Made Men
OO will be resuming normal updating after a period of real life time-thiefs and backstage upgrades, in time for the big Brand Re-Split. But for the time being, we must pause to examine the remarkable Money in the Bank PPV main event, in which Seth Rollins cleanly defeated Roman Reigns to win the WWE Title he NEVER LOST. Then, an hour after winning it, Dean Ambrose cashed in the MitB Briefcase on an unsuspecting Rollins to win his first WWE Title. All three members of the Shield held the WWE Title within a 5 minute span of time, just 2 years after their breakup (and only 4 years after their debut). This sets up a wild and crazy summer and inevitable "title split" (WWE will want split world titles for both brands, and let us all remember that WWE Champ Ambrose lost to Brock Lesnar at WM 32~!). Rick Scaia will have full verbaige and analysis of what's going on when it is feasiable. In the meantime, Rick and others are posting regularly in the OO Forums.

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SMACKDOWN RECAP: Time's Up! Or Not. The Club and the Bloodline care not about your piddling time constraints!!! A Roman Reigns vs. Luke Gallows main event broke down into a chaotic brawl, and the six men were still fighting all over the place when Mauro grudgingly said we were totally out of time, and faded to black. How Nitro of them!   RAW RECAP: Ladies Last It took the better part of a year, but WWE is finally making good on that promise to "revolutionize" women's wrestling. They took another big step on Monday, when Charlotte and Natalys "main evented" RAW with a contract signing for their upcoming title match.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Owens Wins. Kind of. The non-stop carosel of one-upsmanship that is the four-way feud over the IC Title took another wacky turn on Thursday. Kevin Owens scored the decisive win for his team in a match against Sami Zayn and Cesaro. But his celebration was cut short when his own partner, Miz, attacked him after the bell.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Nosey Nosey Things were all set up for the Usos to once again face Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson this week on SD. But those busybodies Roman Reigns and AJ Styles just couldn't mind their own business. As a result of their interference, the match became a 6-man, with Roman standing tall in the end.   RAW RECAP: Not Done Yet All signs pointed to Chris Jericho departing WWE after Payback, for another lengthy hiatus. But then, he made a surprise appearance on tonight's RAW, attacking Dean Ambrose and resuming his duties as the host of the Highlight Reel. Looks like there's one more chapter to this story, afterall.   PPV: WWE Payback 2016 Yes, Roman Reigns is still the WWE Champion, like everybody in their right minds expected. But in a shocker, he actually LOST to AJ Styles TWICE. Once was via DQ, and once was via count-out, and then, Reigns did manage to win a third fall by pin, when Shane and Steph kept restarting the match. Good times; Rick Scaia has all the details.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Who to Boo? Fans have certainly been unimpressed by Roman Reigns, lately. But Miz has nearly a half-dozen years of earning our ire on his resume... so fans had a tough choice when deciding who to boo when Reigns vs. Miz headlined last night's SmackDown. Pyro has all the details for you.   RAW RECAP: Heel on Purpose Roman Reigns capped of this week's RAW by attacking AJ Styles from behind. FINALLY, he does something that's SUPPOSED to generate boos! Of course, moments later, Styles repaid Reigns with a pearl harbor attack of his own, so heel/face alignment is still unclear as we countdown the days to Payback.   OO: Chyna Dead at 45, and Other Newsbites Joanie "Chyna" Laurer was found dead at her home in Los Angeles on Wednesday. She was 45. Rick Scaia recaps her remarkable career (she was a 2-time IC Champ, among other things), and catches you up on all the news of the day -- including a new NXT champion! -- in his latest column.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: JeriKO~! The vast majority of the WWE roster departed for a European tour after Monday's RAW, leaving only a handful of performers for this week's SD tapings. And you know what that means: LOTS OF ACTUAL IN RING ACTION! AJ Styles vs. Alberto del Rio, and Sami Zayn vs. Chris Jericho were both delightful contests, as PyroFalkon reports.   RAW RECAP: Make-Up Game Roman Reigns is allegedly our beloved babyface World Champ... but in reality, everything about him seems to be backwards. On Monday, that meant forming a tag team with his bitter enemy Bray Wyatt, for a main event match in which Reigns was booed and Wyatt was cheered. Rick Scaia has a full recap and analysis of a very enjoyable "Sustainable Episodic TV" edition of RAW.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Skeleton Crew The vast majority of the WWE roster departed for a European tour after Monday's RAW, leaving only a handful of performers for this week's SD tapings. And you know what that means: LOTS OF ACTUAL IN RING ACTION! AJ Styles vs. Alberto del Rio, and Sami Zayn vs. Chris Jericho were both delightful contests, as PyroFalkon reports.   RAW RECAP: Strange Bedfellows Roman Reigns is allegedly our beloved babyface World Champ... but in reality, everything about him seems to be backwards. On Monday, that meant forming a tag team with his bitter enemy Bray Wyatt, for a main event match in which Reigns was booed and Wyatt was cheered. Rick Scaia has a full recap and analysis of a very enjoyable "Sustainable Episodic TV" edition of RAW.   OO: Catching Up with Some Newsbites WrestleMania Weekend involved 17 hours of prime time action spread out over 4 nights... and if you're like OO, you got a little burnt out. But it's been 5 days, the batteries are recharged, and it's time to get caught up on ratings, NXT call-ups, and all the other news that's been accumulating!.   PPV RECAP: WWE WrestleMania 32 Yes, it's true: Roman Reigns walked out of WM32 as the WWE Champ, and it was far from a popular or satisfying conclusion. But man alive, WWE threw enough stuff at us earlier on the show that it's hard to be too upset. Women's wrestling is back! HBK, Foley, and Austin team up! Shane McMahon is crazy! Oh, and the Rock showed up and HAD A MATCH! Rick Scaia has a full report.   WrestleMania 32: A Complete Preview Before you dive into this year's spectacle (which will be a full SIX hours long, including the pre-show), why not invest a few minutes to make sure you're fully up to speed and ready to get the most out of your WM32 experience? PyroFalkon once again does a great job breaking down the entire WM card for your edification.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: RyderMania Running WIld? AJ Styles and Kevin "Steen" Owens have been indie darlings for a decade, and have had a few "dream matches" in front of DOZENS of fans. Nobody expected either of them to make it to WWE, but here we stand with BOTH of them on the big stage, and finally getting to have a match in front of millions, in the main event of this week's SD.   RAW RECAP: All About the IC Strap! A month off TV did not do Roman Reigns any favors with regards to his level of acceptance. He made a decided non-triumphant return to attack HHH, and got booed out of the building, underscoring the fact that this is a problem that is not going away. Rick Scaia has a complete report on all the night's action.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Not a Hallucination AJ Styles and Kevin "Steen" Owens have been indie darlings for a decade, and have had a few "dream matches" in front of DOZENS of fans. Nobody expected either of them to make it to WWE, but here we stand with BOTH of them on the big stage, and finally getting to have a match in front of millions, in the main event of this week's SD.   RAW RECAP: It's Reigning Boos A month off TV did not do Roman Reigns any favors with regards to his level of acceptance. He made a decided non-triumphant return to attack HHH, and got booed out of the building, underscoring the fact that this is a problem that is not going away. Rick Scaia has a complete report on all the night's action.   (SORT OF) PPV: WWE Roadblock 2016 WWE threw a relatively impromptu Saturday Night Special Event, which promised to change the face of WrestleMania 32. Except: it didn't. Triple H beat Dean Ambrose, and Brock Lesnar vs. Bray Wyatt didn't even happen at all. At least the in-ring quality was high, as Rick Scaia reports.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Fire! FIRE! F-F-F-F-FIRE~! Chris Jericho took his time, but he's finally completed that heel turn that's been simmering since his return two months ago. This Thursday, that took the form of a scathing rant against AJ Styles, followed by the burning of a Y2AJ t-shirt. Jerk. PyroFalkon will supply all the details.   OO: Roadblock or Tollbooth? And Other News The "pop-up PPV" Roadblock is looming, and it's time for WWE to put up, or shut up. Will it be a true Roadblock that changes the face of WM32? Or merely a $9.99 Tollbooth, with HHH vs. Reigns remaining as the Mania Main Event? Rick Scaia examines this issue and has a bunch of other newsbites for you, too.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Lunatic on the Loose Dean Ambrose had a big night on Monday, and just kept on rolling on Thursday. Despite being banged up, Ambrose managed a clean victory over Kevin Owens in an excellent 20 minute main event. PyroFalkon has all the details.   RAW RECAP: Human Roadblock? With interest in a HHH/Reigns WM32 main event, WWE has suddenly thrown a curveball. Dean Ambrose got in HHH's face, and goaded him into a WWE Title Match BEFORE Mania. That match will take place at the WWE Network Event on March 12, and makes things VERY interesting.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Chris(t) Jericho? For Chris Jericho's first month and a half back in WWE, he seemed perpetually on the brink of a heel turn. But all of a sudden, he's pals with AJ Styles, and he actually seems sincere. This week, he sacrificed himself in a main event tag match, allowing AJ to score the submission victory.   RAW RECAP: Shane-o-Mac is Back Shane McMahon made a shocking return to WWE on Monday, declaring his desire to help fix the business he helped build. He might get that chance: Vince will grant Shane's wish if Shane can beat the Undertaker at WrestleMania. Whoa.   PPV RECAP: WWE Fastlane 2016 As widely expected/feared, Roman Reigns cruised to victory in a #1 Contenders Match (pinning Dean Ambrose) and will challenge Triple H for the WWE Title at WrestleMania 32. Luckily, the show delivered some quality in-ring work to offset the anticlimactic finish, as Rick Scaia reports.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Suplex Thursday Brock Lesnar only works about 24 nights per year, and since his WWE comeback began in 2012, he's never bothered showing up for SmackDown. Until this week. Brock crashed a Reigns/Ambrose vs. Dudleys main event to take his two opponents at Sunday's Fastlane on a rare Thursday visit to Suplex City.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Battle of the Js Round two of the Y2J vs. AJ Battle happened on Thursday, and it was an Instant Classic. Chris Jericho scored the win over AJ Styles in a match that easily topped their first. Now, all that's left is a Rubber Match. Pyrofalkon has a full report.   RAW RECAP: Daniel Bryan Retires Testing intended to clear Daniel Bryan to return to the ring, once and for all, instead revealed serious problems. And so, sadly, Bryan's emotional retirement speech capped off Monday's eventful RAW. Rick Scaia has a full transcript and other thoughts.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Brotherhood SD's rejuvenation continued unabated this week. The show opened with a cool promo that set up an excellent 8-man tag, and then ended with another promo that set up a superb 6-man main event. And the in between parts weren't bad, either, as Pyro reports.   RAW RECAP: Priorities? On Monday, WWE ostensibly tried to establish that Dean Ambrose "fits" into the WWE Title picture, by having him cut an awesome promo on Brock Lesnar, and then score the pinfall in the main event... but the real takeaway from RAW was that Lilian Garcia accidentally said "Grammy" when she meant "Slammy," and the announcers had to harp on it at least once in every segment. D'oh.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Big Show is Back SD's rejuvenation continued unabated this week. The show opened with a cool promo that set up an excellent 8-man tag, and then ended with another promo that set up a superb 6-man main event. And the in between parts weren't bad, either, as Pyro reports.   RAW RECAP: It's Getting Stupider in Here The Authority spent 2 months doing everything they could to prevent Roman Reigns from being WWE Champion. At the Royal Rumble, they finally succeeded. So the very next night, they just went and gave Reigns another shot to get the title back by entering him into a #1 Contender Match. Let Rick Scaia try to wrap his brain around that for you in this recap...   PPV RECAP: Royal Rumble 2016 Here in the Year of Our Lord 2016, Triple H is the WWE Champion. We all knew he'd do whatever it took to get the belt off Roman Reigns, but I don't quite think anybody believed he'd try to become champ, himself. But that's just what he did, entering the Rumble at #30, and winning it all. PyroFalkon has all the details.   RAW RECAP: Family Values The Royal Rumble is always "every man for himself." Friends and tag partners have been motivated to battle each other countless times over the years. But the Wyatt Family are bucking that trend, and seem dedicated to sticking together to help Bray win the WWE Title. Their togetherness allowed them to dominate both Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar on Monday.   RAW RECAP: Least Mode Leave it to WWE to suck the joy out of a rare appearance by Brock Lesnar. Lesnar showed up towards the end of one of the most nonsensical bait and switches in memory, as Vince changed the rules on the fly to create a first-ever One On One Handicap Match. THUD. Not even Brock taking the top echelon of the WWE Roster (including Roman Reigns) to Suplex City could undo that suck.   OO: Cena Out, AJ Styles In, and Other News 2016 is off the a crazy start, and Rick Scaia is here to sort it all out for you. John Cena is out of action till SummerSlam, further decimating WWE's WM32 plans. But WWE is looking to poach a few stars (including AJ Styles) from New Japan. All that, plus a discussion of reboots for SmackDown and TNA!   RAW RECAP: Roman's Pyrrhic Victory Hey, look: Roman Reigns beat the odds, and is still the WWE Champion! But in so doing, he only pissed off Vince McMahon even more, and now, Vince has decreed that Reigns will defend his belt against 29 other men in the Royal Rumble Match. Neato. Rick Scaia has a full report on how it all went down.   RAW RECAP: Owens Wins by Losing Yeah, so Kevin Owens lost a match to Neville. But then, he delivered two brutal beatdowns, including one that left IC Champ Dean Ambrose unable to leave under his own power. So on a messy night of storyline silliness, Owens' dominant performance makes him the night's biggest winner. Even though he lost.   RAW RECAP: League of No Ones Sheamus put together a posse, won the WWE Title, and seemed like he'd be a tough guy to beat... until two weeks ago. Now, he and the League of Nations are the world's biggest jabronies. Rick Scaia has a full recap of their latest ritual humiliation at the hands of Roman Reigns.   RAW RECAP: That Escalated Quickly WWE (read: Vince McMahon) apparently had one of his trademark Mood Swings... after what was a Good Start towards rebuilding Roman Reigns' credibility, the company just hit the FF button with a disjointed hot-shotty show that ended with Reigns winning the WWE Title by destroying the entire LoN, plus Vince McMahon, before pinning Sheamus. Rick Scaia tries to sort it all out for you.   PPV RECAP: WWE TLC 2015 With a huge assist from the League of Nations, Sheamus retained the WWE Title, winning a TLC Match over Roman Reigns. But then, Reigns snapped and destroyed the entire LoN AND Triple H, to boot. It was a moral victory on a night when heels scored almost all the actual victories, as Rick Scaia recaps.   RAW RECAP: Sheamus Shows Ass Sheamus has the WWE Title, and he also has a posse (the newly formed League of Nations). But on the final RAW before a TLC Title Defense, he couldn't look any weaker. He got pinned in a show-opening tag match, and then got his ass kicked in a show closing brawl. Rick Scaia has details.   OO: RAW, Ratings, and Other Newsbites The Rick managed to lose the entirety of his RAW Recap this week, so instead, he's here with a mini-report of Monday's action, plus a TON of other newsbites. Included is an in-depth discussion of who to interperate ratings here in the Year of Our Lord 2015.   RAW RECAP: International Incident As Sheamus fends off a challenge from Roman Reigns, he won't be going it alone. His fellow Europeans Wade Barrett and Rusev stepped up to join a new faction of Evil Foreigners. Their unification was the lone real high spot on a notably crappy edition of RAW.   PPV RECAP: Survivor Series 2015 It was no surprise when Uber Babyface Roman Reigns won the WWE Title Tournament at Survivor Series.... but it was a bit of a shock when Sheamus cashed in Money in the Bank to walk out of the PPV as the new WWE Champion. It capped off a fairly strong show, as Rick Scaia recaps.   RAW RECAP: Ladies' Night The outcomes of four WWE Title Tournament matches could not have been more predictable... so in search of a curveball, WWE put Charlotte and Paige into the main event, for a contract signing. Rick Scaia breaks down whehter this was a good idea or not.   RAW RECAP: In Manchester, United! WWE broadcast RAW from Manchester this week, and at the end of the show, the Undertaker and Kane returned (from their massive 3 week absence) and united against the Wyatt Family. That capped off a show that also featured the start of a 16-man tournament to crown the next WWE Champion.   RAW RECAP: Reigns is Next The last RAW before a PPV saw some big names popping in for rare appearances (including the Undertaker, Lesnar, HBK, and Stone Cold). But a few guys were also conspicuously absent, like Luke Harper and Randy Orton. How did the various additions and substractions work out in the big picture? Rick Scaia sorts it out.   PPV RECAP: Hell in a Cell 2015 For the second month in a row, Seth Rollins' WWE Title doesn't seem in genuine jeopardy, as he's facing an older guy who really isn't credible as a world champion here in 2015. But bless WWE's heart, they're gonna try to MAKE you believe: Kane actually pinned Rollins in a non-title match on Monday's show!   RAW RECAP: Comings and Goings The last RAW before a PPV saw some big names popping in for rare appearances (including the Undertaker, Lesnar, HBK, and Stone Cold). But a few guys were also conspicuously absent, like Luke Harper and Randy Orton. How did the various additions and substractions work out in the big picture? Rick Scaia sorts it out.   RAW RECAP: Believe in the Demon! For the second month in a row, Seth Rollins' WWE Title doesn't seem in genuine jeopardy, as he's facing an older guy who really isn't credible as a world champion here in 2015. But bless WWE's heart, they're gonna try to MAKE you believe: Kane actually pinned Rollins in a non-title match on Monday's show!   RAW RECAP: Booked to Fail The New Day have certainly been WWE's most consistantly entertaining act for the past several months. But as fun as they are, none of them really make for convincing singles title contenders at this point... as a result, it's a bit underwhelming to have them challenging John Cena for the US Title. Not even the New Day can put a positive spin on that foregone conclusion of a main event.   RAW RECAP: Many Faces of Jacobs Korporate Kane returned to his duties as Director of Operations, and immediately took it upon himself to determine Seth Rollins' next WWE Title Challenger... and he picked The Demon Kane, who for the time being is TOTALLY a COMPLETELY different other person.   RAW RECAP: Sting's Still Got It For the first time ever, Sting wrestling on a Monday night IN A WWE RING. After some bait and switching, it was a tag match in which Sting teamed with John Cena to defeat Big Show and Seth Rollins. Rick Scaia has a full report for you.   RAW RECAP: New. DayRocks. WWE would probably rather have OO focusing on other talking points.... but seriously: the biggest takeaway from Monday is that the New Day are increasingly awesome (including a Trombone vs. Kazoo duel against Edge and Christian!). Rick Scaia spins things HIS way in this RAW Recap...   RAW RECAP: Sting is Back Seth Rollins showed up at RAW as the dual WWE and US Champion, and he wanted a Statue of himself to celebrate his acheivement. Instead, he got Sting In A Box. That's right, Sting materialized in place of Rollins' statue, and demanded a WWE Title Shot. It was the capper of an amazing edition of RAW that also saw the return of the Dudley Boyz, and an F-U to Jon Stewart.   PPV RECAP: SummerSlam 2015 Brock Lesnar vs. the Undertaker was a bit of a letdown, thanks to a ridiculously convoluted finish. Luckily, Seth Rollins vs. John Cena made up for it with a really nice hard-fought match that led up to a wacky finish of its own, in which Jon Stewart ran in and helped Rollins win. Awesome.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Please the Crowd Monday's RAW delivered plenty of sizzle, but Thursday's SD gently glided us into SummerSlam by not doing anything to piss off the fans. It was a night when pretty much all the faces won, capped off by giant 8-man tag that served as a preview for 3 separate SummerSlam matches.   RAW RECAP: Boo the Taker? It took a partisan crowd and another ball-kick, but the Undertaker got booed out of the building on Monday. Minneapolis was firmly behind their hometown boy, Brock Lesnar, in a show-closing brawl. Things will surely be different come SummerSlam, but for one night, Taker was a heel! It capped off an all-around solid final show before Sunday's PPV.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Swiss Gist For over a year, Rusev wasn't beaten in a singles match. Now, he's lost twice in the last month, both coming in SD main events. This week, Roman Reigns got the clean pinfall win (after verbally destroying Rusev in a show-opening promo).   RAW RECAP: Orton's Big Night Seth Rollins set the bar high, as he gloated about breaking John Cena's nose, and did a "WWE Title Open Challenge" to further the taunting; he wound up beating Neville in an OUTSTANDING opening match. But then, Paul Heyman stole the show with an epic promo, in which he built up Taker/Lesnar as The Match Too Big For WrestleMania.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Rusev Waning? For over a year, Rusev wasn't beaten in a singles match. Now, he's lost twice in the last month, both coming in SD main events. This week, Roman Reigns got the clean pinfall win (after verbally destroying Rusev in a show-opening promo).   RAW RECAP: Rollins and Heyman, Geniuses Seth Rollins set the bar high, as he gloated about breaking John Cena's nose, and did a "WWE Title Open Challenge" to further the taunting; he wound up beating Neville in an OUTSTANDING opening match. But then, Paul Heyman stole the show with an epic promo, in which he built up Taker/Lesnar as The Match Too Big For WrestleMania.   OO: Roddy Piper, Dead at 61 Roddy Piper, every bit as important to the WWF's WrestleMania Boom Era as Hulk Hogan, passed away suddenly on Friday, of an apparent heart attack. On this sad day, Rick Scaia will try to put a smile on your face by remembering all the incredibly fun things Roddy Piper accomplished in his career.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: The Champ is EVERYwhere~! After breaking John Cena's nose on RAW, and crashing one of Jon Stewart's final "Daily Shows," Seth Rollins kept up his busy week. The WWE Champ wrestled twice on SmackDown, once in an opener, and once in a tag team main event. See how he fared....   RAW RECAP: Omelets Require Broken Eggs John Cena's nose ended up splattered all across his face (necessitating emergency surgery), but the net effect of Monday night's action was to entertain and please the audience. Cena won the spectacular main event over Rollins to set up their eventual SummerSlam showdown.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Rollins Rolling On Monday, Seth Rollins orchestrated a reunion of the Authority, and a vicious 4-on-1 beatdown of Brock Lesnar. Four days later, he put a cherry on his big week by beating Dean Ambrose in an excellent main event on SmackDown. PyroFalkon has all the details.   PPV RECAP: Battleground 2015 For the first time since 2010, the Undertaker is back for an "off-season" run in WWE. He showed up, just as Brock Lesnar was about to win the WWE Title (after 13 Germans and an F-5 to Seth Rollins), to attack the man who beat the Streak. Despite the no decision, that capped off a mostly strong PPV where Cena/Owens once again stole the show.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Where's Roman? WWE spent about 90 minutes pretending that Roman Reigns might not be at SmackDown, because of the beating he took on Monday. But of course: he was there, and competed as scheduled in the main event, against Seth Rollins. Pretend to be shocked! Or don't...   RAW RECAP: Song Remains the Same Another Monday, and another big win for the heels. Last week, it was the Authority kicking Brock Lesnar's ass. This week, it was Bray Wyatt kicking Roman Reigns' ass to end the show (after the Authority softened him up). Luckily, John Cena and Cesaro had the Match of the Week, to bring a little joy to the show, as Rick Scaia reports.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Rollins Rolling On Monday, Seth Rollins orchestrated a reunion of the Authority, and a vicious 4-on-1 beatdown of Brock Lesnar. Four days later, he put a cherry on his big week by beating Dean Ambrose in an excellent main event on SmackDown. PyroFalkon has all the details.   RAW RECAP: Humble Brock WWE has finally decided to admit that Brock Lesnar is a fan favorite... and babyfaces have to be vulnerable, from time to time. So Seth Rollins successfully negotiated to get the Band Back Together, and along with Kane and J&J Security, Rollins delivered quite the ass whupping to Lesnar to close out Monday's RAW.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Bray Wyatt, Bad 'Pa On the eve of Father's Day, Bray Wyatt resurrected an ad campaign from LAST Father's Day, in which Roman Reigns appeared with his daughter. Bray was back to his creepy best as he made vague threats towards Roman's kid. In other news, Cesaro and Kevin Owens tore shit up in the Match of the Night.   RAW RECAP: The Beast is Back OO put a lot of thought into coming up with believable ways WWE could bring Brock Lesnar back, despite him being "fired" in storylines. Well, that's what OO gets for thinking too hard about logic and temporal causation, because WWE brought him back just because HHH and Stephanie said it was OK. He's the new #1 Contender to Seth Rollins, no justification required!   PPV RECAP: Money in the Bank In two ladder matches, the heels reigned supreme. Sheamus is the new MitB Briefcase holder, thanks to an assist from Bray Wyatt (who attacked Roman Reigns). And Seth Rollins is still WWE Champ after a photo finish against Dean Ambrose. John Cena balanced that out by beating Kevin Owens in an excellent match. Or did he? For one, few fans were cheering for Cena; for two, Owens kicked his ass AFTER the match. Rick Scaia has a complete report for you.   OO: Dusty Rhodes Passes Away A uniquely influential force in the history of pro wrestling, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes was one of the biggest draws of his day as a performer, and then one of the most important men behind the scenes after he retired. He passed away last week, at the age of 69, and Rick Scaia is here to try to explain just why this is such a big deal.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Wishful Thinking Just days prior to Money in the Bank, 6 of the 7 men slated to participate in the MitB Ladder Match headlined SD in a 6-man tag. And when the match broke down into a wild brawl, Neville's the guy who finally stood tall and posed on top of the ladder. Yeah, right...   RAW RECAP: Stooge Life Seth Rollins got to pick his opponent on Monday night... and he decided he'd show off by beating both Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury in a handicap match. Didn't quite work out that way, however. With only the slightest distraction from Dean Ambrose, the Stooges beat Rollins via pinfall.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Lana is Good Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus was the main event, and a tag team #1 Contenders Match was pretty entertaining... but this Thursday belonged to the women! Paige hinted at doing something major to disrupt the Diva Division, and Lana nailed it in a MizTV segment with Rusev.   RAW RECAP: Reigns Overload Roman Reigns has been winning fans over since WrestleMania, but WWE did him no favors on Monday, featuring him in four separate segments (a show opening promo and 3 matches). The fan response to Reigns started very positive, but was lukewarm by the end of the night. Rick Scaia reports.   NEE RECAP: WWE Elimination Chamber 2015 WWE brought the Chamber out of an 18 month retirement to serve as the primary drawing card of a Network Exclusive Event. But as it turned out, the night's 2 matches inside the Chamber were afterthoughts to the events 2 major highlights: Kevin Owens beating John Cena in a Match of the Year candidate, and Dean Ambrose walking out of the arena with the WWE Title belt.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Tag Teams in the Spotlight On the last TV show before Payback, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns had strong showings, establishing themsevles as viable winners in Sunday's WWE Title Match. Ambrose beat Sheamus, and Reigns beat Kane, before the two went face to face in the night's final segment   RAW RECAP: Ambrose Seals the Deal Daniel Bryan showed up on RAW, and decided it was best to forfeit the InterContinental Title, rather than reprise last summer's unpleasantness (where he was stripped by Stephanie McMahon). Bryan admitted that he may not wrestle again any time soon. Or ever. D'oh.   RAW RECAP: Crazy Like a Fox Dean Ambrose probably isn't a real lunatic, but he sure does a nice job of playing one on TV. This week, his wacky antics included a full-on spaz-out in which he threatened to pop Seth Rollins head like a grape (using Rollins' own Cinder Block Trick), unless he got a WWE Title Shot. Guess what? He got it. GENIUS~!   PPV RECAP: WWE Payback 2015 As expected, Seth Rollins retained the WWE Title, albeit with some unwitting help from Kane. Rollins win capped off a decent little show that also saw Cena and the New Day retain their titles, while Wyatt vanquished Ryback. Rick Scaia has a full report.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Reigns and Ambrose Prevail On the last TV show before Payback, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns had strong showings, establishing themsevles as viable winners in Sunday's WWE Title Match. Ambrose beat Sheamus, and Reigns beat Kane, before the two went face to face in the night's final segment   RAW RECAP: Bryan Steps Down Daniel Bryan showed up on RAW, and decided it was best to forfeit the InterContinental Title, rather than reprise last summer's unpleasantness (where he was stripped by Stephanie McMahon). Bryan admitted that he may not wrestle again any time soon. Or ever. D'oh.   RAW RECAP: From Fringe to In After winning a feud over Luke Harper, Dean Ambrose was kinda hanging out with nothing to do. But hey, screwing with his ol' buddy Seth Rollins is always fun, so on Monday, Ambrose found himself in a match against Rollins... and as an added bonus, if Ambrose won, he'd be added to the WWE Title Match at Payback. Guess what? He won, and he's in.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Action Aplenty Say what you will about the dearth of huge surprises on SD... but lately, the show has in-ring action in spades. This week, that meant an awesome tag title rematch and a Rollins vs. Ambrose main event that was even better. Pyro reports on the satisfying night of grapplingsmanship.   RAW RECAP: To Crown a King WWE was busy with a whole lot of table setting on Monday. For starters, a show-spanning story arc set up the next WWE Title match on PPV: it'll be a Triple Threat (Rollins/Orton/Reigns). On top of that, we got the first round of a tournament to crown a new King of the Ring. Rick Scaia supplies the details.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Extreme Rules 2015 Randy Orton wasn't allowed to use the RKO, but that stip didn't stop Seth Rollins from using the move to beat Orton in a cage match to retain the WWE Title. Rick Scaia has a full recap of WWE's latest PPV effort, including new tag champs, a big win for Roman Reigns, and lots more.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Back on Message WWE's final taped effort before Extreme Rules was much more on point than its last live effort. The Rollins/Orton/Kane and Ambrose/Harper stories met up with Roman Reigns to create a throughline from opening promo to main event tag match, with additional effective segments for the US, IC, and tag match participants.   RAW RECAP: Final Hype? With less than a week before a big PPV event, WWE delivered a mostly forgettable go-home show, with a jaw-dropping final sell job... for Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling. That's right, the final message on Monday's show was reminding us that an 80s cartoon is now avaialble on the WWE Network. Whoa.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Gold Rush WWE Champ Seth Rollins took the night off, so WWE's other four champs decided to step up and make sure the company's most precious fashion accessories were on full display. Tag Champs Cesaro and Tyson Kidd faced off against US Champ John Cena and IC Champ Daniel Bryan, capping off a VERY strong show.   RAW RECAP: Time is Precious When WWE visits Europe, it means fans get a taped edition of RAW, where they already know what happens. That can be a problem, but this week, WWE dealt with it by keeping things snappy, with a lot of rapidfire segments that meant you never really had a chance to get bored with one thing you already knew about before the next thing was already coming.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: InterGalactic Daniel Bryan wants to make the InterContinental Title the main belt on SmackDown, and as such, he's dealing with a bevy of challengers who'll keep things awesome. As of tonight, Neville may be lurking on the fringes of the IC picture, and if Vince McMahon gets his way, that might mean the IC belt may become InterGalactic (no shit: Vince wanted Neville's gimmick to be an alien).   RAW RECAP: The Never-Ending Journey Whoever said getting there is half the fun sure as hell was not talking about tonight's RAW. We all already knew where we were going (a Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton WWE Title feud), but WWE insisted on a mind-numbingly overwrought set of four matches (all under 8 minutes, and thus, none very any good) to get there.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: The Celtic Zoidberg Sheamus returned with a new look (including a spiky mohawk) and a new attitude (heelish) on Monday. On Thursday, he had his first match back, and thoroughly dominated IC Champ Daniel Bryan, en route to a count-out win. It was the main event of an absolutely tremendous two hours, as PyroFalkon reports.   RAW RECAP: Brockzilla~! Brock Lesnar was predictably upset that he lost his WWE Title without losing the match at WM31. So he demanded his rematch the next night on RAW. When Seth Rollins' declined to grant it, Lesnar went mad, and WWE personnel tried to flee him, like so many terrified Japanese villagers. Some didn't get away, including Michael Cole and an innocent cameraman. Lesnar killed them, and now, he's suspended indefinitely. Rick Scaia has details from the eventful post-Mania RAW.   PPV RECAP: WrestleMania 31 One of the most underwhelming WrestleMania build-ups in history just wound up resulting in one of the most exciting and entertaining WrestleManias in recent memory. Starting with killer in-ring action (Daniel Bryan is the new IC Champ), including once-a-year spectacles like the Undertaker and Sting's matches, stopping off for a mid-show angle in which The Rock and Ronda Rousey showed up to kick ass on Triple H and Stephanie, and ending with Seth Rollins' successful cash-in (he pinned Roman Reigns to win Brock Lesnar's title), we got a little bit of everything. Rick Scaia has the full report.   PPV PREVIEW: WrestleMania 31 Whether you're a weekly WWE viewer, or a casual fan who only comes around once a year, PyroFalkon is here with the perfect WrestleMania Preview for you. Comprehensive as all hell, but written without any of the trappings of your (sometimes annoying) obsessed internet "smart" fan, he's here to outline all 7 matches on the WM Main Card..   RAW RECAP: Retroactive Gravitas When RAW ended on Monday, the unmasculiine slap and grope fight between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns seemed an awful silly and lame way to head into the biggest show of the year. But then, on Tuesday, word broke that Brock Lesnar was staying with WWE for 3 more years. Suddenly, him losing is no longer inevitable, and the WWE Title Match at WrestleMania has tons of drama and gravitas.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: The "Turd Wheel" Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, and Erick Rowan helped John Cena vanquish the Authority back at Survivor Series. Then, when Cena brought back the Authority, they all got fired. Then, they got rehired and lost a 6-man match on PPV. But on Thursday, they finally got their revenge.   RAW RECAP: Randy Orton, Smart Guy? Even Randy Orton would gladly tell you that Randy Orton is not very bright. But for one night, he successfully played mind games with Seth Rollins and the Authority, opting not to play his hand while out-numbered. The Rick has more on Orton's display of wit, a nice twist in the IC TItle picture, and the rest of Monday's action.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Star Trek Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, and Erick Rowan helped John Cena vanquish the Authority back at Survivor Series. Then, when Cena brought back the Authority, they all got fired. Then, they got rehired and lost a 6-man match on PPV. But on Thursday, they finally got their revenge.   RAW RECAP: Rollins' Big Night Even Randy Orton would gladly tell you that Randy Orton is not very bright. But for one night, he successfully played mind games with Seth Rollins and the Authority, opting not to play his hand while out-numbered. The Rick has more on Orton's display of wit, a nice twist in the IC TItle picture, and the rest of Monday's action.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: The Wrath of Team Cena Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, and Erick Rowan helped John Cena vanquish the Authority back at Survivor Series. Then, when Cena brought back the Authority, they all got fired. Then, they got rehired and lost a 6-man match on PPV. But on Thursday, they finally got their revenge.   RAW RECAP: Orton Gets Crafty Even Randy Orton would gladly tell you that Randy Orton is not very bright. But for one night, he successfully played mind games with Seth Rollins and the Authority, opting not to play his hand while out-numbered. The Rick has more on Orton's display of wit, a nice twist in the IC TItle picture, and the rest of Monday's action.   PPV RECAP: WWE Fast Lane 2015 Roman Reigns is headed to the main event of WrestleMania, afterall. Be beat Daniel Bryan in his best singles match, yet. Of course, it was also his very first good singles match, ever, so some fans were vocally displeased with his win. Rick Scaia has a complete report of WWE's inaugural Fast Lane.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Off Ramp to Fast Lane The last show before Sunday's PPV was an unexpectedly eventful one, with a great Rollins/Ziggler main event that sets up a new 6-man marquee match for Fast Lane. And Dean Ambrose supplied even more unexpectedly awesome bonus material, all on guest commentary.   RAW RECAP: 50/50 Given the way WWE's push of Roman Reigns backfired, it'd have been the easiest thing in the world to turn him heel, and replace him with Daniel Bryan. But WWE's done a far more interesting thing: they're treating both as equals. Equally heelish, equally capable of headlinging WrestleMania. Good times.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: 2 > 10 If it's 3-on-1, Daniel Bryan is just fine... he managed to defeat Seth Rollins and the New Stooges in Thursday's main event handicap match. But as soon as Kane ran in, the Authority kicked his ass to end the show. PyroFalkon has all the details.   RAW RECAP: Fast Lane to Fast Lane With a week to assess the situation, WWE has decided to put a few more hurdles in between Roman Reigns and WrestleMania. He'll have to put his title shot on the line against Daniel Bryan at the upcoming Fast Line PPV. Rick Scaia explains how it all went down.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: It Takes Four If it's 3-on-1, Daniel Bryan is just fine... he managed to defeat Seth Rollins and the New Stooges in Thursday's main event handicap match. But as soon as Kane ran in, the Authority kicked his ass to end the show. PyroFalkon has all the details.   RAW RECAP: Rome Didn't Fall in a Day With a week to assess the situation, WWE has decided to put a few more hurdles in between Roman Reigns and WrestleMania. He'll have to put his title shot on the line against Daniel Bryan at the upcoming Fast Line PPV. Rick Scaia explains how it all went down.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Thursday Night YESDown Daniel Bryan has returned, and Ziggler/Ryback/Rowan all got their jobs back... but if those four want to participate in the Royal Rumble, they will have to win Qualifying Matches set up by The Authority. Three of the four manage to succeed, and PyroFalkon will tell you all about it.   PPV RECAP: Royal Rumble 2015 So yeah, Roman Reigns won the Rumble, and everybody shat on it. But that Triple Threat WWE Title Match was pretty awesome. Brock Lesnar outlasted John Cena and (star of the match) Seth Rollins to retain the belt.Rick Scaia has more.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Quality Qualifications Daniel Bryan has returned, and Ziggler/Ryback/Rowan all got their jobs back... but if those four want to participate in the Royal Rumble, they will have to win Qualifying Matches set up by The Authority. Three of the four manage to succeed, and PyroFalkon will tell you all about it.   RAW RECAP: Age Before Beauty Monday was a night when Grumpy Old Men dominated. Sure, Big Show got the better of Ric Flair on "RAW Reunion," but the nWo, APA, and New Age Outlaws pwned the Ascension. And the elderly Sting made his RAW debut with a massively impactful appearance. Rick Scaia has more.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Bryan is Back, Baby! All three former members of the Shield were involved in Friday's main event... but they were anything but on the same page. Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns teamed up to defeat Seth Rollins and Big Show. The night's other noteworthy match saw the Usos retain the tag titles in an excellent triple threat match.   RAW RECAP: Seth Rollins' Big Night The Authority took it upon themselves to punish themembers of Team Cena who stood against them at Survivor Series. Most notably, this meant screwing Dolph Ziggler out of the IC Title; Wade Barrett (who had to forfeit the same title, due to injury, in mid-2014) was the beneficiary. Rick Scaia has details.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Shield Reunion All three former members of the Shield were involved in Friday's main event... but they were anything but on the same page. Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns teamed up to defeat Seth Rollins and Big Show. The night's other noteworthy match saw the Usos retain the tag titles in an excellent triple threat match.   RAW RECAP: Bad News For Ya The Authority took it upon themselves to punish themembers of Team Cena who stood against them at Survivor Series. Most notably, this meant screwing Dolph Ziggler out of the IC Title; Wade Barrett (who had to forfeit the same title, due to injury, in mid-2014) was the beneficiary. Rick Scaia has details.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Big Show Smash! Big Show was not in a cheery mood to kick off 2015. He made sure it was a very Crappy New Year for both Ryback and Roman Reigns. He got a little help from Rusev, along the way, but he demolished Reigns during a run-in and beat Ryback in a match.   RAW RECAP: Them Again The Authority are back. It's almost like they never left. Ahem. But Seth Rollins made it happen, by forcing John Cena's hand by holding Edge hostage. It was the downer ending to a 3 hour show mostly devoid of anything memorable (save Daniel Bryan announcing his return, and a tag title change). Rick Scaia has more.   OO: WWE Christmas Week in Review With the holidays occupying our time, WWE kept on keeping on, churning out a whole week of new shows. If you happened to skip them in favor of friend, family, and Festivus, OO's got your back. Check out Rick Scaia quick and dirty coverage of a surprisingly strong RAW and an entirely tolerable SmackDown.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Men at Work Brock worked twice in one night? Well, big whoop! After busting their asses at the TLC PPV and on RAW, Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins decided the only way to cap off the three-night streak was to kick each others' asses in the main event of the live Tuesday Super SmackDown. And it was good.   RAW RECAP: Brock the Workaholic? Brock Lesnar didn't show up to work for 3 months. And then, all of a sudden, he worked TWICE in ONE NIGHT. First, he made a "surprise" return to destroy Guest GM Chris Jericho. Later, he ran in to attack John Cena in the night's main event. Rick Scaia recaps.   PPV RECAP: WWE TLC 2014 A trio of outstanding matches made WWE's annual spotfest of a PPV more than worth your while. John Cena topped Seth Rollins in an eventful Sports Entertainment Segment, Bray Wyatt beat Dean Ambrose in a crazy brawl, and in the match of the night, Dolph Ziggler won the IC Title from Luke Harper in a tremendous Ladder Match. Rick Scaia has all the details.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Feed Me Somthing. Anything. The last taped SD before a PPV is usually a bit underwhelming. But this time around, WWE really just punted the show, and left us all feeling rather hungry. A show that is capped off by Ryback winning a six-man tag just wasn't all that filling. Luckily, PyroFalkon watched it, so you don't have to!   RAW RECAP: The Fix is In. It's well known that WWE periodically fudges some fan votes, to get their desired result. But plugging Roman Reigns in as the winner of the Slammys Wrestler of the Year? That's a bit insulting. But that's what they did, since Reigns is set to return soon, and needs some kind of traction. Rick Scaia has more.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Big Guy and Big Red The Big Guy teamed up with Big Red to defeat Seth Rollins and Big Show in Friday's main event. In other action, Dolph Ziggler and Luke Harper battled for the IC Title and Bray Wyatt destroyed Seth Rollins in a brawl, while Santino Marella popped in as Guest GM for the night.   RAW RECAP: Rowan, Renaissance Man Erick Rowan could easily have become the "Marty Jannetty" of the Wyatt Family. But after Monday's show, it's clear he won't go down without a fight. Rowan was the stand-out star of the show, complete with a new backstory, in which he is a secret genius, with an IQ of 143, and myriad gentlemanly hobbies.    SMACKDOWN RECAP: Dawn of a New Day Once again, WWE is making noise about revamping SmackDown to be on par with RAW (to ensure fans follow it to a new night, Thursdays, in January)... this weekend's show was not a bad start. Rusev defended the US Title in a Battle Royale, Harper defended the IC belt against Ziggler in the main event, and in between the New Day trio of Kofi/Big E/Woods made an impressive debut.   RAW RECAP: Happy Happy Joy Joy With the Authority vanquished, RAW kind of put a pause on most storylines, and just spent the night delivering fun, crowd pleasing moments. Like Daniel Bryan's return, Kane working a concession stand, and the New Stooges forced into action (with hilarious results). Rick Scaia recaps.     PPV RECAP: WWE Survivor Series 2014 WWE placed all its Survivor Series eggs in one basket: the Team Cena vs. Team Authority main event. It was a hell of a contest, with Sting making his WWE in-ring debut to help Dolph Ziggler become the Sole Survivor. Rick Scaia has full results and analysis.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Captain Cena is MIA Team Authority were in full force Friday night. Team Cena was only 4-deep, as Cena couldn't be bothered to show up. The result was Team Authority absolutely DESTROYING Team Cena in an 8-on-4 show ending brawl. Triple H even Pedigreed Ryback, for emphasis.   RAW RECAP: Taking the Long Cut When RAW started, we all pretty much knew how the two main Survivor Series teams would shape up, but WWE insisted on pretending things were undecided. After 3 hours, we wound up pretty much right back where we started. Just with a new IC Champ (Luke Harper). Rick Scaia has more.    SMACKDOWN RECAP: Show Stolen WWE plied us with promises of a Chris Jericho cameo and a Ryback vs. Kane main event... but at the end of the night, the reason to watch this weekend's show was an amazing 3-way IC Title Match, in which Dolph Ziggler outlasted Cesaro and Tyson Kidd. Must see TV!   RAW RECAP: Wooing Ryback With huge stakes for the upcoming Team Cena vs. Team Authority match, Ryback has become WWE's #1 free agent. And he's still a free agent after an eventful Monday in which Cena and the Authority both tried and failed to woo the Big Guy. Rick Scaia has a full report.    SMACKDOWN RECAP: Every Rose Has Its Dolph Dolph Zigger just won't quit being a thorn in the Authority's side. First, he rebuffed ANOTHER offer (from HHH) to join Team Authority and replace Randy Orton. Then, he beat Kane in a Steel Cage match main event. Good times.   RAW RECAP: ZERO ZEROITY ZERO Welp, WWE is going all-in on the "Free November" gimmick for WWE Network. They rewrote an entire show starting Sunday night, causing TONS of continuity/logic issues, all to get you to sign up to watch Rusev beat Sheamus for the US Title AFTER RAW WENT OFF THE AIR. It was a wonky, but ultimately fun show, as Rick Scaia reports.    SMACKDOWN RECAP: Dean AmBOOs! On Halloween, SmackDown got into the spirit of the season. First, with a Diva Costume Battle Royale. But then, the main event was a "Trick or Treat" Street Fight that saw Dean Ambrose have all kinds of fun with pumpkins and skeletons, en route to a win over Cesaro. Good times.   RAW RECAP: Rollins Delivers Again On Sunday's PPV, Seth Rollins held up his end of things, winning the night's best match. And he was back at it again on Monday, taking it to John Cena in an outstanding match (until a wild schmozz finish). In Rick Scaia's opinion, it was the fitting topper to an all-around good show.    PPV RECAP: WWE Hell in a Cell 2014 Leave it to WWE's New Blood to breathe new life into the Cell Match; Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins started ON TOP of the structure, fell off, and kept fighting for another 20 minutes. An instant classic. Cena and Orton's Cell match wasn't bad, either, as Rick Scaia reports.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Another Ambrose Alert Four days after Seth Rollins stood tall at the end of RAW, Dean Ambrose turned the tables on SmackDown, winning a show-closing brawl with Rollins (who decided to scurry away), and then blowing the roof off the arena by destroying the New Stooges. Also, Ziggler and Cesaro had a youtube-worthy match.   RAW RECAP: Hard Cell WWE did an excellent job of making a final hard sell for Sunday's HiaC PPV, including a new stip for Cena/Orton (involving Paul Heyman and a neat little twist by Seth Rollins) and a main event where the Cell itself lowered, and Rollins destroyed everything in sight.     RAW RECAP: Happy Columbus Day? You know, Lana probably has some very valid points about how it's shitty of America to celebrate Christopher Columbus for "discovering" a continent that was already inhabited (and which was already visited 400 years before by Vikings). But she didn't have to be such a jerk about it (turning it into a zinger on the Atlanta crowd who are so used to seeing their Braves slaughtered). Her rant, however, still stood as a rare highlight on another mostly-misfire edition of RAW.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Tit for Tat Dean Ambrose got the best of John Cena on Monday, but Cena flipped the script on the loaded 15th Anniversary edition of SmackDown. After the host stirred the pot on MizTV, Cena decided to hit a sneaky F-U on Ambrose, and stood tall at the end of the night.   RAW RECAP: Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Storyline-wise, the headline item from Monday's RAW was the escalation of hostitlies between Dean Ambrose and John Cena (with Ambrose getting the last laugh, including what may well be his breakout "beer truck moment"). But for sheer Stunt Casting, an out-of-nowhere surprise appearance by The Rock took the cake. The Rick recaps The Rock's highlights.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Ambrose Left Hanging The Authority decided to have a do-over of Monday's main event, and got it with a slight twist. After Cena and Ambrose got a DQ win over Orton and Kane, Cena left the ring to chase Rollins, leaving Ambrose to take a 2-on-1 beating. Needless to say, he was not pleased to be abandoned.   RAW RECAP: The Authority Ain't Soft After a run of various humiliations, Seth Rollins, Kane, and Randy Orton had their manhood questioned by HHH and Stephanie. They responded with a strong showing in which the three of them dominated John Cena and Dean Ambrose after the night's main event. Rick Scaia has full details.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Big Show Does a Sunset Flip Friday night's SmackDown didn't move the needle much in terms of groundbreaking storyline developments, but it did feature two things: (1) Dean Ambrose stole the MitB Briefcase, and (2) Big Show did a Sunset Flip on Rusev. Yes, a Sunset Flip. Whoa.   RAW RECAP: Cena and Ambrose, BFFs? Just 24 hours after he made his "surprising" return, Dean Ambrose found himself in an awkward situation: teaming with John Cena against the Authority. The partnership was tenuous, but the two stood tall at the end of the night. Rick Scaia has all the details.   PPV RECAP: WWE Night of Champions 2014 On one hand, it was a night of great in ring action and news worthy outcomes (including two new champions crowned). But on the other hand, was that ever a shitty and unsatisfying end to the Lesnar/Cena main event (in which Seth Rollins caused a cheap DQ). Rick Scaia reports.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: A Tale of Two Romans Even as Roman Reigns was dominant during SmackDown's main event, the real life Roman Reigns (the one NOT taped on Tuesday) was being rushed to the hospital for hernia, according to WWE.com. Rick Scaia has some news on Real Reigns, as well as a full recap of the SD version of Reigns.   RAW RECAP: WWE's Backwards Night In a rather blatant and noticeable diss of loyal fans, WWE booked this week's RAW to accomodate Monday Night Football viewers. A Lesnar/Cena angle happened at half-time, and us suckers who stuck around were treated to a Mark Henry pep rally as the main event. Boo, WWE.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Magically Heeling Knees! On Monday, Chris Jericho hurt his knee so badly that it seemed like a write-out, and Jey Uso was on crutches. Four nights later, neither man was any worse for wear, and each wound up scoring the deciding falls in their respective tag matches. Rick Scaia has full details on this Festivus Miracle.   RAW RECAP: Respect the Authoritah! Early in the night, Randy Orton took out an already-injured Chris Jericho. And then, in the main event, another scheme unfolded, as Kane and Seth Rollins interfered, and left Roman Reigns laying after a Curb Stomp (with an assist from Triple H). The Authority's running amok was the big story of the night, as Rick Scaia reports.   RAW RECAP: Cena the Slacker John Cena was ostensibly relieved of his WWE Title Match against Brock Lesnar (because HHH didn't think it was "Best for Business"), and a six-man match was made to showcase a more deserving challenger. Well, guess what? Cena only tagged in for about 30 seconds, and Roman Reigns got the pinfall, but somehow that all adds up to Cena still getting the title match. Oy.   RAW RECAP: Cena is the New Lesnar Dean Ambrose is going to be gone for a while after a brutal final spot to RAW's "Falls Count Anywhere" main event against Seth Rollins. Rollins curb stomped Ambrose's head through a pile of cinder blocks. Sure, they were prop cinder blocks and Ambrose's vaction is so he can star in a new WWE Film, but the visual was still damned compelling.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Orton Overload Randy Orton kicked off the show with a promo, had his own match against RVD, and then interfered in the Reigns/Miz main event. That's an awful lot of Orton, but it did have the net effect of making a Reigns/Orton rematch a viable proposition.   RAW RECAP: Man Down! Dean Ambrose is going to be gone for a while after a brutal final spot to RAW's "Falls Count Anywhere" main event against Seth Rollins. Rollins curb stomped Ambrose's head through a pile of cinder blocks. Sure, they were prop cinder blocks and Ambrose's vaction is so he can star in a new WWE Film, but the visual was still damned compelling.   PPV RECAP: WWE SummerSlam 2014 Brock Lesnar is the new WWE Champion after one of the most shockingly one-sided title matches in history. Over the course of 15 minutes, Brock hit 16 German suplexes, and John Cena got roughly 45 seconds of offense. It capped off an awfully fun night, as Rick Scaia reports.   RAW RECAP: They're Heeeee-eerrrrrre For the past month, RAW had an absentee champion and an absentee #1 contender. But on this Monday, John Cena and Brock Lesnar were finally in the same building for the first time since April. They didn't come to blows, but they certainly did cross paths, as Rick Scaia reports.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Rollins' Revenge Beat me once, shame on me. Have Heath Slater beat me, shame on you. That seems to be Seth Rollins mantra this week, as he attacked Dean Ambrose, mid-main event. Sure that means Ambrose won the match (against Orton), but he got his ass kicked, as The Rick reports.   RAW RECAP: Yes, THAT Heath Slater So RAW wasn't very good this week. Stephanie and Brie's "contract signing" was the main event, and the show as a whole was allergic to wrestling, leaving us with one clear-cut headline: Heath Slater just pinned Seth Rollins. Yes, THAT Heath Slater.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: One Down, One to Go Chris Jericho beat Erick Rowan, in a match where it was stipulated that if Jericho won, Rowan would be barred from ringside at SummerSlam. That capped off a show that also a strong Swagger vs. Cesaro match and a major AJ/Paige angle.   RAW RECAP: Hey, the Champ IS Here ohn Cena is the champ, but his attendence is spotty lately. He made the most of his appearance on Monday, thought, cutting a killer promo and following up with the Match of the Night against Cesaro. Rick Scaia will supply the details of a show that was all downhill from there.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Ambrose Beats the Odds Pop quiz, hot shot: it's a No DQ Match between Dean Ambrose and Cesaro, and Seth Rollins runs in; what are the odds of Ambrose winning? "Slim to none," would be a logical answer, right? But guess again, as Ambrose overcame the 2-on-1 disadvantage to score the win in Friday's best match.   RAW RECAP: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly WWE was at its most schizophrenic on Monday. On one hand, we got an awesome Ziggler vs. Miz match, and a killer main event promo by Paul Heyman. But on the other, good god, was everything involving Stephanie McMahon getting "arrested" terrible. Read on to find out if Rick Scaia can polish this turd....   PPV RECAP: WWE Battleground 2014 To the surprise of none, John Cena retained the WWE Title in the Battleground main event. But hey, it was a much better match than expected. And it wasn't even the best one of the night (Usos vs. Wyatts was). Rick Scaia has a full report.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Rollins on Top A mere 48 hours before a PPV, SmackDown doesn't have to deliver a whole lot. So it didn't. But as un-noteworthy as it was, there was still some really solid in-ring action, thanks to Jericho, Harper, Ambrose, Kane, and guys from the IC Battle Royale.   RAW RECAP: Lucky Ziggler Dolph Ziggler is now officially living Fandango's Fantasy: he's got both Summer Rae AND Layla hot for his junk (they helped him beat Fandango, and then made out with him afterward). That was the highlight of an otherwise tepid "last show before a PPV" edition of RAW.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Poor Fandango As OO predicted, Fandango has gone from having two hot girlfriends to having zero. Summer Rae and Layla compared notes and realized he's a two-timing jackass, so they beat him up and dumped him. Also, Jericho/Orton and Reigns/Rusev turned out to be solid matches.   RAW RECAP: Unexpected Highlights! OO spent all Monday afternoon excited for potential Free-Per-View matches on RAW (Cena/Rollins and Jericho/Miz), but instead, the highlight of the night came from the much-maligned Randall Orton. Orton was absolutely on his A-game in a tremendous match against Dean Ambrose. And the Usos vs. Wyatts were right behind.   RAW RECAP: Where to Begin? Wow, what a show. WWE promised a former World Champ would return, and carted out Miz... but it was all a ruse to re-introduce Chris Jericho (who will feud with Bray Wyatt). Also, AJ Lee returned, turned face, and won the Women's Title. And Seth Rollins blew the roof off the joint by ALMOST cashing in MitB on a prone John Cena. The Rick reports on this unprecendented display of awesomeness.   10PV RECAP: Money in the Bank 2014 Sure, John Cena's win of the WWE Title (his 15th) was a bit, ummm, predictable. But he did it in a match that exceeded expectations. And that wasn't even the Match of the Night; those honors go to the absolutely superb MitB Briefcase Match, won by Seth Rollins. Rick Scaia will get you up to speed on the entire night's events.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Roman Resumes Reign WWE can't seem to distance itself to the creative bed-shitting of a few weeks ago (when Roman Reigns drugged Stephanie McMahon and manipulated Vickie Guerrero). His return to ass-kicking was underscored with a win over Kane on the eve of Money in the Bank.   RAW RECAP: Eight is Enough Just when you thought that Dean Ambrose's backdoor (as the 7th man in the new MitB Briefcase Match) was shocking, here comes Kane, as the EIGHTH man in the MitB WWE Title Match. That capped off a night of solid in-ring action, as The Rick reports.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Lucky Seven Bray Wyatt made good on his talk of being "reborn" despite losing the blow-off match to his feud with John Cena by defeating Dean Ambrose to qualify for the upcoming WWE Title Ladder Match. It capped off a strong show that also featured an awesome Sheamus/Cesaro match.   RAW RECAP: Roofie Reigns? A week after a wild, shocking bit of hotshot booking, WWE turned to Ol' Reliable, John Cena. Cena was the most bludgeoningly obvious "surprise" tag partner in ages, when he joined Ambrose and Reigns against the Wyatts. Rick Scaia has details on this and the rest of Monday's action.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Bray Reborn Bray Wyatt made good on his talk of being "reborn" despite losing the blow-off match to his feud with John Cena by defeating Dean Ambrose to qualify for the upcoming WWE Title Ladder Match. It capped off a strong show that also featured an awesome Sheamus/Cesaro match.   RAW RECAP: Anvils for All!!! A week after a wild, shocking bit of hotshot booking, WWE turned to Ol' Reliable, John Cena. Cena was the most bludgeoningly obvious "surprise" tag partner in ages, when he joined Ambrose and Reigns against the Wyatts. Rick Scaia has details on this and the rest of Monday's action.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Rollins Rolling Seth Rollins did the dispicable deed of turning on The Shield Monday... but on Friday, he was already on a roll, as a new associate of Triple H's. Rollins won an outstanding match against Dolph Ziggler, and then KO'd Big Show in the main event (interferring on behalf of Randy Orton)   RAW RECAP: Yeah, THAT Just Happened Just 24 hours after one of their biggest wins, the Shield imploded, when Seth Rollins turned on Ambrose and Reigns, to join Triple H. The shocking development was all kinds of hotshotty and stunt booky, but it sure as hell got people talking. Rick Scaia has details.   PPV RECAP: WWE Payback 2014 Sure, there wasn't a lot of anticipation heading into Payback... but at the end of the night, the event wound up delivering, big time, in terms of in-ring action. The Shield won an outstanding main event brawl, but were overshadowed by an absolutely must-see Last Man Standing Match between John Cena and Bray Wyatt.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Champion vs. Champion A week after WWE travelled to the UK, they showcased their two European champions, Sheamus and Wade Barrett, in a Champion vs. Champion match. It was an outstanding contest that stole the show, which was headlined by Bray Wyatt vs. An Uso in a Last Man Standing preview.   RAW RECAP: An Inconvenient Turd The drama surrounding the WWE Title was almost foolproof, in terms of guaranteed intrigue. Almost. Then WWE went and shat the bed by putting the state of the belt in Brie Bella's hands. Oy. At least Evolution/Shield didn't suck. Rick Scaia has details.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Man Behind the Curtain The logistics of getting this week's SmackDown from London to its Friday broadcasts including getting beamed, via satellite, from the UK to Stamford. And this time, it involved being intercepted by pirates, who posted the raw, uncut version of the show to the internets. OO found the whole thing to be fascinating, and that's why PyroFalkon is recapping THAT version for your edification.   RAW RECAP: International Flavor London's not just for "24," anymore. Well, not for this Monday, anyway. Next week, Jack Bauer will have the city back to himself. But tonight, WWE took their act across the pond for RAW at London's O2 Arena. Stephanie McMahon addressed the WWE Title situation, and the German Announce Table made its long awaited debut! Rick Scaia has details.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Cena Slums It Again Friday night got another guest cameo from John Cena, as he not only opened the show with a promo, but headlined it in a match against Erick Rowan. In the middle, Goldust and Cody disagreed and Damien Sandow was handcuffed.   RAW RECAP: NO~! No! Oh god no... After a weekend of swirling rumors, Daniel Bryan came on Monday's RAW to confirm that he's dealing with a significant neck injury, and would be having surgery. That puts the whole WWE Title picture in a state of flux, and was the indisputable headline item from a show that also saw the Shield get the better of Evolution.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Divide and Conquer On a night when one three man unit stood tall at the end of the night -- the Wyatts beat John Cena and the Usos in the main event -- the Shield had difficulties when HHH forced them into singles competition. Reigns mustered a tough win over Mark Henry, but both Ambrose and Rollins were losers.   RAW RECAP: Believe in Evolution Evolution has already stolen the Shield's catchphrases and fist pose... but on Monday, they added injury to insult by stealing the Triple Powerbomb. After costing the Shield a match against the Wyatts, Evolution beat the crap out of the three, leading up to the trademark Triple Powerbomb on Roman Reigns. The Rick has a full report.   PPV RECAP: WWE Extreme Rules 2014 Daniel Bryan used a flaming table to help him beat Kane and retain the WWE Title. And that wasn't even the highlight of the night: that honor goes to the oustanding Shield/Evolution match, which was an absolutely wild must-see affair. All that, plus Wyatt defeated Cena, a new IC Champ was crowned, and more. Rick Scaia has all the results for you.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Ambrose Retains For the second SD in a row, the Shield overcame the odds to win a handicap match. In this case, Dean Ambrose's US Title was on the line against 3 men (Alberto del Rio and Rybaxel), and he held onto the belt. Also, a bunch of other things also happened, much to PyroFalkon's dismay.   RAW RECAP: Wyatt Claus What makes you naughty? What makes you nice? I dunno, but Bray Wyatt's probably NOT the man I'd want to ask after Monday's creepiest moment: a choir of kiddies surrounded the ring, donned sheep masks, and sang "He's Got the Whole World" at John Cena. Then one sat on Bray's lap, just as happy as could be. Cuh-reepy. Rick Scaia spins the yarn for you.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Divide and Conquer The Shield were forced into a 3-on-11 handicap match on Friday. Surely, they were doomed, right? Nope. And stop calling OO "Shirley." Instead, the Shield employed guerrilla tactics, and whittled their opposition down to 5 men before the match even happened. And then, they won.   RAW RECAP: They Come in Threes Three Tombstones sent Daniel Bryan to the hospital on Monday. And later in the show, the three Wyatts beat the crap out of one John Cena in a handicap match. Truly, bad things come in threes. Rick Scaia has complete results and analysis for you.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Women and Midgets First! It was a night of unusual in-ring action on Friday... for starters, the women's division provided one of the night's best matches, when Paige beat Aksana. And then, we had our first ol' fashioned midget match since the days of King Kong Bundy and WM3, which was decidedly less thrilling.   RAW RECAP: Re-Evolution Randy Orton and Batista initially resisted Triple H's suggestion that they get the band back together. But after the two were ambushed by The Shield, they had a change of heart, and now, Evolution is reunited. Rick Scaia has all the details   OO: Ultimate Warrior, Dead at 54 In a stunning epilogue to WrestleMania Weekend, the Ultimate Warrior died of an apparent heart attack less than 24 hours after an appearance on RAW. Rick Scaia has more info, and remembers the career of the newly enshrined Hall of Famer.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Hounds of Popularity If you had any doubts about the Shield as fan favorites, they were eliminated on Friday, when Daniel Bryan was about to get a 3-on-1 whupping from Orton, Batista, and Kane... only to be saved by Ambrose, Rollins, and Reigns. Pyro has details.   RAW RECAP: Sensory Overload! The memorable moments just kept on coming the night after WM30. Paige debuted and won the women's title. Cesaro became a Paul Heyman Guy. Rob Van Dam returned. The Shield cemented their babyface status. And of course: the final appearance ever by the Ultimate Warrior. Let Rick Scaia bring you up to speed.   PPV RECAP: WWE WrestleMania 30 This year's WrestleMania may not have added anything to the list of Top 10 WM Matches of all time... but it was loaded with WM MOMENTS for the ages, like Daniel Bryan's improbable WWE Title win, and the end of The Streak. Rick Scaia recaps.   OO: WM, For the People, By the People? "People Power" is no longer an ironic punchline to Johnny Ace's schtick. It's a real force, and the reason why WrestleMania 30 has taken the shape it has. Rick Scaia discusses the unique path we've taken, and has predictions for all 7 matches.   PPP: Pyro's PPV Preview for WM30 If you've got ADD brought on by today's 140-letter world, or if you're just one of the lapsed fans who only shows up once a year for WrestleMania, you need to check out Pyro's in-depth WM Preview. Week-by-week recaps of all the stories, and tons of detail on what to expect Sunday.   RAW RECAP: Off-ramp to WrestleMania The Road to WrestleMania has been fun. But Monday, we veered right onto the off-ramp. The majority of the journey is complete, and it was a night of minor finishing touches, including the return of Daniel Bryan, and more physicality between Taker and Lesnar.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Wyatts' Big Week The Wyatt Family kicked off the week with a breakout performance by Luke Harper and memorable sheep mask moment with John Cena. They closed it out with Bray Wyatt pinning the Big Show. Pyro has details on that and the rest of Friday's action.   RAW RECAP: No Bryan? No Problem. Daniel Bryan was absent, selling injuries from last week's vicious beating at the hands of Triple H. But WWE had no problem putting together a surprisingly decent show, including an awesome Shield win over the Real Americans and more.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Hounds of Conscience? Are the Shield getting soft? Nah... they just don't like to be manipulated. So they disobeyed orders to help Kane, and instead stood by while Big Show scored a win over the DOO. Kane tried to discipline the trio, but ate a Spear for his troubles.   RAW RECAP: Oh, Hell YES! WWE pulled a sudden (and welcome) course change on Monday, giving the fans all the Daniel Bryan they could ever want: Bryan will now have his chance at revenge against Triple H AND save the WrestleMania 30 main event. Pyro will explain how.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Who's on a Roll? Heading into the Elimination Chamber, Kane (and, presumably, the Authority) continued their conspriacy to keep Daniel Bryan from being at 100% for the PPV, while Sheamus cleanly defeated Christian in a successful tune-up.   RAW RECAP: Hail Cesaro! Antonio Cesaro may have lost his first name, and he did, technically, lose his match to John Cena on RAW. But he won a boatload of credibility by taking Cena to the limit just days after cleanly pinning Randy Orton in a one-on-one match.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Wrestling 2, Electric Boogaloo For the second week in a row, SmackDown was light on major newsworthy twists and turns, but heavy on great in-ring action. Antonio Cesaro beat Randy Orton in a great main event, and on the undercard, Jack Swagger became the #1 Contender to the IC Title in another awesome match. Plus: the Shield vs. Bryan/Sheamus/Christian, too!   RAW RECAP: End of an Era? John Cena and Randy Orton have been feuding on and off for almost 10 years. WWE promised that Monday would be their last showdown ever. (EVAR!) If so, they ended on a high note, as Cena won the match (and the fans over). Rick Scaia has the details of a show that also featured a kick-ass Wyatts/Shield face-off.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Wrestling~! Knowing full well that many TV viewers would be glued to the Olympics, WWE put on a SmackDown short on headlines, but heavy on in-ring action. Orton/Christian and Bryan/Cesaro were both as good as you'd expect, while Sheamus/Ryback just might have stolen the show with slobberknockery.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Something Happened! CM Punk walked out on WWE on a Monday night, leaving the company with some pretty gaping storyline holes. So they had no choice but to do an Emergency SmackDown where THINGS ACTUALLY HAPPENED~! to cover all the necessary changes. Included: Christian returned, and won a spot inside the Chamber Match (as did Antonio Cesaro).   PPV RECAP: WWE Royal Rumble 2014 As expected, Batista won the Royal Rumble, and will now face Randy Orton in the main event of WrestleMania. Almost as expectedly, the live fans shat all over this development, booing Batista and chanting their preference for Daniel Bryan. It was a wild ending, as Pyro reports.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Ending with a Bang SD ended 2013 with a bang, not a whimper. Specifically, it ended with an amazing Cena vs. Rollins main event that ranks among WWE's best free TV matches of the year. Cena got the hard fought win after 25 very entertaining minutes.   RAW RECAP: 6 is the Magic Number During WWE's holiday lull of pre-taped TV, you can usually still count on the in-ring wrestling to be strong, even if storylines stall. Such was the case on Monday where not one, but TWO matches stood out, both of the 6-man variety (starring the Shield and the Wyatts, naturally).   PPV RECAP: WWE TLC 2013 WWE promised a decisive, clear-cut finish to Sunday's TLC Unification Match (after an autumn spent screwing fans with PPV non-finishes). Well, they delivered, and ironically enough, the results could not have been more anticlimactic or unsatisfying. Rick Scaia has the full report.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Yes, You ARE Sorry, Randy WWE sold SmackDown as "the night Randy Orton apologizes." OO was rapt: FINALLY, Randall says he's sorry for sucking for so long! But nope, it wasn't like that... he just apologized for shoulder tackling Stephanie McMahon. And he didn't even do it that well.   RAW RECAP: Heat Scooper Jones There were 20 hall of famers, legends, and former world champs in the ring at the end of RAW. WWE was hard-selling the big "unification" match on Sunday. And yet, all anybody cared about was "DAN YIL BRY YAN." Rick Scaia recaps the delightful fan revolt.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Round 37 WWE took schizophrenia to all new levels on Friday, presenting a show where the first hour was quite bad. But then the second hour kicked off with a tag title match, and kept adding pieces until the match had expanded into an incredible hour-long 12-man tag match. If you like wrestling, the last half of SD is for you.   RAW RECAP: Believe in the Shield Triple H made sense of the utterly random left-field ending to Survivor Series on RAW: he announced a Cena vs. Orton match at the TLC PPV that will result in the first Unified Champion in 11 years. And it was just about the only take-away from a disjointed night that also lacked in in-ring action, as Rick Scaia recaps.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Half 'n' Half WWE took schizophrenia to all new levels on Friday, presenting a show where the first hour was quite bad. But then the second hour kicked off with a tag title match, and kept adding pieces until the match had expanded into an incredible hour-long 12-man tag match. If you like wrestling, the last half of SD is for you.   RAW RECAP: The U Triple H made sense of the utterly random left-field ending to Survivor Series on RAW: he announced a Cena vs. Orton match at the TLC PPV that will result in the first Unified Champion in 11 years. And it was just about the only take-away from a disjointed night that also lacked in in-ring action, as Rick Scaia recaps.   PPV RECAP: WWE Survivor Series 2013 If you're like OO, chances are you picked pretty much every individual match for Sunday's PPV correctly. It was just one of those shows. But who had Cena and Orton posing with their belts in a Unification Tease, to close out the show? Not OO. And not you. Rick Scaia has a full report (including Roman Reigns' show-stealing performance).   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Follow the Buzzards On the eve of Survivor Series, Daniel Bryan picked up a win over Luke Harper, thanks in part to a distraction by CM Punk. But then, the Wyatts regrouped and beat the crap out of Bryan and Punk to close the show. Also: we got a great tag title match, and an almost-as-good six man.   RAW RECAP: Busy Night The final 30 minutes of RAW consisted of an absolutely stellar 12-man tag match, with Rey Mysterio's surprise return tagged on. Before that? Big E. Langston is your new IC Champ, Miz is finally a heel again, and Eggsavier Woods made his WWE debut. Rick Scaia recaps the busy night of action.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Un-Heyman'd! One could have safely assumed Ryback would be done with Paul Heyman after Monday's comments by Heyman. But on Friday, Ryback bonded with Curtis Axel, who also denounced Heyman. The two then marched into tag team action and lost to Punk/Bryan. Oh well.   RAW RECAP: Canned, but not Crappy When WWE goes to Europe, it means RAW is pretaped. And more often than not, WWE phones it in, not wanting to use up any huge storyline swerves on a show where fans will be able to get results in advance. BUt on this night, they still let a hell of a lot of excellent WRESTLING slip past onto our TVs. Rick Scaia recaps.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: By the Numbers This week's show didn't score a whole lot of point in terms of creativity and intrigue. But it also wasn't an entirely horrible night, either. Call it a night of Issue Maintenance, even if there was no Issue Development.   RAW RECAP: Big Show's Back So, Big Show got his job back. PRETEND TO BE SURPRISED~! The rehiring capped off a night that was notable for two big reasons: (1) a possible production gaffe that rendered the final segment a bit screwy, and (2) an absolutely amazing 6-man tag match that OO encourages you to youtube immediately.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Cena Returns to Fridays Looks like John Cena's taking his job of bolstering SmackDown's ratings seriously. On his first night back, he was involved in a 15 minute sho opening promo, and then main evented in an (outstanding) 25 minute six-man tag match (with the Rhodesses, against Sandow/Cesaro/Swagger).   RAW RECAP: Superman > Brainiac Damien Sandow is the smartest man in WWE... but who needs brains when you've got brawn? A one-armed John Cena fended off Sandow's attempt to win the World Heavyweight Title, in an excellent match. Also: Kane's unmasked again, the Wyatts took out Punk and Bryan becase "the devil" told them to, and more. Rick Scaia recaps.   PPV RECAP: WWE Hell in a Cell 2013 Such a promising show... but at the end of the night, it's like we've taken a time machine back to 2006, where John Cena and Randy Orton are the only things that really matter in WWE. Cena won the World Heavyweight Title from Alberto del Rio, while Orton won the vacant WWE Title (with help from Triple H and Shawn Michaels).   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Deja vu, All Over Again This week's SD had a distinctly familiar flavor: an awesome main event featuring the Shield/Rhodes boys/Bryan, with a twist involving Big E. Langston, and nothing else worth watching. Yep, pretty much a redo of last week's show.   RAW RECAP: Magic Show If you buy into Stephanie McMahon's panicky shock, you'd think that Big Show is an evil sorcerer, possessing magical powers. But he's not; he's just a guy who can interrupt a promo from the TitanTron and bust into the arena despite being "fired." You know, like a hundred other guys in WWE history.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Big E. to the Rescue! Paul Heyman mocked CM Punk for wasting his time wrestling against a green-as-grass rookie who should still be in NXT. But that rookie didn't take kindly to Paul's assessment, and came to Punk's aid when he was attacked by Curtis Axel and Ryback.   RAW RECAP: Fixing the Mess Last week was big for the Rhodes Boys, but they took things to a whole new level on Monday: Cody and Goldust defeated the Shield in a No DQ match to become the new WWE Tag Team Champions. It was a tremendous match and a satisfying capper to the show; Rick Scaia recaps.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Family Feud The Rhodes Family had a big week. And on Friday, it got even bigger, as they were in action against the Wyatt Family. Cody and Goldust managed to reign supreme once again, handing the Wyatts their first loss since arriving in WWE.   RAW RECAP: Fixing the Mess Stephanie McMahon opened RAW by admitting that the main event of Battleground was complete garbage. Then, over the course of 3 hours, John Cena was announced as Alberto del Rio's opponent at the Hell in a Cell PPV, and Shawn Michaels is back on TV after being named the special ref for the Bryan/Orton rematch. Rick Scaia recaps.   PPV RECAP: WWE Battleground 2013 WWE promised a new WWE Champ. WWE lied. The Orton/Bryan main event ended with an inconclusive THUD, when Big Show appeared and KO'd just about everyone in sight. The Rhodes Family win over the Shield stands as the night's lone highlight, and the rest of the show left much to be desired. Rick Scaia spins the sad tale for you   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Happy Gilmore 2 Taking a page out of Shooter McGavin's playbook, Triple H bought Big Show's house when the bank foreclosed on it. PRETEND TO CARE~! At least Alberto del Rio and Dolph Ziggler put on one hell of a wrestling match to (partially) wash away the taste of WrestleCrap.   RAW RECAP: Decent Proposals Daniel Bryan and Brie Bellas got engaged last week, and WWE wasted no time shoehorning said development into the Bryan/Orton story, quite unnecessarily. But RAW also featured another proposal, as Paul Heyman got down on one knee, and asked Ryback to become A Paul Heyman Guy. Awwww. Rick Scaia recaps.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Snakes Ahoy! It was a big night for snakes on SmackDown. First you had Santino's Cobra going rogue after a Flute Duel between Jinder Mahal and Khali. Then, you had a pissed off viper kicking the ever loving crap as Randy Orton beat Miz in the night's main event.   RAW RECAP: This One Goes to 11 As fars, we're familiar with the concept of a lop-sided Handicap Match. But it's usually something like 2-on-1 or 3-on-1. Maybe a rogue 3-on-2 in there, somewhere. But last night, RAW took it to a whole other level with an 11-on-3 Handicap Elimination Match. The trememdous 25 minute main event pit Daniel Bryan and all 10 of last Monday's Mutineers against the Shield.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Punishment Gone Awry Vickie Guerrero tried to stack the deck against Daniel Bryan and all the rest of Monday's Mutineers... but it backfired, and in the end, Daniel Bryan and the Usos beat the Shield in a main event six-man tag match.   RAW RECAP: NO! NO! NO! (YES!) Our worst fears were realized, as Triple H kicked off RAW by stripping Daniel Bryan of the WWE Title (due to a fast count by the referee). The title is now vacant. But Bryan got the last laugh, when a dozen fellow superstars crossed HHH's line in the sand to help Bryan overcome the Shield and Orton.   PPV RECAP: Night of Champions 2013 Daniel Bryan is the new WWE Champion, cleanly pinning Randy Orton in the main event of tonight's pay-per-view. No HHH, no Shield, no Big Show. Just Bryan's knee to Orton's face for a three count. It was a tremendous capper to an otherwise middlin' PPV. Rick Scaia has full analysis.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Big Show Takes the Night Off Big Show was once again the target of Triple H's power mad scheming on Friday. After being forced to read an apology, Show was ordered to leave the building. When he didn't, the Shield swarmed and helped him out. With a triple powerbomb.   RAW RECAP: Yes, He Can. Daniel Bryan's been outnumbered every Monday for the past month; even when he wins, some combination of Randy Orton, the Shield, and HHH would show up to spoil his evening. Until tonight. Rick Scaia recaps.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: HHH Earns His Paycheck Triple H was back for his second week in a row on WWE's B-show. And he was back to dicking over anybody who spoke out against him. The results: two really good matches (RVD/Orton and Bryan/Rollins) where the babyface didn't stand a chance.   RAW RECAP: Cody is Fired but Fantastic After daring to speak out against HHH, Cody Rhodes was fired (just in time to get married and enjoy his honeymoon!). But on his way out, he just so happened to have a great match, and cut and even better promo. He'll have plenty to build on when he (inevitably) returns. Rick Scaia recaps.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Sit Back and Watch Triple H made a rare Friday night appearance to continue screwing with Daniel Bryan, all while preventing anyone from helping him. In fact, HHH ordered Big Show to watch the entire show from ringside, and do absolutely nothing, under threat of termination.   RAW RECAP: Superman v2.0 As the Autumn of No Cena begins, WWE is in dire need of a new superhero... and they just may have it in Daniel Bryan. Bryan continued his amazing run by beating all three members of the Shield in a 3-on-1 gauntlet match. Rick Scaia recaps.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Viper Alert Daniel Bryan thought he was in the clear after beating Wade Barrett in a main event cage match on Friday. But not so fast... lurking in the weeds, Randy Orton slithered up behind Bryan and RKO'd him after the match. The dastard! PyroFalkon has the full report.   RAW RECAP: Best for Business Triple H says he did what he did because Randy Orton as WWE Champ is "what's best for business." Apparently, what's also best for business is hiding Orton in the background, while HHH handles all his promo duties. ZING~! Read up on Orton's invisibility in The Rick's recap.   PPV RECAP: WWE SummerSlam 2013 WWE's strongest PPV of 2013, so far, featured great wrestling up and down the card, including a potential Match of the Year in Lesnar vs. Punk. But the biggest headlines came in the main event, where Daniel Bryan pinned John Cena to win the WWE Title, only to be Pedigreed by Triple H, and beaten by Mr. MitB, Randy Orton. Rick Scaia has full results and analysis for you.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Bryan Bests the Boss It's not often that Vince McMahon makes an appearance on Friday night... so it's a testament to just how much he hates Daniel Bryan that Vince showed up and tried to cost him a match. The mission failed, however, when Special Referee Triple H interceded on Bryan's behalf.   RAW RECAP: Punk, Feelin' Lucky Paul Heyman flat out admitted he had set a trap for CM Punk on Monday, and challenged Punk to still come to the ring to face a 1-on-2 handicap. Instead, it was Punk who had set the trap, as he struck from behind and took out Brock Lesnar while Heyman escaped.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Stay Classy, Sandow Alberto del Rio thought he should be allowed to name his own #1 Contender, just like John Cena did. But Vickie Guerrero had other plans. She set up a #1 Contender Match, and Christian scored the upset win (over RVD and Randy Orton) to earn a title shot.   RAW RECAP: The Gift That Keeps on Giving Vince McMahon does not want a "half-pint troll" representing his company as WWE Champion. But it may not matter what Vince wants, as the WWE Universe once again voiced its near unanimous desire to see Bryan topple John Cena at SummerSlam.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Captain Contender! Alberto del Rio thought he should be allowed to name his own #1 Contender, just like John Cena did. But Vickie Guerrero had other plans. She set up a #1 Contender Match, and Christian scored the upset win (over RVD and Randy Orton) to earn a title shot.   RAW RECAP: Cranky Vince is Out of Touch Vince McMahon does not want a "half-pint troll" representing his company as WWE Champion. But it may not matter what Vince wants, as the WWE Universe once again voiced its near unanimous desire to see Bryan topple John Cena at SummerSlam.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: All Wet That dirty thief, Cody Rhodes, stole Damie Sandow's Money in the Bank Briefcase, and threw it in the Gulf of Mexico. Damien (futilely) leapt in after it. OO would be indignant on behalf of its Onscreen Avatar of Intellectual Superiority, if only it weren't so damned funny.   RAW RECAP: The Amazing Daniel Bryan This is getting ridiculous; just when you think Daniel Bryan can't do anything more to amaze you and make headlines, there he is, wrestling (and WINNING) three consecutive matches that made up the entire closing 50 minutes of RAW. Rick Scaia has a full write-up on Bryan's night and the rest of Monday's action.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Cougartown, Take 2 Teddy Long, Booker T, and even Brad Maddox tried their best to impress Vince McMahon on Friday. But in the end, he chose to hand the reigns of SD over to Vickie Guerrero. It's the start of her second run as SD's GM... read on to see if it went as well as Maddox's first night as RAW GM.   RAW RECAP: No Briefcase Required With a unanimous mandate from the fans, John Cena selected Daniel Bryan as his SummerSlam opponent, proving that the truly talented don't need no steenkin' briefcases to main event the 2nd biggest show of the year. And in other news: Chris Jericho and RVD provided the best of 3 amazing wrestling matches. Rick Scaia fills you in.   PPV RECAP: WWE Money in the Bank 2013 Randy Orton won the red briefcase in pretty anticlimactic fashion (hint: if Curtis Axel involved in the finish of an "All Stars" match, something is wrong). But luckily, the SD MitB match was outstanding, and won by Damien Sandow. Also: Cena and del Rio each retained his title. Rick Scaia has complete results and analysis for you.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Are Vipers Colorblind? We all know Randall Orton is not the brighted bulb on the tree. But now, he may be colorblind, too. After a draw against Sheamus, Orton won a brawl to grab the blue MitB Briefcase. Which isn't the one he's fight for. Dum dum.   RAW RECAP: Odds-on Favorite? Less than a month ago, Daniel Bryan was a "weak link." Now, he's a strong favorite to win the All Star Money in the Bank Ladder Match. On a huge winning streak, Bryan closed out RAW by decimating CM Punk and Randy Orton, and grabbing the Red Briefcase. Rick Scaia has results.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Hands Off Heyman! The relationship between CM Punk and Paul Heyman has been on the rocks, lately... but when push came to shove on Friday, Punk had Heyman's back. When Alberto del Rio punched Paul in the face, Punk went berzerk on him, bringing their main event match to an end.   RAW RECAP: Rocking Chair Defeats Cena! After John Cena beat Alberto del Rio in a Champion vs. Champion Match, RAW didn't end with Cena's celebrationg. Instead, it ended with an extended shot of Bray Wyatt's rocking chair. No pressure, Wyatts, you only have to live up to being more important than the WWE Champ pinning the World Champ! Rick Scaia has results and analysis   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Fiesta del Ziggler Daniel Bryan beat Randy Orton Friday on SmackDown. But it was via count-out. And Bryan won't be happy until he proves his dominance with a clear-cut tap-out. He asked for the match to be restarted, to no avail. Read on for full details.   RAW RECAP: YES! YES! YES! On a night when Brock Lesnar returned to attack CM Punk (suspiciously, he did this after Punk dumped Paul Heyman as his manager), the big story of the night was Mark Henry. The big lug delivered the greatest fake retirement speech ever (complete with real tears) before kicking John Cena's ass and revealing it was all a ruse to move to the front of the WWE Title Contenders line. Rick Scaia reports.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: No Charity Needed Daniel Bryan beat Randy Orton Friday on SmackDown. But it was via count-out. And Bryan won't be happy until he proves his dominance with a clear-cut tap-out. He asked for the match to be restarted, to no avail. Read on for full details.   RAW RECAP: World's Strongest Actor On a night when Brock Lesnar returned to attack CM Punk (suspiciously, he did this after Punk dumped Paul Heyman as his manager), the big story of the night was Mark Henry. The big lug delivered the greatest fake retirement speech ever (complete with real tears) before kicking John Cena's ass and revealing it was all a ruse to move to the front of the WWE Title Contenders line. Rick Scaia reports.   PPV RECAP: WWE Payback 2013 In three big matches, John Cena retained the WWE Title against Ryback, CM Punk defeated Chris Jericho in a match to determine the "best in the world" (it was also the night's best match), and Alberto del Rio beat Dolph Ziggler for the World Title (and turned heel in the process). Rick Scaia has all the results and analysis for your edification.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Victory at Last! The Shield had not been defeated in 6-man action. Until now. The trio of Daniel Bryan, Kane, and Randy Orton finally broke their streak, as Bryan got Rollins to tap out to the NO! Lock in last night's main event. The live crowd went positively apeshit for the huge win.   RAW RECAP: Close but No Cigar With a PPV looming, WWE tried to put its best foot forward on Monday, but fell just short of delivering the goods. Sure, we got the Wanker Dream Match of Bryan vs. Rollins, but it never quite hit top speed. And yeah, Dolph Ziggler returned to TV; but he didn't hardly do anything. Plus, Kaitlyn's secret admirer is a girl, but it's not as hot as you'd think.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Viper vs. Goat Forced into a tag match against the Shield, Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton STARTED on different pages. They ended in different books. In response to an accidental dropkick from Bryan during the match, Orton hit an on-purpose RKO on Bryan after the match. Get all the details...   RAW RECAP: Upsets Everywhere Cena and Ryback are headlining the upcoming Payback PPV in a WWE Title Match. But on Monday's RAW, both were losers. Curtis Axel beat Cena in a No DQ Match, and Daniel Bryan defeated Ryback (it was Bryan's second match of the night, too!). Rick Scaia has full details and analysis   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Gold Star for Goat Boy Even by his own lofty standards, "Wrestling Midas" Daniel Bryan had a big night on Friday. He wrestled in his own match against Roman Reigns, he helped Kane win a match against Seth Rollins, and at the end of the show, he went berzerk and dominated the Shield, 1-on-3 (after Orton and Kane had been beaten down), all while the crowd went positively apeshit. Pyro has all the details.   RAW RECAP: CM Punk Sighting. Sort of. On the Highlight Reel, Chris Jericho decided to ask Paul Heyman about CM Punk. And Heyman fired back that everything's totally OK, he talks to Punk all the time, and Punk's still the Bestin the World. So Jericho called his bluff, and challenged Punk to a match at the Payback PPV. Interesting twist. Along with a fantastic tag title match, it co-highlighted the night. Rick Scaia has full details and analysis   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Sheamus, the Bully So, let's say you're a loveable Fella, who is first in line to go out and shill for WWE's "Be a Star" Anti-Bullying campaign. How would you re-act to getting out-smarted by Damien Sandow? By beating up an innocent announcer, of course. Read up on Sheamus' latest failure as a role model.   RAW RECAP: Son of Perfect Joe Hennig has been on WWE TV for years as "Michael McGuillicutty," which doesn't exactly tell the tale of his pedigree. BUt after Monday, he's known as "Curtis Axel" (a mash-up of his dad and granddad's names), and is managed by Paul Heyman. Also, he beat the shit out of Triple H. Rick Scaia has the full write-up.   PPV RECAP: WWE Extreme Rules 2013 They came into the PPV with no gold. They left with three belts. The Sheild are for real, my friends. Dean Ambrose is the new US Champ, while Rollins and Reigns beat Kane and Bryan to win the tag titles. Also: Brock Lesnar topped Triple H in a cage match, while Cena and Ryback went to a cheesy no decision. Rick Scaia has all the analysis and results   SMACKDOWN RECAP: I Want My MizTV (To Go Away) With the summer concert season looming, Chris Jericho's availability to WWE will be dropping down to zero. So, they're really trying to make the most of the dwindling moments during this current window of opportunity. On top of his pending issue with Fandango, Jericho was given Ryback duty on Friday night. DOUBLE Ryback duty, at that.   RAW RECAP: How to Beat the Shield The OOriginal Fandangirl is back! And OO would like to take at least partial credit for it! In other RAW developments: (1) the Shield once again got the better of Cena/Kane/Bryan in the main event, (2) Ryback once again stood by and let it happen, (3) Damien Sandow displayed a lovely singing voice and (4) Kaitlyn admitted her undying love for Ralph Wiggum.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Making the Most of It With the summer concert season looming, Chris Jericho's availability to WWE will be dropping down to zero. So, they're really trying to make the most of the dwindling moments during this current window of opportunity. On top of his pending issue with Fandango, Jericho was given Ryback duty on Friday night. DOUBLE Ryback duty, at that.   RAW RECAP: Mission Accomplished~! The OOriginal Fandangirl is back! And OO would like to take at least partial credit for it! In other RAW developments: (1) the Shield once again got the better of Cena/Kane/Bryan in the main event, (2) Ryback once again stood by and let it happen, (3) Damien Sandow displayed a lovely singing voice and (4) Kaitlyn admitted her undying love for Ralph Wiggum.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Job-Stealing Foreigner If you're Zeb Colter, or otherwise prone to believe in Tea Party nonsense, you should be ULTRA pissed about Ricardo Rodriguez this week. Not only does the filthy Mexican have a job here in America, but he wrestled THREE times this week on SD, taking work away from hard working American citizens. If you're not so inclined, OO applauds your sense of reason, and invites you to read Rick Scaia's recap of Ricardo's big night.   RAW RECAP: So Much Wrestling! The Standard WWE Format Sheet calls for two long-ish wrestling matches per show. Usually one is the main event, and the other is a mid-show "anchor" match. Well, last night they deviated from this formula, and the fans were treated to FOUR really good matches. Rick Scaia has a complete breakdown for you.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Your Worst Nightmare Big Show and Mark Henry, totalling roughly 1000 pounds of badassitude, had their way with Sheamus and Randy Orton on Friday night. One can't help but wonder what would happen if they decided to form a full time tag team. They'd be pretty unstoppable. Read up on their first pairing and the rest of Friday's results.   RAW RECAP: You're on Your Own, Cena Ryback gave John Cena a taste of his own medicine on Monday: after a main event promo, the Shield attacked Cena, and Ryback stood by and just let it happen. Jerk. In addition to that, Kofi Kingston is the new US Champ, a HHH vs. Lesnar rematch is set, CM Punk has a crisis of conscience, and Jerry Lawler goes off the rails and says what we've all been thinking since the Bellas returned.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Fandango Rising On Monday, Fandango's theme song had a hell of a night, even if the man got his ass kicked. On Friday, Fandango himself had a big night, beating the crap out of Chris Jericho, and standing tall as the show faded to black. All that, plus a rare appearance by Triple H, and lots more. PyroFalkon has details.   RAW RECAP: WankerMania The raucous crowd at RAW certainly added a lot of sizzle, but make no mistake: there was a lot of steak here, too, to go with the mutinous chants. Dolph Ziggler winning the WHC headlines the list of happenings, which also included a rare post-WM appearance by the Undertaker (to stand alongside Kane/Bryan against the Shield), an IC Title change, and an apparent heel turn by Ryback. Good times.   PPV RECAP: WWE WrestleMania 29 Undertaker defeated CM Punk in the hands-down best match of the night. John Cena took the WWE Title from the Rock in a match that was followed by a Show of Mutual Respect. Triple H saved his career by beating Brock Lesnar. And other stuff happened, too. Rick Scaia has a full recap and analysis for you.   OO: WrestleMania 29 in Perspective WWE silenced Internet Wankers worldwide by putting Dolph Ziggler on a bit of a winning streak this week. In fact, not only did Ziggler win two matches in a row, he did it against the reigning tag team champions, including a Friday night win over Kane.   IN-DEPTH PREVIEW: WrestleMania 29 CM Punk interrupted the Undertaker'tribute to cut a dick-ish promo about how he's sorry for Taker's loss... his loss at WrestleMania, that is! Then, just when you thought Punk got his comeuppance, he grabs a steel chair and interrupts a touching reunion of Taker and Kane. Then, he steals the urn. What a jerkface!   RAW RECAP: CM Punk, Overlord of the Assholes WWE silenced Internet Wankers worldwide by putting Dolph Ziggler on a bit of a winning streak this week. In fact, not only did Ziggler win two matches in a row, he did it against the reigning tag team champions, including a Friday night win over Kane.   RAW RECAP: Truth in Advertising WWE silenced Internet Wankers worldwide by putting Dolph Ziggler on a bit of a winning streak this week. In fact, not only did Ziggler win two matches in a row, he did it against the reigning tag team champions, including a Friday night win over Kane.   RAW RECAP: Triple H's Last Stand CM Punk interrupted the Undertaker'tribute to cut a dick-ish promo about how he's sorry for Taker's loss... his loss at WrestleMania, that is! Then, just when you thought Punk got his comeuppance, he grabs a steel chair and interrupts a touching reunion of Taker and Kane. Then, he steals the urn. What a jerkface!   RAW RECAP: CM Punk, Lord of the Assholes CM Punk interrupted the Undertaker'tribute to cut a dick-ish promo about how he's sorry for Taker's loss... his loss at WrestleMania, that is! Then, just when you thought Punk got his comeuppance, he grabs a steel chair and interrupts a touching reunion of Taker and Kane. Then, he steals the urn. What a jerkface!   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Big Show, Loveable Lug? Few guys have flip-flopped between fan favorite and villian as often as Big Show. And it looks like he'll be at it again, as the Shield have made for strange bedfellows. After Friday's main event, Show's now part of a three-way marriage of convenience with Sheamus and Randy Orton.   RAW RECAP: Streak vs. Imaginary Streak In CM Punk's mind, he should still be the undefeated, undisputed WWE Champion for the 460th day in a row... but since he's not, he's decided that the next best thing would be ending the Undertaker's undefeated WrestleMania streak. After winning a fatal fourway main event, he'll get his shot at WM29.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: The Shield Ain't so Tough For the second time in a week, the Shield held a 3-on-2 advantage over their foes. And for the second time in a week, they got the short end of the stick and wound up running away from the fight. See how their interference in an Orton/Show main event went awry in our recap.   RAW RECAP: Match of the Year? CM Punk and John Cena took "free per view" to a whole other level on Monday, delivering an incredible main event (won by Cena, who is now confirmed as The Rock's opponent at WrestleMania). Get full play-by-play and the rest of Monday's action (which also included an awesome and bloody show-opening brawl between Brock Lesnar and Triple H)   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Swagger's Last Ride? If WWE decides to punish Jack Swagger for his recent arrest on DUI and marijuana posessesion charges, last night's taped-before-the-arrest SD may be your last chance to see him with his full WrestleMania push intact (ample tea party ranting and beating Randy Orton and all).   RAW RECAP: Rock's New Toy On his way to the main event of WrestleMania, The Rock decided to upgrade his WWE Title belt to something slightly less ridiculous-looking. Which is exactly what he did: the new belt is still pretty lame, a marginal improvement, at best. In other news: CM Punk talked John Cena into putting his WM title shot against the Rock up for grabs in a match next week.   PPV RECAP: WWE Elimination Chamber 2013 Rock's win over CM Punk -- which seemingly cements Rock/Cena II at WrestleMania -- was a bit of an abbreviated and chinclock-laden disappointment. But on the upside, the SD Chamber Match was absolutely awesome (and won by Jack Swagger), while the Shield's surprise win over Cena & Co. far exceeded any rational expectations. Rick Scaia has details and analysis.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: A Reunion Gone Awry The last time Big Show and Chris Jericho spent any significant time together, they were tag team champions. Well, on Friday, they wound up in the same ring, arguing over who will be the World Champion after WrestleMania. Booker T ordered them to face each other in SD's main event. This round went to Big Show.   RAW RECAP: Punk Takes Title (Belt) CM Punk tried to bolster his case that he's still the WWE Champion by kicking Rock's ass and walking out with the title belt in hand. Alas, possession is still only 9/10ths of the law, so Rock's still the champ. But it was a quality dick move to cap off a solid show (which included an excellent Jericho/Bryan match, and more).   SMACKDOWN RECAP: That's What He Does Since returning a week ago, Mark Henry has been on a path of random rage. So, in an attempt to placate the World's Moistest and Angriest Man, Booker T gave him a chance to earn a spot in the Elimination Chamber Match. Henry made the most of it, beating Randy Orton in Friday's main event.   RAW RECAP: Safety in Numbers When John Cena promised to "call out" the Shield during the final segment on RAW, it didn't seem like that bright an idea. Until he revealed that he had back-up: he was joined by Ryback and Sheamus. It capped of another solid RAW that also featured an excellent Punk/Jericho match and much, much more.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Collateral Damage The war between Big Show and Alberto del Rio is far from over, it seems. And it also seems like nobody is safe as long as they're at odds. While inflicting damage on each other, the two also destroyed some poor schmuck's rental car and Ricardo Rodriguez along the way.   RAW RECAP: Brock's Back First, it was the Rock. Then came Chris Jericho. Presumably, the Undertaker's gonna be showing up in the next couple weeks. And as of Monday, Brock Lesnar is back (defending Paul Heyman, and F-5'ing Vince McMahon). Must be WrestleMania Season!   PPV RECAP: WWE Royal Rumble 2012 Cena won the Rumble. Rock beat Punk. So things were pretty predictable... but they were also solidly entertaining. The Rumble was fun as usual. Rock/Punk was downright outstanding. And on top of that, Alberto and Big Show may have been the best match of the night.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Show SMASH~! WWE hyped it as a night of celebration for new World Champ Alberto del Rio. But the palpable subtext of the evening was one of friends getting ready to stab each other in the back. Leading the way in the Passive Aggression Sweepstakes was Randy Orton, with Layla not far behind.   RAW RECAP: Beware of Falling Anvils The time for "cookiepusses" and pre-packing one liners about "boxing with god" is past... this week on RAW, the Rock and CM Punk ended the show with some good ol' fashion smacktalk, followed by a pull-apart brawl. It capped off a big 20th Anniversary show that also included Kaitlyn winning the Women's Title and lots more.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Night of Frenemies WWE hyped it as a night of celebration for new World Champ Alberto del Rio. But the palpable subtext of the evening was one of friends getting ready to stab each other in the back. Leading the way in the Passive Aggression Sweepstakes was Randy Orton, with Layla not far behind.   RAW RECAP: Kicking Things Off with a Bang The time for "cookiepusses" and pre-packing one liners about "boxing with god" is past... this week on RAW, the Rock and CM Punk ended the show with some good ol' fashion smacktalk, followed by a pull-apart brawl. It capped off a big 20th Anniversary show that also included Kaitlyn winning the Women's Title and lots more.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Babyface Destiny It was a huge surprise when Alberto del Rio turned face out of nowhere. It was an even bigger surprise now that he's won the World Heavyweight TItle, completely out of left field. His win came in an excellent main event brawl against Big Show, and capped off an all-around tremendous edition of SmackDown.   RAW RECAP: Kicking Things Off with a Bang In recent years, the first RAW of the New Year has become a free-per-view unto itself. And to kick off 2013, WWE served up the very best New Year's RAW ever: two PPV caliber matches (Cena/Ziggler, and the almost unfathomably excellent Punk/Ryback TLC Match) and an epic show-closing Rock/Punk promo that spanned 20 minutes and a commercial break.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: 2012, a Cena Apocalypse The diptards who misquoted the Mayans were wrong about the end of the world, but try telling that to John Cena. On the last major WWE telecast of 2012, he got his ass handed to him AGAIN by Dolph Ziggler and his new pal, Big E. Langston. It was the capper on a special live, ad-free edition of SmackDown.   TV RECAP: Tribute to the Troops 2012 It's been years since WWE went overseas to tape a whole show in the Middle East, but they're still churning out the annual feel-good event where all the good guys win and you're forced to listen to crappy music. At least this year, you got the Muppets being awesome. Read up on how.   RAW RECAP: Whooooooo! On Monday, WWE handed out the annual Slammy Awards (albeit in a silly, Twitter-ized format that not only cheapened the concept, but made for some VERY crappy/awkward TV)... but the big story was a cameo by Ric Flair that turned into a huge 3-segment angle that included Cena, Punk, The Shield, and more getting in on the act. Good times.   PPV RECAP: Tables Ladders and Chairs 2012 It was a big night for the new guys. Not only did Dolph Ziggler cement his freshly-granted status as a main eventer by defeating Joh Cena, but The Shield stole the show in their very first match ever on WWE TV by defeating Kane and Team Friendship in an outstanding brawl. Rick Scaia has all the details for you.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Good for the Gander Last week, Sheamus circumvented Booker T's "No Touching" Rule to get the better of Big Show. This week, Show was the one who utilized the clause to one-up Sheamus without physical contact. Show instead beat the crap out of Sheamus' best friend, William Regal, causing Sheamus to lose a match in the process.   RAW RECAP: Utter Chaos~! WWE had one week in which to undo one PPV main event, and build up a wholly new one. How'd they do it? A tried and true method where things break down into utter chaos, and viewers are left over-stimulated and half-confused... not only by a massive 10 man brawl, but by Cody Rhodes' ludicrous new coustache!   SMACKDOWN RECAP: One Clever Fella After institution of a "No Touching" Rule, Big Show kept trying to goad Sheamus into making physical contact (thus negating their upcoming PPV match). Instead, Sheamus found a loophole, and launched Ricardo Rodriguez at Show's balls, like a battering ram. Good times.   RAW RECAP: Ryback's Revenge Not only did Ryback finally get the better of The Shield on Monday, he got CM Punk alone in the ring, and used it as a chance to whack him with a chair, hit him with a ladder, and then powerbomb him through a table. For storyline purposes, the attack was enough to scratch Punk from Sunday's TLC PPV.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Getting Personal Damien Sandow's public addresses to the unwashed masses haven't made you people any smarter. So Mr. Sandow has decided that he will take his quest to save society to the personal level, interviewing randomly selected fans before his matches, and giving them the chance to impress him with their intelligence. The first interview took place last night, and was quite illuminating.   RAW RECAP: Incidental, or Insurance? In their first interview since showing up on WWE TV, the "NXT 3" declared that they are NOT working for CM Punk. It's merely incidental that CM Punk is the one being so constantly wronged. And then Ambrose, Rollins, and Reigns came to Punk's aid again (for the 3rd time in a week) to close out the show.   RAW RECAP: Nerd-gasm! Not only is CM Punk continuing to get the better of Ryback, he's now doing it with the help of three obscure Indy Darlings, unknown to most, but beloved by wrestling's most obsessed wankers. OK, so it's two indy darlings (the very talented Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins) and the Rock's cousin (not entirely untalented), but close enough.   PPV RECAP: WWE Survivor Series 2012 OO admits that it didn't think there was a way for Survivor Series to end that wouldn't be (a) stupid (Cena or Ryback winning) or (b) predictable. But WWE found a way for Punk to win that was anything but predictable. Instead, Punk won with the help of a trio of new guys, two of whom are talented Indy Darlings and the other of whom is the Rock's cousin. Rick Scaia has all the details.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Bigger Isn't Better Well, the [redacted] Khali is back. And he picked up right where he left off: by sucking. He lumbered through a barely watchable main event "match" against Big Show, and got pinned after a WMD. At least WWE had the sense to add a tag ending, in which Show and Sheamus brawled in the parking lot.   RAW RECAP: Ohio Decides. Again. For the second time in a week, it was left up to Ohio to decide a matter of national importance. The issue: Who should replace Ryback on Team Foley? And in Columbus -- capitol of the Buckeye State -- the fans overwhelmingly selected a fellow Ohioan, Miz. Miz's meddling with Team Friendship was the highlight of an overall entertaining night of wrestling. <   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Orton Wins via Landslide It's no secret that OO isn't especially fond of Randy Orton. That's because he's not especially good at much of anything. But every now and again, the stars align and this paragon of competence and mediocrity becomes more than the sum of his parts. Last Tuesday was one such occassion, as Orton faced Alberto del Rio in a Street Fight, and came out victorious after almost 25 minutes of intense and entertaining brawling.   RAW RECAP: Feeding Frenzy It was a big night for Ryback. Not only did the ability-challenged hack take part in his first high quality main event match, but he pinned CM Punk, and found himself moved out of a 10-man Elimination Match and into a WWE Title Match, when WWE completely blew up last week's Survivor Series plans.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Successful Reunion Once upon a time, Big Show and Miz were tag team champions. Then they grew apart. Then, they were thrown together (against their will) on Friday night for a main event tag match against Sheamus and Kofi Kingston. And they picked up right where they left off.   RAW RECAP: Honoring Tradition Mick Foley accused CM Punk of sullying the tradition of the WWE Title with his antics. So Punk retorted by challenging Mick to a traditional Survivor Series Elimination Match. Mick accepted. Read on to find out who joined each team.   PPV RECAP: WWE Hell in a Cell 2012 Rs soon as New Ref (and FCW developmental wrestler) Brad Maddox showed up as the referee for Sunday's PPV main event, you pretty much knew how things were gonna end. And sure enough, the Punk/Ryback match wasn't all that good. Luckily, the PPV didn't end there: an angry Ryback got his revenge by Shellshocking Punk ON TOP OF THE CELL. Holy shit, indeed. Also, Big Show beat Sheamus for the World Heavyweight Title in a surprisingly awesome match. Rick Scaia has details   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Friendship Reigns SmackDown's main event was an utterly pointless and anticlimactic promo by Sheamus and Big Show. Luckily, there were some gems on the undercard. Especially anything involving Team Friendship and the Rhodes Scholars. Kane beat Cody, with Bryan and Sandow on commentary. Sandow beat Bryan, with Kane and Cody on commentary. And it was good.<   RAW RECAP: Fraternizing is Bad In today's G-Rated WWE, you can't come right out and accuse a chick of sleeping around. However, it turns out you CAN accuse her of "fraternizing." That's exactly the allegation made against AJ, and it's why she's been forced to resign as General Manager of RAW. Rick Scaia has details, along with the rest of Monday's action.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Viper Hunt Randy Orton used the twitter to declare he'd be at SmackDown to get revenge on Alberto del Rio. But when the show started, nobody could find him. Embiggened by Orton's absence, Alberto won a main event match, and started mocking Orton. Of course, THAT's when Randall ran in and attacked del Rio from behind.   RAW RECAP: Stunt Casting 101 When WWE announced Vince McMahon was going to be on RAW just 7 days after its lowest ratings in 15 years, OO called it a clear case of "stunt casting." And it was, in the literal/no-value-judgment sense of the phrase. But it also turned out way better than OO would have expected. Instead of a blustery "State of WWE Address," Vince found himself in an intense main event brawl against CM Punk.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Nothing to Prove CM Punk's still declining to face John Cena inside a Cell later this month on PPV. He's got nothing to prove after already beating Cena every single time they've tangled in the past. But just to stay sharp, Punk decided to face fellow internet darling Dolph Ziggler in an excellent Friday Night main event.   RAW RECAP: Hell No? Hell YES!!! Everybody's favorite odd couple were victorious again last night, beating CM Punk and Dolph Ziggler in a non-title match. Sure, Kane and Daniel Bryan got a little help (Ziggler repaid Punk for their last tag match by walking out on the match, and leaving Punk to face a 1-on-2 disadvantage), but a win is a win.<   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Big Night for Big Show Big Show was all over the place on Friday night, starting with a show opening promo in which he declared his intentions to regain the World Heavyweight Title, and ending with a main event in which he beat Randy Orton to become the official #1 Contender to said title.   RAW RECAP: Ryback? Really?!? CM Punk politely declined a challenge from John Cena, citing the many other deserving stars who should get WWE Title shots before Cena. I don't think anybody expected Ryback would be that next "deserving" guy. And yet, here we are, after a Punk/Ryback staredown to end the show.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Bonding Exercises WWE served up a heaping helping of Team Friendship on Friday, and truly the fans were the winners. Kane and Daniel Bryan had a promo with Edge, were in singles action, had backstage skits with Dr. Shelby, all before main eventing in a tag match. Good times.   RAW RECAP: The New Guy Blows It When a new rookie ref (who also just so happens to be an FCW developmental wrestler) suddenly shows up calling a main event match on RAW, it's grounds to be suspicious. And sure enough, by night's end, he screwed CM Punk, and is in the middle of a huge controversy.   PPV RECAP: WWE Night of Champions 2012 CM Punk and John Cena didn't quite recreate the magic of July 2011... but they sure as hell tried. Cena busted out a no hands plancha; Punk dusted off a corkscrew moonsault. And the end came after a big-ass top rope German Superplex. But when both men's shoulders were down, that end was a draw, which means Punk retained the title. Rick Scaia has full details and analysis for you in his recap.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: 18 Seconds? NO! NO! NO! After his dear, dear friend Ricardo felt the wrath of Sheamus' Brogue Kick, Alberto del Rio was forced to do the right thing: he enlisted the help of an upstanding lawyer, and fought to ban the dangerous move. Read on to see how Alberto and David Otunga successfully convinced Booker T to outlaw the Brogue Kick   RAW RECAP: The Show Must Go On Lost in the shadow cast by Jerry Lawler's heart attack is the fact that RAW went on (mostly) as planned, and featured a pair of incredibly compelling and intense showdowns involving CM Punk, Bret Hart, and John Cena. Also: there was the birth of Team Friendship.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: The Boot Gets the Boot After his dear, dear friend Ricardo felt the wrath of Sheamus' Brogue Kick, Alberto del Rio was forced to do the right thing: he enlisted the help of an upstanding lawyer, and fought to ban the dangerous move. Read on to see how Alberto and David Otunga successfully convinced Booker T to outlaw the Brogue Kick.   RAW RECAP: Heyman Lands an Expansion Franchise CM Punk's claimed to be a "Paul Heyman Guy" in the past. And now, he's a Paul Heyman Guy in the present. Heyman's seemingly expanded his roster of clients to include Punk. The revelation that Punk is in cahoots with Heyman capped off an enjoyable show.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Losing is the new Winning If SmackDown had a running theme this week, it was this: you can win by losing. Just look at the main event, where Dolph Ziggler lost to Randy Orton, but ended the show celebrating that he's still got his MitB Briefcase. Or better yet, Damien Sandow, who held his own against Sheamus before deciding that ignoramous wasn't worth the trouble, leaving Sheamus with an unsatisfying count out win.   RAW RECAP: Say My Name CM Punk just took a page out of Walter White's book. 24 hours after Walt turned full-on heel on Breaking Bad (by murdering a senior citizen and demanding to be called "Heisenberg"), Punk turned full-on heel by decimating a senior citizen (Jerry Lawler) and demanding to be called "Best in the World." Rick Scaia has all the details.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Deja Vu All Over Again OO has exhausted its supply of jokes about how many times Alberto del Rio will face Sheamus for the World Heavyweight Title. But WWE doesn't care, and is running that match yet again at Night of Champions. Alberto beat Randy Orton (cleanly, via submission) to earn his eleventy billionth title shot. Rick Scaia has a full report.   RAW RECAP: Dignity Before Gold? All John Cena had to do to get a shot at the WWE Title was admit that CM Punk was the best wrestler in the world. But Cena refused in an absolutely electric "main event promo" that saw him put his dignity and credibilty ahead of a free title shot. It capped off a show that also saw Jericho get fired and (maybe) HHH retired.   PPV RECAP: SummerSlam 2012 After months of build-up, Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar paid off on all the hype: Lesnar (winless in his last 4 matches, dating back to UFC), got HHH to tap out in an intense brawl. The rest of the show was merely decent, including a cleverly booked win for CM Punk, a surprise win for Jericho, and even a new US Champion.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Backfired! Despite being one strike away from being fired under WWE's drug testing policy, Randy Orton finds himself right back in the World Title picture on SD after beating #1 Contender Alberto del Rio. Get details on that (and more, including Booker T being named the new GM) in our recap.   RAW RECAP: Bigger IS Better One week after a patience-trying, filler-laden show, RAW proved it CAN deliver a mostly-entertaining show in its new expanded 3 hour format. As if to underscore the point that bigger is better, the 7-foot, 500-pound Big Show got the last laugh on the night, flattening both CM Punk and John Cena after RAW's main event, and then posing with the WWE Title belt.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Hitting with Two Strikes Despite being one strike away from being fired under WWE's drug testing policy, Randy Orton finds himself right back in the World Title picture on SD after beating #1 Contender Alberto del Rio. Get details on that (and more, including Booker T being named the new GM) in our recap.   RAW RECAP: Heel, or Tweener? As OO suspected, CM Punk isn't quite a heel... yet. He's the same guy he was last summer when he shot to stardom. It's just that some fans may have lost sight of the fact that that same guy can be kind of a prick, especially when he feels like he's being disrespected. See how Punk's saltiness manifested itself this week in our recap.   SMACKDOWN RECAP: Destiny Do-Over Alberto del Rio's "destiny" is to be world champ, if you believe his boasting. But this summer, it seems his destiny is to be #1 Contender without ever winning the belt. For the 4th time this summer, Alberto is the #1 Contender, and will face Sheamus at SummerSlam.   RAW RECAP: CM Punk is Not a Fan of Dwayne On a jam-packed 1000th Episode of RAW, CM Punk provided the headline by attacking The Rock. But is it really a "heel turn," or just Punk Being Punk? Remember, last summer, Punk never passed up on a chance to mock "Dwayne," and the fans still catapulted him to babyface status. So perhaps there will still be plenty of fans for Punk now that the assaults on the Rock have gone from verbal to physical.

RAW 1000 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

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