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This week, the WWE brought us, possibly, one of the worst Monday Night Raws that we'd seen all year. Fans and critics alike bashed the three-hour slog for giving pointless, boring segments that, for all intents and purposes, didn't really take any of Raw's storylines anywhere.
Luckily, if you were disappointed in Raw and SmackDown this week, the WWE Network brought us some incredible programming this week. Between the NXT UK Women's Champion finally being crowned, some great bouts on NXT and 205 Live, and the return of a fan favorite show, it really felt like the streaming service was worth the $9.99 monthly fee...just for this week alone.
#5 WWE Hidden Gems: November 29th
I know some people may think it's cheating to repeatedly use things like Marquee Matches since it's not exactly bringing fans new content, but shows like this are important because it brings some iconic and legendary bouts to younger fans or those who may not have been watching wrestling around the time these matches took place.
The same goes for WWE Hidden Gems. The difference being that they're HIDDEN GEMS. Most fans will not have seen any of the matches catalogued in this series.
Take for example this week's match; Dusty Rhodes & Junkyard Dog vs Ted Dibiase & Matt Borne. Taken from a Houston Wrestling event back in 1984, we get to see some of the greatest stars in the industry work in their prime.
While most fans would know Dusty Rhodes, Ted Dibiase, and the Junkyard Dog, the name Matt Borne might not ring a bell. However, you would definitely know his work in the WWF where he was the first superstar to portray Doink The Clown.
This match featured a red-hot crowd that popped for every move, punch, elbow or headbutt thrown by JYD and the American Dream.
Anthologies like these are one of the reasons that I decided to join the WWE Network early on. It's always great to take a look back at some of the classic stars and matches, and this is definitely a tag team bout you'll want to watch.
#4 205 Live: November 28th, 2018
This week's edition of 205 Live brought back two of the Purple Brand's stars who had been out of action for a while. Mustafa Ali, who hadn't been seen since losing the Falls Count Anywhere match to Mustafa Ali, finally returned to wreak havoc on whoever dared stand in his way. After completely trouncing his opponent, he continued to beat him down, only for Ariya Daivari's music to hit.
Daivari hadn't been seen since appearing at the Greatest Royal Rumble back in April with his brother Shawn Daivari. It looked like the Iranian star was going to take on Itami, but he ended up joining him in the assault, forming a new team on 205 Live.
With all these teams forming, I'm really hoping we'll see some Cruiserweight Tag Team Titles soon. Though Buddy Murphy's comments last week definitely shot my hopes out of the sky.
Speaking of Buddy Murphy, the Cruiserweight Champion teamed up with Tony Nese to take on their rivals Mustafa Ali and former Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander. This phrase is said a lot when people talk about 205 Live, but this was an incredible main event.
Featuring the brand's current four top dogs, pitting a team of bodybuilding juggernauts against a team of high flying strikers definitely seems like a money matchup.
And it was. My God, it was a barn burner. The finish of the match especially delivered on everything fans hoped to see. 205 Live is definitely worth your time again this week, but if you'd simply like to see the results, you can check out our weekly 205 Live Results posted every Wednesday.
#3 The Edge and Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness: November 26th
Season 2 of The Edge and Christian Show finally premiered this week. E&C came back with a bang, with Christian finding out that he'd been replaced by Edge's longtime rival John Cena.
After turning on the TV to see what was on, Christian noticed that Cena had taken his spot on their network program. The former World Champion attempted to get into WWE studios, only to be blocked at the door by Breezango.
Eventually, we move onto the real show, featuring Luke Gallows doing his iconic Howard Finkel impression.
Edge and Christian showed highlights of the first season of the show before realizing that Vince McMahon was still frozen from the first episode of the series. Before they could unpause the Boss, they were interrupted by Road Dogg, and had to pretend to be McMahon while turning the former Tag Team Champion down when he asked to be placed back in the "Main Event."
The rest of the show was full of shenanigans where the duo took advantage of the opportunity while parodying Weekend at Bernie's with Weekend at Vinny's. We also got a look at Bray Wyatt's side gig, working as a midwife.
Finally, the debut episode of season 2 featured one of the strangest but funniest skits in the show's history.
Samoa Joe selling Girl Scout Cookies, specifically Samoas. If that alone doesn't make you want to watch this episode...I don't really know what else you're looking for.
The Edge and Christian Show that Totally Reeks of Awesomeness will air Monday nights following Raw.
#2 NXT: November 28th
The latest episode of NXT brought us a battle of goliaths in Lars Sullivan and Keith Lee. The Limitless One prevented the Freak from beating down a helpless opponent the week prior, and Sullivan intended to make an example of Lee.
Vignettes of Sullivan began airing during Survivor Series, which means that the big man doesn't have much time left on the Yellow Brand. If he wanted to make an impact and show just how dangerous he could be, toppling the undefeated Keith Lee seemed like the best way to do it.
This was a genuine hoss fight. Hard hitting and full of devastating slams, it's one you need to witness with your own eyes. Bask in the Glory of one of NXT's sleeper hits of 2018.
Fans of Lee will not be shocked by the agility we saw from him on Wednesday. However, if you're not a regular viewer of NXT and haven't seen him work in the past, you'll get a good idea of what to expect in the future here. No one that size should be able to fly over the ropes as he can. But he does, and it's glorious.
As if NXT wasn't loaded with big guys already, the brand looks to reload after Sullivan's departure - whenever that happens - with Dominic Dijakovic. Known as Donovan Dijak in Ring of Honor, we've seen this guy in NXT before. Dijakovic wrestled a few times earlier in the year as Chris Dijak, taking on Ricochet and Velveteen Dream.
However, with a new name and a new vignette, it looks like the Yellow & Black brand will begin to focus heavily on the former ROH Top Prospect.
Finally, NXT's tag team division is stacked. Beyond stacked, actually. With teams like the Undisputed Era, War Raiders, The Mighty, The Street Prophets, Heavy Machinery, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch, and Mustache Mountain, this side of the roster is loaded with talent. The main event of this week's NXT featured The Mighty taking on Lorcan & Burch.
It's probably obvious to most that watch the WWE Network, but Wednesdays are great for wrestling.
#1 NXT UK: November 28th
While NXT was full of great action like Lee vs Sullivan and The Mighty vs Lorcan & Burch, this week we finally saw the finals to the NXT UK Women's Championship Tournament, along with another title defence from the Bruiserweight Pete Dunne.
Toni Storm and Rhea Ripley battled through two rounds of tough competition in an attempt to reach the finals of the tournament. Ripley tore through Xia Brookside and Dakota Kai while Toni Storm overcame Isla Dawn and Millie McKenzie, pitting the two rivals in the champion deciding match.
The results of the tournament were known for months now, and the NXT UK Women's Championship was originally supposed to be defended at WWE Evolution. However, due to tape delay, that had to be cancelled. Still, it was great to finally see this championship bout between Storm and Ripley.
Storm attempted to counter Ripley's immense power with her technical ability and daredevil type maneuvers, but Ripley was too much for her to handle. Storm went for Storm Zero, but an injured back earned earlier in the match allowed Ripley to escape the maneuver, driving Storm into the mat with the Riptide.
Ripley celebrated in the middle of the ring as NXT UK GM Johnny Saint and Triple H congratulated her, awarding her with the championship belt.
Pete Dunne also defended the UK Championship against Jordan Devlin this week, which was a fantastic match in its own right. One of the highlights of the bout placed Devlin on the top rope with Pete Dunne where he drove the champion down to the mat with a Super Spanish Fly. Miraculously, the UK Champion kicked out.
Devlin's run in this match really showcased just how vicious he could be if that hadn't already been established during the UK Championship Tournament.
NXT UK continues to show its incredible depth each and every week in the men and women's divisions. We were given two top-notch title bouts this week. You owe it to yourself to check them both out.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
