Road to Wrestlemania – Live Show Results
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Pensacole Live Show Results from February 5th, 2023
With Royal Rumble now in the rear view, WWE now has its eyes set on the prize… Wrestlemania!!! The Road to Wrestlemania live shows has officially begun and they play a larger role than you might know. These are the shows in which they will test out matches for programs as well as build up chemistry for those involved at the show. I had the pleasure of attending one of these shows and here are the results from that show…
Raw Women’s Championship Match:
Bianca Belair(c) versus Bayley w/Iyo Sky
This match was much like their others and would only be used to be the beginning of what would turn into a tag team match. The match would end when Iyo attacked Bianca from behind as she attempted to hit Bayley with the KOD. A post-match beat down would ensue before Becky Lynch would make the save.
Winner by disqualification and still champion, Bianca Belair
Bianca Belair/Becky Lynch versus Bayley/Iyo SKy
After Becky chased Damage Control away, she would lay down a challenge for Bayley and Iyo. They would accept and we would get a nice match that saw Becky Lynch carry most of the load, as well as Iyo. In the end, Becky would lock in the Dis-Arm-Her on Iyo while Bianca finally hit Bayley with a KOD. Iyo would tap not long after that.
Winners by submission, Becky Lynch & Bianca Belair
Jimmy Uso/Solo Sikoa versus Braun Strowman/Ricochet
With Braun and Ricochet being the new number 1 contenders, it makes sense that they are working with the Tag Team champions. The interesting part here is that with Jey Uso off of television for story purposes, they decided to put Solo with Jimmy here to help sell that story. This was a very fun match that saw Ricochet take all of the offense that Jimmy and Solo had to offer. The highlight of the match would be Braun stepping up to Solo, and Solo NOT backing down. In the end, Solo would finish Ricochet off with the Samoan Spike after Jimmy Uso would hit a suicide dive to Braun on the outside.
Winners by pinfall, Jimmy Uso/Solo Sikoa
After the match, Jimmy told the crowd that Pensacola was where Solo Sikoa grew up and that this was the first time he had ever had the chance to perform in front of his hometown crowd.
Candice Lerae versus Piper Nivens
In Piper’s first match back (that I have seen) since returning at the Rumble, we got to see the overpowering Piper completely manhandle Candice for the majority of this match. Every time Lerae would start to mount any kind of offense, Piper would stop it and continue her assault. In the end though, it would be Candice that would sneak away with a victory over an unsuspecting Nivens with a roll up. It seems they might be leaning into having Piper Nivens play the heel role upon her return.
Winner by pinfall, Candice Lerae
Imperium versus The Brawling Brutes
In a rematch from one of the better feuds from last year, we were privileged enough to get to see this 6-man tag match once again. Butch and Ludwig Kaiser did a majority of the lifting in this match with Sheamus and Gunther appearing just enough to get us excited about a possible third match between the two. At one point, Gunther dared Butch to tag Sheamus in, only to tag himself out of the match as soon as Sheamus entered the ring. You would have to believe that round 3 will be coming at this year’s Wrestlemania, and I don’t think anybody is going to complain about that one. In the end, Kaiser was left alone with the Brutes as Sheamus finished him off with a Brogue Kick for the win.
Winners by pinfall, The Brawling Brutes.
It was nice to see this group back together. They were really well with each other and with the number of small factions, they still have a lot to do in my opinion.
Lights Out Match: Bray Wyatt versus LA Knight
Knight got a few minutes before the match to talk to the crowd and get them amped up. Between this show and the Rumble, LA Knight is very over with the crowds, and I can’t wait to see what he is involved with next. After running down the Pensacola crowd, Bray would make his way out and the lights would go out. This was the Mountain Dew Blackout match that they had at the Rumble, just significantly better. Bray would end up bringing in a chair painted with a glow in the dark painted X on it. LA Knight would introduce a table that had glow in the dark paint as well. This is where things would end though because as soon as he set it up, Bray was there waiting. A chokeslam through the table, followed by a Sister Abigail.
Winner by pinfall, Bray Wyatt
Triple Threat Smackdown Women’s Championship:
Charlotte Flair(c) versus Liv Morgan versus Sonya Deville
A traditional triple threat that sees one contestant constantly being thrown to the outside to allow one on one offense. Sonya Deville really played up the heel role in this match to perfection, with the crowd raining the boos down on her. She got a good amount of one-on-one time with Liv and Charlotte, and Liv also had a good amount of time to go back and forth. Liv Morgan was really able to shine with her in ring work with Charlotte actually selling for her and making her look like a legit threat in the near future. The ending seemed like it was done on the fly as Sonya stayed on the outside for the last 5 minutes, I believe, due to an injury above her eye. Charlotte would hit a second Natural Selection on Liv to pick up the win.
Winner by pinfall and still champion, Charlotte Flair
Main Event:
Cody Rhodes versus Seth Rollins
It was advertised that we would hear from Cody Rhodes so when they announced a rematch from Wrestlemania and “Burn it Down” hit over the speakers, we were very shocked and pleasantly surprised with what was to follow. Cody and Seth had themselves another great match to go with their others. They had the fans in the palm of their hands the entire time with half the arena singing Seth’s song while the other half chanted for Cody. Seth would hit a pedigree, that received a nice pop and Cody did the Stardust cartwheel to escape a wrist lock that popped a few. In the end, it would be Cody Rhodes picking up the win after a slew of reversals ended with the Cross Rhodes.
Winner by pinfall, Cody Rhodes
So, there you have it, a very fun show from top to bottom with a good mix of talent from both shows and all the divisions. If you have a chance to check out one of these live shows on the Road to Wrestlemania, I will highly suggest it.