— After a long absence, the Rajah.com WWE PPV Flashbacks are back! We pick up this week right where we left off – SummerSlam 2003, which featured the WWE’s second ever Elimination Chamber match.

WWE SummerSlam 2003 Review

“The second Elimination Chamber match.”

Hey there. This is John Canton and I’m taking over the WWE PPV Flashback duties here at Rajah.com. I did a few of the reviews for the 1997 years. Now I’m picking up where the previous reviewer left off. I love writing about current day WWE, but getting a chance to re-watch on WWE Network and review shows from the days of the first brand split is cool too.

For every match I’ll put in some “pre-match notes” just to try to explain who the heels and faces are as well as any storyline notes.

I wrote a live review of this show back in 2003. My writing style was a bit different back then, so I have tweaked some things along the way and the Analysis part is new.

WWE SummerSlam
America West Arena in Phoenix, AZ
August 24, 2003

The show began with Lillian Garcia singing the National Anthem.

The usual long video package set up the key feuds for the show. It was very good as usual.

The hosts for the show are Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler for the Raw brand matches while Michael Cole & Tazz handle the Smackdown brand matches. The Spanish announce team is also at ringside.

World Tag Team Titles: La Resistance (Renee Dupree & Sylvan Grenier) vs. The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray & D-Von Dudley)

Pre-match notes: This is a Raw brand match. The Dudleys were the faces while La Resistance were the heel champions.

The Dudleys attacked them in the aisle. D-Von started with Rene Dupree by pounding on him with punches and kicks. D-Von with a leaping clothesline and dropkick, clothesline on Grenier. Armdrag takeover on Dupree. Grenier in, but didn’t do much. There was a shoulderblock by D-Von, bodyslam and a legdrop. Tag in to Bubba, who gets some clubbering. He set Grenier up in the Tree of Woe spot in the corner, standing on his groin. Bubba nailed a hard chop to send him out. Dupree in, then Bubba splashes both in the corner. Clotheslines send both heels out of the ring. Back in, Bubba chopped Dupree some more. Into the ropes, Grenier kneed Bubba in the back. Back suplex by Dupree gets one. He choked Bubba on the ropes. Tag into Grenier, double shoulderblock on Bubba, then a lowblow when the ref was looking at D-Von for some reason. Dupree slapped on a bearhug. A bearhug by an average sized guy? Alrighty then. Bubba tried to fight out, but Dupree hit a spinebuster for two. Tag into Grenier, Bubba reversed into a Bubba Bomb (full nelson drop slam). Hot tag to D-Von against Dupree. D-Von hit the usual clotheslines, punches, backdrops, neck breakers and a powerslam on Dupree for two. Flying forearm by D-Von, rollup on Dupree. La Resistance hit their double flapjack move that needs a name. D-Von kicked out. Bubba in with a double clothesline, then some flip, flop and fly punches. D-Von hit the Wassup Drop as the ref looked at the guy that is out of the ring and not involved. D-Von was told to get tables, but Dupree charges, so they give him a 3D for two. Grenier pulled ref Nick Patrick out of the ring when he was counting. A cameraman went into the ring and drilled D-Von in the head with a camera. Dupree covered for the win at 7:49.

Winners by pinfall: La Resistance

Post match, the camera guy drilled Bubba in the head with a camera. Spike Dudley ran out to the ring. He was hit in the head with a camera as well. The camera guy took off his hat to reveal it was a wrestler. They call him “that guy” without a name. It was Rob Conway.

Analysis: *3/4 Basic tag match with a cheap ending to keep the titles on the heel team. Grenier and Dupree were young guys in the early part of their careers, so having them retain against the Dudleys was big for them. Pulling the ref out during a pin should have been a DQ finish, but they went with the cheap camera shot finish.

After the match, Jonathon Coachman caught up to the Dudleys and said that what La Resistance did was clever. Bubba stated that he thinks anybody that doesn’t like America sucks. He gave them credit because they did whatever it took to keep the belts. Bubba claimed that they will not rest until they get their titles back.

Backstage, Eric Bischoff was warming up for his match with Shane McMahon when the IC Champ Christian approached him. He bitched about how he isn’t on the show. Bischoff blames Steve Austin for that. Christian said Austin is jealous of his “connection with the peeps.” Christian rules. He asked about Bischoff’s strategy for his match. Then he asked about what happened with Eric and Linda. Bischoff said he’ll walk to the ring and tell everybody just what happened.

Analysis: The IC Title had a lot of hot and cold moments during this period. Too bad Christian wasn’t on the show.

There was a highlight of A-Train running over Stephanie McMahon during her match with Sable at Vengeance and Sable got the win. A-Train started a feud with Undertaker after that.

The Undertaker vs. A-Train (w/Sable)

Analysis: This is a Smackdown match. Undertaker was a face that was in his biker mode look at this point. A-Train was a heel that they were trying to push. Sable was his valet because Vince McMahon was the heel boss that rewarded him for attacking Undertaker.

There was a feeling out process early on. Sable was showing a lot of cleavage in her dress at ringside, which is certainly not a bad thing. Undertaker drilled him with a running DDT for two. Leaping clothesline by Undertaker followed by the Old School punch to the shoulder. A-Train fights back with a kick to the ribs and he sent Undertaker over the top to the floor. He worked on the ribs some more. Back in the ring, Train got a two count. Headbutt by Train on Taker, followed by a punch. Undertaker gets a sleeper. Back suplex by A-Train. Punch to Undertaker’s ribs, but Taker fights back with punches. Taker connects with Snake Eyes (dropping opponent’s head on top turnbuckle), boot is ducked and double clothesline kept both guys down. Undertaker with a big boot, leg drop gets two. Taker doesn’t have the power of Hulkamania. Legdrop by Taker across the back of the head while his head is leaning over the apron. Undertaker with a couple of running clotheslines and kick to the gut. Taker set up for Last Ride, but A-Train shoved Taker into the ref Brian Hebner. A-Train gets the Derailer (Baldo Bomb) for two. Undertaker went for a clothesline, A-Train ducked and hit the ref. Bicycle kick by A-Train and he goes a chair. Taker turns around, he kicks the chair into Train’s face for a long two count as the ref was slow to count. Taker picks him up for a Tombstone, A-Train slides out, so Undertaker hits a Chokeslam for the victory at 9:19.

Winner by pinfall: The Undertaker

Analysis: *3/4 It was a slow, plodding match. There was only one moment where it looked like A-Train might win, but it wasn’t that close. No surprise that The Undertaker got the win since he was the bigger name in this match.

After the match, Undertaker wanted to give A-Train the Last Ride. Sable into the ring and rubs Undertaker’s chest so that he could stop it. Since he’s such a gentleman, he grabs her by the throat! What a ladies man! Stephanie’s music hit. Michael Cole reacts like it’s Jesus Christ walking down the aisle. With Undertaker still choking Sable, Stephanie tackled Sable, then pounded on her with punches. A-Train pulled Sable out as the crowd boos. The heels left to end the segment.

Analysis: It was an angle to bring back Stephanie, who was out for a few weeks. Stephanie was a face GM on Smackdown with her heel father Vince McMahon making life difficult for her.

Backstage, Chris Jericho warmed up for Elimination Chamber.

Coach talked to fans about who they think will win. A male and a female each say Goldberg will win the Elimination Chamber match.

A video package aired to set up Eric Bischoff vs. Shane McMahon. Kane was also involved in the feud as a rival of Shane. Bischoff made the feud personal when he forced a kiss on Shane’s mom Linda.

Bischoff did his entrance. He said that he did it “over and over again” with Linda. Shane’s music played to cut him off.

Eric Bischoff vs. Shane McMahon

Pre-match notes: This is a Raw match. Bischoff was the heel GM of Raw while Shane was in face mode fighting for his family.

Shane started out with elbows and fists in the corner. Bischoff was thrown outside, then walks back up the aisle. Shane clotheslined him in the back, then kicked him in the gut. Shane worked him over on the floor a bit, tossing him back first into the guardrail. After more brawling on the floor, Shane threw him into the Smackdown announce table. From behind, Jonathon Coachman drilled Shane with a steel chair twice! Out of nowhere! Coach turns heel! Bischoff said the match is now falls count anywhere and no disqualification. He told Coach to beat him up by throwing him into the steel steps. In the ring, Coach checked on Shane. Bischoff told Coach to hold him up and he kicked Shane a few times. Meanwhile, JR & King’s headsets were turned off because Bischoff told them to. During this beating, Coach was providing commentary by imitating JR. Eventually, Shane fought out of the grasp of Coach and his a DDT on Eric Bischoff. Coach nailed Shane with a low blow.

The glass breaks and here comes “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to a huge pop. Coach cut him off saying he only works for Bischoff, not Austin. He said Austin can’t touch him unless he is physically provoked, so Shane shoves Coach into him and Austin punches him. Huge pop for all this. Shane and Austin join together in beating the crap out of Coach. They threw Coach out of the ring.

Austin grabbed the mic and had the microphones turned on for Ross and Lawler. Shane picked up Bischoff, then took his hand and provoked Austin with a fist to the face. Shane went to pin, but picked him up at two. Shane looked at the announce table. The crowd was going wild as Shane cleared off the table. He put Bischoff up across the Spanish announce table. Shane climbed to the top rope. Elbow through the table! Falls count anywhere, so here’s the academic pinfall after 10:36 of action.

Winner by pinfall: Shane McMahon

Analysis: 1/2* It was an angle more than a match. Shane’s bump was great and the crowd loved Austin getting involved, so the fans liked it. The heel turn from Coach was a bit of a surprise and it came off well. Better than I would have thought. Shane feuded with Kane after this, so it made sense for him to win.

Post match, Austin and McMahon celebrated with some beers.

Backstage, they showed the blond bomber Kevin Nash taping his fists in preparation.

Analysis: This was edited out of the WWE Network version for some reason.

Backstage, Ric Flair told Randy Orton to make sure Triple H wins the match to keep the World Title. Orton asks “what if,” but Triple H comes in to tell him there’s no “what if” in this care. Triple H said he walks in with the belt and walks out with it too.

United States Championship: Eddie Guerrero (c) vs. Chris Benoit vs. Rhyno vs. Tajiri

Pre-match notes: Benoit was a face, Eddie was more of a tweener, Rhyno was a heel after turning on Benoit a month earlier. Tajiri didn’t get much of a reaction. This is a Smackdown match.

Fast pace action right away. Tajiri drilled Rhyno with a hard kick. Tajiri with a knee on Benoit’s face for two after Eddie broke it up. Eddie slid out to avoid them. Clothesline by Rhyno on Tajiri. Eddie with another save, but this time Benoit got a bodyslam, Rhyno got a punch, Tajiri got a spinning heel kick for two. Rhyno into the corner stomps a mudhole on Benoit. Eddie comes in and tosses Rhyno into the top turnbuckle. Rhyno reverses, shoulder tackle and powerslam gets two after Benoit saves. Benoit chops down Tajiri, then a back suplex for two when Eddie breaks it. Benoit and Rhyno go out. Eddie gets his own chant. He deserves it. Tajiri with a monkey flip, then a tilt a whirl backbreaker for two when Rhyno breaks it up. To the top, Rhyno gets a superplex on Eddie for two as Tajiri breaks it up. Kick to Rhyno’s ribs twice get two. Tajiri misses a kick, into the ropes, handspring elbow on Benoit for two. Rhyno gets a back suplex on Eddie for two. This is very fast. Eddie with a leg scissors on Rhyno, sending him to the floor. Eddie with a beautiful hurricanrana on Benoit for two as Rhyno saves. He takes out Eddie. Benoit takes a clothesline from Rhyno. Eddie sends Rhyno out. In the ring, Eddie reverses a kick into the Lasso from El Paso. On the other side of the ring, Benoit puts Rhyno in the Crossface. Double submission. Whoever taps first loses! Tajiri gets to the ropes. Eddie kicks Benoit in the face. Crossface on Guerrero in the center by Benoit. Rhyno broke it up. Powerbomb on Tajiri blocked, into the ropes and a Rhyno spinebuster for two. Dropkick on Rhyno by Benoit.

Benoit with one German Suplex and here’s two. Eddie tries to get in, but they flip him over. Tajiri reverses into a bridging German for two. Good two count. Crowd bought it. This match is ruling. Into the corner, Tajiri gets the Tarantula on Benoit. Eddie’s on the other side with the belt in his hand. Rhyno gets a gore, but he hit the belt! Rhyno is down. Eddie climbs up, but Tajiri kicks him off the top. Benoit knocks Tajiri down, putting him in the Tree of Woe upside down position. Benoit climbs over Tajiri, top rope headbutt by Benoit on Rhyno gets two. Benoit goes for a powerbomb, but Tajiri gets a hurricanrana that sends them both out. Eddie up top and he hits a Frog Splash onto Rhyno’s back. Eddie rolls him over for the three count for the victory at the 10:50 mark.

Winner by pinfall: Eddie Guerrero

Analysis: ***1/2 Good match with a fast pace. It would have been nice if it went a bit longer, but that’s okay. It was booked well. Eddie was on fire and made to look like a star by being very intelligent during the whole match. Strong showing by everybody involved.

Backstage, Shawn Michaels is shown taping his hands up for Elimination Chamber still to come.

There were highlights from Smackdown that showed Brock breaking Zach Gowen’s leg in two places according to Cole.

A clip aired from Heat where Matt Hardy was in the ring saying Zach wasn’t a real wrestler because a real wrestler would have made the match. Matt won his match against Gowen by forfeit.

Video package aired for the WWE Championship match with champion Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar. Angle won the WWE Title one month earlier at Vengeance. He and Lesnar were faces at the time. Lesnar had a cage match against top heel Vince McMahon with Angle as the referee. Lesnar attacked heel leading to his heel turn, so that set up this WrestleMania rematch except their roles were reversed.

Analysis: I always liked Lesnar more as a heel, so I was glad when they had him turn.

Angle was greeted by the “you suck” chant during his entrance even though he was a top face. It was a respect thing.

WWE Championship: Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar

Pre-match notes: This is a Smackdown Title match. Angle was the face and Lesnar was the heel.

They did some mat wrestling early with Angle using his speed to get the advantage. Angle ducked a clothesline, then hit three arm drags on Lesnar. Brock went to the floor where he broke TV monitor, then kicked the ring steps and tossed them. He was pissed off. He picked up the WWE Title and walked away. Angle chased him up the aisle with a clothesline and right hands. Back in the ring, Kurt with an overhead belly to belly for two. Beautiful. Brock reversed a whip into a gorilla press where he tossed Angle to the floor. Kick to the ribs by Brock. Brock throws him face first into the steel steps. He stepped on Kurt’s throat. In the ring, backdrop by Lesnar. Backbreaker by Lesnar for two. Brock gets a rear naked choke where he choked Angle’s head and wrapped up his waist with a leg scissors. He rolled Kurt up for two. Back to the leg scissors. Big “Angle” chant starts up. Lesnar gets a knee to the gut to kill the momentum. Backbreaker by Lesnar. Angle fought back with right hands, then gets a rollup for a two count. Back up, Lesnar clotheslines him down. Brock picked him up over his head in a Fisherman Suplex position, held him up over his head in a cradle position and dropped back in a Samoan Drop. Lesnar with a clothesline and he drove Angle back first into the corner. Lesnar worked him over in the corner with shoulderblocks. Whip to the other side, the tackle misses and Lesnar’s shoulder hits the post. He is selling the left arm. Angle charges into him with a shoulderblock to the left arm twice and a dropkick to the knee. Cool move that you don’t often see from Kurt. Angle with a flying forearm to knock Lesnar down. Angle hit a few German Suplex ending with a two count.

This match was good, but the crowd wasn’t overly excited about it or anything. Brock gets a sick overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Kurt fights back and an Angle Slam is reversed into a spinebuster by Lesnar for a good nearfall. A F5 by Brock is countered by Angle. I think it was supposed to be a DDT, but he didn’t hit it so Brock just collapsed with Kurt on top of him. Brock up again, F5 is reversed into a Tornado DDT by Angle. I think that’s what Angle was going for. Angle undoes the straps as the crowd goes nuts. Angle Slam and the slow cover for the two as Lesnar got his arm up. Angle put the straps up, and then takes them down again. Ankle lock by Angle. Brock did a forward roll to get out of it, Angle knocked Mike Chioda down by accident. Angle goes for a flip over Lesnar, then hangs on to his waist. His legs are wrapped around Brock’s head. It’s a submission move. That’s awesome. Ankle lock by Angle. Brock makes it to the ropes, but Kurt won’t break since the ref was down. Lesnar makes ropes again, but Lesnar still holding on. Brock is tapping. Still no ref. Vince McMahon comes in to the ring to drill Angle in the back with a steel chair. Brock back to his feet, kick to the gut, his left leg was not on the ground because he’s selling it. How cool! Lesnar hit the F5 on one leg! Two count! Angle kicks out. Damn, I thought that was it. Very good nearfall there. Closeup on Vince, who said “Do it again” to Brock. Here’s another F5, but it was countered by Angle. Another ankle lock on the left leg. Brock gets ropes, but Kurt rips him off. Brock breaks it three times in the ropes, but Kurt won’t let go. Lesnar taps out! Angle wins it at 20:48.

Winner by submission: Kurt Angle

Post match, Vince comes in with the chair. Angle stops it. He sets up the chair so that it’s seated. Angle Slam through the seated chair. Happy Birthday for Vince, says Cole. Crowd celebrated Angle’s win and successful post match attack.

Analysis: ****1/4 Great match. I love when these guys wrestle because they have amazing chemistry together. The last ten minutes of this match were absolutely fantastic. I thought the ref bump was unnecessary, but it was pretty cool how they didn’t do the obvious by having Lesnar win with the F5 after the interference. I loved the clean ending. That’s always good to see. Angle was put over huge here and Lesnar did a fantastic job of selling the ankle injury. It was a surprise to see Lesnar tap out like that, but it was the right finish. Since this was their last PPV singles match, I’ll take the opportunity to say my fave match of theirs was the Ironman Match on SD in September 2003.

Backstage, Goldberg is warming up. Two more matches left.

There was a shot of some Arizona Diamondbacks players at ringside.

They show the winner of the Diva Search contest, Jaime Koeppe. I may have spelled it wrong. She’s damn hot.

Analysis: A year later, the Diva Search became a much bigger deal.

There was a long video package showing Kane’s craziness after he removed his mask. That craziness included lighting Jim Ross on fire and hitting a Tombstone on Linda McMahon on the ramp. It led to a feud with his former tag team partner Rob Van Dam as well.

No Holds Barred: Rob Van Dam vs. Kane

Pre-match notes: Kane was a crazy heel and RVD was the face. This is a Raw match.

Kane worked him over with punches. He tossesd Rob back first into the railing. RVD gets a moonsault off the barricade. Kane tossed RVD head first into the ring post. Kane grabbed a ladder from under the ring. With Kane in the ring, RVD hit the one end of the ladder so that it went up into Kane’s chin. Rolling Thunder by RVD blocked into a choke and RVD kicks out of that. They went to the floor after RVD took him out with a cross body block. Kane tossed RVD into the ring steps. Kane set up the bottom steps up, then rolls RVD into the ring. Rob with a spin kick to the face. Shoulder tackles in the corner, ducks a clothesline and a spinning heel kick by RVD hits Kane on the chin for two. Back up, RVD into the corner with a back elbow. To the top, Kane shoves him off and RVD’s chin hits the top of the ring steps he set up outside. Good spot. Kane picked up the ladder, then charged at RVD and speared him in the head with the ladder. Back in the ring, Kane got a two count. He followed up with punches to the head. More choking from Kane. RVD with a comeback as he hit a back kick to the face, but Kane punched him to the floor again. Kane climbed the top the rope, tried to do a clothesline and falls off! He fell to his feet. People laughed and chanted the moronic “you f**ked up” chant. He did the clotheslines again, but RVD moved out of the way. Ladder to the ribs by RVD. Kane with a DDT on the floor, which RVD sells like death. Kane picked up the steps over his head, drop toe hold by RVD sends Kane face first into the steps. That’s like the Flair move off the top. It NEVER works.

A dropkick by RVD sends Kane over the barricade into the front row. RVD hit him with punches, but Kane shoved him off. RVD with a kick and Kane was leaning over the barricade railing. Climb to the apron and a spinning legdrop by RVD. That spot is always cool. RVD grabbed a chair as Kane is in the ring. Running spinning heel kick by RVD. He placed the chair on Kane’s stomach followed by a Rolling Thunder on the chair. Kane sat up after about five seconds. RVD dropkicked the chair into Kane’s face. JR called it a Van Terminator even though it’s more like a Van Daminator. Kane was out in the corner. RVD goes up top with the chair and misses the Van Terminator (dropkick with the chair) because Kane moved out of the way. RVD tried to leap on him on the floor, but Kane caught him. Kane with a Tombstone on the ring steps like he did to Shane McMahon. That looked great. Kane rolled RVD into the ring and covers for the win at 12:49.

Winner by pinfall: Kane

Analysis: **1/2 It was a solid match. They did better than I thought they would. RVD got to show off a lot of his athleticism, but when it came to the finish it was Kane that outsmarted him by catching him for the Tombstone on the steps for the decisive finish. They built up that spot well on Raw and used it as a finish. That’s smart booking. It could have been a dominant win for Kane in a shorter match, but it was competitive. I knew Kane would win, and I’m sure others did too, but it was a pretty good match.

Backstage, Terri was trying to interview Eric Bischoff while he was getting looked at by doctors. Bischoff had ice on his face. Linda McMahon walked into the room as the medical assistants left the area. She didn’t say a word. She slapped him in the face.

Analysis: That was a “receipt” for Bischoff forcing a kiss on her.

Triple H was shown backstage staring at the title. Ric Flair told him he’s not saying goodbye to the belt.

The Elimination Chamber lowered onto the ring. It was the second Elimination Chamber match in WWE history. The first one was at Survivor Series 2002 won by Shawn Michaels.

A video package aired about the Elimination Chamber and this match. It also noted that Triple H went to the hospital after the first EC match with a throat injury.

Elimination Chamber Rules as explained by announcer Howard Finkel: Four participants enter and are confined in the four chambers. Two participants start the match. A new person will join the match EVERY THREE MINUTES at random, as opposed to every five minutes like it was at Survivor Series. If you get pinned or submit, you are out of the match.

Here’s the order of entrance: Randy Orton as a heel that walked out to the Evolution theme song. JR said Orton was 21 years old even though he was 23 years old at this time. Kevin Nash was a face with a short blonde haircut. Jericho cut his hair in a match where it was supposed to be where the loser was shaved bald, but Nash still had a short haircut. Triple H looked as jacked as ever as the heel World Champion with Ric Flair with him. He had on these modified tights because he was dealing with a groin injury. JR noted that Triple H hasn’t won at SummerSlam since 1998.

Bill Goldberg made his entrance to a big ovation. Lawler pushed the idea that Goldberg was the big favorite, which tells us that he’s not going to win. From my 2003 review: “He fell over while doing his kicks in the entryway. Ha, I laughed.” They were not shown on the WWE Network version. They went to crowd shot. When the camera was back on Goldberg, he was laughing about it. Chris Jericho was out to boos since he was a heel. Big ovation for Shawn Michaels, who won the first Elimination Chamber.

Analysis: I thought Goldberg would win since it was a major show. It was really between him and Triple H with none of the other guys having much of a chance to win.

Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Championship – Triple H (c) (w/Ric Flair) vs. Goldberg vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Kevin Nash vs. Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho

Pre-match notes: Triple H was the heel World Champion. Orton and Jericho were also heels. Goldberg, Michaels and Nash were the faces.

Was it a surprise that Jericho and Michaels started? No. Clearly the best workers in this match. Early on there was a springboard crossbody by Michaels and Jericho rolled over for two. Backslide by HBK gets two. A sunset flip attempt by Michaels is blocked for two. Michaels rolled through for two of his own. They exchanged slaps to the face. Back body drop by Jericho. Jericho went for the Walls, but Michaels countered with an inside cradle for two. Jericho with a Facecrusher bulldog for two. A Lionsault by Jericho was avoided and Jericho gets a clothesline.

The #3 man in the match is Randy Orton. He gets a high cross body block on HBK for two. Dropkick by Orton, clothesline over the top that sends Michaels over the top and onto the steel grating. Chops by Jericho, Orton with a modified backbreaker for two. Jericho with an enziguri on Michaels and Orton with a dropkick on Jericho. All three are up, Orton goes after Jericho, but he ducks and hits a back body drop on Orton that sent him over the top with Orton landing back first on the steel grating on the outside. Bodyslam by Jericho on Orton on the steel. In the ring, Michaels goes for a dropkick, but it’s blocked by Jericho and turned Walls of Jericho. Lights go out for next entrant.

Kevin Nash is #4 man in the match. Nash sent Orton into the cage and he went after Jericho. Nash put Jericho on his shoulder and drove him headfirst into the black outside cage outside the ring. Jericho was bleeding while Orton went after Michaels. Nash hit a sidewalk slam on Orton for two. Nash picked up HBK out of the corner like he’s a friend and Nash clotheslined him. Nash with a big boot to Jericho. Fans were chanting for “Goldberg” while that was going on. Michaels nailed Nash wit ha surprising superkick and Jericho pinned Nash to eliminate him.

Kevin Nash eliminated by Chris Jericho

Analysis: Nash was only in the match for about two minutes. Thanks for showing up.

The #5 entrant is Triple H. As soon as the door opened, Michaels nailed Hunter with a Superkick. Nash nailed a Jackknife Powerbomb on Jericho. Nash tossed Orton into Michaels to knock them both down. Nash hit a Jackknife Powerbomb on Orton as well. Nash left to cheers while the four guys in the match were all down around the ring. Goldberg was still in a pod. Michaels was bleeding. Michaels covered Orton, but Orton got his foot on the bottom rope. Michaels covered Jericho and he got his foot on the rope. Orton, Michaels and Jericho were all punching eachother and staggering to sell the pain. The clock ticked down for the last name.

Goldberg is the #6 man punches all three guys down. Gorilla press into a spinebuster on Orton. Wow that was impressive. Goldberg with a double clothesline on HBK & Jericho. Goldberg with a spear on Orton and he pinned him.

Randy Orton eliminated by Goldberg

Jericho nailed a missile dropkick off the top on Goldberg for a two count. Gorilla Press Slam by Goldberg on Jericho that sent him into the cage. Goldberg whipped Michaels into the turnbuckle to knock him upside down. Goldberg nailed Jericho with a Spear into one of the pods. That looked painful and was really loud too. Michaels nailed Goldberg with a forearm and went up top with a flying elbow drop that connected. Michaels went for a Superkick, Goldberg ducked it and Goldberg nailed Michaels with a Spear. Goldberg pointed at Triple H to say he’s next. Goldberg picked up Michaels and hit a Jackhammer leading to a pin.

Shawn Michaels eliminated by Goldberg

Jericho was back in the ring, Goldberg charged in and hit a Spear. Goldberg with a Jackhammer on Jericho to eliminate him.

Chris Jericho eliminated by Goldberg

Goldberg and Triple H were the last two men left. Flair held onto the door to try to keep Hunter in the pod. Hunter gave Goldberg a middle finger salute. Goldberg kicked through the glass to break it. Goldberg pounded on Triple H with punches. Goldberg sent Triple H into the cage and of course Triple H was busted open. He bled a lot in PPV matches. Goldberg rammed Triple H’s head against chain cage. Triple H fought back by sending Goldberg’s head into the cage, but Goldberg bounced back quickly with a clothesline. As the broadcast was showing a replay, Flair slid a sledgehammer to Triple H. Goldberg set up for a Spear, but Triple H had the sledgehammer ready and he hit Goldberg in the head with it. Triple H covered for the win at the 19:12 mark.

Goldberg eliminated by Triple H

Winner: Triple H

Analysis: **3/4 It was a good match with some interesting moments, but not as good as the first EC match. It was much shorter than that match due to the shorter intervals. Those were done because the show was running a bit late, but mainly because of Triple H’s groin injury. He really didn’t do much in the match and only one with one move – the sledgehammer to the head. Goldberg was booked really strong in the match since he beat three guys rather easily and looked like a force in doing so. When he hit the Spear it looked amazing. Better than anybody in wrestling history, in my opinion. Michaels and Jericho bumped their asses off for the others and made them look good, but it was obvious neither of them was going to win. The finish was done that way to keep the feud going.

After the match, Randy Orton and Ric Flair went into the ring. Triple H hit Goldberg in the head with the sledgehammer two times in a row. Goldberg was busted open. The heels handcuffed Goldberg’s hands to the outer chain link cage. Hunter nailed him with another sledgehammer shot to the face. Hunter taunted Goldberg, held the World Title in his hands and told him he’ll never see the World Title again. JR ranted about how this was repulsive and hideous.

Analysis: That was a vicious post match attack to set up their next match at Unforgiven 2003 one month later. Triple H was really hurting due to the groin injury, so he couldn’t do much in this match. I’m not sure if they would have had Goldberg win here if Hunter was the champion or if this was always the plan.

Replays aired of the key spots in the match as well as the post match attack.

The show went off the air with Triple H, Randy Orton and Ric Flair leaving the chamber together while Goldberg was a bloody mess in the chamber.

The show has a run time of 2 hours, 44 minutes on WWE Network.

 

Five Stars Of The Show

During TV shows I go with three stars, but with PPV I like to pick five stars. Here they are.

1. Kurt Angle – He was the best wrestler in WWE at the time and proved it once again. Strong showing from Angle.

2. Brock Lesnar – It was rare to see him lose clean via submission. Angle may have been the best opponent in his career.

3. Chris Jericho – He took a beating in the Chamber. That spear through the Pod was nasty.

4. Bill Goldberg – He didn’t win, but he was really made to look like a badass superstar.

5. Eddie Guerrero – The character was really starting to take off around this point and it was getting harder to boo him.

 

Overall Rating (out of 10): 5.5
Final Thoughts

I thought it was an average show for the most part with only Angle vs. Lesnar standing out. As good as their match was, I thought their WrestleMania 19 match earlier in 2003 and their Ironman match on Smackdown in September 2003 were better matches. It was still cool to watch this match again because I haven’t seen it in a long time.

The Elimination Chamber match was very average. Once again, I think Triple H’s groin injury played a major factor in that. He obviously couldn’t sit out the match because he was the champion in the main event, but his lack of participation seriously hurt it. He took a superkick from Michaels, then sat in the pod for several minutes and only did a sledgehammer attack to win. Cheap ending to get out of doing a more complete match. Goldberg also wasn’t that good in the ring, so they were able to hide his limitations by only having him in the match for about ten minutes.

The undercard was okay. There was a lot of good talent missing, though. Guys like Rey Mysterio, Billy Kidman, Matt Hardy, John Cena, Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Haas and Christian not being on the card definitely hurt the match quality. They should have found something for some of those guys because some of the undercard matches were poor.

Next Up: Unforgiven 2003 featuring the Raw brand.

Thanks for reading.

John Canton – [email protected]

Twitter @johnreport

Rajah.com WWE PPV Flashbacks – Archive

Live from Anaheim, California this is Smackdown Live for episode #913. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport.

The show began with a video package showing highlights from Sunday’s Elimination Chamber event with Bray Wyatt leaving the show as the new WWE Champion.

Bray Wyatt Addresses the WWE Universe

The new WWE Champion Bray Wyatt made his entrance alone holding his lamp. The arena was darkened as the “fireflies” lit up the Honda Center with their cell phones. I’ve driven only Honda cars for about twenty years, so shout out to the building. I’m sure you care. Hey, I need to type some things while he slowly walks out there.

It was advertised that Wyatt will defend the WWE Title against John Cena later on Smackdown.

Wyatt was wearing the WWE Title around his waist as the crowd chanted “you deserve it” for him. There was a spotlight on him  as he spoke about how “she said” this wouldn’t be easy and they will try to steal your gift. Wyatt said that Sister Abigail always spoke the truth and so does he. He said that when he knew this day would come, he was not telling us a lie. Wyatt said that on this day at this moment in time, he can truly say that he has the whole damn world in his hands. The crowd cheered that.

Wyatt said that too much power can be a scary thing, but not for him, he said it can be scary for all of us. Wyatt yelled about how if you walk by his side he will lead you to paradise. If you stand in his way, you will burn in the fire. Wyatt: “Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome you all to the Era of Wyatt!” Crowd cheered. Here comes John Cena.

Analysis: I think the “you deserve it” chant is done a bit too much by the WWE Universe, but it’s cool. I like Bray and he does deserve it.

John Cena entered to a mixed reaction like usual. It’s a loud reaction, of course. Cena went into the ring with a microphone in hand.

Cena noted that it was a very energetic crowd. Cena did a big introduction: “Ladies and gentlemen, your new WWE Champion Bray Wyatt.” Cena mentioned that Wyatt has supporters and done his job in brainwashing them while noting the “you deserve it” chant. Fans chanted “you deserve it” again. Cena said that no man deserves anything; they earn every single inch they get. Wyatt laughed about it. Cena told Wyatt that the entire world is looking at that target on his shoulder (the WWE Title). Cena said that they have a match for the WWE Championship and everybody is excited about it, so he thinks they should have the match right now. Here comes AJ Styles.

Analysis: Poor John Cena the excitable man that thinks he’s wrestling in the opening match. It’s like he forgets that he’s been wrestling in main event matches for 12 years. Sorry pal.

The great AJ Styles walked out with a microphone complaining about how Cena is wrong if he thinks he is getting a rematch before him. Styles said Cena can do line jumping at an airport, but then said that Cena has his own plane. Styles said this isn’t about Cena, it’s about AJ Styles. Styles pointed out that he beat Cena several times and he knows he can beat Wyatt. Styles stated that he wanted his one on one rematch for that championship right here, right now.

The Smackdown GM Daniel Bryan showed up. It was pretty obvious what was coming, but they might as well hype up the crowd with “yes” chants. They greeted Bryan with “yes” chants. Bryan congratulated Wyatt on winning the WWE Championship. Bryan pointed out that Cena is owed a rematch for the WWE Championship and AJ Styles is owed a rematch for the WWE Championship as well. Bryan said they promised the people of Anaheim a WWE Championship match, so the fans chanted “yes” for that. Bryan announced the obvious: John Cena vs. AJ Styles vs. Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship later in the show.

Analysis: It’s a big match that everybody saw coming when the three guys were out there. Typical WWE opening segment to set up a match.

The announce team of Mauro Ranallo, John Bradshaw Layfield, David Otunga and Tom “no talking during matches” Phillips welcomed us to the show.

Later in the show: Becky Lynch vs. Mickie James and new SD Women’s Champion Naomi will be there.

American Alpha was shown backstage walking to the ring for a match.

(Commercial)

Dean Ambrose, the Intercontinental Champion, was shown walking backstage. He was yelling about Baron Corbin because he was looking for him after Corbin attacked him at Elimination Chamber.

American Alpha (Jason Jordan & Chad Gable) vs. The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor)

This is not for AA’s Tag Team Titles. Normally that means the champs are going to lose, but not in this case.

Gable started with Viktor while JBL gave credit to AA for surviving the turmoil match at Elimination Chamber on Sunday. Gable did some grappling moves to frustrated Viktor. Gable did a waistlock takedown on Viktor followed by a side suplex. All four guys went into the ring as they brawled. The Ascension dumped American Alpha out of the ring. The AA boys went back in with double clotheslines off the top rope followed by clotheslines that sent Konnor and Viktor over the top to the floor.

(Commercial)

Back from break, Viktor had Gable grounded with a headlock. Hard whip into the corner by Viktor leading to Gable taking the bump sternum first. High knee to the face by Viktor earned two for Konnor, who was the legal man. Another headlock, this time by Konnor. Gable with an armbar on Konnor. Viktor got the tag and Gable rolled free to hot tag Jordan. Jordan knocked Konnor off the apron and tossed Viktor into the air. Jordan with an overhead Alphaplex on Konnor and an Alphaplex on Viktor as well. Gable tagged back in, the heels sent Jordan out of the ring and The Ascension did a double team slam on Gable for a two count. Good nearfall. Jordan back into the ring, he shoved Konnor out of the ring, avoided an attack by Viktor and Jordan hoisted up Vikor so that Gable could put him away with Grand Amplitude for the win. It went about ten minutes.

Winners by pinfall: American Alpha

Analysis: **1/2 It was good for the time given. A standard tag team match. Most American Alpha matches have Gable getting worked over for the majority of it, Jordan getting the hot tag, cleaning house and going to the finish from there. The Ascension have been booked better for a few weeks because it took ten minutes to put them away instead of a three minute match.

Post match, The Usos appeared on the screen. Jimmy wondered if AA were celebrating a few months ago when they injured Gable’s knee or when The Usos laid them out at Elimination Chamber. Jey said next time they have goosebumps or their head is on a swivel because somebody is behind you, it’s not paranoia, it’s The Usos. After the promo, there was an awkward moment and The Usos music played. AA looked like they were ready to fight, but the music just stopped and it ended the segment. That was weird.

Analysis: A quick promo from The Usos to push the story that they are coming for American Alpha. I’m looking forward to those teams having a proper feud because they should have done it a few months ago.

James Ellsworth was backstage with Carmella with James wanting to take her out for Valentine’s Day. She said let’s just keep this professional. Ambrose showed up to them. Ambrose told Ellsworth that she’s using him and to try online dating. Daniel Bryan showed up. Ambrose wondered if he could beat the crap out of Ellsworth right now. Bryan said they can make that work. Bryan and Ambrose left. Ellsworth wondered what happened while Carmella said it will give Ellsworth a chance to teach Ambrose a lesson.

Analysis: Fun segment.

Coming up: Becky Lynch vs. Mickie James.

(Commercial)

PLUG TIME: The Smackdown Live crew put on a very good Elimination Chamber event on Sunday night with Bray Wyatt ending the night as the new WWE Champion. Here’s my Elimination Chamber review in case you missed it. I also wrote a column looking at the booking of Elimination Chamber as well as a look ahead to the potential WrestleMania lineup in an exclusive article for The Comeback. Please check that out also. You can also listen to the podcast I did with my pal Rey where we covered the entire Elimination Chamber PPV. For iTunes, just search “tjrwrestling” or “John Canton” and it should show up.

It was mentioned that Teddy Long will be a part of the WWE Hall of Fame class in 2017. JBL talked about how he rode a lot in the car with Teddy Long in the 1990s and that he loved him. The Hall of Fame is March 31 in Orlando.

James Ellsworth and Carmella were in the ring. Ellsworth did a big introduction for Carmella where he called her his “boo.”

Dean Ambrose’s music hit, but there was no sign of him. Baron Corbin emerged from the back with Ambrose as Corbin held his shirt. Ambrose looked like he was beat up. Corbin booted him in the ribs. They fought by the entrance area with Ambrose firing away with punches and a forearm to the face. Corbin picked up Ambrose and tossed him onto a table with a Deep Six slam. There were sparks flying when Ambrose landed. Referees helped Ambrose.

Analysis: It was an effective way of continuing their rivalry that was built up at Elimination Chamber on Sunday. Big move by Corbin showing off his power.

A clip aired from Elimination Chamber last Sunday when Natalya attacked Nikki Bella backstage. It led to powder landing on Maryse as well after Nikki bumped into her. Referees broke things up between the ladies.

Nikki was backstage with brother-in-law Daniel Bryan. Nikki wondered what Bryan wants her to do. Bryan said he had an idea as Natalya showed up. Natalya complained that Nikki gets what she wants because she is Cena’s girlfriend and Bryan’s sister-in-law. Nikki said that Natalya is the reason that Team Smackdown lost at Survivor Series. The women bickered some more. Natalya hit her with a forearm and Nikki punched her back. Security guys showed up to break it up. Bryan yelled about how they fight everywhere. Bryan said that they will have a Falls Count Anywhere match next week on Smackdown. The girls argued some more.

Analysis: That sounds like the blowoff match between the women, which makes sense. It’s either going to be a clean win for Nikki or Maryse may show up to help Natalya due to Nikki bumping into her at Elimination Chamber. Remember, the WrestleMania rumor is Nikki/Cena vs. Maryse/Miz, so having Maryse cost Nikki would make sense.

Coming up later: Wyatt vs. Cena vs. Styles.

(Commercial)

A replay aired of Ambrose getting attacked by Corbin.

Corbin was interviewed backstage by Dasha Fuentes. He was frustrated that she asked him for an explanation of what happened. Corbin said he’s not WWE Champion because of Dean Ambrose and now Ambrose is in the hospital because of Baron Corbin. He ended it by saying “enough said.”

Analysis: His promos are basic and simple. Because of that, he’s becoming a favorite mine because so many people talk too much to make a point.

Dolph Ziggler was interviewed backstage by Renee Young. Ziggler said that what he did to Kalisto and Crews was a wake up call for the younger generation. Ziggler said guys like that think they are there to replace him. Ziggler claimed that he’s just getting started and a long way from down. Ziggler said that nobody steals the show like him, nobody steals his place and some people are about to be put in theirs.

Analysis: I like the heel version of Ziggler much better than the face version and that kind of promo is exactly what he needs to keep doing.

Becky Lynch made her entrance for a match at the top of hour two. Big ovation for her.

(Commercial)

The great Mickie James made her entrance. I like her gear since her return. She’s wrestled in the bell bottoms with a different mix of colors each time. A clip aired of Mickie on Talking Smack on Sunday talking about how she deserves more recognition.

Mickie James vs. Becky Lynch

This is a rematch from Elimination Chamber. Lynch pinned her at that show on Sunday.

They did some mat wrestling early on with Lynch working on the arm. James came back with a back elbow to the head. Lynch took her down leading to a bridging pin for two. They shoved eachother a bit leading to a rollup by Lynch for two. Backslide by Lynch earned another two count. Lynch shoved down James twice in a row leading to James bailing to the floor. When James got back in the ring, she hit a forearm to the face. Lynch came back with an uppercut and an arm drag leading to an armbar. James fought out of it, she was on the apron and Lynch hit a kick that sent James to the floor. Lynch went to the floor leading to a double clothesline spot with both women out on the floor as the show went to break.

(Commercial)

Back from break, James had a headlock in the ring because the heels usually are in control when matches return from commercial. A clip aired of Lynch missing a missile dropkick during the break. Lynch came back with a leg lariat, a kick to the gut and a Bexploder suplex for a two count. Lynch got a rollup for two. James came back with a flapjack to take control. James missed a top rope attack and Lynch came back with another Bexploder suplex for a two count. JBL said he thinks James is still on top of her game and I agree. Lynch went for the corner attack, James ducked and Lynch kicked her. James was on the apron, Lynch hit a forearm to the back of the head and James tumbled to the floor. James was holding her right shoulder. Lynch rolled her back into the ring. The referee checked on James to make sure she was okay. Lynch wanted to attack, but the ref made her back up. Fans were booing. The ref called for a doctor. When Lynch went up close, James hit a Mick Kick with her left to the head of Lynch. James covered for the pinfall win after 13 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Mickie James

The announcers talked about how crafty the win was by James. JBL put it over as Mickie being smart. Ranallo noted they were 1-1 in singles matches, so there will probably be a third match soon.

Analysis: **3/4 That was a good match similar to their match at Elimination Chamber, which I gave three stars. They were given a lot of time to tell a story and the crowd was into it. The finish was really creative. We’ve seen that kind of ending where the heel fakes an injury before, but it doesn’t happen that often. The key is the crowd reaction. You could tell the people bought into it because they were booing, but the performers didn’t drag it on too much. They went right to the finish with the back kick as a strong way to end the match. I’m also happy because it was Mickie’s first win on WWE television in seven years.

Up next is Naomi with the Women’s Title.

(Commercial)

Naomi Celebrates Her Women’s Championship Win

Naomi was in the ring with Renee Young for an interview. No time for an intro for the champ apparently.

Naomi held up the Smackdown Women’s Championship above her head. Fans chanted “you deserve it” for her. Naomi had a knee brace on her left knee. Renee noted that Naomi had an injury. Naomi said that she didn’t know she was injured right away, but she realized it when she got back to her hotel. Naomi talked about the injuries she’s dealt with that didn’t stop her before and it won’t stop her now. Naomi mentioned it has taken her eight years to get there and said that at WrestleMania she’s bringing that title home one way or another.

Analysis: Eight years? Has it been that long? Yes, it has. She signed a developmental deal in 2009.

The Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss mocked the injury wondering if the “glow worm” got a booboo. Bliss told Naomi that everybody knows that Naomi lucked out when she beat Bliss on Sunday. Bliss said Naomi realized that she is no Alexa Bliss and Bliss added that Naomi knows she won’t be walking out with her title when they have a rematch. Bliss told Naomi that when they have that match, Naomi won’t feel the glow, she’ll feel like somebody that flopped. Bliss suggested a 30 for 30 special on Naomi about her flop. Bliss told Naomi to bring her family to WrestleMania to see the real Smackdown Women’s Champion

Naomi called her a flea and told Bliss she could still snatch her. Bliss said that she’s going to give Naomi a favor and give her a week for the rematch. Bliss said if they don’t do the match then Naomi can give her the title or Bliss can beat her up to win it back. Bliss left while Naomi stared at her.

Analysis: Okay promos from both women. Nothing special. They should have had Naomi say a final word to pop the crowd, but she didn’t say anything. It sounds like there will be a rematch next week, but I don’t know if Naomi will be ready by then. From what I understand the knee injury is minor and WWE just wanted to give Naomi a chance to rest it. They can do a rematch next week or the week after if she’s not ready next week.

Up next is Wyatt vs. Cena vs. Styles for the WWE Title.

(Commercial)

TJ Perkins did a promo about his match with Neville on 205 Live after Smackdown. Spoiler: He lost. Read a recap of this week’s 205 Live by our guy Mark McAllen here.

John Cena made his entrance for the main event with JBL trying to put over the idea that Cena might win his 17th WWE Title even though nobody watching this thought it would happen.

The great AJ Styles made his entrance. As always it was a mix of cheers and boos for him.

Bray Wyatt, the WWE Champion, was out last. That’s how I like it with the champ as the last man to enter. It should be like that every time. When the lights came on, Luke Harper stood at ringside waiting for Wyatt. Harper attacked Wyatt with punches. Harper shoved Wyatt into the barricade at ringside. Wyatt ran at him, so Harper nailed Wyatt with a superkick. The crowd loved it.

Analysis: That was a surprising attack by Harper. I keep thinking he’ll go back to being loyal to Wyatt, but it may not happen.

(Commercial)

The match was in progress as the show returned.

WWE Championship: Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena vs. AJ Styles

Cena was in control teasing his Five Knuckle Shuffle on Styles, but Wyatt pulled Cena out of the ring. Cena whipped Styles into the steps at ringside. Styles jumped over the top rope with a forearm smash on Wyatt. Styles worked on Wyatt in the ring with some kicks and nailed a running forearm for a two count. Wyatt came back with a shoulder block on Styles followed by punches. Wyatt dumped Styles to the floor. Cena was back in the ring with shoulder tackles on Wyatt, the spinning slam and Cena connected with the Five Knuckle Shuffle. Cena teased the AA, but Wyatt fought out of it. Cena fought out of the Sister Abigail. Styles back in with a Phenomenal Forearm on Wyatt and Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment on Styles. That earned a two count for an excellent nearfall that everybody bought into. Great spot because if Styles was able to cover he could have won, but Cena was there with the AA to prevent that. Cena hammered Styles with a hard punch. Wyatt nailed Cena with Sister Abigail. Wyatt covered, but Styles jumped off the top rope with a punch to the back of Wyatt to break up the pin. The show went to break with all three guys down in the ring.

(Commercial)

As the show returned from break, Styles jumped off the barricade and hit a splash on Wyatt on the announce table. The table didn’t break. Fans chanted “one more time” to try to break the table. Styles went on the barricade again and hit a legdrop on Wyatt on the table leading to the table breaking. That made the fans happy. Back in the ring, Styles went for a springboard attack. Cena caught him with the Attitude Adjustment. Cena rolled through going for another one, but Styles countered into a Calf Crusher submission hold. Cena turned out of it and applied the STF submission in the middle of the ring. Wyatt broke up the hold with a running senton on Cena’s back. Fans chanted “this is awesome” for them. Damn right.

All three guys were down in the ring. Wyatt got up first and dumped Styles to the floor. Cena popped up to his feet, put Wyatt on his shoulders and Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment. Cena covered, but Wyatt kicked out at two. There’s been a lot of people kicking out of the Attitude Adjustment in the past few days. Styles went back in the ring and hit the Styles Clash on Cena for a two count as Cena kicked out of it. The crowd shots after every kickout are really annoying, by the way. Styles went up top for a springboard attack, but Cena knocked him down. When Cena turned back around, Wyatt hit Sister Abigail on Cena and covered for the win after about 14 minutes of amazing action.

Winner by pinfall: Bray Wyatt

Analysis: **** Awesome match as expected. Four stars out of five. It was one of those matches that felt longer than it was because there was so much action. There were also a lot of believable nearfall spots that made it exciting. Look at all of the kickouts of finishers as well. Cena and Styles couldn’t win with their finish, but Wyatt did. Styles was incredible like usual bumping his ass off for everybody and hitting all of his cool moves. The table bump drew a huge ovation from the crowd as well even though it didn’t break after the first move. Also, Wyatt pinned Cena here just like he pinned Cena and Styles during the Elimination Chamber match. By having Wyatt win those two matches as clean as he did, it has made him a credible champion right away. Cena has a lot of value in a match like that because he’s been the top guy for so long, so when Wyatt beat him twice in a row the people are going to buy into Wyatt. This was a PPV quality match that we got for free. I hope fans realize how spoiled we are sometimes with how many quality matches there are every week.

Replays aired of the finish.

Wyatt posed in the ring with the WWE Title in his hands. Randy Orton’s music hit. That’s notable because he has walked out to Wyatt’s music a lot in the last few months. As Orton appeared, JBL noted we are looking at the WrestleMania main event.

Orton slowly made his way down to the ring while in his ring gear and a Viper shirt. Wyatt stared at him as the announcers hyped up their potential WrestleMania match since Orton won the Royal Rumble and Wyatt is the WWE Champion.

Orton stood face to face with Wyatt. Orton noted that he won the Royal Rumble and all the privileges that come with it, but Wyatt is the WWE Champion. Orton said that as long as Wyatt is the master and he (Orton) is the servant, he refuses to face Wyatt at WrestleMania. The crowd booed. Orton: “I pledge my undying allegiance to you, Bray Wyatt.” Wyatt laughed and smiled.

Orton went down to one knee in front of Wyatt. Then he went down to both knees in front of Wyatt. Wyatt: “You now have the keys to the kingdom, my friend.” Wyatt laughed. Wyatt’s music played as Orton got back to his feet and they posed in the ring together. The final shot showed them posing in the ring in darkness with the WrestleMania sign in the background.

Analysis: That was not what I was expecting, but I like that there are twists. We just saw the Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho split on Raw. If these two are going to split then it should take a few more weeks to get there. If they don’t split then I’m intrigued by what might happen.

What’s next? On Talking Smack that aired on WWE Network later on Tuesday night, Daniel Bryan announced a battle royal on Smackdown next week with the winner facing Wyatt for the WWE Title at WrestleMania.

Analysis: I still think it will be Orton vs. Wyatt at WrestleMania. If not, maybe Luke Harper will win the battle royal to make it a triple threat match. It’s possible that AJ Styles wins it also because I think that’s better than doing AJ vs. Shane as rumored. There are still six weeks of Smackdown to get to WrestleMania, so there will be more twists on the way to the biggest show of the year. I honestly don’t know the direction they are going in and I like that I don’t know.

 

Three Stars of the Show

1. Bray Wyatt

2. AJ Styles

3. John Cena

 

The Scoreboard

7 out of 10

Last week: 7

2017 Average: 7.29

Average Post Brand Split (July 26, 2016): 6.63 – Raw is at 5.78

Last 5 Weeks: 7, 7.5, 8, 7.5, 6

2017 High: 8 (Jan. 3 & Jan. 24)

2017 Low: 6 (Jan. 10)

 

Final Thoughts

It gets a 7 out of 10.

The main event was a great match that ended the show on a strong note. As I wrote in the review of the match, it really put over Wyatt to have him pin Cena again. They are booking Wyatt exactly as they should book a new champion.

There were only three matches this week. I thought the tag match was okay and the women’s match was good. It would have been nice to have another match or two, but at least there was time given for most performers on the show. They utilized backstage vignettes well and had brawls.

Smackdown continues to roll. It’s been very good so far in 2017 as you can see by the scores above. Keep it going, blue team.

—

That’s all for now. Go Toronto Raptors. Go Toronto Maple Leafs.

John Canton – [email protected]

Twitter @johnreport

Personal Facebook and TJRWrestling on Facebook

Click:vanilla prepaid card balance

Former WWE and WCW Superstar Diamond Dallas Page recently spoke with Myles for an interview.

During the discussion, DDP spoke about the honor of being chosen by WWE as one of the inductees into this year’s class of the WWE Hall Of Fame, who he would like to induct him during the ceremony and more.

Regarding his reaction to the news of his WWE Hall Of Fame, DDP said, “I never dreamed that I’d be a Hall Of Famer man. It wasn’t my mission in the beginning because I went from a manager, to a wrestler. You know, at 35 in a match, so to ever think that I would be in this spot.”

DDP continued, “I’m super honored and humbled to be here. When it comes to doing that speech, it’s gonna be bittersweet because the guy who would’ve inducted me would’ve been Dusty Rhodes. And without him being there it’s gonna – You can even hear it in my voice right? When I think about it. You know it hits me hard. So I’m really looking forward to it though man. It’s a dream come true.”

The master of the Diamond Cutter was also asked who will be inducting him during the ceremony held at WrestleMania 33 weekend this year.

“I’m not exactly sure yet but they got a couple of names that they read by me and – you know, I don’t think they want that out there yet,” said DDP. “But it’ll be someone who knows my career pretty well. I have a pretty extensive list after Dusty, Jake being the main name the way I look at it. But I’m not sure Jake can swing it that night. It’s gonna be emotional.”

Check out Myles’ complete interview with DDP above.

John: Welcome to the TJRWrestling WWE Fastlane preview featuring the Monday Night Raw brand. The show this place this Sunday, March 5 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

It’s a full card with seven matches on the main pay-per-view and a Kickoff Show match. I don’t expect another match to be added, but it’s possible that WWE could throw a New Day match out there so they can do more promos about ice cream. It’s not a lineup that comes across as being particularly strong. There isn’t one match that stands out as a potential “show stealer” as people like to say. I think several of the matches are very predictable, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if the match quality is strong.

Joining me for the preview are Kurt Zamora and Mike Holland. No Matthew J. Douglas this time because of work commitments he had.

(Note: All graphics are from WWE.com. The banner is courtesy of our friend Melo Man.)

Rich Swann & Akira Tozawa vs. Noam Dar & Brian Kendrick (Kickoff Show)

Kurt: I’m sorry, but why should I care about this match when the Raw brand clearly doesn’t care about the division? I’m sure the babyfaces will win and Tozawa will be spotlighted.

Prediction: Rich Swann & Akira Tozawa

Mike: I’ve just gotten onto the Fastlane and already encountered the first bottleneck. Once again, Raw’s vaunted cruiserweight division plays a starring role on the pre-show, but at least this time we’ve had a fairly solidly built feud between Akira Tozawa and his wannabe mentor Brian Kendrick to get us there. Tozawa is a wrestler that really stood out during the CWC for me, from his facial reactions in the ring to his explosive offense. Everything that made that series great, though, has been sadly lacking in the main roster incarnation, leaving guys like Dar and Swann to tread water.

I’ve felt Kendrick has occupied his role admirably for the most part, being just out there enough without flipping the page to truly goofy and making his feuds mean something. That continues heading into this match, where he expects to persist handing out lessons to Tozawa like a cruiser Dean Douglas. The secondary feuds in this division have been largely laughable, centering around things like umbrellas and Alicia Fox. The end result is that everyone gets tossed together and nobody wins. A few predictable high spots will liberally season this match but it tastes like boiled chicken.

Winners: Swann & Tozawa 

John: All four guys are pretty good in the ring, so if they get time it will be better than a typical Raw cruiserweight match. The face team of Swann and Tozawa should get the win with Dar likely getting beat for his team. Basic tag match featuring the cruiserweights.

Winners: Rich Swann & Akira Tozawa

Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax

Kurt: Without giving away too much on my prediction for the Women’s Title Match later, I think Nia Jax needs the win here again to continue certain storylines throughout the division. I’m sure this will be more competitive than their match at the Rumble, since Sasha doesn’t have to sell the knee anymore, but with the size differential, there is no way Sasha should get a clean win over Nia.

Prediction: Nia Jax

Mike: The putrid usage of Sasha Banks makes me want to pull off the road to WrestleMania and locate a barf bag. Banks, incredibly over with the majority of the fan base and responsible for quite a bit of the best moments in the Women’s division thus far, has been reduced to a shadowy wannabe due to injuries and nonsense. As we wait for the inevitable moment when she tires of supporting Bayley and turns on her, she’s essentially in a glorified cameo role at this point. Sad.

Nia Jax has experienced the inverse of this, as she’s been pushed heavily from the start despite showing minimal progress in the ring outside of her different look. That’s not to say she’s undeserving, but again I’d go back to the idea that she had way more juice in NXT. Considering she’s both defeated Banks relatively easily already AND torn through the bulk of this division, there can’t be much to this prediction, right?

Couple things work against that philosophy, however: 1) WWE’s creative team flips coins regularly. 2) The upcoming Women’s Title match at WrestleMania is expected to be a fatal four-way. Banks can’t get blasted here and still get in that match.

Winner: Sasha Banks

John: I thought their match at the Royal Rumble (on the Kickoff Show) was forgettable. It’s happening again without much of a storyline except Banks is considered healthy after selling a knee injury for a couple of months. While I think it’s possible that Banks may win the match, what makes more sense is Jax looking dominant again as the bigger wrestler that continues to look unbeatable on the Raw brand.

Winner: Nia Jax

Cruiserweight Championship: Neville vs. Jack Gallagher

Kurt: See previous notes about the Cruiserweight division. Gallagher is in a bad spot here as the only reason he got the shot is because Rich Swann had an untimely injury, Swann is the one used on live events still to take on Neville, and then no one thinks he has a legit shot to beat Neville because they’re already starting the build for Austin Aries to be the next contender. I don’t even expect this match to be that competitive.

Prediction: Neville retains

Mike: There’s literally no point to typing anything in this space other than Neville is hellaciously awesome, but I’ll give it a shot. Given the slow and excoriating starvation death that’s been the Cruiserweight division since its main roster debut, Neville’s ability to show up and make the thing watchable again deserves the loudest of kudos. Neville has basically been the one-man Game of Thrones, roaring out of the wardrobe department to let us know winter is coming. It’s been a treat to watch.

WWE doesn’t seem to know what to do with Jack Gallagher, booking Corey Graves and Austin Aries to drool over his incredible talent while simultaneously digging through the Santino Marella playbook to showcase him attempting fisticuffs or having a tea party. This is the sort of thing that drives you crazy sometimes about WWE, and especially Monday Night Raw: give them a talent that’s over without you even trying, and proceed to bury them through a logjam of needless bureaucratic intercessions that inter them semi-permanently in red tape. Should the aforementioned Aries be the man to challenge Neville at WM, I’ll be all for it. In the meantime, this exercise will pale in comparison more than Gallagher’s skin tone.

Winner (and STILL Cruiserweight Champion): Neville

John: I give credit to WWE for trying to build up the feud with plenty of TV time, the contract signing a couple of weeks ago and the main event ending of 205 Live as well. However, I don’t think the crowd really buys into the idea of Gallagher winning. Kudos to WWE for trying to get the Gallagher character over. He’s not going to win, though. Neville will win clean because he’s the long-term champion.

It’s possible they could start some Aries vs. Neville rivalry here as well. I think the cruiserweights will get the Ladder Match spot at WrestleMania, though, so that singles feud can hold off a bit.

Winner: Neville

Raw Tag Team Championships: Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Enzo Amore & Big Cass

Kurt: Logic would say that WWE would save a big moment such as Enzo and Cass winning their first tag title ever, for say WrestleMania. The Bayley title victory last month would tell you what WWE thinks of logic though. This time though, they’ll get it right. I think Sheamus and Cesaro will come in during the match and ruin things, forcing a triple threat tag match at WrestleMania.

One thing to look at though, Enzo’s antics have gotten WAY over the top. John has mentioned it quite a bit in the Raw Deal. I’m not sure if that’s a subtle start to give Cass a reason to break away from Enzo or if I’m reading too much into it. They’re selling a TON of merch and there’s more money to be made with them as champs, so I don’t think it’s anything to worry about at the present time.

Prediction: Gallows and Anderson retains after a Cesaro/Sheamus run-in

Mike: This was the tag team title match we all wanted about fifteen pay-per-views ago, right? Before Big Cass was pushed for a brief cup of coffee as a potential Universal champion option, before Enzo had that weird sexual tension with both Lana and Rusev, and even before Gallows & Anderson wore lab coats. It’s kind of stupefying that Raw has this much talent in the tag team ranks and yet the matches themselves feel very uninspired in general. Gallows & Anderson have the gold, but have they convinced you they are anything but transition champions, biding their time until the next big thing comes along? I doubt it.

Enzo & Cass seem to deserve a brief time in the sun before the big guy makes me incredibly happy by removing Enzo’s irritating melon from the shoulders it reposes on. We’ve already had the happy-go-lucky sing-along and slightly edgy face team as champs, and New Day did it so well and for so long that they don’t even have to wrestle at Mania. I’ve no doubt that they will get said time, but I’ve got plenty of doubts that it will happen here. Side note: Enzo looks like he was purchased in a Chinatown antique store.

Winners (and STILL Raw Tag Team Champions): Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson

John: The champs should retain since they haven’t held the titles that long. I’m disappointed in the story leading up to this match because there isn’t much of a story. The crowd may be into it since they love Enzo & Cass, but I wish there was more reason to care.

I think the story needs to continue until WrestleMania. There should be segments where Enzo & Cass wonder if they can win the “big one” since they haven’t been champs when they were in NXT or on the main roster now. There can even be a moment where Cass suggests that they break up if they don’t win the titles at WM. That way it builds up the moment more, so then they can win the titles at WrestleMania and the crowd will love it.

Winners: Gallows & Anderson

Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe 

Kurt: Was I the only one that found it weird that Joe was just standing there on the other side of the ring from HHH in his promo from Rollins and did absolutely nothing? As much as he denies it in promos, that does nothing to steer the conversation from people thinking he’s just HHH’s lackey. Maybe that’s supposed to be the narrative, but it doesn’t work for me either way. I was able to see this match at a Live Event last weekend and they had a fantastic match, but I felt there was another level they could go to. I hope they’re able to get to that level in this match and it doesn’t end up being a glorified squash win for Joe. Meanwhile, Zayn look all set for the Andre battle royal.

Prediction: Samoa Joe

Mike: On paper, this is match of the night for my money. While Sami Zayn is essentially a stand-in for the injured Seth Rollins (and isn’t that basically Zayn’s gimmick at this point? Jobber to the stars?), he’s a welcome one, and personally I’d like to hope he and the beatdown machine that is Samoa Joe deliver as they did numerous times during their encounters in NXT. Hopefully that shared history is alluded to during this match, because it was some darn good stuff. Joe has been impossible to take your eyes off of since his first Raw appearance, and that has also added to the magnitude of this encounter.

Joe has thus far been presented as Triple H’s hatchet man, so it wouldn’t be a shock if Rollins ventured to ringside to try to sway the result. Simply put, though, Joe can’t be booked to lose here. No such luck for Sami, who gets to follow the unenviable task of being used as a crash test dummy by Braun Strowman by providing cannon fodder for Joe. The bright spot in the storm cloud is that Zayn is hella good at being bandied about, and will be a gamer. Tough to watch in a good way.

Winner: Samoa Joe

John: If this match was going to be like their 40-minute classic in NXT last March (watch it here if you want) then I’d be really excited about it. I don’t think it’s going be like that, though. What made that match great was they got a lot of time obviously, it was booked evenly and had an exciting finish. For this match, it’s going to be about making Samoa Joe look like a heel badass that is there to destroy people. Did you see his match with Cesaro on Raw? It was a competitive match for about eight minutes and Joe won clean. That was a pinfall win. This one could be a submission win for Joe at around ten minutes.

Zayn is one of the best in-ring performers in WWE. He’s also a guy that management clearly isn’t behind in terms of wanting to push him to that next level. His last meaningful win was over Kevin Owens at Battleground last July. Owens went on to become Universal Champion and a long term main eventer while Zayn has done…nothing. This time, Zayn is in the spot to put over Joe in Joe’s first pay-per-view match. I hope WWE realizes how great Zayn can be because he could be so much more on a show that is seriously lacking in terms of full time wrestler faces that the fans like.

Winner: Samoa Joe

Raw Women’s Championship: Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair

Kurt: It’s amazing with the talent of the likes of these two women, they’ve still managed to make the title feel so meaningless. The amount of title changes since the creation of the title last WrestleMania is just staggering and ridiculous. Unfortunately, I think we’re in for more of the same here. I’m sure WWE wants Bayley to be the one to break Charlotte’s PPV streak at WrestleMania, but the problem with that is the unnecessary title change on Raw to Bayley, so you won’t have the double value of Bayley’s first title win on top of ending Charlotte’s streak.

As I stated in the Sasha/Nia match, I was saving some opinion for this match and it’s as follows. We’re destined for a fatal four-way match at Mania. Nia needs the win over Sasha to make herself a feared contender still. Sasha can work her way into the match by finally turning on Bayley here and costing her the match. Sasha is a natural heel, in more ways than one, and will do better for her and I think will also do better for Bayley. As a result, Charlotte will be that much closer to beating her father’s 16 title reigns by the end of 2017.

Prediction: Charlotte becomes new Women’s Champion….AGAIN.

Mike: In WWE’s apparent quest to make sure Ric Flair’s daughter surpasses his amount of title reigns before John Cena does, another chapter presents itself as Charlotte looks to redeem herself after surprisingly dropping the strap to the scrappy Bayley on Raw a few weeks back. Was that done just to allow Charlotte to notch another PPV win prior to granting Bayley her heavily Photoshopped WrestleMania moment shortly thereafter? Is it even a PPV streak if you don’t have PPVs? These questions pretty much answer themselves.

I’ve heard the innuendo that perhaps Sasha Banks has a hand in securing a Charlotte victory, but I don’t see it. Raw has an abundance of heel women at this point, and I think a far more likely scenario is Banks secretly plotting revenge on the hugger after their 4-way dance in a bit. Stephanie McMahon has also been presented as having an axe to grind with the thoroughly likable champ, and with the friction playing out with Mick Foley you wonder if that plays a role here as well. Charlotte doesn’t lose at these things. Well, until the next thing.

Winner (and NEW Raw Women’s Champion): Charlotte

John: Title change is coming. I felt like WWE made a mistake when they put the title on Bayley last month and they should have waited until WrestleMania to let Bayley get her moment. Now, they’re going to move the title back to Charlotte. Congrats to Bayley for becoming Sasha Banks 2.0 as the woman that won the Women’s Title on Raw. Bayley is going to lose it in less than a month to Charlotte, who is 16-0 in PPV singles matches, which WWE showed with a cool graphic on their website.

Following this show, they can do the fatal fourway women’s match at WrestleMania with Charlotte defending against Bayley, Banks and Jax. Bayley can win there by pinning Banks or Jax leading to yet another match with Charlotte at the next pay-per-view, which is Payback in Bayley’s hometown of San Jose. That could be where Charlotte’s singles match PPV streak finally ends…or she’ll win it back…and the cycle never ends.

It wouldn’t shock me if something happens where Banks accidentally costs Bayley the win. Remember, it was Banks that helped her win the title in the first place, so if they had Banks cost her by accident it would be nice twist leading to that likely Banks heel turn.

Winner and New Raw Women’s Champion: Charlotte

Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman

Kurt: I cannot say enough good things about the progression of Strowman. He does everything right and you can tell how much more comfortable he is. Steve Austin had a great point on his podcast recently, he said when Strowman was in the Wyatt Family, you saw the “deer in headlights” look on Strowman even when he was trying to look menacing. Nowadays, you don’t see it.

This is another match I was able to see at the Live Event I went to, and it was a fantastic match. I don’t care what the haters say about Reigns, he has great matches. He and Strowman went toe to toe and had a great match. What made it so great is Strowman was able to show how much he can go. After they had gone 15-20 minutes already, Strowman was able to hit that next gear for the finish they went to. Almost any guy his size, couldn’t do that. I think Strowman showed some of that in his match against Big Show.

Does Undertaker show up to cost Roman the match to repay Roman for eliminating him in the Rumble? There has to be something along those lines to protect Strowman as he clearly has a lot of steam right now. The match I saw live had a DQ finish and I could see that possibly here as well. Either way, I think a lot of people are going to be surprised at how good this match is.

Prediction: One of them will win by disqualification

Mike: Finally, a match with a good bit of intrigue regarding the outcome. Both of these guys have been straight wrecking balls during their time on Raw, and it’s tough to imagine either one walking away with a clean victory here. Roman Reigns would be the obvious choice to go over Strowman under normal circumstances, but with a WrestleMania card looming it’s far from the norm. WWE certainly didn’t have RR chuck The Undertaker out of the Royal Rumble for nothing, and The Deadman is currently looking for a dance partner next month. It therefore would make a lot of sense for him to put in an appearance and factor heavily into a Strowman upset.

The other option would be some sort of no-contest, particularly as Strowman would suffer far more with a loss here and also is without defined opposition for WM. Their battles have been fairly even so far, with Strowman actually having a bit of an advantage, so I don’t envision any scenario where Reigns goes over him clean. The best-case scenario in my book would be ‘Taker hitting the ring after some solid back-and-forth action and attacking Reigns, with Strowman caught in the middle and then going after both of them. That sets up a three-way at Mania, giving the fans someone to potentially boo more than Roman and allowing Undertaker to catch more of his breath since a frankly embarrassing Rumble appearance.

Winner: No Contest

John: It’s hard for me to pick against Roman Reigns in a spot like this because we know he’s going to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania. However, Braun Strowman has been booked so strongly in the last eight months that I find it hard to believe that he will simply lose clean to put over Reigns. Doing the job at a house show isn’t really a big deal because that’s what heels are supposed to do. Are they going to have Strowman lose clean here? I’m not sure if it will happen, but I’m picking Reigns to win.

A possibility with this match involves The Undertaker. As we have seen when Reigns lost to Kevin Owens a few times, WWE will book Reigns to lose…it just won’t be clean. Having The Undertaker show up would be an out to put a loss on Reigns while furthering their story. The problem with that idea is that WWE has made no mention of The Undertaker since the Royal Rumble and there really doesn’t seem to be an issue with Undertaker/Reigns at all. Yes, Reigns eliminated him at the Rumble and had a staredown, but that’s where it ended. Would The Undertaker really show up to cost Reigns a win against a heel like Strowman? That idea seems flawed to me.

I think the match quality will be better than most people think and they might have the longest match of the show as well. As I always say, Reigns isn’t as bad as his haters think and he isn’t as good as his bosses think. He’s also a good in-ring performer when given a chance. Strowman has impressed me a lot in the last few months. I think he’ll impress again.

Winner: Roman Reigns

WWE Universal Championship: Kevin Owens vs. Bill Goldberg

Kurt: On my podcast last week (cheap plug accomplished), I mentioned the dilemma facing Kevin Owens now. Right in the middle of what seemed to be a surefire defeat, and more than likely squash to Goldberg, Owens turned on Chris Jericho and once again became the Kevin Owens of NXT that got him to the main roster in the first place. This new-found momentum was too good and too much to go to waste by having Goldberg destroy him. He deserves to carry the Universal Title through WrestleMania. How can we get there though when everyone knows there’s no way Goldberg is losing before Mania? I’m going to present a scenario that would work but I need to note two things first. One, I’m sorry I’m booking another run-in. This is the fourth match I have one in, but if Raw isn’t creative, how can I be? Secondly, I absolutely know this scenario isn’t happening and it will more than likely be a simple Goldberg win, but I’m going to try and think outside the box.

Have Goldberg and Owens brawl early in the match and take out the ref. Maybe Goldberg goes to Spear Owens, but Owens moves and the ref takes it. So we have no ref and then all of the sudden, here comes Brock Lesnar. Lesnar goes after Goldberg and for all intents and purposes, it looks like a 2 on 1 situation. Then, here comes Chris Jericho to go after Owens. Now you have all four men brawling all over ringside and hell, all over the arena. The ref finally comes to as he sees total chaos everywhere and he rings the bell and calls for a no decision. He can’t disqualify anyone because he didn’t actually see anything but he knows that he can’t bring control to the situation so the match is called. That way no one loses and Owens keeps the title. Not bad, right?

Prediction: No contest (But really, I know Goldberg is winning the title)

Mike: Normally in discussing the ultimate match of a wrestling card, I’m excited to delve into it and figure out what in the bout makes it tick for me as a fan. This particular match fills me with nothing but dread no matter where I look. It’s like A Christmas Carol except all of the spirits are The Ghost of Christmas Future. To think that WWE has reached a point where their most important title could conceivably be around the waist of a part-time WCW “legend” whose initial run with the company was mercifully aborted before it could become terminal is to plumb the depths of mental despair.

Kevin Owens, of course, deserves better, and this continues the trend of outside guys being laid to waste for a quick buck and some marketing. Owens has basically been booked as a guy who can’t win a damn thing without help (sound familiar, Seth Rollins fans?) and while that’s a part of being a heel, it can’t be the only part. Having his partnership with Chris Jericho wonderfully explode in front of our eyes was great drama, but just makes the outcome of this match even more clear. We will have to content ourselves with those two battling over the United States Title instead.

Will Brock Lesnar be there? I have no idea, and I don’t really care. All of Goldberg’s matches have been short to this point, and the most realistic action was the abuse he took bashing a backstage door with his noggin. How can we assume anything but that he is allowed to lay waste to Owens in short order? I obviously can’t be too critical before seeing what happens, but the possibilities frankly frighten me. Sacrificing a hardworking champion as fluff for the funeral pyre is not my idea of a good time. Save it for the Network, WWE.

Winner (and NEW Universal Champion): He Who Shall Not Be Named

John: I don’t think this is that complicated. Goldberg said it on Raw when he promised a victory while noting that it would be a Spear, Jackhammer, 1, 2, 3 and Goldberg becomes the new Universal Champion. I think that’s what is going to happen. When Goldberg beat Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series I think the plan was in place for Goldberg to win the Universal Title here and drop it to Lesnar at WrestleMania. That’s the story that they’re sticking with as far as I know. Do I love the idea? Not really. I don’t think Goldberg winning the title is a big deal, but if WWE believes that this might cause casual fans to watch WrestleMania then it’s a smart reason to do it. Time will tell, I guess.

Some fans probably think Chris Jericho might show up to cost Owens. I’m not sure if that would fit the storyline because Goldberg is booked like an unstoppable monster that can win on his own. Why would Goldberg need help? That doesn’t fit the booking of his character at all.

I’m a huge Kevin Owens fan and I’ve enjoyed seeing him carry the Universal Title for over six months, but I think that journey ends here in a match that is done in about eight minutes. It might be less than that. This show will end with Goldberg ending the night as the Universal Champion just like he said.

Winner and New Universal Champion: Bill Goldberg

 

Final Thoughts

John: It feels like an average show. I’m not that excited about anything that is scheduled, but I feel like there’s enough talent on the card that they can surprise us by putting on a better show than some of us expect.

I will write a live review of WWE Fastlane this Sunday night during the show, so check out TJRWrestling.net during the show or after it’s over for my thoughts on everything.

Kurt – @KTankTMB

Mike – @DharmanRockwell

John – @johnreport

If you want to send an email, send it to me at [email protected] as well. Thanks for reading.

Thanks to rajah.com reader Robert Sporer for sending this in!

Women’s title match – Bayley vs Charlotte -Winner Bayley via pinfall

8 man tag match
Golddust, R-Truth, Curtis Alex & Sin Cara vs Titus O’Neal, Bo Dallas& Shinning Stars
– Winners Golden Truth, Alex and Sin Cara via pinfall

Cruiserweight Match – Nevillle vs Austin Aries – winner Austin Aries

Fatal Four Way for Tag Team Titles – Enzo & Big Cass vs New Day vs Sheamus & Cesaro
vs Anderson & Gallows – winner Gallows & Anderson

Women’s tag – Sasha Banks & Dana Brook vs Nia jax & Alicia Fox – winners Sarah and
Dana via submission

jinder mahal vs Roman Reigns – Winner Roman via pinfall

6 man tag – Kevin Ownes, samosa Joe & Triple H vs Sami Zayn, Finn Balor & Chris
Jericho – winners Sami, Finn and Jericho via pinfall

WWE Superstar Jeff Hardy recently spoke with Chris Jericho on his weekly “Talk Is Jericho” podcast for an interview. Below are some of the highlights.

On he and Matt Hardy returning to WWE after several years away from the company: “It was one of those things that was inevitable. I think when I did [Jim Ross]’s podcast live at like the House Of Blues back at a couple of WrestleCons ago, that was the big question: ‘are you ever going to return [to WWE]?’ And then, I was like, ‘oh yeah, it’s inevitable.’ I wasn’t sure how it was going to come about, but I always knew it deep down, like you’re not going to know what that extended family means, even back then I remember, ‘we want you to be part of the extended family,’ so yeah, it was inevitable and meant to be in some weird way, just how it all happened was the perfect story. From The Expedition Of Gold to becoming the WWE [RAW] Tag Team Champions. I mean, it’s just the perfect story.”

On keeping their return a secret prior to their appearance at WrestleMania: “We knew that after our contracts expired with that other world, basically, we knew, we’d been through all the deal we had to go through. We just had to keep it a secret and that was so hard. Like, that day of WrestleMania, I was lying like crazy! ‘Will we see you tonight?’ ‘No, I’m on the first flight out of here.'” Hardy added, “even in interviews on the Friday and Saturday before with these people, I even said, ‘yeah, we’ll be with Ring Of Honor through the summer.'”

On his belief that fans prefer to see The Hardy Boyz together as a unit as opposed to enemies feuding with each other: “I think so, yeah [fans want to see the Hardys together]. Yeah, for sure. Bottom line is people don’t really want to see that. It’s cool for us, like Bret and Owen [Hart] wrestling each other years [ago]. We loved that. Naturally, for us, back in the day, it was awesome. But yeah, the bottom line is people would rather see us together instead of apart.”

Check out the complete Jeff Hardy interview at PodcastOne.com.