October 17, 2016
Episode 1221
(aired live)
City: Denver, CO
Venue: Pepsi Center
Commentary: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves
Ring Announcer: Jojo
Intro Video
“Enemies” by Shinedown
Ring Area
Kevin Owens heads to the ring with Chris Jericho. Owens is convinced that Foley has a personal vendetta against him. Jericho agrees, saying Foley he has a vendetta against both of them. The fact that Foley put Owens in a Hell in a Cell match proves it. Owens says he won’t let the cell shorten his career, he will shorten Rollins’ instead.
Jericho says that he should have been in the cell with Rollins and Owens, but he isn’t because of bad officiating. That puts the referee on The List. Owens then says that he will retire Rollins at Hell in a Cell. That’s when Seth Rollins comes out.
Rollins calls Jericho “sparkle crotch,” leading to a chant. Jericho threatens to put Rollins on The List for that. Rollins suggests that Jericho should put Owens on The List for watching Jericho take the Pedigree two weeks in a row. Jericho gets angry and says he can beat Rollins, so Rollins suggests a rematch right now.
Match 1
Chris Jericho vs Seth Rollins
(referee: John Cone)
Result: Seth Rollins wins via pinfall after a Pedigree
Time: 11:10 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Good match. It wasn’t surprising, but I liked the finish.
Video
Clips of Goldberg’s first match on WCW Nitro.
Video
Earlier today, Lita interviewed Charlotte about Hell in a Cell. Charlotte says she is a winner and was born for moments like Hell in a Cell. Lita asks Charlotte if she feels like she took advantage of Sasha Banks at Summer Slam. Charlotte responds by saying that she’s been competing for months without complaining about injuries. She’s the best, because she’s always 100%.
Match 2
Golden Truth & Mark Henry vs Shining Stars & Titus O’Neil
(referee: Rod Zapata)
Result: Mark Henry pins Titus O’Neil after a World’s Strongest Slam
Time: 3:11
Match Thoughts
This was a pretty fun, quick match. The ending was no surprise since Mark Henry almost seemed to go out of his way not to do anything when the match started breaking down, but it was still fun to watch.
Backstage
Chris Jericho is upset with Owens for walking down to the ring during his match. He almost calls him a stupid idiot and says that he is not Owens’ lackey. Stephanie McMahon stops their argument and says that they need to get back on the same page.
Ring Area
Sheamus heads to the ring with Cesaro by his side (and on his phone). New Day then comes out and talk about how Cesaro and Sheamus aren’t a real tag team, and that Sheamus is a pile of hot garbage.
Match 3
Sheamus w/ Cesaro vs Big E w/ Xavier Woods, Kofi Kingston (Tag Champs)
(referee: Chad Patton)
Result: Big E wins via pinfall with a schoolboy after an avalanche in the corner
Time: 6:59 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
This was a very good big man match with comic shenanigans at ringside. Highly entertaining. I’m liking this feud very much, and I hope it goes on for a while. I like the dynamic between the teams. Sheamus and Cesaro are constantly arguing, but their thing doesn’t overshadow New Day. It’s a good balance all around. And like I’ve said before, it’s helping me to like Sheamus again, a guy that I’ve liked in the past but can get boring at times.
Video
Clips of Goldberg beating Hollywood Hogan for the WCW title.
Match 4
Bo Dallas w/ Curtis Axel vs Neville
(referee: Darrick Moore)
Result: Bo Dallas wins vis pinfall after Rolling the Dice
Time: 2:56
Match Thoughts
A short match, but surprisingly good for it’s length. It didn’t go as expected, and I liked how Dallas kept avoiding the Red Arrow. It showed smarts on his part, and maybe some complacency on Neville’s. I think this could help both guys, though they’ll need to have more ring time to do a lot of good for their characters.
Ring Area
After the match, Curtis Axel gets in the ring and celebrates for Dallas. Dallas doesn’t seem pleased, and attacks Axel. Dallas leaves Axel lying at the side of the ring as he walks to the back alone.
Match 5
Dana Brooke vs Bayley
(referee: Rod Zapata)
Result: Dana Brooke wins via pinfall after running Bayley into the ring post
Time: 4:10
Match Thoughts
An okay match, but the finish looked like a screw-up. Dana kept using cheap tactics and the ring to get advantages, and the match up until the end was pretty good for that. At the end, after Dana ran Bayley into the ring post and pulled her in for the pin, it was obvious that Dana was trying to put her foot on the ropes for leverage but was too far away. I’m pretty sure the ending was supposed to have Dana use the ropes, but instead she just pinned Bayley. Still, using the ring post is dirty, so the reaction of Bayley can still be that she cheated to win.
Ring Area
The announce team speaks with Paul Heyman live via satellite. Heyman says that his challenge to Goldberg last week was rhetorical. Obviously, Goldberg is on his way to the arena to say “yes,” but Lesnar doesn’t even think about Goldberg anymore. He suggests that Goldberg politely declines the challenge, otherwise, Lesnar will be pissed.
Ring Area
Saxton asks the Mile-High Trio about their match. They think Strowman will get winded since he’s not from Denver.
Match 6
Braun Strowman vs Mile-High Trio (Curtis Cole & Tyler Stinson & Johnny Proof)
(referee: John Cone)
Result: Strowman pins Johnny Proof after a running powerslam to Proof and an inverted chokeslam to Tyler Stinson
Time: 2:17
Match Thoughts
The best part of the match was when one of the trio decides he’s had enough and tries to walk away from the match. He got run down, but he was probably the smartest local competitor I’ve seen in a long time.
Ring Area
Strowman gets on the mic and once again complains about not having decent competition when Sami Zayn interrupts. Sami enters the ring and gets shoved by Strowman. Strowman walks away.
Backstage
Charly Caruso asks Sami Zayn why he picked a fight with Strowman. He says he did it because nobody else will.
Ring Area
Lana introduces her husband Rusev. Rusev starts to talk, but he gets upset about the crowd’s “USA” chants. He says something to Lana, who then insults all the men in the crowd for being weak and having “pathetic” family values. Rusev then talks about Roman Reigns’ family of “700 Samoans,” and gets pretty racist. He then shows pictures of his own family. His whole family is full of champions, including his dog.
Finally, Roman Reigns interrupts. Reigns says he does have a big family: the Roman Empire. Reigns insults rusev, and Rusev tells Reigns that he can insult Rusev’s family, but he can’t insult Rusev. Lana slaps Reigns, and Rusev immediately kicks Reigns right after. Rusev repeatedly runs Reigns into the ring steps before putting him in the Accolade.
** I actually really liked this segment. I like Rusev’s character a lot right now, and his focus on family is pretty interesting to me. Of course, it works well with Reigns being a part of probably the biggest wrestling family ever. I know that’s the reason they’re doing that with Rusev, but regardless, I think it helps him. It gives Rusev a very relatable weakness (and also strength depending on how you look at it). **
Video
Clips of “Rock Appreciation Night” in 2003 when Goldberg showed up on RAW.
Video
Premiering soon, the makeover of Emma to Emmalina.
Match 7
Karl Anderson w/ Luke Gallows vs Big Cass w/ Enzo Amore
(referee: Chad Patton)
Result: Big Cass wins via pinfall after an East River Crossing
Time: 1:11
Match Thoughts
This was surprising. Extremely short and a sudden finish that didn’t seem like it would be one. I’m interested to see where this feud goes from here. I imagine this will lead to some angry retribution, because this finish was very unexpected. At least to me it was.
Backstage
Drew Gulak and Tony Nese talk with Brian Kendrick about their upcoming match. TJ Perkins walks up and insults Gulak’s entrance attire. Kendrick tells Perkins that he doesn’t know the new Brian Kendrick. Perkins thinks this is all a game, and that he has unlimited lives. Kendrick is on his last life though. Rich Swann and Cedric Alexander walk up to back up Perkins.
Video
Earlier today, Lita interviewed Sasha Banks. Sasha is ready to make history with Charlotte. They’ve come a long way together. Sasha also says that her back is 100%. She’s not afraid of entering the cell.
Video
Clips of Triple H vs Goldberg for the title at Unforgiven in 2003.
Match 8
Brian Kendrick & Drew Gulak & Tony Nese vs Cedric Alexander & Rich Swann & TJ Perkins (Cruiserweight Champ)
(referee: Darrick Moore)
Result: Brian Kendrick makes Rich Swann submit to the Captain’s Hook
Time: 4:03 (1 break)
Match Thoughts
Good match. Fast paced and lots of nice interactions. I think Nese and Kendrick stood out the most.
Backstage
Stephanie McMahon asks Mick Foley what he has in store for next week’s RAW. He wants a triple threat main event: Rollins vs Owens vs Jericho. Steph and Mick high five each other.
Ring Area
Michael Cole introduces Goldberg, and Goldberg heads to the ring. He talks about being back and creating “drama” the last time he was in WWE. He said he thought about leaving the past alone, but then he got challenged to a match. He also calls Paul Heyman fat. After much pacing, sweating, and beating around the bush, Goldberg accepts Heyman’s/Lesnar’s challenge.
Show Impressions
This was a pretty good show. I’m not enthused about Goldberg being back, and there were some missteps here and there on the show, but I liked the New Day/Sheamus & Cesaro stuff, I liked the Jericho/Owens/Rollins stuff, and I liked the Rusev/Lana/Reigns stuff. The Cruiserweights also entertained as always.
Match of the Night
Sheamus vs Big E
This one had good action, some funny moments, and it did a good job of furthering the feud. You can’t ask for much more in a RAW match.