Had a somewhat stressful day at work. It involves making a company Holiday Thank You Card. I came up with a concept that it seemed like people like but then I had to make more and more changes based on one person's opinion, like they don't like the color, or that I need to work harder at making randomly scattered snowflakes look random.
Went to eat at Sweet Tomatoes for dinner. We went to best Buy and bought a 2nd PS4 controller with the Best Buy gift cards.
Played Gauntlet together
Saturday (12/5):
We stayed home the whole day. Vince had to work on some IGT stuff. Still waiting for the call...
I just basically binge watched to catch up on a few shows like Doctor Who, Last Man on Earth, and Gravity Falls.
Sunday (12/6):
Met with Joel, Pam, and Nikki at KoMex Fusion. Pam and I first met Nikki at the Hello Kitty Warehouse sale over a year ago. She helped us find some stuffs for us, including the Guam Hello Kitty plushies and Tokidoki stuff. Pam kept in contact with her since then and this was my 2nd time to meet her.
After lunch, Joel, Pam, Vince and I went to Fry's. Vince got a PS4 charger station.
Played L4D2 with Joel and Jonathan. Took us over 2 hours to beat one map because of the final stage, so we had to switch from hard to normal. Vince and I made it.
Watched ROH. Dalton Castle's boys don't want to go back to him! Damn you Silas Young!
I'm curious about Monday Night RAW. It's the go-home show before TLC and so far only 3 matches have been confirmed, which is terrible considering that last year had 9 matches confirmed before the PPV. "Make Roman Look Strong" Tour continues!
So I watched tonight's RAW in hopes of seeing how desperate WWE was going to get and, while it had direction, the results were quite messy. It was still better than last week's RAW, however, this show felt like a month's worth of stories crammed into 3 hours. Here's hoping that WWE would actually follow through with this.
Let's start with the good. A brand new stable emerged in the form of League of Nations. Sheamus, Rusev, and Barrett - already known as the European Ultras - welcomed Alberto Del Rio to their fold. This probably meant that they quickly dropped the MexAmerica (and Zeb Colter?) storyline. Sheamus, who was a boring heel met with groans, showed so much personality and cockiness. It was actually nice to see the rest of his guys get the spotlight too.
We also got A New Day filled RAW, appearing in nearly every hour, doing commentary, and doing an awesome WWEShop Cyber Monday ad. These guys are having so much fun that you forget they're suppose to be heels.
And we saw development with the Divas! Charlotte and Becky had a match where Charlotte faked a leg injury while Daddy Ric Flair distracted Becky long enough to lose via rollup. Becky was upset while Charlotte maintained that she was teaching her that they're not on NXT and they're in the big leagues... but you're still my girl! Charlotte is starting to turn heel, Paige is the fan favorite tweener, and Becky is the pure-heart babyface.
The biggest surprise of the night was seeing Tommy Dreamer, an ECW original, coming over to the Dudley Boyz as they issued their challenge to the Wyatt Family. It's not known if Dreamer is going to be with WWE full-time. It's a great way to keep the Dudleys active since they've sadly gotten stale after losing numerous times to The New Day.
The bad was everything else about the show. This was clearly The Roman Reigns Show, who stole the opening segment by Superman Punching Sheamus and taking his belt, all with a big fucking smile on his face. Stealing titles! That sounds so rebellious and fun for Reigns to do! You know who else was doing that? DEAN FUCKING AMBROSE. Reigns' little act pissed off HHH and Stephanie, who informed Reigns that Sheamus is going to defend his title tonight and that he has 5 minutes and 15 seconds (the length of his reign as a champion) to beat him. And just so that we don't forget how much the odds are stacked against Reigns, HHH informed Ambrose that if Reigns loses to Sheamus, he would lose his IC title shot with Owens, which made him pretty angry. Stephanie also informed The Usos that they'll lose their Tag Team title shot with New Day if Reigns loses as well. It's a thinly veiled attempt of getting the fan support from Ambrose and The Usos to root for Reigns.
Of course, Reigns wins via DQ and Sheamus remains the champ, which led to the giant clusterfuck of a main event that saw Reigns, Ambrose and The Usos vs League of Nations AND The New Day. Ambrose ended up being the hot tag (which was said to wake up the audience) and he took out all the heels until he got overwhelmed. Ambrose got pinned by Sheamus and was beaten down by all the heels until Reigns came in to help him. RAW ended with the heels standing strong over a defeated Reigns. Commentary made it a point to focus on Reigns being overwhelmed and not catching a break.
Overall, this was an acceptable RAW. RollingStone, Wrestling Observer, ProWrestling, and AV Club seems to think otherwise. As an Ambrose fan, I was not happy on how he was utilized as a prop for Reigns to get over. Although it was nice of HHH to acknowledge Ambrose and Owens IC title match for TLC, it was even weirder to not see Owens at all last night, despite being advertised. There was a rumor that Owens fell sick and had to fly back home, which means he won't be on Smackdown this week.
I saw this little gem on instagram. Ambrose might've done this move during the commercial break. I love how you can hear the audience laughing after the loud thud. He's a such a goddamn lovable babyface.
I noticed I didn't do a weekend recap for last week. I think I either forgot about it or it was uneventful. Friday (11/27):
BLACK FRIDAY. I had to come into work early to take pics and video. I found out not-so-good news about the sales.
I ordered a Samsung SSD for my computer. Vince installed it and unfortunately, it got messed up. We had to return it so that we can get another free replacement from Amazon.
Played Overwatch for a bit and went to sleep while Vince stayed up.
Saturday (11/28):
Went to Vince's parent's place for a late lunch.
Hanged out at Joel and Pam's place. We played with the kiddies and watched "Gremlins 2."
Sunday (11/29):
Went to Target, Pet Smart then Town Square. Ate at Claim Jumpers for lunch. Walked around Fry'sand I found the last Mewtwo Amiibo.
Finished "Jessica Jones." God damn that was a great show.
Watched the ending of ROH
I am SOOOOOO looking forward to RAW and Smackdown for the next 2 weeks until the TLC PPV. I'm getting more annoyed with how they're blatantly pushing Reigns as both this Superman and Underdog. I keep reminding myself to not hate Reigns, just hate creative and booking for pushing ONE GUY instead of building up the other talents since more of their guys (i.e. Rollins, Orton, and recently Cesaro) are out.
Coming off from an extremely disappointing Survivor Series PPV, I opted not to watch RAW live (I watched the livestream 3 hours earlier) and just read the results online. I didn't even do my usual thing and let the TV run in the background until Dean Ambrose showed up, which just happened to be the second to the last match in the third hour before the main event. The only time I tuned in to watch RAW live was just for New Day segment. Then Vince and I went back to watching Supergirl. RAW was so unbearable that we actually watched something on PBS.
Why did we skip RAW? It's because Survivor Series, which should've been THE night to push new stars from the midcard and do something refreshingly different, came up short and WWE went with the safe route. Dirtsheets reported that it was a last-minute decision to have Sheamus cash in because they were afraid the fans were going to boo Reigns as a champ, which they still did after he lost the title.
Unfortunately, WWE's dumb plan worked because the crowd last night was booing at Sheamus and cheering for Reigns. Reigns used his rematch clause to get his title back, which The Authority refused and said it'll have to wait til TLC in December. So that means Reigns will be chasing after transitional champ Sheamus for the next 3 weeks. "Make Roman Look Strong" is in full fucking effect.
Instead of me summarizing or giving my thoughts on the random matches, I'll just link reviews from the other websites that also reviewed RAW with some choice quotes.
After a rash of injuries, last-minute re-bookings, a tournament and a recent U.K. tour, you can't blame WWE creative for needing a break – that doesn't mean you have to like it, though.
After generating some good will during the build to Survivor Series, WWE has seemingly squandered absolutely all of it with six hours of uninventive, frustrating, straight up terrible programming.
There's little hope for this company to build a new star if they keep going back to 1999 in order to find big matches. With HHH as the de facto top heel, that makes Sheamus look like his understudy. In other words, they learned nothing from how poorly Rollins was booked.
WWE is in a really bad place right now. Forget Sheamus as champion since he's likely just a transitional guy. The overall roster is just a mess with so few wrestlers that fans seem to truly care about, and Vince McMahon apparently thinking bad comedy and dream sequence product placement spots are acceptable.
WWE should be in full-on panic mode. Their TV ratings for RAW keep fluctuating from acceptable to historically low. More of their superstars are getting injured while a few who were injured several months ago are making their return. They have all these talents that they're putting on the sidelines because they're trying to push THAT ONE GUY. And somehow 3 hours on their A show and 2 hours on their B show isn't enough time for them to do that on a weekly bases.
At least Ambrose is gunning after Owens for the IC title, so that's not so bad.
This was not a good PPV. My hand hurts from angrily punching the couch. WWE kept touting that change was coming in the form of a new Champion. We certainly got a new Champion last night but only because it was telegraphed and predictable, much like the rest of the card. This was a chance to not only have a new Champion but to just do something completely new and different in the absence of Rollins, Orton, and Cena. And they went with the safest route possible.
Here are the match results:
Roman Reigns defeated Alberto Del Rio
Dean Ambrose defeated Kevin Owens
Ryback, The Lucha Dragons, and The Usos defeated The New Day, Sheamus and King Barrett
Charlotte defeated Paige
Tyler Breeze defeated Dolph Ziggler
The Brothers of Destruction defeated The Wyatt Family
Roman Reigns defated Dean Ambrose
Sheamus defeated Roman Reigns
I'll be honest, the only matches I cared about were the WHC tournament finals. Everyone knew that Reigns was going to win over Del Rio. While Owens advancing would've given a true heel vs face match, it was also obvious that Ambrose was going to advance. The main event for this whole PPV lasted under 10 minutes. 10 FREAKING MINUTES. The match ended abruptly with Reigns winning the title, which left the audience stunned and they were gearing up for Ambrose or Reigns to turn heel. Instead, Ambrose shared a touching moment with his brother and left the ring to let his brother have his moment as confetti and streamers rained on Reigns. HHH, being in best for business mode, went out to congratulate him. Reigns responded by spearing HHH. And then Sheamus runs in to cash in and brogue kicks him. Their match lasted under 40 seconds.
You know what else was infuriating? The whole tournament was essentially pointless. It was obvious that Reigns was going to win but it was also obvious that he was going to get booed too. WWE probably saw how this wasn't going to work out (again) and made the decision for Sheamus to cash in, so the fans can boo him instead. When Survivor Series went off the air, they cut back to Reigns being tearful in the ring and walking back slowly up the ramp. The arena was booing him. The fans are booing WWE's top babyface. That is a big fucking sign that Reigns has to change his character. We are seeing a repeat of Daniel Bryan's "YES" movement but they are putting Reigns in the underdog role instead of Ambrose, the true underdog in all of this mess.
Speaking of which, Ambrose was very different tonight. The backstage segments showed Ambrose being serious, even pissed, as they were nearing the main event. Hell, Ambrose didn't even change shirts and fought against Reigns with his torn tanktop. He was acting heelish, which seemed like a dead giveaway that he really did accept HHH's offer. But that whole attitude change disappeared when Ambrose fist bumped Reigns and left the ring. The last 2 weeks showed a more focused Ambrose who opted for technical moves instead of his wild brawler style. It would be a shame to see him go back to that or worse, go back to being Reigns' buddy again.
I'm unsure if I want to watch RAW live tonight. Do I want to see The Authority and Sheamus do an opening monologue? Do I want to see Reigns come down and do another recap of what happened to him last night? I can't imagine how to even feel invested in any of the matches going forward unless they continue with Ambrose going after Owens for the IC title. The next PPV is TLC for December and it's already shaping up to have Reigns going after Sheamus for the WHC title. Nothing really changed last night, so I don't expect RAW to be any different.
It's already known that Reigns and Ambrose would make it to the finals this Sunday. Ambrose made it clear that if it came down to just the 2 of them, even though they're brothers, it's on. To which Reigns replied, "We'll always be brothers. BELEE DAT!" Their budding friendship, where Reigns was Ambrose's cheerleader for the PPV's he headlined and vice versa for the last several months, is begging to come to an end. Basically, no one expects their match to end on friendly terms. Someone's turning heel.
And here's WWE dilemma: They need a new champion, a new top babyface, and a new top heel since John Cena and Rollins, respectively, are out. All of this pressure falls on the current top babyfaces, Reigns and Ambrose. They just can't decide who should play which role.
Reigns needs the heel turn, badly. It's the natural progression for his character who keeps overcoming the odds (ugh) and never gets close to winning the title. Joining The Authority works for him, especially since the fans are now turning against him again. He can be like The Rock and work on his character to be a full-fledged badass before becoming a a true babyface. WWE sees this as a problem (at least for them) because they don't want Reigns to be a heel and lose his fans. The older fans can't buy Reigns as a babyface when he's dressed in black tactical gear and scowls all the time. He's built and booked as a powerhouse, not as an underdog.
Speaking of underdog, the one who truly looks the part is Ambrose. He doesn't have the look of a champion but he has the tenacity and the drive to be one. He just needs to win the championship title as a babyface to vindicate his DQ win against Rollins. This is what everyone wants to see. However, if Ambrose turns heel, he would still get over with the fans (damn that charisma of his). WWE sees this as their best solution and to keep Reigns as the top babyface. The problem is that it'll completely ruin Ambrose's character as this guy who went insane after Rollins betrayed The Shield and him remaining loyal to his only brother, Reigns.
There are so many scenarios for the finals, such as Reigns winning against Ambrose and joining the Authority, or Ambrose revealing that he secretly accept HHH's offer. There's even a possibility that Owens might advance and face off against Reigns. Oh, and Sheamus might cash in his Money In The bank at some point.
The dirtsheets were hit with new rumors that the brass changed their mind about Reigns and are pushing Ambrose to be the new champ instead. Of course, WWE could've intentionally leaked this to get people interested in the PPV, just to see Reigns walking away with the title. He has a freaking video that recaps what happened in the last 7 months! One thing is certain: Reigns will be the new WWE Heavyweight Champion. All hail the Roman Empire, I guess.
Tonight's "go home" RAW will focus on the quarterfinals for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament. This was put together last week after Seth Rollins' serious leg injury forced him to vacate the title. The remaining contenders are:
Roman Reigns vs Cesaro
Kevin Owens vs Neville
Dolph Ziggler vs Dean Ambrose
Kalisto vs Alberto Del Rio
Initially, it seems obvious who the final 4 winners will be: Reigns, Owens, Ambrose, and Del Rio. Two are heels that are the current US Champion and IC Champion and the other two are The Shield BFFs and the current top babyfaces of the company. Then again, a lot of people didn't expect Kalisto to make it to the finals, which in hindsight, makes sense since he would be facing against Del Rio. And Ziggler and Ambrose are both sporting injuries from their respective matches last week, which means shenanigans (in the bitter form of Tyler Breeze) will most likely happen. WWE could either put on something very predictable and by-the-numbers or do something completely unexpected, like a much needed swerve, to get people invested for the match at Survivor Series. ----------
Ok, I take that back. The final 4 really are Reigns, Owens, Ambrose, and Del Rio O_O
RAW kicked off with Taker and Kane along with the Wyatt Family trading promos. They're saving themselves and their potential lightning and fire battle this Sunday. I have to say that the buildup for this is feeling really one-sided. It looked like the Wyatt Family was set up to be this big and powerful stable until Kane and Taker escaped with their powers intact. And it's still so weird that it's going to be Taker and Kane vs 2 of Wyatt's choice as opposed to 4 vs 4.
The first tournament match was Kevin Owens vs Neville. This was hands down the most thrilling match of the night and a great way to kick off the tournament. It was full of damn impressive spots from Neville and brutal and hard hitting moves from Owens. It was an impressive showcase for the 2 former NXT champs, mostly for Neville. Owens advances and despite Neville losing, he came off looking great here.
The second tournament match was Dean Ambrose vs Dolph Ziggler, which was a technical match. Let me rephrase that; it was a technical wrestling match. It started off as methodical, both testing each other strengths with chain wrestling. Then it slowly built up to a more explosive match. The biggest takeaway from this was Ambrose's mannerisms and attitude here. He wasn't being silly and panning to the crowd, he was focused and he showed frustration whenever Ziggler would get away. Ziggler was good too and showed as much offense in the end. Ambrose reverses Ziggler's attempt at a small package into Dirty Deeds and advances to the finals. He cut a short and great promo on what he would do if he was the World Heavyweight Champion. "I make the entire WWE the Ambrose Asylum!"
The third tournament match was Roman Reigns vs Cesaro. I was expecting this to be the main event (which I'll get to in a minute). This was just a flat out brawl between them but Cesaro did a good job making Reigns look strong. This was a good match for Reigns too but it still showcased how really limited his moveset is. Both sustained a minor arm injury as the match went on and they conveniently forgot to sell it. In the end, Reigns Superman punches and spears Cesaro for the win and advances.
The last tournament match was Albert Del Rio vs Kalisto, which was a very messy and very lazy match to watch. Ever Del Rio returned, there was so much anticipation on what he could do to uphold the US title after winning it from John Cena. And so far, it's not good. Del Rio looks like he's phoning it in with this weird "Meximera" gimmick and it seems to have carried over in this match. First, he accidentally unmasked Kalisto and tried to put the mask back on. Second, he botched a backbreaker and had to redo the spot. And last, he's still using his really lame double stomp finisher.
The main event as a contract signing with Paige and Charlotte. This was another bad segment and a stark reminder how badly they've been handling this Divas Revolution in the last 4 months. Paige came off incredibly heelish while Charlotte, the Divas Champion, came off as incredibly emotional and I hate to say it, weak. They brought up her brother Reid Flair, whom Charlotte almost always cries about. And Paige said he doesn't have much fight in him. This set up a catfight of some sort, which looks no different from how Divas were fighting earlier in the year. Paige mocking Charlotte's dead brother (and ignoring her other brother, David Flair, who's very much alive) did get people talking.
So that's the go-home show. Smack Down! is going to feature The Miz talking to the Reigns, Owens, Ambrose, and Del Rio as they had to Survivor Series. The card itself still looks a little short but knowing WWE, they're going to scramble for some last-minute additions. To be honest, the biggest match that everyone is looking forward to is not Taker and Kane vs The Wyatt Family. All eyes are on Reigns, Ambrose, and even Owens on who's going to be the Heavyweight Champion this Sunday. Who will be HHH's man?
