The Road to Takeover Dallas & WrestleMania 32: The Good Shit

[supersonic]

Royal Rumble 2016: The Good Shit (AKA The Entire PPV Portion)

Kevin Owens gives another fantastic interview, citing his main roster debut victory over John Cena as evidence that tonight, he reclaims the IC Title from Dean Ambrose in their Last Man Standing match, and then will later win the WWE Title in the Royal Rumble match. Total babyface if he wasn’t a rude cunt.

IC Title – Last Man Standing Match

Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens

Not including any trios action, easily the best Ambrose match in WWE to date, perhaps of his entire career actually, definitely in the same conversation as his feuds against Seth Rollins and Jimmy Jacobs. Owens brought his trash-talking A-game to this one, with gems such as “I hate you” (which Ambrose repeated back to him), “Stay down!,” and even early in the match when their wrestling telepathy went off ever so briefly and Owens told Ambrose “you’re going my way.”

The psychology of the match built up beautifully as both men gave valiant efforts to be the alpha and leave the evening as IC Champ. The first near-fall was great as Owens tossed Ambrose around on the outside, then hit him with a cannonball that broke down the barricade. Other great moments would be Owens being back-dropped into chairs on a powerbomb attempt, the build to the pop-up powerbomb later on as a near-fall, and of course the Super Swinging Fisherman’s Neckbreaker through a table.

The finish came when Owens stacked some chairs together and placed Ambrose on them, planning to squash him through the chairs via a moonsault. But the overzealous ego of Owens caught up to him (surprisingly so considering he ate double underhook DDTs, the second on a chair, and rolled out of the ring to avoid the 10 count.) His cockiness cost him opportunities to dish out additional punishment on Ambrose earlier; in this case he inexplicably forgot that he set up stacked tables in this corner, so when Ambrose got up, he simply shoved Owens the outside, he did a front somersault through them. A truly epic, climatic finish that his match deserved.

With so much content nowadays and WWE’s failure to market this instant classic afterwards, I fear this match may not go on to have the historic reputation that it earned. Simply put, this match lived up to the expectations I had for these two to eventually collide the day that Kevin Steen signed with WWE.

As a PPV broadcast opener, this is one of the greatest EVER. It’s in the same class as celebrated gems such as the Rockers vs. Kato & Pat Tanaka, Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman, Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart, Pillman vs. Johnny B. Badd, Psychosis vs. Rey Mysterio, Mysterio vs. Dean Malenko, Malenko vs. Ultimo Dragon, Mysterio vs. Billy Kidman vs. Juventud Guerrera, Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero, MITB 2007, the Money in the Bank 2011 and 2013 PPV openers, Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan, and D-Bry vs. Triple H. This kicked an event off into absolutely high gear and had Orlando rocking.

As a Last Man Standing match, this is right in the conversation with Triple H’s classics against Chris Jericho and Randy Orton, as well as John Cena’s classics against Umaga, Edge, and Wyatt. It might actually be the very best LMS of all-time.

This is also one of the all-time elite IC Title matches, in the same class as Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat, Mr. Perfect vs. Bret Hart, Bret vs. Davey Boy Smith, Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty, both of the HBK’s PPV ladder matches against Scott Hall, The Rock vs. Triple H, Randy Orton vs. Mick Foley, and Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio. This is not a hyperbolic statement – this is a match that years in the future when viewers revisit this event, they will truly grasp what a work of art plunder match this truly is. Now I just wonder how these two will top themselves when they inevitably have a main event feud. ****1/2

Tag Titles Match

Big E & Kofi Kingston vs. The Usos

Jericho had destroyed their trombone, so the New Day have a moment of silence for it, only for Xavier Woods to show up with a new one to the crowd’s delight.

Crowd treated the Usos as total heels in this, simply because of what an entertaining act the New Day had become. Early in the match, the Usos even played dirty, which was justified knowing that Woods would be interfering inevitably to play the numbers game. Speaking of Woods, he earned his paycheck on this night. When the crowd chanted “Play Francesca,” he set the trombone down and refused, not allowing the crowd to dictate. He would later quote Shang Tsung from the Mortal Kombat film, telling an Uso “your brother’s soul is mine… you will be next.” Then near the end he ordered Big E to “finish him!”

There was of course some great wrestling in this one packed with cutoffs and tremendous spots. I particularly loved the perfectly executed superkick that was blocked by Kingston’s roundhouse kick, allowing him to get the advantage and a takedown. The match truly peaked at the end, just like the prior match, when Kingston got tagged by E and Jimmy didn’t see it. So Kingston ate a gorgeous close range superkick, then Jimmy went up top for a splash. While in the air, E got in the ring and caught him, immediately dropping him with the Big Ending to the crowd’s delight and Woods celebrating on the trombone. So far so good for this PPV. ***1/2

US Title Match

Alberto Del Rio vs. Kalisto

One of Alberto’s most motivated efforts since returning, perhaps because this is an opponent he can bounce ideas off of. Very crisp match for the most part, but even the botch that I’ll get into was improvised into something that worked. Alberto did his best to keep Kalisto often at a distance, using his size and arm length advantage also to hit devastating attacks on numerous high-risk move attempts. But Kalisto would keep finding a way to sucker Alberto in, using his quickness in the finishing stretch to seal the deal.

I recall a Skull Crush Hurricanrana, Springboard Twisting Press, and botched Code Red in which Kalisto slipped off and landed head-first. However, Alberto’s body still went backward with the momentum, allowing Kalisto to improvise with a cradle pinfall attempt. Kalisto managed to evade the cross armbreaker, while Alberto blocked a Super Sitdown Shiraniu, instead countering it with a Super Reverse Vertical Suplex. But once Alberto’s head hit the turnbuckle and Kalisto immediately hit a follow-up Sitdown Shiranui, it was ballgame for him to recapture the US Title.

If Alberto can find just the right dynamic to heat him up as a character like Big E & Kofi Kingston did, I’d love to see these have a blood feud. Under the right circumstances, we could have this decade’s version of Rey Msyterio vs. Eddie Guerrero on our hands here. ***1/4

Divas Title Match

Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch

Charlotte is of course accompanied by her father Ric Flair. Lynch targeted her left arm early to set up for the seated Fujiwara arm bar, but didn’t do enough damage to make it mean something. Perhaps that’s on Charlotte to become a better seller, but whatever. Charlotte would gain control by blocking some boots in the corner and hitting a neckbreaker, and she deserves tremendous credit for heeling it up while on offense. I’d have liked to see Lynch show more fire in her comebacks, but perhaps the plan is for her to be the female Cesaro and Bayley will become the female Daniel Bryan in that regard.

The finishing stretch would come when Lynch successfully blocked a top-rope move in the corner and turned it into a cross armbreaker, which the champ eventually ended with a powerbomb. She missed Lynch on a baseball slide, hitting her dad instead. Lynch rolled up and locked on the seated Fujiwara armbar, so Ric threw his jacket on Lynch to distract the ref, allowing Charlotte to hit an eye poke and spear to retain. ***

In the post-match, Charlotte continues assaulting Lynch and poses with Ric. The theme song for Sasha Banks plays and Charlotte is clearly rattled by her new obvious challenger. Banks slides Lynch out of the ring, saying this is her spotlight, teases being BFFs with Charlotte again, and then hits her with a Lungblower and Banks Statement! Tremendous moment that the crowd ate up, and why wouldn’t it? This is an important event drawing tourist hardcore marks and it’s in NXT’s home city of Orlando. I cannot wait for the obvious, inevitable three-way at AT&T Stadium.

The 2016 Royal Rumble Match for the WWE Title

The one major detriment is getting taken care of first: this match did a TERRIBLE job in getting Roman Reigns over as a sympathetic character. In fact, I wonder if Kofi Kingston’s elimination took place simultaneously as the League of Nations (sans Wade Barrett) attacked Reigns with Vince McMahon cheering it on, as a means of making it appear to the TV audience that the crowd, who would legit be upset about Kingston’s elimination, is pissed about Reigns getting screwed.

With that out of the way, this was otherwise an excellent Rumble match, the best edition since the classic in Phoenix 3 years earlier. Without question, there were 3 peaks in this match, which I’ll be going over of course. What made this stand out so well was the pacing of this and different stories it told, especially the various teasing of interesting matchups that could come in the future.

For the first half of this match, the debuting AJ Styles was unquestionably a huge breath of fresh air as so many familiar WWE names piled into the ring. I for one couldn’t be happier for the enormous he got when the phrase “I am phenomenal” popped up on the Titantron; this was a world-class, Hall of Fame level performer that had spent more than a decade never getting his just recognition, and then had to jump across the Pacific Ocean to make that happen. When considering that he had never been treated seriously in prior negotiations with WWE, this may objectively be more inspirational than Daniel Bryan’s rise to headlining the biggest show of the year.

Of course, the debuting Styles was by far the crowd favorite in this match, a testament to how poor the writers had been with its roster in 2015. There’s the other dynamic that there were so many fresh, and in some cases legitimate dream matchups for him in this one. I love the fact the reigning Wrestler of the Year Award winner’s first in-ring foe was the WWE Champion Roman Reigns. That moment was like two worlds truly colliding, the best of each one. The other major opponent for him in this one was Jericho, and they seemed INCREDIBLY eager to work with each other. I know that I had been looking forward to them colliding for a dozen years, having given up hope a couple years back when Styles got a significantly better offer from NJPW. I certainly was thirsty to see them have a singles match at AT&T Stadium coming out of this main event.

Another standout performer in this one was Kofi Kingston as mentioned. The New Day were hilarious as he was entering the match, and then we got an incredibly creative false elimination for him to continue that tradition first started by John Morrison. As Kingston was being clotheslined out of the ring, the New Day were right behind, and he landed on Big E’s shoulders to the crowd’s delight! The New Day ran around in celebration over this, and it was truly a peak moment for the entire evening, not just this match.

There were plenty of other standout performers in this one, and I’m gonna keep going over them. Kevin Owens, while motivated by selfish reasons, gave an inspiring performance as he limped to the ring, still sore from the MOTYC brawl that opened the PPV a couple hours earlier. His immediate fisticuffs with Styles provided for an off-the-charts atmosphere, and who couldn’t love him superkicking Styles right as he had Neville in position for the Styles Clash, followed by “welcome to WWE!” and then tossing him outside?

It was sheer genius for Owens to get those honors rather than IC Champ Dean Ambrose as originally planned, because as mentioned Styles was by far the crowd favorite, even more than a certain Beast that was to smash his fingerprints all over this roller-coaster. I also liked that Styles was eliminated right before Ambrose’s entrance; I’m sure that barring injury, those two will eventually collide, and having that matchup not happen yet will make us ache for it in the future. Ambrose and Owens of course picked up on their hatred for each other before they eventually had to remember there were other participants.

The second peak moment would be Sami Zayn’s entrance into this match, one that I easily foresaw coming as soon as his shoulder went out and the reports said wintertime for his ETA. Owens was sensational selling the shock of Zayn’s appearance, having convinced himself that he’d never pay for the sins committed against his former best friend, even though he had shown up earlier in the month to troll him some more. It was a sensational moment for the two to pick up on their feud going into the biggest show in company history, and what a beautiful piece of art to have Zayn eliminate Owens, sabotaging his attempt to capture the biggest prize in the business.

The next standout performer to go over would be Brock Lesnar, who came in and turned the match into Suplex City as expected. What I said about Styles being gone before Ambrose came in? Multiply that by 1000 in this case, as it would’ve been a huge mistake to have Lesnar or Styles putting each other over on this night. The time will eventually come for them to do business together. It was also fantastic booking to have their arcs completely separate in this match, as it meant there was really something for everyone.

Lesnar and Jericho didn’t much business in this match, which was a bit disappointing to me. However, there were plenty of doozies involving Lesnar in this one, including obliterating Bray Wyatt’s cronies and even taking Dean Ambrose to Suplex City on occasion. Seeing Lesnar manhandle Ambrose was something I’d been wanting to see for a couple years, and now that we had a taste, they visually looked like a great contrasting matchup for each other.

An interesting moment to me Jack Swagger entering and getting immediately obliterated by Lesnar. Considering the combat sports history both men have against Cain Velasquez, I’d be curious if Lesnar could so easily squash Jake Hager in a shoot. I absolutely loved Lesnar just stiffing the shit out of Braun Strowman early on a lariat to know him down in a showcase of heavyweights as well. Lesnar in this match totally lived up to expectations, even after Bray Wyatt told his Wyatt Family members to help him eliminate the Beast.

It was good to see Dolph Ziggler some shine in this one; and perhaps it was a good thing he came in right after Lesnar was eliminated, not having to get completely feasted upon by the Beast. Keeping him away from Styles makes that interesting dream match for later down the road as well. Another great moment was when Lesnar hadn’t been eliminated yet, just leaving a path of destruction in his wake, and the Miz came out. Rather than enter the match, Miz joined the commentary team and said he would wait for a convenient time to step in the ring, which came after all the monsters were out of the match.

As Sheamus entered the match, Reigns reappeared, having been taken to the back for medical attention after the cheap mugging by the LON, and Superman Punched him. The crowd still hated Reigns, perhaps losing respect for him leaving the match for so long after Ambrose and Owens battled without hesitation despite brutalizing each other in their classic. With Reigns now mentioned, it’s time to mention his pretty good bewilderment expression when Triple H was the final entrant, although he should’ve clearly seen that coming.

HHH and Reigns had a staredown, the latter easily disposing of Ziggler with a Pedigree, the former easily disposing of Wyatt with a spear. While on the surface that could be viewed as burials of the midcard backbone, neither were tossed out, as instead the main-eventers were too focused on each other to eliminate them. Once they went at it, their matchup was quite good, making me actually look forward to their obvious main event to come at WrestleMania 32.

A teased matchup for down the road would be when Wyatt and HHH had a staredown, and the former chose not to form an alliance to take out Reigns, instead having a battle of his own with the Game. Once Wyatt, Jericho, and Ziggler got taken out, the final four became basically a mini-tag collision of Reigns & Ambrose vs. Sheamus & HHH.

Reigns took care of Sheamus, but then HHH scooped him up from behind for an elimination in the third and final peak moment of this match, leaving it to Ambrose vs. HHH!

The crowd was fucking rocking here, happy for Reigns to be gone and knowing a new champ would be crowned. This was ingenious booking, as Reigns vs. HHH at the end likely could’ve been lackluster or had the crowd rooting for the NXT godfather. The crowd was solidly behind the damaged Ambrose, hoping he could pull off the miracle against the fresh HHH, but it just wasn’t meant to be, as HHH captured his 14 WWE/World Title. As stated, an excellent piece of business that must be seen, especially seeing Styles as an incredibly fresh coat of paint in the match’s first half. ****

It’s quite puzzling that the camera angle wasn’t corrected on the on-demand stream, but the company managed to remove Ric Flair kissing Becky Lynch to fuck with her.

This is probably gonna be the North American show of the year. Every match delivered, including one that I compared to numerous highly-regarded all-time classics. Need I say anymore?

[supersonic]

ROAD TO THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

Raw – January 25, 2016: The Good Shit

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens - ***

Dream Match

Chris Jericho vs. AJ Styles

Styles won an arm twist battle early, so Jericho just clubbed him and hit a back elbow to do some damage. Styles regains control after a leaping lariat, but Jericho cuts him off in the corner. Minor fuck-up by Jericho being in the wrong corner at first to hit a springboard dropkick to the running Styles off the apron, finally gaining some advantage. It becomes clear what Jericho’s aiming to do when he says “C’mon kid” then slaps his head. This feels somewhat similar to Bryan Danielson’s demeanor towards Styles at ROH’s Main Event Spectacles.

Styles teased a comeback as the crowd rooted for him, but Jericho tripped him on the apron as the broadcast went to commercial break. Back from break, Jericho still has control and then they knock each down with mutual crossbodies. Styles hits a tremendous striking combo that he learned in NJPW followed by Stinger Splash. Jericho elbows Styles while on his shoulders and goes for the Boston Crab, but that’s blocked and he eats the planned fireman’s carry neckbreaker.

A Northern Lights Suplex and bridge is countered into a backslide by Styles, but Jericho regains control with an Enziguri. Styles cuts off a running charge and then delivers a springboard foream for a nearfall. Styles mistakenly goes for a hurricanrana, which is turned into a visually flawless Boston Crab. He reaches the ropes to the Miami crowd’s delight. After getting up, he hits a Pele Kick counter but misses a Frog Splash. Jericho eats knees to his gut on a Quebrada attempt, then blocks the Styles Clash, but gets pinned Sunset Flip style for Styles to get the victory. Post-match, Jerico holds on to the handshake, obviously bothered by being defeated by someone he tried using to keep his name relevant. This is a great first chapter for a rivalry. ***1/2

Rich Brennan awaits to advertised major star to return tonight, and Miz shows up in a limo. He’s interrupted by a large pickup truck, and out walks THE ROCK~!

Miz tries to shame Rock for stealing the moment, so he gets buried and told to park the truck. Miami legend Rick Ross gets some love. Rock runs into Big Show and discusses their 2000 Royal Rumble match finish, admitting Show should’ve won and his life could’ve been so different, perhaps getting all the Hollywood roles. Show breaks his laptop and breaks down in tears, while Rock condescendingly puts him over.

Rock then runs into Lana, who doesn’t look thrilled to see him. He strongly claims they engaged in sexual activity in the hotel room after their segment 16 months earlier in Brooklyn. Rusev then shows up and just takes it. Rock congratulates him on the engagement, then says he’s got a spouse that’s “flexible as all Hell.” If you’re gonna bury someone, then all I ask is at least do it this way. BE FUCKING ENTERTAINING IN THE DELIVERY LIKE DWAYNE JOHNSON. As he continues walking to the entrance, he gives Pat Patterson a shout-out then reaches Gorilla position, getting his hometown South Beach crowd hyped for him to walk through the curtain.

Crowd chants “this is awesome!” before he says a word. Rock starts getting everyone hyped for WrestleMania 32, then says he doesn’t even remember the black commentator’s name. Rock then goes “off-script” when he notices fans in wrestling costumes sitting front row to a huge pop. After the Hulk Hogan guy, he says “the weed is good in Miami tonight, obviously.” Randy Savage guy goes last since the crowd had been chanting for him. Absolutely tremendous improvisation.

He says it’s time to get hyped for tonight, then FUCK YES NEW DAY INTERRUPTS HIM~! Xavier Woods puts Bryon Saxton over and acknowledges him by name which Saxton appreciates. “Watch the product.” They brag about dominating the tag division, then ask the “People’s Champion” where his gold is to put themselves over as Tag Champs and even pointing out their golden trombone. Big E says he’s a pretty smart man saying he just like LeBron James, he got the Hell out of Miami for greener pastures. “He says he did it for the people, but he did it for the paycheck.”

He puts them over for being extremely entertaining, then describes their unicorn horns head bands as “llama penises.” This guy knows how to make the juvenile humor to not be low-rent unlike Jericho. He mocks Big E for being gotten to, saying “she’s getting upset.” Then he throws a “nerdy” jab saying it looks like “the Incredible Hulk banged Erkel.” Rock then invites them into the ring so he can shove the trombone up their candy-asses.

New Day then have a “champions huddle,” excluding Rock since he’s not a champion. Rock calls out the silliness of that, telling them to get in the ring. They then say Miami doesn’t deserve for this to “get real” and attempt to fuck off, only for Rock to say he made a Plan B in his family. The Usos then come out and have a brawl with the champ, dragging them to the ring for a 3-on-3 melee! As usual, Woods is saved for last and takes the most punishment, including the People’s Elbow!

An absolutely five-star segment that never once dragged for its approximate half hour of uninterrupted time on the broadcast. The crowd was bonkers, the burials were the most entertaining I’ve ever seen, Rock’s improvisation elevated this to new heights, the New Day got to have a dream verbal confrontation with the greatest entertainer in pro wrestling history, and the Usos got a rub at the end as well, effectively giving the tag division a rub. Flawless entertainment here and in a normal year, would’ve easily been the best Raw segment of 2016. But of course, while this would be the blissful hometown yin in the most geographically Southeast major metro area of America, a tear-jerking hometown yang would await us in the largest metro area in the opposite corner of the nation to challenge for that spot.

Stephanie McMahon confirms the WWE Title Shot main event at Fast Lane 2016 in Cleveland will be Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns. It’ll be interesting to see Ambrose and Lesnar go at it. Obviously Ambrose is in the match to do the job. What’s puzzling is for Reigns to be placed in a match taking place on Ohio soil against Lesnar and a Cincy guy when the goal is make him the babyface franchise player. Oh well, match should deliver.

Main Event – January 26, 2016

Jack Swagger vs. Kevin Owens - ***

Rusev vs. Ryback - ***1/2

NXT – January 27, 2016: The Good Shit

A good Asuka video package airs that’s less than 2 minutes. Weird how a one-hour show can fit this in.

Ditto for Baron Corbin.

Alex Riley cuts an incredible self-importance promo, failing to realize how irrelevant he is in spite of the years he’d spent in WWE.

Finn Balor vs. Apollo Crews headlines next week in a non-title match.

SmackDown! – January 28, 2016: The Good Shit

The New Day cut a funny promo trying to shame the Rock for his verbiage this week, then the Miz shows up to pile on, trying to play the Hollywood card.

US Title Match

Kalisto vs. Neville - ***

Raw – February 1, 2016: The Good Shit

Paul Heyman cuts his usually great promo to sell Brock Lesnar’s upcoming match against Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. Unfortunately, once Ambrose interrupts, his confrontation with Lesnar is lackluster.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens - ***

MizTV

Guest: AJ Styles

Great heat segment here as Miz told the story of Styles taking so long to come to WWE, and never allowing the newcomer to speak. This of course got to be too much that Styles went mental on Miz. VERY bad decision for Miz to be smug to this guy, proving he hasn’t done his proper film study of Styles against the like of Low Ki, Samoa Joe, Paul London, Bryan Danielson, and Christopher Daniels when they’ve pissed him off. I imagine there’s plenty of NJPW stuff displaying that testiness of his as well. Crowd was fully behind Styles here while Miz attempted to bury him.

The New Day cut another amusing promo shaming the Rock for the week before, saying to think of the children! Interesting to see them point out a child and presumably his father in Bullet Club shirts, with the camera showing them multiple times.

NXT – February 3, 2016: The Good Shit

Carmella has a good pre-taped interview with Tom Phillips so she can explain the importance of her upcoming NXT Women’s Title shot against Bayley. Zero interest in the match but this is pretty convincing.

NXT Tag Champs The Revival gladly welcome another defense against Colin Cassady & Enzo Amore so they can have once again prove to the best tag team on the planet.

NXT GM William Regal has a rematch planned to determine an NXT Champion. He informs the entitled Baron Corbin that he for sure lost against Samoa Joe and Sami Zayn. Those two will be facing each other in one-on-on action.

Finn Balor vs. Apollo Crews - ***1/4

SmackDown! – February 4, 2016

The Miz vs. AJ Styles - ***1/4

In the post-match, Chris Jericho and Styles agree to a rematch next week in Portland. That’s enough to convince me to make the drive.

[supersonic]

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN…

Music I find appropriate while reflecting on this historic event:

Raw – February 8, 2016: The Good Shit

Various Bryan Danielson related videos, including video packages and thoughts of his peers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7ukTHWTtAE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS3VCRtw-1U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hgRilxPup0

Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens - ***1/4

MizTV with guest Chris Jericho gets turned into The Highlight Reel after Jericho buries Miz for not being entertaining. Miz is great protesting as well as questioning why AJ Styles attacked him last week. Miz is pissed when footage of his teeth being fucked up airs, claiming to have auditioned last week for Stephen Spielberg. Jericho laughs at his diatribe and recites “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.” That’d be far more appropriate to sing for Mark Briscoe.

Miz is seriously tremendous being so easily gotten to, pointing out Jericho also lost to Styles and that it’s eating him alive, which Jericho admits is true. We Seattleites start chanting for Styles, which displays just how much of a global star he’s become considering he has very minimal history here. This week in their rematch, Jericho will remind Styles that he’s still the best in the world. Styles comes out, granting me the first time I’ve seen him live in a decade (ROH’s Vendetta.) Miz attacks Jericho from behind, only to get taken out by the two all-time greats. The workrate legends have a staredown then a melee that Miz ruins, so he’s taken out again for his trouble.

The New Day successfully recruit Mark Henry in amusing fashion to be their partner tonight in their tables match against the Usos and the Dudleyz.

The Usos and Dudleyz win the tables match thanks to a 3D. In the post-match, the Dudleyz FINALLY make their badly needed heel turn on the Usos. Bubba portraying his Bully Ray character is exactly what this thin roster needs now with Bryan Danielson’s retirement official in addition to all the stars shelved. This makes sense as well – the Dudleyz have been in danger of becoming totally irrelevant.

Various Danielson videos pre-ceremony, including WWE highlight reel and family moments:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIrtSHLf0zM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhX-OojvQ9Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tiAspAHVLs

BRYAN DANIELSON’S RETIREMENT CEREMONY

“For the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break I got. Yet today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth. I have been in ballparks for 17 years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.

Look at those grand men. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate them for even one day? Sure, I’m lucky. Who wouldn’t consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I’m lucky.

When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift, that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies, that’s something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter, that’s something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body, it’s a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed, that’s the finest I know.

So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for.”

Lou Gehrig on July 4, 1939, announcing his retirement at Yankee Stadium

I am not going to dive deep into this segment, as instead I will allow Dave Meltzer to speak for me:

There is a Pandora’s Box in the sports world, and Bryan Danielson’s version of the Lou Gehrig’s “Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth” speech as he retired from pro wrestling on the 2/8 Raw at the Key Arena in Seattle, was one of many key moments as the box continues to open wider.

Danielson, better known as Daniel Bryan, announced his retirement at the age of 34 in a nearly 25 minute speech that combined humor, sadness, unbridled joy, and nearly every other emotion possible. In reality, it was a longer and even better version of the sports speech it has already been compared with, even if it will never come close to the notoriety. It was also the single greatest segment in the history of modern televised pro wrestling.

 

As far as my own takeaway from this segment: I am privileged to have come home and experienced this moment in person. While bittersweet, I could not have fathomed witnessing this incredibly important life chapter for both Bryan Danielson’s life and career, and to have it in Seattle, OUR hometown, to boot. There's also the surreal dynamic of having this come the day after Marshawn Lynch's retirement as well.

In my 3 years since I returned home, I have been blessed to experience some tremendous gridiron football and professional wrestling, in addition to unforgettable moments that moved me to tears. While of course an extremely different flavor of fandom-defining entertainment, this ceremony is equivalent to the Seahawks’ Super Bowl XLVIII Championship Parade in February 2014. Like that parade, this speech was truly larger-than-life, and now after a few more embedded attachments, I will give my thoughts on a special career, inasmuch as I can only 7 weeks removed from this retirement speech.

Footage from after the broadcast:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knMNvOvqG7Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6LUOFhjr8w

While many of Danielson's peers of his career, including John Cena, Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, Cesaro, Samoa Joe, Sami Zayn, Randy Orton, Austin Aries, and Hideo Itami, were either on the shelf or on NXT at the time of this event, I do like the symbolism that some on the stage carried:

Wade Barrett, Heath Slater, Ryback, and Darren Young - NXT Season 1 and Nexus

The Miz - NXT Season 1, Danielon's first WWE feud and title win

Mark Henry - Danielon's first feud in his rise to relevance in WWE

Sheamus - Danielson's first feud and WWE breakout match opponent

Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns - WWE's weekly TV opponents in his rise to the tippy-top

The Authority - WrestleMania XXX

Kevin Steen - indy circuit peer and opponent

AJ Styles - indy circuit peer and one of Danielson's greatest career opponents with numerous MOTYC wars against each other

I’m not gonna be able to do a true deep dive on Mr. Danielson’s career quite yet. That time will come in 2019 when I catch up on my retro indy viewing to his rivalry-ending, mutual ROH farewell match against his greatest opponent Nigel McGuinness.

Instead, I will take this time to share the gravity of what a special contributor to the professional wrestling business he was (and possibly could still be.) Before I even do that though, we must remember that this is a major fork on the Road to WrestleMania 32 journey, and with that in mind, I must address the following:

This is the final domino in completely, utterly obliterating my dream card to take place come April 3 at AT&T Stadium. While we now know for sure there were no plans to ever clear him out of concern for his own well-being and the company’s medical practice integrity, we didn’t know for 100% sure until February 8, 2016. With Bryan Danielson’s official retirement, my most anticipated match, AND his most anticipated match as well, that being the dream David vs. Goliath collision course against Brock Lesnar, is now permanently shelved. That absolutely sucks for me as a fan, without question. While my thirst for Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan could never touch what I had for Shawn Michaels vs. Eddie Guerrero, this was the closest competition possible for that spot.

So now all of the following matches I had hoped to see have been removed from what was supposed to be the biggest show in company history:

Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan

Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton

Undertaker vs. Sting

Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns

John Cena vs. Cesaro

John Cena vs. Undertaker

UN. FUCKING. REAL.

With that out of the way, I can now return to focusing singularly on Danielson.

I’m gonna bring up a name that Danielson will always be compared to, another legend that he unfortunately never got to do business with. On June 25, 2007, my wrestling fandom innocence was emotionally bent over and assaulted by the unspeakable actions of Chris Benoit. As I went through the difficult five stages of grief to process the tragic deaths of not just Chris, but more importantly Nancy and Daniel, I was taught a difficult life lesson, which would be to avoid the sin of false idolization.

My mentality as a fan still developing into a man at age 20 coming out of the Benoit family tragedy was to not just avoid false idolization, but become highly cynical towards celebrities of both the mainstream and underground levels. After all, Benoit had hidden so many demons until it was too late, so why would I ever again be foolish enough to view athletes and entertainers as nothing more than carnies putting on a show that I pay to see?

On March 31, 2008, I was moved to tears by Ric Flair’s unforgettable retirement ceremony, less than a year since the Benoit family tragedy. However, I still had my guard up. I still loved consuming and discussing this wacky form of entertainment, but I was overly cautious, never once wanting to become emotionally attached to a person I only know through his body of work, not as a loved one or even at least as a peer or colleague.

Bryan Danielson, because of his patience and kindness to me on multiple occasions in my encounters with him, as well as the genuinely big heart he that conveyed beyond the structures of his chosen profession, reminded me that I could truly get behind someone again. He reminded me that I could genuinely be happy for someone I celebrate as an athlete and entertainer. Like Steve Borden, he reminded me that not every celebrity and popular figure is a demon when the cameras turn off.

More than the fact that a decade later, his masterpiece against Roderick Strong at Vendetta remains the greatest match I’ve ever witness in person, Danielson’s traits as a human being are what have had the greatest impact on me. His cream-of-the-crap workrate, extremely underrated charisma, and rise to the top of the business are all just delicious gravy for a human being filled with substance.

While I will not falsely claim something as ludicrous as knowing Bryan Danielson on any kind of personal or professional level, I am comfortable enough in stating that I know he is a quality person and role model. It is because of him that I no longer have such a strongly cynical viewpoint of entertainers, using my fully developed adult brain to make better judgments of character and sometimes give these strangers the benefit of the doubt, whether it’s a professional wrestler, multi-million-dollar team sport athlete, or film star.

Without question, Bryan Danielson is a Hall of Famer and will be inducted in the two that matter in the coming years. While everyone of course feels sadness at his career being cut so swiftly, there’s no denying the one emotion he expressed when considering everything he’s done for us: gratitude.

If you ever read this Mr. Danielson, thank you for everything. Thank you for reminding me that this world is filled with kind souls and rejuvenating my optimistic attitude about those who entertain us for a living. This seedy business is incredibly blessed to have had you play such an inspiring part in it, and I can only imagine the future stars who will learn from your contributions. I wish you nothing but the absolute best in whatever the next chapter of your life ends up being.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jK-NcRmVcw

[supersonic]

ROAD TO FAST LANE 2016

Main Event – February 9, 2016

Heath Slater vs. Zack Ryder - ***

NXT – February 10, 2016: The Good Shit

Asuka assists NXT Women’s Champion Bayley and Carmella from an assault by Nia Jax & Eva Marie. What really matters: Asuka makes it clear to Bayley she’s gunning for the title.

Samoa Joe vows to beat Sami Zayn next week and end up NXT Champion.

SmackDown! – February 11, 2016: The Good Shit

The Dudleyz cut a great promo, saying they’re tired of being tried as a one-note nostalgia act. No more tables shtick as they gun to reclaim the Tag Titles. Like anyone believes they’re sincere.

Chris Jericho vs. AJ Styles

Damn good performance from Jericho here, as he was on fire with so many small details to paint the picture of this superior rematch. The pacing and cutoffs were top-notch as could be expected, but he was the one to elevate this. I loved him repeatedly kicking Styles at random points, daring Styles to step up his aggression. There was also a terrific moment of selling when Styles cut him off with a dropkick to the midsection. When Jericho hit a Quebrada moments later, he delayed for just a split to go the cover due to the pain in his abdomen. Styles was his usually great self, but Jericho stepped up his game as well, and it made sense based on his overall superior control to come out the victor here, setting up what’d be on obvious rubber match for Fast Lane 2016. ***3/4

Raw – February 15, 2016: The Good Shit

IC Title – No DQ, No Count Out Match

Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Stardust vs. Tyler Breeze vs. Kevin Owens - ***14

(Owens reclaims the IC Title but without pinning Ambrose of course.)

Ambrose welcomes more obstacles. Owens gloats and demands Renee Young to say he was right. Ziggler gets in his face and challenges him for the belt at Fast Lane 2016 based on having beaten the new champ clean twice this month. Owens of course declines.

The Miz vs. AJ Styles - ***

(Styles challenges Chris Jericho to the expected rubber match for Fast Lane 2016. Jericho declines, saying he’ll have an answer on SmackDown!)

Paul Heyman asks Roman Reigns to come out and hear his statement face-to-face. He respectfully states he believes Reigns cannot get past Brock Lesnar this Sunday, but says should he go on to stand above them all by dethroning Triple H for the WWE Title at AT&T Stadium, he must of course get past his best friend Ambrose. Either do what’s best for his daughter or what’s best for his friendship. Will he make friends and end up in divorce court, or put his family first and hold the top prize? Reigns isn’t rallted though, making reference to already facing Ambrose for the title. After Heyman leaves, the Dudleyz attack Reigns who’s saved by Ambrose. Been wanting that particular tag match for months. Ambrose teases a double underhook DDT on Reigns. Solid segment.

Vince McMahon will present a Vincent J. McMahon Legacy of Excellence Award next week in Detroit.

NXT – February 17, 2016: The Good Shit

Baron Corbin demands of NXT GM William Regal to be in the NXT Title Shot match, but Regal says he lost and his decision is final. Corbin feels this is stealing and warns about “eye for an eye.”

SmackDown! – February 18, 2016: The Good Shit

Confirmed is Kevin Owens defending the IC Title against Doph Ziggler in the challenger’s hometown of Cleveland this Sunday. Owens provides his usual excellent commentary during the trios match pitting Ziggler and the Usos against Rusev, Sheamus, & Alberto Del Rio.

Fabolous is in the house with his son. He’s 13 years late and in the wrong location for his invitation to Safeco Field.

[supersonic]

Fast Lane 2016: The Good Shit

US Title – 2/3 Falls Match

Kalisto vs. Alberto Del Rio - ***1/2

IC Title Match

Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler

Typical good match between these two, though I preferred their prior Cleveland match last summer since Owens was white-hot at the time feuding with John Cena. Owens dominated the first several minutes, delivering numerous trash-talking gems such as trolling Ziggler about dueling chants in his hometown and saying he could do this all night. Ziggler would generally cut Owens later via multiple superkicks, which while a sound “if it works then do it” strategy, hurt the crowd psychology when he tuned up the band. I appreciated that clean as a sheet, Owens went over after the pop-up powerbomb. ***1/2

Chris Jericho vs. AJ Styles

The best match in their series thanks to an electrifying finish. It was competitive early with various cutoffs, the best one coming later when Jericho hit a sling-shooting Styles with a dropkick on the outside. Jericho did a fabulous job working the back of Styles with the Boston Crab and even a Liontamer on the outside. Eventually, the finish came when Jericho attempted to work the back more going for a double underhook backbreaker, but Styles turned into a Styles Clash. It was genuinely surprising for that to be a false finish, causing Cleveland to start rocking. But once Styles locked on the Calf Crusher, there was no way out for Jericho, despite making an absolutely tremendous effort not to tap out. His facial expressions were absolutely priceless, making the submission hold as he tapped out look like a million bucks. Post-match, Jericho teases a brawl but shakes hands instead. ****

WWE Title Shot – No DQ, No Count Out Match

Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns

Ambrose gets shoved out at the start by Lesnar, who then takes Reigns to Suplex City and hits an early F5 just like last year at Levi’s Stadium. Ambrose would reinsert himself by hitting a shotgun dropkick on Lesnar to break up a move, so Ambrose got his fucking ass kicked with a lovely visit to Suplex City for him as well. On the outside, Ambrose took a scary bump on an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. I hope he didn’t suffer a concussion there.

Ambrose & Reigns would team up on Lesnar when he got low-blowed by the former, having just caught Reigns in mid-air and about to hit an F5 through the commentary table. Instead, they gave him a Shield powerbomb through it to take him out. Ambrose went for the attack first on Reigns, realizing both were pussyfooting around as the crowd popped for their teamwork. In the ring they had a sensational battle, peaking with Ambrose beating Reigns to the punch via the rebound lariat.

Lesnar was reawakening so they went back out and repeated their teamwork from earlier, the crowd going crazy again. Then they had another terrific battle, this time with Reigns getting the upper hand. As he was about to Samoan Drop Ambrose, Lesnar had reawakened and was back in, having Ambrose eat the Samoan Drop while Reigns was simultaneously taken to Suplex City. This took Ambrose out of the equation briefly.

Lesnar and Reigns picked up where they left off last year with another tremendous powerhouse battle, this time Reigns hitting him with a second speak. Unfortunately, the fatigued Reigns couldn’t go for an immediately cover, so Lesnar immediately capitalized with the Kimura Lock! Reigns used his power to lift Lesnar but couldn’t break the hold. He was saved by Ambrose, who smacked the Beast in the back with the chair, then assaulted his best friend with it as well. As predicated by anyone with a clue, Reigns would gather enough of himself to finish Ambrose off with a spear, bringing this hot classic to an end. Fucking awesome match dripping with storytelling and I’m looking forward to Lesnar eventually in singles against these two, as well as them having their dream three-way still eluding the main roster. ****1/4

Post-match, WWE Champ Triple H comes to the ring and has a heatless staredown with Reigns. Seriously, that was it. No brawl at all, with the bookers arrogantly thinking the crowd would pop for this moment to tease them headlining Jerry World.

There was some absolute utter shit on this show. The Good Shit was aplenty, all of it of different varieties, and peaking with two legitimately great matches. Totally must-see show.

[supersonic]

Fast Lane 2016: The Good Shit

US Title – 2/3 Falls Match

Kalisto vs. Alberto Del Rio - ***1/2

IC Title Match

Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler

Typical good match between these two, though I preferred their prior Cleveland match last summer since Owens was white-hot at the time feuding with John Cena. Owens dominated the first several minutes, delivering numerous trash-talking gems such as trolling Ziggler about dueling chants in his hometown and saying he could do this all night. Ziggler would generally cut Owens later via multiple superkicks, which while a sound “if it works then do it” strategy, hurt the crowd psychology when he tuned up the band. I appreciated that clean as a sheet, Owens went over after the pop-up powerbomb. ***1/2

Chris Jericho vs. AJ Styles

The best match in their series thanks to an electrifying finish. It was competitive early with various cutoffs, the best one coming later when Jericho hit a sling-shooting Styles with a dropkick on the outside. Jericho did a fabulous job working the back of Styles with the Boston Crab and even a Liontamer on the outside. Eventually, the finish came when Jericho attempted to work the back more going for a double underhook backbreaker, but Styles turned into a Styles Clash. It was genuinely surprising for that to be a false finish, causing Cleveland to start rocking. But once Styles locked on the Calf Crusher, there was no way out for Jericho, despite making an absolutely tremendous effort not to tap out. His facial expressions were absolutely priceless, making the submission hold as he tapped out look like a million bucks. Post-match, Jericho teases a brawl but shakes hands instead. ****

WWE Title Shot – No DQ, No Count Out Match

Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns

Ambrose gets shoved out at the start by Lesnar, who then takes Reigns to Suplex City and hits an early F5 just like last year at Levi’s Stadium. Ambrose would reinsert himself by hitting a shotgun dropkick on Lesnar to break up a move, so Ambrose got his fucking ass kicked with a lovely visit to Suplex City for him as well. On the outside, Ambrose took a scary bump on an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. I hope he didn’t suffer a concussion there.

Ambrose & Reigns would team up on Lesnar when he got low-blowed by the former, having just caught Reigns in mid-air and about to hit an F5 through the commentary table. Instead, they gave him a Shield powerbomb through it to take him out. Ambrose went for the attack first on Reigns, realizing both were pussyfooting around as the crowd popped for their teamwork. In the ring they had a sensational battle, peaking with Ambrose beating Reigns to the punch via the rebound lariat.

Lesnar was reawakening so they went back out and repeated their teamwork from earlier, the crowd going crazy again. Then they had another terrific battle, this time with Reigns getting the upper hand. As he was about to Samoan Drop Ambrose, Lesnar had reawakened and was back in, having Ambrose eat the Samoan Drop while Reigns was simultaneously taken to Suplex City. This took Ambrose out of the equation briefly.

Lesnar and Reigns picked up where they left off last year with another tremendous powerhouse battle, this time Reigns hitting him with a second speak. Unfortunately, the fatigued Reigns couldn’t go for an immediately cover, so Lesnar immediately capitalized with the Kimura Lock! Reigns used his power to lift Lesnar but couldn’t break the hold. He was saved by Ambrose, who smacked the Beast in the back with the chair, then assaulted his best friend with it as well. As predicated by anyone with a clue, Reigns would gather enough of himself to finish Ambrose off with a speak, bringing this hot classic to an end. Fucking awesome match dripping with storytelling and I’m looking forward to Lesnar eventually in singles against these two, as well as them having their dream three-way still eluding the main roster. ****1/4

Post-match, WWE Champ Triple H comes to the ring and has a heatless staredown with Reigns. Seriously, that was it. No brawl at all, with the bookers arrogantly thinking the crowd would pop for this moment to tease them headlining Jerry World.

There was some absolute utter shit on this show. The Good Shit was aplenty, all of it of different varieties, and peaking with two legitimately great matches. Totally must-see show.

[supersonic]

ROAD TO ROADBLOCK 2016

Raw – February 22, 2016: The Good Shit

OH FUCK YES~!

Vince McMahon presents the Legacy of Excellence Award in his father’s honor, but the crowd doesn’t take him seriously at all as he discusses his ancestry over the past century. It of course goes to his daughter Stephanie. She has a speech prepared for such a touching moment. She’s admittedly hilarious claiming there’s crowd support as they’re booing this out of the building. She takes time to give her hubby Triple H a shout-out.

HERE COMES THE MONEY~!

With that, comes the return of the prodigal son Shane McMahon in the third best moment of the year to date. DETROIT IS FUCKING BONKERS. His presence immediately oozes “fresh coat of paint” for this otherwise stale McMahon family bullshit and he’s obviously taken aback, similar to AJ Styles debuting the month before. “This is awesome!”

Shane stops his dad from a hug, then also declines a handshake as the crowd is still marking out for him. He then tells his sister that she’s not worthy of the award. Vince wants him to play nice and they could talk behind the scenes. Shane says the time is now to do it publicly. Stephanie gets butthurt and then cuts a rant about Shane being a sideline skeptic while the Authority have run the show.

Shane then realizes “she doesn’t know” about something to Vince, then points out the oppressive regime of the Authority causing stock price decrease, ratings declines, and talent injuries. Stephanie labels him a quitter and says he knows nothing of success, using tonight’s packed house as evidence. Shane asks Vince if it’s time to inform her, which Vince is hesitant about it.

Apparently, Shane bailed Vince out several years ago, cutting a deal that allowed him to leave without losing his place in line. Shane says the Authority only rose because he allowed it, then Vince refuses to deny Shane’s information when Stephanie asks. She’s incredibly condescending to him, only to be asked by Vince to leave, and she’s demanding to know if Shane’s being truthful. Vince admits there’s some truth to the situation, while Shane says all of it is. “At the time it was best for business.” Awesome.

Stephanie finally fucks off, claiming she’ll never forgive her brother. Vince offers him money but Shane says isn’t the issue at hand. Shane wants control of Raw! Whatever takes it to end this Authority oppressive regime on top, I’m on board. Vince used the “publicly traded” excuse to keep Shane at bay, but Shane won’t have it, insisting instead on inheriting his spot on the throne. Crowd pops huge when Vince gauges their interest of what Shane wants.

Vince offers what Shane is demanding, as long as he’ll compete and win a match of Vince’s choosing. Should Shane lose, Vince gets “the lockbox” to remove his son’s leverage. Vince then names the match.

Undertaker vs. Shane McMahon. WrestleMania 32. Hell in a Cell. That’s… unique. It also clearly displays how badly the midcard heels were booked throughout 2015, as none of them are hot enough at this time to face Taker. A weird but definitely not boring segment, one of the best of the year so far.

The New Day vs. Lucha Dragons & Neville - ***1/4

(Terrific comment by JBL as New Day were in control, saying if Matt Millen had hired them then he’d still have a job.)

Paul Heyman cuts a promo with Brock Lesnar by his side as usual. This is tremendous as he articulates that Lesnar is the real main event, and the reason for the parking lot assault before the broadcast is because Ambrose didn’t just rob Lesnar out of being in the main event and winning the WWE Title at WrestleMania 32, but he turned their match involving Roman Reigns the night before into a street fight as soon as he used a chair on the Beast. It’s interesting to hear Heyman, the owner of ECW, dismiss Ambrose as a hardcore archetype.

Ambrose arrives driving an ambulance and wearing a neck brace, but can’t stand as he approaches ringside. Lesnar steps on his face and then Heyman literally drops the mic on him for good measure. As Heyman & Lesnar are about to leave, Ambrose grabs the mic and challenges the former UFC World Heavyweight Champion to a hardcore match at AT&T Stadium. Lesnar gives him an F5 on the floor, then Heyman says the challenge is accepted. I cannot wait to see Ambrose get elevated in that spectacle.

Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh is in the house! Damn I miss the rivalry in the NFC West.

Chris Jericho and AJ Styles agree to become a tag team. Quite the stacked list of makeshift partners for each in their careers – for the former, there’s the Rock, Big Show, Chris Benoit, Shawn Michaels, Eddie Guerrero, Edge, and Christian. For the latter, there’s Kurt Angle, Low Ki, Samoa Joe, and Christopher Daniels.

NXT – February 24, 2016: The Good Shit

NXT GM William Regal announces Samoa Joe vs. Sami Zayn in 2/3 falls in 2 weeks to determine the #1 contender to the NXT Title. In addition, a new talent acquisition debuts next week.

Indy sensation Biff Busick debuts under his real name of Chris Girard in a losing effort to Apollo Crews.

NXT Champion Finn Balor will face former NXT Champion Neville next week. No complaints here, although not sure why it’s non-title.

SmackDown! – February 25, 2016

Raw – February 29, 2016: The Good Shit

Horrible episode with two matches built I’m looking forward to:

Big E & Kofi Kingston vs. Chris Jericho & AJ Styles next week for the Tag Titles in Chicago.

Triple H vs. Dean Ambrose for the WWE Title. Earlier leak said Roadblock 2016 on March 12 in Toronto. Not the proper stage for this match, but I’ll take it.

NXT – March 2, 2016: The Good Shit

OH FUCK YES~!

Finn Balor vs. Neville - ***3/4

SmackDown! – March 3, 2016: The Good Shit

Renee Young informs Divas Champ Charlotte she will defend the title against Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks in a three-way at WrestleMania 32. One of my most anticipated matches in Dallas.

Kevin Owens vs. Dean Ambrose - ***1/4

Raw – March 7, 2016: The Good Shit

Kevin Owens vs. Neville - ***1/2

(The post-match is far more important, as Owens attempts a post-match assault on Neville but Sami Zayn finally re-debuts on the main roster to have fisticuffs with the IC Champ. Neville and Zayn team up on Owens, causing him to scurry away. Tremendous pop, but why wasn’t this done 6 weeks ago?

Dean Ambrose vows to dethrone WWE Champ Triple H this Saturday at Roadblock 2016. HHH of course comes out to interrupt and bury him for not being corporate or driven. Ambrose uses dialogue that is a bit of a diet version of CM Punk, but the dynamic really works between these, making it clear this should’ve been happening at AT&T Stadium, title involved or not. Roman Reigns could’ve gotten the bragging rights clean win over Brock Lesnar.

Tag Titles Match

Big E & Kofi Kingston vs. Chris Jericho & AJ Styles

Killer match in front of a killer Chicago audience. Jericho started and the New Day tried getting cute, so he and Styles hit stereo slingshot planchas to the outside. Back from commercial break, the champs got the heat on Jericho. The crowd was noticeably rooting for Styles to get tagged in; once the hot tag was in, he kept the pace and atmosphere strong.

Highlights off the top of my head include a springboard 450 splash by Styles, which is pretty amazing to see a 38-year-old with his mileage pull off. There was also the Trouble in Paradise being turned into a Boston Crab, as well as E catching Jericho early and attempting the Big Landing. By far the peak moment of the match was the flawlessly fluid springboard moonsault inverted DDT by Styles on Kingston, just blowing the roof of Chicago with that.

While Kingston was in the Boston Crab, Xavier Woods tried pushing the ropes towards his stablemate. Styles attacked him to eliminate the numbers game, only to get scooped and drilled into the barricade by E. Kingston reached the ropes and tagged in E to have a battle against Jericho. E got up and Jericho went for the Codebreaker, only for E to scoop him with his strength advantage and drop him with the Big Landing to retain. ***3/4

In the post-match, Styles went to console Jericho, only to get hit by 3 separate Codebreakers! When Renee Young finds Jericho backstage, he says he got fed up with the chants for Styles. So that makes Jericho’s perspective of Styles quite clear. Jericho wanted to prove his superiority against a world-traveled workrate MVP candidate and it bit him. He then wins the rematch and agrees to the rubber match, only to get even further embarrassed by tapping out due to the Calf Crusher’s excruciating pain. Since Jericho knew he couldn’t beat Styles, he tried leeching off of him to stay relevant and recapture some gold. That plans falls through, so he has no further use for Styles and is butthurt over the fact that being in his mid-40s means his time is starting to pass. I cannot wait for Round 4 in Dallas.

NXT – March 9, 2016

NXT GM William Regal announces Baron Corbin will face Austin Aries in the former multi-promotional champion’s WWE debut match at Takeover: Dallas.

Samoa Joe wins a disappointing 2/3 falls match against Sami Zayn. It’s a rematch against Finn Balor for the NXT Title at Takeover: Dallas. First match was tremendous, so this should be no different.

SmackDown! – March 10, 2016: The Good Shit

Sami Zayn is the guest for MizTV. This is an astonishingly boring way to get him over with the main roster, as Miz didn’t take him seriously while talking about his history with Kevin Owens. This would’ve been far more suitable for a video package or pre-taped interview with Michael Cole. Don’t use the excuse that it’d bore the crowd; this show airs multiple video packages every week recapping Raw, so there’s plenty of time and Cole would’ve made Kevin Owens interrupting far more interesting.

Chris Jericho cuts a tremendous promo blaming the crowd for his betrayal of AJ Styles, and after telling them to go to Hell, he says Styles is just a rookie and his career will go down in flames. To symbolize, he lights a Y2AJ T-shirt on fire and then tosses it inside of a trash can that had gasoline in it. Absolutely tremendous visual to have the fire burning in front of his sociopathic facial expression.

The Entire Wyatt Family vs. The Usos, Dean Ambrose, & Dolph Ziggler - ***1/4

[supersonic]

Roadblock 2016: The Good Shit

The New Day cut an amusing promo burying the League of Nations and revealing Booty O’s cereal.

Paul Heyman cuts a brief but tremendous promo pontificating what Brock Lesnar will do tonight to Luke Harper & Bray Wyatt.

Chris Jericho cuts a great anti-Canada promo to piss Toronto off, and he’s glad he left. So of course proud American Jack Swagger came to face him, rather than proud Canuck Sami Zayn.

NXT Tag Titles Match

The Revival vs. Colin Cassady & Enzo Amore

Have a feeling JBL will love the champs. The challengers dominated early, and it took Amore’s left shoulder hitting the ring post for the champs to find their groove. They constantly worked that body part as expected, cutting the ring in half as is their MO. The teases for the hot tag were tremendous as well, peaking with my highlight when Dawson desperately shoulder-tackled Amore out of the ring before reaching Cassady. Tremendous.

Once the hot tag was made, Cassady was his usual house of fire. He eventually got taken out though with the Shatter Machine. This gave the champs to control they needed over Amore to hit the Shatter Machine on him as well, and that was ballgame. As predicted, JBL loves the Revival. ***1/4

WWE Title Match

Triple H vs. Dean Ambrose

Good match but this definitely wasn’t the best they could do. I appreciated Ambrose clipping HHH’s left knee after several minutes and targeting that joint. Perhaps that would be a sound strategy, even if using weapons for assistance, once he faces Brock Lesnar three weeks later. This still felt very much long a house show main event, lacking the highly dramatic twists and turns. I wasn’t super high on the finish, as Ambrose should’ve clearly seen HHH motioning to avoid the running elbow drop on the commentary table. Then as soon as Ambrose avoids a count out defeat, he immediately eats the Pedigree and it’s over, no struggle, no drama, just anticlimactic. These two have a blood feud in them. ***1/2

[supersonic]

THE FINAL ROAD TO NXT TAKEOVER: DALLAS & WRESTLEMANIA 32

Raw – March 14, 2016: The Good Shit

IC Champ Kevin Owens is great on commentary during the Miz vs. Sami Zayn match.

Triple H vs. Dolph Ziggler

Enjoyed this a bit more over the Ambrose match two days earlier. Ziggler was given quite a bit of shine in this one, actually dominating early with headlocks. HHH would get the heat with a back elbow, tossing Ziggler around on the outside. He’d get too cocky though, allowing Ziggler to hit him with a foot to the face on a top-rope knee drop attempt.

They had a count out false finish and Ziggler was able to sniff the immediate Pedigree based on what happened to Ambrose. However, the Cerebral Assassin knew the Zig-Zag was coming as his back was turned, holding his ground and taking advantage of Ziggler’s exhaustion to finish him off with the Pedigree. Really good stuff. ***3/4

Roman Reigns returns to give Triple H a tremendous beating and he even shoves a ref. Too bad that based on the company’s goal, it’s a complete crowd psychology disaster though. HHH had savagely beaten Reigns after a match a few weeks earlier, so now Reigns is just giving him a receipt.

NXT – March 16, 2016: The Good Shit

Austin Aries clearly explains what an entitled bitch Baron Corbin is, and that in his WWE debut match at Takeover: Dallas, he’ll teach the lessons from his extensive experience to Corbin.

SmackDown! – March 17, 2016: The Good Shit

Kevin Owens and AJ Styles have a lovely exchange. As the IC Champ leaves, he tells Styles and Renee Young that they have the same haircut.

Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles - ***

(Distraction finish by Chris Jericho on Styles, then he lays him out with a Codebreaker and mockingly chants his name.)

Raw – March 21, 2016: The Good Shit

Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles - ***1/4

(Another distraction finish.)

NXT – March 23, 2016: The Good Shit

Finn Balor has a glorified squash over Rich Swann, and not a boring one. He seems to have more of a killer instinct going into the rematch against Samoa Joe.

An American Alpha video package airs, and the stars so far have been lining up perfectly. They absolutely loved their times in amateur wrestling, only to lose on grand stages. In Dallas, they’ll show that they learned from defeat.

SmackDown! – March 24, 2016

Paul Heyman does an outstanding job reminding everyone exactly what could happen in Brock Lesnar’s hardcore match against Dean Ambrose at AT&T Stadium. He also says Mick Foley and Terry Funk are only alive because God hasn’t answered his prayers yet. Yep, no more tweener shit from these two. Heyman calls out Ambrose on Lesnar’s behalf but instead Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, and Erick Rowan answer. Ambrose comes out and indirectly helps Lesnar out, only for them to go after each other with Ambrose’s kendo stick. Lesnar drops Ambrose via an F5.

Dave Meltzer recently stated that he had heard writer Ryan Ward was promoted from NXT to this show. This segment sure felt like his fingerprints were on it – it was brief, it made its point, it gave just the right sample of violence, and now I’m more excited to see this match take place. I’m even still a bit intrigued about what the Wyatt Family will be up to. When’s the last time anyone said that?

Raw – March 28, 2016: The Good Shit

Undertaker and Shane McMahon trade barbs to hype up their Hell in a Cell match this Sunday. It became a brawl with Shane getting the upper hand thanks to him jumping out of the Last Ride and then using a TV monitor. He then capped it off with a flying elbow drop through the commentary table, leaving Taker laying. The Dead Man sits up before Shane has even left though, causing a staredown. While seeing Shane get this much shine is a bit difficult to take seriously, since his persona isn’t an epic bad motherfucker like Stick from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this was executed incredibly well and Brooklyn ate it up. From that perspective, mission accomplished making Shane presentable as a threat towards a quarter century icon that has only defeat on the grandest stage, as long as he can mind his surroundings.

Chris Jericho accepts the challenge of AJ Styles for a match at WrestleMania 32. Fuck off with any complaints – I’ve been waiting a dozen fucking years to see this happen on the grandest stage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLEtcaGFuME

Paul Heyman cuts another outstanding promo with Brock Lesnar by his side, putting Dean Ambrose as smart and crazy like a fox. Apparently the term “weapon” is banned but he says he’ll use it anyway because that’s what the hardcore match on Sunday implies, and that Ambrose will not be rising his star status at Lesnar’s expense. Ambrose comes out with a wagon and fills it with weapons, completely ignoring the amused Lesnar. I’m looking forward to this chaos.

NXT – March 30, 2016: The Good Shit

NXT Champion Finn Balor says Samoa Joe is obsessed with the wrong things, and that Balor has proven his own obsession by dethroning Kevin Owens for the title while also having already survived Joe. "Two more days, Joe... two more days."

A special look at Shinsuke Nakamura airs with him receiving deservingly endless praise.

Baron Corbin vows to end the career of Austin Aries in Dallas, saying it'll happen in an arena and Aries can pair up with Virgil at convention centers begging to be remembered. Tremendous heel promo here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7BgIhn2Pq0

Sami Zayn welcomes the opportunity to face Nakamura in Dallas, treating it just as seriously as his IC Title shot in the ladder match coming two days later at WrestleMania 32. Short, sweet, and to the point.

Balor and Joe have an excellent brawl to close the show, with Balor displaying the most aggression so far in his NXT tenure.

The difference in build and presentation throughout the road to Dallas obviously couldn't have been any greater. I have not been impressed with the actual storyline build of either roster going into the biggest weekend of the year, but I'll be damned if I don't believe that both shows will present some gems to be remembered in the annals of time.

Clearly, Takeover: Dallas is the most important event in NXT history, and will very likely end up being voted the 2016 Show of the Year. WrestleMania 32 has a chance to be a major turning point for the company going forward in terms of direction, presentation, and roster. While I expect the status quo to not truly change, only doing so for a brief period, I believe that the big four brands coming to Dallas this weekend, that being WWE, ROH, WWN, and WrestleCon, will collectively bring upon a weekend that will become the stuff of legend.

This journey has had its amazing ups, its incredibly depressing downs, neon signs of hope, and mind-numbing paths taken. While the defining stories coming out of this year will be the abrupt retirements of Sting and Daniel Bryan as well as the unprecedented injury bug, this must also be a year to be remembered as one that changed WWE's hiring philosophies forever. As I left the Bay Area a year ago, I could not have foreseen that both legendary names mentioned would be left off the Show of Shows, never to wrestle again, but I also would not have foreseen Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles coming into the fold.

In addition as will be shown at the end of this entry, this may have been the greatest match quality year in WWE history. Now if only the booking and roster elevation can match up to it starting this weekend.

In a year with frustrating booking, there are major indicators of shots in the arm looming overhead. It is because of that and an off-the-charts all-star roster that this journey will continue next year for Orlando.

Those of you who have read this, thank you once again for following along on this marathon of a journey.

The Road to Takeover: Dallas & WrestleMania 32: Top Ten Matches in Chronological Order

Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns – WrestleMania 31 ****½

Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch – NXT Takeover: Unstoppable ****½

John Cena vs. Kevin Owens – Money in the Bank 2015 ****½

Finn Balor vs. Chris Jericho – WWE Live in Tokyo 7/3/2015 ****½

Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor – The Beast in the East ****½

Sasha Banks vs. Bayley – NXT Takeover: Brooklyn ****¾

Seth Rollins vs. John Cena – SummerSlam 2015 ****½

Bayley vs. Sasha Banks – NXT Takeover: Respect ****½

Cesaro vs. Roman Reigns – Raw 11/16/2015 ****½

Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens – Royal Rumble 2016 ****½

This concludes this project, as The Road to Orlando 2017: The Good Shit, will begin with both reviews of NXT Takeover: Dallas and WrestleMania 32.