So, the WWE Draft has now come and gone for 2020. The rosters of RAW and SmackDown have been reset for another year. Yeah, I know what you’re all thinking though. For how long? How long will it be until we get our first Brand Invitational Visit? It won’t be long as we all know that whatever rules the WWE sets, they’re only a day or two away from breaking them.
On the whole, it looks like SmackDown is set to continue as the best show in the WWE. The major champions stay the same with Drew McIntyre on RAW and Roman Reigns on SmackDown. The tag team champions just change places but keep their title belts. Most feuds stay intact too, something we’ll get into more in our show recaps. So, with SmackDown being the hot “it” show going into the Draft, it stays that way heading out of the Draft.
Now, it’ll be nice to see Charlotte Flair back on Monday nights after her vacation ends. Not nice to see The New Day get split up. That’s no Bueno, IMHO! I hope there’s a trade in the near future to put Big E back with the new RAW Tag Team Champions.
I am VERY excited to see the Draft now be put in the rear-view mirror so we can go full steam into the Hell In A Cell PPV with three gigantic main event-like matches inside Hell In A Cell, highlighted Bayley vs. Sasha Banks in what should tear the house down to close out the night. It’s time to turn up the turbo and get to the task at hand.
Star of the Week: WWE Draft, night 2
RAW
RESULTS
- No Disqualification Match: Kevin Owens defeated Aleister Black
- Triple Threat Match: AJ Styles defeated Jeff Hardy & Seth Rollins
- Dana Brooke & Mandy Rose defeated Natalya & Lana
- Angel Garza defeated Andrade
- RAW Tag Team Championship Match: The New Day defeated Bobby Roode & Dolph Ziggler
- Ricochet defeated Cedric Alexander by DQ
- Dual Brand Battle Royale for #1 Contender to RAW Women’s Championship Match: Lana eliminates Natalya
Overall:
A decent show that’s always somewhat off-kilter when it’s a Draft Night. In-ring, the triple threat with AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy and Seth Rollins was cool to say with Rollins giving the Styles/Hardy feud get a little life. Ricochet vs. Alexander, albeit short, is always good stuff. The same can be said for Owens vs. Black. BTW: like the KUSHIDA-like jeans look for Owens too. But there were enough things that didn’t make enough sense that brought the show down. In addition, it seems like the thinking going into the draft is to just shift storylines in their entirety to another night. In addition to Styles & Hardy going to Monday, Rollins vs. Murphy vs. the Mysterios move to SmackDown. Aleister Black vs. Kevin Owens heads to Friday night. Alexa Bliss & The Fiend are now a pair on Monday night.
LOVED IT:
The Fiend & Alexa – Does anything really need to be said?
No sense at all:
Lana – So, Lana gets left by Natalya and then wins the Dual Brand Battle Royal to win a title shot against Asuka?! Huh, WTF. She got put through a table and then comes back at the end? She hasn’t won in forever and now is the #1 Contender? Yikes! No one, I repeat, NO ONE wants to see that. Knowing the WWE and their wacky booking on Monday night, she’ll win.
Cedric vs. Ricochet – A DQ finish to a match that already didn’t make sense was absurd. So, now The Hurt Business can’t touch Ricochet now because of a DQ finish? I did like the nod to Eddie Guerrero and the fake chair shot though.
RETRIBUTION – They get drafted? Seriously? They vow to destroy the place, get contracts and then get drafted but don’t appear on the show at all even though they advertised Mustafa Ali telling us all why he formed RETRIBUTION. To make things more absure, they get drafter on RAW before Keith Lee, the returning Elias, Alexa Bliss, Lacey Evans, Lars Sullivan, King Corbin, Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura, Sheamus among others. No. Sense. At. All!
How long?
Drew vs. Randy – Are these going to be fighting every segment from now until the PPV?
NXT
RESULTS
- NXT Tag Team Championship #1 Contender Tag Match: The Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong & Bobby Fish) defeated Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch
- Jake Atlas defeated Ashante “Thee” Adonis
- Johnny Gargano defeated Austin Theory
- NXT Women’s Championship #1 Contender Match: Candice LeRae defeated Shotzi Blackheart
- Toni Storm defeated Aliyah
- Imperium defeated Killian Dain & Drake Maverick
- NXT Championship Match: Damian Priest defeated Dexter Lumis
LOVED IT:
Halloween Havoc – Loved that Spin The Wheel, Make The Deal is coming back with Halloween Havoc on October 28th. Shotzi Blackheart is a great choice as host too. Perfect fit!
Candice vs. Shotzi – What’s not too like? Plus, Indi Hartwell is getting closer to Candice with a nifty brass knuckles assistance to hand LeRae the victory over Shotzi (see what I did there!). It’s going to be delicious months from now when Hartwell turns on LeRae too!
SOLID:
Overall – Week in and week out, I give credit to NXT for consistently being the best wrestling show on Wednesday nights. For example, The Undisputed ERA vs. Lorcan/Burch was an effective way to start the night. Good match and moved the storyline ahead. Sometimes, NXT can be a bit formulaic and sometimes, there are a few too many short matches for my taste, but it’s getting better and better showcasing some new names every week. Think about it, on Wednesday night there was no Adam Cole, Finn Balor, Io Shirai, Rhea Ripley, KUSHIDA, The Velveteen Dream, Tommaso Ciampa and of course, Karrion Kross & Scarlett. Yet, Priest, the Garganos and others are taking up the spotlight to make it an entertaining show, Kudos to them. BTW: Priest reminds me of a young Roman Reigns.
Women’s Division – The best division on the WWE only gets stronger with Toni Storm! Her match was short but impressive and re-starts her in-ring journey with NXT on a positive note.
Question:
William Regal – How come Regal is the only authority figure on WWE Programming? And no, I’m not counting Adam Pearce who’s never been formally introduced in any formal capacity on TV. He’s just there all the time butting into things.
Drake & Killian – If they don’t ultimately end up with the tag team titles, what is all this worth? Unusual tandems can work (Booker T/Goldust, Rock & Sock Connection, Kane & Daniel Bryan, etc), but it’s best when they are leading to something. I’m not quite sure where this team is going.
SMACKDOWN
RESULTS
- Lars Sullivan defeated Jeff Hardy
- The New Day defeated Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura & Sheamus
- SmackDown Tag Team Title Match: The Street Profits defeated Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode
- Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns defeated Braun Strowman
Heelish:
Roman Reigns – It’s all about the little things. Reigns with another low blow Friday night against Braun Strowman, much like he did to cousin Jey Uso a few weeks back. A submission guillotine to beat Braun ties in nicely to the I Quit Match for Hell In A Cell. “If I can do this to him (Strowman), imagine what I can do to you.” Frightening! It’s so personal. It’s so terrific. In one breathe, Reigns says he loves Uso and in the other he vows to destroy him. “You love me? I love you too” from Jey before a resonating chair shot to the Champ ends the show. This storyline is the best thing going and gets better week by week.
Sad:
The New Day – There was no reason to break up the funniest trio going in the biz. It was touching to see them talk about their friendship, the journey and their time together. It didn’t need to end and I hope the right the wrong soon. As for Friday night, they go out the right way, on top over Cesaro, Sheamus and Shinsuke Nakamura.
Give Me More:
Seth Rollins vs. Daniel Bryan – This one could be very good if they let. The goodness of Bryan vs. the diabolical nature of Rollins. The in-ring action alone could be off the charts! Sign me up! And who knows, maybe sometime next year, we could get a mixed tag-team match of Rollins & Becky vs. Bryan & Brie!
Fighting Words:
Sasha vs. Bayley – Loved. Loved. Loved the raw emotion and heat between Sasha Banks and Bayley. The killer line from Banks – “My name is bigger than your title.” Classic and true! There was no need to end this contract signing with fisticuffs. KISS! Plus, Bayley didn’t sign the contract yet. We know she will, but it adds some intrigue for the moment. BTW: when did Adam Pearce become America’s host to everything WWE? At some point, they should actually introduce who he is to the audience.
Celebrities:
Season premiere night – Nice touch having all the FOX Sports personalities like Terry Bradshaw, Tony Gonzalez, Jay Glazer, Curt Menefee, Rob Stone and more be part of the broadcast. Plus, Ken Jeong, Joel McHale and 49ers tight end George Kittle brought a little star power too. Finally, the addition of Goldberg, Keith Lee, Mark Henry, Brie Bella and others as part of the ThunderDome crowd makes it special. TV Production 101 kids.
Remember when?
Triple H and Stephanie – Remember when The Authority were such awesome characters? Remember when Triple H and Stephanie were two of the most despised people on WWE TV? Remember when they weren’t just pitch-people? I miss those days.
Parting shots:
Hell In A Cell PPV – Updated Card
- WWE Championship Hell In A Cell Match: Drew McIntyre vs Randy Orton
- Universal Championship Hell In A Cell I Quit Match: Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso
- SmackDown Women’s Championship Hell In A Cell Match: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks
NXT Halloween Havoc – Updated Card:
- NXT Women’s Championship Spin The Wheel, Make The Deal Match: Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae
- NXT North American Championship Spin The Wheel, Make The Deal Match: Damian Priest vs. Johnny Gargano
- Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Gonzalez
Coming up this week:
RAW:
Season Premiere:
Braun Strowman vs. Keith Lee
RAW Women’s Championship Match: Asuka vs. Lana
Firefly Fun House
Drew McIntyre & Randy Orton
NXT:
NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Breezango vs. The Undisputed Era
SMACKDOWN:
Moves to FS1 due to World Series
Go Home Show for Hell In A Cell PPV
Thanks for letting us share our thoughts! Shoot me an email at jcrowe567@gmail.com. We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions! You can also check out my blog, The Crowe’s Nest as we delve into more pro wrestling, sports entertainment and the World of Sports. My apologies ahead of time – I AM a Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins fan! If you’re not down with that, I’ve got TWO WORDS for you… NEW ENGLAND
