February 18, 2016
Episode 861
(taped February 16, 2016)
City: Ontario, CA
Venue: Citizens Business Bank Arena
Commentary: Byron Saxton, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole
Ring Announcer: Eden Stiles
Video
Dean Ambrose loses his IC title to Kevin Owens on RAW.
Intro Video
“Black and Blue” by CFO$
Match 1
Dolph Ziggler & Lucha Dragons (Sing Cara & Kalisto (US Champ)) vs League of Nations (Alberto Del Rio & Rusev & Sheamus w/ King Barrett)
(Kevin Owens on guest commentary; referee: Jason Ayers)
Result: Sheamus pins Dolph Ziggler after a Brogue Kick after Ziggler is distracted by Owens
Time: 7:55 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
A good and very fun match. This had a ton of energy. It was pretty much non-stop action the entire time. Kalisto wasn’t in it as much as I thought he might be, though he did take a nasty move when Del Rio basically powerbombed him into the barriced. Sin Cara seemed to take the majority of the ring time for his team, followed by Ziggler. Ziggler looked good as always and this did help maintain interest in his feud with Owens.
Match 2
Tamina w/ Naomi vs Sasha Banks
(referee: John Cone)
Result: Sasha Banks wins via submission with a Bank Statement
Time: 2:21
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. Nothing wrong with it but it was pretty short. It went pretty much like you’d expect.
Ring Area
After the match, Tamina and Naomi attack Sasha. Becky Lynch runs out to the ring to help Sasha, but Sasha shoves Becky saying she never asked for her help.
Backstage
Becky confronts Sasha about her reaction. She tells her that if they can’t get along then they’ll lose and probably be out of Wrestlemania. Becky says they need to help each other. She’s been trying as hard as she can. Sasha says they’re not friends, but she hates losing. They shake on it.
** I like the dynamic between them. I don’t think there’s any doubt that they’ll win on Sunday, but it’s still a good story and will probably set the stage for they’re involvement in Wrestlemania. **
Ring Area
Chris Jericho calls AJ Styles to the ring. The Miz comes out instead. The Miz says everyone is tired of watching Jericho and Styles “play footsie.” He has an announcement. He tells Jericho not worry about Styles since he and Miz have a match right now. Jericho tosses Miz out of the ring.
Match 3
Chris Jericho vs The Miz
(referee: Ryan Tran)
Result: Chris Jericho wins via submission with The Walls of Jericho
Time: 8:50 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Good match. Good back and forth, good length and time to develop, and some good close calls for both guys. I like how The Miz isn’t really being used as a prop in the Jericho/Styles feud. He’s actually holding his own and is being made to look better and more interesting even though he is not directly involved in the feud.
Ring Area
After the match, Jericho gives it up for Miz as a great performer, but again calls Styles to the ring. Jericho tells Styles that he won’t face him again. He won’t do Styles any favors. Styles attacks Jericho and sends him out of the ring. He tosses Jericho a mic and asks him if he’s changed his mind. He has, but he says Styles will regret it.
** I like it. It started as two guys trying to outdo each other, but it’s realistically grown into two guys that don’t like each other. The emotional build in the feud is good and has led to progressively better matches. **
Backstage
Reigns asks Ambrose if he’s okay. Ambrose says it’s been a rough week, but he’s alright. Reigns says he’ll see him in the ring, but not to pull any more Dirty Deeds jokes.
Ambrose runs into Heyman and is happy to see him. Heyman tells Ambrose that Lesnar is here at Smackdown, is in a really bad mood, and is looking for Ambrose. Ambrose asks Heyman for advice. Heyman doesn’t give him any. Ambrose jokes around and says he’ll be waiting on Lesnar.
** They’re either setting Ambrose up to win or for a pretty spectacular loss and beating. **
Backstage
Jojo welcomes New Day. She asks them how they are preparing for the Cutting Edge Peep Show at Fastlane. New Day says Edge and Christian are out of date. New Day is modern. Like a gif. Then they dance.
Match 4
Natalya vs Charlotte (Divas Champ) w/ Ric Flair
(referee: Darrick Moore)
Result: Charlotte wins via submission with the Figure Eight
Time: 4:09 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Good match. It was surprisingly competitive and Natalya looked very good. She got more on Charlotte than I expected and showed some impressive strength. Unfortunately the ending was preceded by a strange bit of cheating involving pulling the ring apron. It didn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense. But that’s just a minor gripe in an otherwise good match.
Ring Area
After the match, Brie Bella runs to the ring and attacks Charlotte. She sends Charlotte out of the ring and celebrates with Charlotte’s title belt.
** I’m not sure who to pick in this match on Sunday. My initial thought is that Charlotte has it locked up, but there are a lot of storyline reasons why Brie should win. **
Backstage
Goldust (aka Dusta Rhymes) performs a rap to try to get R-Truth to team with him. R-Truth raps back at him, calling him crazy and pointing out that they aren’t partners. He also says Goldust has doo doo on his foot.
** This was better than the last Golden Truth segment. Not their best, but better. **
Match 5
The Dudley Boyz vs Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns
(referee: Rod Zapata)
Result: Ambrose and Reigns win via DQ after Lesnar attacks Ambrose
Time: 9:37 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
This was a good match, but with Lesnar announced for Smackdown it was very much expected that he would involve himself in the match since he hadn’t been on the show yet. I liked the aggression of the Dudley Boyz, Bubba Ray in particular. I think they’re attitude can help them immensely, especially if they want to try to branch off into some singles matches here and there.
Ring Area
Brock Lesnar attacks both Reigns and Ambrose. Reigns goes for a spear on Lesnar but ends up hitting Ambrose. Ambrose sets Reigns up for Dirty Deeds, but Reigns hits him with a Samoan Drop. Lesnar then hits Reigns with an F5.
Triple H then walks out onto the stage. Triple H and Lesnar stare at each other.
Show Impressions
I liked the show. There was nothing surprising, but it at the very least maintained interest in all of the Fastlane matches.
Match of the Night
Dolph Ziggler and Lucha Dragons vs League of Nations
This was a close call between this match and the Jericho/Miz match. I think I’m going with this one because of the fun-factor. There was a lot of stuff going on.