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WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins vs. WWE United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura.
They were trying to psych each other out. Rollins did Nakamura’s mannerisms. Nakamura was caught with a clothesline out of the corner. Nakamura went for a kick. Rollins avoided it and used the ropes to nail a guillotine legdrop. Rollins went for a dive, but Nakamura drilled him with a kick as he hit the ropes. Nakamura drilled him with a running knee strike while Rollins was prone on the apron.
Nakamura brought him back into the ring and used his boot to stomp him in the corner. Nakamura locked on a double chicken wing, trying to force a submission. Rollins made his way back to his feet but was nailed with a knee strike. Nakamura used his boot to try and choke Rollins against the mat. You could feel the energy in the crowd is way down for this after the first two matches.
Rollins made a comeback and hit several dives in rapid fire succession to the outside. Nakamura kicked out after a springboard clothesline. Nakamura came back and was going for the reverse exploder, but Rollins nailed a series of elbows to escape. Rollins nailed a superkick for a two count.
Rollins went for another clothesline, but Nakamura grabbed the arm and locked on an armbar. Rollins powered him up and drilled him with a bucklebomb. Rollins set up for the curbstomp but Nakamura fought him off. Nakamura drilled Rollins down for a two count. Nakamura went to the top rope, but Rollins caught him and snapped him with a superplex into a Falcon Arrow for a two count.
Nakamura began rocking Rollins with strikes and nailed the reverse exploder. Nakamura set up the hit Kinshasa but was hit with a ripcord knee for a two count. Nakamura nailed a Kinshasa, but Rollins kicked up at the last second. The crowd was surprised by that.
Nakamura set up for another Kinshasa but was caught with several superkicks. He missed the curb stomp and was kicked by Nakamura. Rollins avoided the Kinshasa and nailed the curb stomp for the pin.
Your winner, Seth Rollins!
OK match. The last several minutes really picked up.
Brand vs. Brand: Raw 2, Smackdown 1
Backstage, Braun Strowman told everyone but Finn Balor on Team Raw that he didn't like them but if they didn't help him defeat Team Smackdown, they were all going to get these hands. Drew McIntyre said that everyone should be listening to him. He broke the Shield and made Kurt Angle tap. Tonight, he's going to take out Shane McMahon for taking the World Cup and stealing it. Baron Corbin tried to antagonize Strowman who admitted he can't touch him, so Strowman shoved Lio Rush into him. R-Truth rushed in and told everyone they had to get it together and they were better than this. Corbin reminded him he's not part of the team or even the brand. That's funny.
WWE Raw Tag Team Champions The Authors of Pain vs. WWE Smackdown Tag Team Champions The Bar
Sheamus and Rezar started out and they began fighting. There was a commotion at ringside as former WWE star Enzo Amore was sitting ringside in disguise and jumped on his seat. Once WWE realized it, they tossed him out of the building. We have photos of this on the main page courtesy an old friend of the site.
The Bar worked over Rezar. Cesaro nailed a big uppercut in the corner. Akam got involved but was hit with the big swing. Rezar tagged out and they worked over Cesaro. They tagged in and out, overpowering Cesaro and controlling the ring. Sheamus hit the ring to break up a pinfall attempt. Akam cinched in a rear chinlock on Cesaro. Sheamus finally tagged in and drilled Rezar across the chest with shots. Sheamus went to the top and nailed a flying clothesline for a close two count.
Sheamus set up for the Brogue Kick but Drake Maverick got on the apron and distracted the referee. Ceasaro nailed Rezar and that allowed Sheamus to nail the Brogue Kick. Drake placed his leg over the ropes to break the pinfall. Big Show grabbed him by the throat and held him against the ropes until, well, Maverick peed his pants. Yes, really. The Bar and Big Show all stopped and watched and laughed. I am guessing that won't be in the next anti-bullying PSA. The AOP attacked Sheamus, nailing their finisher and scored the pin.
Your winners, The AOP.
The match was OK but the crowd was taken out of it by the Enzo deal. AOP winning was, in my mind, the right call. They needed it. I didn't care for the Maverick deal since he's been the lone GM who had been treated to be credible.
They are ignoring the Kickoff match and claiming Raw is 3-0 in wins.
They plugged the 12/16 WWE TLC PPV.
Backstage, the Smackdown men’s team was assembled. Miz introduced Shane McMahon. Shane was hyping up the team with Miz echoing him and being annoying doing it. R-Truth showed up and joined in. Shane asked what he’s doing. Truth said he came to ask to be on the Smackdown roster. Shane told him he was already on the roster. Truth was relieved after seeing what the Raw locker room is like. Miz said if they win, he’ll give them all copies of Marine 6. Truth said he wanted a signed copy from Becky Lynch.
WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy vs. Cedric Alexander.
Ali looked strong early, hitting a rana to the outside on Murphy, then superkicking him off the apron. Ali hit a great flip off the top rope to the floor. Ali brought him back into the ring for a two count. Murphy rolled to the outside. He tried to pull Ali out but was kicked off into the barricade. Ali tried to climb up for a move but was shoved off hard, flying into the barricade. Ali takes some great bumps.
Murphy slammed him into the LED board at ringside. Murphy brought him back into the ring and scored several near falls. Murphy worked over Ali for a long time, scoring near falls. Ali was trapped in a rear chinlock. Ali made a comeback and went for a big move but was sent to the floor. Murphy hit a big flip dive to the floor. This is a hell of a match.
Ali made a comeback and went for a move off the top, but Murphy shoved him off. Ali crashed down to the floor below. Murphy went to the floor and brought him near an announcing table. Ali escaped and leapt on the table, hitting a Spanish Fly off the table to the floor. Some fans were chanting “205.”
Back in the ring, Murphy caught him in the corner with a superkick, then hit a pair of powerbombs. Ali survived. The crowd chanted, “This is awesome.” Ali came off the buckles but was wiped out with a knee. Murphy drilled him and scored the pin.
Your winner and still Cruiserweight Champion, Buddy Murphy!
A hell of a match and a great representation for the 205 Live brand. This was as great as you could hope, just a good, physical war.
Daniel Bryan blew off an interview where he was asked if he was ready for Brock Lesnar tonight.
Coverage continues on Page 3!
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