As Survivor Series is vastly approaching, Alexa Bliss highlighted the point that each women currently standing in the ring; herself, Charlotte Flair, Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley, have had ongoing beef with Nia Jax, the Kabuki Warriors, and Lash Legend as of late. Naturally, they would team up to take out their common enemy, but… Flair refused to link up with Ripley because she doesn’t like, nor trust her. She respected Alexa’s decision to join, knowing she wouldn’t.
Jey Uso vs. The Miz – Last Time is Now Tournament
Miz had Jey on his knees in the middle of the ring, planting him with those Hit-Kicks. When he charged in to deliver another, maybe one with a match ending force, Uso ducked and performed a neck breaker. It felt great to see Jey Jey here on the blue brand. I missed him. Anyway, before I start crying for anything other than what’s happening, Miz moved out of an incoming hip attack in the corner, then sent Jey backwards using John Cena’s “You can’t see me” maneuver.
I don’t know if I should roll my eyes, or find this remarkable. Miz was looking for the AA, Jey slipped through the back and clocked Miz’s ass with a Super Kick. Albeit great, Miz reversed and delivered the Skull Crushing Finale to no avail. It shocked him still. Ha!
Since that didn’t work, Miz tried going higher on that same move, Jey was able to counter with a unique and sudden drop that not only rattled The Miz, but myself as well. I thought it was an accident… To conclude the match in his favor, Jey speared Miz, climbed the top and ended him with the Uso Splash to advance. Whooo!!
Winner: Jey Uso
Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Axiom – US Championship Open Challenge
The most noteworthy smack I’ve ever seen was the one Axiom landed on Ilja. It surprised him so much that he actually looked insulted. Ha! Axiom continued with that momentum utilizing a drop kick from the top. Dragunov stayed in the fight, which antagonized the challenge. Ilja got back up, punched Axiom senselessly, then simply kicked him in the mouth.
Later on, Dragunov was going for the Constantine Special, Axiom countered with an attempted arm bar, to which Ilja escaped from a triangle hold and smacked his opponent on the mat. Dragunov was preparing for the H-Bomb, Axiom prevented that from taking place with an incredible and rare DDT off the springboard. Even the referee was like: “Oh my, God!” while flailing his arms around.
Although Ilja did his best to ward off Axiom, his opponent did him even better with a Spanish Fly. Whatever Axiom had planned after that, he was unable to do once Ilja came crashing into him with Torpedo Moscow, then a triumphant H-Bomb to retain. From the angle the camera was filming, despite the referee being on the other side, you can see Axiom’s shoulder slightly off the mat before the three count.
Winner: Ilja Dragunov
Solo Sikoa mentioned Sami Zayn still being wounded, right? However, all I paid attention to was the comical need to snap his fingers when no one can hear it, as if he couldn’t simply look and point. Ha! Anyway, the MFTs create a wall in front of Zayn just as Sikoa restrained himself from dropping the man to his knees. He wanted to wait till Sami was medically clear, which he revealed he was. Also warning the Bloodline that he hadn’t come alone. Shinsuke Nakamura, Rey Fenix and the Motor City Machine Guns have personal interests in this future War Games match.
Zack Ryder vs. LA Knight – Last Time is Now Tournament
Zack Ryder returned to WWE to battle LA Knight in the tournament. I know him as Matt Cardona on MLW, but regardless. From what I recall, he’s also Chelsea Green’s husband, fiancé… boyfriend, maybe. Speaking of Green, Ryder seemed to be going for the I’m Prettier, yet he got intercepted by an inverted DDT.
Knight was doing well for the most part until he got trampled by the Rough Ryder out of nowhere for a near fall. Zack tried again by slipping out of the BFT attempt and turned it into a roll up. He had no choice but to use his knees in the corner to stop Knight from getting any closer.
I suppose Ryder was good, to some extent, but LA Knight was better when he countered an assault with a powerbomb, then finished the job with the BFT.
Winner: LA Knight
Backstage, Bliss, Ripley and Sky acknowledge the fact that if Charlotte doesn’t join their team, they’ll have to search for two other people. And that’s mostly unlikely given who’s standing on the opposite side of that ring. Minding their own business, the Kabuki Warriors, Jax and Lash pull the rug from under them. That whiplash of a punch Legend delivered to Rhea… ouch, brutal. That ambush was one of the sickliest I’ve seen in a while.
Jade Cargill vs. B-Fab
B-Fab may have trapped Cargill in the corner for a little while with those elbow strikes, yet they weren’t enough when Jade came back to a vertical base to whack B-Fab so hard, she fell backwards. The champ continued with her onslaught in the form of a fall away slam and a choke slam. Cargill yelled at B-Fab to “stay down,” after the powerbombs. Making a statement as the fans demand more. Cargill completely closed the book on B-Fab with Jaded.
Following the match, Michin was there to help B-Fab out the ring, however, she got distracted by Jade mouthing her off for some reason. She even shoved Michin over. God knows what they were saying, one of the few moments I want to hear the chit-chat, but it made Cargill angry enough to put hands on Michin before walking away.
Winner: Jade Cargill
Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Bronson Reed – Undisputed WWE Championship match
At the beginning, Rhodes was using his quickness to dash around Bronson, almost like a fly, to push Reed off balance. That was rapidly tossed aside when Bronson collided with Cody, then squashed him with an elbow drop. After that, Reed has been the dominant one over the American Nightmare. Twisting and systematically applying pressure in certain areas.
At some point, Rhodes managed to fight back with a Disaster Kick to Bronson’s chin. Foolishly, he wasted time instead of capitalizing, so Reed did on his end with a Death Valley Driver. As retaliation, Cody moved out of a soul-crashing Tsunami to allow him to nail the Cody Cutter without winning this match. He wanted to succeed fairly, regardless of Reed being sent into the timekeeper’s area.
None of this mattered since Bron Breakker and that idiot, LP showed up to dismantle Cody causing an abrupt ringing of the bell. For a brief moment, the Usos arriving was a sign of relief, cracking LP’s neck and kicking Breakker into oblivion, even so, the Oracle’s abilities are unforeseen when he noticed a discrepancy within Drew McIntyre’s suspension, hence him being here tonight to add to the chaos. Aldis was seen questioning Heyman’s unphased self.
Meanwhile, Jey Jey got speared through a table by a rabid Bron Breakker. Jimmy got slammed with LP’s titanium knuckles. And Cody finally suffered the Tsunami from Reed. The Vision appeared to have four participants for War Games, with the Usos and Cody still searching for two other people.
Stop cheering their names, we don’t need Roman or CM Punk.
Winner: Disqualification
TOP PHOTO: The Vision standing tall. Courtesy of WWE
