WWE TLC 2020

By Steve Ward

WWE’s new home for the Thunderdome, Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay, Florida, was the site for this evening’s final Quarantine Era pay per view of 2020 - Tables, Ladders, and Chairs. One would have to wonder if WWE would step their game up amidst a continued decline in their RAW and Smackdown viewership, losses in the ratings by NXT for several Wednesdays to AEW Dynamite, and after AEW also unleashed a bombshell earlier this month in the signing of the legendary Sting. Nonetheless, this evening’s card featured six matches with five titles contested and featured two Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches.

WWE Championship TLC Match  

AJ Styles w/ Omos vs. Drew McIntyre (c)  

Winner: Drew McIntyre

The main card wasted no time getting off the ground this evening as “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles found himself in the middle of the title picture as he scored a shot at champion, Drew McIntyre. McIntyre has been riding a monumental wave of momentum for the duration of the year including a win in the Royal Rumble and two world title reigns. Halfway through the bout, McIntyre launched Styles out of the ring and through a table on the arena floor. As McIntyre ascended the ladder, an opening was created for The Miz as he made his way to the ring with John Morrison and cracked Drew in the back with a chair. The Miz proceeded to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase turning the bout into a triple threat match and then scaled the ladder, however, he was stopped by Omos who carried Miz to the edge of the ring and dropped him through a table set up on the floor. Morrison tried to avenge The Miz by striking Omos with a chair, however, the chair shattered leaving only it’s legs in Morrison’s hands. Omos proceeded to chase Morrison out of the arena leaving McIntyre, Styles, and now The Miz to vie for the title. In the closing moments, McIntyre shoved the The Miz and Styles off of the ladder as they battled each other to retrieve the title. Styles was propelled out of the ring and The Miz was soon eliminated from the picture as the recipient of a Claymore Kick. An easy opening manifested that allowed McIntyre to scale the ladder to retrieve and retain his title.

Smackdown Women’s Championship
Carmella w/ Reginald vs. Sasha Banks (c)
Winner: Sasha Banks via submission

Following a hiatus from television, Smackdown color commentator Corey Graves’ real life mistress Carmella made her return and found herself quickly in line for a title shot that culminated this evening. Sadly the time off didn’t improve Carmella’s wrestling skills much but luckily the WWE Universe wasn’t subjected to an excessively long match as Banks halted her title hopes with the Bank Statement to retain her title.

RAW Tag Team Championship
The Hurt Business (Shelton Benjamin & Cedric Alexander) w/ MVP vs. The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods)
Winners: The Hurt Business via pinfall
MVP’s Hurt Business sought to add more gold to their ranks this evening as Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander challenged for the RAW Tag Team Championship. Following a frenetically paced match, Shelton Benjamin had Kofi squared up when Alexander blind-tagged his way into the match much to the displeasure of The Gold Standard. Alexander proceeded to execute the Lumbar Check on Kingston to earn the pinfall and crown new tag team champions. Another note of significance was this marked Benjamin’s first tag team title reign in 17 years since he last held the tag team gold with Charlie Haas as one half of The World’s Greatest Tag Team.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax vs. Asuka & Charlotte Flair
Winners: Asuka & Charlotte Flair via pinfall
Asuka was originally scheduled to tag with Lana until she was brutalized at the hands of the tag team champs on Monday Night RAW leaving the Empress of Tomorrow in search of a new partner. The virtual WWE Universe was stunned as Asuka’s mystery partner was revealed to be “The Queen” Charlotte Flair. A  much leaner Flair showed no signs of any ring rust as her full arsenal was on display - most notably a beautifully executed moonsault she delivered from the top turnbuckle to the arena floor. In the closing moments, Flair hit the Natural Selection on Baszler allowing her to capture the pinfall victory and crown new tag team champions.

Universal Championship TLC Match
Roman Reigns (c) w/ Paul Heyman vs. Kevin Owens
Winner: Roman Reigns
Following an extended period of title picture irrelevancy, Kevin Owens was put in a prime spot this evening as he challenged Roman Reigns in a sadistic TLC match for the Universal Championship. KO was able to get the jump on Reigns early as he emerged out of nowhere while Roman watched his title hoisted to the rafters. Owens was then able to dispose of Jey Uso who came to his cousin’s aid allowing him to maintain some early momentum. Owens momentum was short-lived as Uso returned again later in the match to distract KO’s attention away from Reigns. This advantage was seized by Reigns as me maintained control until the closing moments of the match. Roman attempted to spear KO on the arena floor, however, Owens moved at that last moment as Reigns launched himself through the ringside barrier. Owens again seemed in a prime position to become the new champion as he scaled the ladder in the ring only to be met again by Jey Uso. After Owens disposed of Uso yet again, Roman recovered and made his way up the ladder where he unceremoniously delivered a low blow to KO which created the opportunity for him to cinch in a guillotine choke. Reigns did not release the hold until Owens body went limp and fell to the canvas. Reigns then slowly removed the title from it’s hook above the ring to complete his retention. 

Firefly Inferno Match
“The Fiend” Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton
Winner: Randy Orton
This match marked the rekindling (pun intended) of the previous rivalry between these two combatants that stemmed back to Bray’s time at the head of the Wyatt Family. One may ask, what’s a Firefly Inferno Match? It’s simply an Inferno Match involving Bray Wyatt so the winner would be declared when one man sets any part of the other’s body on fire. In the closing moments of this match, which received a very negative response from the virtual crowd, The Fiend attacked Orton with the Mandible Claw. Orton was able to push Wyatt into the flames at ringside while his fingers were still shoved down his throat and then rolled him into the ring where he delivered an RKO. Orton then decided to douse The Fiend in gasoline and  dropped a lit match leaving Wyatt engulfed in flames to close the show (note it was rather evident that they swapped The Fiend out for a dummy).

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WWE Summerslam 2020

By Steve Ward                                                                                                                                              

As we approach the end of month six of the “Quarantine Era,” WWE Summerslam emanated this evening from their new temporary home - the WWE Thunderdome (can you say copyright infringement?). The introduction of this new venue came from the boss himself, Mr. McMahon, this past Friday night on Smackdown. For those who are unaware, the Thunderdome is actually the Amway Center in Orlando, the normal home of the Orlando Magic, with large video screens lining the arena seats with the faces of fans watching from home on their webcams - if I’m being honest, I appreciate the effort and it is nice to see a show held in an arena, however, it also reminds me of a ‘90s sci-fi movie set in a dystopian future. Nonetheless, the show which held the tag line “You won’t see it coming” featured a card of seven matches with five titles defended.

Smackdown Women’s Championship Asuka vs. Bayley (c) Winner: Bayley via pinfall

Over the past two weeks, Asuka found herself earning an opportunity at not only one, but both, of the top women’s titles in WWE. First, she defeated Bayley recently on RAW to earn a shot against Sasha Banks for the RAW Women’s Title and then a women’s battle royal on Smackdown to also earn an opportunity at Bayley’s Smackdown Women’s Title. Asuka clearly controlled the tempo of this entire bout, however, the number’s game proved to be the deciding factor. In the closing moments, Bayley was in dire straits hung up on the ropes as Asuka propelled herself at her. At the last second, Banks pushed Bayley out of the way and took the shot for her. This opened the opportunity for Bayley to roll up a distracted Asuka for the pinfall.

RAW Tag Team Championship The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) (c) vs. Andrade & Angel Garza w/ Zelina Vega Winners: The Street Profits via pinfall

Late in the contest Vega climbed to the ring apron to attract the attention of the referee as Ford was propelled into the ropes by Angel Garza knocking her to the floor. This prompted Andrade to attend to Vega leaving his partner high and dry. Garza was overwhelmed by The Street Profits with Ford ascending to the top rope for an impressive splash that solidified their victory.

Loser Leaves WWE Match Mandy Rose vs. Sonya Deville Winner: Mandy Rose via pinfall

The months of drama between the former Fire & Desire cohorts finally culminated this evening in a Loser Leaves WWE No Disqualification Match. Sadly, the most entertaining part of this match was Mandy Rose’s futile effort to flip a table upright after opening the legs. This bout reached it’s merciful conclusion as Rose drove a running knee into the cranium of Deville allowing her to secure the pinfall victory and sending Deville packing - could she appear in AEW in 90 days???

Street Fight Dominik Mysterio w/ Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins w/ Buddy Murphy Winner: Seth Rollins via pinfall

Over the past few months we’ve witnessed the unfolding of an ugly rivalry between Rey Mysterio and Seth Rollins that not only saw Rey “lose his eye” at Extreme Rules but also have his son Dominik drawn into the fold. Following a vicious kendo stick beating at the hands of Rollins and Murphy recently on RAW, this bout came to fruition and also marked the in-ring debut of the young Mysterio. Dominik Mysterio made a solid showing in his debut WWE match including the execution of a frog splash early in the contest, however, it wasn’t enough to overcome the Monday Night Messiah. In the final moments of the bout, another window of opportunity opened for Dominik as Rollins and Murphy became preoccupied with Rey and handcuffed him to the ropes. Dominik proceeded to take down Rollins and scaled to the top turnbuckle for another frog splash attempt. This time Dominik was met with a pair of knees to the midsection followed by a curb stomp that sealed the victory for Rollins.

RAW Women’s Championship Asuka vs. Sasha Banks (c) w/ Bayley Winner: Asuka via submission

After losing her bid at championship gold earlier in the evening, Asuka made her way back out to the ring to square off with Sasha Banks. As we approached the conclusion of this match it appeared the number’s game would again be the determining factor in the contest as Bayley this time saved Banks from Asuka. Banks proceeded to cinch in the Bank Statement, however, Asuka was able to roll through and reverse it into the Asuka Lock for the submission victory.

WWE Championship Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Randy Orton Winner: Drew McIntyre via pinfall

Following weeks of revisiting his “Legend Killer” persona with attacks on Christian, The Big Show, Ric Flair, and Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton found himself in the position for a shot at his 14th World Championship against the man who dethroned Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania, Drew McIntyre. This hard-hitting contest ended in rather shocking fashion. McIntyre couldn’t land the Claymore Kick, then Orton’s attempt at an RKO was thwarted only to see McIntyre win with an underwhelming backslide pin to retain the title.

WWE Universal Championship Falls Count Anywhere Match Braun Strowman (c) vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt Winner: “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt via pinfall

Following the Swamp Fight at Extreme Rules last month, we saw the reemergence of The Fiend and the darker side of Braun Strowman. After weeks of mind games between the two, we arrived to a Falls Count Anywhere Match for the Universal Championship tonight. Braun attempted to pull out an additional stop to put away Wyatt ass he used a box cutter to remove a portion of the ring canvas and padding to expose the wood planks, however, it backfired as he was met with the Sister Abigail as Wyatt regained the title. After the end of the match, Roman Reigns emerged from out of nowhere to lay waste to both Wyatt and Strowman after several months out of action declaring that he was the true owner of the title.

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WWE Backlash 2020

By Steve Ward

Following last year’s hiatus where it was replaced by one of WWE‘s Saudi Arabian cash-grabs, the company’s June pay per view staple, Backlash made it’s return. This evening’s latest installment in the “Quarantine Era” emanated from The WWE Performance Center in Orlando. One glaring difference from last month is the WWE’s choice to follow suit with AEW and have members of NXT fill in as “fans” - of course WWE had to take it a step further and topped the ringside barricades with a plexi-glass shield which looked like a glorified sneeze guard. This evening’s card featured six matches with four titles contested.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Match
Bayley & Sasha Banks (c) vs. Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross vs. The Iconics (Peyton Royce & Billie Kay)
Winners: Sasha Banks & Bayley via pinfall

Blink and you would have missed the end of this frenetically paced contest. The former champs, Bliss and Cross, appeared poised to regain their titles in the closing moments as Alexa ascended to the top turnbuckle with Peyton Royce laid out in the ring. Bliss proceeded to execute a perfect Twisted Bliss and just as she covered Royce up for the pin, Sasha Banks emerged out of nowhere to roll Alexa up for the pinfall.

Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus
Winner: Sheamus

This match came to fruition as a result of Sheamus’ recent attacks on Jeff Hardy’s numerous battles with substance abuse and alcoholism over the years. These attacks culminated with Sheamus requiring Hardy submit to a urine test administered by a doctor during their contract signing - a course of events that lead to Sheamus having Hardy’s full urine sample thrown in his face. Throughout this evening’s bout, Jeff Hardy was subjected to an excessive level of punishment early, however, it appeared The Charismatic Enigma had turned the tide to pull out a late victory. Hardy was able to land the Twist of Fate and immediately followed it with the Swanton Bomb, a pairing which usually equates to victory for him. As the referee proceeded to count the pinfall Sheamus stuck his foot on the bottom rope to break it up and escaped the ring. Hardy attempted to mount additional offense as he ran along the top of the crowd barricade only to leap at Sheamus and be met with a Brogue Kick to the jaw. The Celtic Warrior then finished Hardy off with yet another Brogue Kick inside the ring to seal the pinfall victory.

RAW Women’s Championship
Asuka (c) vs. Nia Jax
Winner: No contest

Following last month’s Money in the Bank pay per view where Asuka retrieved the briefcase to earn a shot at the women’s champion of her choice, she was left shocked by then champion Becky Lynch’s announcement on RAW the following evening. Lynch informed Asuka that her victory the night before was not to earn a shot at the title but rather to crown the new RAW Women’s Champion as Becky announced she would be taking leave to give birth to her first child. Fast forward to this evening where Asuka was left to defend her newly earned title against the mountainous Nia Jax. Nia imposed her will for a great deal of this bout, however, the resilient Asuka refused to go silently. In the closing moments, the action spilled to the outside of the ring where both competitors were counted out allowing Asuka to exit with her title.

Universal Championship 2-on-1 Handicap Match
Braun Strowman (c) vs. The Miz & John Morrison
Winner: Braun Strowman via pinfall

After weeks of instigating the Monster Among Men, Miz and Morrison found themselves with a title opportunity this evening in the form of a Handicap Match. There was one key stipulation attached to the match where if Miz and Morrison were to win, the man who scored the pinfall or submission would become the champion- they would not become co-holders. It appeared the numbers game would pay off for Miz and Morrison as they had the champion in dire straits after Miz landed the Skullcrushing Finale while Morrison simultaneously struck Strowman from behind as he leapt from the top rope. Morrison proceeded to cover Strowman only to have Miz pull him off in a brief lapse in judgment. By the time Miz realized his mistake it was too late as this opened the window for Strowman. Braun recovered to choke slam Miz and then finished off Morrison with a running power slam to retain his title.
WWE Championship
Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Bobby Lashley w/ MVP
Winner: Drew McIntyre via pinfall

Over the past few weeks Bobby Lashley has found himself under the influence of MVP. This has proven quite fruitful as he has become reinvigorated leaving a path of destruction in his wake and earning a WWE Championship opportunity in the process. Before the opening bell rang tonight, Lashley ambushed McIntyre from behind and cinched in a Full Nelson. Several officials were needed to break the men up so the match could even begin. This presented an opportunity for Lashley to seize early control in the match, however, it wasn’t enough. In the final moments of the match, McIntyre kicked out of a pinfall attempt by Lashley following a devastating spear. This prompted Lashley’s “wife” Lana to make her way to ringside and climb to the ring apron. The distraction was all McIntyre needed as he laid out Lashley with a Claymore Kick to the mouth allowing him to solidify the pinfall victory.

Following this match, a backstage/back lot brawl ensued between The Street Profits and the Viking Raiders. The confrontation took a turn in the parking lot as the four men were confronted by Akira Tozawa who arrived with several “ninjas” on motorcycles. After they laid waste to them, a giant ninja arrived prompting them all to flee. Just moments later the two teams found themselves fighting each other again, now on the top of a trailer conveniently positioned just above a dumpster. This brief continuation of their brawl concluded with all of them in the aforementioned giant trash receptacle. Personally, I believed this to be a rather poor booking decision used instead of holding the anticipated RAW Tag Team Championship between the two teams.

The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever
Edge vs. Randy Orton
Winner: Randy Orton

The main event of the evening pit Edge and Randy Orton against each other in what became billed as “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever.” The Rated R Superstar recently accepted Orton’s challenge to a straight up wrestling match as he was clearly dissatisfied with the outcome of their Last Man Standing Match at Wrestlemania. While both competitors are two of the greatest performers to ever lace up a pair of boots, one must ask the question if these two would put on the greatest wrestling match of all time. Edge had not competed in a conventional wrestling match in nine years as his only action since his surprise return in January was in the Royal Rumble and in the aforementioned Last Man Standing Match at Wrestlemania. Additionally, when you talk about the greatest match of all time there is some stiff competition such as Savage vs. Steamboat and Hogan vs. Andre just to name a couple.

Following a relatively even match, the closing minutes presented an intense exchange between the two competitors. First, Orton executed an RKO followed immediately by a pinfall attempt Edge kicked out of. Then Edge answered with a spear which could not put Orton away as he kicked out of a subsequent pinfall attempt. After yet another RKO Outta Nowhere, Edge quickly recovered to cinch in what the commentators labeled the Anti Venom submission. Orton appeared in danger of a potential submission loss when he struck Edge with a questionably low blow dropping him to his knees. The Legend Killer proceeded to nearly take Edge’s head off with his patented punt kick and sealed the deal with the 1-2-3. While this was a very competitive, entertaining match, I’m not prepared to label it “The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever.”

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WWE Money In The Bank 2020

By Steve Ward

The second pay per view of what I am dubbing WWE’s Quarantine Era, emanated from two locations this evening - the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL and from the roof of WWE Headquarters in Stamford, CT. I give WWE credit for thinking outside the box this evening to try and keep the product interesting when working with an eerily, mostly empty venue by taking the chaos to a novel location for the bouts that hold this event’s namesake - although it may behoove them to take a page out of AEW’s book and have the wrestlers sit at ringside during the matches to supply some sort of atmosphere. Nonetheless, the seven match card included four title bouts and was headlined by the men’s and women’s Money In The Bank ladder matches.

Smackdown Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way

The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) (c) vs. Lucha House Party (Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado ) vs. The Miz & John Morrison vs. The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler w/ Jaxson Ryker)

Winners: The New Day via pinfall

The New Day recently regained the tag team titles from Miz & Morrison to become eight-time tag team champions and were immediately thrown into the fire this evening forced to defend their titles against three other teams. In the closing moments, it appeared that The Forgotten Sons were beginning to turn the tide until Ryker was banned from ringside for his interference causing enough of a distraction to allow The New Day to regain control. Kofi first neutralized Lince Dorado with the Trouble in Paradise allowing Big E to finish off Gran Metalik with The Big Ending solidifying their title defense.

Bobby Lashley vs. R-Truth

Winner: Bobby Lashley via pinfall

This match was initially scheduled to pit MVP versus R-Truth until Bobby Lashley made his way to ringside and told Montel Vontavious Porter to take the night off. To say this was a squash match is an understatement as R-Truth was unable to mount any real offense as Lashley manhandled him and finally finished him with a spear that broke him in half. On a side note, it continues to perplex me why R-Truth has mainly been comic relief in his lengthy second run with WWE after he was a very reputable heavyweight champion in TNA/Impact where some may remember him as Ron “The Truth” Killings but I digress.

Smackdown Women’s Championship

Bayley (c) w/ Sasha Banks vs. Tamina

Winner: Bayley

Tamina Snuka was certainly game for the task at hand as she manhandled Bayley for the bulk of this contest. We seemed to be moments from crowning a new champion after Tamina executed the Samoan Drop on Bayley, however, Sasha proved to be the determining factor. Banks distracted Tamina just long enough for Bayley to get back to her feet but Tamina was still able to hoist her up for another Samoan Drop attempt only to be thwarted by a rollup that allowed Bayley to steal the pinfall and retain her title.

WWE Universal Championship

Braun Strowman (c) vs. Bray Wyatt

Winner: Braun Strowman via pinfall

After earning his first Universal Championship at Wrestlemania by dominating the legendary Goldberg, Braun Strowman made his first defense this evening. For those who have a short term memory, these two men have a deeply rooted history as Strowman was the last addition to the Wyatt Family before it eventually disbanded. Another interesting booking decision for this match was to pit Strowman against the puppet wielding, children’s show version of Wyatt instead of The Fiend - perhaps to preserve the persona and avoid having The Fiend suffer defeat twice in a row. Wyatt appeared like he had gotten into the head of Strowman briefly with the use of some of his Firefly Funhouse puppets at ringside - enough so that he was able to drop him with a Sister Abigail. The Monster Among Men proved to be too formidable of a force, however, as he sealed his victory with a running power slam.

WWE Heavyweight Championship

Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Seth Rollins

Winner: Drew McIntyre via pinfall

Drew McIntyre made his first title defense since Wrestlemania, the night where he defeated Brock Lesnar for the championship and defended it that same night against The Big Show. Tonight he met a stiff test in the form of muli-time champion, “The Monday Night Messiah” Seth Rollins. Rollins threw everything he had at the defending champ this evening including a Frog Splash, top rope super plex, the Curb Stomp, and the Falcon Arrow but it wasn’t enough as McIntyre was able to drop him with the Claymore Kick to retain his title.

Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match

Lacey Evans vs. Nia Jax vs. Carmella vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Dana Brooke vs. Asuka

Winner: Asuka

Men’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match

A.J. Styles vs. Otis vs. Aleister Black vs. King Corbin vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Daniel Bryan

Winner: Otis

For those not familiar with the stipulation of these matches, it’s simple - scale a ladder in the center of the ring, retrieve the briefcase, and earn the ability to challenge the world champion of your choice at any point during the next year. An interesting dynamic with these matches presented itself as aside from taking place at WWE Headquarters, they also started simultaneously with the women beginning in the lobby and the men commencing from the building’s workout facility. The goal still was for one man and one woman to make their way to the roof of the building where a ring was set up and retrieve their respective briefcases. After roughly 20 minutes of fighting throughout the building, Nia Jax and Lacey Evans were finally the first to make their way to the roof followed shortly thereafter by Asuka. None of the other women ever made it to the roof as Asuka ascended to the top of the ladder at the same time as King Corbin. For good measure, Asuka kicked Corbin off of the ladder and retrieved the women’s briefcase crowning our first winner of the evening in the process. In the closing moments, A.J. Styles and King Corbin found themselves at the top of the ladder fighting over the briefcase. Both men had their hands on the briefcase as it was unlatched and it appeared that Styles was going to walk away the victor as Elias emerged to deliver a brutal, guitar shattering shot to Corbin, however, this caused the briefcase to be propelled into the hands of the new Mr. Money In The Bank….Otis.

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WWE Elimination Chamber 2020

By Steve Ward

The final stop on the Road to Wrestlemania arrived this evening to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Some of the luster was removed from the event as the men’s Elimination Chamber to determine who would compete for the Universal Championship was cancelled. Apparently it was already a foregone conclusion that Roman Reigns would end up receiving the opportunity so he simply walked out on Smackdown two weeks ago, declared he’s “next,” and there you have it - Roman Reigns vs. Goldberg at the Showcase of the Immortals. Don’t fret though because tonight’s card still featured two chamber matches among the seven bouts on the card.

Daniel Bryan vs. Drew Gulak

Winner: Daniel Bryan via submission

This evening’s main card opened with two competitors boasting prominent technical IQs - the leader of the rejuvenated YES Movement Daniel Bryan and Philly’s own master of the PowerPoint presentation Drew Gulak. While not conducive towards evoking a rousing crowd reaction at times, these two men put on a grappling clinic for the fans in attendance. Despite being one of the best matches I’ve ever seen Gulak put on, Daniel Bryan was able to cinch in the YES Lock solidifying his victory as Gulak passed out.

United States Championship
Andrade (c) w/ Zelina Vega vs. Humberto Carrillo
Winner: Andrade via pinfall

Andrade appeared to be in dire straits late in this contest after Carrillo executed an awe-inspiring vault over the referee and the top rope that put Andrade on his back. Carrillo subsequently rolled up Andrade in a pinfall attempt, however, it was reversed as Andrade grabbed his tights to steal the victory and retain his title.

Smackdown Tag Team Championship Elimination Chamber Match
The Miz & John Morrison (c) vs. Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler vs. Lucha House Party vs. Heavy Machinery vs. The New Day vs. The Usos
Winners: The Miz and John Morrison via pinfall

The Miz and Morrison were immediately thrown into the fire as the first defense of the titles they just won at Super Showdown was in the sadistic confines of the Elimination Chamber. The New Day and The Usos were tasked with the distinct disadvantage of  kicking off the match. The first team to be released from their chamber was the Lucha House Party. After the Lucha House Party scaled to the top of one of the pods to clear out their adversaries with some of their signature acrobatics, the defending champs Miz & Morrison were the next to enter the fray. The two proceeded to dismantle the other men in the ring with a proficient display of tandem offense reminding the WWE Universe why they were such a proficient team years ago. The next team to emerge from their respective chamber was Heavy Machinery. Just after Otis executed the Caterpillar followed by the elbow drop, Lince Dorado climbed to the top of the chamber in American Gladiators fashion and dropped to the ring taking out all of the other competitors in the ring. Heavy Machinery emerged then to hit the Compactor on Gran Metalik to eliminate the Lucha House Party. Roode and Ziggler then became the final team to enter the contest after winning the tag team gauntlet on Friday Night Smackdown this week. 

Otis attempted to exact revenge on Ziggler for ruining his Valentine’s Day date with Mandy Rose, however, it backfired and he ran through the pod landing out on the floor as Dolph evaded him. Tucker was left to fend for himself, however, Roode and Ziggler were too much. Roode drilled ASU alumni Tucker Knight with the Glorious DDT to eliminate Heavy Machinery. Their brief celebration didn’t last long as The New Day laid waste to Roode and Ziggler setting up The Usos to dive from opposite pods setting up the pinfall and leaving us with three teams. Our next elimination arrived after Kofi attempted a dive of his own off the top of one of the pods only to find his target moved. Miz and Morrison proceeded to pick up the scraps and piled on Kofi for the pinfall. This left us with the defending champs and one of the first teams to start this match in the Usos as our final two. Shortly after executing Starship Pain on Jimmy Uso, The Miz rolled him up and Morrison launched over the top rop for a tandem pinfall to retain their titles.

No Disqualification Match
AJ Styles w/ Gallows & Anderson vs. Aleister Black
Winner: Aleister Black via pinfall

Black “earned” his shot at The Phenomenal One after The O.C. laid waste to him this past week on RAW. Aside from the no disqualification stipulation, one was also left to wonder whether the Undertaker would make his presence felt after he easily defeated Styles in the final match of the gauntlet at Super Showdown in addition to Styles continued mocking of The Deadman - most notably how he emulated Taker’s signature pin on Black Monday night. This turned into a brutally contested bout as Styles was unable to put Black away. Frustration on the part of the O.C. spilled over as they brought the numbers game into play and proceeded to beat down Black. Just as he appeared doomed, the lights in the arena faded to black as the ominous “gong” echoed through the Wells Fargo Center. As the lights came back up, The Undertaker was standing with his hands wrapped around the throats of Gallows and Anderson. Styles attempted to attack The Undertaker from behind with a Phenomenal Forearm, however, he was caught in midair and suffered a vicious choke slam. Just as quick as the Undertaker appeared, the lights faded, the bell tolled, and he vanished. Black then capitalized on the opportunity and tattooed Styles with the Black Mass for the victory.

RAW Tag Team Championship
The Street Profits (c) vs. Seth Rollins & Murphy w/ AOP
Winners: The Street Profits via pinfall

After Kevin Owens cost Rollins and Murphy their tag team titles on Monday night, they promptly enacted their rematch clause this evening. The Monday Night Messiah attempted to stack the deck in his favor this evening as the Authors of Pain joined him at ringside. This advantage was swiftly neutralized as The Viking Raiders made their way to ringside and the two teams proceeded to brawl their way out of the arena. Late in the contest, Kevin Owens entered through the crowd to ringside where he posed just enough of a distraction towards Rollins that allowed the Street Profits to take control of the contest. Montez Ford put the finishing touches on their title defense as he landed the frogsplash for the victory. After the contest, Kevin Owens grabbed Rollins from behind as he berated Buddy Murphy for being pinned to suffer the fate of a Stunner in the middle of the ring seemingly setting up their date at Wrestlemania.

Intercontinental Championship Three On One Handicap Match
Braun Strowman (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Cesaro, and Sami Zayn
Winner: Sami Zayn via pinfall

The Monster Among Men found himself in this predicament after Sami Zayn twisted his words at the contact signing for this bout and had it changed into a handicap match. After allowing Nakamura and Cesaro to do all of the heavy lifting for a majority of the bout, Zayn was there to pick up the scraps in the end. After he was dealt a Kinshasa by Nakamura, Strowman was left dazed. Zayn proceeded to tag himself in as Nakamura and Cesaro hoisted Strowman up and delivered a Helluva Kick as he was dropped to the canvas. Zayn then covered Strowman for the shocker of the evening crowning a new champion in the process.

Women’s Elimination Chamber Match
Natalya vs. Liv Morgan vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Asuka vs. Sarah Logan vs. Ruby Riott
Winner: Shayna Baszler via submission

The main event of the evening pit six women against each other in the visceral Elimination Chamber with a shot at Becky Lynch’s RAW Women’s Championship at Wrestlemania hanging in the balance. Natalya and Riott kicked off this match and Natalya wasted no time taking her to the platform of the chamber where she quickly cinched in a Sharpshooter to no avail. Sarah Logan was the next to enter the bout and she immediately propelled herself at Natalya with a double knee strike so she could focus on her former cohort Ruby Riott. Baszler next entered the match and after launching Natalya into a ring post, the Queen of Spades proceeded to eliminate both Sarah Logan and Ruby Riott in a span of less than 60 seconds with back-to-back Kirifuda Clutches. Baszler then redirected her attention to Natalya and brutalized her with the door of one of the empty pods. With Natalya beaten senseless, Baszler cinched in another Kirifuda Clutch for yet another submission elimination. Liv Morgan was the next to enter the match and attempted to mount some offense but it didn’t phase Baszler. Baszler then dragged Morgan to the corner in front of Asuka’s pod and locked her in another Kirifuda clutch until she passed out. Finally after a few minutes of Asuka shouting at Baszler in Japanese, she made her way into the match as the final entrant. Asuka was game for Baszler, however, the Queen of Spades overcame the Asuka Lock to finally cinch in yet another Kirifuda Clutch. While Asuka didn’t tap out, she eventually passed out solidifying Shayna Baszler as Becky Lynch’s challenger in 28 days at Wrestlemania.



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WWE TLC 2019

By Steve Ward

WWE’s final pay per view of 2019, Tables, Ladders, & Chairs, emanated from the Target Center in Minneapolis this evening.  There were some glaring talent omissions and some questionable booking leading into this evening. The card was devoid of such top tier talent as AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, Rey Mysterio, and Brock Lesnar. Additionally, despite several of the champions being involved in matches, there were no singles titles defended. Nonetheless, let’s get to the recap!

Smackdown Tag Team Championship Ladder Match

The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E) (c) vs. The Revival
Winners: The New Day

This match was seemingly thrown together at the last minute as many speculated that The New Day would be defending their titles against Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode until Roode was handed a 30-day suspension for his first violation of the WWE Wellness Policy. While it’s difficult to watch ladder matches after one has watched one of the classics involving The Hardys or Edge & Christian, these teams put forth an above average effort. Despite Big E being neutralized by The Revival after he was first suplexed through a horizontally suspended ladder between the turnbuckle and an upright ladder and then laid out across it to receive a punishing splash that crumbled the ladder beneath him, Kofi was able to scale the ladder in the end and retrieve the titles.

Buddy Murphy vs. Aleister Black
Winner: Aleister Black via pinfall

There was not much buildup to this bout other than Buddy Murphy accepted Black’s perpetual open challenge. Black withstood a devastating barrage of kicks, a brain buster, and a bloody nose - that Jerry Lawler labeled broken - to hit the Black Mass out of nowhere for the pinfall.

RAW Tag Team Championship Open Challenge
The Viking Raiders (c) vs. The OC (Gallows & Anderson)
Winners: No contest

The Viking Raiders issued an open challenge for their titles this evening that was predictably answered by The Only Club That Matters (OC). This match unfortunately ended up a total wash as the action spilled to the outside and ended in a double count out. The most entertaining portion of this bout was when the four fans seated at ringside behind a KFC sponsored table full of fried chicken and potatoes was taken away by the Viking Raiders and shattered as Karl Anderson was propelled through it.

Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match
Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin
Winner: King Corbin via pinfall

“The Big Dog” sought retribution this evening after weeks of feuding with Team Corbin, including being handcuffed and showered in dog food two weeks ago on Smackdown. Just as it seemed the momentum of the match was swinging back to Roman Reigns as he Samoan Dropped Corbin through the announce table, Dolph Ziggler, Corbin’s personal security team, and The Revival came to his aid. The numbers game proved to be too much as Roman succumbed first to a Shatter Machine from The Revival and then The End of Days from King Corbin to solidify the pinfall victory.

The Miz vs. Bray Wyatt
Winner: Bray Wyatt via pinfall

This was an interesting match on the card. It was not a title bout and it was billed as Bray Wyatt, not The Fiend, facing The Miz. This match came to fruition when The Firefly Funhouse interrupted a recent installment of Miz TV and Bray initiated a series of mind games involving The Miz and his family. Sure enough Wyatt entered the ring with his Firefly Funhouse persona in full effect and thankfully we were spared from the god awful red lighting that has been present in every Fiend match to date. Wyatt made short work of the Miz as he quickly pinned him after executing the second Sister Abigail. After the bout, an image of The Fiend appeared on the big screen and Wyatt proceeded to procure a giant Harley Quinn-esque mallet from under the ring. Just as it appeared the lights were going to change to red, Daniel Bryan emerged to deliver several running knees. Bryan then proceeded to obtain the oversized mallet and as he was about to lay waste to Wyatt, the lights in the arena faded to black and when they again illuminated, Bryan stood alone.

Tables Match
Rusev vs. Bobby Lashley
Winner: Bobby Lashley

The latest installment of the ridiculous storyline involving Lashley’s affair with Rusev’s wife Lana continued this evening after a faux divorce paper signing Monday night on RAW. In the closing moments of the match, Rusev began to turn the momentum, however, that was abruptly stopped as Lana jumped onto his shoulders - flashing the audience in the process - allowing Lashley to regain control and suplex Rusev through a table propped up in the corner for the victory.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship - Tables, Ladders, & Chairs Match
The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) vs. Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch
Winners: The Kabuki Warriors

After several chairs, tables, and ladders were destroyed throughout the match, Asuka finally launched Flair off the top turnbuckle with a powerbomb through a table positioned on the arena floor. This created the opportunity for Asuka to scale the ladder in the center of the ring and retain the titles moments later.

After the match, an ongoing backstage brawl from earlier in the evening spilled out into the arena that culminated with Roman Reigns diving off into a crowd of Superstars including King Corbin closing the show with a pile of carnage on the arena floor.

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