Running a bit late here tonight but the recaption (recap action) is still on!
We begin with the contract signing between Strowman and Rollins for their universal title match, with Michael Cole presiding. But the OC interrupt proceedings. AJ mocks Strowman getting a shot just for looking at Rollins’ title, joking that someone may well glance at his US title and get a shot too. They also throw a jab at Roode and Ziggler getting a tag title shot when they’re not even a team. AJ and his lackeys enter the ring, with Styles threatening Cole to a hilariously huge pop. AJ proceeds to take up the contract and tear it up, spurring a brawl. Rollins and Strowman run the OC out of the ring.
Commercial break hits, and when we come back, it’s to an impromptu match.
Seth Rollins & Braun Strowman vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson
After getting the heat early, Rollins makes the comeback with a dropkick to Anderson in the tree of woe. Tag to the bigger Gallows who starts clubbering, Seth tries to fight back but a hop off the top rope is met with an uppercut. Anderson back in, wearing Rollins down with an armbar. Cuts off the attempt to tag Braun in, goes for a suplex, Rollins reverses but Anderson lands on his feet behind him and gets Gallows in. They toss Rollins to the outside where AJ blindsides him. Commercial break.
Back from break, Rollins fights back, enziguri to Gallows. Anderson tags in again though to cut him off, but Rollins rolls under a clothesline to tag in Strowman. House of fire, Strowman goes for the powerslam on Anderson, Gallows goes in to pull him off but the two catch a double clothesline. Strowman tries a corner charge, Anderson evades and Braun goes shoulderfirst into the post. Rollins blind tags in, runs wild a bit before catching Anderson with a cradle for the pin.
Winners: Seth Rollins & Braun Strowman
Immediately after the match ends AJ comes in for the attack. Rollins and Braun fight back, Braun runs through Gallows and Anderson on the outside but accidentally hits Seth as well. Roode and Ziggler emerge from the back and a big gang beating ensues on Braun! They take up the steps and slam them into him to take him down. They drag him back into the ring, where Rollins tries to help him out but a superkick and Glorious DDT take him down. They continue pounding on Braun where altogether, they manage to hit a Magic Killer. Gallows, Anderson, Ziggler & Roode get Braun up for the phenomenal forearm from Styles. Heels stand tall.
That escalated quickly.
Promo backstage with Cedric Alexander. He says he saw Baron last week, sitting on the throne and calling himself king. But while he’s been pretending and playing dressup– he’s suddenly interrupted by the OC jumping him! AJ tosses him into a crate. They pose over him and walk off. Cedric needs to be helped up afterward.
Back to the ring, where we have another tag match about to start.
Dolph Ziggler & Bobby Roode vs. Zack Ryder & Curt Hawkins
Hawkins & Ryder get the early edge, but a blind tag from Roode that Hawkins didn’t see costs him. Hawkins tries to pursue Ziggler to the outside, Roode with a kick to his head from the apron to take control. Isolation on Hawkins now. Hawkins escapes a hold from Ziggler with a pele kick, makes the tag to Ryder. House of fire, leaping forearms to both opponents followed by a middle rope missile dropkick. Looks for the Rough Ryder but Roode tosses him away. Tag to Hawkins, who gets Roode onto his shoulders, Samoan Drop/Middle Rope Neckbreaker combo. Cover, but Ziggler breaks it up. Dumps Ryder to the outside, superkick to Hawkins into the Glorious DDT for the win.
Winners: Ziggler & Roode
Basic stuff. Crowd was naturally pretty quiet for it, but it was effective and it’s nice to see challengers actually gaining some momentum heading into their title match.
Lacey Evans makes her way out, only to get jumped by Natalya up the ramp! Nattie gets in the ring and waits for Lacey to enter as a ‘Nattie’ chant starts.
Lacey Evans vs. Natalya
Start on the mat as they trade arm wringers. Nattie hoists her up, Slingshot Back Suplex followed by a Basement Dropkick for a 2 count. Lacey bails but Nattie tosses her into the barrier. But Lacey gets a hair trip takedown in on the floor. Rolls her in, covers for 2. Springing Bronco Buster (somebody has to name the thing) followed by a leg choke in the ropes. Lacey from the middle rope springs up top for a moonsault but Nattie rolls out of the way. Series of clotheslines, capping with a Discus. Snap Suplex, attempts a Sharpshooter but Lacey pulls away. Nattie back in pursuit quickly though, brawling with her in the ropes. Lacey throws a handkerchief into her face though, setting up the Woman’s Right. And that’s it.
Winner: Lacey Evans
Neat little out-of-nowhere finish. Lacey isn’t bad at all when her matches are kept brief. Also about as good as that punch has ever looked.
Becky Lynch out to a real nice pop. As she comes out they mention a Champion’s Showcase planned for tonight which will see Becky and Bayley square off with Nikki and Alexa. Becky asks where Sasha Banks is. She calls all of her excuses a load of crap. She asks what happened to Sasha and says that she of all people has no reason to be whining. Becky says Sasha was the centerpiece of NXT and was given main events of Raw and PPVs long before she was, even given bouquets of flowers after matches. Becky calls her a delusional little weirdo. She brings up that Bayley’s done just fine without her, which has to sting her. And it has to hurt her that Becky is now the face of the company. But with all her talent, Sasha should be the game-changer, she should be… her.
Sasha interrupts and has a very Beth Phoenix looking attire on. Sasha agrees that she was supposed to be her, main eventing WrestleMania and having all the fame. The only reason she got any of that stuff is because Nia Jax broke her face. Sasha says she wishes Nia could’ve broken her face so people could care about her. Sasha says she could make things personal as she starts going down the ramp and Becky asks for a fight right here. Sasha declines, saying she does this fight when she wants and for a paycheck. The next time they face off will be for the title at Clash of Champions. Becky accepts that challenge. Sasha says at Clash of Champions, the Man will be the Boss’ bitch. Kinda the only way Vince knows how to make things edgy anymore is to just tack that word onto the end of lines.
Backstage the Street Profits are appalled.
They just… send us to commercial. Mkay.
New Firefly Funhouse segment advertised for tonight.
Baron comes out for his KOTR quarterfinal match where an inset promo sees Baron promise to exile anyone who runs their mouth on social media. Cedric out selling his arm after the attack earlier in the night.
King Of The Ring Quarterfinals – Baron Corbin vs. Cedric Alexander
Corbin with his ring-around-the-ringpost to get a big clothesline for the first major advantage of the match. Bounces him off the ropes, forearm to the back of the head takes him down. Cedric with a dropkick, handspring enziguri taking Baron to the outside. Suicide dive catches him flush! In the ring, Cedric nails a springboard clothesline for 2! Cedric gets caught on the top rope, hung out on the outside. Baron roughly slams him into the post from that position twice, targeting the bum arm! Commercial break. Back and Baron still singling out the arm as he gets the heat on Cedric.
Cedric with an enziguri kick to start a comeback. Counters an Idiot Charge with a low dropkick to the legs, taking him to the bottom turnbuckle. Hesitation Dropkick follows. Cedric goes for another Handspring Enziguri, but Baron counters with a nice spinebuster for 2. Cedric fights back, springboard into the ring but Corbin counters with a sweet Deep Six! Baron tries for another Ring-around-the-ringpost but Cedric sidesteps him once he gets back into the ring, Corbin hits shoulderfirst into the post. Cedric grabs him and throws him once, twice, to again see him nail the post. Cedric is furious and does it a third time in a different post! Lays in kicks! Takes him to the floor, big tope!
Missle dropkick… and Baron goes down without taking any real contact. He was actually a really good match up until that point. For some stupid reason they replay this. Cedric tries for the Lumbar Check, Baron escapes and goes for the End of Days, Cedric counters with a roll-up, Baron kicks out, charges, eats a Michinoku Driver for 2! Big chant for ‘Cedric’ as he goes for another springboard but Baron trips him off the top rope. End of Days.
Winner: Baron Corbin
One of the best matches I’ve seen Corbin be involved in. Cedric seems to have a knack with working with bigger dudes, which is a huge bolster for him.
Recap of the Reigns/Bryan situation up next. Aaaaand that’s what we got. And announced via a tweet from Stone Cold, Austin wants to be the moderator for the contract signing next week to make sure it gets done.
Backstage, we speak with Bayley. Bayley can’t find a comment on Sasha Banks’ return. When asked about her comments on the women’s tag titles, Bayley says she can’t talk about what they talked about as it’s personal. But Sasha took her ball and went home after Mania. Bayley says she reacted differently, she looked forward. She urges the interviewer to ask about the match she actually has tonight. Interview Girl #2 claims that she may perhaps feel overshadowed by the Man in this match. Bayley says by the end of the night, we’ll see who’s standing in who’s shadow.
Erik and Ivar are screaming silently in a very red part of the arena. They’re up next. Interview Girl #2 asks a pair of jobbers why they’re taking this match against the Viking Raiders. They note that they did drive all the way from Pittsburgh and they’re gonna make the Viking Raiders look like a bunch of Baltimorons. Effective enough cheap heat, though it doesn’t seem to get Erik and Ivar any more of a reaction upon their entrance.
Viking Raiders vs. Ryan Thomas & Tyler Hastley
Springboard clothesline/deadlift german suplex combo. Body press outside, crossbody against the barrier. Deadlift backbreaker into gutbreaker, powerbombing one jabroni into another jabroni. Viking Experience.
Winners: Viking Raiders
These squashes are honestly fun, they’re effective at this… but man is this gimmick – really just a name more than anything – such a hindrance, people struggle so much to take them seriously as the Viking Raiders.
Interviewer Girl #1 asks Sasha Banks something and gets loudly told off.
Before the upcoming match, Joe gets on the mic and says there’s a big affliction in the kingdom because the kingdom is filled with liars. Every man in this tournament has promised to become king, but Joe claims there is a universal truth and it’s that King Samoa Joe sounds just right. Mmkay.
King Of The Ring Quarterfinals: Samoa Joe vs. Ricochet
Joint manipulation to start, Joe starts the arm wringer but Ricochet reverses and Joe has to get to the ropes to break. Joe starts up leg kicks, Ricochet catches one but Joe immediately rolls him into a kneebar attempt only for Ricochet to quickly get the ropes to break. Ricochet kicks Joe away, gets to the apron, sunset flip attempt but Joe escapes with a stomp though Ricochet rolls out of the way. Joe gets dumped to the floor! Ricochet wants a senton off the apron but Joe avoids it, Ricochet lands on his feet though. Goes up to the barricade, moonsault press lays Joe out!
Back in the ring, Joe retakes the advantage, crossed double kneebreaker, continuing to target the legs. Single leg boston crab. Ricochet escapes in the ropes, springs into a dropkick, springboard moonsault gets 2. Corner leapfrog, but Ricochet’s favoring his leg on the landing. Charge, uranage counter! On the outside, Joe hits Ricochet with an Exploder Suplex into the barricade! Gets him in the ring, cover, nearfall. Ricochet punches and chops his way out of a cravate, hits the ropes and eats a huge back body drop! Commercial break.
Back from break, Joe has Ricochet in a cravate. Ricochet escapes with an enziguri, roll into a dropkick. Avoids blows and lands chops and forearms, nails a rana. Shoulder charge to the midsection in the corner, springboard clothesline, standing shooting star for a nearfall! Joe with a cut over his eye. Ricochet tries for a Phoenix Splash, Joe rolls out of the way, Ricochet lands on his feet and charges into a dynamite Snap Powerslam! Nearfall. Looks for a uranage, Ricochet counters with a victory roll cover. Inverted Atomic Drop, but Ricochet quickly fights back, heel kick takes him to the floor. Hits the ropes, handspring back flip tope.
Back in the ring, Ricochet goes up but Joe catches him up there with the Coquina Clutch! Ricochet fades… but they both fall to the canvas! And they each have an arm strewn over the other… ref counts three. We have controversy here. Ref goes to the outside and picks up a headset, tells someone that from his vantage point both shoulders were down. He gets a response and says he’ll take it under advisement. He just tells Joe and Ricochet that they’ll make a ruling soon, to the dismay of both men as well as the crowd who boo vociferously. Live audience wasn’t told anything here, just saw the ref go backstage. Joe jumps Ricochet in anger and they brawl for a bit in the ring, until Ricochet hits a recoil.
Winner: N/A
Well. This is a wrinkle in the tournament. Not sure it was a particularly necessary one but we’ll see where this goes.
Backstage Braun meets with Rollins and notes that Austin backed him a week ago and thinks he’s setting him up. Rollins says he understands the paranoia, but if Austin can prevent a situation like earlier, he’s all for it. Braun says Austin’s like anyone else – if he gets in his way, he’ll get these hands.
Firefly Funhouse up next.
In the Funhouse, Bray says what the Fiend did to Finn Balor was super duper rude. He says that he’s sorry. The Vince puppet pops up and he asks how dare he challenge Rollins or Strowman at HIAC. He threatens to fire Bray until he reveals that he’s been making money. He feeds Vince the money. Bray accuses Seth and Braun of being a bad team, selfish and greedy. And in another life, they took something dear to him… but unlike them he’s come to embrace the power of teamwork. The puppets pop up. He says his team helps him cope with the pain, but the Fiend helps inflict it.
“See you in hell!” he cheerily states. “…Let me in.”
Backstage, Corey Graves questions John Cone on his decision in the prior match. Baron interrupts and declares that Joe and Ricochet eliminated each other and thus he will get a bye to the finals. But the ref says neither men were eliminated. Instead they both advance and next week, Baron will face them in a triple threat match. Baron is furious.
Interviewer Girl #2 has a very blank ‘wow’ reaction to this news before introducing Rey Mysterio. Rey says his son Dominic spoke from the heart to convince him to dig deep inside of him. Rey says his son told him how much it meant for him to grow up inside a WWE family. He’s been blessed to see his son grow up and become a man. And he thanks him for inspiring him to continue to pursue his passion. He says he’s not done. He has more to accomplish and he’ll do it for Dominic.
Out comes the Miz.
The Miz vs. Cesaro
Trade early, big uppercut gets a 2. Another uppercut takes him to the apron. Deadlift second rope superplex hits. 2 count. Miz counters with a kneeling DDT for 2. Miz gets a series of running double knees, but on the third attempt Cesaro counters with a Pop-Up Uppercut. Pop-Uppercut, you might say. Cesaro tries a swing, but Miz counters with a figure four only for Cesaro to kick him away. Cesaro folds him up, grabs the second rope but the ref catches him before he counts 3! Miz with a reversal pin, gets 2. The two trade and Cesaro wins out with uppercuts, but Miz escapes behind him, Skull Crushing Finale for the win.
Winner: The Miz
So Miz wants to go after the Intercontinental Championship and… we give him wins on TV in the lead-up? What a crazy idea. But yannow there might just be legs to it…
Champion’s Showcase is next.
Becky Lynch & Bayley vs. Nikki Cross & Alexa Bliss
Barely a minute into the match, out comes Sasha Banks to the stage to watch. Commercial break. As we return, the tag champs have the heat on. Nikki knocks Bayley off the apron to the floor. Drags her into the ring and the isolation begins. It occurs to me that Bayley beat both of these women in a handicap match in really decisive fashion not very long ago but of course we’re not meant to recall that.
Bayley tosses a running in Bliss from the ring, hotshots Nikki on the middle rope, tries for the tag but Bliss cuts her off. Bayley counters a headlock with a roll-up, Alexa kicks out but Bayley immediately gets to Becky for the tag! House of Straight Fire. Middle rope legdrop to Bliss, Nikki breaks up the cover. Tosses Becky to the apron, Becky catches her with a kick to get back in. Exploder to Nikki takes her to the corner. Clothesline to both women, springboard kick to Nikki than a springboard kick to Alexa. This gets a pitiful reaction, I think the crowd expected her to send Nikki into Alexa with the Exploder and were disappointed that wasn’t the spot. Not wisely setup, that.
Sasha runs in at this point and attacks Becky with a chair, causing the DQ.
Winners: Becky Lynch & Bayley
Afterwards, Bayley takes the chair away from Sasha… and starts to act like she doesn’t know who to attack, only to suddenly start peppering Becky with chair shots! This gets a huge ovation and a loud chant of ‘YES!’ as we go off the air.
Well that was unexpected.
(Refresh this page for up-to-the-minute updates!)