WWE Day 1 (January 2022)

Original Airdate: January 1, 2022

 

From Atlanta, Georgia; Your Hosts are Jimmy Smith, Byron Saxton, and Corey Graves (RAW); Michael Cole and Pat McAfee (Smackdown)

 

Opening WWE Smackdown Tag Team Title Match: The Usos v The New Day: Jimmy Uso starts with Xavier Woods, and Woods schools him on the mat for a bit. Tag to Kofi Kingston for a tandem suplex, and Kofi adds a splash for two. Kingston tries getting too cute during an exchange on the outside, however, and ends up running into trouble when the champs double team him. The Usos work Kingston over, until Kofi fights off a dive from Jey Uso, and Xavier gets the tag. He comes in hot, and a fireman’s buster on Jimmy is worth two. Jimmy bails, so Woods dives with a baseball slide, but like Kingston before him, runs into double trouble on the outside. Jimmy leaps with a flying corkscrew senton for two on the way back inside, and a pop-up Samoan drop gets Jey two. The Usos go to work on Woods, but Kofi manages to sneak a tag, and dives in to turn the tide. Kingston runs into a double team that allows Jimmy a flying splash for two, and Roseanne Barr the door, we’ve got a kettle on! New Day hit Jey with a combo for two (complete with Shocked Face™ from Woods), but the Midnight Hour misses. That allows superkicks on Kingston (mono and stereo), and the stereo flying splash gets two. And then a pop-up cutter finishes Kofi for real at 17:02. Nothing wrong with it, but also nothing you haven’t already seen a million times. Just another modern mid-card tag match with the usual focus on spots over storytelling, though the crowd was into it. * ½

 

Drew McIntyre v Madcap Moss: I haven’t seen a wrestler wearing suspenders since, what, 1996? Moss tries working a standing side-headlock in the early going, but McIntyre is having none of it. Test-of-strength allows Moss a cheap shot, and he capitalizes on that by pounding McIntyre into the corner, but again, Drew ain’t having it. Cross corner whip, but Drew rebounds out of the corner with a clothesline, and he uses a vertical suplex for two. To the outside, McIntyre LAUNCHES the poor guy with an overhead suplex on the floor, but a distraction from Happy Corbin allows Moss to nail in, and McIntyre eats post. Has anyone in history had as many gimmick tweaks as Corbin? And I don’t mean gimmick changes, but where he’s still playing the same character, but they just keep changing the name and look slightly all the time. Inside, Moss uses a vertical suplex of his own for two, and a shoulderblock is worth two. Moss works a chinlock (which I assume is also a tribute to IRS), but a corner charge misses, and McIntyre makes a comeback. Neckbreaker works, but Moss blocks the Future Shock DDT. McIntyre recovers with a sitout spinebuster for two, but Moss delivers a fallaway slam for two. McIntyre manages the Future Shock for two, but Moss blocks a superplex - only to get slammed off anyway since he can’t follow-up fast enough. McIntyre with the Claymore Kick to finish at 9:41. This was decent fun, with both guys willing to bump around. **

 

WWE RAW Tag Team Title Match: Randy Orton and Riddle v The Street Profits: Is Orton working as a cop on the side now, or something? I know it’s a gig economy, but come on Randy, don’t you save at all? Riddle gets knocked around in the early going, so he passes to Orton… who gets knocked around as well. Orton tries the RKO on Angelo Dawkins, but can’t quite hook it, and Dawkins retreats to a tag. Montez Ford comes in with swagger, and he hammers Randy with a chop in the corner, but then gets all the swagger knocked off of him when Orton returns fire. Orton with a standing dropkick for two, and Riddle comes in with a corkscrew senton splash for two. Suplex, but Ford escapes, and tags. Dawkins tries to corner the champ on the way in, but Riddle slips free, so Dawkins uses a double-underhook neckbreaker instead. That allows the challengers to go to work on Riddle, until Orton manages a tag, and he comes in hot, treating both challengers like total jobbers. Ford dodges the RKO, so Riddle comes back in, and Roseanne Barr the door! Everyone ends up on the outside to set up a dive from Ford, and he’s flying high after that one, but ends up landing in an RKO at 11:13. *

 

Edge v Miz: Miz wins a criss cross with a hiptoss, which he proceeds to celebrate like he just won the world title. That’s some Owen Hart level over celebrating. But, hey, Owen was the best. Edge with a hiptoss of his own for two, since apparently this match is taking place in 1974. Miz tries a dropkick, but Edge dodges, and hooks a somersault cradle for two. He goes for the arm, but Miz hides in the ropes, and he dumps Edge to the outside. Baseball slide, but Edge dodges, so Maryse helps with a distraction, and Miz shoves him into the post. Miz with a flying axehandle on the way back inside, and he works a toehold, but Edge slugs free. Edge with a matslam for two, and a scrapbuster is worth two. Reversal sequence ends in Miz planting him with a DDT for two, and he unloads with the yes kicks. Edge ducks the big one and hooks a schoolboy for two, but Miz dumps him to the outside to block a crippler crossface. He follows, but Edge trips him up, and uses a sitout DDT on the floor. Edge rolls him in and covers for two, Corner whip, but Miz slips to the outside, and pulls Edge out after him - Edge taking a bump on the apron. Miz capitalizes by bashing his head into the announce table a bunch of times, and he tries putting him through it with the Skull Crushing Finale, but Edge slams him to block. Edge dives with a flying bodypress for two on the way back in, but Miz blocks an implant DDT, and he sends Edge into the post. That allows Miz a figure four, but Edge reverses. Miz escapes and tries an STF, but Edge counters to the crossface, only for Miz to block. The reversals are looking super awkward and unsmooth here. Miz with a catapult into the corner ahead of a leveraged cradle for two, but Edge counters another figure four with the crippler crossface. Maryse helps Miz into the ropes to save, but a reversal sequence ends in Edge hooking a backslide for two. Both guys pop up and throw big boots for a double knockout spot, and they stagger up for a Miz-won slugfest. Miz lands a corner clothesline, but a trip to the top ends badly when Edge slams him off. Spear, but Miz leapfrogs him, and Edge hits the buckles. Skull Crushing Finale gets two, so Maryse tries to get involved, but Beth Phoenix (looking like Rahzar from the 1991 Ninja Turtles movie) chases her off. That allows Edge to connect with another spear, and that’s it at 20:01. This was watchable, but relied too heavily on complex reversals and submissions, both of which are not their strong suits as workers. **

 

WWE RAW Women’s Title Match: Becky Lynch v Liv Morgan: Liv catches her with an awkward looking facebuster in the opening moments (where it looked like Liv was on the receiving end of it, and I was confused why Becky was selling), but then Morgan just fucks it up a few seconds later when trying a dive. Lynch with a suplex, but a corner charge misses, and Liv unloads in the corner. I like Liv, but she’s getting totally exposed here already, and I hope for her sake that this isn’t booked to go more than a few minutes. Morgan tries a fujiwara armbar, but Lynch counters to a schoolgirl for two, so Morgan cranks on the rings of saturn. Becky’s in the ropes and bails on the break, but a trip to the top on the way back in goes south when Liv slams her off for two. Liv tries a headscissors, but Becky bashes her into the buckles to block, and uses a catapult under the bottom rope for two. Lynch ropechokes her some, and a sloppy guillotine legdrop is worth two. Suplex gets two, so Morgan schoolgirls for two, and then Thesz-presses the champ down for some mounted punches. Liv lands an enzuigiri, and follows up with a 2nd rope dropkick for two. Lynch fights her off and hooks a cross-armbreaker, but Liv cradles for two. Morgan keeps going with a floatover DDT for two, and a powerbomb is worth two. Becky goes for the arm, but Liv fights her off again, so Lynch dumps her on her head with a side facebuster for two. Another guillotine legdrop misses, allowing Morgan a flying dropkick, but Lynch wisely bails before the challenger can cover. Liv responds by diving after her with a tope, but Becky bails again after getting rolled in. A frustrated Morgan follows, but Lynch is ready with a shot into the announce table, and she leaves her to die out there. Liv beats the count, so Lynch dumps her out again to chuck into the post - only for Morgan to reverse! Back in, Morgan uses a kneeling facebuster, and she goes back to the rings of saturn, but Lynch cradles for two. Morgan stays on her with a DDT, but Lynch counters with a uranage this time, and that’s enough to retain at 16:55. Morgan couldn’t really hang here, but she also didn’t get completely exposed and embarrass herself, either. Still, she worked really hard, and it’s probably her best match ever. * ¾

 

Main Event: WWE Title Fatal Five-Way Match: Big E v Bobby Lashley v Brock Lesnar v Seth Rollins v Kevin Owens: First fall wins it. Brock gets the big superstar entrance, despite being the challenger. Everyone gangs up on him, attacking before the bell even sounds, but Brock fights them all off with suplexes. Big E manages to blast him with a stiff clothesline, however, and the champ dumps Brock to the outside. Big E follows, but Lashley grabs him out there, and bashes him into the post. That allows Bobby to spear Lesnar through the barricade himself, and Lashley keeps it going with reverse STOs on Owens and Rollins as he heads inside. Vertical suplex on Seth, but he wastes time with the hang, and Owens breaks it up. He and Rollins knocks Lashley to the outside via stereo superkicks, and Rollins dives at a recovering Lesnar with a tope to set up a frogsplash from the apron from Owens. Owens and Rollins continue to work together, grabbing the steps to bash Bobby and Brock with, and they try a tandem suplex through the announce table, but Lashley blocks. Big E comes over and puts Bobby through it with a uranage anyway, but Owens blasts the champ with a superkick as he celebrates. Rollins and Owens gives a recovering Lesnar a DDT on the steps before heading in to finish off Big E, and a sitout powerbomb from Owens is worth two. Flying somersault senton splash is blocked, but Rollins picks up the slack with his own dive on Big E for two. Discus forearm finds the mark, but Brock rushes in, cutting a curb stomp off with an F5! One for Big E! One for big Kevin! Lashley spears him before he can keep going, however, and Bobby covers for two. Full-nelson looks to finish Brock off, but Big E saves. He hits Lashley with the Big Ending, but Lesnar counters one with an F5 to win the title at 8:18. This was really short, but sometimes that’s not a bad thing, especially in this era of everything seemingly needing sixteen minutes. ** ¾

 

BUExperience: Did we really need to ruin a bunch of people’s holiday for this?

 

DUD