NEWS

205 Live
Date: November 21, 2018
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Percy Watson, Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness
We’re into a new area on this show as Buddy Murphy successfully defended the Cruiserweight Title against Mustafa Ali this Sunday at Survivor Series. That means we need a new challenger, but I can’t imagine that takes place tonight. 205 Live likes to set things up at a slightly slower pace and you never know when they’ll have their next title match anyway. Let’s get to it.
The opening recap focuses on the pretty awesome title match with Ali coming up short again.
Opening sequence.
Here’s Buddy Murphy to get things going. Buddy has a question: did you really think Mustafa Ali was going to beat him? Well it doesn’t matter because the people’s opinion doesn’t matter to him. You can’t stop the unstoppable, but here’s Tony Nese to stop him from saying anything else, albeit in a nice way.
Tony Nese vs. Noam Dar Before the match, Dar says he’s here to..

Main Event
Date: November 22, 2018
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson
It’s a holiday week and that means things were being done a little differently this time around. The main focus was the fallout from Survivor Series which…was odd. There were some good moments though and that could make for some interesting choices in the highlight department. Let’s get to it.
Opening sequence.
Ember Moon vs. Alicia Fox Fox flips her down to start but Moon is right back up, much to Fox’s annoyance. A headscissors has Moon in more trouble and there’s a shot to the face for bad measure. Back up and Moon charges into some boots in the corner, followed by a hair pull to the mat. There’s a flipping neckbreaker to keep Moon in trouble. The chinlock goes on with Moon being pulled back down by the hair. Moon makes the comeback with some flying forearms but Fox gets two off a big boot. Ember hits Wade Barrett’s spinning suplex out of t..

Heading into WWE TLC, Ronda Rousey will defend the Raw Women’s Title against Nia Jax. A lot of people might not be happy to see Jax receive a push after her botch, but the fans are in an interesting place with the Raw Women’s Champion as well. Rousey is still adjusting to performing inside the ring and there are some harsh criticisms against her.
For instance, she has been criticized for smiling too much during her entrance and not creating an atmosphere like she should. A report from RingSideNews revealed that the powers that be want her to do “her entrance” regardless of the events heading into the match. That impacts the coming match because it doesn’t seem Ronda is in character.
Related: Major Update on Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey Potential Rematch Despite the learning curve that Rousey is publicly dealing with on Raw, WWE officials are expected to keep the Raw Women’s Title on her for quite some time. According to a report from RingSideNews, the plan is for Ronda to have he..

The more people change, the more different they are. NXT has become one of the most entertaining wrestling promotions in the world, with a rabid fan base and some of the strongest matches wrestling has seen in years. It also has some incredible characters who have gotten over with the fans in a big way. However, some of them might not be as you remember them, at least to start.
Who is that?
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WWE has released a new video looking at the Top 5 NXT Superstars with First Looks You Won’t Believe. The idea is looking at wrestlers whose looks have changed dramatically over the years. Each of the five are known by their same name today (or at least very close) and the focus is entirely on their look rather than a different gimmick. After all of the original looks, the modern look is shown for a comparison.
Opinion: This kind of thing is always cool to see as you really do have some different people in very different looks over the years. Some of the..

The WWE Universe isn’t happy with Nia Jax after her botch has put Becky Lynch on the shelf indefinitely. That’s understandable, and WWE officials seemed to have embraced the situation. Jax has been active on social media. It’s clear she’s playing the role of the heel going forward, but her receiving a new push has infuriated the WWE locker room.
At WWE TLC, Ronda Rousey will defend the Raw Women’s Championship against Nia. A lot of people don’t believe Jax deserves the opportunity. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE officials and the rest of the locker room feels one way or the other about her receiving a push and a title match at TLC despite the botch.
Related: Social Media Has Gotten Nia Jax in Trouble With WWE Behind the scenes, some people understand that business is business. The fact is Nia has a lot of heat after that botch, which is perfect to get the WWE Universe to support Ronda during the feud. The other side of the argument is that Nia Jax i..

At Survivor Series, SmackDown Live didn’t win a match during the event against Raw. A single win during the pre-show doesn’t count for the storyline. The expectation was that Shane McMahon would make “big changes” to the brand following the embarrassment that was Survivor Series. However, last Tuesday evening’s show was business as usual.
Instead of reacting to the situation, Shane got involved with The Miz and had a bizarre angle during a tag team match. According to a report from PWInsider, Thanksgiving is the reason why WWE officials kept Shane McMahon from “punishing” SmackDown for its failure at Survivor Series. The belief is fans could have been distracted by the holiday to start a new angle like that. Therefore, WWE decided to wait another week to do it.
Related: Real Reason Why Shane McMahon “Won” WWE World Cup at ‘Crown Jewel’ The important thing to develop is the heel turn for Shane O’Mac that began after WWE Crown Jewel. The angle should be perfect for building some heat o..

So England can feel even. Earlier this year, NXT UK debuted on the WWE Network, offering a second version of the hottest show in WWE. The show is filled with fresh talent and a few familiar faces that have taken a fast hold on their fans. With two episodes airing every week on the WWE Network, the show has already hit the ground running. I think you know where this is going.
They’re taking over too.
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In a new video posted to WWE’s YouTube page, Triple H announced the first ever NXT UK Takeover, which will be held in Blackpool, England on January 12 and air live on the WWE Network. No matches have been announced for the card yet though some will likely be set in the upcoming weeks. There is no word on how many Takeovers the UK brand will feature or when the next one will take place.
Opinion: I mean, you had to know this was coming right? It’s not like it’s exactly a big surprise so just getting it over with already is probably the best idea…

That’s a special one. This weekend, WWE presented a special house show in the form of Starrcade. The original run of the show was the biggest event of the year for the NWA/WCW and was brought back last year for the first time since December 2000. The show was almost a tribute to WCW and the theme continued to a certain degree this year, including a special appearance from Ric Flair.
Saturday night at Starrcade, Flair appeared for a concert with Elias. Before the singing began, the two of them talked for a bit with Flair saying he was a big fan of Elias and his music. He even said that Elias could have any woman in the company, save for Charlotte of course. The two of them were eventually joined by Tamina, Nia Jax, Alicia Fox and Mickie James. Here’s what happened:
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Opinion: This is the kind of thing that makes such a show feel important and that’s what they were going for here. Flair was one of the stars of the show and it made for an entert..

Sometimes you get a surprise. This weekend, WWE presented Starrcade as a special house show. The event certainly has some history to it, even in WWE as it was held last year as well. The card was stacked and featured two steel cage matches and a special appearance from Ric Flair. However, in addition to the big card, there was a special surprise for the fans in attendance.
Bray Wyatt made his return at Starrcade, answering an open challenge from Baron Corbin and defeating him with a rollup. After the pin, Corbin restarted the match with no disqualifications. This brought out Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre to beat Wyatt down but Elias and Finn Balor made the save, allowing Wyatt to pick up the win with Sister Abigail. This was Wyatt’s first match since September 15 on Monday Night Raw. There is no word on when Wyatt will return to TV.
How about a fresh one of these?
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Opinion: Cool. Wyatt being back is a good sign as the company can always u..

Sure why not. Last year, WWE brought back Starrcade in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, marking the first edition of the show in about seventeen years. Now it seems to be a tradition over Thanksgiving weekend (the show’s original time, at least in general) and I took in this year’s edition in the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show ran over three and a half hours, including a fifteen minute intermission.
Before the show, they aired an ad for the Wednesday night lineup, including the Mae Young Classic. The show that ended a month ago.
The crowd was hot all night and attendance was strong, with some sections blocked off. I didn’t see a hard camera so I’m not sure how this was shot, though there were regular cameramen around all night.
The show opened with a tribute video to Dusty Rhodes, who created the idea for Starrcade. This was well received and you could tell the fans were slightly older here, with a lot of Ric Flair and Dusty fans all night long.
After a Welcome to Starrc..

Traditionally, Chris Jericho’s hiatus from WWE is the result of him leaving for Fozzy or another commitment outside of wrestling. This year, Y2J has been wrestling outside of WWE for New Japan and has become the IWGP Intercontinental Champion. Recently, he ran the “Jericho Wrestling Cruise” and it was very well received by those in attendance.
It took a lot of work and two years for Jericho to pull off the cruise. Originally, he went to WWE officials with the idea and was turned down. Instead, Jericho went to ROH and other promotions to find talent for the cruise. Apparently, he wants to make the cruise an annual event and that might be a point of contention between himself and WWE.
Related: Chris Jericho’s Wrestling Cruise: How Did It Go? According to a report from RingSideNews, Jericho was able to get so much talent from a promotion like ROH or Impact because of his friendship with Don Callis. If Y2J can pull off the cruise for the second year in a row, he could ask WWE officials t..