Best in the World '16 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor. It took place in Cabarrus Arena in Concord, North Carolina on June 24, 2016. It was the seventh annual ROH Best in the World event.
Kyle O'Reilly def. Kamaitachi via submission
Solid opener to this event with Kamaitachi targeting O'Reilly's legs throughout the match. Kamaitachi is pretty fucking nuts from what I have seen in this match. There was no way in hell I would've done that Diving Senton spot and hit almost absolutely nothing as a result as O'Reilly clearly wasn't ready to catch him. I loved the exchange that led into a series of reversals that allowed O'Reilly to apply a modified version of his submission finisher to pick up the win.
After Kamaitachi spat in his hand to the Code of Honor in the post-match, I would like to assume that there's going to be a rematch... and that's not a bad thing at all. I just hope that O'Reilly would secure a spot higher up on these ROH cards instead of bouncing around between pointless fodder bouts and occasionally finding himself in the title picture. He's one hell of a talent and should be higher up on the card.
ACH def. "The Last Real Man" Silas Young via Midnight Star (450 Splash)
I loved the psychology in this match. Silas Young is a very underrated heel. At every opportunity he cut ACH off just as he was getting fired up to prevent ACH from using his high flying spots to the dismay of the crowd. When ACH finally got a big high flying spot off it was definitely worth the wait. I was about to get irked about Young doing a high flying spot when he's the heel but it worked out favorably because ACH cut him off instead as how the babyface should in those situations. Very well done there, ROH. Gotta appreciate the small things they do to upload the logic in professional wrestling.
Mark Briscoe def. "Mr. ROH" Roderick Strong
This match was all about Mark trying to gain Strong's respect. Going back and forth from move to move and hold for hold, this was an exciting match to from bell to bell. Sucks to see that this is Strong's last ROH match, but Strong definitely ended on a "strong" note - no pun intended. #ThankYouRoderickStrong
The Bullet Club (Adam Cole & The Young Bucks) def. Moose & War Machine w/ Matt Taven on commentary
Taven on commentary was going out of his way to verbally bury Adam Cole. That was a little odd to say they were buddies back in the Kingdom when Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis were still in ROH. I could watch War Machine lay waste to guys and toss them around like rag dolls all day. With Moose added into the mix, they had a lot of crazy spots on hand - if it wasn't enough with the Young Bucks involved - with the Bullet Club getting tossed around like ragdolls. Somehow they pulled out the win, but I have to say that now that the buzz has worn off with Adam Cole as part of the Bullet Club that it's sad to see that he's diluted his wrestling style to work with the Bullet Club. He's really selling himself short being a part of a faction/stable when he's at his best as a singles star. You'd think he would have learned that from his run in the Kingdom.
ROH Tag Team Championship Match - The Addiction (c) def. Motor City Machine Guns
As much as I love these two tag teams, I can't help but notice that this match looked VERY rehearsed. You could blindfold all four men here and they could perform this match in their sleep. The finish was rather odd but it sets up another feud and a rematch, so I can't complain too much.
Fight Without Honor - BJ Whitmer def. Steve Corino
Kevin FUCKING Sullivan... Holy shit that was awesome to see the oriignal
Architect and Taskmaster in a wrestling ring again.
Personally, I felt that the Steve Corino/BJ Whitmer feud has gone on FAR too long for my taste and I was ready for this to be over. There was a point where this got a little too gruesome for my taste - mainly because I was eating dinner at the time of this match. The second that Sullivan showed up I fucking marked out for three reasons: 1) I instantly knew what he was referring to on the MSL & Sullivan Show podcast I listen to weekly on MLW Radio 2) Recently, I became a fan of his work while revisiting 1997 WCW on the WWE Network during his noteworthy feud along with the late Chris Benoit and Woman (Nancy Benoit) vs. Jacqueline and himself. 3) This moment was reminiscent of his old satanic gimmick and I'm dying to see where they go with this. Sullivan has a great mind for this business still and he has a lot of knowledge that he could pass onto the aspiring ROH stars.
ROH Television Championship Match - Bobby Fish (c) def. Dalton Castle w/ The Boys to retain
The second I saw Dalton Castle's entrance gear I immediately pictured Captain Yesterday from Futurama. Solid match but I was little bummed that Castle didn't pick up the win. ROH is sitting on a breakout star in the flamboyant Castle and this should have been the perfect platform to bank on that popularity. I'm guessing that they are going to book a rematch down road, but I don't see how they are going to correct this missed opportunity.
ANX now known as The Cabinet
What in the blue hell was this shit? They could've given this time to the main event or the undercard instead of wasting this on a PPV. Definitely the worst thing on the show without a shadow of a doubt. I guess Caprice Coleman really doesn't know where or what he's doing with his ROH career.
Seriously, ROH, if you want to do something like this again, save it for the TV tapings later that weekend. Give this time to something more productive to show your company in a better light. Hell, give the Women of Honor a spot on the next PPV card for crying out loud. I'm dying to see the ladies get a regular spot on ROH programming than just mere eye candy. I know it had to be killing Mandy Leon to sit at ringside ALL night and just watch all of this action instead of being a part of it.
One Year in the Making: The Rematch -- ROH World Championship Match - Jay Lethal (c) w/ Taeler Hendrix def. Jay Briscoe to retain
OH MY GOD... This fucking match... I was on the edge of my seat from bell to bell. Tons of close calls and near-falls, but Lethal ultimately came out on top as the winner, continuing the single best title reign in recent memory in modern day professional wrestling. Yes, better than CM Punk's reign - suck on that WWE marks. If you ask me, the ROH World title is the most prestigious in wrestling today just from how legitimate the competition for the title is built up as a threat and how credible the title's holders have been. Only the Best in the World - pun intended there for once... - have managed to win this title and it speaks volumes in the wrestling world that it's one of the last few titles that's taken seriously at this level in a mainstream environment.
Stellar performances by both men, but the biggest takeaway from this match for me and for mainstream professional wrestling in general is the fact that ROH has proven with this year long plus title reign with Jay Lethal that you can push black/African-American wrestlers as legitimate competitors without making them into dancing goofs, walking stereotypes, or comedic entertainment. I applaud Ring of Honor, as well as Impact Wrestling, for proving this point over the last few years. WWE could definitely take note, especially with their dated mindset for booking and handling minorities (i.e. non-Caucasian/white gimmicks).
One year after their battle with the Shredder and Eric Sacks, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles still live in secret, having allowed Vern Fenwick to take the credit for Shredder's defeat. As Shredder is transferred between prisons by corrections officer Casey Jones, his Foot Clan–operating under the direction of scientist Baxter Stockman–attack the convoy transporting him. The Turtles, tipped off to the attack by April O'Neil, intervene. Stockman is still able to affect Shredder's escape using a teleportation device, but Shredder is hijacked mid-teleport and winds up in another dimension. There, the alien warlord Krang gives him a mutagenic compound in exchange for his promise to find three components of a machine Krang sent to Earth in ages past, which will open a portal to his dimension when united.
Shredder recruits two criminals that were being transported alongside him, Bebop and Rocksteady, and has Stockman use Krang's mutagen on them to transform them into powerful animal mutants. April witnesses their transformation, and is able to steal the vial of mutagen. Pursued by the Foot, she is rescued by Casey, using ice hockey gear. In the scuffle, the vial is taken into police custody. Donatello deduces that the mutagen could be used to turn the Turtles into humans, enabling them to live normal lives above ground, but Leonardo refuses and insists on keeping it a secret from the others. Michelangelo overhears their conversation and tells Raphael, leading to a fierce argument between the brothers. Furious, Raphael recruits Michelangelo, April, Casey, and Vern to break into the NYPD police headquarters and recover the mutagen. The Foot arrive ahead of them and in the ensuing battle, the Turtles' existence is revealed to the police, who react with fear and hatred. The brothers escape, but April and Casey are arrested.
With Shredder's forces having already recovered two of the pieces of the portal device, the Turtles track Bebop and Rocksteady as they recover the final piece from the Brazilian rainforest. The Turtles intercept their jet on its return journey via skydive, and although the battle crashes the jet, Bebop and Rocksteady manage to escape with the final component. The Turtles return to New York to watch as Stockman and Shredder complete the portal device and open the gateway to Krang's dimension, through which his modular war machine, the Technodrome, begins to emerge. Shredder betrays Stockman and has his men take him away, but upon entering the Technodrome, Krang betrays Shredder, freezing him and locking him away with his collection of other defeated foes.
Seeing no way to combat the Technodrome discreetly, the Turtles debate over taking the mutagen and becoming humans in order to fight openly. Though Leonardo agrees to do it, Raphael shatters the vial, realizing that they must accept themselves. Vern recovers security footage that proves Stockman and Shredder's crimes and secures April and Casey's release, allowing them to set up a meeting between the Turtles and police chief Rebecca Vincent, where they convince her that they aren't enemies. The Turtles then go into action, confronting Krang aboard the still-assembling Technodrome. Meanwhile, Casey battles Bebop and Rocksteady busy, while April and Vern defeat Shredder's lieutenant Karai and take control of the portal device. The Turtles locate the beacon around which the Technodrome is assembling and hurl it back through the portal, taking Krang and the rest of the Technodrome with it. April, Casey, and Vern then shut the portal down. As he disappears, Krang swears he will return for revenge.
The Turtles are honored by Vincent and the NYPD, along with April, Casey, and Vern, but elect to keep their existence a secret from the public at large.
The Verdict:
I'm not going to pull any punches here but the unanimous opinion here is that this film sucks, much like it's predecessor. To the film's credit, it's not that much of a chore to watch like the original. Maybe I'm not as judgmental about this film as I was about the original because I'm a little more used to how the Turtles look in this continuity. At least it doesn't look as bad as the original. It looked like Bay cleaned up the character models more than in the original film.
Casting
I honestly don't have a problem with Megan Fox as April O'Neil as the film isn't centered entirely around her this time around. I don't mind Will Arnett as Vern Fenwick either as he's one of the most entertaining things about these movies. I let it slide that Brittany Ishibashi is just THERE as Karai for the second film without any backstory or character development. But you want to know who I really hated in terms of casting? Stephen Amell as Casey Jones. I know the Olicity/Arrow fangirls will jump in to defend him but he was fucking awful in this movie from start to finish. From his surfer accent to his portrayal of the character, it was all-round bad.
At least Sheamus and Gary Anthony Williams brought a few well-needed laughs in this film as Bebop and Rocksteady. For what it was worth, I didn't mind Brad Garrett voicing Krang in this either. At first glance, the thought of Tyler Perry as Baxter Stockman is hilarious, but he totally won me over in the role by the time the credits rolled. I wouldn't mind seeing him come back to reprise the role. Brian Tee as Shredder wasn't bad either, but they didn't give him enough of a presence in this film to be seen as a threat. Shredder was reduced to what he was in the 1989 animated series - Kraang's bitch.
Narrative
This film picks up roughly a year after the original, but right off the bat, I found it a bit silly that Shredder's confinement and transportation to a prison with heavier security was delayed this long. It was even more odd that the Foot Clan took this long to devise a strategy to break him out. That being said, I enjoyed the highway scene sequence a lot. We got to see the "Party Wagon" in action, along with Raphael's motorcycle skills in action. I knew that the film would dwell into eye candy as long as Megan Fox is involved, so April O'Neil had two solo adventures of her own. One in disguise and another watching Shredder mutate Bebop and Rocksteady into his new henchmen to take out the Turtles. I could only facepalm at the ooze being able to "supposedly" unlock every human's genetic potential as an animal after exposure to it. How does that explain that it's able to turn the Turtles into humans? Ugh, Michael Bay keep it simple, man. You don't have to make this complicated like Transformers... To be fair though, Transformers' continuity was a clusterfuck LONG before he got his hands involved with making the live-action movies, so we don't have him to blame entirely for that.
My biggest complaint about action sequences in this film this time around was that the TV spots and commercials spoiled a lot of quality sequences that would have been more special if they weren't exposed prior to the screening. I loved the plot twist with Krang (or rather Kraang) betraying Shredder by freezing him and storing him into his "collection". I felt that left the door open for a full-fledged invasion from the beings from Dimension X, consisting of Krang, Shredder, and whoever else is locked up in the vault of the Technodrome. Speaking of Krang, I absolutely loved the final battle against him. I wasn't too crazy about Krang's Utrom body hanging outside of his cyborg body at times without any protection, but Bay made sure to make this battle work everyone involved.
While the subplot of the Turtles not functioning will as a team, despite being brothers, because of the discovery that the mutagen could offer them all a sense of normalcy left a lot to be desired, I felt that it still portrayed what both this film and the original TMNT did well - demostrate the Turtles' bond of family. You can say that Michael Bay ruined everything else here, but you can't deny that the bond of brotherly love is on full display here. Each of the Turtles may have their own faults individually, but together they are unstoppable. This point was proven flawless in the film's climax as the brothers put their differences aside to battle Krang himself on top of the Technodrome.
Watch It or Don't Bother?
This is the only part of the movie that I highly recommend watching was this. I won't lie... I marked out during the fight with Krang.
Outside of this, I highly suggest that most don't bother. This will be out on DVD or on television for free in no time at all. That being said, I'm not opposed to taking my younger nieces and nephew to see this. The kids would eat this up and would be begging for the toys afterwards. When they get older, they will be just like most adolescents like myself watching this going, "Why did I even bother?"
I know I'm the last person to comment on this, but I'm slowly getting around to watching some of MANY videos and trailers from E3 last week. One thing right off the bat I have to comment on is that I LOVE how NetherRealms finally took DC Comics out of the dark and introduced them to the brilliance of color like Capcom did with Marvel Comics in their Marvel vs. Capcom crossover games. The overuse of grey and black in the last game was absolutely horrible. I can tell that they had more time to detail and render much better character models this time around and to say this is the first playable build, it looks a LOT better than the first game did graphically.
I don't know what to think about the Gear System (that shit where the costumes morph/evolve) after every battle, but it's cool to hear that they already are promising a tournament standard for those who want to opt out of that. Yes, don't make the same mistake that Namco Bandai did with Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and made customization items legal in Ranked Matches. Ugh... (shakes head)
So we can count on Supergirl, Atrocitus, Gorilla Grodd, and was that Black Manta I spotted beating the shit out of Aquaman at one point? I really hope they have a better imagination in terms of roster this time around instead of going for 60-70% of the playable roster being Batman villains and affiliations. In terms of story, they got at least five "years" of the graphic novels/comic books to pull from so they have more than enough material to work with from the events in that story.
Did anyone spot that Batman uses a chunk of kryptonite for his launcher move to trigger the stage transition? I hope they have a lot of them this time around instead of the same few that will get repetitive after the first few times.
After seeing some of the gameplay footage from full matches at E3, I REALLY hope NetherRealms takes out that crap from the end of rounds where your opponent flops around on the floor after their health bar is depleted. That looks so fucking stupid. It looked bad in the first game and it still looks bad here.
WWE Money in the Bank (2016) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and WWE Network event produced by WWE. It took place on June 19, 2016 at the T-Mobile Arena in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada. It was the seventh event under the Money in the Bank chronology.
Preshow: Lucha Dragons def. The Dudley Boys and Golden Truth def. Breezango
I honestly didn't bother to watch these two matches, but it's an absolute travesty to see a legendary tag team as the Dudley Boys reduced to performing on the preshow of all places on a PPV card. Even TNA held them in higher regard than this. After seeing the photos of Breeze and Fandango's "ruined suntan", I'm glad I didn't bother to tune into that crap.
Fatal 4 Way Match for WWE Tag Team Championship - The New Day (c) def. The Club, Enzo & Cass, and The Vaudevillains
Seriously, what the fuck was this shit? I was okay with the match for the most part but the Four Corners style bout didn't do any of these teams any favors. What could have been a stand-out performance for the WWE Tag Team division turned into a clusterfuck of confusion. What stood out the most was the tons of miscues in this match, especially at the finish where Gallows just stood there and WATCHED Big E pick up Anderson and tag to Kofi Kingston for the win.
I don't agree with New Day pinning one of the members of the Club to retain here. If they are trying to continue the Club/New Day feud, then that was a bad way to go forward, especially for a new team fresh on the radar. I guess they want to go with Enzo & Cass against New Day since Enzo can keep up on the mic, but I wouldn't chop the Club's legs off this early into the game. It's already bad enough that they verbally and physically bury the Vaudevillains at every opportunity.
Baron Corbin def. Dolph Ziggler
And no one cared. My god why is this feud still a thing? Does anyone even care about this shit anymore? It's only hurting Ziggler even more after that angle with Lana, Rusev, and Summer did - if that's even possible.
Corbin's turning into the new bathroom break instead of the Divas.
I don't want to knock Ziggler and Corbin as they were really trying to turn this around from being a stinker but it was hard to care here. Both of these guys need different dancing partners at this rate.
Tag Team Match - WWE Women's Champion Charlotte & Dana Brooke def. Natalya & Becky Lynch
Horrible. I feel bad writing that as Becky and Nattie were killing it in the first half, but Charlotte and Dana's inexperience was dragging this match down like a brick in water.
Miscues and botches seems to be the theme of the night so far, but that's not the thing that people are going to be talking about after this match. It's going to be Nattie's heel turn post-match that saw her lay out Becky. I honestly thought that Becky would have been the one to go heel at this point after the frustrations from all of her shortcomings, but I'll take this change to Nattie's stagnant character if it amounts to something positive for Nattie's career at this stage.
Apollo Crews def. Sheamus
I can't believe it didn't dawn on me until now that this feud is a direct rehash of the Lashley and Finlay feud from about seven to eight years ago. It was bad then and it really doesn't work now. Personally, I can only see the subtle racism here as Crews has to fight the "Great White"... Yeah, let that soak in for a second.
It was in bad taste to see Sheamus and Crews recycle the same top rope Celtic Cross spot that Drew Galloway and Lashley used on Impact Wrestling this past week, only to end the match with a fucking roll-up. Crews is better than that shit. I hope they give Apollo Crews something to do from here other than smiling to the ring and just being happy to be here.
AJ Styles def. John Cena
Best match of the night to this point... until the finish. They just had to do a referee bump to usher in Gallows and Anderson to lay out Cena to "allow" Styles to win. I don't give a flying fuck about people trying to act like it doesn't matter how heels win as long as they win. These were the SAME people who were complaining about how weak Seth Rollins looked last year during his title reign. It's the same principle here. How can AJ Styles establish any footing on his own two feet without having to resort to having the Club save his bacon every time? It's just making him look like he's all hype and nothing on his own - especially to those who haven't followed his career from Ring of Honor, TNA/Impact Wrestling and New Japan.
You know there's going to be a rematch, but I implore WWE to take careful consideration of how they book AJ Styles going forward.
One more thing to think about... They let a fat ass like Kevin Owens beat John Cena CLEAN in his first bout against him, but AJ Styles can't get the job done? Go home, WWE, you're drunk.
Dean Ambrose wins the Money in the Bank Ladder Match
I wasn't crazy about this not opening the show, but after just about all of the botches and piss poor finishes prior to this I can see why they saved it for later into the card. These six men put on one hell of a show to entertain us in this one but that didn't stop me from cringing at some of crazy spots and nasty landings in this match. WWE, these are six of your best hands to go into the main event circle as needed and you don't need to be putting their health into jeopardy here.
Sami Zayn finally gets some payback on Owens after that Package Piledriver on a ladder back from their ROH days.
I hope ADR is alright after taking that nasty spill onto the ropes towards the end of the match.
United States Championship Match - Rusev (c) w/ Lana def. Titus O'Neil
Really, who expected any other outcome? This was just the cooldown match before the main event. I thought WWE were just tossing more salt into the open wound of Titus' defeat with his kids in the front row to watch their dad lose... on FATHER'S DAY. C'mon...
Plus, I was a little mad that this match didn't have enough Lana shots at ringside during this match...
WWE Championship Match - Seth Rollins def. Roman Reigns (c)
People were acting like we haven't seen this match before and to be quite honest, I wasn't thrilled for it post-WrestleMania 31 and I really didn't care to see it rehashed here. Much like Corbin and Ziggler, they tried to keep people interested here, but at least both guys here can garner a much better reaction from the crowd. This seemed more like Rollins testing the waters to see what he's able to do again now that he's back in the grind since returning from injury.
Dean Ambrose cashes in the Money in the Bank Contract
After Ambrose won earlier that night, I knew this was going to be the outcome. WWE wants the most profitable main event for the next few PPVs before or after the upcoming draft - a triple threat between the former Shield stable members. Ambrose was the last hold out among the Shield boys to get a taste of the gold, so I'm fine with him getting a chance to bask in glory. It's just make it or break it time for Ambrose as I seriously doubt WWE would give him another top spot like this if it doesn't pan out.
I remember seeing people butthurt on social media when I tweeted that after the PPV and my thing is this. You all know how WWE is on their iffy booking and how they play favorites instead of listening to fans, so they aren't going to care if they don't like Ambrose and want to continue pushing Rollins and Reigns as their top guys instead. If you go back to the end of the MITB Ladder Match AND the cash in, there were people shaking their heads when Ambrose won the briefcase and it took a while for the crowd to warm up when he won the title after the cash-in. It's going to take more than just one Vegas crowd to sell this title reign. I'm not knocking Ambrose as I'm firmly behind him getting a push, it's just that WWE hasn't done anything up to this point to prepare him for this role or convince the masses that he's ready for this spot long-term.
Unlike everyone else, I'm not tossing babies in the air and saying that this was the best WWE PPV of the Year. I will acknowledge that there were some great booking decisions on this show to set up things going forward, but I'm not overlooking the overwhelming amount of fuck-ups by talents on the early half of the show and the lackluster undercard matches. I'm not giving WWE a free pass to keep booking everyone except the main eventers poorly.
Additionally, Hugh Jackman makes an uncredited appearance as Logan / Wolverine, in his Weapon X form. Tómas Lemarquis portrays Caliban, a mutant with the ability to sense and track other mutants. X-Men co-creator Stan Lee and his wife Joanie Lee make a cameo appearance together, in a more serious role than any of Lee's previous cameos, as bystanders witnessing the launch of nuclear missiles worldwide. The Blob makes an appearance in the film as Angel's opponent in an underground fight club, portrayed by wrestler "Giant" Gustav Claude Ouimet. Carolina Bartczak and T.J. McGibbon portray Magneto's wife Magda and daughter Nina respectively. Archive footage was used of Caleb Landry Jones, Éva Magyar, Georg Nikoloff, and Bill Milner as Sean Cassidy / Banshee, Erik's parents Edie Lehnsherr and Mr. Lehnsherr, and young Erik respectively. Alison Baire / Dazzler makes a brief cameo appearance on a record album which Jean and Scott are shown holding at a music store. Kinberg confirmed that the after-credits scene mentioning Essex Corporation by name will affect and set up the upcoming Wolverine sequel, as well as Gambit, and the next X-Men film following those.
The Plot: (FULL Spoilers)
En Sabah Nur, a powerful mutant believed to be the first of his kind, rules ancient Egypt until he is betrayed by his worshippers, who entomb him alive. His four lieutenants die preserving him.
En Sabah Nur awakens in 1983, and believes humanity has lost its way, without his presence. He decides to destroy the world and remake it. He recruits Cairo pickpocket Ororo Munroe, who can control weather, and upgrades her power.
In East Berlin, shape-shifting mutant Raven investigates an underground fight club and discovers mutant champion Angel, who possesses a pair of large feathered wings on his back, and Kurt Wagner, who can teleport. Raven rescues Kurt and employs the services of black marketeer Caliban to safely transport him to the United States. En Sabah Nur recruits Caliban's enforcer Psylocke, who leads him to Angel. En Sabah Nur enhances both their powers, transforming Angel's wings into metal.
Alex Summers discovers that his younger brother, Scott, is manifesting his mutation for shooting optic beams. Alex takes Scott toProfessor Charles Xavier's educational institute in Westchester County, New York in hopes that Xavier and Hank McCoy will teach him how to control his abilities. Scott meets the telepathic and telekinetic Jean Grey, and the two develop an attraction. Raven brings Kurt to the institute, and informs Xavier about Erik as she learned about his attack in Caliban's hideout. En Sabah Nur's powers cause disturbances around the world, leading Xavier and Alex to consult with CIA agent Moira MacTaggert, who has been researching the legend of Nur.
In Poland, the metal-controlling mutant Erik Lehnsherr lives with his wife and young daughter, Nina. He uses his powers to save a coworker, prompting policemen to come capture him. When the policemen accidentally kill Erik's family, he retaliates by murdering all the policemen. En Sabah Nur later approaches the disheartened Erik and takes him to Auschwitz, where Erik's power first manifested. Erik destroys the camp and joins En Sabah Nur.
En Sabah Nur hacks into Xavier's mind while Xavier is using the mutant-locating computer Cerebro, and co-opts Xavier's powers to force all global superpowers to launch Earth's entire nuclear arsenal into space to prevent interference. En Sabah Nur and his lieutenants arrive at the mansion and kidnap Xavier. Attempting to stop them, Alex accidentally causes an explosion that destroys the mansion. Peter Maximoff – having learned that he is Erik's son, and hoping that Xavier can help to find him – arrives in time to use his super-speed to evacuate the students from the mansion, but Alex is presumed dead as he was closest to the blast. Colonel William Stryker's forces subsequently arrest Hank, Raven, Peter, and Moira, and take them to a military facility for interrogation. Scott, Jean and Kurt covertly follow and liberate their comrades with help from Stryker's mind-controlled and brainwashed experiment, Weapon X, whose memories Jean partially restores.
At En Sabah Nur's behest, Erik uses his powers to control Earth's magnetic poles, causing widespread destruction across the planet and mass casualties. Nur plans to transfer his consciousness into Xavier's body and use Xavier's telepathy to recruit all mutants into his army. Xavier secretly sends a telepathic distress call to Jean, and the others travel to Cairo to battle Nur and his lieutenants. They rescue Xavier, but Xavier loses his hair as the process was nearing completion. Angel is defeated and incapacitated in the battle. Erik and Ororo are convinced to turn on En Sabah, keeping him occupied physically while Xavier fights him telepathically in the astral plane. Finally, Xavier pleads Jean to unleash the full extent of her powers and appears to disintegrate Nur to death. In the ensuing chaos, Psylocke flees from the destruction.
In the aftermath, Xavier and Moira begin a relationship, while Erik and Jean help reconstruct the school, but Erik turns down Xavier's offer to stay and help teach. Under Raven and Hank's tutelage, Scott, Jean, Ororo, Kurt, and Peter become the new X-Men and train for the battles ahead.
In a post-credits scene, the Weapon X facility is visited by suited men retrieving data on Stryker's mutant research, including an X-Ray and a blood sample marked "Weapon X", on behalf of the Essex Corporation.
The Verdict:
I said this on Facebook about two weeks ago, but I feel the same way about this film like I did about the X-Men: Evolution cartoon. In both cases, the creator(s) took a popular concept, bastardized it to their own machinations but in the end, it produces mixed reactions with some things that people will absolutely adore, others people will loathe, and things that fans and critics alike will unanimously agree that was fucking stupid.
Casting
Jennifer Lawrence has to be fed up of putting on the Mystique body paint as you can count on one hand how many times she actually appeared in this film with it on her entire body. She was in this movie under her "normal" guise than her natural appearance and that really soured the vibe of the film for me for the most part, especially she was the main one preaching about mutants should be accepted for who and what they are. Low and behold, Mystique's the one not being herself for the duration of this film. Ironic, huh?
James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are staples at this point as Charles Xavier and Magneto; no complaints there. Lucas Till comes back just to get killed off in this continuity as Havok without even really putting up a fight. Nicholas Hoult is just there - just like he was in Days of Future Past but with little more character development as his character urges Lawrence's Mystique to embrace the role as instructor for this new class of X-Men. Rose Byrne returns from First Class reprising her role as Moira MacTaggert. Much like Hoult, she's just here for the ride among her mutant co-stars.
Alexandra Shipp as Storm was easily forgettable, but she was okay with the few lines that she was given in this film. I guess we'll see what she is capable of in the inevitable sequel. To be honest, Halle Berry didn't set any high standards for playing Storm, so to her credit, Shipp didn't have much to go on here.
As for the rest of the newcomers, I felt that they pulled their weight for the most for what they were given - more or less for the new members of the X-Men and the Four Horsemen/villains. For one film, they really weren't given much to work with here, much like Hoult was in Days of Future Past. Sophie Turner (Jean Grey/Phoenix) was the standout among the newcomers, while Tye Sheridan (Scott Summers/Cyclops) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler) weren't bad either. Seriously, what was the point of casting Jubilee in this movie? Lana Condor was just there to collect a check for no reason.
That being said, it was worth to have her around for that single best line of the entire movie concerning how the third movie is always the worst one in a trilogy, which ironically sums up this movie in a nutshell.
Narrative
I think the biggest thing against this film in terms of its narrative is that Apocalypse's plan wasn't even really that catastrophic. Compared to what the character is known for in the comic book continuity, the villain came across lower on the totem pole than one of the villains on an episode of Superfriends. Hell, it's even as absurd as Gorilla Grodd's master plan here...
Off-topic, I know but I wanted to get a laugh in the middle of this review.
Seriously though, I don't get what was the deal with Magneto's "family" in this. Was the girl supposed to be Scarlet Witch? And what happened to Quicksilver's kid sister that he was holding during the final moments of Days of Future Past?
To the people complaining about Storm's mohawk... Clearly, Cyclops bondage fetish
outfit is a LOT worse than Storm's haircut so get over yourselves...
I found it a little silly for Apocalypse to be recruiting mutants and "unlocking" their full potential like he was some crazy hybrid of the Pied Piper and Guru from Dragon Ball Z. His "enhancements" aren't even really improvements. It's just stuff that those mutants would have learned on their own over time anyway. He was merely speeding up the process. Magneto had to be a colossal dumb ass if he didn't consider tapping into the Earth's poles to control the planet's natural magnetism. The film doesn't give a clear clarification on exactly what is his powers. They just throw a lame duck excuse that he's got a collection of powers from all of the mutants that he has encountered in his past. This brings up another plot hole as Apocalypse has been in "hibernation" for centuries, so when did he have time to pick up more abilities when even his original Four Horsemen couldn't keep themselves alive?
Remember that teaser trailer for this movie at the end of Days of Future Past? En Sabah Nur is shown as child - HUGE continuity error there. To be honest, that's the theme of this movie - continuity errors galore to say they went out of their way to fix all of that in the previous film.
Why doesn't she just make a hurricane and just throw Cyclops into the next state?
I know that a lot of my friends had an issue with how Storm was portrayed in this movie. I didn't have a problem with the actress they went with here. I didn't even have a problem that they went with the "mohawk" look for Storm in this - much to chagrin to many fans. That really didn't bother me as they went with just about every Storm hairstyle BUT that in these films, so it was about time in my honest opinion. If you didn't like it, get over yourselves as it's part of the characters' history if you can even call yourselves fans of the character. My issue with Storm in this movie was the fact that they gave Professor Charles Xavier and the Shadow King's role in her origin to Apocalypse. She was born with snow white hair, so I don't know what they were thinking with Apocalypse "unlocking" that potential of her powers. Here's how absurd the battle with the Four Horsemen was. Storm could have - no, should have been able to deal with everyone on her own outside of maybe Jean Grey and Nightcrawler. I guess Apocalypse didn't teach them any imagination to go with those fancy upgrades to their powers. Nine movies in and Bryan Singer is still just looking at comic book covers instead of actually reading them before making these movies.
I wonder how much of her so-called "training" took her to do that...
Another offender to fucking storylines and origin stories up was with Psylocke. I literally busted out laughing in the movie theater that Olivia Munn calls herself a geek/nerd and signed off to this role yet didn't point out that it's not even remotely close nor accurate outside of her costume. Psylocke's base powers couldn't even utilize the "psychic knife" and she didn't even develop the "psychic sword" until a few decades later in the comics continuity. It wasn't until after her mind was transferred into the assassin, Kwannon's body was until she learned the new applications for her powers. Maybe I'm being too hard on Singer and he possibly wrote this so that Psylocke's already at that point - BUT Psylocke shows like no telepathic abilities here.
What was even more strange with Psylocke's backstory in this film is that she's working for Caliban, who is pretty much is trafficking mutants for profit, but Caliban ends up being one of Apocalypse's minions in the comics continuity. I don't understand why Apocalypse does not recruit this guy who could find even more powerful mutants
I have focused on a lot of negatives so far, but let's focus on a few positives.
Quicksilver has hands-down one of the best sequences in the entire movie where he evacuates the entire X-Mansion to the sound of "Sweet Dreams" after Havok's misfire blows up the entire mansion after Professor Xavier is kidnapped by Apocalypse and his Four Horsemen. I wouldn't mind seeing the film again in 3D just to see that sequence in all of its glory. Quicksilver's other great moment was fighting Apocalypse one-on-one in slow motion.
About time we get the proper "Weapon X" in a X-Men movie...
A few minutes of runtime after the first Quicksilver sequence, we FINALLY get to see Wolverine cutting loose in a berserker rage in the Weapon X facility, in his full Weapon X garb. I'm surprised it took Singer NINE movies to get this into one of these movies. I thought for sure it would have been in either X2: X-Men United or X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but nope. Better late than never I guess.
While we're on the subject of Weapon X, how the fuck did William Stryker get Wolverine? At the end of Days of Future Past, it was Mystique posing as him, so what, did Singer forget he left that in there? Goddamn this movie and it's plot holes and continuity errors... I'm not even going to bother to figure out where Stryker went to during Wolverine's murderous rampage. Couldn't he just pulled out another one of those adamantium bullets and blast him with that again like in X-Men Origins: Wolverine or is he not old nor smart enough to think of that yet?
Holy cow... I couldn't believe that they introduced the Mindscape/Astral Plane in this continuity. When they went there, I KNEW they were going to let Jean beat Apocalypse with the Phoenix. That was so obvious to see coming that even Ray Charles could see it. It was even worse that the TV spots for the film spoiled that less than 24 hours before the theatrical N. America release to say that was the finish of the entire damn movie. After spoiling that and Weapon X's appearance, I don't see why else people would go see this in theaters unless you're a really hardcore X-Men fan.
The final moments of the climatic battle against Apocalypse made me think of Dragon Ball Z yet again though. Remember when Perfect Cell is holding off ALL of the Z fighters while keeping his focus on Gohan and the Final Kamehameha? That's EXACTLY what I was thinking of when Apocalypse was able to hold off attacks from Cyclops and Magneto simultaneously while fighting with Charles Xavier in the Mindscape. Charles' "Unleash your power!!" line was essentially the same trigger as Goku's "Now's your chance!!" to Gohan to deliver the final attack.
All jokes aside, I enjoyed that part of the final confrontation more than anything else from Apocalypse and his Four Horsemen. It's one of those rare moments that we see the X-Men doing what Charles Xavier has envisioned - mutantkind working together for the greater good. About time Singer got that right instead of one mutant (namely Wolverine) hogging all of the glory. I can applaud Singer for getting that right for once. Jean Grey/Phoenix may have dealt the fatal blow, but it was a combined effort to take Apocalypse down by the X-Men together.
Nightcrawler, Storm, Cyclops, Jean Grey/Phoenix, and Quicksilver with Mystique
and Professor Xavier in the background.
I felt the film ended on a strong note too, with this newly formed team of X-Men (Cyclops, Marvel Girl/Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Storm, Quicksilver) training in the Danger Room with Beast and Mystique acting as instructors - even though that's so odd to see Mystique as an instructor. Then again, stranger things have happened in the X-Men universe, Lady Deathstrike and Juggernaut were briefly members at one point, so anything is possible at this point. The film ends with the team getting ready to square off in a simulation against a squadron of Sentinels - the same models from Days of Future Past. I wish Singer would quit teasing this and finally do it in a future film. Days of Future Past doesn't count as those "Sentinels" were barely passable as such. Those were more closer to Nimrod or a Super-Adaptoid than anything else. I applauded for the proper costumes for once. Once again - it took Singer NINE movies to get the costumes right?
Controversy
Bad product placement there, FOX...
I agree that it was in bad taste to post ads for the film with a guy strangling a woman, but the reaction to it was a bit much in my honest opinion. People were acting like it was plastered in every location like this but the ads and posters I saw for the movie locally had the group images of the X-Men and villains, so I guess that was just a regional thing. Someone in advertising definitely needed to be fired over that one.
Seeing Rose McGowan pointing it out just screamed that she wanted to be relevant again or just was jealous that she wasn't having kinky submissive foreplay with Marilyn Manson...
Where do we go from here?
The post-credits teaser shows the Essex Corporation taking samples of Weapon X's blood. For those who don't know, Essex Corp obviously points to Nathaniel Essex aka Mr. Sinister. I'm guessing that Sinister ends up creating X-23. I'm not sure whether they plan on telling this story in the "final" Wolverine film or saving it for whatever is the next X-Men sequel, but I'm actually intrigued to see how they would pull off Mr. Sinister in this continuity. That's a character that it would take a LOT to mess up, even for Bryan Singer, so I have faith in that debut for once.
If Old Man Logan is truly the "last" Wolverine tale for Hugh Jackman then I'm completely fine with a reasonable adaptation of that story for Laura Kinney/X-23 to take over from there as Wolverine until Singer recasts the character. If they don't go with that story, I wouldn't mind them adapting a mock version of the Death of Wolverine storyline to give Hugh Jackman his last hurrah as the character.
Watch It or Don't Bother?
If you have kept up with this franchise up to this point, you might as well watch this one. Everyone else? Save your money and don't bother. This film has essentially no character development following Days of Future Past and just revisits familiar territory from previous MUCH better movies in this franchise. The few good scenes (Weapon X's slaughtering soldiers in the Weapon X facility, Quicksilver's awesomeness, Jean Grey channeling the Phoenix Force briefly, and this team of "New X-Men" squaring off in the Danger Room against Sentinels) from this film will more likely be ripped and uploaded to YouTube a few weeks anyway.
It's a far cry from being the "worst" X-Men movie, but after the good note this series ended on after Days of Future Past, most are better off skipping this outing altogether.
Slammiversary (2016) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). It took place on June 12 at the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the twelfth event under the Slammiversary chronology and the first event in the 2016 TNA PPV schedule.
Fatal 4 Way for X-Division Championship - Eddie Edwards def. Trevor Lee (c) vs. DJ Z and Andrew Everett to become NEW X-Division Champion
Amazing match to kick off this PPV event. I thought it was a nice touch to eject Gregory Helms from ringside too. About time that they let Everett and Trevor Lee stand on their own two feet, even though Helms looked like a Bond villain in his snazzy new suit.
The Tribunal (w/ Al Snow) def. Grado & Shera
This was just horrible from start to finish. I feel bad that the Legionnaires left NXT from one stupid storyline/angle to come to TNA in another. I wish they would do something more with Shera than him being a dancing goof. Grado showed promise in X-Division, why not have him go back to that? I can say the same about Rockstar Spud as well...
Also, can someone take that whistle away from Al Snow? Then again, I rather hear that instead of Allie's high pitched wailing and screaming at ringside...
Maria Kanellis vs. Gail Kim
Speak of the devil... here comes Allie with her high pitched shrieking at ringside during the next match. Sucks to see this match cancelled at the last second, but Billy Corgan made a nice save as the on-screen authority figure here to assess the situation by adding Gail Kim into the Knockouts title match.
Triple Threat Match for Knockouts Championship Match - Sienna def. Jade (c) and Gail Kim to become NEW Knockouts Champion
I felt a little bad for the ladies here because the crowd wasn't really into the match. Here's the thing. TNA Knockouts have ALWAYS put on acceptable matches; long before they signed women like Paige and the Forse Horsewomen and WWE started their "so-called" Divas Revolution. It's just that their crowds are conditioned to their women's matches not being the bathroom breaks of the night. This wasn't a bad match by any margin - it just lacked the crowd being hyped for it.
I think after the X-Division opener then with the crap that followed next, they didn't really perk back up yet to the wrestlers.
I was fine with the finish that saw Marti Bell (I laughed when a lot of people on social media thought she was Layla during the live broadcast...) screw Jade out of the win for Sienna to pick up the gold. It does two things simultaneously. One, Maria Kanellis' faction with Allie and Sienna has all of the power in the Knockouts division going forward
James Storm def. Braxton Sutter (Pepper Parks)
Not a bad match, especially with the emotional journey of Pepper Parks, now Braxton Sutter, coming to TNA. Pretty cool factoid to know that James Storm has worked ALL 14 Slammiversary events in TNA history. That being said, I didn't agree with Storm getting the win here. Given the build-up of Sutter, you'd think that he would get an emotional first "big" win of his TNA career tonight, but nope. This was over a bit too quick for my taste. They should've taken time from that horrible Grado/Shera vs. Tribunal match and gave it to these guys.
TNA Tag Team Championship Match - The Decay (c) def. BroMans (w/ Raquel)
There were lots of false finishes in this one to get the blood flowing back into this crowd to bring them back to life. I was ready to get salty the second it looked like the BroMans were about to win. FAR too soon for the Decay to be losing to anyone for the tag titles right now in my honest opinion. Plus, Raquel needs to educate her "boys" some more. I'm sure there's a lot more lessons she can teach them before they find success at the top of the division again.
Speaking of which, I wasn't too crazy about the finish as it really didn't make sense. Raquel attacked Rosemary (I dug that because it's good to start setting up more new Knockouts feuds as Gail Kim can't hold this thing together forever... On top of that, how many high profile feuds does she really have left is a better question...) then Robbie E and Crazzy Steve pulled their own girls off of each other, only for Rosemary to run back around and distract him AGAIN to allow Abyss to make the finish. I was left scratching my head on that one even though I was happy that the Decay retained the gold.
Full Metal Mayhem - Jeff Hardy def. Matt Hardy
I got to give the Hardy Boys credit. It's 2016 and they are STILL cooking up new crazy spots in TLC/Full Metal Mayhem matches.
"I haven't seen a man more psychotic than Matt Hardy..." A direct quote by Josh Matthews during this match. Obviously he hasn't been paying much attention to the Decay lately...
That spot with the keyboard was fucking stupid though. It looked like it bashed Jeff in the face upon impact (no pun intended). Jeff is lucky that thing didn't knock his teeth out.
I lost count somewhere within the middle of the match but Jeff had to have hit Matt with at least 4-6 Twists of Fate and about 3 Swanton Bombs. Good grief, man.
I don't see how they can keep this feud going from here. Jeff has "killed" Matt like twice now.
EC3 def. Mike Bennett
If you don't see nor realize that EC3 is TNA's biggest star right now, then you're crazy. The crowd turns into Full Sail for NXT when his music hits. This match was a little underwhelming for me. Outside of the numerous near-falls and brawling out of the ring, it was a pretty standard match that could have been on Impact on the weeks leading up to this. I was expecting a lot more in terms of the finish, especially after what Bennett took away from EC3 in terms of his "undefeated" streak.
Sue me. I was expecting something more here to say that they were keeping this feud pretty intense until now and it ends as a pretty standard fair match? Just seemed like a missed opportunity to me.
TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match (Submission/Knockout to win) - Bobby Lashley def. Drew Galloway (c) to become the NEW World Heavyweight Champion
I honestly busted out laughing when Galloway hit the Claymore as soon as the bell rung. I thought it was going to be over that quick. Fortunately, I was wrong and man, they made that one worth the wait. They definitely had me on the edge of my seat as I had no idea who was going to come out as the winner with so many near-falls and false finishes.
I wish Lashley would lose the headband. He looks like the ultimate douchebag wearing that in a wrestling match. That's something you see guys in the NBA wearing not pro wrestlers. (Shrugs) Maybe he should keep it. It's adding to his heel heat as I'm definitely not alone in hating that fashion accessory.
I feel that the loss here doesn't hurt Drew Galloway as it gives him the opportunity to be in the chase yet again. A rising star like Galloway needs more obstacles in his way to challenge him and allow him to grow into an even better wrestler and major player for the promotion.
That being said, this was a fairly decent event, with just about every match other than the Grado/Shera vs Tribunal match being worth the watch. Regardless, I'm sure the TNA haters will find something to complain about here. There's enough to go forward with and build towards future events throughout 2016.
Impact Wrestling (LIVE!! June 14, 2016)
I didn't catch the "live" broadcast since I was napping after work Tuesday evening, but I heard about the technical difficulties that Pop TV had that caused the show to be postponed for over 45 minutes. That wasn't TNA's fault at all, but sucks all round since this was Gold Rush night, which wasn't a bad night of Impact at all.
Bobby Lashley opens the show with a heel promo, rubbing salt into the wound that he dethroned Drew Galloway and reclaimed the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. I can dig this Lashley. More of this PLEASE, TNA. I was skeptical at first, but I can dig Lashley in this position as the top monster powerhouse heel. EC3 and Galloway were quick to name themselves as challengers, but Galloway was the one who won out on that vie for the title match by cashing in his rematch clause.
I dunno about that as they could have saved that for the next PPV. I wouldn't mind EC3 getting another run with the gold if it ends up with Mike Bennett scratching and crawling his way up to that position like EC3 did during his "campaign".
King of the Mountain Championship Match - Eli Drake (c) def. Jeff Hardy
I don't know why they just don't call the KOTM title the TV title again. That's all what it is now as they essentially don't defend the match in a KOTM match for every title defense. Either way, I won't lie - I was half-asleep during this match until the finish that saw Matt Hardy screw Jeff Hardy out of the win for Drake to retain.
Matt Hardy confronts "Brother Nero"
I said this on Twitter last night too, but Reby's boobs are the biggest stars of this feud. I don't see how Matt is still "disturbed" and "crazy" when he has a hottie like that to go home to. In either case, this confrontation sets up the Hardy Boys' match in a Steel Cage Match next week on Impact. I don't see how they are going to top some of the other crazy spots in this feud other than Jeff taking another one of those scary cage dive/falling spots.
X-Division Championship Match - Eddie Edwards (c) def. Trevor Lee
This was a far cry from the match from Slammiversary as Gregory Helms was back at ringside and there was more focus on him trying to screw Edwards out of the title instead of focusing on Trevor Lee's athleticism. As much as I like the Helms Dynasty, Helms is holding Lee back in a sense. Helms should just sit back and let his boys handle their business on their own.
The BroMans Discuss Their Hidden Cameras
I don't blame them at all. I would be all over spying on Raquel. If she's their "trainer" why don't they just ask her to let them hit that? I mean, c'mon now. She has to be interested if she approached them to help them out.
Dixie Carter Announces Gail Kim as the newest member of the TNA Hall of Fame
(Stands up and applauds) This was LONG overdue, in my opinion. I know many say AJ Styles, Kazarian, Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, James Storm, Bobby Roode, and so many TNA Originals deserve it more, but where are they now? They couldn't give a flying fuck about TNA right now, so let Gail Kim enjoy this. She's been a company loyalist since returning after her "failed" WWE return and there's no denying her impact on the Knockouts division as well as women's wrestling in mainstream wrestling as a whole. Gail Kim is the woman to beat when it comes to women's wrestling in mainstream wrestling. WWE wouldn't have batted another eye at taking their women's division(s) seriously until Gail Kim and the other Knockouts showed that women's wrestling can be a top draw instead of a bathroom break.
Jeremy Borash interviews Marti Bell for her actions at Slammiversary
I don't mind them taking Marti in a new direction finally. They should've dropped the Dollhouse thing earlier than they did anyway. That stable stayed around well over it's welcome. I'm just happy to see that TNA is back to creating multiple Knockout feuds like they used to back when the division was new instead of focusing on 1-2 women at a time. Don't make the same mistakes that WWE are doing with their women's division.
Fatal 4 Way Match for TNA Tag Team Championship - The Decay (c) def. The Tribunal (w/ Al Snow), BroMans (w/ Raquel) and Grado & Shera
Can someone take that whistle and shove that shit up Al Snow's ass? He's about as annoying as Xavier Woods playing a trombone at ringside. This wasn't as long as the tag team matches on Slammiversary but it worked for what it was worth. With these three teams being the only competition for the Decay, then they don't have to worry about losing the gold before Davey Richards comes back from injury to reunite the Wolves. Goddamn, it's still not as bad as the WWE Tag Team landscape before they signed Gallows and Anderson...
I hope TNA signs a new tag team or injects some new blood into this division. The BroMans with Raquel are decent and all but I can't see them in the chase for the long term of the division.
Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis Express Their Distaste Over Recent Events
This felt a little too much like a wannabe shoot at one point and dragged on longer than it should have, but that slap from Dixie to Maria was LONG overdue. I'm fine with this as long as Dixie doesn't turn into the Stephanie McMahon of TNA where she doesn't put anyone over and chops the legs out underneath from every promising rising star.
I'm anxious to see where they take this as they need to keep pushing BOTH Bennett and Maria in their respective divisions.
TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match (Slammiversary Rematch) - Lashley (c) def. Drew Galloway
The top rope Celtic Cross was a sweet spot along with the exchange that included the Claymore into a ref bump and the pending Spear(s) from Lashley to end it. EC3 getting involved was a nice touch (although VERY predictable) and it sets up a potential triple threat down the road. The repeated Spears on Lashley on Galloway just added to Lashley's mean streak and sheer brutality,
Afterthoughts
It was unfortunate that Pop TV ran into some technical difficulties, especially right after TNA were trying to pick up momentum fresh off a solid PPV outing. Slammiversary wasn't bad at all outside of one match that I mentioned above, but it's going to be a hard sell to get more eyes on their product after Tuesday night's fiasco.
TNA is on the right track if the rumors about Billy Corgan taking more control of the company while Dixie Carter is quietly pushed into the background, despite remaining as an on-air authority figure when needed. I think they need to really focus on elevating the Knockouts, Tag Team, and main event divisions properly and people will definitely begin to care again. The talent has always been there - just need better direction. Since their rebirth on Pop TV, TNA has been putting on much better events than they were on their last lingering months on Spike TV and Destination America. I just wonder if they are going to maintain that time slot after July once WWE Smackdown! goes live on Tuesdays. I highly suggest TNA take the 9PM slot on Wednesdays after Lucha Underground and WWE NXT's new episodes or settle for Thursdays back in Smackdown's old time slot.
NXT TakeOver: The End was a professional wrestling show in the NXT TakeOver series that took place on June 8, 2016. It was produced by WWE, showcasing its NXT division, and stream live on the WWE Network. It took place in the Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.
You'd think he would finish the match with this but nope...
This is La Sombra's Takeover (debut), but this isn't my first time seeing him wrestle for the NXT brand. He's been wrestling live events, including the NXT Columbia event I went to shortly after Takeover: Dallas. At that event, he faced off against Nakamura and I was hoping they would put him in a program with Nakamura. This isn't a bad alternative as Dillinger is a strong hand on the roster. That being said, I'm honestly sick of NXT just using Dillinger as a strong hand instead of pushing this guy. He's obviously talented and the WWE Universe are behind the guy so why not give him a chance to see what he can do with a push? I don't have a problem with La Sombra (get used to me calling him that until I get used to his WWE name...) taking the win here, but goddamn that finish was lame to say this opening match was decent for the most part.
One more thing I have to add is that BOTH Dillinger and La Sombra's entrance gear looked fucking stupid. Was Sombra supposed to be a Mexican pimp and Dillinger was a walking billboard? Either way it looked ridiculous.
NXT Tag Team Championship Match - The Revival def. American Alpha (c)
Kurt Angle would be proud...
These two teams have been fighting since Takeover: Dallas at live events and know each other very well. You know what to expect here - tons of great old school tag team wrestling. American Alpha has the Steiner Brothers' routine down to the tee. I absolutely adore rough-and-tough style of the Revival. It reminds me of the Arn and Ollie Anderson in their prime. TONS of great spots in this match and the excitement never wanes here from start to finish. I felt that NXT's booking in this match and the opener took the air out of the sails in Full Sail University since the crowd weren't too happy with both finishes. They really wanted Alpha and Dillinger to pick up the win here.
That being said, Shocked to see the Revival pick up the win... BUT I get what NXT is doing. American Alpha are better in the chase than as the champions, so I'm guessing another build throughout the next few tapings going into Takeover: Brooklyn where they pick up the gold all over again.
As for those guys who looked like 3 Minute Warning crossed with the Shield and Leo Kruger (Triple H has stated they are called the Authority of Pain... *rolls eyes*), I have no idea to think of them yet. Major props to American Alpha for selling the match they were in prior beforehand though. That was something small that doesn't get enough praise in modern wrestling. - SELL your fatigue after a grueling contest for crying out loud. That annoys me to no end. I'm anxious to see why Paul Ellering of all people would want to come to NXT though.
Shinuke Nakamura def. Austin Aries
This spot made me wonder why hasn't AJ Styles busted out his
Brainbuster onto the ring apron spot in WWE yet?
This match was everything that I expected it to be... awesome. Seriously though, if you can't work a great match against Nakamura then you need to be fired in my eyes. Another showstealer, but I don't think it was as good as Sami Zayn vs. Nakamura at Takeover: Dallas. It was definitely Aries' best NXT match to date though. Aries seemed to be just going through motions on auto-pilot since his debut in NXT, but it's great to see him on all four cylinders in this match, much like his main event push in TNA.
I thought it was a little odd that Aries was working Nakamura's leg to say he kept going for head-based submissions, but whatever... That's just a minor gripe I had with this match.
NXT Women's Championship Match - Asuka (c) def. Nia Jax
I really got sick of hearing Nia shouting "HUH!!??" during this match. I was glad to see that she's FINALLY starting to show a little more aggression here but it was a little to late in the ending phase in this match. As a powerhouse/monster, Nia Jax still bores me. She needs to be getting mentored or getting advice from Big Show or Kane on how to carry herself in these David vs. Goliath matches. It wouldn't hurt to watch some of Awesome Kong's matches from Impact Wrestling either. I just can't buy into her as dominating threat outside of the first few spots in this match, but that was all thanks to Asuka selling like Dolph Ziggler...
Surprised that was enough to beat Nia but whatever, we all knew this was filler.
As a result, I felt this was the weakest match on the card in my eyes. There wasn't not one instant I thought that Asuka was going to lose. Nia Jax kept stalling and taking her time to cover and following up to buy into the drama. We all know that NXT is setting up Asuka vs. Bayley II for Takeover: Brooklyn anyway. This was just filler until then.
Steel Cage Match for NXT Championship - Samoa Joe (c) def. Finn Balor
Has to be my favorite "Demon" entrance to date with this Walking Dead style intro...
For me, the steel cage match stipulation didn't really add much more depth to this match. It seemed to hinder them both rather than helping the finale of this feud. Regardless, Samoa Joe and Finn Balor didn't pull any punches and did their best to pull out all of the stops in the finale of this epic (I guess...) feud.
Seems weird that Joe is billed as a Submission Specialist in WWE, but
rarely wins with submissions...
One thing I have to note is the change of Balor's attire - he's gone from his traditional red and black attire for these Takeover events to white and black. It's the same colors that AJ Styles was wearing last week before laying out John Cena and revealing himself to be aligned with the Bullet Club all along. I still say that was bloody obvious to see coming last week because why else would Styles change his gear to be just like Anderson and Gallows' own even though they were "done" with each other.
Closing Thoughts
If I were to give this event a grade, it would be a passing grade of B+. The finish to the opener and the Women's Championship matches were very weak overall, with the tag team match and Nakamura/Aries were the strongest showings on the card. One could blame the PG environment that WWE caters to (despite the event being on the WWE Network...) nowadays, but I can't condone that the steel cage match was played a little too safe. I guess Samoa Joe and Finn Balor didn't want to go all out after their match at Takeover: Dallas was cut short from Joe being busted open within the first few seconds of the match, so they didn't want to derail the momentum in this finale of their rivalry.
