Lt. Palumbo
Hank Scorpio
On again off again watcher of a wrestling TV show
Posts: 6,068
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Post by Lt. Palumbo on Nov 18, 2018 22:46:14 GMT -5
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Post by prichardmark on Nov 18, 2018 22:47:35 GMT -5
Smart management would have had held off on Bryans return for the rumble with tons of anticipation and have him win it beat Lesnar at Mania. Or make him a surprise entrant.
This company? Nope. Turn him heel pointlessly (After being the biggest babyface they had in quite a few years) and have him job on a throwaway PPV for NO Reason at all.
I guess thats why fewer people than ever before watch WWE. Sad. They have all the cards in their hand, everything was there and just BLOW IT
Bryan never should have resigned. I would have gotten Punk/Cena together and headed to ROH and challenged this clueless company and gone head to head. If enough guys jump shipped, the Mcmahons would have been in a world of hurt right now .
WWE needs competition desperately.
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mcstoklasa
Hank Scorpio
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Posts: 6,979
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Post by mcstoklasa on Nov 18, 2018 22:48:16 GMT -5
Goldberg had a baller match with Brock at Mania and the first Brock match against Cena at Extreme Rules is one of my favorite matches of all time. But yeah. Brock's matches lately have been hot and cold to say the least. Man, I forgot all about Goldberg and still haven't seen the 2012 Cena match. Brock matches worth your time- Vs Cena 2012 Vs Punk 2013 Vs Cena Summerslam 2014 Vs Cena vs Rollins 2015 Vs Reigns 2015 Vs Undertaker 2015 (both matches) Forget 2016 Vs Goldberg 2017 Vs Joe 2017 (though too short) Four way match at Summerslam 2017 Vs Styles 2017 Forget 2018 until the Bryan match |
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Post by MrElijah on Nov 18, 2018 22:49:20 GMT -5
Man, I forgot all about Goldberg and still haven't seen the 2012 Cena match. I looooooove the Goldberg match. I was in the building for it and that stadium reacted like that match was real. It wasn't some go along with the spots and clap along stuff. It was a real fight in that moment. Now the Goldberg match is back to me. They wrestled with a sense of urgency, something sorely lacking today. |
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Post by 1 Free Moon-Down with Burger on Nov 18, 2018 22:51:05 GMT -5
Smart management would have had held off on Bryans return for the rumble with tons of anticipation and have him win it beat Lesnar at Mania. Or make him a surprise entrant. This company? Nope. Turn him heel pointlessly (After being the biggest babyface they had in quite a few years) and have him job on a throwaway PPV for NO Reason at all. I guess thats why fewer people than ever before watch WWE. Sad. They have all the cards in their hand, everything was there and just BLOW IT Bryan never should have resigned. I would have gotten Punk/Cena together and headed to ROH and challenged this clueless company and gone head to head. If enough guys jump shipped, the Mcmahons would have been in a world of hurt right now . WWE needs competition desperately. Uhhhh. Cena ain't going to no ROH lol.\ For what? To wrestle Punishment Martinez for a fraction of the money. Pfffft. That's not good enough for the GOAT. |
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Post by hbkid718 on Nov 18, 2018 23:09:03 GMT -5
Here are the 2018 facts for Survivor Series:
- Team Raw VS Team Smackdown was the 1st 20-Man Tag Team Match of 2018, the 2nd Elimination Match of 2018 & the 1st since 205 Live on June 26, Gallows & Anderson & The Colons’ 1st match since Smackdown on August 28, Killian Dain & Eric Young’s 1st match since Smackdown on September 4, The B-Team & The Revival’s 1st PPV since SummerSlam on August 19, SAnitY’s 1st PPV since Extreme Rules on July 15, Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows & Bobby Roode’s 1st PPV since Money In The Bank on June 17, which was Gallows & Anderson’s last PPV opener, The Ascension, Chad Gable, & Primo’s 1st PPV since the Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27, Lince Dorado & Gran Metalik’s 1st PPV match & opener since the Royal Rumble on January 28, Epico Colon’s 1st PPV of 2018, Ascension, B-Team, Primo Colon, Gable, Revival’s 1st PPV opener since WrestleMania 34 on April 7, Big E’s 1st PPV opener since Hell In A Cell on September 10, Xavier Woods’ 1st PPV opener since Super Show-Down on October 6, Bobby Roode, Sanity, & The Usos’ 1st PPV opener of 2018
- Team Raw VS Team Smackdown was the 6th 10-Person Tag Team Match of 2018 & the 1st since Raw on October 29 & was the 3rd Elimination Match of 2018 & the 1st time there were 2 on the same show
- Seth Rollins VS Shinsuke Nakamura was the 5th PPV in a row that there was no Intercontinental Championship Match & the 1st PPV not counting Evolution since Super Show-Down on October 6 that there was no United States Championship Match
- The Authors of Pain VS Cesaro & Sheamus was Akam & Rezar’s WWE PPV debut, the 4th PPV in a row that there was no Raw Tag Team Championship Match, & the 1st PPV not counting Evolution since Backlash on May 5 that there were no Smackdown Tag Team Championship Match
- Mustafa Ali VS Buddy Murphy was the 9th Cruiserweight Championship Match of 2018, & 1st since Super Show-Down on October 6, Ali’s 1st PPV since WrestleMania 34 on April 8, & their 5th re-match (& was the 3rd Cruiserweight Title Change of 2018 & 1st since Murphy defeated Cedric Alexander at Super Show-Down on October 6)
- Team Raw VS Team Smackdown Live was the 7th 10-Person Tag Team Match of 2018 the 1st time there were 2 on the same show & the 4th Elimination Match of 2018 & the 1st time there were 3 on the same show & was Finn Balor’s 1st PPV since SummerSlam on August 19
- Ronda Rousey VS Charlotte Flair was the 2nd PPV in a row that there was no Women’s Championship Match & was Flair’s 1st singles match not against Becky Lynch since she defeated Sonya Deville on Smackdown on September 11, & was the 54th Disqualification of 2018, the 1st since Raw on October 29, & the 1st on PPV since Super Show-Down on October 6
- Daniel Bryan VS Brock Lesnar was the 1st time since Super Show-Down that the Universal Championship was not defended & the 1st since Elimination Chamber on February 26 that the WWE Championship was not defended, not counting Evolution, was Bryan’s 1st PPV main event since the Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27, & was Lesnar’s 1st PPV main event since SummerSlam on August 19
Here are the Survivor Series History Facts:
- Team Raw VS Team Smackdown Live was the 82nd Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match in Survivor Series History & the 16th year in a row, the 8th time there was a Team Raw, making it the most used name in Survivor Series History & the 6th time there was a Team Smackdown Live, making it the 2nd most used name in Survivor Series History, the 35th Kickoff Match in Survivor Series History & 11th in a row & the 1st time since 2015 that there was only 1 Kickoff Match at Survivor Series, the 1st Elimination Match to be on the Kickoff Show since 2015, one of the participants were the 750th Survivor Series Participant in History, counting each match as separate participants, The Ascension’s 2nd Survivor Series & 1st since 2015, their 2nd Survivor Series Match & 1st since 2015, & 2nd Kickoff Match & 1st since 2015, Curtis Axel’s 2nd Survivor Series, his 1st since 2013, his 1st ever Survivor Series match & 1st Kickoff Match, Bo Dallas’ 2nd Survivor Series & 1st since 2015, Chad Gable’s 2nd Survivor Series & 1st since 2016, his 2nd Survivor Series Match & 1st since 2016, & his 1st Kickoff Match, Bobby Roode’s 2nd Survivor Series in a row, 2nd Survivor Series Match in a row, his 1st Kickoff Match, & he is the 1st wrestler since Carlito in 2005 & 2006 to go from the Survivor Series main event to the following year’s Kickoff Match, & is the only wrestler to go from Team Smackdown to Team Raw in back-to-back Survivor Series in this match, & the 1st time that Chad Gable & Bobby Roode will be Captains of a Survivor Series team, Lince Dorado & Gran Metalik’s Survivor Series debut, Epico Colon’s 4th Survivor Series & 1st since 2016, his 3rd Survivor Series Match & 1st since 2016, his 1st Kickoff Match & the 2nd time he was on Team Smackdown. Was Primo Colon’s 4th Survivor Series & 1st since 2016, his 3rd Survivor Series Match & 1st since 2016, & his 1st Kickoff Match, & the 2nd time he was on Team Smackdown, Karl Anderson’s 2nd Survivor Series & 1st since 2016, his 2nd Survivor Series match & 1st since 2016, & his 1st Kickoff Match, was Luke Gallows’ 2nd Survivor Series & 1st since 2016, his 2nd Survivor Series Match & 1st since 2016 & 1st Kickoff Match, was Big E’s 5th Survivor Series & 4th in a row, his 3rd Survivor Series Match & 1st since 2016, & his 1st Kickoff Match, & the 2nd time he was on Team Smackdown, Xavier Woods’ 3rd Survivor Series & 2nd year in a row, his 2nd Survivor Series Match & 1st since 2015, & his 1st Kickoff Match, was The Usos’ 6th Survivor Series in a row, 4th Survivor Series match & 1st since 2016, their 1st Kickoff Match, & 2nd time they were on Team Smackdown, The Usos were the 150th Survivor in Survivor Series History, the 56th time that the Captains were survivors, & the 34th Sole Survivors in History
- Team Raw VS Team Smackdown Live was the 83rd Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match in Survivor Series History & the 16th year in a row, the 9th time there was a Team Raw, making it the most used name in Survivor Series History & the 7th time there was a Team Smackdown Live, making it the 2nd most used name in Survivor Series History, Alexa Bliss was the 6th time in Survivor Series History that a Captain wasn’t an actual participant in the match, Sasha Banks & Bayley’s 3rd Survivor Series in a row & 3rd year in a row they were on Team Raw, Mickie James’ 5th Survivor Series, tying her with Naomi this year, along with Trish Stratus for the 2nd most Survivor Series matches for women, & 1st since 2009, giving her a 9 year gap between Survivor Series matches, tying her wih Mark Henry (1999-2008), & Albert/Tensai (2003-2012) for 7th place for largest gap between Survivor Series matches, her 3rd Survivor Series match & 1st since 2009, & the 2nd time she was part of Team Raw & the 1st since 2008, Nia Jax’s 3rd Survivor Series in a row, 3rd Survivor Series match in a row, & 3rd year in a row she was on Team Raw., was Tamina’s 3rd Survivor Series & 2nd in a row, her 3rd Survivor Series match & 2nd in a row, was Asuka’s 2nd Survivor Series in a row, her 2nd Survivor Series match in a row, & is the only wrestler of Team Raw that was on Team Smackdown in 2017, was Carmella’ 3rd Survivor Series in a row & her 3rd Survivor Series match in a row, Sonya Deville & Mandy Rose’s Survivor Series debut, Naomi’s 5th Survivor Series, tying her with Mickie James this year, along with Trish Stratus for the 2nd most Survivor Series matches for women, her 5th Survivor Series match & 3rd year in a row, & the 3rd year in a row that she was on Team Smackdown, Sonya Deville & Bayley were the 50th Elimination by Count Out in Survivor Series History, the 5th year in a row that someone was eliminated by Count Out in a Survivor Series Match & the 1st since Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods in 2015 that 2 people were eliminated by Count Out in the same match, & Nia Jax was the 35th Sole Survivor in Survivor Series History & the 1st time since 1999 that there were 2 Sole Survivors on the same night
- Seth Rollins VS Shinsuke Nakamura was the 18th Non-Title Match in Survivor Series History & 2nd year in a row, the 2nd year in a row that there was no Intercontinental Championship Match & the 6th year in a row that there was no United States Championship Match at Survivor Series, Seth Rollins’ 5th Survivor Series & 3rd in a row, Shinsuke Nakamura’s 2nd Survivor Series in a row, & both wrestlers’ 1st ever Singles Match at Survivor Series
- The Authors of Pain VS Cesaro & Sheamus was the 20th Non-Title Match in Survivor Series History & 2nd year in a row, the 4th year in a row that was no Tag Team Championship Match at Survivor Series, The Authors of Pain’s Survivor Series debut, making Akam the 350th wrestler to compete at Survivor Series, Cesaro’s 6th Survivor Series & 3rd in a row, Sheamus’ 9th Survivor Series match, but 8th PPV since he competed twice in 2015 & 4th year in a row, & was the 2nd year in a row that Cesaro & Sheamus were Tag Team Champions wrestling in a Non-Title Match at Survivor Series, but in 2017, they were Raw Tag Team Champions
- Mustafa Ali VS Buddy Murphy was the 6th Cruiserweight Championship Match in Survivor Series History & 3rd year in a row, the 2nd year in a row that the Cruiserweight Title was the only Title on the line at Survivor Series, the 1st time since 2016 that it was defended on the main show, & was Mustafa Ali & Buddy Murphy’s Survivor Series debut, making them the 1st wrestlers since Kidman & Noble in 2002 to make their Survivor Series debut competing for the Cruiserweight Title
- Team Raw VS Team Smackdown was the 84th Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match in Survivor Series History & the 16th year in a row, the 10th time there was a Team Raw, making it the most used name in Survivor Series History & the 8th time there was a Team Smackdown Live, making it the 2nd most used name in Survivor Series History, Baron Corbin was the 7th time in Survivor Series History that a Captain wasn’t an actual participant in the match, Finn Balor’s 2nd Survivor Series in a row, 2nd Elimination Match in a row, & 2nd year in a row he was part of Team Raw, Bobby Lashley’s 3rd Survivor Series & 1st since 2006, giving him a 12 year gap between Survivor Series matches, tying him with Kurt Angle (2003-2017) & The Dudley Boyz (2003-2015) for 4th place for largest gap between Survivor Series matches, his 3rd Survivor Series match & 1st since 2006, Drew McIntyre’s 3rd Survivor Series & 1st since 2010, giving him an 8 year gap between Survivor Series matches, tying him with Mabel/Viscera (1999-2007), Triple H & Matt Hardy (2009-2017), Brian Kendrick (2008-2016), & R-Truth (2000-2008) for 7th place for largest gap between Survivor Series matches, his 3rd Survivor Series match & 1st since 2010, Braun Strowman’s 3rd Survivor Series in a row, 3rd Survivor Series match in a row, & 3rd year in a row he was on Team Raw, Dolph Ziggler’s 9th Survivor Series, tying him with Jeff Hardy & Sheamus this year, along with The Big Boss Man, Edge, Goldust, & Chris Jericho for 7th most Survivor Series Matches in History, & his 1st since 2015, his 5th Survivor Series Match & 1st since 2014, Jeff Hardy’s 9th Survivor Series, tying him with Sheamus & Dolph Ziggler this year, along with The Big Boss Man, Edge, Goldust, & Chris Jericho for 7th most Survivor Series Matches in History, & 1st since 2007, giving him an 11 year gap between Survivor Series matches, tying him with Goldust (2002-2013) for 5th place for largest gap between Survivor Series matches, his 5th Survivor Series Match & 1st since 2007, Samoa Joe’s 2nd Survivor Series in a row, 2nd Survivor Series Match in a row, & the only wrestler in the match to go from Team Raw to Team Smackdown Live in back-to-back years, Shane McMahon’s 5th Survivor Series & 3rd year in a row, & 4th Survivor Series match & 3rd year in a row, & 3rd year in a row he was on Team Smackdown Live, Miz’s 11th Survivor Series, tying him with Bret Hart for 5th most Survivor Series matches in History & 8th year in a row, tying him with Triple H (2002-2009) & Cody Rhodes (2007-2015), for 4th most consecutive matches in Survivor Series History, his 5th Survivor Series match & 1st since 2015, the 3rd time that he was a Captain & the 1st time since 2012, Rey Mysterio’s 10th Survivor Series, tying him with John Cena, Billy Gunn, & The Rock for 6th most matches in Survivor Series History, & his 1st 2013, giving him a 5 year gap between Survivor Series matches, his 6th Survivor Series match & 1st since 2013, Braun Strowman was the 1st wrestler in Survivor Series History to eliminate 3 wrestlers 2 years in a row & the 1st since Roman Reigns in 2013 to eliminate 4 wrestlers in the same match, he was the 1st wrestler since Jeff Hardy in 2006 & 2007 to be a Survivor at back-to-back Survivor Series, & he, McIntyre, & Lashley were the 1st time there were 3 Survivors in a match since McInytyre, Miz, & Sheamus in 2009
- Ronda Rousey VS Charlotte Flair was the 20th Non-Title Match in Survivor Series History & 2nd year in a row, the 3rd year in a row that there was not a Women’s Championship Match at Survivor Series, Ronda Rousey’s Survivor Series debut, Charlotte Flair’s 4th Survivor Series & 2nd year in a row she competed in a Non-Title Singles Match, was the 250th Match in Survivor Series History, counting Dark, Pre-Show, & Kickoff Matches, & was the 12th Disqualification in Survivor Series History & the 1st since 2016
- Daniel Bryan VS Brock Lesnar was the 21st Non-Title Match in Survivor Series History & 2nd year in a row, the 3rd year in a row that there will be no WWE or Universal Championship Matches at Survivor Series, Daniel Bryan’s 4th Survivor Series & 1st since 2013 & his 1st 1-on-1 match at Survivor Series since he defeated Ted DiBiase in 2010, Brock Lesnar’s 5th Survivor Series & 3rd year in a row, his 3rd singles match in a row, 2nd Non-Title Match in a row, & 2nd year in a row that he was Universal Champion at Survivor Series, Lesnar’s 2nd Survivor Series main event & his 1st since 2016 & Bryan’s 1st ever Survivor Series main event, & was the 1st Singles Match to main event Survivor Series since Lesnar VS Goldberg in 2016, which was also a Non-Title Match
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Post by Citizen Snips on Nov 18, 2018 23:12:10 GMT -5
Smart management would have had held off on Bryans return for the rumble with tons of anticipation and have him win it beat Lesnar at Mania. Or make him a surprise entrant. This company? Nope. Turn him heel pointlessly (After being the biggest babyface they had in quite a few years) and have him job on a throwaway PPV for NO Reason at all. I guess thats why fewer people than ever before watch WWE. Sad. They have all the cards in their hand, everything was there and just BLOW IT Bryan never should have resigned. I would have gotten Punk/Cena together and headed to ROH and challenged this clueless company and gone head to head. If enough guys jump shipped, the Mcmahons would have been in a world of hurt right now . WWE needs competition desperately. Uhhhh. Cena ain't going to no ROH lol.\ For what? To wrestle Punishment Martinez for a fraction of the money. Pfffft. That's not good enough for the GOAT. Even if Punk didn't openly despise pro wrestling these days and Cena wasn't only keeping a toe in for big payoffs/insurance if his career in Hollywood doesn't take off, where on Earth would ROH get the money to pay for them? |
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Post by EoE: Well There's Your Problem on Nov 18, 2018 23:13:36 GMT -5
OK, coming into this completely blind in terms of reading the tone of the board (beyond scattered posters on my Twitter feed) so here goes...
It was another of those weird roller coaster shows where you have the best tropes and worst tropes of the company coming out. Three good to great matches in Murphy v Ali, Rousey v Flair and (eventually) Lesnar v Bryan. the Survivor Series tag matches and Rollins v Nakamura were OK and AoP v The Bar just never got going for me, even with whatever the hell Enzo Amore was doing in the crowd.
Also weird that they’d finally go with one of these brands clean sweeping the show, but at the end of the day I’m not going to stop watching SmackDown because of it, especially since this likely won’t be brought up again after this week’s TV.
Finally, the Charlotte Flair heel turn... What is it lately that every time they do a heel turn, it just gets people more over as a babyface? And does this mean Lynch is back to being an official face? Man... weird.
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Post by Oh Cry Me a Screwball on Nov 18, 2018 23:14:52 GMT -5
Smart management would have had held off on Bryans return for the rumble with tons of anticipation and have him win it beat Lesnar at Mania. Or make him a surprise entrant. This company? Nope. Turn him heel pointlessly (After being the biggest babyface they had in quite a few years) and have him job on a throwaway PPV for NO Reason at all. I guess thats why fewer people than ever before watch WWE. Sad. They have all the cards in their hand, everything was there and just BLOW IT Bryan never should have resigned. I would have gotten Punk/Cena together and headed to ROH and challenged this clueless company and gone head to head. If enough guys jump shipped, the Mcmahons would have been in a world of hurt right now . WWE needs competition desperately. Uhhhh. Cena ain't going to no ROH lol.\ For what? To wrestle Punishment Martinez for a fraction of the money. Pfffft. That's not good enough for the GOAT. He’s going to the wrong promotion to wrestle Punishment Martinez. He in NXT now. |
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Post by 1 Free Moon-Down with Burger on Nov 18, 2018 23:15:05 GMT -5
Uhhhh. Cena ain't going to no ROH lol.\ For what? To wrestle Punishment Martinez for a fraction of the money. Pfffft. That's not good enough for the GOAT. Even if Punk didn't openly despise pro wrestling these days and Cena wasn't only keeping a toe in for big payoffs/insurance if his career in Hollywood doesn't take off, where on Earth would ROH get the money to pay for them? Right? And don't tell me that Sinclair would toss money in. ROH can't even guarantee a long term contract with the Young Bucks. They're gonna lock down JOHN CENA? |
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Jonathan Michaels
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
The Archduke of Levity
Here since TNA was still kinda okay
Posts: 18,579
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Post by Jonathan Michaels on Nov 18, 2018 23:15:33 GMT -5
Did Miz get chumped out or did he look decent and credible?
I’m curious if this is leading to Shane blaming Miz for everything and that’s how you turn Miz, by having him be the one to go against heel Shane?
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The Kevstaaa
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Heck of a wrestler, great technician, and a jam up guy
Posts: 18,525 
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Nov 18, 2018 23:29:07 GMT -5
WWE Survivor Series
November 18th, 2018 | Staples Center in Los Angeles, California
Kickoff Match: Team Raw Tag Teams (The B-Team, Bobby Roode & Chad Gable, The Ascension, The Lucha House Party, and The Revival) vs. Team Smackdown Tag Teams (The Colons, The Good Brothers, The New Day, SAnitY, and The Usos)
With so many moving parts, this had potential to be a train wreck or an awesome match like the 2016 edition. This ended up ranking somewhere in the middle. It wasn’t stellar but was far from bad. First off, I popped for Primo Colon, still getting PPV checks after a decade or so. Anyway, most of the early stuff was fine. However, once it came down to Roode & Gable/Revival/Lucha House Party against New Day/Usos, this picked up in a major way. Gable and Roode showed off some dope tag moves. Gable also had the big spot of the match, hitting a massive German off the top and to the outside onto everyone left in the match. Xavier Woods fell victim to an insane Shatter Machine when he tried his springboard elbow. That left it down to my dream match, Revival vs. Usos. Their interaction wasn’t long, but it was really good. The Usos won with the big splash in 23:04. I called this the Sabu of matches. It was sloppy as hell, but really fun. I liked the shine for Revival and the back third of the match was so good. [***]
Team Raw Women (Bayley, Mickie James, Nia Jax, Sasha Banks, and Tamina) w/ Alexa Bliss vs. Team Smackdown Women (Asuka, Carmella, Mandy Rose, Naomi, and Sonya Deville) w/ R-Truth
Due to a Kickoff backstage fight between Ruby Riott and Natalya, Alexa Bliss kicked them off the team. She replaced them with a cohesive duo, Bayley and Sasha Banks. Nia got massive heat and she made sure to brush off her fist during her entrance. Naomi played team captain role, yet got eliminated first, followed quickly by Tamina. The less Tamina in a match, the better. Mandy Rose was given a lot of shine and fared far better than expected. She even pinned Mickie. Sonya and Asuka were the last two Smackdown girls, which is great. Sonya is underrated. They were matched against Bayley, Sasha, and Nia. Sonya and Bayley got eliminated via double countout. The finish was clear as soon as Nia was knocked outside. Asuka and Sasha had a very good back and forth. Nia knocked Sasha to the ring, allowing Asuka to eliminate her with the Asuka Lock. Nia then came in and hit a bunch of leg drops and a Samoan Drop to win as the sole survivor in 20:14. A well laid out match with some strong interactions. Sonya, Mandy, Sasha, and Asuka all got good shine, while nearly everyone had a small character moment. [***¼]
WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins vs. WWE United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura
Aesthetically, this wasn’t good. Seth had his weird half red, half black Raw shirt, while Nakamura wore an awful looking Smackdown shirt and overdid the blue. This felt like one of the better Nakamura matches. Seth played off his skills well. They found ways to hit their signature stuff, but do so in new ways. For example, Seth went for a tope suicida, only for Nakamura to have it scouted and go to another side of the ring. Seth changed stride and went to hit it, but ran into a kick. This was littered with little moments like that. It felt like they had done their homework on one another. Both guys survived the finishers of the other, with Seth kicking out of the Kinshasa and Shinsuke getting a shoulder up on the Ripcord Knee. They had a dynamite closing stretch that saw Seth dodge the Kinshasa and win with the Curb Stomp in 21:26. The best Nakamura match since his debut against Sami Zayn. He felt like he put in a big effort and Seth was game, as always. Great back and forth, it never felt like it dragged, and it had a hot ending. [***¾]
WWE Raw Tag Team Champions AOP w/ Drake Maverick vs. WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champions The Bar w/ Big Show
I came in excited for this. Two brute tag teams beating on each other. We mostly got that. However, it was hard to fully pay attention to this. Former WWE wrestler Enzo Amore made a fool out of himself in the crowd and got ejected. Apparently, he was drunk and acting like a fool. Anyway, Drake Maverick saved AOP from a loss by interfering. He got chased away by Cesaro and ran into Big Show. As Show threatened him, Drake pissed himself (literally). AOP then stole the win and Raw went up 3-0 after 9:06. It was fine, but the finish fell way flat and it never clicked the way I wanted. [**]
WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Buddy Murphy [c] vs. Mustafa Ali
These guys have had one of the best rivalries of the year. Several ****+ bangers on 205 Live. Given them this big stage is fantastic. Their knowledge of one another was clear from the start. Neither man wanted to make that crucial first mistake. Things really picked up when Buddy launched Ali to the floor outside in brutal fashion. In fact, Ali took three huge bumps to the outside. His high risk style was proving to be just that. A risk. Yet, it’s kind of what he needs to match up against the “Juggernaut.” Ali took things up a notch with a Spanish Fly off the announce table. Still, it wasn’t enough to get past Murphy, who used a barrage of offense to retain in a wild 12:16. What else more is there to say about the cruiserweight division? It’s the best in wrestling. Another incredible match from these two. [****]
Team Raw Men (Bobby Lashley, Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre and Finn Balor) w/ Baron Corbin and Lio Rush vs. Team Smackdown Men (Jeff Hardy, The Miz, Rey Mysterio, Samoa Joe, and Shane McMahon)
The 2016 version of this was stellar, but 2017’s was kind of a disaster. The main story early was McIntyre not being willing to take Braun’s orders. He tagged himself in at the start, escaped the Coquina Clutch, and used a Claymore to eliminate Joe in about two minutes. Joe is basically no longer a threat. Drew kept tagging himself in to defy Braun. Speaking of Braun, Team Smackdown jumped him and Shane elbowed him through the announce table. We were treated to a brilliant segment of Rey against Finn that led to Finn’s elimination. Give me a singles match between them. The next story was Miz getting a tired Shane to try big moves. He beat Dolph with the Coast to Coast and then captain Miz made him try another, only for Braun to return and swat him down. That set up Braun destroying everyone. Shane got left alone against Braun, Drew, and Lashley. There was no drama. Braun just easily won in 24:02. There were flashes of greatness in there, like the Finn/Rey battle. However, the Drew/Braun stuff went away late and it had a boring final stretch of just Braun dominating. [**¾]
Charlotte vs. WWE Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey
I originally expected this to be the Mania main event. It was surprising that it didn’t even main event this show. Anyone who knows me knows that Charlotte ranks among my least favorite wrestlers in the world. But make no mistake, I know she’s good. Her week to week stuff lacks, but for big matches, she delivers. This was one of them. There was a level of intensity to this that was unmatched on the show. You’d think these two had a long rivalry. It felt like a fight and not just two people throwing out a collection of moves at one another. I saw some people complain about a few spots being sloppy late but I actually liked that. The match felt like a true struggle and when athletes get worn down, things aren’t going to be super crisp. It gave the match a more realistic feeling. At 14:10, from out of nowhere, Charlotte pulled out a kendo stick and hit Ronda for the DQ. A furious battle that was the best singles match of Ronda’s career to this point. Charlotte brought out her best for a big match. The post-match angle only helped add to make this special. [****¼]
That post-match angle saw Charlotte brutally assault Ronda. That included more kendo stick shots, the PILLMANIZER on Ronda’s throat, and Charlotte beating up referees. It was intense. The crowd was surprisingly unsympathetic, cheering and singing goodbye to Ronda.
WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar w/ Paul Heyman vs. WWE Champion Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan came out with a smug look like he was in complete control. Amazing. When the match started, he hit and moved like he did against Takeshi Morishima back in 2007. Then, Brock went into Brock mode. He dominated for the next eight or so minutes. He hit an F5 and could have won, but pulled Bryan up. It felt like it was just going to be another lazy Brock squash. The crowd hated it. I hated it. Then, the ref bump came. It was a case of a good ref bump, too. It opened the door for Bryan to hit a low blow and the Busaiku Knee. Though Brock survived, Bryan spent the rest of the match using his wits and speed to find brilliant ways to get the upper hand. They swept everyone up in the drama. Brock’s three weaknesses came into play, including the dick kick, steel steps, and ring posts. When Bryan put on the Yes Lock, the fans bought Brock possibly doing the unthinkable and tapping. Alas, he got free, powerbombed out of a triangle choke, and won with the F5 in 18:40. The first segment of Brock dominating went on way too long. I get what they were going for, but if you cut that back a bit, the whole match would be tighter. Either way, this was a banger and some of the best stuff Brock’s been a part of. [****¼]
Overall: 7.5/10. This show basically gave me what I expected in terms of quality. I figured all the matches would be good. Instead, we got two that didn’t deliver (Men’s tag and AOP/Bar), but a few that were fantastic (CW Title, Ronda/Charlotte and Brock/Bryan). Top to bottom, another really fun event from WWE’s main roster. They are consistently good, though there were some baffling booking decisions here. |
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JoDaNa1281
Crow T. Robot
Jackie Daytona, Regular Human Bartender. #BLM
Posts: 42,285
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Post by JoDaNa1281 on Nov 18, 2018 23:40:08 GMT -5
Wow, I figured that Raw would get the most wins, like 4-3 or something...I damn sure didn't think they'd win 6-1. Seriously, SD looked like a massive bitch tonight.
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Post by EoE: Well There's Your Problem on Nov 18, 2018 23:50:50 GMT -5
Wow, I figured that Raw would get the most wins, like 4-3 or something...I damn sure didn't think they'd win 6-1. Seriously, SD looked like a massive bitch tonight. So based on World Cup history... The next Survivor Series will be, like, NXT UK v 205 Live because RAW got bundled out in the groups by Velocity. |
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Post by Oh Cry Me a Screwball on Nov 19, 2018 0:19:15 GMT -5
Looks like someone’s trying to brown nose while putting the heat on everyone else.
Shane’s definitely got to be going heel now too.
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Rhody Codes
Ozymandius
The King of North America
Posts: 61,911
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Post by Rhody Codes on Nov 19, 2018 0:27:40 GMT -5
Wow, I figured that Raw would get the most wins, like 4-3 or something...I damn sure didn't think they'd win 6-1. Seriously, SD looked like a massive bitch tonight. So based on World Cup history... The next Survivor Series will be, like, NXT UK v 205 Live because RAW got bundled out in the groups by Velocity. A 5on5 with NXT America vs. NXT UK would be dope, not gonna lie. |
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Captain Stud Muffin (BLM)
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You can either sink, swim, or be the captain....Long live the cheif
Posts: 114,019
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Post by Captain Stud Muffin (BLM) on Nov 19, 2018 0:28:48 GMT -5
Looks like someone’s trying to brown nose while putting the heat on everyone else. Shane’s definitely got to be going heel now too. Miz sacrificing Shane for the whole match was the highlight of the whole thing |
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Rhody Codes
Ozymandius
The King of North America
Posts: 61,911
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Post by Rhody Codes on Nov 19, 2018 0:30:43 GMT -5
Looks like someone’s trying to brown nose while putting the heat on everyone else. Shane’s definitely got to be going heel now too. Miz sacrificing Shane for the whole match was the highlight of the whole thing Miz squirming over to tag Shane as he's limping in the corner was pretty funny. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2018 0:54:05 GMT -5
Unamused fan throwing his hand up was my reaction. I was screaming for Brock to tap and welp, 1 f5. f*** Raw SD!'s The A Show He hit Daniel with 2 F5s. Huh, That's what I get for trying to balance 3 things at once. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2018 2:38:18 GMT -5
Man, I forgot all about Goldberg and still haven't seen the 2012 Cena match. Brock matches worth your time- Vs Cena 2012 Vs Punk 2013 Vs Cena Summerslam 2014 Vs Cena vs Rollins 2015 Vs Reigns 2015 Vs Undertaker 2015 (both matches) Forget 2016 Vs Goldberg 2017 Vs Joe 2017 (though too short) Four way match at Summerslam 2017 Vs Styles 2017 Forget 2018 until the Bryan match I'm kind of sick of anyone saying any of those matches are even good outside of like two of them. It's like we've decided anything he puts on that isn't the drizzling shits is great when those matches are passable borefests at the best (and triple threats where he naps 90% of the time while two others work the bulk dont even count in my book). |
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