. Should be fun to see how the show plays out! What are some of your favorite SummerSlams?
About Chairshot Radio Network
Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)
WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)
THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)
FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)
SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast
SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast
CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS
Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)
TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends
Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5
Classic POD is WAR
Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!
Powered by RedCircle
Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!