While WWE didn’t seem to really care about the post-TLC episode of Monday Night Raw,
they’ve gone all out for this Friday’s Christmas Day episode of SmackDown - loading
up the episode with Kevin Owens vs Roman Reigns in a steel cage, an Intercontinental title
match between Sami Zayn and Big E, and, of course, a Charlotte Flair match.
All hail the OmniFlair.
Can’t wait just a few more days to open those presents?
Neither can the Internet, because all the results have already been spoiled.
Surprisingly, Ebeneezer McMahon has actually given his roster Christmas Day off, meaning
they pretaped Friday’s episode of SmackDown yesterday.
Where ThunderDome attendee JackFoley has posted exactly what happened throughout the show
on the F4WOnline board.
This of course contains spoilers, so use the timestamps in the video description below
if you want to maintain a childlike innocent wonder.
Or stay here because we’re entering the Spoiler Room Brawl in 3…
2…
Kenny Omega turned up and beat Roman Reigns for the Universal title.
Just kidding.
1…
The show opened big on the Reigns vs Owens steel cage match, thought to be a good way
to keep the audience from the previous NFL game on Fox.
Roman retained after Jey Uso handcuffed KO to the cage in what is said to be a really
good match.
Charlotte Flair and Asuka then defended their women’s tag titles against the teams of
Sasha Banks and Bianca BelAir, and Bayley and Carmella in a triple threat elimination
match.
Banks not only dropped her championship during her entrance, where she apparently mouthed
“We’re gonna edit this out?”
but also seemingly “hit Charlotte straight in the face” with a Meteora, and “nearly
killed herself with a very bad head scissors to Carmella’s sommelier”.
Sasha eliminated Bayley and Carmella first.
And then Charlotte pinned BelAir to retain.
Because of course she did.
Apparently the Riott Squad were watching on from backstage, so that will likely be a future
tag team title feud.
Daniel Bryan managed to beat Jey Uso even though Jey attacked him before their match.
And the main event was the lumberjack match for the Intercontinental title - which included
your standard SmackDown midcard wrestlers filling in outside like Cesaro, Nakamura,
King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler… and also one Raw wrestler in Angel Garza.
Wild Card rule!
Sparking speculation that Garza might have been moved across to the blue brand the same
week he made his return on Raw, beating Drew Gulak.
After Sami tried to escape, though, the babyface lumberjacks carried him back to the ring,
where Big E beat him with a Big Ending to become the new Intercontinental Champion - ending
on the uplifting visual of Big E celebrating with all the babyfaces while confetti rained
down.
Are you excited for a Big E title run?
And who do you want to see him feud with first?
Let me know in the comments down below, where I’ll be replying to people FROM OUTTA NOWHERE…
saying it will definitely be King Corbin.
Big E as Intercontinental champion feuding with Roman’s Family could also work really
well, though.
Which could be setting another place at the table soon with reports of several WWE stars
nearing their returns…
During an Instagram interview, Jey Uso has revealed his brother and tag team partner
Jimmy will be returning to action “Definitely soon, man.
January or February, I must say.”
And that Jimmy, and potentially more, will be joining him and Roman at the Family table.
“We've got cousins... they're lined up behind us.
They're ready, and they're gonna be ten times more powerful that we are."
Which is true, because if you know anything about Samoan wrestling dynasties, they’re
all related to each other.
Rock The Dwyane Johnson to the Family confirmed.
But Jimmy isn’t the only person nearing a return, as WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus
has also spoken about working again for the company.
Talking to the Women’s Wrestling Talk podcast, she revealed that she’s had talks with Matt
Bloom - aka her former T&A, not that TNA, partner Prince Albert, and NXT’s head trainer
- about working with developmental talent.
And it’s also being rumoured that Braun Strowman will be ready to return ahead of
schedule, after tweeting: “I AM #INEVITABLE and soon I will snap my
fingers!!!!!
#TheMonsterIsComing #Braunos #MADTITAN” - with a video of him looking pretty shredded.
Strowman was kayfabe suspended after headbutting Adam Pearce on the Raw after Survivor Series,
which was actually to cover for a knee injury he picked up during the men’s elimination
match.
Randy Orton, meanwhile, can burn a man to death on a pay-per-view, and doesn’t even
get a fine.
And, as he’s tweeted, what better to accompany murdering someone live, than a binge of your
new favourite Disney Plus show - tweeting: “Listen, I know it’s late.
I know I burned a man alive couple days ago and I shouldn’t be trusted, but whatever
you do, don’t sleep on #Mandalorian just started season 1 and I think I’m in love
#BabyYoda” You’re exposing the business, Randy Orton.
Turns out, though, that murder equals ratings.
As Monday’s post-TLC episode of Raw was up to 1.69 million viewers, significantly
higher than the previous week’s record low rating of 1.53 million.
AEW, meanwhile, might have the secret to increasing their own viewership… just show up everywhere.
Kenny Omega didn’t only win the AEW Championship at the start of this month.
He also partnered with IMPACT Co-Executive Vice President Don Callis, and started showing
up on their weekly shows as part of his new belt collector style gimmick - promising to
go from promotion to promotion and win their top titles.
After announcing IMPACT’s Hard to Kill pay-per-view will feature Omega teaming with his Bullet
Club buddies Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson against IMPACT World Champion Rich Swann and
the Motor City Machine Guns, Two-Tone - made up of AEW President Tony Khaaaaaan and commentator
Tony Schiavone, bought another ‘paid ad’ on last night’s episode.
Khan said he could easily stop Omega showing up on IMPACT if he wanted to by filing an
injunction.
But he wanted to see it happen.
And not just that: “You know what IMPACT Wrestling?
You want Kenny Omega here wrestling your people?
That’s fine with me.
Tomorrow night, Wednesday Night Dynamite, you’re welcome to send some of your people
to my show.
This week anyway.”
With the main event of Dynamite set to be the Young Bucks vs The Acclaimed for the AEW
World Tag Team Championships, Khan specifically teased IMPACT’s tag division…
“I understand you have some tag teams here yourself, IMPACT Wrestling.
I might look around and see what they’re up to.
What their contractual status is.”
- played over shots of the Good Brothers, Motor City Machine Guns and The North.
If anyone shows up, the Gallows and Anderson makes the most sense given their possible
alignment with Omega over the Young Bucks - after Matt and Nick Jackson didn’t join
Kenny back at All Out - which Don Callis is now referring to as the Super Elite on Twitter.
Which could upset the standard issue, regular Elite members.
Gallows and Anderson attacking the Bucks is also over a year and a half in the making,
as that was the originally planned closing segment of the first episode of Dynamite last
October, but the Good Brothers decided to re-sign with WWE instead.
But even doing some of the coolest stuff in wrestling right now can’t win over everyone.
As one wrestling ‘fan’ tweeted about the original All In event:
“Ah yes, the start of the crime that has been perpetrated on professional wrestling.
This birthed the abomination that is AEW.
A dark day indeed.”
Which brought a reply from outta nowhere from AEW Co-Executive Vice President himself Cody
Rhodes: “I mean this day bettered the wrestling
economy and QOL standards for an entire industry, so no matter which way you shake it...a great
day in our history.”
Ah yes, QOL standards…
Google what’s QOL?
Queen’s Online Login?
Damn, that’s a really specific benefit.
This prompted several more replies in debate, where Cody argued the positive changes to
the wrestling business and its performers have already been seen in better contract
leverage.
And the ‘fan’ offered a “word of advice” that if you’re going to respond to marks
on Twitter, it should only be to tell them to f off.
So Cody signed off with: “We have grown tenfold in global penetration,
social Nielsen’s, we received an extension from our partner in the space.
don’t mistake somebody’s entertainment podcast for facts.
Everything I’m saying is documented.
The sky is blue, that shouldn’t offend you.
Watch & you’ll love it” Elsewhere in wrestling, Maria Kanellis has
made her return to Ring of Honor, after her husband Mike Bennett reunited the Kingdom
with Matt Taven there last month.
Maria announced ‘The Experience’ in January, which appears to be where fans can vote for
title contenders and stipulations.
So Taboo Tuesday.
Lana has told the New York Post that her being put through tables every week for two and
a half months wasn’t because WWE were punishing her for her husband Miro showing up in AEW.
And following the tragic passing of Shad Gaspard back in May, where he was swept away by a
strong current while swimming in the sea off Venice Beach, his widow Siliana has filed
a lawsuit against the state of California, the city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles
county, alleging negligence that led to her husband’s death.
According to LA Daily News, she claims the beach had insufficient warning signs about
the dangers of swimming in that area, and that the lifeguards were understaffed and
not properly trained.
Meanwhile, Shelton Benjamin has dedicated his Raw tag team title win at TLC to Gaspard.
You can remember all the wrestling stars we lost this year by watching our video in the
top of the video description.
And that’s me done for 2020, everyone.
It’s been a weird one, but I’d just like to say thank you to everyone who’s watched
a WrestleTalk, partsFUNknown or Phenoma-Nerds video this year.
Anyone who’s bought something from WrestleShop.
Our amazing Pledgehammers on Patreon.
And who’s visited WrestleTalk.com for all their latest breaking wrestling news.
We brought on Adam Blampied this year.
We launched QuizzleMania.
We raised over £50,000 for various charities and independent wrestling.
And, most importantly, I am your Jam that Jampion.
I’d like to say I couldn’t have done it without you.
But I totally did.
And I’m going to hold it
all through 2021.
I know what you want.
And right now, you want a video of WrestleTalk.com editor Randy Andy Datson telling you how to
make Vince Pies.
Jam that Jam-mas.
What are the most shocking wrestling gimmick changes this year?
Click the video on the right to find out!
And two top AEW stars have revealed that WWE offered them huge money deals to join.
Click the video beneath that to find out who!
I’ve been Mr Davis, give WrestleTalk a subscribe for Chtistams, Jam that Jam.