Posted on 12/23/125 by Bob Magee
CM Punk & Rey Mysterio, Judgment Day, Je’Von Evans, Gunther,
and The Vision were shown arriving. Cole said Evans was a
soon-to-be free agent.
Paul Heyman approached Austin Theory and asked him what the
hell he was doing. Theory said he wore the mask because he
wanted everyone to feel his actions before they saw his
face. He made some mistakes in the past. He got comfortable
before getting injured. He appreciated that the Vision
didn’t wait around. They take. Theory said that was him now.
He wanted to take that opportunity and help out. Heyman was
skeptical but intrigued.
********
Rhea Ripley asked Iyo Sky to stay in the back for her match
tonight. She wanted Sky to take care of herself after
getting laid out last week.
Rhea Ripley vs. Women’s Tag Team Champion Asuka (w/ Kairi
Sane)
Because this show is taped, we’re not getting the usual
commercial breaks, but they are still cutting to break as if
it were live. Asuka took control thanks to a Kairi Sane
distraction, and they acted as if they were heading to break
as usual (90 seconds into the match, as usual), but the
action picked right back up.
Ripley tried mounting a comeback but was tripped from the
outside by Sane. Ripley mounted a comeback anyway and fended
off a flurry of offence by Asuka ahead of another “break.”
Ripley applied the standing cloverleaf, but Asuka countered
with a German suplex and sliding kick for two.
Asuka blocked a Razor’s Edge attempt and later hit a German
suplex on the apron. Asuka came off the top, but Ripley hit
her with a mid-air thrust kick, followed by a cannonball off
the apron. (Ripley used more kicks in this match than
usual.)
Ripley went to the top but was tripped by Sane, so Sky ran
out (while selling her back) to attack her. Sky jumped on
the apron to yell at the referee for allowing Sane to
interfere yet again, but Sane used the opportunity to drop
her on the apron.
Asuka used that distraction to catch Ripley in a cradle for
the pinfall win.
As Cole mentioned, Asuka was winless in 8 singles matches
against Ripley before this.
Match result: Asuka defeated Rhea Ripley (approx. 11:30 of
TV time)
********
Backstage, Bronson Reed and Bron Breakker seemed skeptical
about Theory. Heyman said they were both much better off
today than they were months ago, and that was thanks to him.
That all happened thanks to his vision.
He did not pimp that out easily. He was selective, and he
had a vision for Theory. Tonight, it would be Theory and
Reed against Punk and Mysterio. Either Theory carried out
their vision, or the two of them could carry Theory’s ass
out of WWE. (This immediately made me think of Steve Austin
and Kurt Angle kicking Buff Bagwell out of the arena that
one time.)
********
Becky Lynch and Maxxine Dupri segment
Lynch stormed out wearing a fur coat. She said we would not
be getting a celebration for Maxxine Durpi. There was a
corrupt referee in their match, and Lynch was still the
rightful Women’s Intercontinental Champion.
If petty Pearce wouldn’t do anything about it, Lynch knew
some powerful people who would. She had the most powerful
lawyers in the country, but the bigwigs at Netflix advised
her to go to miserable Michigan and take matters into her
own hands because she was the greatest of all time.
Dupri interrupted. She agreed with Sports Illustrated that
Lynch was the greatest of all time. Dupri herself was just a
rookie—but this rookie just beat the greatest of all time.
(Dupri’s first match was in 2023.) Dupri bragged that she
beat Lynch three times (the other two were by DQ and count-
out), and said she would give Lynch a rematch anytime,
anyplace.
Dupri fired up and said she would stop at nothing to beat
her again. She would train until her blood, sweat and tears
on the mat. She added, “Not only am I their Intercontinental
Champion, I am your Intercontinental Champion.”
Dupri wanted Lynch to admit that, but she knew Lynch
wouldn’t take it on the chin like the Man she said she was.
In this moment, Lynch didn’t look like the greatest of all
time. Lynch looked like someone who was afraid her best
years were behind her.
Lynch decked Dupri with a suckerpunch and held up the IC
title belt. Lynch was about to leave, but went for another
attack, so Dupri picked the leg and applied an ankle lock
until Lynch tapped out. Dupri let go, and Lynch bailed.
Dupri was good here.
********
Pearce spoke to Je’Von Evans backstage. Pearce wished him
luck in his match tonight and wanted to talk about his
future afterward. Evans was in a good mood, and he left for
his match.
Stephanie Vaquer approached Pearce next. She wanted to face
both Nikki Bella and Raquel Rodriguez. Pearce was happy with
that and made a triple threat match for the world title next
week.
********
There was a video package for The Usos, who face AJ Styles
and Dragon Lee for the world tag team titles next week.
Well, that was a quick road back to title contention.
Je’Von Evans vs. Rayo Americano (w/ El Grande Americano &
Bravo Americano)
Cole said he tried a Wikipedia search on Rayo Americano but
couldn’t find anything, even though a Google search for him
takes you right to Pete Dunne’s results.
Evans hit a flip dive ahead of a “break,” but Rayo brought
him off the top rope with an arm drag after the break to
take control. Evans fought back with a forearm, a vertical
suplex (where he pops right back up to his feet), and a
springboard clothesline for two.
El Grande Americano distracted the referee while Bravo and
Rayo double-teamed Evans. Rayo followed with a Michinoku
Driver for a nearfall. Evans avoided a Rayo moonsault
attempt and hit an OG Cutter for the pinfall win.
El Grande and Bravo tried to attack Evans, but he escaped
the ring and smiled back at them.
Match result: Je’Von Evans defeated Rayo Americano (approx.
7:00 of TV time)
This was fine. A mostly easy win for Evans, and they really
pushed hard that he’s a pending free agent.
********
Cathy Kelley interviewed Styles and Dragon Lee about facing
Jimmy and Jey Uso, who have been a tag team a lot longer
than they have. Styles and Lee weren’t worried because
they’ve beaten established teams like Judgment Day and New
Day. Styles said having the titles meant they were better
than the best.
Bron Breakker promo
There was a pre-taped Breakker promo package. Breakker said
Punk thought they had a personal vendetta because of the
barbs he mentioned about his family, but the reality was
that Punk didn’t care about his wife. He never cared about
anyone other than himself.
Breakker wondered which version of Punk would show up on
January 5th: the watered-down 2025 version, or the best in
the world. Either way, the result would be the same.
Breakker was the mountain Punk couldn’t climb, and the dog
he couldn’t outrun. In Punk’s words, he was only here to
make money. Breakker hoped Punk saved his money, because
after he beats him, Punk won’t be worth a dollar to anyone.
This was really good.
********
Nikki Bella segment
The announcers were talking when Nikki Bella interrupted.
She called herself “the most famous person.” She reminded
the fans that she was Nikki Bella, a Hall of Famer and a
former champion.
She said they wouldn’t know what a champion looked like
because they cheered for the Detroit Lions. The Lions wished
they were the Philadelphia Eagles or, better yet, Ohio
State.
Bella was the star of the division. She destroyed
Rodriguez’s face, and she would destroy Vaquer’s reign.
Vaquer was a big deal in the ring, but Bella was a big deal
everywhere. It was about time the title was around the waist
of a true global superstar.
********
Bayley (w/ Lyra Valkyria) vs. Roxxane Perez (w/ Liv Morgan)
Perez worked over Bayley’s knee (through a break) until
Bayley made a comeback. Raquel Rodriguez appeared at
ringside and was about to slide into the ring, but Valkyria
took her out with a spinning kick to stop her from
interfering. Morgan responded by chucking Valkyria over the
announce desk.
Perez distracted the referee while Morgan tripped Bayley.
(This precise spot happened in the opening match.) Perez
used the distraction to drop Bayley face-first into an
exposed turnbuckle, but the idiot referee was distracted by
Rodriguez on the apron. Valkyria wiped out Rodriguez and
Morgan with a dive off the table.
Valkyria psyched up Bayley and slapped her in the face. This
fired up Bayley (and healed her knee), and she hammered away
at Perez before hitting a flying elbow drop for the pinfall
win.
Another match filled with interference and distractions.
It’s especially exhausting when it happens in multiple
matches in a row every single week.
Match result: Bayley defeated Roxanne Perez (approx. 7:00 of
TV time)
********
In the locker room, Reed told Theory he was in the big
leagues now and to follow his lead, kid. Theory told him he
wasn’t his kid. Theory said he would start the match, and
Reed would follow his lead.
Elsewhere, Rodriguez argued with Morgan and Perez. Rodriguez
was pissed because she had a world tile match to prepare
for, so she bailed.
Gunther segment
Gunther entered and was booed heavily again. He took his
time basking in the heat. He said the fans shouldn’t be mad
at him, they should be mad at the guy who tapped out like a
little bitch. (He definitely got a ton of heat, but it also
sounded like they manipulated the sound to make it pop
louder.)
CM Punk marched out to his music. He very quickly got into
the ring and straight into Gunther’s face. The fans loudly
chanted for Punk. Gunther laughed in his face before leaving
the ring. Gunther gave him the ‘you can’t see me’ gesture
before taking off.
Gunther was confronted next by Rey Mysterio in the aisle.
The disappointed Rey put his hands on his hips and shook his
head (like he was looking at his own son). Gunther laughed
at him and left.
After a break, Styles confronted Gunther backstage. Styles
said Gunther didn’t know when to shut up. Gunther said,
“Guess I don’t,” and he laughed.
********
World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk & Rey Mysterio vs. Austin
Theory & Bronson Reed (w/ Paul Heyman)
Punk and Rey both wore pink and black gear.
The Vision got the heat on Punk as Theory used his familiar
offence and held Punk in a rest hold after a break. Reed
took his turn next until Punk rolled out of the way of a
senton and made the hot tag to Rey, who knocked Theory off
the apron. Reed tried to squish Rey, but Rey avoided it and
hit a running seated senton off the ropes.
Theory tagged in, but Rey got rid of him with a hurricanrana
and a seated senton off the barricade. After a “break,”
Theory was suddenly in control. Fortunately, they showed a
replay of what happened during the break, which was Reed
clubbing Rey from behind. Reed’s offence on Rey included a
standing frog splash and a delayed vertical suplex.
Theory worked over Rey next as Cole asked Graves what looked
different about Theory tonight. Graves said he looked more
focused, but besides his hair and his pants, the answer is
nothing.
Rey hit Theory with a bulldog and made the hot tag to Punk,
who hit Theory with punches, a neckbreaker, corner knee
strikes, and a bulldog. Theory avoided a GTS and tagged in
Reed, but Punk fended him off and hit a flying clothesline
for two.
Rey tagged in and set up Reed for a 619, but Theory made a
blind tag and levelled Rey with a running clothesline. Rey
fought him off anyway to hit a 619 and a springboard splash.
Rey had it won, but Reed yanked him out of the ring to break
up the cover. Punk hit Reed with a suicide dive and
clotheslined him over the barricade (taking them both out of
the mix).
Rey went to the top rope, but Theory tripped him and hit a
curb stomp for the pinfall win. (Rey looked great all match,
and the crowd was into this until Theory won.)
— Punk chased Theory out of the ring post-match. Breakker
tried a sneak attack as Punk was distracted, but Punk fought
him off. Punk fought off Theory next, but that distraction
allowed Breakker to nail a spear as the taped show quickly
went off the air.
Match result: Austin Theory & Bronson Reed defeated Rey
Mysterio & World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk (approx. 15:00
of TV time)