OO Column: Online Onslaught by Rick Scaia (Pro Wrestling News, Analysis, and Commentary... WWE, WWF, WCW, ECW, The Rock, Brock Lesnar, Triple H, Rob Van Dam, Hulk Hogan, Undertaker, Trish Stratus, Lita, Stacy Keibler, Divas, RAW, SmackDown, WrestleMania

OO RAW RECAP
Welcome to the Asylum
February 1, 2016

by Rick Scaia
Exclusive to OOWrestling.com

It's gonna be a long, slow week at The Rick's House.... the universally beloved Flyers of Dayton finished off the first half of their conference season on Saturday (with a revenge win over LaSalle, who are the only A-10 team to defeat us this year), and now, it's a whole week with no UD hoops. Granted, it's a week in which UD has cracked the top 25, which is something Duke can't say this week... but it's still a week without new games for me to obsess over.

What to do with myself?

I'm sure I'll think of something. Looks like Yahoo just unlocked Fantasy Baseball for 2016, so I've got my usual 5-6 teams to get sorted (including the one ever-evolving experimental league where I'm the commish, and try to base the scoring on SABR-ish concepts).... plus, I still have half-a-season of "Better Call Saul" to rewatch before Season 2 starts up again.

Oh, and you probably want me to shut the hell up, and provide you with all the wrestling-related wit, charm, and analysis to which you are accustomed. My bad. Here it is:

Opening Theme/Pyro/Etc, and we're live in Birmingham, AL. Cole & The Gang offer a few words of welcome (Dolph Ziggler/Kevin Owens Rematch, and much much more~!), but can't dilly dally too much, as Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman are already on their way to the ring.

DEAN AMBROSE BOOKS A VACATION TO SUPLEX CITY

Per usual, Heyman opts to do all the talking, while Brock lightly shuffles in the background, ocassionally pausing to bust out a shit-eating grin, or a look of menace, as circumstances dictate.

Heyman's spiel starts with a reminder of what the Wyatt Family did to Brock at the Rumble, and that they'd best be ready, since the 11th Commandment is "Thou Shall Not Provoke Brock Lesnar." The Wyatts days are numbered....

But in the meantime, the Wyatts attempted to keep Brock Lesnar out of the WWE Title picture by group-eliminating him from the Rumble.... but lo and behold! Brock Lesnar is right back in the title hunt, and is on the fast track to Fastlane, where he will face Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose in a triple threat match to determine a new #1 Contender.

Heyman says he considers it all but inevitable that his client, Brock Lesnar, will punch his ticket to WrestleMania 32, and there, he will regain his WWE Championship from Triple H.

Oh, to be sure, he is not selling two-thirds of the Shield short, or anything. He expects them to fight the good fight. It's just that, well, Roman Reigns has already tried Brock, last year at WrestleMania, and he got put down and pinned (albeit by Seth Rollins, not Lesnar, but lets not pick nits). So that's one-third that Brock's already dealt with, leaving only Dean Ambrose. And Deano? Well, he's not exactly right in the head. He's a bit of a wacko.....

And with a VRRRROOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM~!, he's also here. Ambrose's music hits, and he comes on down to the ring and kicks things off with a conversational, "Uh, who you calling wacko, porky?" But then he gets a bit more intense and says he actually stopped before coming out, and said to himself, "Self, this could be a really bad idea." But he did it anyway.

Why? Because he wants Brock to know that even if Ambrose hasn't been into the Beast's Lair before, he's fully ready for the challenge. Ambrose may act a little crazy, but he's not completely out to lunch, and he sure ain't stupid. Ambrose RESPECTS Brock Lesnar, but he wants Brock and the world to know that he does NOT fear Brock Lesnar. He's headed to Fastlane with his eyes wide open, ready to take the beating of a lifetime, but also convinced that he'll survive and thrive, and walk out as the new #1 Contender for the WWE Title.

And Ambrose just thought that Lesnar and Heyman deserved to hear that, straight from Ambrose, face to face, because, again: respect. And now that he's gotten that off his chest, Ambrose is finished, so he figures he'll get a move on. Ambrose retreats with a confident look on his face, while Lesnar essentially yuks it up with Heyman, either not taking Ambrose seriously, or jsut looking forward to delivering the beatdown that Ambrose apparently craves.

Either way, strong promo by Ambrose. The WWE Title situation is still a bit of a debacle, with WWE intent on doing HHH/Reigns at WM32, but if they're gonna distract us with smoke and mirrors, this is about as good as it gets. Ambrose was pitch perfect, and if HE believes he belongs in this hunt, then maybe, just maybe we can suspend disbelief and get in on the fun.

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KALISTO vs. RUSEV (w/ Lana) (Non-Title Match)

In addition to Lana, Rusev has his League of Nations associate, Alberto del Rio, sitting in on guest commentary. ADR still has an obligatory title rematch coming, but in the near terms, he's temporarily out of action with a tweaked neck.

Opening minutes of the match are just a showcase of the two different styles... Kalisto tries flashy, high flying stuff, and Rusev uses his power and size to swat Kalisto down. After about 3 minutes, it builds up to a spot in which Kalisto kicks Rusev out of the ring, to the floor. But when Kalisto tries to follow up with a plancha, Rusev greets him with a wicked thrust kick.

WIth the tide seemingly turned, we take a break for....

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Back, and Rusev is still firmly in control, eventually settling in with a bearhug. Kalisto is able to fight out of that to start his big comeback, beginning with a Tornado DDT. Still winded, Kalisto can't follow up immediately, and gets into another grapple.... Rusev wins it, and hits a sidewalk slam for a near fall.

Rusev gets all frustrated and commisserates with Lana and ADR (with ADR trying to direct his attention back to the match). Rusev does turn back to Kalisto, and charges; Kalisto dodges it, and Rusev rams his own shoulder into the steel ring post. Kalisto now does have the energy to follow up, and rattles off a flashy sequences of moves, ending with his low head scissor DDT for his first convincing near fall of the match.

The match spills outside the ring, and the ref begins a double count. It's back and forth, with each guy narrowly avoiding major bumps... that's the vibe when Rusev believes he's backdropped Kalisto onto the announce table. But in reality, Kalisto managed to land on his feet.

Kalisto turns around, jumps off, and catches Rusev with a flying rana that sends Rusev, head first, into the barricade. Kalisto slides into the ring, while the ref continues his count. Even with ADR screaming encouragement, Rusev stays down and gets counted out.

Your Winner: Kalisto, via count-out, in about 12 minutes. Pretty good match. They gave it enough time to build and breathe, and Kalisto's undersized underdog charm always makes for a fun End Game as he finds a way to overcome and win.

After the Match: ADR made a token attempt to get his hands on Kalisto, but Kalisto easily escaped to the top of the stage to finish up his celebration. Meantime, Alberto and Rusev seemed to be really yelling at each other... not sure if the idea is that ADR was upset with Rusev for losing, or if they were both pissed at the overall situation. Hopefully the latter, since I'm not sure how you get either guy over as a face at this point.

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Backstage: The WWE Title belt is on display in a museum-style casing, which we eventually learn is in Stephanie McMahon's office. Steph has summoned Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns to said office, so they can gawk at the belt while she tries to stir up tension between the two.

But it doesn't seem to work. No matter how many times she says Ambrose is just Roman's sidekick, or namedrops Marty Jannetty as an example of the partner who got trampled into obscurity, Reigns and Ambrose just keep smiling and laughing at her pathetic attempt at Jedi Mind Tricks.

Realizing that she's failing, Steph switches gears and decides to punish them by putting them into tonight's main event match, against teh New Day.

Elsewhere Backstage: Renee Young is standing by with Brie Bella, and the two quickly get us caught up on Nikki Bella's neck surgery (it went well, and she's already fighting to get back into the ring)... but then Charlotte (w/ Ric Flair) pops in, and does a little sarcastic sympathy in which she (Charlotte) wishes Nikki well, all while sort of taking credit for causing the neck injury in the first place over the course of their two matches at Night of Champions and Hell in a Cell.

Charlotte closes with a jerky comment about how Nikki's splitting her time at home watching Charlotte get closer and closer to breaking the record for Women's Title Reign with each passing week, and doing online shopping. Zing?

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THE USOS vs. CURTIS AXEL & ADAM ROSE (w/ Heath Slater)

While introducing the Usos, Lilian Garcia accidentally says they are "Grammy Award Winners," instead of "Slammy Award Winners." About 0.4% of the audience even noticed it, but because The Voice In The Headset is a senior citizen with the maturity of a 12 year old, along with a shitty sense of humor, the announcers are required to mock Lilian at least once in every match for the rest of the night. Vince McMahon, Master of Priorities since 19never. Oy.

No Bo Dallas, as he's off with his entire family (including his brother Bray Wyatt, and dad IRS/Mike Rotundo) to be with Blackjack Mulligan (a/k/a Barry Windham's dad, and essentially part of the extended Rotundo family).

The Usos do let the Social Outcasts have a bit lengthier heel beatdown than you might guess, given their relative positions on the card... but ultimately, at its core, this was still a glorfied squash that ended decisively after interference from Slater backfired.

Your Winners: the Usos, via pinfall, in about 6 minutes. The exact sort of match that you forget about and never mention again. Unless you are the Voice in the Headset that insists on mentioning the "Grammy Award Winning" Usos about 20 more times throughout the night.

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MIZTV

Miz is already in the ring as we return from break, and he builds up his guest tonight.... he's a man who made an astonishing debut at the Royal Rumble, then scored a high flying win in his first WWE singles match last Monday on RAW. Miz's guest is, in a world, Phenomenal.

It's AJ Styles. They seem to have worked out some of the kinks in terms of camera angles and presentation of AJ's entrance, which is good.

AJ gets to the ring, grabs a mic, and takes a seat.

And then, for the next 5 minutes, they do a thing where Miz asks a question, AJ says about 3 words, and then Miz answers the question for him. Remember last week when Styles said about one sentence, and then Chris Jericho showed up to cut a promo about AJ's backstory? Well, this was that, but on steroids.

And not to repeat myself, but in a way, this is a good thing, as AJ is kind of a black hole when it comes to promos and gravitas.... this is on purpose by WWE, and it means that we get everythign that is awesome about Styles (the in-ring) as they work around (and maybe improve upon) some of his weaknesses.

So Miz gives a passionate speech (with just the right hint of dick-y-ness to it) about how Styles was the youngest child, a runt in a family of older athlets, he was cut from the football team three years running, but worked his ass off in the gym, and finally made it onto the team as a senior and was a star, and then he tried wrestling, and starting in middle school gyms, he finally started to make a name for himself, and look, here he is! Finally in the WWE!

Miz pauses, and gives Styles a chance to get in about 4 words, but then does a neat thing, by doing an extended spiel about how this is the EXACT story of Daniel Bryan. And do you know how Daniel Bryan went from "indie darling" to WWE Superstardom? It was simple: the Miz was his mentor. So it turns out that Miz has an offer for AJ Styles.... become Miz's protege, and AJ Styles will learn from the best. He'll discover that the E in WWE is just as important as that second W, and once he has mastered it all, the sky's the limit for AJ Styles.

Styles really doesn't seem to be buying Miz's happy crappy, but just in case, the crowd fires up a mighty "NO! NO! NO!" chant. Miz starts getting pissed off at the fans and at Styles for the disrespect. He headlined WrestleMania, goddammit!

Miz finally becomes verbally abusive, calling Styles "a rookie redneck," and appears on the brink of becoming physically abusive.... so Styles throws a preemptive punch. Styles wins the quick brawl, when Miz just decides to run away.

Solid segment to once again get AJ's bona fides across to fans, with someone other than AJ doing the talking. Plus, I really think tying AJ to Bryan is a a solid play, and it could shorten the amount of time Styles has to spend winning over the average mainstream fans (even guys like Punk and Bryan were midcard cannon fodder for 18 months or so after cracking the main roster). This sort of gives fans the excuse they need to latch on sooner than later. It also helps that Miz is right there saying that AJ can't do it, cuz whatever Miz says, well, the fans are gonna want the opposite.

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CHARLOTTE (w/ Ric Flair) vs. BRIE BELLA (w/ Alicia Fox) (Non-Title Match)

By playing the Nikki Neck Surgery card, and having Brie immediately launch into DBry's YES! Kicks, there can be no doubt that the Bellas are definitely babyfaces. For now. They absolutely got the worst of it during the messed up "Diva Revulution," flip flopping on a weekly basis.

But now, Charlotte is great at playing the heel, she lays a beating on Brie for a few minutes before the requisite fire-up sequence. Brie locks on a sleeper, at which point Flair got up on the apron and just started loitering around and WHOOOOO'ing.

Charlotte then broke the sleeper by falling back into a corner, and went for the Figure 8. All with Ric still just hanging out on the apron yelling at the ref. As Charlotte made the final twist to cinch in the hold, Brie reached up and turned it into a small package pinning combo.

Your Winner: Brie Bella, via pinfall, in 5 mintues. A pure and simple TV Special: just barely serviceable as a match, but it got a major story element across. In this case, Brie just qualified herself for the title picture, so now Charlotte is dealing with Becky AND Sasha AND Brie. The ending, however, seemed a bit sloppy, like Flair was supposed to actively distract his daughter, but instead, he missed a cue and was just hanging out on the apron the whole time, adding nothing to the end game.

After the Match, Charlotte did seem kind of upset, as much at Ric as with the loss, so that causes my suspicion to double that Ric missed something that would have made him the cause of the loss.

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BIG SHOW vs. ERICK ROWAN (w/ Harper & Strowman)

No Bray, for the reasons mentioned above.

About 90 seconds of slobberknockering, which is won by Big Show, then failed interference by Harper and Strowman, and a chokeslam for Rowan.

Your Winner: Big Show, via pinfall, in 2 minutes flat. Move along, there's nothing to see here, move along.

After the Match: Strowman gets in the ring and goes nose-to-nose with Big Show, picking up the narrative from last week (I assume this is to set up Show and Strowman as favorites for the Andre Battle Royale). But before Show can engage in the Battle of the Giants, both Rowan and Harper sneak attack him, and it's a 3-on-1 beatdown. Show is decimated, with the final spot being a double powerbomb onto the bottom portion of the ring steps. Ouch.

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TITUS O'NEIL vs. TYLER BREEZE

Poor Tyler.

Your Winner: Titus O'Neil, via pinfall, in 2 minutes. I can state, with authority, that this is a thing that happened.

Backstage: Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman are chatting, when up walks Triple H. Much like his wife, HHH tries to stir the pot, to no avail. Specifically, he taunts Lesnar, saying, "Did I just see little Dean Ambrose get all up in your face, and then walk away unscathed? What's up with that, are things getting soft in Suplex City?" But no sale. Instead, Lesnar just stands up, smirks, and says not to worry, all is well in Suplex City, and HHH will attest to that fact after WrestleMania. "See you there, champ," sayeth Brock, with a smile.

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Thursday on SD: just confirmed, it'll be AJ Styles going one-on-one against Miz. Should be a good one. Also, Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus because why not?

DOLPH ZIGGLER vs. KEVIN OWENS

This is a rematch from last week, which was won by Owens. Also, it's a flare-up of an IC Title feud, which was also won by Owens. Basically, Owens figures he owns Ziggler, so why not face him again?

Ziggler is highly motivated to acheive a different result tonight, and comes out strong. So on a few different occassions, Owens bails out of the ring.... but on the third time, they do a modified version of the cat-and-mouse role reversal spot, as Ziggler chases Owens out of the ring, only to have Owens dodge a charge and send Ziggler flying into the timekeeper cubicle.

With that break in the action, we break for....

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Back, and per standing orders, Kevin Owens takes us all to Chinlock City. Lucky us. Ziggler elbows out of it for a hope spot, but Owens snuffs that out in short order, using the cannonball. Back to more punchy-stompy stuff, as the heel beatdown continues for a bit.

Another interruption after Owens whiffed on a running senton... that opens the door for Ziggler to knock off a pair of Stinger Splashes, but he goes to the well once too often, and on the third attempt, he eats a stiff clothesline from Owens. Now, Owens senses the end is near, so he sets up for the Pop-Up.

Instead, Ziggler holds onto the ropes, and when Owens charges at him, Dolph backdropshim over the top to the floor.

Thus begins Ziggler's full-on comeback. Assault continues on the floor. Back inthe ring, the Fameasser hits for Dolph's first convincing near fall. Zig Zag attempt is blocked by Owens, and countered with a superkick. Ziggler sets up for a superplex, but as the two fight for positioning, Dolph finally falls back, and ties himself to the tree of woe.

Another cannonball hits, and Owens gets super cocky. He half-assedly calls for the Pop-Up, figuring this one is OVER. But instead, Ziggler leapfrogs him and hits a flash Zig Zag from behind. One. Two. Three? Yes, three.

Your Winner: Dolph Ziggler, via pinfall, in about 15 minutes. Really good match, definitely turning things up a notch or three from last week, and with an unexpected ending, too. Hopefully, this is the middle act of a play that has an actual ending, and not just more of WWE's braindead 50/50 even Steven booking... after the match, Owens was predictably pissed off, so you gotta imagine the rubber match is coming.

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BECKY LYNCH vs. SASHA BANKS (w/ Naomi & Tamina)

Sasha actually came out by herself, and gave a little speech reconfirming that she's got her sights set on the Women's Title, and she's looking out for #1, the Boss.

That, naturally, brought out Naomi and Tamina, who were looking for clarification on where that leaves Team BAD. Sasha says they're still sisters and everything, it's just she's now got this other thing she wants to focus on moreso than the team goals. Everybody decides to act calmly and rationally, and Naomi and Tamina say they're proud of Sasha and everything she achieves, and in return, Sasha says it'd be awesome if Naomi and Tamina wanted to hang out and have her back in this match.

They agreed, and did the UNITEEEEEEEEEEE thing. Becky finally made her way out, and we have ourselves a match. Despite the custom-made backstory, the announcers don't really sell this as an important "statement match" when it comes to the #1 Contendership.

Instead, it's just a really quick and disjointed 2 minutes, with a not-entirely-surprising ending: Sasha tosses Becky out of the ring, and Naomi and Tamina start an illegal double team. Sasha dives out of the ring and calls them off, saying she doesn't need that kind of help. Sasha throws Becky back into the ring, at which point Naomi and Tamina attack her. So much for unity.

Your Winner: Sasha Banks, via DQ, in about 3 minutes. Either that, or just a no contest. After the match, Becky regained her senses, and saw Naomi and Tamina beating up Sasha, so she (Becky) did the noble thing and jumped in to help out. Together, Becky and Sasha fought off the heels.

You know what, I take back what I said in the RAW Preview about feeling bad that Becky was getting squeezed out so that WWE could do a straight up Charlotte vs. Sasha feud... but after tonight, I think we're just making this whole thing wide open, and all you need is for Paige and Nattie to get involved, and you've got the makings for a WrestleMania first: a 15-20 minute women's match that's actually a major drawing card. Gauntlet Rules, or a Ladder Match, or that one "Scramble" concept they did one time....

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Backstage: Goldust has summoned R-Truth to the men's room, and once again asks if he'll be Goldust's tag partner. Truth declines, on the basis of Goldust being weird. Goldust counters by reminding us of Little Jimmy, which is pretty weird, too. Truth does not like having his own weirdness brought up, so he storms off, and once again, Goldust is sad that he managed to say the wrong thing and send the wrong message in his quest to find a new partner. Awwwww.

Prefatory Matters: it's almost time for our main event, but first, the New Day want to say a few words to their fans in Bootyham, Alabama. It's basically an extended riff on how terrible the Rock is. He's "The People's Booty," don't you know, and he should also be ashamed of the language he used last week. Won't he think of the children. Because the New Day love the children (they prove it by showing a kid in the front row doing the Big E Swivel, because NOTHING is as family-friendly as 6 year olds thrusting their hips suggestively!).

Then they segue to tonight's business, because the Rock is not here. But the Rock's cousin is here. And the Rock's cousin's best friend is here. And so the New Day will take their revenge on those guys instead. Why? Because NEW. DAYROCKS.

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DEAN AMBROSE & ROMAN REIGNS vs. THE NEW DAY (w/ Eggsavier Woods) (Non-Title Match)

Hot start for the good guys. In fact, all of 2 minutes in, Reigns calls for the Superman Punch... but Woods to the rescue! He reaches up and yanks Kofi out of the ring, to safety. New Day regroup as we break for our final....

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Back, and Kofi is dominating Reigns. A split screen reveals that Big E introduced Reigns to the ring post, which is what turned the tables.

Kofi tags E into the match, and the beatdown continues briefly, until E whiffs on a big splash. Reigns is able to make it to his corner, and gets the tag to Ambrose.

Ambrose is on fire for a minute or so, even easily dealing with attempted interference from Kofi. However, after the inspired brawling, Ambrose hit a suicide dive on Big E, and was trying to hoist his deadweight carcass back into the ring... while Ambrose was exerting great effort, Kofi kept the ref distracted, and Woods strikes again! Ambrose could handle the 1-on-2, but 1-on-3? Not so much.

Just like that, Ambrose is in place as our Level 2 Face in Peril, and the New Day bust out all their standard tricks. The Unicorn Stampede goes off without a hitch. And Big E modifies the Abdominal Slap, and instead adds even MORE insult to injury by spanking Ambrose's ass (to the rhythm of the NEW. DAYROCKS. chant) while keeping him in the Abdominal Stretch.

Ambrose actually BITES Big E to escape the embarassing spanking, and sets off a chaotic sequence in which an illegal double team but E and Kofi backfires, allowing Ambrose to make the hot tag to Reigns. Kofi was also legal at this point.

Fans who had been cheering Ambrose, now change things up, and a vocal minority are booing as Reigns dominates the tag champs. When Big E tags in and backs Reigns into a corner, and seems to be regaining the advantage, Ambrose blind tags himself in, and hits his big Standing Elbow from the top rope on Big E. Kofi's back into the ring, and then the 5-way brawl spills out onto the floor.

Things appear to break for the New Day, as E slams Reigns onto the announce table. Big E and Kofi get in position for their modified double-team version of the Big Ending, but at the last second, Ambrose worms out the back, and shoves E into the corner, causing Kofi to crotch himself on the top turnbuckle. Kofi then keeps sliding off and tumbles to the floor, where Reigns greets him with a Superman Punch.

In the ring, Big E has been knocked woozy, and Ambrose is able to hit the Dirty Deeds to finish things off.

Your Winners: Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, via pinfall, in about 15 minutes. The night's third very good match: just really entertaining, and with enough attention to detail that chances for fans to boo Reigns were kept to a minimum. On top of his strong opening promo, that makes Ambrose the big winner on the night. He felt like he fit in the WWE Title picture in the promo, and now, he's the star of the main event match, too.

After the Match: Brock Lesnar's music interrupts Reigns and Ambrose's celebration before it can begin. At first, it looks like Lesnar is going to happily walk into a 1-on-2 fight.

But then, the New Day attack Reigns and Ambrose. Ambrose draws Woods, while Big E and Kofi both focus on Reigns. So you can guess how that ended.... Ambrose finished off Woods, but Reigns got blindsided outside the ring by Big E. So we were left with Lesnar at ringside, staring straight at Dean Ambrose, who is all alone in the ring.

Ambrose ain't backing down, though, and when Lesnar steps up, the two men trade punches for about 7 nanoseconds before Lesnar just starts ragdolling Ambrose, before nailing the F-5 to cap it off.

Lesnar is standing tall over both his Fastlane opponents (although Lesnar only took out Ambrose; the New Day took out Reigns) as we fade to black...

And so ends the show... nothing was done to address the gaping problems with the projected WrestleMania title picture, but in terms of a self-contained show designed to get us to Fastlane, it's hard to gripe.

Ambrose was basically the star of the night, from effective opening promo, to scoring the decisive pin in the main event, to seemingly entering into a personal issue with Brock Lesnar. It'd be so much cooler if these guys were fighting for the title at WM, rather than their dynamic being wasted on a #1 Contender Match that has the stink of "Reigns Must Win" all over it.... but whatever, I'm trying to stay focused on the matters at hand, and not the bigger picture, for now.

Also, it felt like an uptick in the amount of in-ring action, which allowed for three different matches to really get to full cruising speed, and to stand out as something more than your typical throwaway TV Specials. Ziggler/Owens was the definite stand-out.

On the story side, the undercard benefitted from more excellent work on Project Styles (the thing with Miz was pitch perfect, and you still had Jericho lurking about on the fringes, making ominous comments about keeping his eye on AJ).... and the women's division continues to be massively improved, with its focus on distincitive characters and the importance of the title.

This was a three hour show that will be remembered by no one after a few days, but it was a show that had a "high floor." That is to say that tonight's worst stuff was still pretty tolerable. I mean, do we NEED glorified squashes for the Usos and Titus? No, of course not. But are they really THAT offensive to the senses? Nah, not really. Unless you are a super-huge Tyler Breeze fan, anyway.

I think I can go ahead and hand out a final grade of B+ for tonight's show. We'll see if WWE can keep the ball rolling when Pyro pops in to cover SmackDown, and I'm back again in 7 days to talk about RAW.....

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Bonding Exercises

RAW RECAP: The New Guy Blows It

PPV RECAP: WWE Night of Champions 2012

SMACKDOWN RECAP: 18 Seconds? NO! NO! NO!

RAW RECAP: The Show Must Go On

SMACKDOWN RECAP: The Boot Gets the Boot

RAW RECAP: Heyman Lands an Expansion Franchise

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Losing is the new Winning

RAW RECAP: Say My Name

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Deja Vu All Over Again

RAW RECAP: Dignity Before Gold?

PPV RECAP: SummerSlam 2012

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Backfired!

RAW RECAP: Bigger IS Better

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Hitting with Two Strikes

RAW RECAP: Heel, or Tweener?

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Destiny Do-Over

RAW RECAP: CM Punk is Not a Fan of Dwayne

SMACKDOWN RECAP: The Returnening

RAW RECAP: Countdown to 1000

PPV RECAP: WWE Money in the Bank 2012

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Friday Night ZackDown

RAW RECAP: Closure's a Bitch

SMACKDOWN RECAP: In-BRO-pendence Day

RAW RECAP: Crazy Gets What Crazy Wants

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Five Surprising MitB Deposits

RAW RECAP: Weeeellll, It's a Big MitB

SMACKDOWN RECAP: #striketwo

RAW RECAP: Johnny B. Gone

PPV RECAP: WWE No Way Out 2012

RAW RECAP: Crazy Go Nuts

SMACKDOWN RECAP: You're Welcome

RAW RECAP: Be a Star, My Ass

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Needs More Kane?

RAW RECAP: You Can't See Him

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Lady Power

RAW RECAP: Big Johnny Still in Charge

PPV RECAP: WWE Over the Limit 2012

SMACKDOWN RECAP: One Gullible Fella

RAW RECAP: Anvil, or Red Herring?

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Everybody Hates Berto

RAW RECAP: Look Who's Back

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Care to go Best of Five?

RAW RECAP: An Ace Up His Sleeve

PPV RECAP: WWE Extreme Rules 2012

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Sh-Sh-Sheamus and the nOObs

RAW RECAP: Edge, the Motivational Speaker?

SMACKDOWN RECAP: AJ is Angry, Jilted

RAW RECAP: Maybe Cena DOES Suck?

SMACKDOWN RECAP: No! No! No!

RAW RECAP: Brock's a Jerk

SMACKDOWN RECAP: Back with a Bang

RAW RECAP: Yes! Yes! Yes!

PPV RECAP: WWE WrestleMania 28

E-MAIL RICK SCAIA
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Rick Scaia is a wrestling fan from Dayton, OH. He's been doing this since 1995, but enjoyed it best when the suckers from SportsLine were actually PAYING him to be a fan.