The (Executive Director) Brother Love Show - WWE SmackDown (10/18/19)

Earlier in the week, the news broke that Eric Bischoff was "relieved of his duties" as executive director for SmackDown, and the position would then be filled by Bruce Prichard. Seems like the last few months have been all for nothing, then, huh? And in a week that saw reports of WWE looking to buy Pro Wrestling NOAH and STARDOM (which WAS acquired by Bushiroad, the parent company of New Japan) to further the development of "NXT Japan," Eazy-E being canned from his position feels like chump change, doesn't it?

How To Kill The Draft Gimmick Dead - WWE Raw/WWE Draft (10/14/19)

If these last two shows have proven anything, it's that the draft as a gimmick is now dead and buried. Because they can't do it properly.

What FOX Wants, FOX Gets - WWE SmackDown/WWE Draft (10/11/19)

No, I did not forget about Raw from this week. It was a throwaway lame-duck show that came off a godawful PPV ending the previous night, so it didn't warrant me trying to write about that whole waste of a show.

The Undisputed vs. The Elite - WAR ON WEDNESDAYS #1 (NXT vs. AEW)

Well, here we are. After months of buildup, a pair of TV deals, and a lot of salty banter, the war is now ON - it's a battle between the not-so-indie feds, Paul "Uncle Trips" Levesque repping NXT on one side, and the trio of Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, and the Young Bucks spearheading the charge for All Elite Wrestling on the other side. But this bodes a challenge for people like me who are trying to write about these shows in a timely manner:

I have no way to write about two shows happening at the exact same time.

So, instead of going even more insane than I already am with this endeavor, I've decided to take NXT and AEW into a different direction - less analysis and recapping, more "WHOA THAT WAS COOL" kind of stuff. I'll be going through these shows in shorter fashion to see which show will top the other, to see which match will be the best, and to see which program takes home the top honors for the week. But first, the cards!

NXT on USA, Full Sail Live - Winter Park, FL:
Johnny Gargano vs. Shane Thorne
Street Prophets vs. Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish (c) NXT Tag Team Championship
Candace LeRae vs. Shayna Baszler (c), NXT Women's Championship
Matt Riddle vs. Adam Cole (c), NXT Championship
Velveteen Dream live @ Full Sail

AEW Dynamite, Capital One Arena - Washington, DC:
Cody (Rhodes) vs. Sammy Guevara
Brandon Cutler vs. MJF
Hangman Page vs. PAC
Nyla Rose vs. Riho, AEW Women's Championship
Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks vs. Chris Jericho & f.k.a. LAX (Santana & Ortiz)
Jon Moxley live in the building


A few added notes: AEW has gotten a LOT of cross promotion through TNT and TBS, while NXT has been given the bonus of limited ad breaks, the first 30 minutes going ad-free, and an end time of 10:15. But which show came out on top in the ratings war, who won the first shot?

NXT on USA - 0.32 (18-49), 891K viewers
AEW Dynamite - 0.68 (18-49), 1.409M viewers

Over double the 18-49 for AEW, and a boost of just over 500k viewers as well. No wonder WWE sent out that "congratulatory" statement, it was all just to save face.

But how did each show fare, match-wise?

NXT on USA
Full Sail Live - Winter Park, FL
Live on USA Network - October 2, 2019

Matt Riddle vs. Adam Cole (c), NXT Championship - This match was WICKED. Insane action from bell to bell, loads of high spots and hard hits, Riddle looked incredibly strong in this match, but of course it would lead to Cole prevailing in the end. Go out of your way to watch this match, though, it is one of the best you'll see all year.

Then who would show up after the match but... FINN BALOR. Yep, he's back in NXT, and while a lot of people would call this a "demotion," you look at the batting average of callups and what they've been doing since then (remember The Ascension?), then come back to me on that.

Velveteen Dream came out to do a promo, on his couch with many of his... uh... supporters, I'll just say, and he's looking to get the North American title back from Roderick Strong. Put a pin in this, we'll hopefully come back to this in a few weeks.

Mia Yim vs. Io Shirai - Not too shabby a match, but it can only be considered a "cool-down" match after what came before it. Shirai looks incredibly strong in her heel role, while Yim is excellent at being valiant and tough, looking to win at any cost. They had some time, as well, it was another very fine match with Shirai coming out on top in the end.

We get a promo spot for Tegan Knox, showing her road to recovery after her injury in the Mae Young Classic. Maybe she'll be the one to take the title off of Baszler, who knows.

Johnny Gargano vs. Shane Thorne - No matter who you put him in the ring with, Johnny Wrestling is just too good of a wrestler to have anything short of an okay match. Kinda wish he had some mic time to get his character over to the TV audience, but hey, if you aren't sold on him after a sturdy and solid match with Shane Thorne, then that's on you. Gargano wins in the end with a superkick, and it's the shortest match on the card so far, at under 10 minutes.

Candace LeRae vs. Shayna Baszler (c), NXT Women's Championship - How do you get a lot of heat? Put on a strong 15-minute back and forth but have Shayna come out on top in the end. Not knocking Candace in the slightest, but the time to take the title off of Shayna isn't quite here yet, which is why I'm not as peeved as most over this. A very good match with some solid moments that make you believe NOW is the time... only for Shayna to win via submission. All I'll say is, be on the lookout for Tegan Knox. If anyone will take the title off of her, she'll be the one.

Danny Burch vs. Pete Dunne - Mean guy offense throughout, Dunne gets the win in pretty quick fashion, but the big story came at the end, with Damian Priest (the former Punishment Martinez) laying a beatdown on Dunne to set up a new feud going forward. Here's my wallet, I want more of this please.

Street Prophets vs. Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly (c), NXT Tag Team Championship - Forget those stupid backstage bits they do on Raw, THIS is what people need to see to get Ford and Dawkins over as big stars. The crowd was hot for them, they had Wale do their entrance with them as their hype man, it's a perfect setting for a team that deserves more than stupid backstage bits on Raw. This was the longest match of the night, given plenty of time and an overrun as well, and while the action was hot in its final sequence, you know how it ends - Roddy comes out to play interference, and this gives Fish and O'Reilly enough to capitalize and escape with the pin. Still a great match, though.

And to close out the show, we see Adam Cole applauding his fellow Undisputed cohorts on the stage, when out comes... TOMASSO CIAMPA. And he wants Goldie back. So now we have Balor set to take on Cole, as well as Ciampa. This should bode quite interesting.

Verdict: NXT Takeover: Full Sail was as strong a show as it could possibly be. It just wasn't strong enough to prevent a more curious crowd from watching the other show.

AEW Dynamite
Capital One Arena - Washington, DC
Live on TNT - October 2, 2019

Pyro and ballyhoo and a packed crowd to kick things off. I like it, it's very big-league.

Sammy Guevara vs. Cody (Rhodes) - A hot crowd sure does make everything seem that much grander, doesn't it? Took some time for things to amp up, but the pacing of everything felt very smooth and consistent. Like Vinny said on B&V, "it was a 10 minute match that was given 10 minutes to breathe." Cody won after the angle happened with Sammy shoving Brandy Rhodes in his way during a topé, receipts were had, and the crowd popped big for the pin. Post-match, though, there was no interview with Tony Schiavone and Cody, as out came Chris Jericho for a beatdown on Cody, to get that supreme and GOOD heel heat.

Brandon Cutler vs. MJF - Maxwell Jacob Friedman is the best heel in the business and you can't tell me otherwise. Quick win for him, a quick day at the office, I always await more from him.

Chris Van Vliet had an interview with Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes, in the front row, when out comes Jack Evans and Angelico to lay into the duo with one thing on their mind: "Morris Day and The Time SUCKED!" Which is categorically wrong, I'm sorry.

Time to sell the tag title tournament with a pre-tape with SCU and an interview with them as well, when out come Pentagon and Fenix. "CERO MIEDO!", "S-C-U!", a brawl breaks out, and away we go.

"Hangman" Adam Page vs. Pac - The match we never got back in May, here on (kinda) free TV. Page is still growing on a lot of the audience, so this was more of a showcase for PAC to establish his "no-fucks-given" heel-ness. Pac is now 2-0, as well, coming off that win over Kenny Omega at All Out, while Page is 0-2, so we shall see what ramifications this will have over them in the coming weeks.

Riho vs. Nyla Rose, AEW Women's Championship - The crowd LOVED this match and ate everything up. Great elements at play, the size advantage of Nyla against the athletic agility of Riho. There was a kinda questionable thing here, though, with Nyla pulling out steel chairs, as that would've gotten her DQ'ed. But it was all to set up a spot that had Riho move from the chairs and have Nyla crash and burn on the pile. The finish had Riho hitting a great Northern Lights suplex and a running double-knee strike to get the pin, to a BIG pop from the crowd. Enjoy that title, Riho, that very, very, VERY small title.

The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega vs. (f.k.a.) LAX & Chris Jericho - "WHY WASN'T THERE A DQ WHEN MOXLEY CAME OUT???" Because Kenny wasn't the legal man at the time. There, problem solved. This served as a hot angle to sell their match at Full Gear next month, while the heel team had the advantage throughout to dominate and get the win. The big story, though, came after the bell rang.

Cue the post-match beatdown, then cue Cody coming out for the save, then Guevara for the advantage, then Dustin Rhodes for the save, and then... (the former) JACK SWAGGER. Yes, Bellator "star" Jake Hager is now All Elite. I will abstain from any further comment because it's not really my place. The angle was hot, and it was a great way to close out the first pro wrestling broadcast on TNT in over 18 years.

Verdict: AEW really needed a strong show out of the gate. They more than delivered, and they built a new audience for the network and timeslot. Thumbs way up.

IT'S SUCH GOOD SHIT - WWE Hell in a Cell (10/6/19)

You know, if WWE is gonna put in the minimal amount of effort for their show and card, then so will I. You don't fill a show with four extra matches at the last minute and not expect me to not give a crap.

WWE Hell in a Cell
Golden1 Center - Sacramento, CA
Live on WWE Network - October 6, 2019

The PPV stage setup is nice, but the cage is still red. Garbage.

Lacey Evans vs. Natalya (Preshow match) - Again. We're getting this match AGAIN. Yeah, it's just the first match on the card inside a barely-full crowd at 3:15 in the afternoon, but still, let me vent about how we're getting this match AGAIN. Stuff happens, heat is had, the crowd is silent, I'm just waiting for my dinner to be delivered, and we get a split-screen ad break to sell the show. Joy. Ending had Lacey trying a moonsault, landing flat on her knees, before tapping to the Sharpshooter. Got good in the final minute, but everything else? The definition of filler. And this went nearly 12 minutes. Good for Natalya, though. 2 stars.

As a recap package for SmackDown's premiere on Fox airs, my Doordash driver is still 20 minutes away. Also, they're going to do something with Tyson Fury at the next blood money show to promote his rematch with Deontay Wilder in February, and another plan is to have Cain Velasquez work the show in a match with Brock Lesnar - despite not having signed a contract - all for that sweet payday from WWE and the KSA government. My dinner order cannot come fast enough.

And after a bit more time, my dinner arrives, delicious Peruvian chicken.

That one match was the only match on the whole preshow hour. The rest was just hype packages and interview segments. The only worthwhile info we got is that the Bryan/Roman-Harper/Rowan tag match is now a tornado tag. Great info. I will also hold the right to talk about whatever else during the additional matches that got announced within two hours of showtime, because if they're not going to put in the effort, then I sure as crap won't either.

Pyro and ballyhoo ignite the main show as we start with the first of our double-header.

Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch (c), Raw Women's Championship Hell in a Cell Match - The match kicks off with Sasha pummeling Becky and taking her out of the cage as it's being lowered, all for that sinister heel heat. Becky recovers and gets back inside to gain her momentum back, and with both women in the ring and the cell door shut, the match is now officially underway! And right off the bat, Becky grabs the chain lock and uses it as a pair of brass knuckles onto Sasha's face and midsection. And to make sure they both stay inside, Becky locks the door shut, as we proceed with the fierce walk-and-brawl around the cell. And it's a good thing we have a cameraman inside the giant red box, which gives us a great view of Becky pulling out a table and ladder, until Sasha returns with a steel chair. Hmmm, telegraphing for December, maybe? Becky gets her receipt in with the chair, and back in the ring, Sasha tries to end it early with pin attempts, all to no avail. Sasha misses a chair shot and eats a Bexploder and a trio of baseball slide kicks, but as Sasha recoups, she hits a Meteora onto Becky ONTO THE LADDER. Ouch.

Next sequence kicks off with Sasha slamming the door back and forth onto Becky's arm, through the gap in the door, and puts more damage in by slamming a steel chair against her arm and hand. Now Becky needs to rely on her right arm, while Sasha will target the left. A fine use of psychology and targeting, well done. With Becky on the chair, Sasha hits another Meteora off the second rope, but only gets a 2. Time to bring in more chairs, with one against the cell for good measure. Becky hits a dropkick onto Sasha, who gets shoved off the apron and lands hard into the fencing. A few kicks and punches lead to Sasha getting thrown into the ring post, and then eats a Bexploder into the fencing, great visuals all around. Dueling punches and kicks in the ring, but Becky hits a drop toe hold and a Bulldog onto Sasha, onto the legs of a steel chair (again, OUCH), but only gets a 2.

Becky goes to the top rope, but takes a kick from Sasha, all just to set up a leaping dorp kick onto Sasha, with a chair right in her face for added impact. After a few moments of recoup, Sasha brings in a pair of kendo sticks, whacking Becky with them and shoving them through the fencing. It backfired, as Becky recoups and slams Sasha face first into those canes. Now it's her turn to place a chair up, right on the canes, with a THIRD kendo stick added. This gives Sasha enough time to throw a few punches, but Becky powers through and sits Sasha on the chair, for a leaping dropkick onto Sasha, with a HARD crash and burn to the floor. Excellent spot, the crowd popped BIG for it. Back in the ring, Becky hits a top rope legdrop onto Sasha, but STILL only gets a 2. The crowd now wants a table, so Becky obliges and sets the table up, but this gives Sasha enough time to get up and land a Backstabber on Becky. Placing her on the middle rope, Sasha comes up, but Becky powers through, but Sasha finds enough to hit a third Meteora onto Becky, and through the table! Alas, just a 2 count for this one. But at least Sasha made up for LAST time with a table in the cell...

Time for another kendo stick, using it as a submission on Becky, holding it against her throat, but she manages to slide away and take the cane as well, SLAMMING Sasha with it real hard. Sasha has enough in her to toss Becky away and throw her into the chair placed in the fencing. Cue more chairs coming into the ring, one after another, there are a LOT of chairs being tossed inside, probably 12 or 13 by this point, and as Sasha climbs the ropes, this gives Becky time to come up and hit a BEXSPLODER ONTO THE CHAIRS! Disarmer gets locked in, and Sasha taps, closing out an EXCELLENT match. My word, this was great. 4 stars.

Erick Rowan & Luke Harper vs. Daniel Bryan & Roman Reigns, Tornado Tag Team Match - THANK GOD we don't have to hear "The NEWWWWW" whenever Bryan comes out anymore. Metal shirts on display: Harper has Snapcase, Rowan has Parkway Drive. The story of this match is "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," with all eyes on Bryan for what he does and to who he does it to. Hot flurry of offense out of the gate, and later on, Rowan hits a leaping drop kick, all for Roman to land a Samoan Drop, just for 2. Spear gets denied by Harper, but only gets a nearfall of his own. Bryan continues to be taken out of the equation, shoved out of the ring for a double-team attack on Roman, both in the ring and out, using the steel steps to lay in more damage. Now it's Bryan's turn to get back involved, eating more of the double-team offense for a few moments before Rowan gets caught in the LeBell Lock, with Harper breaking the submission after just a few moments. The double-team offense continues, with Bryan eating a hard slam, but only gets a 2 for the pin attempt. By this point, Roman has been taken out and laid out, leaving Bryan to fend for himself, regaining momentum, but gets caught by Harper with a Michinoku Driver; Roman breaks the pin and comes back into the match for his comeback, albeit momentary.

Bryan lays out Harper with a set of kicks, escapes a counter attempt, and goes after Harper's knee to weaken him further. More kicks come into play, before everything and everyone spills back out of the ring. And yes, the announce tables start to get cleared off, but first, Bryan gets double-teamed with a slam into the ring apron, Roman eats a body slam from Harper, a part of the barricade gets thrown off and Rowan uses it to slam Roman into the crowd. Now comes the announce table spot, but Bryan counters with a hurricanrana to Harper to the floor, and Roman comes up with a spear to Rowan through the German announce table! Running dropkicks to Harper in the ring, then Bryan comes up to the top rope, but eats a HARD powerbomb from the most dangerous rope! Alas, just a 2 count. Cue the triple-decker finish: Superman Punch, running knee, and a spear, and the face team wins in another excellent match. Fan-damn-tastic. 3 3/4 stars.

Post-match, Roman and Bryan have a staredown in the ring, with Bryan looking around at his surroundings before extending a hand to Roman... only to pull it back. Arms are opened, Bryan wants the crowd pumped, but then Roman turns away. Bryan cues up the "YES!" chants, and the duo hug it out and share a handshake, signaling a job well done. Looks like babyface Bryan is the plan going forward.

Oh good, we get a promo for, as Solomonster so eloquently puts it, Sweet Saudi Money IV. Not interested. Okay, time for some filler.

Randy Orton vs. Mustafa Ali - This match was announced in a throwaway preshow interview segment, when I was getting my dinner. And because this is no effort booking, I'll be back after I get my laundry started.
[break]
And I come back to some announce table spots with Orton dominating control. It is also past 8pm and the newest Scott the Woz episode isn't up yet. That's always the high point of my Sundays. Anyways, the Cowboys lost tonight to the Packers, and that's always amusing to me, seeing DEM 'BOYS lose. How 'BOUT them Cowboys, right?
Anyway, Ali builds up momentum for his comeback, with a spinning heel kick laying Orton out, hits nothing on a 450 attempt, and lands a tornado DDT in a very fine sequence. Back to the top rope, nobody home on the 0-5-4, and this ultimately leads to the RK...oh? It got countered, really damn well, in one of the coolest counters I've ever seen-never mind, another one got hit and that was the match. What-frigging-ever. 2 and 3/4 stars.

brb, we'll just be watching this over and over and over again#HIAC @AliWWE pic.twitter.com/ChxZOwGEpM

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) October 7, 2019

Seriously, this counter was really cool.

And we have Natalya and Lacey Evans booked for Raw... AGAIN... only this time it's Last Woman Standing.

Just fuck off with this whole feud.

Asuka & Kairi Sane vs. Nikki Cross & Alexa Bliss (c), WWE Women's Tag Team Championship - Another match booked at the zero hour, which means I need to check on other things. The champions also came out first, so way to tell me to not care. Also, there may not be a new Scott the Woz tonight, since some things happened with him this week. The guy works real hard, a week to recharge will always be worth it for all of us humble fans. So uh... yeah, this match is building to the Nikki hot tag, and there's also a spotlight that keeps shining on the barricade for some reason, right in view of the hard camera. The hot tag happens, Nikki is full of momentum on both Kairi and Asuka, but gets caught in an Alabama Slam by Kairi; In-Sane Elbow gets denied and countered, then in comes Asuka with her kicks. Nikki gets her momentum back, I am now reminded of the excellent match Nikki and Asuka had on NXT two years ago, but WAIT A MINUTE! Asuka has green mist! And after a fierce kick to the head, we have new champions... heel champions, at that. 2 and 3/4 stars.

California, Here We Come vs. The War Viking Raider Experience Machine & Mystery Partner - The mystery partner was not Cedric Alexander, but instead, it's BRAUUUUUUUUUN. Cool? Just to promote his segment with Tyson Fury tomorrow, whatever. But now I need to put my clothes in the dryer.
[break]
Turns out, my clothes aren't done yet. I'm now pondering why ESPN is sending me notifications on the title matches happening tonight.
Well anyway. Strowman gets the hot tag, runs over everyone, ends up running into the ring post with Styles working his knee, then in come the whole team to get their stuff in. The match then ends with Gallows and Anderson forcing a DQ by... kicking too much ass. The salt and venom on The Bryan & Vinny Show will be delicious. And now I can put my clothes in the dryer. DUD.
[break]
I have returned to 24/7 title shenanigans, with the new champion being Tamina. Okay. So what's next?

Baron Corbin vs. Chad Gable - ...I'm gonna do some housework, back in 5 minutes.
[break]
I came back and the match hasn't even started yet. And now the newest "decree" is for Chad Gable to be called "Shorty Gable." Joy. Like we need more of this terrible "comedy." Not interested in seeing ANOTHER rematch, either, so I'm just tuned out for now. The crowd is dead quiet, even they know this is filler. And it's the worst kind of filler... boring filler. I have nothing to say about this. The crowd only woke up with Gable hit a moonsault to wake them up, but no, not over yet. Only happened after the scepter got pulled from the ref and Gable rolled up Corbin for the win. And then Greg Hamilton announced him as "Shorty Gable" because of Corbin's pre-match promo. Ugh. 2 stars.

And speaking of rematches with no real build...

Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley (c), SmackDown Women's Championship - This match was announced after SmackDown went off the air. A rematch from the last PPV, booked on less than 48 hours' notice. No effort, so no effort from me. And here's how I know it's no-effort, the semi-main event gets the international commentator showcase segment. And we get more 24/7 title shenanigans included, with Tamina using Funaki as a meat shield against R-Truth. Only for Carmella to hit a kick and have Truth win the 24/7 title for the... 20th time? Whatever.

Anyway, NOW the match kicks off and... yeah, nothing from me. A title match shouldn't be filler. Do better. So yeah, stuff happens, punches and kicks, Bayley being kinda smarmy with her heel schtick, it's all perfectly fine but I just don't have any reason to care. So I'll chime back in when the finish happens.
[break]
Figure-8 on the injured knee, Charlotte wins. Whoop-de-frigging-do. 2 stars.

Backstage, Gable is interviewed, Corbin comes out and attacks him, lays him out in the hallway to get his heat back, I continue to not care about this feud. And thank you, ESPN, for the notification that Charlotte is a 10-time champion now.

And now, we come to make-or-break time. Do they pull the trigger and elevate their hot monster, or do shenanigans get in the way? Let's find out. But I'm not sure what kind of sign it is to have Seth come out first.

"The Fiend" Bray Wyatt vs. Seth Rollins (c), Universal Championship Hell in a Cell Match - Well, this whole match is going to be under dark red mood lighting. They're really going for the whole "horror movie" vibe, so I can't fault them for it. But yeah, it all looks like a Virtual Boy. There's also a new camera they're using for the vell matches, one that's mounted to the fencing and remote operated. Offers a nice wide angle kind of view. The match has Wyatt taking the offense early, tossing Rollins all over the cell and against the fencing and steel steps. But Seth comes back up and counters back with the steel steps, and even pulls out a table to set up for later. A topé gets caught by Wyatt, and turns it into Sister Abigail against the fencing; now he's back on the offensive.

And I won't lie, the lighting is REALLY hurting my eyes.

Table spot: Wyatt is punched and laid out on the table, when Rollins climbs up and hits a frog splash onto Wyatt... who promptly comes up because he's a MONSTER. Plan B: curbstomp. Still nothing. Sister Abigail hits hard, only for a 2. Cue the pummeling and a neck-snap, with Bray targeting his prey like a wild beast. And what does he have in store? A giant mallet. Yes, a giant mallet. Which he uses to pin Rollins to the fencing, only to be met with a set of superkicks and a stomp onto Wyatt, onto the mallet. Springboard knees to Wyatt, then a superkick, and another, and then a stomp, and another, and then another, with the crowd not too pleased. Pedigree hits, then ANOTHER stomp, and a kickout at ONE! Superkick, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp, the crowd is turning like in the 2K games from spamming the same move over and over again.

Plan C: Seth then gets a chair and stands over Wyatt, who nails him with the chair, and only gets a ONE! No dice. Plan D: slam a ladder onto Wyatt's face, with a chair on his face. Kickout at 2. Absolutely indestructible. Plan E has Seth pulling out a toolbox and after placing the ladder and chair over Bray's face, he slams the toolbox onto the pile, over and over again. Cue the boos from the crowd, they want NONE of this.

So... Plan F? It involves a sledgehammer. I smell shenanigans afoot... the ref is pleading for him to not use the sledgehammer, because of "referee's discretion," I guess, Seth hesitates for a moment, but uses it anyway and the ref... calls for the bell...

The actual fuck? And cue the "BULLSHIT!" and "A-E-DUB" chants from the crowd. But The Fiend isn't dead yet, he's up and he has the claw on Seth, with one purpose: HURT. "RESTART THE MATCH!" chants ring loud. Sister Abigail to the floor, and again - on the exposed concrete, to another momentary sea of "A-E-DUB" chants. Cue the claw, once again, with the spooky music and lighting and a blood pill, all to a sea of... boos. Boos for Seth, boos for The Fiend, boos for everything and everyone.

Loud, unmistakable boos. Thank frigging God for AEW and NXT every Wednesday. 1 1/2 stars.

pic.twitter.com/lYZX2lj3q8

— RETRO: Old Media Enthusiast🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 (@ThatRetro) October 7, 2019

Final Thoughts: JESUS GOD FRIGGING DAMN WHAT WAS THAT ENDING.

Suffice it to say, the show peaked with the first cell match and the tornado tag match. Hell, if the whole show was just that first hour, it would have been the best PPV all year, two great matches and only ONE hour in length. Instead, we had a 3 hour and 17 minute show with three matches that had some strong build to it, and the rest of that card slapped together at the last minute because the whole show was an afterthought when compared to SmackDown premiering on FOX and with NXT doing battle with AEW on Wednesday.

Now, I joke, but some of the matches on the undercard were pretty solid. Ali and Orton put in a lot of work to make their match mean something, we had a title change for Asuka and Kairi Sane winning the tag titles and turning heel in the process, but I mean it when a lot of this show felt like a total afterthought that was put together with next to no time to build anything up.

Then there's the ending to the main event. The ending, I cannot stress it enough, pissed EVERYONE in the arena rightfully off, because it was - as the crowd was chanting - BULLSHIT. Two straight years for a Hell in a Cell match, with the title on the line, ending in a NO CONTEST. Only this felt worse. Seth looks like a chump because of how he was booked for this whole buildup, Bray got much less over because of how this match was booked in the end, and AEW got a looooooot of publicity from those chants. And here's the thing that makes this whole situation so frustrating for me, as a fan:

This should have been the EASIEST match to book. Put Bray over, pull the trigger and have him win, and just RUN WITH IT. You're getting your $200 million checks from NBCUniversal and Fox cleared, what's the harm in having Bray hold the title for a few weeks, especially when your big horror movie monster is OVER with the crowd? The crowd is into Bray, he gets cheers whenever he shows up, be it in the ring or with Firefly Fun House - it's the same deal with Braun Strowman, you get cold feet once and that's it, you're DONE.

And I hope that's not the case for Bray Wyatt, but this ending probably did a LOT of harm to his stock. That's a damn shame.

Verdict: All Elite Wrestling Dynamite - LIVE Wednesdays at 8pm on TNT. Go watch that instead, watch it with NXT on the DVR, or after NXT, or whenever.

Fuck. That. Ending. X-Pac said it best.

X-PAC’s reaction to the ending of #HIAC is all of us lmaoooo pic.twitter.com/dgCbQt5I9g

— 🇪🇨 J.A.M.🇪🇨 (@MrAcosta89) October 7, 2019

FOX in the Big Blue House - WWE SmackDown (10/4/19)

Well, after a long year of buildup, months of lame-duck shows in the past few months, plenty of promotional blitz come and gone, and with the first $205 million check from Fox cleared, the day has finally come for the big grand premiere of the new A-show of WWE, Friday Night SmackDown on Fox. Will it work out in the end? Will Fox execs have supreme buyer's remorse by December? And how long will the planned "Brand Extention 3.0" last, this time around? The answers... will come later, because tonight is the big premiere, so pump out the big guns to get those viewers!

A new era means a NEW STAGE! @ReneeYoungWWE, @BookerT5x, @WWEBigE, and @XavierWoodsPhD introduce the @WWEUniverse to the NEW @WWE Friday Night SmackDown stage! pic.twitter.com/upCXgdrf7O

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) October 4, 2019

Then there's the new set. WOW is that a fine looking set.

WWE SmackDown
Staples Center - Los Angeles, CA
Live on FOX - October 4, 2019
Rating: 1.4 (18-49), 3.9M viewers

[Hour 1]
To kick off the first broadcast of WWE on broadcast TV in 9 years, we get... a cold open with Vince and Steph. And then the intro. Felt a bit redundant, but whatever. And with the pyro and ballyhoo, away we go! The weird framerate issue from last week is here again, guess it really is a Fox thing. I've heard that they're using high-speed cameras to film everything, which comes with the caveat of a cut frame rate for broadcast. It's weird, but whatever.

Our commentary for SmackDown, going forward, is Michael Cole and Corey Graves... and nobody else! A 2-body booth! At long last. Also, the logo bug is in the upper right corner, since that's how Fox does it with their sports programs.

Becky Lynch comes out for a promo, talking about how great SmacKDown is and how she was elevated because of SmackDown... then Baron Corbin comes out. Why? Because reasons. But before Corbin can get up close with Becky, out comes a good old friend of the show, that there Dwayne Johnson fellow. You know, the big time movie star. After all, this is The Rock's show, so it only felt right to have him come out for the opening segment - and to boost ticket sales, of course.

Fantastic lines: "the millions," calling Baron Corbin "a broke-ass Burger King on crack," and the "FINALLY" bit, all before Corbin butts in to do his heel schtick. Cue the rebuttal, in spades: cheap sports heat, talk about testicles, and Becky doing the "IT DOESN'T MATTER" bit. Cue the full "trail blazing" bit, and it looks like a beatdown will take place: punches in tandem, Becky hits a leg drop, and then that damn People's Elbow, finishing with a Rock Bottom for good measure. Always gets a pop. Segment went a little long before the break, 18 minutes, but maybe that whole "cutting ads by 20%" thing has some truth to it.

We also have AR graphics for this show, and BOY do I hope it's a one-time thing.

Matches to come tonight:
Brock Lesnar vs. Kofi Kingston, WWE Championship
Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon in a "loser leaves town" ladder match
Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan in a lumberjack match
And up next, this:

Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks & Bayley - First, there are no wild Fox Sports graphics on the top of the screen, like when TNA was on FSN. There are, however, pop-up ads for sport events on Fox. Charlotte gets some chops in on Sasha, leading to a boot to Sasha shoving her to the floor. But before she can leap from the top rope, Bayley tosses her off, leading to break. Charlotte gets the hot tag to Becky, unloading a flurry of offense on Bayley, capping the series off with a Bret's rope legdrop, only for a 2. Charlotte gets the tag and hits a backbreaker and Natural Selection, gets the pin broken up by Sasha, and then we get the brawl with her and Becky; it's a total slugfest for a moment, before Becky hits a dropkick on Sasha, which leads to Charlotte's "moonsault" on both Sasha and Bayley. The crowd is pretty hot for this match, always a great sign. Bayley gets locked in the Figure 8 and has no choice but to tap out, and the... Raw team wins... weird implications with that.

(NOTE: In my exhausted frenzy, I had forgotten that Sasha is Raw and Charlotte is SmackDown. But with how the “WILD CARD, BITCHES!” thing has left everyone showing up everywhere, it’s an honest mistake for me to make.)

Backstage, we cut to Erin Andrews - yes, from Fox's NFL team - interviewing The New Day. Fun and energetic backstage interview, Kofi is going out to his match alone to prove how deserving of the role of champion he truly is. Crossing my fingers for him.

Um... random inter-brand match between Seth Rollins and Shinsuke Nakamura up next with no build! Okay. Also, Ronda Rousey is part of the new season of 911. Almost got her finger severed during production.

Well, before the next match happens, we get the Fox premiere of Firefly Fun House! I can only imagine the reaction of first-time viewers of this weird-ass "Don't Hug Me I'm Scared" stuff, with all the characters being introduced. Oh, hey, Rambling Rabbit got better from his case of death, and he's telling Seth to not go in Hell in a Cell. So, we have Rambling Rabbit playing the role of Seth, and Mercy the Buzzard playing the role of "HIM," and... yeah, Rambling Rabbit is dead again.

Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (w/ Sami Zayn) - So... yeah, this match came about with absolutely zero build to it. Also, Hogan and Flair showed up during the break. Nakamura gets an armbar immediately locked in, but Rollins powers out and hits a topé, then another one. Back in the ring, Rollins hits a Sling Blade, a leaping knee, and a kick to the head, and then... FIEND TIME. Rollins is out of the ring, up on the stage, where HE was waiting. Last sell for their title match on Sunday, and for added measure, The Fiend tosses Rollins off the stage to the floor below. No contest for the match, I guess.

Meanwhile... shenanigans happened backstage.

EXCLUSIVE: THIS IS NOT A DRILL.@marshmellomusic is your NEW #247Champion! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/arhS0l6WlA

— WWE (@WWE) October 5, 2019

I don't even know, man.

[Hour 2]
Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon, Ladder Match - The match starts with Owens going after Shane down the aisle, and I think I heard a different kind of bleep, everything but the commentary was blanked out. First ladder comes in, and both Shane and Kevin are fighting it out to climb up. That is, before KO throws the ladder, which thankfully missed Shane. There's also a ladder laying between the ring apron and barricade, someone's bumping through it for sure. The table gets cleared and KO gets laid out, with Shane doing what he always does, something stupid. Up he goes, to the top turnbuckle, and the elbow through the table connects. The show goes to break before any more audible "holy shit" chants get heard; you can do that on cable, but on broadcast TV with FCC regulations? Not so much. 

Back from break, KO had his whole comeback happen, Shane is on Chekov's ladder and KO is on the top rope, hitting a frog splash onto Shane through the ladder. And the crowd gets blanked out to avoid those pesky FCC fines. Up goes KO on the ladder, but Shane comes back in with a steel chair to knock KO back down. Shane plants KO in the corner and looks at the chair, deciding to toss it and put a ladder against KO instead - again, something stupid is happening. Coast to Coast gets landed onto KO, and OWWWWW. Shane gets up and starts climbing, but in comes KO to toss and slam Shane onto another ladder with a powerbomb; up he goes, he gets the briefcase, and Kevin Owens wins!

KO grabs a mic and says two words to Shane: "YOU'RE FIRED!" Complete with a Stunner, for good measure. And THANK MERCIFUL GOD this stupid feud will now be over.

Meanwhile... this.


Riveting stuff. At least it was more enjoyable than hearing Brodus Clay shill for Fox Nation, that pile of bullshit.

Um... 8-man tag with a bunch of bodies - A few minutes of offense, the sea of finishers, all to lead to Strowman doing a bit with Tyson Fury in the front row for funsies. Or maybe something more, with Ziggler being thrown into Fury by Strowman, and that makes him a bit peeved. Ziggler gets his momentum, but runs into a hard slam and gets the 3 for his team. Fury hops the barricade, only to be held back by the security geeks, and you know this was planned since WWE's actual security agent isn't there. Also, Tyson's got a foul mouth, he got blanked a bit. But if they're planting something long-term, would ESPN and Top Rank have to give approvals for their top draw to take part in this?

30 minutes left with two matches to go. I smell shenanigans afoot. Daniel Bryan is on commentary for the next match, and to sell their match on Sunday, one of THREE advertised for the PPV.

Roman Reigns vs. Erick Rowan, Lumberjack Match - It really is great to have pyro again. I'm also reminded why I don't like lumberjack matches, it always lead to the heels piling on the babyface, a brawl breaks out, they has fight, dull as shit. (s/o to Brian Zane) This week's Heavy Metal Vintner shirt choice is Powerwolf, power metal from Germany. Not a bad choice. Luke Harper comes out after a few moments, with Bryan trying to fight him off, but it all leads to Roman hitting a leaping crowd-surf dive onto EVERYBODY. And then Rowan used Ali as a lawn dart onto Roman. Which is a thing people do. Iron Claw gets locked in, but Roman fights out, before Harper runs in, with Bryan intervening long enough for Roman to hit a spear and get the win. That was certainly... a match. Main event is up next.

Brock Lesnar vs. Kofi Kingston (c), WWE Championship - The first time we've seen Brock fight on free TV in a LONG time, aaaaaaand it's over after one F-5. In less than 10 seconds. New champion. Fuuuuuuuuuck.

Now WAIT a minute, out comes Rey Mysterio and... CAIN VELASQUEZ??? Did they sign the deal??? Well, Velasquez is going hard on the ground and pound, and out goes Brock with plenty of audio muting. Brock is toying and teasing a fight, though, it just won't happen tonight. This is gonna be one interesting story, going forward. Kinda sucked that Kofi's reign had to end as a result of it.

Also gotta get used to SmackDown going off the air before 10pm. You know, broadcast TV stuff.

Final Thoughts: I... really don't know what to say. The presentation is great, the new stage is amazing, I liked that this was more of a wrestling show than an "entertainment program," with more emphasis on the sports aspect, but some of the choices made were kinda iffy. I get that you need to put the babyface women over, but you can get the same result by having your SmackDown representatives win, but still have the babyfaces get the pop in the end with a post-match angle. Having the ladder match go to break between big spots felt off in a lot of ways, putting together random matches with no build just to lead to angles is something I've never been a fan of, and then there's Kofi.

He didn't deserve to have his reign end like that. Yeah, it's cool to have Cain Velasquez come in, it's a big draw and stuff, but putting the title on Brock and lead into a new program with an incoming draw, and to have Kofi lose like THAT? That's a deflator if I've seen one.

I'm sure this show will do a strong number for Fox, but like with AEW, that's just one week. What happens going forward and what kind of retention the show gets is more of a signal of how the show will perform long-term. Fox is paying $1 billion for this show for the next five years, as part of their Thursday-to-Sunday sports lineup, and they will demand strong results every single week. They can't afford to have a program that tanks with the fans.

Also, THERE ARE ONLY THREE MATCHES BOOKED FOR THE PAY PER VIEW ON SUNDAY. STILL. NOTHING NEW WAS ANNOUNCED. GAHHHH.

Show Verdict: a strong goodwill show for the Fox debut, but not the best show for fans looking for a PPV card to be expanded upon, or for the final 10 minutes of the show. Cain Velasquez is here, but at a BIG cost.

New Set, New "Season" - WWE Raw (on USA) (9/30/19)

WWE Raw
Talking Stick Resort Arena - Phoenix, AZ
Live on USA Network - September 30, 2019
Rating: 0.89 (18-49), 2.569M viewers

[Hour 1]
They changed up the signature fanfare. It's... okay? The new intro also intercuts with live footage from Skillet, performing "Legendary," and I'd be more into this if it were a better song. But never mind that, CUE THE PYRO AND BALLYHOO! I guess that first $200 million check from NBC cleared. We get introduced to our new announce team, Dio Maddin and Vic Joseph (with Jerry Lawler because of a compromise), and we go right into promoting a few matches: Heavy Machinery vs. Roode and Ziggler for the Raw tag titles, Cedric Alexander vs. AJ Styles for the US title, Miz TV with Ric Flair and... Hulk Hogan... joy... and we also have Rey Mysterio in the ring for some promo time. Hi Dominick, can't wait for your inevitable debut and heel turn.

Rey starts his promo, talking about his match tonight, when a wild BORK LAZER appears! And I have to admit, with the lighting and camera angle, the set looks really good, it takes advantage of wide shots really well. Anyway, before Heyman can do his schtick, Rey snatches the mic out, only for Lesnar to hit an immediate F-5 on Rey. A second one happens, for good measure, while Dominick stands by in the crowd, just watching everything, when his and Brock's eyes meet - and in Pokémon rules, that means a battle must take place! Brock heads to the younger Mysterio, who slowly sits back down via intimidation before Lesnar pulls him over the barricade to the floor. Cue the "Zack Gowen special," only without the fake leg, followed up with a third F-5 to Rey. Heyman is beside himself as Brock walks up the ramp, but just as quick, Brock heads back to the ring for a suplex to Rey, and one to Dominick as well, with Heyman pleading for Brock to stop.

More refs come out to stop the mayhem, along with agents Pat Buck and a wild Finlay, with Brock finally stepping aside with his work done - for now - but we know his work is NEVER done. Pat Buck gets laid out, Finlay gets kicked out, and both Mysterios get thrown to the floor, to a sea of (momentary) "ASS-HOLE" chants. See you on Friday, Brock. GREAT first segment. And depending on who you believe, this may be the first seed planted for a debut by potential WWE prospect Cain Velasquez... but we'll have to wait and see on that.

Back from break, we see that Dominick did a stretcher job during commercial, and that "authorities were called," whatever that means in kayfabe. Getting ready for the next match, a wild Becky Lynch appears, and there's definitely a strong pyro budget in place, given the fireworks show Alexa got, and the return of Becky's steam. Anyway, Becky is joining the booth for commentary for this match, should be... something?

Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss - So how much of this is full work and pseudo-shoot, given the discourse that happened this past week? I'll leave that up to you. Going to break, Sasha and Becky have a staredown, with Becky on the table and Sasha on the ropes, leading into the first break - a split-screen 30-second break for Gears 5. Thankfully, it's the Batista spot and not the other one. This match is definitely the female equivalent of a MEAN GUY MATCH, with hard hits and fierce 'tudes between both competitors.

Then... there's a WEIRD botch. We hear a siren, nobody else can hear it, but Vic Joseph alerts us that it's for Dominick as he's being sent out in an ambulance... but we don't see it. REALLY strange botch. And to further the story further, King tells us that Lesnar is being questioned by local authorities for what he did. Hard knee strikes and slaps in this match, with the crowd being kinda quiet for most of it, when all of a sudden Sasha lands a sudden kick to Alexa and gets the quick 3 for the win. Cue the next staredown, with Becky heading to the ring for a slugfest, all for Sasha to head into the crowd for the escape, with Becky talking her down on the mic for the final PPV sell for their match.

I do enjoy the people at TNT and AEW purchasing ads across many cable systems to air during Raw. Been happening for 3 weeks, and I always enjoy it each time.

Charly Caruso is backstage, to lead to a recap package for what happened last week with Bray Wyatt and Seth Rollins, and let me tell you, nothing says "top guy" like going "AAAAGGGHHHHH" like you're both constipated and dealing with a scrape on your knee. Made for fine meme material, at least. Then we go to an interview with Seth, who learned the hard way that you NEVER deal with super-stans on Twitter. Hope he enjoyed that momentary break. Evidently, Rey isn't in fighting shape, but Seth is promising a title match tonight with anyone willing to step up.

Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Heavy Machinery, Raw Tag Team Championship - I should be more annoyed that a SmackDown team is fighting for a Raw title, but then I remember that The Revival won the SmackDown belts and they're a Raw team, so why bother poking more holes in the logic. Tucker gets the showcase first, with fine athleticism , including a standing dropkick and a delayed suplex to Ziggler, handed off in-transition to Otis, only for a 2 count. Double delayed suplexes to the champions lead to break, only for the tables to turn with the champions taking the advantage back. Sleeper holds and headlocks keep Tucker away from getting the hot tag, but he manages to power out, just not before Roode can tag in and hit a spinebuster, only for 2. A taunt backfires on Ziggler, who gets lawndarted into the ring post, leading to the hot tag for Otis, getting in his "zone" against Roode, and with both men down after a set of power slams, we get THE CATERPILLAR! Roode gets caught by Otis, Ziggler comes in and hits both Tucker and Otis, going to the finish with Otis tossed out and Roode hitting the Glorious DDT on Tucker to get the win and retain the titles. A strong match, Roode gets another win and both Otis and Tucker get a strong showcase.

"This may be the biggest week in the history of wrestling, ever!" Well, King isn't necessarily wrong.

[Hour 2]
Next up, we get... Miz TV with Hogan and Flair. Skipping to bullet points for this because UGHHHH I don't care, this is all non-canon anyway. At least Miz got his pyro spark shower back. For some reason, on the LED board, it said "17 Time Champion" for Flair's entrance - another botch, or is someone not telling us something? So... what's the point of this whole segment? It's about as dumb and underwhelming as you'd think. Short version is, Hogan's playing the babyface and Flair is playing the heel, and it's all to lead to... a 5-on-5 tag match, "Team Hogan vs. Team Flair," at... Crown Jewel. Halloween night, in Riyadh. Because what the Saudi Prince wants, he gets, and he apparently wants Seth Rollins to captain Hogan's team. Oh, and Seth has pyro as well. As for who MBS wants to captain Flair's team? Randy Orton. None of this matters, nothing is on the line, it's practically a filler arc that's being paid for by the Saudi government to the tune of eight figures.

A few more notes about this whole thing: way to deem Survivor Series a total afterthought, SCREW those "one more match!" chants and all the marks chanting that, and WOW you know a match isn't super exciting when IMPACT is doing a troll job over it.

This was a good match. #IMPACT pic.twitter.com/JVpuBdxCs3

— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) October 1, 2019

Oh, and we're going to have Rollins vs. Orton happening right now, because why not. And as the crew clears the ring, out comes Big Breakfast Baron to get involved and go after Rollins because... frigging reasons. Then out comes Rusev to even the odds, to a big pop, and do I smell a tag team match, playa? Apparently not. And the crowd was chanting "USA!" presumably to cheer Rusev becoming an American citizen last week. Maybe.

We go back to earlier tonight, with the footage that wasn't shown of Dominick being wheeled into the ambulance, and with Rey going with him, he's out of the title match for tonight - gee, another bait-and-switch, how totally expected from WWE.

Oh, I'm sorry, it's "PLANS CHANGE." Whatever.

Backstage, Rusev is asked where Lana is, and the answer? There... is no answer. Problems at home, maybe? Guess we'll put a pin in that storyline thread for later, but more importantly, Rusev is challenging Rollins for the title - I'm in for that match. And it's now dawned on me that all three major WWE titles are being defended on free TV this week - the Universal title here, the NXT title on Wednesday, and the WWE Championship on Friday.

Another vignette for the Authors Of Pain, and... yeah, just a lot of words.

The War Viking Raider Experience Machine vs. Gallows & Anderson - The crowd is dead quiet for this match, and so am I. No heat, a match we've already seen before, it's just... there. It's fine. Perfectly adequate. A good way to pad out the 3-hour run time of this show. Match ended with a big splash off the top rope to get the bigger men the win.

Backstage, we are informed that Lesnar and Heyman are still in the building, and they want some time to talk, when in comes Cesaro to say "hey, Brock took away my spot to beat up Dominick," only for Ricochet to step up like the true babyface he is, and this leads to a challenge in the ring.

USA is going commercial-free for the season premiere of Mr. Robot on Sunday. I like when networks do that.

Ricochet vs. Cesaro - Now THIS is a match that I can get into. Super fast action out of the gate, with tons of that "flippy shit" that all the old people get uppity about. And the finish? A thing of beauty - Ricochet hits a springboard off the top rope, only to get caught, and to turn that into a WEST COAST POP for the 3!

Ronda Rousey is part of the new season of Total Divas. This show has an audience but it sure as shit isn't me.

Firefly Fun House time! Everyone's feeling a little strange and afraid, while Ramblin' Rabbit has come down with a case of death. Bray's here to talk about how horrifying Hell in a Cell is, and how he's got a bad feeling that "he" cannot wait to hurt Seth. Bray then decides to go find "him" and tell him to be nice to Seth, only it's a case of "nah I'm just kidding!" with a big laugh from everyone. "LET ME IN."

[Hour 3]
Cedric Alexander vs. AJ Styles (c), WWE United States Championship - For the second time tonight, the champion comes out FIRST and that annoys me to no end. Oh hey, Drake Wuertz is reffing this match, he got called up. A HARD smack to Cedric starts the match, with Cedric leading into a flurry of offense for his burst of momentum. AJ catches Cedric on a cutter on the rope, leading to a Phenomenal Forearm onto Cedric on the floor before heading to break. Back from break, Cedric lands a springboard Flatliner onto AJ, and later in the sequence, Cedric gets a VERY close near-fall after a hard kick to AJ. Cedric powers out of a Styles Clash attempt, and escapes the forearm, and catches AJ in a Michinoku Driver for another near fall. The crowd is very much alive for this match, as Cedric gets caught in a suplex and facebuster for another nearfall. Cedric counters out of the Styles Clash, but can't escape it a second time, and eats the pin in an excellent match. The chase must continue.

Backstage... more of the Peanut Gallery Street Prophets, but this time they're here to talk about their tag title match on NXT this Wednesday... before going back to their usual backstage schtick. Nobody in the crowd cared.

..........Lacey Evans vs. Natalya, AGAIN - There are good memes, and there are bad memes. Why has God abandoned us? I care not for this match, nor for this whole Scarlett O'Hara persona, just let this end. The match ended with Lacey clawing Natalya's eyes with the ref's back turned, and getting a rollup with the tights for the pin. Great, now go away. PLEASE.

We get highlights of the attack on Rey Mysterio and Dominick, his 22-year-old "teenage" son, which lead us to backstage with Heyman talking on behalf of Brock, saying that he's sorry for what happened to Rey and his son, and that Brock is in "fight mode" in preparation for his title match on Friday night. I can't describe it myself, watch and enjoy.



Charly Caruso is backstage, talking with Maria Kanellis, who tells us that "uh DUH of course Rusev isn't the father," when a wild Sasha Banks appears! She takes the mic and talks to Becky directly, getting one more sell in for their match on Sunday night - short and sweet and full of venom. Then we get a shot of a limo arriving, at... [checks notes] 10:40pm Eastern time. Who could it be, arriving so incredibly late to the show?

Because FOX wants more than 3 million viewers on Friday, The Rock is booked to show up on the show. Nothing to lose, really.

Rusev vs. Seth Rollins (c), Universal Championship - Main event time, and for some reason, Orton and Corbin are on the stage to watch the match. Which, upon further investigation, is because Corbin's throne broke, because WWE's prop budget continues to be all of 5 bucks and they used all of their money on pyro.

Well...there goes the throne of “King” @BaronCorbinWWE ...even @RandyOrton had to laugh 😂 pic.twitter.com/J8cg0HoPxH

— Mat Mania Podcast (@MatManiaPodcast) October 1, 2019

It looks as though Rusev is adhering the Code of Honor, but it was a ruse, a takedown that Rollins would ease out of to give the match a swift start out of the gate. Then we go to break with a strange transition, one that's even... fiendish. Chops are followed up with a Sling Blade by Rollins, with Rusev tumbling over the top rope that leads to Rollins hitting a pair of dives, but can't hit a cross body with Rusev reversing it. Rollins gets planted hard, only for a 2 count. Rusev tries to get a kick in, but Rollins hits one of his own, and manages to lift Rusev up for a Falcon Arrow, all just for a nearfall. Rollins goes for a springboard, but gets caught with a hard kick to the chin, and-WAIT A MINUTE, a wild Bobby Lashley... appears? And he's here with someone, he's here with... LANA?

Okay, wait, TIME THE HELL OUT. We're doing ANOTHER cuckold storyline on this show? For... WHAT reason? I need some insight as to the hows and whys of this whole thing. And why is Rusev just standing there in the middle of the ring, watching everything unfold? Why is he just standing in the ring, like a total geek, watching Lashley and his wife macking?

Meanwhile, THE FIEND APPEARS! And he's got Seth! And... yeah, see you on Sunday. No contest for your title match main event. Weird/bad end to the show.

So here's Jay Hunter shouting out Dio for his excellent OSW Review reference game, as a better end for this show.

Show @GREATBLACKOTAKU some love for DROPPING OSW REFERENCES on RAW!! 😍😍 Great job on commentary mate!

Pls RT! pic.twitter.com/QVZrPC8EiI

— Jay Hunter (@OSWreview) October 1, 2019

Verdict: While the show started out strong, it fell to diminishing returns by the end of the show, with an ending that has me going "WHY WHAT WHY" for another angle that I just don't want to deal with. The show had a boost in viewership, up by nearly 360,000, though the week's Monday Night Football game being the 0-3 Bengals against the 0-3 Steelers (just over 10 million viewers) may have helped for that bump.

Vic Joseph and Dio Maddin definitely need some more time to get adjusted to their new roles, hence why King is here (for now) to guide the ship a bit. The facelift is a good step forward, but it's what happens in the next few weeks that will set the stage proper for Raw, once we get past the PPV and the upcoming Draft.

Oh, and there's still only THREE matches booked for the pay-per-view happening on SUNDAY.