Weekly Wrasslin' Wroundup (Nov 28-30)

Best thing that happened in WWE all week.

I watched Raw this week using a trial Hulu subscription because of scheduling, and marveled at the lack of filler, before I realized the Hulu version cuts out like a third of the show. Which means that if you don't watch Raw live or DVR it, there is literally no way to watch the whole thing for like a month. It's not available through cable on demand, Hulu edits it down, and the WWE Network doesn't pick it up until a month later. That is crazypants.


THE GOOD:

Sasha Banks wins the Women's Championship back from Charlotte (Raw). The bit that set up this Falls Count Anywhere match was shit, but the match was fantastic, and the finish, with Charlotte tapping out instantly to a Bank Statement through and around a metal railing, was great stuff.

Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho on the Highlight Reel again. They managed to carry Roman Reigns to a decent promo, put over Canadian Thanksgiving, and tease a bit of tension (again).

Paul Heyman, doing what he do (Raw). It took them a couiple of weeks, but in one interview, Paul Heyman provided the desperately-needed context and story for the Goldberg-Lesnar match at Survivor Series. It's a shame their story is going to dominate the Royal Rumble match, but the interview itself was gold.

No Way Jose vs. Eric Young (NXT) was a solid match elevated to extra goodness due to Nikki Cross's insane, spazout apron distraction that cost Jose the win. I'm liking Jose more in the ring with each outing, though he's still not up to the level of his entrance.

Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss's contract signing (Smackdown) was very well done, with lots of intensity and a table spot at the end.

THE BAD:

Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt winning the #1 Contenders spot from American Alpha after shenanigans. I get why it happened, and the match wasn't even that awful. I just think the way it was set up and the way it played out was shitty. And NuWyatts vs. Rhynater at TLC is gonna be a clusterfuck.

Randy Orton trying to do Spooky Wyatt promos (Smackdown). Nuff said.

Roman Reigns beating Kevin Owens, totally clean, pure Roman Reigns style, to get a title shot at Roadblock. Owens did his best, but goddamn Roman Reigns. Not only is he Roman Reignsing it up, but having him int he Universal Title picture while holding the United States championship means there's no United States championship program going on.

Kane and Luke Harper lumber around the ring for five minutes until a chokeslam to Harper ends it. (Smackdown)

Seth Rollins no-selling the Apron Powerbomb he took from Owens last week (Raw). That move to date has injured superstars for weeks to months, but Rollins was back this week first thing, attacking Jericho in the parking area backstage and Pedigreeing him on the roof of a car despite not being "medically cleared".

Cedric Alexander eating the traditional hometown loss to Tony Nece due to Gulakference (Raw). The crowd was hotter to cheer for Alexander than any crowd's been to date, so why kill that when the Cruisers are having such a tough time getting over? Also, I'd criticise a romance angle between Alexander and Alicia Fox, but any angle is better than none.

Rusev kicks Enzo Amore in Lil' Zo. But this comes after Zo uses his gift of gab to sexually harass Rusev's wife, making this the second consecutive Rusev feud where he's playing the heel but is largely completely justified.

The bullshit fake first match between Sasha and Charlotte (Raw), where they didn't get the timing right and spent like two minutes awkwardly throwing each other into the barricade while the referee

Asuka squashing a jobber and once again proclaiming she has no competition (NXT). This needs to fucking go somewhere.

THE WEIRD AND BORING:

RAW: Sami Zayn gets destroyed by Braun Strohman after Golden Truth got destroyed and then calls Foley a hypocrite. This would be under BAD if Zayn and Foley didn't have good promo chemistry. Rich Swann beats Noam Dar with Kendrick on ommentary. Sheamus and Cesaro had a fakey staged bar brawl to apparently cement their friendship and I guess maybe turn Sheamus faceish? Fairly innocuous place to keep him if they drop the "mismatched" gimmick and just make them a team. New Day retains by cheating, but moral eaquivalency is mainteined because The Clerb tried to use the tights first.

Smackdown: Generic tag match promoting Ziggler-Miz and Corbin-Kalisto ended in a DQ when Corbin hit Kalisto with a chair. Carmella and Nikki brawl for a bit. Ambrose, Ellsworth, and Styles had a way-too-long Ambrose Asylum segment, although the Styles Clash to Ellsworth that ended it was nice.

NXT: Tye Dillinger losing to Samoa Joe is a wash. The match was good, the crowd was hot behind Tye, but they're doing this whole "losing streak / why am I even here" thing with Dillinger, and I have no idea where they're going with it. Or why they're doing an underdog gimmick with someone who's super over.