Have high hopes for WWE Legends Night? Will we see some legends in action or act as fodder to further story? Here comes the results of an honestly strange night.
Before I say anything else, has anyone else noticed way too many Thunderdome viewers feel the need to wear a replica title on-camera? Doesn’t the shoulder get sore? Also, the loops are too obvious. So much head nodding over and over in the background.
The show kicks off with a vignette featuring Hulk Hogan cutting a promo for tonight’s show. I honestly couldn’t tell if the humor was intentional, but this is bad comedy. Some pre-taped promos have aired, including Jeff Jarrett. We all love a little Double-J.
Miz and Morrison welcome us to WWE Legends Night on MizTV, however the ego-driven wrestlers, probably two of the best in the company bring out The New Day members Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods as guests. The New Day wind up turning it into their own talk segment which breaks down into an argument.
Suddenly, Teddy Long comes out and says The Miz and Morrison will face… THE UNDERTAKER!
No, not really, he’s making the obvious tag team match, resulting in The New Day defeating Miz and Morrison in a pretty good match. This is a solid show of four ring veterans in a match would could have gone either way. Xavier finishes off Morrison with a Shining Wizard.
Backstage with Charly Caruso: Orton Unbound
Randy is a bit shaken at his inability to set Alexa Bliss on fire last week, going as far as to state “I hate myself” for being unable to follow through. He agrees with the sentiment of being changed by The Fiend as previous opponents have said before him. However, tonight, he wants to find some legends, and have a talk.
I think we know where this is heading.
AJ Styles w/ Big Omos defeated Elias w/ Jaxson Ryker
Good match tonight. At one point Styles went for the Phenomenal Forearm and was countered with a huge V-Trigger-like knee by Elias. After the match, Ryker went to clobber Styles with the guitar, but Omos kicked the guitar, shattering it.
Although it was a good match, but one could feel going in Elias would be taking another L. Even with Ryker at his side, the momentum and fanfare previously held almost two years ago is all but dead.
Backstage, Riddle tries to convince Big Show to become the Big Bro. As he leaves, Randy Orton tries intimidating the Big Show with a reminder of being punted in the head. Big Show doesn’t seem fazed, but then Orton antagonizes him more. Eh segment. Orton is going to piss everyone off tonight, isn’t he?
Charlotte Flair w/ Ric Flair & Asuka vs. Peyton Royce and Lacey Evans
On the WWE Network, Charlotte was asked about giving advice to other women competing in the Rumble. After some standard cliché of not being underestimated, she announces herself as an entrant while reminding us of her win last year. Thus begins the tease of challenging Asuka for her RAW Women’s Championship. Royce and Evans in a pre-taped promo with attention-seeking with hair twirls and sassy speech. Sigh. Mediocre match, mostly highlighting Evans flirting with Ric, which infuriates Charlotte into a brawl on the outside. Some sloppy spots abound, leading to more of Evans flirting, Royce missing a kick, and Ric tripping his daughter, causing her to be pinned?
Weird stuff folks. I get the idea to stir some Flair anger here, but I wasn’t feeling this segment at all. Royce and Evans both botched easy spots. They will continue to be pushed because… why?
Backstage, Sheamus gets Drew McIntyre ready for tonight’s championship bout, but are interrupted by… HULK HOGAN AND JIMMY HART! Hogan sings praises, putting over Drew McIntyre as being an inspirational champion during trying times. Hogan tells Drew he sees a lot of himself in the young star. So Drew asks if he sees similarities between Sheamus and Jimmy Hart, because Sheamus is the “Mouth of the South of Ireland.” Sheamus heads off for drinks, while Hogan and McIntyre sound off with the “Whatcha Gonna Do” bit with Hulkamaniacs and Claymomania runnin’ wild.
You know something, this was amusing.
Riddle defeated United States Champion Bobby Lashely in a non-title match
The Hurt Business is the best stable in modern-WWE history. Yep. They are. MVP as both kingpin and wrestler, with the variety of talents in his employ are similar to the Four Horsemen. Bobby Lashley as the muscle, Cedric and Shelton as proficient singles wrestlers while also tag team champions? Yes, yes they are. Music and entrance suit the old-era gangster style fits perfectly.
The match began with Riddle in control until Lashley completely overpowered him, and it looked like all muscle and no give. Every major offense resulted Lashley kicking out at one. Screwy finish with Riddle leaping the ropes while in the Hurt Lock, causing the ref to duck and cover. Riddle tapped out but went unseen, then rolls up Lashley for the three. Again, segment lost on me with an outcome I feel like I’ve seen a hundred times. Lashley was so dominant and he suddenly couldn’t kick out of a roll up?
Shayna Baszler, Mandy Rose, and Dana Brooke segment… Shayna mauls her scheduled opponent, Mandy Rose, to the point where she is unable to compete. Dana Brooke takes her place, gets thrown around, but inevitably is locked in the Kirafuda Clutch. However Brooke counters into a pin, which doesn’t matter as Baszler keeps the hold locked on until Rose breaks it up. Brooke and Rose appear to stand tall as the segment closes.
I have zero clue what the point of this was.
Backstage: Ric Flair chats with Mike Rotunda and Molly Holly until Randy Orton spoils it. Guess what happens? Yep! He goes on and on about how he punted Flair in the head and now he’s a washed up old man.
It’s almost 10pm… I can last one more hour. I can do it…
Legends Night looks more like “Legends Meandering Backstage Night.”
Because consistency is oh-so-real, a fresh-looking Riddle gives Keith Lee a pep-talk for his upcoming title fight. Not sure what the point of this was. Riddle was beaten mercilessly, squeaking with a win, and now he’s giving an energized pep-talk? I get the California-free spirit gimmick and all…
Randy Orton defeats Jeff Hardy – Going into this match I didn’t have much interest. We’ve seen this match so many times, and on a playing field with little repercussions, all anyone wanted to see was The Fiend return to spook Orton some more. Commentary focused on his bad mood, anger, being sadistic, sinister, and the same things we’ve been hearing for over a decade. It’s not new. They had a pretty good thing going with his feud, but you can’t have Orton say “It’s changed me” only to show nothing having changed at all. It would have been compelling to see Orton lose, thus motivating his change.
I’m trying to see some positive here, but the blandness and gimmicks being beaten like a dead horse is getting wearisome.
Backstage: Lucha House Party run into Melina who does the House Party dance. Another legend randomly inserted for less than a minute, unless Randy Orton will show up and berate her too.
Lucha House Party defeated Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander
Yeah. Not good match. All about Cedric trying to showboat and one-up Shelton. Lots of blind tags, miscommunication, leading to Shelton being rolled up the same way Bobby Lashley lost. MVP yells at his charges to the point where Alexander walks off.
There it is. “Vintage” WWE antics, ruining a good thing within weeks of creating it. Tag Team Champions not getting along? WHAT. A. SURPRISE. I. AM. SO. SHOCKED.
Cedric and Shelton could be fantastic. Come on. Leave them be. Let them be champs.
Backstage: Angel Garza hits on Torrie Wilson who towers over Nikki Cross. Wilson directs Angel to a room where apparently Cardi B, Kylie Jenner, and Ariana Grande were just hanging out. This leads to a dark room with a red light, aaaaaaaand… BOOGEYMAN!
Because everyone loves a little boogey. I do. So does R-Truth who rolls him up to win the 24/7 title back. I can’t believe this is still a thing, and neither can Ron Simmons who hits us with a DAMN we all deserve.
Main Event, the WWE Championship match: Keith Lee vs. Drew McIntyre
With “The Legends” gathered by the entranceway, we finally have our main event. This is why I’m watching RAW tonight. Straight up honestly, this was what I hoped for. Lee overpowering McIntyre, but the WWE Champion does not relent. Lee at one point lobs Drew over the ringside barrier. Holy crap. Things take a scary turn when Drew throws Lee with a powerbomb on the outside, through an announce table with Drew almost didn’t make it to. Later on, Drew throws Lee with a belly-to-back suplex. But the real jump-off-the-seat moment was Lee hurling McIntyre, and himself off the very top rope with a Spanish Fly. You read this right, SPANISH FLY. So many close calls, but ultimately, the champion retains after escaping a Spirit Bomb attempt, scoring with the Claymore for the win.
Which is then immediately tarnished when Goldberg shows up, rambling on about how Drew lacks respect, or hasn’t earned respect, and doesn’t respect legends, except he does… Now I’m lost. In any case, flubbing lines, Goldberg challenges McIntyre to a WWE Championship match at the Royal Rumble. McIntyre says 20 years ago would have been great, but now “it would be like wrestling my father.” Goldberg is mad, double-shoves Drew to the mat. The segment ran long, so you might not have caught Drew getting up quick, headbutting with Goldberg right back.
Drew and Keith showed respect after the match, and the match was good. But now the champion who has been built to be the hero champion during the pandemic, is planted on his ass by a once-or-twice-a-year guy? Come on WWE. Stop it.
I really had some hope for tonight. I really did. The opening and closing matches were the high points of a three-hour show. Unfortunately, the negatives outweighed the positives tonight. The “legends” shows are becoming more disrespectful in my opinion. The “Legends” are not supposed to be props. Sure, funny segments are worth it, but at some point it just feels wrong. Am I being too harsh? Possible.
