The latest WWE Network additions have been a mixed bag. With every regular original series no longer running, we are down to just the latest taped edition of the Stone Cold Podcast among some other usual uploads.
The usual episodes were mostly all fine, although NXT was yet another best of show. It should be noted that we did have a new episode of both Superstars and This Week in WWE. Superstars has been revealed right here on the WWE Network Chronicle, which you can see here. So let’s take a look at what’s been added and let’s hope much more is to come in the future:
RAW Pre-Show
The WWE RAW Pre-Show returned this week and once again had the usual cast of Corey Graves, David Otunga, and Scott Stanford. However, for the second week in a row, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T was part of the panel. On Twitter, Scott Stanford said the plan going forward looks to be Booker T as a regular member of the team, which I think is a positive as he offers something completely different to the others.
As for this week, it was relatively normal. Nothing was particularly standout, but that isn’t a bad thing. It was just a solid episode of the RAW Pre-Show with their personalities all shining through. I still would like more in terms of interviews, especially when we’d have call in guests discussing topics, but I’m sure it’s a complicated situation to include people. Still, even for lower card talent it’d be a nice way of giving them exposure and making the show stand out.
Stone Cold Podcast
This might have been one of my favorite editions of the Stone Cold Podcast yet. My main criticisms for the Stone Cold Podcast is that Steve Austin is much better as an interrogator than an interviewer. There is a reason his best episodes were the ones with Vince McMahon and Triple H respectively. He could interrogate them and get some answers to common fan questions.
Beyond those? Most are good but nothing special. A few have been less-than-good, such as the Brock Lesnar and Paige interviews. I felt the taped interviews lose a lot of the drama the normal episodes have, but the good news is most episodes haven’t really had drama anyway. As for this episode, Ric Flair is one of the greatest of all time and his life story is quite interesting. This might not not be dramatic, but it’s very entertaining. I definitely recommend this.
NXT
The latest episode of NXT was the second and final part of the “Best of 2015”. While I said it before and I’ll say it again that NXT best of shows are still quite entertaining, I greatly look forward to a normal NXT episode next week. Best ofs are fun look backs but two weeks in a row is a bit much. Hopefully starting this week, NXT can keep up the post-Takeover momentum.
As for the show itself, it was what you would expect. A regular best-of. However, it did feature something special. A match featuring Apollo Crews and Tye Dillinger took place on November 5th. This was at the Cowboy’s Stadium in preparation for Wrestlemania 32. A nice exclusive bonus match, albeit not complete, certainly helps the show stand out, much like last week with Cesaro and Neville’s match from the Arnold Classic. The show is skippable, but you can watch it if you want to look back on a strong year.
Main Event
This episode of Main Event was from December 22nd of last year. It was also the 169th episode. As usual, the delay makes an episode of Main Event much less interesting and it is quite unfortunate. The good news, however, is the show was a solid one. A show with Tyler Breeze and Goldust is automatically a winner, and the other matches have some interest as well. This may be an episode a bit lower on star power compared to most, honestly feeling a little more like Superstars, however it is absolutely worth checking out. As always, however, skip the recap.
Match List
Goldust vs. Tyler Breeze (with Summer Rae)
Fandango vs. Bo Dallas
The Miz vs Jack Swagger
RAW
RAW 1176 comes from December 7th of last year. The focus was on the upcoming TLC event and the truth is, while the last hour dragged some, the first hour felt like one of the strongest first hours for RAW in recent memory. The surprises were fun and the matches absolutely delivered. Beyond that, the show is what it is. RAW suffers from a lot of the usual uninspired booking and repeat matches, but the talent is very much there and it can be entertaining if you like the people involved. Check out the first hour of this for sure, it’s probably even worth rewatching.
Match List
16 Man Fatal Four Way Elimination: The Family (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Jey Uso, and Jimmy Uso) vs. The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman, Erick Rowan, and Luke Harper) vs. The League of Nations (Rusev, Sheamus, King Barrett, and Alberto DelRio) vs. Team Extreme (Bubba Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley, Tommy Dreamer, and Rhyno)
Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens
Team B.A.D. (Sasha Banks and Naomi, with Tamina) vs. Team Bella (Brie Bella and Alicia Fox)
Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) vs. The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Big E, with Xavier Woods)
Rusev (with Lana) vs. Ryback
Jack Swagger vs. Stardust
Braun Strowman vs. Tommy Dreamer
Smackdown
This week’s Smackdown WWE Network addition was incorrectly labeled as being from December 12th of last year when it was actually from December 10th. It also happened to be the 851st episode of the series. The theme of this show was the road to TLC and most importantly the League of Nations feuding with The Family. While Smackdown is usually quite strong, this episode wasn’t quite as interesting as I feel the best part of Smackdown is that it highlights the under card feuds more, as opposed to the show primarily being focused on Roman Reigns and Sheamus. Still worth watching if you haven’t seen it, however.
Match List
Roman Reigns (with The Family, Dean Ambrose, Jimmy Uso, and Jey Uso) vs. Alberto Del Rio (with The League of Nations, King Barrett, Rusev, and Sheamus)
Tyler Breeze (with Summer Rae) vs. Dolph Ziggler
The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara) vs. The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, with Big E)
2 vs. 1 Handicap: Ryback vs. The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor)
Paige vs. Becky Lynch (with Charlotte and Ric Flair)
The Family (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Jey Uso, and Jimmy Uso) vs. The League of Nations (Rusev, King Barrett, Alberto Del Rio, and Sheamus)
Closing Thoughts
Well, it is what it is. Another very slow week of content. This time we didn’t even have much in terms of archived content added either. We did get the Stone Cold Podcast, which was just shy of an hour, so that’s nice. Honestly, I ranted about the state of the WWE Network already, so check that out. Let’s just hope new programs finally come next week…
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