Roadblock: End Of The Line Reax

Read on for my take on last night's Raw special event.
-- Kickoff:
- Bayley on the panel:
Good use of the former NXT Women's Champion. I do think she's somewhat spinning her tires, since she's not on this card.


I hope this is the end of the rivalry (for now). Hopefully either Sasha or Charlotte will head to Smackdown in 2017 so they get some new opponents. Both of them are talented, but you can only do the same match so many times before it's old.

Yeah, Bayley definitely needs to be next in line for the title. Unless there's a really compelling reason for her not to be (a feud with Nia?).

- Sami in the social media lounge:
Not much to say here. Sami's also kind of meandering. Hopefully we do get Sami vs. Owens for the title at WM33, but they're going to really have to build Zayn for that match to matter. It's entirely possible we get Owens vs. Balor instead and Zayn ends up in the U.S. Title picture or something. Given how Zayn's been booked, Balor would be more credible. Maybe Zayn goes for the gold at Fastlane?

- TJ on the panel:
I don't really see how TJ's the underdog considering he won a tournament of the best cruisers in the world.


I really hope "Cruisergreat" is leading to a heel turn. I think TJ can nail that road.

- Enzo/Cass:
Wow. A little more TV-14 than I expected.


Enzo's bounced back well.

- Rusev vs. Cass:
I like a big guy battle if at least one big guy is pretty mobile, so this is a treat.

Cass is more dominant than I expected.

Cass is on a roll!

Hey, I like a big brawl spilling out into the crowd.

HAHAHAHA nice heel moves.

Good ending.

-- Roadblock:
- New Day promo:
Fellaship of the Swing got me.

Funny stuff.

- Kofi/E vs. Sheamus/Cesaro:
Cesaro and Kofi are talented, but I think they rely too much on flashy moves. That can be said for a lot of talents these days.

Sheamus, in contrast, comes across like he's there to kick ass and win. At least at times.

Cesaro and Sheamus make a pretty good tandem as far as working together to do moves.

Who would have seen Kofi doing a big back body drop to Sheamus!?

I'm liking Sheamus vs. Big E.

Oh yeah, I hope Big E has at least one world title reign in his future.

This is heating up well!

WHOA! Didn't see Cesaro kicking out of the Big Ending.

This is really good.

Really good ending. I liked the story told.

- Post-match:
That was cool. I liked Cesaro giving them their due while Sheamus was selfish. Sometimes the little character things are what matter.


- JeriKO interview:
KO has no chill. I love it.

No interviewer is safe from the champ.

I loved the scarf bit.

- Zayn vs. Strowman:
I like this one early.

Good back-and-forth. Both men clearly have a strategy they're using.

I like Braun as a monster.

Sami trying to do everything he can to take down the beast.

See, Braun doesn't have to be more athletic than Sami. He doesn't need to know 100 holds. He just needs to catch him and punish him.

Sami plays "guy who gets his ass kicked" pretty well.

Strowman just destroying him here.

I like Braun taunting Foley with this.

This is nice. I like the emotional drama at stake.

Braun's just a force of nature.

That was pretty good to keep both of them strong.

- Rollins vs. Y2J:
Good work early.

I'm liking the action so far.

Some big high-flying already.

I like this turning dirty and into a fight.

These two match up well.

I like the slaps, chokes, etc.

This is quite solid.

Rollins' athleticism is incredible, and Jericho very much still has "it."

This is impressive!

Big moves all around.

I'm liking the teases of the Pedigree, and the continued use of the Walls to wear Seth down.

Best Friends don't let people fight alone.

I liked the implication Jericho MIGHT have won if Owens hadn't gotten involved.

That was really solid. Almost like a chess match. Good matches have good drama with the characters, and we got that here.

- Swann vs. Kendrick vs. TJP:
This is wild right out of the gate.


This is pretty crazy!

I've said it a million times, but I love Kendrick bringing something different to the table so we don't just have three high-flyers.

I'm loving the submissions, too.

This is wild and enjoyable.

Not bad at all!

- Post-match:
Gravity isn't the only one who forgot this guy.

WAIT WHAT!!?????

WHY NEVILLE WHY!!?????

- JeriKO backstage:
Yeah I'm pretty ready for this to come to a head. I wonder what Jericho does after presumably facing Owens at the Rumble.

Poor Owens! He was just trying to help out his BEST FRIEND!!!

- Sasha vs. Charlotte:
-- Fall One:
Oh this is going to be something else.

Nice feeling out process to start. That first fall's going to be important.

Good back-and-forth.

Nice selling of the Banks Statement as mattering.

I like the rapid pinfall attempts. Get that advantage early!

Good stuff outside the ring.

This is really heating up!

Sasha always goes all out, for better or worse.

GOOD GAWD what a bump on the steps.

Sasha set up as having to survive a serious ass-kicking here.

Charlotte can be pretty tenacious. I like it.

I wish Charlotte would have gotten a pin with Natural Selection, because Sasha had gone through hell at that point. When's the last time that actually got a fall?

BAH GAWD what a big Natural Selection.

-- Fall Two:
Good for Charlotte to try to get a second fall as quickly as she can. Press the advantage!

Sasha, like a lot of good babyfaces, scratches and claws to get the win.

-- Fall Three:
NICE extended Banks Statement spot.

There's the whole psychology of tapping out in order to prevent permanent damage so you can try to even the score later.

-- Fall Four:
I'm loving all the selling/submission work in this one.

Charlotte's going to cripple Sasha here or die trying.

Sasha REALLY fighting to hang on to her lead.

LOVE this long submission spot.

That was good.

-- Fall Five:
Both women are spent. This is a good story.

A real battle of wills here. Definitely better than 30 finisher kickouts in ROH.

Good God Charlotte's going to beat her dad's record before John does.

- Owens vs. THE BIG DOG ROMAN REIGNS:
Owens already fucking with Reigns.

It makes sense to slow things down a bit after that crazy ironman match.

Fine brawl so far.

I like the meanness from Owens.

This is good for a fight type of match.

I do wonder why this wasn't for both titles.

Owens putting a hurting on the Samoan.

This is a good fight, but I like Owens making it more than that with his athleticism.

I'm liking this.

Good Fisherman's Superplex.

This is solid.

I think the table not breaking probably hurts more than when it does. OUCH.

Reigns is pretty resilient to get up from all that.

I was totally expecting that pop-up powerbomb to turn into a Superman punch.

This is quite good from both men.

Nice spot with Reigns getting his foot on the rope instead of kicking out of three finishers.

Clever from Jericho. Reigns should be pissed, and Y2J should be next in line for the title.

- Post-match:
Good to see The Shield making them pay for that ending.


Oh JeriKO's going to regret messing with these two.

Good ending to the show.

More wrestling coming up.