How To Watch The WWE In A Focused, Fun Manner Whether You're New Or A Long Time Fan, 20: Thunderdome

10/1/2024

2020 was a serious drag. Pandemic, another terrible American election, Brexit kept getting somehow worse, it might have made you want to lock yourself in your house, if you weren't in fact mandated to stay in your house because of a plague.

The Thunderdome era featured WWE piping in fan noise and having walls of iPads showing fans who were watching online. NXT, AEW, and Impact just had very limited audiences, usually made up of non-competing wrestlers and personalities.

While this was a bit of a bummer, most of the companies found creative ways to entertain, including cinematic matches, and a ton of stipulations.

The biggest story to come out of this is The Bloodline Saga, which is somehow still going on, over four years later.

Season 20:
Thunderdome

Starring: Roman Reigns, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley), Chris Jericho, Rhea Ripley, MJF, Finn Balor, Drew McIntyre, Cody Rhodes, Asuka, Io Sky, Rey Mysterio, Kenny Omega, Hikaru Shida, FTR, Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Hangman Page, Daniel Bryan, Darby Allin, AJ Styles, Shaemus, Brodie Lee

2001. The Silent Wrestlemania

The first live sporting event during the pandemic era was Wrestlemania. Bookended by a couple of cinematic matches, we have a series of matches without an audience. It's a huge departure from typical WWE production but it was a welcome distraction when everyone was stuck at home. Both of these cinematic matches were wild, and they're very different tones from one another. The Firefly Funhouse Match being more of a skit than a match while The Boneyard Match was a stunt-focused brawl. Usually I end one of these fictional seasons with a superstar's final match, but this season we begin with what is, hopefully, the last ever Undertaker match. It was the perfect sendoff for him.

Announcers: Michael Cole, JBL, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Titus O'Neill, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome

1. Bray Wyatt (as The Fiend) vs John Cena in a Firefly Funhouse Match
2. Becky Lynch (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Shayna Baszler
3. Kevin Owens vs Seth Rollins in a No DQ Match
4. Miz & Morrison (Smackdown Tag Champs) vs Heavy Machinery
5. Goldberg (WWE Universal Champ) vs Braun Stroman
6. Bayley (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Sasha Banks vs Naomi vs Tamina vs Lacey Evans

7. Dolph Ziggler vs Otis
8. Brock Lesnar (WWE Champ) vs Drew McIntyre
9. Undertaker vs AJ Styles in a Boneyard Match

2002. Money On The Roof

Some solid matches sans audience, including a surprise cinematic tag team match, and two Money In The Banks matches happening simultaneously in WWE headquarters. The cinematic matches are pretty silly but entertaining.

Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome, Howard Finkel

1. Bayley (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Tamina
2. Jeff Hardy vs Cesaro
3. Drew McIntyre (WWE Champ) vs Seth Rollins
5. Street Profits (Raw Tag Team Champs) vs Viking Raiders
6. Edge vs Randy Orton

7. Womens Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Asuka, Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Carmella, Lacey Evans, Dana Brooke

8. Mens Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Rey Mysterio vs Daniel Bryan vs AJ Styles vs Malakai Black (as Aleister Black) vs Baron Corbin vs Otis

2003. NXT In Your House

The first pandemic-era NXT show is a super throwback to the early 90s cheese that was In Your House. The matches, however, are totally 2020 barn burners. The women in this match are the future (or in Charlotte's case, the present) of the WWE main roster, while most of the men in this episode will be AEW bound in the not so distant future.

Announcers: Todd Pettingill, Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Tom Phillips, Alicia Taylor

1. Mia Yim, Shotzi Blackheart & Tegan Nox vs Dakota Kai, Candace LeRae & Raquel Gonzalez

2. Finn Balor vs Damien Priest
3. Keith Lee (NXT North American Champ) vs Johnny Gargano
4. Charlotte Flair (NXT Womens Champ) vs Rhea Ripley vs Iyo Sky (as Io Shirai)
5. Finn Balor vs Cameron Grimes
6. Roderick Strong vs Johnny Gargano vs Bronson Reed
7. Adam Cole (NXT Champ) vs Keith Lee (NXT North American Champ)

2004. Stadium Stampede

AEW begins the season in style with their version of Money in The Bank, followed by some killer individual matches, leading up to the absolute mayhem of the ten person, no rules match taking place in an empty football stadium. It's bananatown. Plus, Mike Tyson returns for the first time in fifteen years. Luckily for all involved, he doesn't wrestle this time, either.

Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Justin Roberts

1. Casino Ladder Match
Darby Allin, Colt Cabana, Orange Cassidy, Joey Janela, Scorpio Sky, Kip Sabian, Frankie Kazarian, Brian Cage, and Luchasaurus

2. MJF vs Jack Perry (as Jungle Boy)
3. Cody Rhodes vs Lance Archer for inaugural TNT Championship
4. Nyla Rose (AEW Womens Champ) vs Hikaru Shida
5. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) (AEW Champ) vs Brodie Lee
6. The Elite vs The Inner Circle in a Stadium Stampede Match

2005. An Eye For An Eye, 2020

The stipulation for the second match on this card is ludicrous but the match before it is great. We also see Asuka get two shots at two different womens titles, and it turns out that the climax to the Otis/Ziggler feud is actually Mandy Rose vs Sonya Deville. Plus, Baby Bastard Dominik Mysterio gets his first singles match, fifteen years after he debuted on Raw (as a child/prop).

Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome

1. Apollo Crews (US Champ) vs Andrade
2. Seth Rollins vs Rey Mysterio in an Eye For An Eye Match
3. Drew McIntyre (WWE Champ) vs Dolph Ziggler
4. Mandy Rose vs Sonya Deville in a Loser Leaves WWE Match
5. Bayley (Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Asuka
5. Seth Rollins vs Dominik Mysterio in a Street Fight
6. Sasha Banks (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Asuka
7. Drew McIntyre (WWE Champ) vs Randy Orton

2006. All Under One Roof, 2020

The Thunderdome era really kicks off with the return of Roman Reigns and the seeds of The Bloodline storyline which will dominate the WWE for over four years. We also build the Mysterio storyline which is super tame at this point but is going to get wild down the line. This also marks the last time we'll see The Fiend, and the last time that we'll see Braun Stroman for quite a while. Both had matches after the one in this episode but none ended up being worth a watch.

Announcers: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Beth Phoenix, Tom Phillips, Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, Samoa Joe, Charly Caruso, Kayla Braxton, Greg Hamimlton, Mike Rome

1. Big E vs Sheamus
2. The Golden Role Models (WWE Womens Tag Champs) vs Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax
3. Rey & Dominik Mysterio vs Seth Rollins & Buddy Murphy
4. Bray Wyatt (as The Fiend) (WWE Universal Champ) vs Roman Reigns & Braun Stroman
5. Rhea Ripley vs Mercedes Martinez in a Steel Cage
6. Iyo Sky (as Io Shirai) (NXT Womens Champ) vs Shotzi Blackheart
7. Drew McIntyre (WWE Champ) vs Randy Orton in an Ambulance Match

2007. You've Got To Fyte For Your Ryte To Party, 2020

Don't think that because we've had five WWE-centric matches, and this is only our second AEW match that this speaks to the quality of either company. WWE just never took a break when the pandemic hit, whereas AEW took a month to figure out what to do. When they came back, every one of their weekly shows was a monster. Pay-per-view level shows on a weekly basis. Very little story but a lot of great wrestling. FTR (the Revival from NXT and WWE) show up and suddenly AEW has every good tag team in the US besides New Day and The Usos. The title scenes were all banging, too.

Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Justin Roberts

1. FTR vs The Butcher & The Blade
2. Cody Rhodes (AEW TNT Champ) vs Marq Quen
3. MJF & Wardlow vs Jurassic Express
4. Hikaru Shida (AEW Womens Champ) vs Penelope Ford
5. Cody Rhodes (AEW TNT Champ) vs Jake Haeger
6. Hangman Page & Kenny Omega (AEW Tag Team Champs) vs Private Party
7. Young Bucks & FTR vs Lucha Bros & The Butcher & The Blade
8. Chris Jericho vs Orange Cassidy

2008. Mimosa Mayhem

A ridiculous stipulation match gives its name to this episodes but this is mainly about John Moxley's title run in AEW, as well as continuing to see the rise of MJF. And, as is usual for 2019/2020/2021 AEW, a bunch of excellent tag team matches.

Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Tazz, Justin Roberts

1. The Elite vs Jurassic Express
2. Cody Rhodes (AEW TNT Champ) vs Eddie Kingston
3. Dean Ambrose (as John Moxley) (AEW Champ) vs Darby Allin
4. Young Bucks vs Jurassic Express
5. Hangman Page & Kenny Omega (AEW Tag Team Champs) vs FTR
6. Chris Jericho vs Orange Cassidy in Mimosa Mayhem
7. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) (AEW Champ) vs MJF

2009. Top Tier, 2020

The birth of the Bloodline storyline gets all the headlines this season but the Smackdown Women's Championship is also a highlight. We get two matches between the former Golden Role Model teammates, and then a preview of future title contenders. Plus, the second of two incredible stipulation title matches between Drew McIntyre and Randy Orton.

Announcers: Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe, Kayla Braxton, Charly Caruso, Mike Hamilton, Greg Rome

1. Jeff Hardy (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs AJ Styles vs Sami Zayn
2.Bayley (Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Sasha Banks in Hell In A Cell
3. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Jey Uso in an I Quit Match
4. Drew McIntyre (WWE Champ) vs Randy Orton in Hell In A Cell
5. Sasha Banks (Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Bayley

2010. Championship Horror Show

The Bloodline story continues, as Jey Uso struggles to maintain his position in the family. Plus, several excellent tag team matches, and Sasha Banks's spectacular run as Smackdown Womens Champion.

Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe, Pat McAfee, Tom Phillips, Kayla Braxton, Mike Rome, Greg Hamilton

1. Street Profits (Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs New Day (Raw Tag Team Champs)
2. Sasha Banks (Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Asuka (Raw Womens Champ)
3. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Drew McIntyre (WWE Champ)
4. Sasha Banks (Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Carmella
5. Roman Reigns & Jey Uso vs Kevin Owens & Otis
6. New Day (Raw Tag Team Champs) vs The Hurt Business
5. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Kevin Owens in a TLC Match

2011. Halloween Havoc Rises From The Grave

The Pandemic Era of NXT took a while to get to interesting stories but they wasted no time with high quality matches. Finn Balor returned to NXT, Iyo Sky (as Iyo Shirai) absolutely dominated the women's division, and Damien Priest and Gunther (as Walter) continued their inevitable ascents to the main roster.

Announcers: Corey Graves, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barret, Vic Joseph, Alicia Taylor

1. Finn Balor vs Timothy Thatcher
2. Iyo Sky (as Iyo Shirai) (NXT Womens Champ) vs Shotzi Blackheart
3. Bronson Reed vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Damien Priest vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Johnny Gargano in a Ladder Match for the North American Championship

4. Iyo Sky (as Iyo Shirai) (NXT Womens Champ) vs Candace LeRae in a TLC Match
5. Finn Balor (NXT Champ) vs Kyle O'Reilly
6. Iyo Sky (as Iyo Shirai) (NXT Womens Champ) vs Rhea Ripley
7. Gunther (as Walter) vs Ilja Dragunov

2012. Late Night Dynamite

Luke Harper of the Wyatt Family moved to AEW and became Mister Brodie Lee. We see a trio of matches involving him here. Also, MJF continues to be a turd, and Proud & Powerful and The Best Friends go to war over a van owned by one of The Best Friends' mom.

Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Taz, Excalibur, Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, Justin Roberts

1. The Elite & FTR vs The Dark Order
2. Hangman Page vs Frankie Kazarian
3. Best Friends vs Proud & Powerful in a Parking Lot Brawl
4. Cody Rhodes (TNT Champ) vs Luke Harper (as Brodie Lee)
5. Darby Allin vs Ricky Starks
6. FTR (AEW Tag Team Champs) vs SoCalU
7. Luke Harper (TNT Champ) vs Cody Rhodes
8. Wardlow vs Hangman Page

2013. Takeover Vengeance Day

Stipulations abound in this satisfyingly violent episode. The Cameron Grimes/Dexter Lumis feud is a weird blast, and we get two War Games matches. Oh yea, and a rematch between Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley.

Announcers: Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph, Wade Barret, Alicia Taylor

1. Cameron Grimes vs Dexter Lumis in a Blindfold Match
2. Iyo Sky (as Io Shirai) (NXT Womens Champ) vs Rhea Ripley
3. Womens War Game Match
Toni Storm, Dakota Kai, Candace LeRae, and Raquel Gonzalez vs Iyo Sky, Rhea Ripley, Ember Moon, and Shotzi Blackheart

4. Cameron Grimes vs Dexter Lumis in a Strap Match
5. Mens War Game Match
The Undisputed Era vs Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Danny Burch, and Oney Lorcan

2014. An Actual November Worth Remembering

Several stellar matches lead up to the biggest return in wrestling up to this point in history. I was going to say "ever" but there is a bigger return on the horizon. This one was still pretty cool, though.

Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Tazz, Excalibur, Don Callis, Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, Justin Roberts

1. Hangman Page vs Kenny Omega
2. Cody Rhodes (AEW TNT Champ) vs Darby Allin
3. FTR (AEW Tag Team Champs) vs Young Bucks
4. Chris Jericho vs MJF
5. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) (AEW Champ) vs Eddie Kingston in an I Quit Match
6. Team Taz vs Cody Rhodes & Darby Allin

2015. Head Of The Tables, Ladders & Chairs

Sami Zayn reenters the headlining scene in this episode as a conspiracy theorizing madman desperate for a title. We also see Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns continuing their epic rivalry. The highlight, though, is the Women's Royal Rumble, which put the men's version to shame. This is also the last time we may ever see Big E wrestle, as he had his neck broken in a botched move not too long after this match.

Announcers: Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Samoa Joe, Tom Phillips, Greg Hamilton, Mike Rome

1. Drew McIntyre vs AJ Styles in a TLC Match
2. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Kevin Owens in a Cage Match
3. The Dirty Dawgs (Smackdown Tag Team Champs) vs Daniel Bryan & Caesaro
4. Big E (WWE Intercontinental Champ) vs Sami Zayn vs Apollo Crews
5. Womens Royal Rumble Match
Bayley, Naomi, Bianca Belair, Billie Kay, Shotzi Blackheart, Shayna Baszler, Toni Storm, Jillian Hall, Ruby Riott, Victoria, Peyton Royce, Santana Garrett, Liv Morgan, Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair, Dana Brooke, Torrie Wilson, Lacey Evans, Mickie James, Nikki Cross, Alicia Fox, Mandy Rose, Dakota Kai, Carmella, Tamina, Lana, Alexa Bliss, Ember Moon, Nia Jax, Natalya

2016. Universal Contenders

The pandemic road to Wrestlemania wasn't one of the all-time greats. There was pretty much one story and it was Roman Reigns can't be beat. The Rumble had some fun moments but it's not at all an all-timer, and the Elimination Chamber was a buildup to the absolute squash that was one of the final stops on Daniel Bryan's road to AEW.

Announcers: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Samoa Joe, Greg Hamilton

1. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing Match
2. Mens Royal Rumble
Edge, Randy Orton, Sami Zayn, Mustafa Ali, Jeff Hardy, Dolph Ziggler, Shinsuke Nakamura, Carlito, Xavier Woods, Big E, John Morrison, Ricochet, Elias, Damian Priest, The Miz, Matt Riddle, Daniel Bryan, Kane, Baron Corbin, Otis, Dominik Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, The Hurricane, Christian, AJ Styles, Rey Mysterio, Sheamus, Cesaro, Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman

3. Nia Jax vs Lana in a Tables Match
4. WWE Universal Contenders Elimination Chamber
Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Cesaro, Jey Uso, Baron Corbin

5. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Daniel Bryan

2017. Hard To Kill

Watching TNA during the pandemic was rough. Their recently crowned First Ever In The World woman as Heavyweight Champ disappeared in a cloud of controversy, unlike AEW and WWE, their set ended up looking like a set of bleachers in a middle school, and their roster just didn't rise to the occasion the way the larger companies did. But it wasn't all bad, and while this was another bumpy era for them, it does provide continuity before they started getting back on the right track.

Announcers: Don Callis, Josh Phillips, Madison Rayne, Matt Stryker, D-Lo Brown, David Penzer

1. The Rascalz vs Motor City Machine Guns
2. Impact Knockout Gauntlet For The Gold
Kylie Rae, Tasha Steelz, Johnny Bravo, Kimber Lee, Kiera Hogan, Susie, Katie Forbes, Madison Rayne, Havok, Taya Valkyrie, Alisha Edwards, Nevaeh, Rosemary,

3. Eric Young vs Ace Austin vs Trey vs Eddie Edwards vs Rich Swann for vacant Impact Championship

4. Deanno Purrazo (Impact Knockout Champ) vs Su Young
5. TJ Perkins (as Manik) (Impact X Champ) vs Chris Bey vs Rohit Raju
6. Eddie Edwards vs Sami Cahill in a Barbed Wire Match
7. Kenny Omega & The Good Brothers vs Chris Sabin, Rich Swann & Moose

2018. Make Your Moment, 2021

Thunderdome isn't quite over but we do get our first live event of the season for WWE, as Wrestlemania goes to Tampa Bay, and we see two matches in front of an audience of fans for the first time this season. There's a lot of interference and shenanigans in the first two matches but the last three are pure one-on one battles.

1. WWE Championship Elimination Chamber
Drew McIntyre (WWE Champ) vs AJ Styles vs Randy Orton vs Shaemus vs Kofi Kingston vs Jeff Hardy

2. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Daniel Bryan
3. Shaemus vs Drew McIntyre in a No Holds Barred Match
4. Seth Rollins vs Caesaro
5. Sasha Banks (WWE Smackdown Womens Champ) vs Bianca Belair

2019. Reigning Champions, 2021

The Bloodline continues to dominate. Rhea Ripley climbs to the top of the women's division, and we even see a rare, entertaining Baron Corbin match.

1. Baron Corbin vs Sami Zayn
2. Riddle (WWE US Champ) vs Shaemus
3. Asuka (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Rhea Ripley
4. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Daniel Bryan vs Edge
5. Roman Reigns (WWE Universal Champ) vs Daniel Bryan
6. Rhea Ripley (WWE Raw Womens Champ) vs Charlotte Flair vs Asuka

2020. Ten Bells For Brodie Lee, 2021

Sadly, John Huber (aka Brodie Lee, aka Luke Harper) was hospitalized for a lung infection shortly after his dog collar match to Cody Rhodes. He never recovered. This episode is bookended by matches where his Dark Order teammates, as well as his former Wyatt Family teammate, Eric Rowan, break from storylines to put on matches that Brodie's son wanted to see. It's very touching. Less touching is that Don Callis from TNA invades AEW bringing several wrestlers from various promotions with him, in order to take down John Moxley.

Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Tazz, Don Callis, Chris Jericho, Justin Roberts

1. Hangman Page & Dark Order vs Inner Circle
2. Dean Ambrose (as John Moxley) (AEW Champ) vs Kenny Omega
3. Hangman Page vs John Silver
4. Kenny Omega (AEW Champ) vs Rey Fenix
5. Dax Harwood vs Jack Perry (as Jungle Boy)
6. Britt Baker (AEW Womens Champ) vs Thunder Rosa
7. Bullet Club vs. Dean Ambrose (as Jon Moxley) & Death Triangle
8. Brodie Lee's Dream Team vs Team Taz

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