Welcome everyone to the 61st edition of Spandex and Suplexes: A Wrestling Review. I cover a week that saw the NXT TakeOver: WarGames event, the continued build to WWE TLC, and the first AEW interview with “The Icon” Sting. Let’s get started.
Credit: WWE
Results:
1. Team Candice (Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, Raquel González, and Toni Storm) defeated Team Shotzi (Shotzi Blackheart, Ember Moon, Rhea Ripley, and Io Shirai) in a WarGames match
2. Tommaso Ciampa defeated Timothy Thatcher
3. Dexter Lumis defeated Cameron Grimes in a Strap match by submission
4. Johnny Gargano defeated Damian Priest and Leon Ruff (c) in a Triple Threat match after interference by Austin Theory to become the new NXT North American Champion
5. The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong, and Bobby Fish) defeated Team McAfee (Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Danny Burch, and Oney Lorcan) in a WarGames match
Thoughts: This was yet another incredible TakeOver. The women’s WarGames match was an excellent start to the show as every woman involved got to show their stuff, especially Io Shirai with that insane leap off the top of the cage while inside a trash can as well as the dominant performance by Raquel González. Raquel’s pinfall victory over Shirai in the match should put her in line for a shot at the NXT Women’s Championship. The men’s WarGames match was just as awesome and is My Match of the Week. Pat McAfee proved that he belonged in the world of professional wrestling with his performance inside WarGames. Every man in this match managed to stand out with Kyle O’Reilly continuing to prove himself as a main event singles star.
Overall, this was a fantastic show with the highlights being Ciampa vs. Thatcher, the NXT North American Triple Threat match, and both WarGames matches.
Credit: WWE
Results:
1. Asuka defeated Shayna Baszler
2. Ricochet and Dana Brooke defeated Retribution (Slapjack and Reckoning)
3. Kofi Kingston defeated Shelton Benjamin
4. Cedric Alexander defeated Kofi Kingston
5. AJ Styles, The Miz, and John Morrison defeated Drew McIntyre and Sheamus in a 2-on-1 Handicap match
6. Bobby Lashley defeated Jeff Hardy by submission
7. Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt went to a no contest
Thoughts: The Bray Wyatt/Randy Orton feud once again stole the show. While I know that I say that every week, it remains true every time. The back-and-forth promos between Wyatt and Orton to kick off the show showcased the chemistry these two superstars have on the mic. The Viper would make things interesting by challenging the Firefly Funhouse version of Wyatt to match in the main event ahead of his upcoming battle with The Fiend at WWE TLC. Bray then enthusiastically accepted. The main event match between The Legend Killer and the demented children’s show host showed that they have just as much chemistry in the ring as they do on the mic as Firefly Bray gave Randy much more of a challenge than Orton expected.
As the match reached its climax, the lights went out as Orton hit the RKO. When the lights came up, Wyatt had somehow quickly changed into The Fiend and laid next to The Apex Predator. The Fiend then choked out Orton with the mandible claw as the show went off the air. The quick change from Firefly Bray to The Fiend was very cool and one of the best spots we have seen from The Fiend character thus far, and that is saying something. I cannot wait to see Orton and The Fiend go to war at WWE TLC.
Overall, this was a great episode of Monday Night Raw with the highlights being the opening exchange between Wyatt and Orton, Kingston vs. Alexander, McIntyre/Sheamus vs. Styles/Miz/Morrison, Lashley vs. Hardy, and the main event.
Credit: WWE
Results:
1. Jake Atlas defeated Isaiah “Swerve” Scott
2. The Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) defeated Imperium (Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel) and Ever-Rise (Chase Parker and Matt Martel) in a Triple Threat Tag Team match
3. Tommaso Ciampa defeated Cameron Grimes
4. Pete Dunne defeated Killian Dain
5. Raquel González defeated Ember Moon
Thoughts: The biggest news to come from this week’s episode was the return of Karrion Kross. After being teased at NXT TakeOver WarGames, Scarlett came out to confront NXT Champion Finn Bálor, but Bálor already knew what she was going to say and told her to tell Kross that he is ready for him anytime. After Damian Priest had made fun of the fact that Scarlett came out to speak for Karrion rather than Kross appear himself, the former NXT Champion would appear later in the night to assault Priest, laying out The Archer of Infamy. Bálor vs. Kross should be an excellent match that I suspect will occur at the upcoming “New Year’s Evil” NXT special on January 6th. Until then, Kross vs. Priest should also be a great encounter to witness.
Overall, this was a great episode of NXT with the highlights being The Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Imperium vs. Ever-Rise, the Toni Storm/Io Shirai brawl, Dunne vs. Dain, and the main event.
Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Results:
1. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) defeated The Hybrid 2 (Angelico and Jack Evans)
2. FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) defeated The Varsity Blondes (Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison)
3. Dustin Rhodes defeated Preston Vance
4. Eddie Kingston, The Butcher, and The Blade defeated Lance Archer and The Lucha Bros. (Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fenix)
5. Abadon defeated Tesha Price
6. MJF defeated Orange Cassidy after interference by Miro to retain the Dynamite Diamond Ring
Thoughts: Kenny Omega shook the wrestling world with his appearance on Impact Wrestling this past Tuesday. After the excellent interview he gave on Impact, he would continue his message on this week’s Dynamite. Omega and Don Callis were both excellent in their delivery and storytelling. Kenny is back to being the smug heel he was in New Japan Pro Wrestling as The Cleaner, which is he the type of character he has always been best at. It will be interesting to see how the AEW/Impact relationship evolves from here, as Omega teased going after the Impact World Championship, currently held by Rich Swann, to add to his “collection”.
Sting’s interaction with Cody Rhodes hinted at a possible future match between the two. For now, however, The Icon made it clear his interest is in Darby Allin. Whether this interest is as a potential opponent or as a protégé remains to be seen. With potential crossovers with Impact and Sting making his presence known, it is most certainly a most interesting time to be watching AEW.
Overall, this was a great episode of Dynamite with the highlights being Sting’s words for Cody and Allin, Kingston/Butcher/Blade vs. Archer/Lucha Bros., and Omega and Callis’ promo.
Between NXT and AEW this week, I am going to have to give the win to AEW due to the overall match quality and Sting and Omega’s promos. This brings my personal 2020 WNW rankings to: NXT – 17 and AEW – 32.
Credit: WWE
Results:
1. Dolph Ziggler defeated Montez Ford after interference by Robert Roode
2. Sami Zayn defeated Big E by countout
3. The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan) defeated Billie Kay and Natalya
4. Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Chad Gable and Otis
5. Carmella defeated Sasha Banks (c) in a WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship match by DQ (Banks retains the championship)
Thoughts: I am enjoying the duo of Otis and Chad Gable. While it seems obvious that they are going to go with the storyline that Gable is just using Otis and that we will eventually see the two men face off, I would actually like to see them form a legit tag team as they play off each other well. Speaking of Otis, I found it strange that he now seems to be over Roman Reigns and Jey Uso considering what they had done to him in the previous two weeks. Hopefully, this storyline will continue to push Otis up the ladder to being treated and seen as a legitimate singles main eventer.
Overall, this was a great episode of Friday Night SmackDown with the highlights being Ziggler vs. Ford, Reigns’ attack on Owens and his message for Owens’ family, and Cesaro/Nakamura vs. Gable/Otis.
That’s it for this week’s Spandex and Suplexes. I am looking forward to Bray Wyatt’s next move this Monday on Raw and the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship match this Friday on Smackdown. While you are here on Florida Geek Scene, be sure to check out the second episode of my spin off series, Spandex and Suplexes: The Interview Series, where I interviewed veteran pro wrestler, Randy Hogan. Until next time, I’ll see you at ringside!
Nicholas Slade
Nicholas grew up reading J.R.R. Tolkien's books, watching Disney and Studio Ghibli films, and reading Marvel comics and Japanese manga. The superb storylines and characters ignited his passion for writing. He graduated from Full Sail University in 2015 with a BFA in Creative Writing for Entertainment. During his writing career thus far, Nicholas has had numerous short stories and articles published in an array of literary magazines and websites.
