WWE ROAD BLOCK: END OF THE LINE

from Pittsburgh

RUSEV vs. BIG CASS (4:30): I'm still a little confused about the title of this show. The "End of the Line" moniker I kind of get because it's the last ppv of the year (and since the WWE network is now killing off the ppv buys I should probably stop calling these shows pay per views). The "Roadblock" name, though, seems superfluous. I guess they ran out of names now that there's usually two ppv's a month? Or they're just lazy and/or creatively empty. Either way, this match was on the pre-show and was forgettable. Cass got counted out after they brawled in the crowd. And Lana used to get a ton of heat for being pro-Russia and pro-Putin, but since Trump won and he loves Putin and a good majority of wrestling fans adore Trump...will Lana still get boo's and heat for that? Will they have to change that? I'm probably thinking too deep about a show with grown men fake fighting. 1/2* (out of ****)

CESARO & SHEAMUS vs. THE NEW DAY (10:10): This was the best match on the show. The New Day broke the record for consecutive days as tag team champs last week on RAW. They made a huge deal out of it, having TND wrestle to open RAW and close RAW (the main event, with TND vs. Rollins & Reigns vs. Jericho & Owens, was fantastic). So of course The New Day loses their titles tonight on their first defense post-record. There were a ton of near-falls and a ton of interference and it was pretty wild. Good opener. ***

SAMI ZAYN vs. BRAUN STROWMAN: This was a ten-minute match. If Zayn could last ten minutes he would win. Foley came out at the 7 minute mark ready to throw in the towel but didn't. There were no pins. I guess it makes sense for the WWE to build up a wrestler like they're doing with Strowman. Hell, they never seem to do it with anyone. But does anyone believe Strowman is this indestructible force? No. Who has he actually beat? If you want to build him up, have him beat Reigns or Owens or someone. This was pretty dull. Maybe they should throw Zayn into the cruiserweight mix. Both Zayn and that division need all the help they can get. *

SETH ROLLINS vs. CHRIS JERICHO (17:05): Jericho has been more entertaining lately than he's been in years. Sadly, that's only on the mic. In the ring he's gotten old. This was too long and just okay. Owens came down and interfered but it didn't help. *1/2

RICH SWANN vs. T.J. PERKINS vs. BRIAN KENDRICK (6:00): I loved this division for like two weeks. Now it's a bore. I'm not sure what happened. The silent arenas while they wrestle? That there's these three guys and kind of no one else of consequence? This was short and average at best. *1/2

CHARLOTTE vs. SASHA BANKS "IRON WOMAN MATCH" (34:45): The last ten minutes were great. But, like most "Iron Man" matches (why the WWE didn't call this an "Iron Woman" match is beyond me), they started off like they were milling about in quicksand. It's a 30 minute match. You don't have to be super-slow and do arm bars for ten minutes. Banks got destroyed in this match. She either wrestles like a rag doll or was truly hurt most of the time. She took a wicked bump off the apron onto her head and hands onto the steps. She had her nose busted open in the over-time and the lower half of her face was a bloody mess. Sasha was up 2-1 with one minute left to go but was in Charlotte's Figure Four. With three seconds left she tapped which led to OT. Charlotte won when Sasha tapped in OT. Charlotte has now won every ppv match this year. Which is good, except the fact that Sasha beat her for the title 3 times on RAW. I'm not sure why they're doing these see-saw title changes. Stick with one champ, dudes. **1/2

KEVIN OWENS vs. ROMAN REIGNS (23:20): This was just okay. Owens did a Frog Splash through Reigns on the announce table. It didn't break so he tried it again and it broke. Jericho came down and gave Owens a Code Breaker. The ref called for the DQ and Owens won and retained his title. But it was a ruse! Jericho and Owens are still pals. So Rollins ran out and him and Reigns put Jericho through a table and then put Owens through the announce table up on the stage. The post-match stuff was fun but the match was so-so. I truly hate this company split because I'm already tired of all of these matches we've seen a million times. Owens vs. Reigns. Owens vs. Rollins. Jericho vs. Reigns. Jericho vs. Rollins. I'm fucking bored. **

WWE TLC

from Dallas, TX

THE HYPE BROS & AMERICAN ALPHA & APOLLO CREWS vs. THE VAUDEVILLAINS & THE ASCENSION & CURT HAWKINS (12:03): Your typical, forgettable pre-show match. There were four actual tag teams in this match yet the tag team championship match after this featured random wrestlers put together. I guess that says a lot about what the WWE thinks of their tag division. American Alpha was so dynamic on NXT and now they're sort of an after thought. Odd. *1/2

BRAY WYATT & RANDY ORTON vs. HEATH SLATER & RHYNO (5:53): Wow. This was short. The Wyatt Family won the tag titles. It was average stuff. *1/2

NIKKI BELLA vs. CARMELLA "NO DQ MATCH" (7:39): Ugh. Carmella should just go back to being Big Cass and Enzo Amore's hot ringside girl. She is just awful. Nikki at least has some charisma. 1/2*

THE MIZ vs. DOLPH ZIGGLER "LADDER MATCH" (25:10): Good but not great. Maybe these two have just wrestled each other way too much lately. There were no suicidal/epic spots...although some of it was brutal. The end had The Miz kicking Dolph in the balls and then pulling the IC title down. It's really a shame that Daniel Bryan is retired because the best feud in the WWE is The Miz and Bryan. They had another crazy argument on the post-show until it was unexpectantly cut off for a Royal Rumble history show. **1/2

BARON CORBIN vs. KALISTO "CHAIRS MATCH" (12:51): Kalisto is awesome, so this was perhaps Corbin's best match ever. Chairs matches suck, (can you believe that the main event of a TLC ppv a few year's ago was a chairs match?) but they did some sick, hard-hitting stuff here, including Corbin going through six or seven set up chairs together in the ring. **1/2

BECKY LYNCH vs. ALEXA BLISS "TABLES MATCH" (15:16): I love Alexa Bliss. Probably because she looks like a High School cheerleader with a Harley Quinn makeover. But she is a total bore in the ring. This match was too long and too slow and too dull. Bliss won the title by putting Lynch through one table. Awful stuff. 1/2*

AJ STYLES vs. DEAN AMBROSE "TLC MATCH" (30:50): The second half of this match was excellent. Dean did an elbow drop (off a ladder that was on top of the announce table) onto Styles laid out on an announcer's table. AJ did a 450 splash off the top rope onto Dean on a ringside table. The finish had James Ellsworth pushing Dean off a ladder and down onto two ringside tables, which led to Styles winning. Ellsworth didn't turn heel...he just wanted a title shot at Styles because he says that he has Styles' number. This was a good main event but this show would have been better if the company never split. There's way too much filler on these B-shows. And Nakamura can't come to Smackdown soon enough. ***

ROH's FINAL BATTLE

from New York City

THE MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS & DONOVAN DIJAK vs. THE REBELLION (12:22): This is, apparently, Ring of Honor's biggest show of the year. It was a good one, thanks mostly to their pact with New Japan (The Young Bucks, Liger, Kushida, and Ospreay also wrestle over there). This opener was one of the night's best. I haven't seen the MCMG's in a long time. They were in TNA for awhile and popped up in NJPW a few times since then. I guess they're back for good? Thank God. They're one of the most exciting tag teams out there. The Rebellion has Kenny King, who did some cool high-flying leaps and dives. It was just a fun, fast opener that the crowd (at the awesome Hammerstein Ballroom) ate up. *** (out of ****)

SILAS YOUNG vs. JUSHIN THUNDER LIGER (11:04): Liger is fun but too old to still be doing this, as sad as that is to admit. Silas Young is a brute bore. This was fairly forgettable. *

DALTON CASTLE vs. COLT CABANA (10:22): Castle has two King Kong-esque native boys that accompany him to the ring and jump around at ringside during the match. They're the highlight. This was average stuff. *1/2

CODY vs. JAY LETHAL (13:15): Cody Rhodes turned heel and kicked Lethal in the balls when the ref wasn't looking then scored the pin. He then flipped off Lethal, threw a drink at the ref, turned over the ring bell table, and smiled at the crowd. That stuff was cool. This match was pretty pedestrian, though. **

THE KINGDOM vs. KUSHIDA, JAY WHITE & LIO RUSH (15:25): The Kingdom won the new 6-man tag titles. NJPW did have a 6-man tag title awhile back but kind of forgot about it. Kushida was awesome as always here. There was some cool dives and flips from the ring to the floor. It heated up at the end but early going it was average stuff. **1/2

MARTY SCURLL vs. DRAGON LEE vs. WILL OSPREAY (10:46): Excellent match. Dragon Lee and Kamaitachi had such brutal, ridiculously insane matches in CMLL in 2015 and early this year that both guys got picked up by other companies. Kamaitachi is wrestling Kushida at NJPW's big Dome show on Jan. 4th and Dragon Lee is now in ROH. This match, for the TV title, originally had Bobby Fish as the 4th competitor. He had to go home for his mom's funeral. Ospreay ended up being the star of the match and the entire show. He's the top high-flyer in the world at the moment, and tonight he was on top of his game. This was fast-paced and crazy and a lot of fun. ***1/2

THE BRISCOE'S vs. THE YOUNG BUCKS (15:37): These two teams wrestled each other a few month's ago in NJPW and it wasn't that good. The Bucks usually work better in a comedy type of match whereas The Briscoe's are more hard-hitting and brutal. But this match, for the tag titles, was great. It didn't have the funny, typical Bucks component, but it was entertaining and wild and there were a ton of near falls until the Super Kick extravaganza at the end that culminated in The Bucks winning. After the match, "Broken" Matt Hardy came on the entrance screen to challenge both teams to a match. The crowd went ape shit when they saw Hardy. ***

KYLE O'REILLY vs. ADAM COLE "NO DQ MATCH" (18:48): Good main event, thanks mostly to the blood, the tables, the thumbtacks, and the trash cans (the chain came in the ring but wasn't used). O'Reilly is really good at just wrestling so it was kind of a surprise that they went the hardcore rout. Cole belongs in the WWE. He just has that cocky, heel feel that would work well there. O'Reilly cinched on his submission hold on Cole on top of the tacks (he wanted the win that bad that he didn't care about the pain!) and won the title. ***