WWE Survivor Series (Nov. 22, 2020) -- Results & Afterthoughts

Survivor Series (2020) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view and WWE Network event, produced by WWE for their Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. It took place on November 22, 2020 at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, and featured WWE's virtual fan viewing experience called ThunderDome—it was WWE's final pay-per-view presented from the Amway Center during the COVID-19 pandemic before the ThunderDome relocates to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida due to the start of the 2020–21 NBA season. Like the previous years, the theme of the event was brand supremacy and pitted wrestlers from the brands against each other. It was the 34th event under the Survivor Series chronology, and celebrated the 30th anniversary of The Undertaker's WWE debut—his retirement ceremony closed the show.

Seven matches were contested at the event, including one on the Kickoff pre-show. The card was highlighted by two traditional Survivor Series elimination matches: Raw's men's and women's teams were victorious over SmackDown's. In the main event match, SmackDown's Universal Champion Roman Reigns defeated Raw's WWE Champion Drew McIntyre. Also on the card, SmackDown Women's Champion Sasha Banks defeated Raw Women's Champion Asuka, and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) defeated Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods). Raw won brand supremacy by winning four of the seven matches.

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Results:

18-Man Dual Brand Battle Royal

The Miz won by last eliminating Dominik Mysterio

When it got down to Jeff Hardy, Chad Gable, Dominik, and The Miz, I was thinking, "Hmmm, maybe we might have a chance to give Gable and Dominik a bit of shine with a win here..." only to see Jeff and Gable get tossed out and it be down to Dominik and The Miz. That's when I went "Oh shit..." and knew that they were going with Dominik winning this for the babyface pop since The Miz was probably cashing in Money in the Bank later this evening. Boy, was I wrong in both avenues of that assumption. This match did absolutely NOTHING for me to care about anyone involved in this battle royal. 

5-on-5 men's Survivor Series elimination match

Team Raw (AJ Styles, Keith Lee, Sheamus, Braun Strowman, and Riddle) (with Omos) def. Team SmackDown (Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, King Corbin, Seth Rollins, and Otis)

I was utterly shocked that Team Raw completely swept Team SmackDown under the rug. Thanks for comin', boys. Your checks are in the mail. I couldn't understand why this couldn't have been competitive with SmackDown getting a bit of offense in and an elimination or two. I did enjoy seeing Otis and Jey Uso having a few moments to shine in this match, but it was ultimately all for nothing. 

I couldn't help but laugh at all of the screenshots of Rollins refusing to even look at Matt Riddle when he was in this match, showing that Rollins had his eyes closed on the ring apron. That's a whole new level of petty (or rather unprofessionalism...) right there. As for the Messiah "sacrificing himself for the 'greater good'", that was complete kayfabe bullshit for he can go on leave for Becky Lynch's upcoming birth of their first child. I'm sure he'll be back in time for the Royal Rumble at the start of the New Year. 

For the rest of this match, there's not really much else to talk about. Team Raw won in dominating fashion and this match did little else to hold anyone's interest. 

Moving on...

Champions vs. Champions Tag Team Match
The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) (SmackDown Tag Team Champions) def. The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) (with Big E) (Raw Tag Team Champions)

I have said it time and time again, but I'm not a big fan of the New Day - never was, never will be. Double can be said for the Street Profits AKA Great Value brand "Cryme Tyme". That being said, I thought both teams came out here and worked their asses off to make this match entertaining. This was fine as a tag team match, but these two sets of tag team belts desperately need to be unified. Neither brand has enough depth to justify keeping these two tag team divisions separated at this point. It's foolish to even think otherwise. 

The right team went over too with the Street Profits picking up the win here. The New Day doesn't need the rub from anyone at this point in the tag team division(s). They should be at the point of putting over everyone else from how many title reigns that they have under their belts. 

Champion vs. Champion singles match

Bobby Lashley (Raw's United States Champion) (with MVP, Cedric Alexander, and Shelton Benjamin) def. Sami Zayn (SmackDown's Intercontinental Champion) by submission

This was an absolutely huge piece of nothing in the middle of this show. Sami tried to heel it up, but with the rest of the Hurt Business at ringside to cock block his antics, they weren't going to let any of that shit fly that works over there on SmackDown for him, thus resulting in Sami thoroughly getting his ass kicked. He even tried to bring back up that "shortness of breath/vertigo" angle that he had going for a while before in their previous feud, but that didn't work either. 

Champion vs. Champion singles match

Sasha Banks (SmackDown Women's Champion) def. Asuka (Raw Women's Champion)

This would have been my personal favorite match of the night if Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre didn't headline this show in stellar fashion. That being said, the resident reigning Women's Champions from Raw and SmackDown represented their brands well. I personally wanted Asuka to win, but I am not going to complain about Sasha Banks going over when it felt like Asuka was beating her left and right over the summer over on Raw following WrestleMania. Sasha is the one who needed the boost to her stock value. 

5-on-5 women's Survivor Series elimination match

Team Raw (Nia Jax, Shayna Baszler, Lana, Lacey Evans, and Peyton Royce) defeated Team SmackDown (Bianca Belair, Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Bayley, and Natalya)

I don't know what was a bigger waste of time, this match or the men's Survivor Series 5-on-5 match. It was bad enough that WWE had to scramble at the last minute to assemble the teams. Mandy Rose and Dana Brooke were originally going to fill the team with Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, and Lana, but Mandy Rose suffered a legit shoulder injury, so their team was written off out of the match, only to be replaced with the lackluster pairing of Lacey Evans and Peyton Royce at the last minute. I wasn't a fan of the IIconics (outside of their entrance music) but they split those two up for this mess? Ugh. Bayley (the former SmackDown Women's Champion who held the title for well over a year no less) and Natalya (who lost almost every opportunity to get a spot on this team until she got a pity vote onto the team because SmackDown! really didn't have anyone else) were added merely two days prior. 

I did like that Bianca Belair attempted to hold down the fort for her team, but the finish was absolutely moronic, especially for a Survivor Series match no less. Lana, Nia Jax, and Bianca were all the remaining members of their corresponding teams until Bianca and Nia were counted out, thus naming Lana the winner who did absolutely NOTHING but stand on the steel steps at ringside and cry for majority of this match. I get they are trying to make her a sympathetic babyface after going through the commentary tables nine weeks in a row, but if people were in the buildings, people would have shat all over this finish and WWE knows it. It would have done the same effectiveness to get Lana over as a babyface if she turned on Nia in this match and helped Bianca get the win instead of going with that god-awful finish that they went with. 

Champion vs. Champion singles match

Roman Reigns (SmackDown's Universal Champion) (with Paul Heyman) defeated Drew McIntyre (Raw's WWE Champion) by technical submission

Before you watch this match, you should take the time to watch the contract signing between these two on SmackDown. This was great stuff from both men involved. 

If this was a sample of what we may be possibly getting at WrestleMania next year between these two Superstars, then I'm all for it. This was easily the best match of the entire night with Sasha vs. Asuka as the close second. They took their time with this and slowly built this match up to a proper crescendo, hitting their biggest and hardest hitting maneuvers, neither man refusing to stay down. The tale of the tape was that Drew McIntyre could take anything Roman Reigns AKA "The Tribal Chief" could dish out and come back for more - that is until Jey Uso came out and gave the assist for Roman could pick up the victory. 

This is your WrestleMania main event, folks, without a shadow of a doubt in my mind. I definitely want to see this rematch. That's saying a lot when I didn't give a damn about their match at WrestleMania a year or two ago.

The Undertaker's Final Farewell

This video packaged aired after WWE gathered all of The Undertaker's closest friends and rivals into the ring, including Kane/Glenn Jacobs who was the only one in his entire ring gear/gimmick. I guess someone told him come dressed to work as a rib. 

Apparently, Kane didn't get the memo.

The only jarring thing about this is that they were all gone when the cameras switched back to the ring. What was the point of dragging all of those old guys out here during a pandemic (without wearing masks no less) if they weren't going to at least hang out at ringside and pay respects as a mock audience instead of having the Thunderdome screens there with awkward silence?

I'm legitimately worried about Vince McMahon's health at this stage.

Vince McMahon making a rare appearance was another shocker, with him actually saying "WWF" in his speech about The Undertaker's fabled career, but seeing Vince like this makes me worried about his health at this age of what, 70+ years, and still hands on with everything top to bottom in this company? He looks like he doesn't even know what a good night's sleep even is. Dude, go home and get some rest before you die at the gorilla position. I'm not even saying that jokingly either. The guy looks like he's in rough shape. He keeps this up and he might not be with us much longer. 


This was really depressing that he didn't get to do this final farewell/send-off in front of a full crowd of fans. The silver lining is that he will get his Hall of Fame induction sooner more than later and he will get the praise and proper send-off that he deserves. I wish they did this with the other legends at ringside for the crowd and just take in the silence as I'm sure the fans would have done that out of respect for his final appearance here. The fake/piped-in crowd noise was goddamn distracting and didn't add anything at all.

The Undertaker bows to Paul Bearer watching down from the heavens for one final time.

That hologram of Paul Bearer/Percy Pringle was a nice touch, even though it was a little corny there.

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Afterthoughts:

In my honest opinion, this was a two-match show at best. Outside of The Undertaker's Final Farewell, this is an EASILY forgettable show, hence why I didn't go out of my way to get this write-up done after the fact. It's a darn shame too that little thought and effort went into this show when it was billed around showcasing The Undertaker's Final Farewell. You would think that WWE would want to have an amazing card to compliment that, especially for older fans that may be tuning in just to see Taker's send-off that walked away from the product ages ago. Like many people have been saying for several years now, it's hard to get invested into this event (much like Bragging Rights before it) when there's nothing on the line outside of the boasts of "brand supremacy" for the next year or so when in reality everyone knows which brand is the "best" in terms of ratings and booking. In retrospect, I'm glad that NXT wasn't involved with Survivor Series this year, despite their dominating performance last year, as that brand has been a hot bed of COVID-19 outbreaks as of late and there's no need to be infecting the main roster with that too. 

WWE Extreme Rules (April 26, 2015) -- Results & Afterthoughts

WWE Extreme Rules (2015) was held on Sunday, April 26, 2015, on the WWE Network. It is the seventh event under the Extreme Rules chronology. Extreme Rules is available for free to new subscribers on WWE's monthly subscription service in the month of April, the WWE Network in over 140 countries.

Kick-Off Match - Neville def. Bad News Barrett

Since Daniel Bryan wasn't medically cleared to compete tonight (reportedly still ongoing recovery from his injury during UK tour), so it was reported on WWE.com that Neville was named as BNB's opponent for tonight's kick-off show. This was one of the most mat-heavy bouts on the card, with Neville and BNB exchanging momentum like a hot potato. These guys have crazy good chemistry together and I happily approve of more matches between these two Superstars. That's saying a lot as I'm not really too fond of BNB's ring work in the first place, but Neville makes him look like a million bucks.

I'm sure the marks were happy after Neville on his first WWE PPV appearance as part of the main roster.

Street Fight Match - Dean Ambrose def. Luke Harper

This match "officially" kicked off this PPV event, but it was derailed after Luke Harper stole car and Dean Ambrose dove through the window, "Dukes of Hazzard-style" to pursue as the car sped out of the parking lot. I guess both Superstars have been playing too much Grand Theft Auto V...

This match continues during the post-match interview between the New Day and Renee Young after their win tonight only for the brawl to resume in the ring where both Superstars pile a ton of steel chairs into the ring as the fans chant "ECW!" A Dirty Deeds onto the pile of chairs seals the deal and gives Ambrose his first singles victory on a WWE PPV to date.

"Kiss Me Arse" Match - Dolph Ziggler def. Sheamus

After a vicious beating from Sheamus for the duration of the match, Dolph Ziggler manages to endure through several near-falls and sneak away with a win.

Despite the chants from live Chicago crowd and a rather ironic "MAKE HIM HUMBLE" sign in the audience, Sheamus refused to kiss Ziggler's ass. Sheamus promptly laid Ziggler out in a post-match attack and forced an unconscious Dolph Ziggler to kiss his "arse" instead.

(Sighs) Really? Is this what we reduced these two talents to? C'mon, WWE, BOTH of these guys deserve better than this. Match-wise, this was a solid match but I just wish WWE would take both of these guys more serious than pitting into a throwaway match such as this.

WWE Tag Team Championship Match - The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston w/ Xavier Woods) def. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd (w/ Natalya)

First of all, I'm glad to see that the tag team titles are being to defended on the main part of a PPV instead of the preshow/kick-off.

Solid match from start to finish. I can't even be mad that this horrible (read: stereotypical) gimmick went over the Brass Ring Club (Cesaro and Kidd). I understand why WWE did it though. The thing that since crowds are chanting "New Day Sucks" means that they are over, when in reality, fans aren't behind them at all. I'm just disappointed that WWE decided to take the belts off of Cesaro and Kidd when they have been white hot as of late. Sure, it puts them back into the "chase" for the upcoming boring summer months, but c'mon, don't kill their momentum when it just was getting off of the ground.

United States Championship Match - John Cena (c) def. Rusev (w/ Lana)

I'll be completely honest and say that I hate these Texas Bullrope-type matches as it merely transforms into the wrestling equivalent of a typical session of tug-o-war. We have seen John Cena and Rusev go at a grand total of two times prior to this match, so what makes match #3 in this series much different?

I wanted get into that ring and fight Rusev myself after he ejected Lana from ringside, urging her to go backstage.

Both Superstars roll with the other's punches and properly sell their offense until the typical Cena comeback sequence in the vein of Hulk Hogan until #LOLCenaWins to set the IWC (internet wrestling community) off in an eruption of unaminous groans of disgust.

I don't hate Cena like everyone else does just to be cool, but I'm ready for Rusev to move onto something else. I think we deserve that "proper" Ryback versus Rusev feud that we were denied last year.

WWE Divas Championship Match - Nikki Bella (c) (w/ Brie Bella) def. Naomi

Going into this match, I wanted Naomi to win, but looking back I figured she would not just for the sole fact of typical WWE booking. Nikki Bella and Naomi haven't shared much time in the ring, nor has WWE spent enough time properly building this feud up to make the fans care about a title change. While I have thoroughly enjoyed this breath of fresh air to Naomi's character, not everyone shares my opinion on the matter.

First things first, I'm SOOOO glad that WWE has decided to give Naomi NEW music. About fucking time. Like how the HELL did Cameron get her own music before Naomi after all of this time?

Secondly, let's talk about the actual competitive aspect of this match. You have to be crazy to not realize that this is one of the better Divas title defenses in quite some time. Naomi was a solid competitor and worthy challenger for Paige when she was reigning Divas Champion in AJ Lee's absence and I'm glad to see WWE has faith in her to try her hand again at challenging Nikki Bella's title reign. Naomi brought a lot of new breath-taking and flashy moves to the table in this match, only to receive a series of near-falls.

I hope this feud doesn't end from here after Brie Bella's interference (with a Chick Kick that JBL referred to as a "Yeti Kick" -- just wow at that shade towards Daniel Bryan...) to assist Nikki to retain the title after a well-placed Rack Attack.

Last Man Standing Match - Roman Reigns def. The Big Show

I think I can safely say that this was the match of the evening and the most "extreme" bout of anything else on tonight's card. Tons of crazy spots here in this match, building up to a climax that destroys the majority of the commentary area - tables and barricades included.

I hope this would make everyone shouting at The Big Show (and Kane) to "Please Retire" to STFU. The Big Show still can put on great matches, such as this one. Kane and Big Show are still valuable assets to WWE's product.

Hell, I want one more Big Show & Kane tag team title reign much like their run around 2005-2006.

After this match, Ryback beat Bo Dallas in a quick squash match if anyone cared. I know I didn't...

Moving on...

Steel Cage Match for WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match - Seth Rollins (c) (w/ J & J Security) def. Randy Orton
** RKO is banned **
** Corporate Kane is acting as "The Gatekeeper" **

Not really a bad nor a great match. It's just another run of the mill steel cage matches. The cage didn't prevent the Authority's goon squad from getting involved, but it's looking like Kane is fed up with both sides at play, namely Seth Rollins and the Authority as a whole. 

Randy Orton using the Pedigree and Seth Rollins retaining with Orton's own RKO finisher were sweet moments in this match, but neither of these Superstars are in better positions prior to this event. It just seems like another day at work where WWE Creative is just running through emotions until Brock Lesnar's next compete date is up on the calendar. If I were to guess, one of those days would be Summerslam for sure. 

Closing Thoughts 

I personally don't understand why WWE does this event to follow-up the aftermath of feuds and rivalries coming out of the fallout of WrestleMania. It would make more sense to do Payback (much like Backlash in the old days) here then do a gimmicky Pay-Per-View event instead. To say WWE is trying to look out for the well-being of their talent, one would think that they would not put their talent into another set of dangerous gimmick matches, especially after WrestleMania's Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship that saw the bulk of the midcard scene in competition. 

I was active on Twitter during this broadcast and found it amusing that people were quick to throw this event underneath the bus tonight. It was far from bad, but to be fair, my expectations weren't high to begin with. As a result, I thoroughly enjoyed this event. Sure, it wasn't WrestleMania but it served it's purpose. The only matches on the card that dragged were the US title and main events, but that was to expected as those were rematches from WrestleMania with little "new" flavor thrown in to keep it fresh.

I just hope WWE doesn't fuck up with the momentum from here after this event. They have a lot of great material to work with here. 

WWE Fast Lane -- Results & Afterthoughts

WWE Fast Lane serves as WWE's replacement to the Elimination Chamber and serves as WWE's final stop on the road to WrestleMania between the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. The main event pits Daniel Bryan against Roman Reigns in a match to decide who will face Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.

Preshow - MizTV (The Miz & Mizdow) interview with Paul Heyman

Great back and forth here, but I swear, Paul Heyman is WAY too good to be limited to these preshow events. If you're going to fly him out to the PPV, at least give him mic time on the actual card. I think we're going to see Miz and Mizdow dissolve before or at WrestleMania. I'd even bet money on that

The Authority (Seth Rollins, Kane, and The Big Show w/ J & J Security) def. Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan, and Ryback after Kane held up Ziggler for a mock Superman Punch variation of the WMD by The Big Show. Randy Orton returned post-match to take out J & J Security while Rollins fled the scene.

I understand that they had to give Rollins and the other faces feuding with the Authority something to do, but c'mon. I was expecting a little better than this. I thought Dolph Ziggler would be going places after being the lone survivor of his Survivor Series team versus the Authority, but nope. Ziggler is in the SAME exact position as he was previously. Vanquishing the Authority became an afterthought as John Cena reversed that decision a few weeks later while Sting garnered all of the attention and praise instead of Ziggler.

There's a similar trend with everyone on the opposing team of babyfaces. It's a team of guys who should be in better elevated positions on the roster than this. Erick Rowan should be part of the many teams chasing for the tag titles as the Wyatt Family shouldn't have split up to begin with. Ryback should have been the one in a high-profile feud against Rusev but got the rugged pulled out from underneath him prematurely. Then we have Dolph Ziggler for reasons I mentioned already.

I don't understand the hate for Big Show and Kane. These are two veterans doing their jobs, putting over younger stars. They are damn good at their jobs too - consistent, great work despite being rather stagnant after all of these years. I rather see them putting people over instead of newer guys getting buried before fans have a chance to even garner an opinion about them. I personally wouldn't mind seeing them as a tag team in the tag team division like their domination period from 2005. If they are supposed to be the Authority's "muscle" then let's see it then with a show of force.

As for Orton's return... about damn time I say. Now we know what WWE has lined up for Rollins for WrestleMania to keep him out of the title picture for the time being. To be quite honest, they could have had Orton come out weeks ago and did this but whatever.

Goldust def. Stardust via roll up counter to the Cross Rhodes.

I honestly marked out for Stardust's new gear. He totally stole Batman's gloves though.

Great storytelling here, but pretty average match. I can kinda see why WWE didn't save this one for WrestleMania if that was the effort they were going to put into this.

I'll add this too. I wish some of the younger fans show some respect for Goldust. That guy has come a LONG way to say that he's up in age now and still putting on great matches. If he doesn't get a HOF spot sooner more than later, then I'm going to be pissed.

Jon Stewart (host of the Daily Show) calls out Seth Rollins

Lame... Why even waste anytime on this? Moving on...

That's pretty fucked that WWE allows a celebrity who's not even on the roster shoot a promo when 70% of the active roster don't get that much mic time.

Stardust snaps backstage and assaults Goldust before declaring that he's living in his own shadow now to Dusty Rhodes.

I don't mind THIS Cody Rhodes/Stardust at all. Give us more of this, WWE.

The Brass Ring Club (Tyson Kidd & Cesaro w/ Natalya) def. The Usos (w/ Naomi) for WWE Tag Team Championship

I was really starting to fear for these two teams. If anyone can turn this division around for the better, it's these two teams. Throw in the dynamic between the teams' ladies at ringside and you potentially have a goldmine of a feud here. I was a little disappointed that Naomi and Natalya didn't get involved at all in this match, but I suppose they can save that for the inevitable rematch at WrestleMania. Speaking of the valets, damn BOTH Naomi and Natalya were slaying with those outfits tonight. Meow...

Is it just me or the BRC showing a few shades of the Beatdown Clan from Impact Wrestling? That's EXACTLY what I was thinking during their segment that was recapped before the match started.

As for the match itself, I could watch these two teams fight each other all day. Great chemistry between these two teams. If they want to get the Lucha Dragons and the Ascension involved and do tag team turmoil at WrestleMania then I'm all for it.

If I had any complaint about this match it was the finish, just like with 80% of the matches on this card. Why did Kidd finish it with a Swinging Fisherman's Suplex? I thought the BRC would've pulled off that double team move that they have been showing off lately.

Triple H confronts Sting in the ring

I guess I'm the only wrestling fan who isn't giddy as a girl with a new vibrator (thank you Jim Cornette for that phrase...) off Sting in WWE and facing Triple H at WrestleMania. Seeing Sting in HD is jarring enough and shows that he looks WORSE than his final days during his run in Impact Wrestling. I understand that it's a dream for a lot of his fans to see him in a WWE ring, but the novelty has ran its course for me. WWE, just give us Sting vs. The Undertaker and allow these guys to ride off into the sunset for good.

I see no benefit for Triple H facing an "ancient" Stinger other than stroking his ego.

Don't get me wrong. The moment where Sting shoved his baseball bat into Triple H's face and forced him to drop the sledgehammer was iconic. Even more magic was added to this moment as Sting didn't say a WORD. He maintains his aura of mystery for new fans.

I couldn't stop laughing at that convenient "STANG" sing in the crowd and the fact that Triple H keeps calling himself the "lifeblood" of WWE - while dressed up in his 2002 return attire. Bitch please. The lifeblood of WWE is the Undertaker - always has been if we're going that route from the Monday Night Wars.

If I wrote this segment I would've had Sting about to be assaulted by HHH and do the same turnaround then have the lights go out once Sting had Triple H cornered. The lights come back on and The Undertaker is behind Sting. Sting releases Triple H and faces Taker. Both icons stare down until Triple H tries to get in the way. Both men hit their finishers on Triple H then look up at the WrestleMania sign in unison. There, you've sold the PPV off this one segment ALONE.

Bad News Barrett def. Dean Ambrose via DQ to retain the Intercontinental Championship

While I personally find ALL of Dean Ambrose's matches to be at a snail pace that drag along, I thought Ambrose deserved a win here. It was rather pointless to end this match with another loss for Ambrose. That guy can't ever cut a break at PPVs. Dean Ambrose is already over with fans, so why can't WWE get behind this guy?

Nikki Bella (w/ Brie Bella) def. Paige to retain the WWE Divas Championship

Good Lord, there was enough people butthurt after that match.

Listen, I love Paige as much as everyone else and I want to see her succeed, but I rather see this feud continue into WrestleMania instead of a meaningless title change prior to the big event that they will more likely flip around or reverse by then. To these Divas' credit, this match wasn't bad at all outside of the lackluster finish.

Nikki is doing a good job of integrating some power moves into her arsenal, especially the Alabama Slam and Rolling Powerbomb from the corner. I have to applaud her for having answers to not one but ALL of Paige's finishers (RamPaige, Paige Turner, and PTO) as well. I don't want to discredit Paige here either as she is becoming an even better worker.

Bray Wyatt openly challenges The Undertaker at WrestleMania

I'm on both sides of the fence on this one as I personally feel like it's going to be lose/lose for both Superstars. Don't get me wrong - the match itself along with the build will be full of all kinds of win for the fans, but let's look at this from a long-time standpoint.

The Undertaker HAS to win to shake off that stench of failure after losing to Lesnar last year and show that he's still "got it". Bray Wyatt HAS to win to show that he's ready to be a main event player in the future WWE landscape. The guy has been in WWE for roughly two years now and hasn't even been considered for ANY championship of any kind. Hell, even his former followers in the Wyatt Family, Luke Harper (former Intercontinental champion) and Erick Rowan have had more title opportunities than him.

I'm just wondering what is going to be the payoff for both Superstars (outside of fan service) for this match. I guess this is going to be WWE's way of stalling and saving The Undertaker vs. Sting for next year in Texas.

Rusev (w/ Lana) def. John Cena to retain the United States Championship

A great back and forth contest between these two and I was relieved to see Cena give Rusev the rub instead of going over as the first Superstar to beat Rusev. Now I hope the marks can quit saying that John Cena buries everyone who steps in the ring with him. 

Extra credit props goes to Lana for playing the job of the manager/valet flawlessly here. Just watch her facial expressions throughout this match. Less means more. She only got involved at the most vital point of the match and did enough to help Rusev win. I thought that the low blow was a tad bit overkill as Cena already was out. 

Roman Reigns def. Daniel Bryan to defend his #1 Contender spot for headlining WrestleMania versus Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

To say that people were booing Roman Reigns out of the arena last month at Royal Rumble during the conclusion of that event, it's easy to say that Reigns and Bryan threw down tonight in this main event. Great action from bell to bell. If that doesn't convince the haters and remove all doubt that Roman Reigns can and deserves a fair shot against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, then something's wrong. Daniel Bryan was the perfect person to serve as the measuring stick to see if he was ready for Brock Lesnar. 

I only fear if WWE can continue to carry this momentum for the next five weeks going into WrestleMania. 

Closing Thoughts

Here's the thing I can't stand when going into these events that follow one of NXT's Takeover live specials. Everyone goes in either with the (extremely high) optimism that it's going to rival that event or go in shitting on the show before it even starts. Hello, people - we should ALL know that these PPVs aren't going to live up to those extremely high-expectations and high standards that the NXT specials have set the standard for, so we need to stop tormenting ourselves trying to expect the same from these PPVs on the main roster. 

That being said, this event wasn't that much better than your average run of the mill episode of Monday Night RAW or Friday Thursday Night SmackDown! but it did serve it's purpose as the last stop on the road to WrestleMania. It managed to set the stage appropriately for what is yet to come on the grandest stage of them all.

At the end of the day, Jesse Collings of Wrestling Inc. hit the nail on the head when he called the show a "glorified episode of Raw", adding that "there were a few highlights, but there was not a single thing that took place on this show that couldn't have been done on an episode of Raw."

WWE Night of Champions 2014 -- Results & Afterthoughts

On Sunday, September 22, 2014, WWE held its annual Night of Champions Pay-Per-View event, where ALL WWE championships would be defended from top to bottom. After the last month and half of god-awful Monday Night RAW broadcasts, I haven't been enthusiastic about this event in the least. I told myself going into this event (along with the ones that follow) that if it blows, I'm going to consider reducing the amount of time in a week I torment myself watching WWE programming.

Preshow - The Peep Show (w/ Chris Jericho and Randy Orton)

I was glad to see WWE finally finding a use for Christian, who was still sidelined with an undisclosed injury, but managed to host this segment. It was an added bonus to see him and Chris Jericho trade quips before being joined by Randy Orton who referred to the duo as the Canadian Brad and Angelina...

As for the preshow panel, I'm was surprised that it went on for roughly an hour this time around. WWE is really taking this concept seriously as a vital component of these events hosted on the WWE Network. For that, I applaud them.

WWE Tag Team Championship Match - The Dust Brothers (Goldust & Stardust) def. The Usos (c) to become the NEW Tag Team champions

This was a solid match to kick things off for tonight, but I'm sure the Tag Team division are getting sick of opening almost EVERY WWE PPV nowadays. The Usos don't have anything to be ashamed of here. I wouldn't mind if they pick up the gold again later down the road to keep this feud alive since the Dust Brothers seem to be the only other team being pushed right now.

JBL: "I dunno what happened in Dusty Rhodes' house that ended up w/ his 2 boys wearing facepaint..." ROTFLMAO #WWENOC #WWE
— Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) September 22, 2014

I hope the rumors of The Ascension being moved up from NXT aren't true as the main roster already has more than enough tag teams they aren't using - Rybaxel, Los Matadores, Kofi/Big E, Slater Gator (Heath Slater & Titus O'Neil), Adam Rose & The Bunny (facepalms...) and especially the Wyatt Family's Luke Harper & Eric Rowen.

I would love for a gif of Stardust rolling around the ring during the post-match celebration. I swear I love that dude's entrance theme TOO damn much.

United States Championship Match - Sheamus (c) def. Cesaro

Cesaro came out to this match looking like he got dressed in the dark wearing both Taz and Lord Tensai's entrance gear. As for the match itself, I found it hilarious that people were raving about this match on social media as they were in COMPLETE shock that it was amazing. I said it on my predictions on Facebook that this was going to be one of the sleeper hits of the evening and boy, did it deliver big time. 

I'm laughing at you guys are actually SURPRISED that this match is amazing. Hello, it's a CESARO match. Get w/ the program. #WWENOC #USTitle
— Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) September 22, 2014

If you want your match to look like a million bucks, you fight Cesaro. Sheamus isn't a bad champion nor a bad wrestler. It's just that most people (myself included) forgot that he was STILL the US Champion period. That's just bad marketing on WWE's behalf. I wish WWE would make people care about this title again, much like how The Miz and Dolph Ziggler are making people give a damn about the Intercontinental title. 

I love how Cesaro and Sheamus went out there and pulled out a few new moves out of their arsenals, especially that Judgment Slam counter to the Brogue Kick. 

After this match, they aired the Sting reveal commercial for WWE 2K15, like people haven't seen this already... 

Intercontinental Championship Match - The Miz (w/ Damien Sandow) def. Dolph Ziggler (w/ R-Truth) to become NEW IC champion

Let's be real here, Florida Georgia Line ruined this match on commentary as WWE did their best recreation of the mess that was Wrestling Society X's horrible commentary. You would think WWE would have learned from them, but nope. Having musicians who know next to NOTHING about a wrestling match call it from ringside does nothing but distract from what is going on in the ring.

Lawler: "I had a job at a concrete company, but the work kept getting harder and harder."

The puns start there and only get worse, folks. Fortunately, Ziggler and Miz's "stunt doubles" (R-Ziggler and Mizdow) provide more than enough comedy relief in this match. I'm sure there are a million memes and gifs of Sandow on Tumblr writhing on the ground, mimicking Miz post-match. I'm not going to lie, I HATED the finish to this match. If they were going to do that, they should have just had this match the following night on Monday Night RAW. If you're reading this article, you should already know that Miz lost the title to Ziggler the next night anyway, so losing here didn't make much sense at all.

Seth Rollins calls out Roman Reigns - Dean Ambrose returns

Dean Ambrose reminds me of a young Al Bundy getting into bar fights & strip clubs from how he arrives & tears shit up. #WWE #WWENOC — Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) September 22, 2014

Seth Rollins moves from one feud with one of his former Shield teammates to a filler feud with the other former Shield teammate once Dean Ambrose was written off television to go film a movie. Now that Roman Reigns had emergency hernia surgery, WWE had to rush Ambrose back into the picture to continue this feud where they left off. If you don't know that timing is EVERYTHING in wrestling, then this is the perfect time to learn. I shudder at the thought of what WWE would have done here if Ambrose didn't already wrap up filming that movie he's going to be in. I love how everyone had a million and one jokes about Ambrose not even stopping to pay the taxi driver after arriving to the arena.

Did Ambrose pay the taxi driver? "Nope."

My issue with this "open challenge" was that it would have been better if they had one of the NXT guys, namely reigning NXT Champion Adrian Neville or Sami Zayn, fight Seth Rollins in a match on this PPV only to have Ambrose to interfere when Rollins would try to cheat to win. That way the talent on NXT gets some exposure to the non-WWE Network subscribers and Ambrose's return isn't so damn obvious.

As for Ambrose and Rollins' brawl, I didn't mind it but I tire of how many times they have done this in their feud. I'm guessing they are going to finally let them cut loose in a Street Fight or some sort at Hell in a Cell to get this over with. On a side note, WWE is REALLY trying to hit the analogies to Brian Pillman home as commentary consistently refers to Ambrose as a "loose cannon". I personally see Ambrose as the new Stone Cold Steve Austin who just doesn't give a fuck about Authority (the stable) or actual authority at all.

(Laughs) Stephanie McMahon came to the event wearing her Sunday best, not even bothering to change clothes after church...

Rusev (w/ Lana) def. Mark Henry

I'm American and I couldn't give a flying fuck about this USA vs Russia feud. I'm just here for Lana. LOL #WWENOC #WWE — Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) September 22, 2014

If you follow me on Twitter or read my other blog, Method to Madness, you should know from my discussions about Captain America that I don't like overly patriotic characters - not in comic books, films, television, or any other media. I do understand that WWE is trying to maintain this legit USA vs. Russia hype behind this match - I just don't have to like it. I just NEVER liked the mindset of "my country is better than yours" to rile people up. I felt sorry that Mark Henry was actually legitimately crying during Lillian Garcia's performance of the National Anthem at the start of this match.

I'm not going to lie, but I personally felt the best thing going in this match was high slit that was cut into Lana's already shorter-than-short mini-skirt. I was enjoying ogling her at ringside than watching the action in the ring.

Speaking of Lana, you have to give her props. She's one of the VERY few people in WWE who have legit heat with audiences with their on-screen persona. I've said it once I'll say it again - without Lana, I'm positive that Rusev would have been as forgettable as Vladimir Kozlov and Luther Reigns in the role he's in currently.

As for the match itself, it wasn't bad at all. You would expect these powerhouse vs. powerhouse matches would be boring but Mark Henry managed to make it interesting with his feuds with The Big Show and Sheamus when he was a heel and he recreated some of that magic with Rusev here. Speaking of Rusev, he's one of the better "big guys" that WWE has had in a long time. He's extremely mobile for a guy for his size, yet doesn't allow his speed hinder him like other typical powerhouses. My biggest complaint about this match was that they hyped up Mark Henry like he was going to be the one to put down Rusev for good, but he tapped to Accolade like a bitch, just like EVERYONE before him.

Now I get it, Rusev and Lana are descendants of COBRA's Destro and Baroness. #WWENOC — Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) September 22, 2014

Everyone's predictions of Rusev being fed to Cena to end his streak is looking more and more to be the obvious outcome, especially since WWE has to be careful when and how they eventually have John Cena tie or surpass Ric Flair's 16-time championship record. We'll discuss Cena's title wins a bit later...

Randy Orton def. Chris Jericho

This was another match I felt that was point-less going into the PPV. Unlike the Rusev/Mark Henry feud, it wasn't given a ton of TV time but was setup in a knee-jerk reaction to the conclusion of Jericho's feud with Bray Wyatt. Speaking of the Wyatt Family, I have to wonder why they have been left off of WWE programming after Jericho and Wyatt's program ended. You would think that Harper and Rowen would still be in the Tag Team title picture, but nope.

Back to the match at hand though... This match served as Jericho's curtain call to his current run with WWE as someone has to put over Orton as a legitimate threat again after being reduced to Authority's low-tier henchman, behind Seth Rollins and Kane.

If there's anything to take away from this match, take note of the stellar ring psychology from bell to bell here. Orton methodically wears down Jericho like a predator to his namesake, while Jericho sells this brutal assault but comes back for more. Not many people can work this well with Orton and make him look this good. I hope Orton appreciates this much-needed blessing that Jericho gave him on the way out of the door. Orton hasn't had a match this good in ages. 

BLOODY FUCKING OBVIOUS finish there folks. When does Jericho EVER climb up the turnbuckle for anything nowadays? C'mon people. #WWENOC — Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) September 22, 2014

Much like the previous match on this card, my biggest gripe with this match was the finish. You could see that RKO coming a mile away, especially if you're an Orton fan. What happened to the days when you didn't see it coming at all?

If you didn't see that catch RKO coming... Well you've never seen a @RandyOrton match #WWENOC— Mick (@mreed0803) September 22, 2014

Regardless, this match turned out better than I expected. See ya during WrestleMania season, Jericho. Enjoy the well-deserved break.

WWE Divas Championship Match - AJ Lee def. Paige (c) and Nikki Bella to become NEW Divas Champion

From the SHEER amount of people on Twitter raving about this
spot obviously don't know that this is NOT the first time the
WWE Divas have done this before...

I'm going to do an extensive article on the things that WWE can do to tweak each of their divisions, especially the Divas Divison, to make them better with the talent pool they already have, but I want to go on record and say that this match was MUCH better than I was expecting going into this. I'm glad to be proven wrong on a lot of these matches on tonight's card that looked bland at first glance. First of all, Paige's promo that was aired again before this match from the Preshow was VERY damn good. It's things like that pisses me off about how WWE handles the Divas Division. If WWE took the initiative to do things like that with Paige when she first debuted, then WWE wouldn't had to drag AJ Lee back into the mix and toss her right back at the top of the Division. Let Paige - and other Divas talk - give us a chance to get to know their personalities. I don't care if you love or hate the Bella Twins feud, but we can all agree that WWE has to start somewhere if they want to start building other stars in this division other AJ Lee.

Funny how ALL the AJ/Paige marks are quiet now that this match is actually GOOD w/ a Bella Twin in there. #WWENOC #DivasTitle — Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) September 22, 2014

I have to laugh at how you knew Nikki Bella came into this match ready for a fight - symbolized by her hair braided up in a cliched MMA/girl-fight manner. I hope all of the people who thought that she was going to drag this match down feel stupid now - Nikki took a lot of insane bumps and hung toe-to-toe against WWE's two top Divas. I don't know about anyone else, but she seemed more deserving of this opportunity than Brie Bella was last year when she was granted an one-on-one opportunity against then-champion AJ Lee. If Nikki Bella can keep up this level of intensity on a regular basis, then I'm perfectly fine with her being the Divas Champion again at some point in the near-future - despite the disgust from the IWC (internet wrestling community) on anyone from Total Divas holding the title.

BAFFLES me people are still saying Nikki can't wrestle after that match. She had awesome moves and took all the brutal bumps. #WWENOC— Ibm (@RidersinBlack) September 22, 2014

As for AJ Lee and Paige, it was fine that they continued their pseudo-lesbian romance in this match as part the ring psychology, but Nikki Bella continued to come between them before their interactions came to a climax - no pun intended. I was glad to see AJ get more offense in for once instead of flopping around the ring like a ragdoll. Another thing that I noticed was that AJ's application of the Black Widow isn't as sloppy nor half-assed as she executed it in the past.

I STILL say AJ winning was the WORST case scenario for this match and the Divas division as a whole. Ugh. #WWENOC— Let's Talk Wrestling (@LetsTalkWrestle) September 22, 2014

Like I said on my predictions on Facebook for this event, I feel like AJ Lee regaining the Divas title was the worst case scenario. Whether you are an AJ Lee fan or not, you CANNOT deny that the Paige/AJ feud is growing stale. Something has to be done to change things up here. Making Paige into the wannabe AJ Lee to compensate wasn't working and making Paige change back and forth from the Anti-Diva gimmick isn't going to work either, especially if WWE isn't going to stick with it. It's the same recycled and rehashed trend they are doing with AJ Lee. One week she's crazy another week she's calm and collected at ringside on commentary. Is it a little too much to ask for some consistency here? I like Paige just as much as anyone else, but c'mon people. How can she call herself the "Anti-Diva" when she's still doing photo shoots and glamour shots like just like every other Diva on the roster? That's the harsh reality I want ALL WWE Diva fans to see - they aren't so different. It doesn't matter if they are on Total Divas or not. What matters is their ability to go into that ring and bring it.

While I could rant on my personal suggestions on how to improve the Divas division as a whole, I'm just going to save that discussion for another day. Otherwise, I would be ranting about this all night.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match - John Cena def. Brock Lesnar (w/ Paul Heyman) via DQ; Lesnar retains as a result

While I understand that WWE had to allow John Cena to win here to bounce back from the vicious beating he received at Summerslam last month, but I felt like a draw would have been a better conclusion to this match. They didn't need to destroy the ring to do so, but I felt like audiences would have been spared from Cena-Mania Running Wild as he magically brought Lesnar into submission until the inevitable interference from Seth Rollins.

I like to think that WWE's writers are smarter than they seem from their booking decisions at times, and that's why I'm positive that John Cena is NOT going to reach 16 championship wins to tie with Ric Flair - let alone surpass that number, until WrestleMania season. If built-up properly, this could make a really good storyline/angle to market WrestleMania 31 with or at least kick-start WrestleMania season with. Remember they did the same with unifying the championships before Royal Rumble last year. WWE has to handle that situation carefully as there's a LOT of people they could potentially piss off if they don't make this particular milestone significant. At the same time, I'm not going to be one of those people who are going to get upset over Cena surpassing that record. With The Undertaker's Streak broken, that merely proves that NOTHING in wrestling is sacred anymore - not distinct finishers/signatures, winning streaks, nor title records.

Say what you want about Lesnar but he sold that like a pro... Rollins must have
a death wish or something though.

While the match as a whole wasn't bad, it dragged on a little too long for my taste. The lack of involvement from Paul Heyman was rather strange as well since he did nothing when Seth Rollins came into the ring ready to cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase. Heyman is usually a LOT more animated in his ring-side involvement during matches.

Closing Words

Was this is a bad Pay-Per-View event? No, but I find it rather odd that the bulk of WWE's fans were tossing the ENTIRE card underneath the bus with the exception of Dean Ambrose's return and AJ Lee regaining the Divas title being the only highlights from this event. I'll admit I wasn't in the best of moods while I was watching this event live on Sunday, but that's why I waited until I re-watched the PPV with a clear head later that week before writing this article. I don't know what drugs everyone else was on, but this was a pretty solid event, with almost everything on the card being well worth watching (the Divas title match, US title defense, Jericho v. Orton, and the Tag Team title matches standing out above the rest) but I couldn't shake the feeling like this was merely an action-packed, high-profile edition of Monday Night RAW.