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WWE Tribute To The Troops 2016 Reaction
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
Genrally, WWE’s annual “Tribute To The Troops” is holiday filler with little storyline impact.
2016’s was somewhat different, as they took advantage of Raw’s Roadblock: End Of The Line Pay-Per-View four days away and shaped the main event around it, also in a way that allowed the “patriotic faithful” theme to stay relevant.
Did it need to be two hours though? Add to that Raw’s three hours, SmackDown Live’s two hours and 205 Live’s one hour just two days before, that was a lot to watch.
Either scenario, no going back now.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 12/12/16: Making History
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 12/12/16)
Making History
– The opening WWE Raw Tag Team Championship Triple-Threat match between Champions Big E/Kofi Kingston, Luke Gallows/Karl Anderson and Cesaro/Sheamus was a welcome change, especially with the energetic Philadelphia crowd. They dug The New Day and there was a different feel since at midnight, they’d tie Demolition’s 478-day reign. An obstacle was made for them – the two biggest threats to their Titles. They cut a pre-match promo that got the crowd on their side, especially when Xavier Woods dedicated the night to his apparent late Grandma, which began a “Grandma” chant. That transitioned to the actual match. Gallows/Anderson were easy to root against and Cesaro/Sheamus had the unique dynamic with the “Boo/Yay” difference. We also saw a celebration room prepped backstage, complete with a Booty-O’s punch bowl, because why not? Plenty of heavy action that highlighted everyone and great near-falls as it developed. Gallows/Anderson almost won on a Boot Of Doom, but Cesaro literally dove onto the pin at the last second to stop it. Cesaro hit an offensive tear, got a pop for the Big Swing and had the sharpshooter applied. The finish was a well-done way to have ND “steal” the pin, but in a way that wasn’t cheap and spread disappointment on Cesaro/Sheamus at not getting the job done. Kingston hit Trouble In Paradise on Sheamus, while Cesaro was held down by Big E from stopping the pin. Good energy in that opener and we took a glance at the celebration room, which had Bob Backlund and Darren Young in there, along with extras.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 12/5/16: Tussle In Texas
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 12/5/16)
Tussle In Texas
– The opening video recapped last week, where the main highlight was WWE United States Champion Roman Reigns’ clean victory over WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens to earn a Universal Title shot at Roadblock: End Of The Line on Dec. 18. Also in that drama was the rift between Owens and his “best friend” Chris Jericho, as Owens denounced Jericho. We also were reminded that Seth Rollins threw Jericho around the arena parking lot to get his own revenge. Side note – the voiceover narrator sounded like a robot. Do we need to make Raw any more sleep-inducing?
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 11/28/16: Woo-men’s Wrestling
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 11/28/16)
Woo-men’s Wrestling
– The opening video recapped last week’s main event WWE Universal Championship match where Champion Kevin Owens successfully defended against Seth Rollins in a No Disqualification match, with Chris Jericho’s help, donned in a Sin Cara mask and Shinsuke Nakamura hoodie, to spite General Manager Mic Foley’s rules that he’d be banned from ringside. Add an apron powerbomb by Owens and Rollins was done. The KO Show continues.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 11/21/16: Diss And Make Up
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 11/21/16)
Diss And Make Up
– The opening video nicely recapped the forgettable five-and-a-half-hour spectacle that was Survivor Series. Primarily, Goldberg’s manhandling of Brock Lesnar in his 12-year awaited in-ring return was at the forefront. It was stillshot city of a monumental upset.
WWE Survivor Series 2016 Reaction
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
If WWE in 2016 has taught us anything, it’s that content outweighs logic.
After an hour and 51 minute pre-show came a three hour and 26-minute Pay-Per-View for a total of five hours and 27 minutes of air time.
Nothing screamed “filler” like interbranded 10-man elimination tag matches, with little consequences. Three of them, to be exact.
It’s like watching the World Series between two teams you don’t like. There’s no emotional investment besides the ones who’re directly involved.
Luckily, the best build ironically went to Goldberg-Brock Lesnar, the personification of the overhyped “Fantasy Warfare Just Got Real” catchphrase.
In this case, some things should stay fantasy.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 11/14/16: On The Same Page
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 11/14/16)
On The Same Page
– With this the go-home show before Survivor Series, we expected to see “strange bedfellows” as the prominent theme, but could only imagine how much of the show it’d consume. Anyways, the opening segment with General Manager Mick Foley, Commissioner Stephanie McMahon, Seth Rollins, WWE United States Champion Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Chris Jericho, WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens, WWE Raw Tag Team Champions The New Day, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, The Shining Stars, Cesaro, Sheamus, Enzo Amore, Big Cass, Sasha Banks, WWE Raw Women’s Champion Charlotte, Bayley, Nia Jax and Alicia Fox was packed, but set the show off right. Steph hyped the appearance of SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan and SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon for later in a “Survivor Series Summit” and addressed how she wanted everyone to work well together or there’d be changes. Foley booked Cesaro/Sheamus against Owens/Reigns. Steph booked Rollins/Strowman/Jericho against ND. Foley booked Banks/Charlotte against Jax/Fox. At least we had stuff to look forward to, but damn.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 11/7/16: The Best Of The Best
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 11/7/16)
The Best Of The Best
– With Survivor Series within close range, it was time to establish Team Raw’s “The Best Of The Best” Team, which included WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho and WWE United States Champion Roman Reigns. The opening video looked at last week when Reigns successfully defended against Jericho and was “saved” from a Jeri-KO beatdown by his former Shield partner Seth Rollins as they stared each other down across the ring.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 10/31/16: An Emphatic Deliverance
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 10/31/16)
An Emphatic Deliverance
– The opening in-ring segment with Goldberg, Paul Heyman and Rusev was newsworthy to say the least. Sure, Goldberg’s the biggest Survivor Series draw, so they were smart to have him appear here. Now, his reaction from the fans was polite, but lacked the electricity from his Denver promo. We did like that Heyman was back to his old-school heel ways as he fished for heat. With that, he added a “Gotcha!” moment as he teased an appearance from his client Brock Lesnar and revealed he wasn’t there. As far as Rusev’s involvement, it made sense for him to approach Goldberg to downplay his ego and legend status only to suffer a jackknife for his troubles. The Lana chants were loud enough where he should’ve acknowledged them for more heat, but it was what it was. Many people will point out “The Slip” as a severe critique that Goldberg circa 2016 is a mistake, but we thought he covered up well, as he sold it like a pseudo-takedown. The biggest reaction was rightfully the spear on Heyman, which left us to wonder how Lesnar would respond. With two more weeks of SS hype to go, let’s hope they intensify it with a brawl or something like that.
Notes In Observance – WWE Raw 10/24/16: The Missing List Of Jericho
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
By Nicholas Jason Lopez
“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.
(Aired 10/24/16)
The Missing List Of Jericho
– With Hell In A Cell six days away and a decent Triple-Threat main event that pit Chris Jericho, Seth Rollins and WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens together and also another “Homecoming” for Brock Lesnar, we had some glitz to the go-home glamour. The in-ring segment with Rollins, Owens, Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon and Jericho put the focus on the most entertaining part of the Rollins-Owens feud – the “best friendship” with Owens and Jericho. This time, the “twist” was that Jericho’s beloved List Of Jericho had been stolen. It says a lot about Jericho that he managed to get a big reaction from people about a fictional list. It was a classic Jericho sit-in, as he claimed the main event wouldn’t happen without his list. Owens’ involvement here raised our interest a bit since the first question was if he had the list, which he didn’t. Steph’s involvement made sense since she wanted Owens/Jericho on the same page to take out Rollins. Rollins here brought everything together as he possessed the list and took more cutesy jabs at the best friends’ with what he claimed was on the list. He finally brought it home as he used “list” terminology to sell their HIAC encounter with what injuries Owen would sustain. We also liked that he put over how he was victorious in the structure, which was an advantage he had. The hook here was that Rollins walked away with the list, which sent Jericho into a frenzy. Entertaining stuff.
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