WWE Wrap-Up
This week in WWE: Houston is in for a treat as the final card for Survivor Series is set
Nov 14, 2017, 11:45 pm
This is a weekly look at the action in the WWE:
Stephanie McMahon opened Raw berating Kurt Angle for allowing The New Day to embarrass the show the week before. Angle attempted to defend himself by explaining how he will show the team the way at Survivor Series, but it was not until The Shield came to his defense that McMahon backed off. She, then, proceeded to mock The Shield for losing their Tag Team Championships after The New Day’s invasion. The Shield responded my challenging the SmackDown Live team to a match at Survivor Series. The first match of the night saw Bayley earn the fifth and final spot on the Raw women’s team after defeating Mickie James and Dana Brooke in a Triple Threat Match. Enzo Amore and Drew Gulak teamed up against Kalisto and Tozawa. The high flying offense of Kalisto and Tozawa allowed them to gain the upper hand, but one mistake was enough for Amore to shove Kalisto into Tozawa and pin him to win the match.
Backstage, Kurt Angle spoke with the Raw men’steam. He scheduled them for different matches later that night to get them ready for Survivor Series. The Miz and The Bar hosted a new episode of Miz TV in which they promised to end the “reunion tour” of The Shield later that night. Michael Cole revealed that The New Day took to Twitter to accept The Shields challenge for a match at Survivor Series. Jason Jordan took on Bray Wyatt. The Eater of Worlds used every single one of his tricks to try to gain the upper hand over Jordan, but it would not be enough as Jordan won the match. Wyatt blindsided Jordan after the match. He targeted the knee Jordan appeared to have injured in the match leaving him unable to walk without assistance. Backstage, Angle checked up on Jordan and informed him that he will not be competing at Survivor Series. Jordan begged Angle to leave him in the match since it will “be his big break”. Paul Heyman and the WWE Universal Champion, Brock Lesnar, hyped up The Beast’s match against WWE Champion, AJ Styles. Heyman complimented Styles, calling him “the best in ring performer of this generation” and explained why he is the perfect opponent for Lesnar at Survivor Series.
The Six Man tag between The Shield against The Miz and The Bar opened the last hour of Raw. With Roman Reigns back with Ambrose and Rollins, The Shield looked as strong as ever. After taking out The Bar, a Triple Power Bomb put The Miz away for the win. Kurt Angle came to the ring to announce Jason Jordan’s replacement at Survivor Series. Jordan attempted to talk him out of replacing him, but Triple H made a surprise return to announce he will be replacing Jordan. Adding insult to injury, Triple H vanished him with a pedigree. Finn Balor and Samoa Joe attempted to coexist in a tag match against Gallows and Anderson. Samoa Joe’s suicide dive eliminated Gallows from the equation and allowed Balor to pin Anderson after hitting him with his Coup De Gracefinisher. Braun Strowman raced to the ring for his main event against Kane. The match never got started, though. The two brawled outside, teased a table spot, and fought along the top rope. Raw ended after a monstrous Running Power Slam that sent both men through the ring.
Highlight of the night:
Triple H hitting Jason Jordan with a pedigree. The “Jason Jordan is my son” storyline with Kurt Angle has been a train wreck. The fans, clearly, are not buying it. Hearing them cheer the heel, Triple H, attacking Jordan was classic fan rejection.
The “Go Home” edition of SmackDown opened with Shane McMahon addressing the entire roster. He prepared them for the possibility of a retaliation from Raw. Becky Lynch, Baron Corbin, and The New Day took turns hyping up the rest of the roster. Daniel Bryan made his way to the ring to explain why SmackDown Live is a better show than Raw. He, then, invited AJ Styles to the ring. Bryan praised Styles for winning the WWE Championship. He asked Styles to let him be his “advocate,” the same way Paul Heyman is for Brock Lesnar. Bryan mocked Heyman, and explained how Styles will make Lesnar quit, like he did from the WWE, and like he did “to a half ass knee bar at a UFC event.” Baron Corbin defended his United States Championship against Sin Cara. He would win via his End of Days finisher. A recap aired showing every moment that has led up to the men’s Five on Five match at Survivor Series. Shane McMahon welcomed Daniel Bryan back to SmackDown. He had not been on the show since Kane attacked him when he visited Raw. Bryan thanked him, but explained to McMahon that he was not happy with SmackDown’s invasion of Raw.
Charlotte challenged Natalya for her Women’s Championship. Natalya gained the upper hand after slamming Charlotte into the ring post. She placed the challenger in a sharpshooter twice, but Charlotte was able to escape. Natalya got caught off guard by a big kick. Charlotte, then, placed her in the Figure Eight finisher to win the championship. After the match, she expressed to the crowd how much it meant for her to win the championship in her home town, especially considering everything that has happened with her dad. To her surprise, Ric Flair came out and congratulated her with a big hug. Jimmy Uso took on Chad Gable after their match the week before ended inconclusively. Gable attempted to use his athleticism to upset the champion, but one Super Kick was enough for Uso to win the match. The New Day hyped up their match against The Shield. Big E explained how the bond of The Shield will soon fall apart like it did before. The New Day, though, will remain as strong as it’s been for over two years. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn came to the ring for their main event match against The New Day. Before it got too far, The Shield showed up. Zayn and Owens walked out of the ring, allowing The Shield to lay them out. The Usos raced down the ring in attempt to help out their SmackDown brothers. The Bar opened the floodgates. Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Titus O’Neil, and others attacked whoever was in sight. Backstage, the women of Raw ambushed whoever they could find from the SmackDown roster. The brawl continued in the ring until Braun Strowman and Kurt Angle came out to end it. “How does it feel?” Kurt Angle asked Shane McMahon before The Shield Triple PowerBombed him. Angle, then, hit McMahon with an Angle Slam. The Shield hit McMahon with one last Triple Power Bomb. The red team stood tall over the carnage of the blue team to end the show.
Highlight of the Night:
Ric Flair coming out to celebrate with Charlotte. Maybe my heart is still tender from the Nature Boy 30 for 30, but when Ric cries, I cry. Realistically, the Raw invasion is probably the true highlight, but that moment was too special to not be mentioned again.
How Do They Compare?
Both shows this week were pretty balanced “Go Home” shows. There was, perhaps, too much emphasis in promo packages, but that seems to be the norm now. The element of surprise was present on both shows with the return of Triple H and Charlotte winning the SmackDown Women’s Championship. All that being considered, the Raw invasion was a treat. From The Shield damn near murdering Shane McMahon, to Alexa Bliss hitting Charlotte with a cheap shot. This, technically, gives the edge to SmackDown. Survivor Series is this weekend, and I have to commend the WWE for putting together a great card for the fans in Houston.
* Note, this Friday I will be releasing a preview of the WWE weekend ahead of us. Additionally, I will provide a review for every show from NXT War Games to SmackDown Live next Tuesday.
Each football game of a season carries much more weight than one game in a 162 Major League Baseball schedule. That reality, combined with the National Football League campaign opening and with it the most anticipated season in Texans’ history, the Astros are relegated to second banana this weekend. Just the way it goes despite the Astros’ phenomenal extended run from 10 games out of first place in mid-June to now having control of the American League West race and a likely (though definitely not yet certain) eighth consecutive year of postseason play.
It is reality that getting swept out of Cincinnati cost the Astros two games in the standings to Seattle the last two days and trimmed their division lead to four and a half games going into this weekend. There was nothing shameful about getting swept. It’s not as if they choked. They got outplayed and beaten in all three games. Stuff happens within a 162-game season. The 2019 Astros were vastly better than the 2024 Astros. The 2019 ‘Stros posted the best record in franchise history at 107-55. In Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole they had the two best pitchers in the AL. The Reds finished 75-87 in ’19. In the lone Astros-Reds series five years ago, Verlander and Cole started two of the three games. The Reds swept the Astros out of Cincy by scores of 3-2, 4-3, and 3-2. Stuff happens. The following week the Astros called up Yordan Alvarez. There is no Yordan coming to fortify the offense now, but wait! Is that Kyle Tucker's music?
The Astros host the NL champs this weekend
It’s highly unlikely but it’s still a possible World Series preview at Minute Maid Park this weekend with the Astros home for three games versus the Arizona Diamondbacks. The reigning National League Champions woke up under .500 July 11, but since then have been sizzling with 33 wins against just 15 losses. Over the same time frame the Astros are 27-21. The Diamondbacks by a large margin have scored the most runs in MLB this season, and that’s while playing the last nearly three weeks without Ketel Marte because of a high ankle sprain. Marte has been far and away the best second baseman in the game this year. He may return this weekend in a designated hitter role. The Arizona offense overall has been sensational, however it has vulnerability against left-handed pitching, in significant part because it typically takes lefty-hitting platoon beast Joc Pederson out of the lineup. The D’Backs are 55-35 in games facing right-handed starters, just 24-27 in games started by opposing southpaws. The Astros have lefties Framber Valdez and Yusei Kikuchi set to go in the first two games this weekend. While the Astros deal with the Diamondbacks the Mariners are in St. Louis for three against the Cardinals.
Eleven Diamondbacks have had at least 200 plate appearances this season. Only one of them has an OPS below .725. The Astros also have 11 guys with at least 200 PAs. Five of them lug around sub-.715 OPSes: Jeremy Pena (.714), Jake Meyers (.664), Mauricio Dubon (.645), Jon Singleton (.697), and Chas McCormick (.566).
Maximizing Tucker's return
Speaking of returns, Tucker fiiiiiiinally should see action for the first time since his June 3 bone bruise. Oh wait, broken leg. Shame on the Astros for their BSing over this and other injuries. Yeah, Alex Bregman slept funny. Whatever. To boost the lineup Tucker doesn’t have to be the .979 OPS MVP candidate he was when felled. Ben Gamel has done some good work, but over time he’s Ben Gamel. Same for Jason Heyward. If Tucker's legs are under him his power is a B-12 shot and only Yordan is in his league in on-base percentage. Joe Espada has decisions to make as to how slot the batting order. Against a right-handed starter Jose Altuve, Tucker, Alvarez, Yainer Diaz, Bregman one through five makes sense with Tucker dropping down below Yainer against a left-handed starter. No question those are the top five in some order. How much of a workload Tucker is ready for bears watching. Presumably he doesn’t initially play the outfield day in day out. When Tucker DHs obviously Bregman (and Yordan) can’t so Alex’s ailing elbow holding up is key. One might say hopefully the bone chips don’t fall where they may. Tuesday the Astros start a stretch playing 16 days in a row.
Keep hope alive!
If you’re an Astros fan holding out hope of chasing down the second seed to avoid having to play the best-of-three Wild Card series, say it with me, whatever nausea it may induce: “Go Dodgers Go!” Hurt as it might, business is business. The Dodgers play host to the Guardians. The Astros trail Cleveland by five games with just 22 to play, but do finish the regular season with three games at Cleveland. It's pretty much over for the Astros to catch both the Orioles and Yankees.
Season-long trends mean nothing once the playoffs start, and that’s a good thing for the Astros provided they are in the playoffs. They continue to flat out stink in close games. Thursday’s 1-0 loss to the Reds has the Astros record in one-run games at 15-24. In two-run games they are 10-14. Correlatively, the Astros also continue to routinely fail late in close games. The Astros have played 14 games that were tied after seven innings. They have lost 11 of the 14. In games tied after eight innings they are 7-13. Every team loses an extremely high percentage of games when trailing after eight innings, but the Astros haven’t pulled out a single game they’ve trailed going to the ninth. 0-50. Oh and fifty. But hey, the White Sox are 0-92!
*Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.