While original content is still slow, at least we finally have Legends back. I am a big, big fan of this series. Beyond that, we had several other WWE Network additions. Most are standard fare, however some of it was definitely better than some of the rest.
It is worth noting we also had a stronger-than usual episode of Superstars which I reviewed here. We also had some Monday Nitro from 1998 and 1999 sprinkled in which can be seen throughout the site. Beyond that, this is everything that has been added to the service in the past week. Let’s take a look, shall we?
RAW Pre-Show
One of the best aspects of RAW happens to be the pre-show. The RAW Pre-Show this week featured our now-usual panel of Scott Stanford, David Otunga, Corey Graves, and Booker T. The big three all have tons of chemistry and Booker T is already finding his groove with them, along with bringing his own credibility being a Hall of Famer.
The show is what it is. It is the pre-game show for the bigger show, but it is absolutely worth at least having as background noise as they make for some interesting conversations at worse, and genuinely create more intrigue in matches and feuds at best. In many ways, they make feuds much better simply by breaking them down and going over the realistic nature of them along with the mindset of the competitors or those involved. Give the show a chance.
Legends with JBL
This! This was good. I love Legends with JBL. The Eric Bischoff interviews were great. The Streak themed specials were quite good. But this might actually be my favorite. This might not have the high drama Bischoff’s might have had, but it certainly had compelling talking points for a guy who, at least in WWE, hasn’t had as much time to discuss his career and his life.
Those reading might be curious if they mentioned one of the elephants in the room, TNA. The answer is, and obvious spoiler alert, they did. I won’t get into what they said as I recommend checking the program out. It definitely is worth it. The only real issue I have is that it only ended up being one episode, as I’d love to have had Road Dogg around longer and talk about more of his career. With that said, I can’t wait for future episodes.
Oh and Vince Russo shade continued, so if he does end up doing one he now has two different targets. That could be fun. Check it out!
This Week In WWE
This Week in WWE comes and goes without really shocking the world. It does what it is supposed to. It covers the latest happenings in the WWE and for those without cable or for those who miss the big events, it catches them up on some of the bigger events.
This week focused mostly on the Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, and Authority situation but naturally it covered a few other things. Additionally it had the usual segments including Slammin Seven. One thing I personally enjoyed was Action Bronson making the program. That means nothing to most of you, but for those who know, it was a cool moment.
NXT
Tommaso Ciampa! This guy is such a great talent and to see him in an enhancement match where the focus was on him made me extremely happy. Follow that up with the live event appearances and I’m hoping he’s in line for a big push. Beyond that, the show was mostly basic. The tag champions were in action against NXT vets the Ascension and Elias had his match, but besides Ciampa’s match the main highlight was the focus on women.
With the number one contender battle royal taking place, we got promos from everybody involved and I thought that was both extremely old school and extremely effective. Getting over characters and personalities, who’d have thought that’d be a good idea? Seriously though, NXT doesn’t do anything unbelievably amazing in terms of booking. They just do everything so basic yet smart that it pays off every time. Really good show, which is pretty much the norm at this point.
Match List
Danny Burch vs. Tommaso Ciampa
Dash and Dawson vs. The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor)
Elias Samson vs. Corey Hollis
#1 Contenders Battle Royal: Asuka vs. Carmella vs. Emma vs. Peyton Royce vs. Billie Kay vs. Cameron vs. Eva Marie vs. Liv Morgan vs. Aliyah vs. Deonna Purrazzo vs. Alexa Bliss
Main Event
This Main Event aired on December 29th and was the 170th episode. It also was the New Year Celebration episode. As you can tell by the match list below, this certainly wasn’t a star studded episode of Main Event. No, it was pretty tame and if anything, it was a bit lacking. With that being said, it was still a fun enough show. It’s just a shame there was nobody with much of a name. It would feel like a below average-average episode of Superstars, so compared to Main Event it is a bit disappointing. Still, Main Event is a good show and I enjoy Byron and Rich together.
Match List
Heath Slater vs. R-Truth
Titus O’Neil vs. Adam Rose
Stardust vs. Jack Swagger
RAW
This show originally aired on December 14th of last year and was the 1177th episode. This was a big RAW thanks to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship main event. As good as that was, to me the highlight is undoubtedly the Extreme Rules match. That match was just so good, I can’t even explain how much fun it was. RAW has become very formulaic, but the ECW reunion briefly shook things up. Beyond that, you can see some decent matches but the show certainly isn’t must see, nor is it worth re watching outside of that match.
Match List
Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens
R-Truth vs. Bo Dallas
Jack Swagger and Ryback vs. The League of Nations (Rusev and Alberto Del Rio)
Tyler Breeze vs. Neville
Extreme Rules: The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman, Erick Rowan, and Luke Harper) vs. Team ECW (Tommy Dreamer, Rhyno, Bubba Ray Dudley, and D-Von Dudley)
Charlotte and Becky Lynch vs. Team Bella (Alicia Fox and Brie Bella)
WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus
Smackdown
Oh, Smackdown. It is such a mix of a show. On one hand, I often feel like it is better than RAW. I prefer the talent for the most part and the booking, while simple, is usually effective. This was during the period before Smackdown’s move to USA, the show wasn’t must see by any means. Realistically, it still isn’t. However this was definitely a lame duck period that was still quality, but nothing outstanding.
This episode aired on December 17th and was definitely a solid show. Unfortunately it was part of the decline of Tyler Breeze, which is extremely disappointing. On the plus side, the main event absolutely delivered. If you’ve seen the show, there isn’t need to re watch it, however if you haven’t, it might be worth the hour and a half or so.
Match List
Alberto Del Rio vs. Ryback
Titus O’Neil vs. Tyler Breeze (with Summer Rae)
The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, with Big E) vs. The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara)
Becky Lynch vs. Brie Bella
Kevin Owens vs. Dolph Ziggler
Closing Thoughts
Legends with JBL proved to be awesome once again. A lot of people seemed unsure about it, but I thought Road Dogg absolutely delivered. The rest of the regular content was what it was. NXT is as good as ever. The RAW Pre-Show was solid as ever. But for the most part the content was filler. Looking ahead we have WWE 24 after the Royal Rumble, but beyond that it should be interesting to see what we have. As always, we will have an update on what’s coming to the service later in the week so keep an eye out for that. Of course, we also have the WCW Monday Nitro additions that we will continually update you on as they come in.
Stick to The WWE Network Chronicle for more WWE Network news, reviews, and previews! Also be sure to follow me on Twitter at http://www.Twitter.com/AWWENetworkGuy and to join in on the discussion with your opinions, predictions, and desires about the WWE Network!