The Great Khali hasn't graced a WWE ring in a few years now - not since Jinder Mahal was the WWE Champion, but after the revelation that All Elite Wrestling is working with IMPACT Wrestling in some capacity, I thought it would be a great idea to do an article highlighting some other promotions (at least stateside anyway) that have some easy to access content, especially when you're looking for wrestling alternatives outside of WWE and AEW.
National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Shockwave
This new show, taking place of their beloved NWA Powerrr series, premiered this week. It only clocked in at a little over 30 minutes, so it made for a nice short, sweet, digestible chuck of wrestling when there's so much out there to check out in any given week. I hope they bring back the "Into The Fire" intro whenever they are able to do Powerrr again regularly. For now, this is a nice substitute. I know things can't be easy right now with the laundry list of departures lately from that company.
Ring of Honor Wrestling
2020 Pure Championship Tournament
I'm not sure that many people are aware, but ROH TV episodes are available for FREE via the FITE TV app/website. The 2020 Pure Championship Tournament starts on Episode #469 and ends on Episode #476. I haven't kept up with their product as closely as I should have, but props should be given to ROH on how well this tournament was presented and the authentic feel to the action to make it feel like a serious, legitimate sport - something that seems to be a foreign concept more often than not in modern day wrestling. Even if you're new to ROH's product, there's something for everyone here as they take the time to introduce each entrant into the tournament individually, while providing time to have them talk about their motivations and why they are here. These sit-down interviews were really good stuff and I was disappointed that more wrestling outlets weren't covering this tournament. That being said, even though the tournament is over and a new champion has been crowned (who you don't have to look too far to find out with a simple Google search), this tournament is worth a look, especially with the talents involved.
They have only started over since shutting down for the last few months due to COVID-19 concerns as of a week in and new episodes of their weekly MLW Fusion series premieres at 7PM EST on Wednesdays. You can watch the episodes on demand on their YouTube channel. I have linked the first two episodes as of this posting below.
MLW's main draw with their "restart" of sorts is the 2020 Opera Cup Tournament.
IMPACT Wrestling
If you don't have AXS TV via your satellite/cable provider, then look no further than IMPACT Wrestling's Twitch channel. They broadcast the show live via their channel at 8PM EST on Tuesdays with a repeat on Fridays weekly, free of charge.
You can also fire up their IMPACT Plus app and watch their One Night Only iPPV events without even having to register for an account.
I feel that a lot of people have been sleeping on IMPACT as of late, especially when they have one of (if not the best to me personally) the best women's divisions from top to bottom in wrestling here in the United States in terms of booking and diversity of talents involved. With AEW dropping the bombshell that they will be working with IMPACT in some capacity in the near-future, I hope more wrestling fans will be willing to give them a fair chance again. The Dixie Carter/Vince Russo regime has been dead and buried ages ago.
Besides, if you want to know where to watch IMPACT Wrestling after that cliffhanger that AEW Dynamite left everyone with on Wednesday night, then look no farther than the link below if your cable/satellite provider doesn't carry AXS TV.
For reviewing the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), I'm not going to dwell into match quality too much as that's not the primary selling point of this modern take on the NWA product. As a result of that, these reactions aren't going to be very long to discuss.
NWA Into the Fire (also stylized Into the 🔥🔥🔥) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view, scripted and produced by NWA that took place on December 14, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. This was the first pay-per-view event produced exclusively by NWA since becoming a singular wrestling promotion. The event takes its name from the 1984 heavy metal single, "Into the Fire" by the American band, Dokken, which was used as the theme song to NWA Power, NWA's weekly wrestling show that debuted on October 8, 2019.
This was the first NWA live broadcast since Jim Cornette's departure after his controversial remarks. Stu Bennett (former WWE Superstar Wade Barrett) made his commentary debut on this show and I thought he didn't do a bad job at all. This was much better than him being the mastermind at the end of Lucha Underground Season 4.
Singles Match
Eli Drake def. Ken Anderson
Physique-wise, Mr. Kennedy is letting himself go as much as Chris Jericho over in AEW. I swear these guys are allergic to a gym... The right man won here though. Drake might not be anywhere near challenging Aldis for the the Seven Pounds of gold, but he's definitely keeping himself in the conversation of talent on the rise to someday challenge him.
Singles Match
Thunder Rosa def. Tasha Steelz
A solid display by both women. I'm surprised that AEW didn't pick up Steelz first, but it seems like NWA made a jump at getting a lot of Latina talent for this show, especially for Melina's faction. After that video package on NWA Powerrr chronicling Rosa's MMA debut, they have painted the picture of her as one hell of a babyface. At this point, I don't see how they are going to continue painting (no pun intended) her as hit woman for Melina's faction.
Singles Match
The Question Mark (with Aron Stevens) def. Trevor Murdoch
(Laughs) I was watching this with a friend at the time and almost spit water all over my new flatscreen TV after he said "Mongrovian karate is as real as that hair glued into Hulk Hogan's dorag these days..."
Tag Team Match for the NWA World Tag Team Championship
The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) (c) (with Eddie Kingston and Homicide) def. The Wild Cards (Royce Isaacs and Thomas Latimer) (with Dave Dawson and Zane Dawson)
I was shocked that Ricky and Robert retained the titles here. I was certain they were dropping the titles back to the Wild Cards at the PPV. That's honestly the biggest takeaway from this match besides the fact that the former champions have lost to the Rock 'n' Roll Express (who are both pushing 60+ at this point) twice now. Jesus.
Tag Team Match
Allysin Kay and ODB def. Melina and Marti Belle
I swear Melina ages like fine wine. Her Latina curves are even more pronounced with age.
Melina barely got involved here and when she did, she got a little heel heat onto herself and immediately backed off for Marti Belle to take over and take the lumps from Allysin Kay and ODB. ODB is a natural fit for NWA and I'm surprised that they didn't bring her in sooner. I guess Billy Corgan didn't want to start off the company with the negative stigma of ex-TNA talent filling up the bulk of the roster. I don't see an issue with that, especially when they have a wealth of the great talkers from that company from over the years. Allysin and ODB pick up a rather questionable win here, but at least Marti took the pin instead of Melina.
The best part of ODB's inclusion on this PPV came after the match where ODB flirted with Joe Galli in the studio in the way only she could. That segment was worth the viewing of this show alone.
Triple Threat match for the NWA National Championship
Aron Stevens (with The Question Mark) def. Colt Cabana (c) and Ricky Starks
Stevens sat back and hid behind the Christmas decor instead of wrestling in this match.
The sad part about this match is that majority of it was wasted on everyone being distracted by Aron Stevens' comedic actions going on at ringside while Starks and Cabana actually had a serious wrestling match going on in the ring. All of that proved fruitful for Stevens as the Question Mark assisted him in picking up the win.
Nick Aldis (c) def. James Storm 2 falls to 1 Two-out-of-three falls match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
James Storm won the first fall while Aldis won the second, only for Tim Storm to come in after a referee bump to sub in for the third and final fall. The match itself wasn't bad, especially knowing what to expect from these two men (Aldis and Storm are great at their craft and don't do anything to overstay their welcome) with the narrative being that Aldis did everything within his power to keep the Seven Pounds of Gold within his grasp, even when it came down to seemingly "disowning" Kamille to do so.
After this event, Tim Storm was made to look like a fool when Aldis revealed his master plan all along and had Kamille lay him out as he formally introduced his "Strictly Business" faction, consisting of himself, the Wild Cards, and Kamille.
Kamille gave Storm one hell of a spear, I'll say that much. Since it's all in the open now, Kamille and Latimer aren't hiding their real life relationship either for the sake of kayfabe.
Kamille with her then boyfriend, WWE Superstar Braun Strowman.
(Laughs) I guess Kamille wasn't satisfied with "Those Hands" from Strowman... She's currently dating Thom Latimer in the Wild Cards and you can tell that they aren't keeping their affections a secret on television. In a weird twist of irony, Charlotte Flair's ex-husband ends up with the woman who looks better than her physically in more ways than one.
At Into the Fire, NWA Worlds Champion Nick Aldis was confronted by Marty Scurll after his title defense. In response, Aldis and the Strictly Business stable attacked Scurll and his Villain Enterprises teammates at Ring of Honor's (ROH) Saturday Night at Center Stage and Honor Reigns Supreme events. On January 14, the NWA announced that Aldis would face Villain Enterprises' Flip Gordon in an interpromotional match at Hard Times.
NWA World Television Championship Tournament First Round Match
Trevor Murdoch def. The Question Mark
I figured this was payback for Murdock losing to the Question Mark during their previous match on Into The Fire the month prior. At this point, you have to be crazy not to realize that the Question Mark is Josephus
NWA World Television Championship Tournament First Round Match
Dan Maff def. Zicky Dice
No surprise here at all. I can see why ROH jumped at the opportunity to sign this guy. This match was over and done faster than a hiccup. Zicky didn't have a chance.
NWA World Television Championship Tournament First Round Match
Ricky Starks def. Matt Cross
I'm not going to lie. I thought Starks was losing this here, especially with Matt Cross debuting for the company in this bout. I haven't see Cross unmasked in so long that I almost forgot what he looked like when I was so used to his Son of Havoc days in Lucha Underground.
Triple Threat Tag Team Match for the NWA World Tag Team Championship
Eli Drake and James Storm def. The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) (c) and The Wild Cards (Royce Isaacs and Thom Latimer) (with Kamille and May Valentine)
I'll say this much about May Valentine. She has a very unique look to her presence on this show. The Wild Cards, along with the rest of Aldis' Strictly Business stable, already have Kamille for the intimidation factor at ringside. I just don't see what May contributes to their group, outside of being a foil to Royce Isaacs at times. At least, she's easy on the eyes though.
Speaking of Kamille, she wasn't opposed to playing nice with the old folks, namely Robert Gibson. That provided the distraction that allowed Eli Drake and James Storm to pick up the win though. IMO that was the right call as you don't want to keep the tag belts on Ricky and Robert for too long. The nostalgia was a feel good moment from the last few weeks, but it was time to move on, even better that Storm was able to capture a consolation prize since he couldn't beat Aldis for the Seven Pounds of Gold at Into The Fire.
Singles Match for the NWA World Women's Championship
Thunder Rosa def. Allysin Kay (c)
Out of anything else on this card, go out of your way to watch this match. This is the first in-ring encounter between these two women (at least in this company to my knowledge...) and it didn't disappoint. They would hold a televised rematch on a follow-up episode of NWA Powerrr, but it wasn't anywhere as good as this first outing.
NWA World Television Championship Tournament Semifinal Match
Trevor Murdoch def. Dan Maff
Dan Maff is one of ROH's most recent signees or rather returns and I can easily see why. The big dude can really go. Murdoch manages to pull off an upset win here where I was convinced that Maff was going to take it.
NWA World Television Championship Tournament Semifinal Match
Ricky Starks def. Tim Storm
I honestly thought Tim Storm was going to put Starks to posture here. Once again, I was proven wrong. Momma Storm had to hang her head down in shame.
Scott Steiner def. Aron Stevens (c) (with The Question Mark) by disqualification Singles match for the NWA National Championship
I was hoping that we were going to get the title to change hands here, but no dice. I really want to know how NWA are able to use Steiner's old WWE music here though. It has to be something with how Dave Lagana and whoever else Billy Corgin bought the rights of music from were able to use it without any backlash.
If they want to make Stevens' karate gimmick have a few more laughs then they should make him start doing those grunts and shouts like Jason David Frank did on Power Rangers back in the day.
Nick Aldis (c) def. Flip Gordon NWA vs. ROH interpromotional match for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship
Maybe it was just me, but I couldn't care less about this match. There wasn't much drama going into this match outside of the loose connection to Marty Scurll as it felt like a knee-jerk reaction at the last minute when it was obvious that they were just biding their time until the next PPV. I'm not going to say that this match was awful, but it was easily forgettable.
Ricky Starks def. Trevor Murdoch Tournament final match to determine the new NWA World Television Champion
By this point, I was honestly burnt out on this tournament. My friendly word of advice is to NOT do all of the tournament in one night and split it up across the the weeks leading up to the PPV only up to the semi-finals. Murdoch was working with an ailing arm (kayfabe injury) while Starks was running on fumes at this point. I didn't understand Starks' gimmick until now where it just clicked that he's supposed to be like a flamboyant take on The Rock in terms of his mannerisms and promos. I didn't have a problem with Starks picking up the win as it elevates his rising star status in the promotion and inches him closer towards the Seven Pounds of Gold. They would reveal after this PPV that Starks could challenge for the World title if he successfully retains the title after seven defenses in what they referred to the Lucky 7 rule. An interesting twist on things for sure. It keeps things interesting for the next string of television tapings until the Crockett Cup in April.
Thoughts on the Product So Far
This modern take on the NWA is a refreshing breath of fresh air in comparison to everything else out there in the modern landscape of wrestling on television currently. Previously, I flocked to Lucha Underground for that "alternative" that I craved, only to see majority of those talents making up the rosters of both WWE, AEW, New Japan, MLW, Impact Wrestling, and even Ring of Honor currently. There's not a major promotion out there who isn't capitalizing on the exposure that those talents brought to the table. As a result, that particular style of wrestling became overexposed. Everyone is slapping their thighs for super kicks and doing dives without rhyme or reason to garner cheap pops. Even though the current NWA roster is littered with ex-WWE and Impact talent, it's not the matches that keep me invested - it's the promos and this intimate, personal studio setting. That passion and fire from promos is lacking a LOT in modern day wrestling where fans (I'm guilty of this too) have weighed work rate and in-ring ability over anything else in terms of success to be a "good" wrestler. Back in the day, talents could talk people into buildings better than the guys today who have to nearly kill themselves for a pop. Over the years, I'll come to miss the great talkers in professional wrestling, but the NWA has given me that back in some capacity.
I haven't done one of these wishlists for professional wrestling for a few years now, so today on New Year's Eve, I've decided to take a shot at it with a few things I want to see in 2019.
General
I want to see wrestling Twitter/social media as a whole stop being so butt-hurt about everything. That's one of many reasons why I stopped covering everything under the sun for my own sanity. All of this hate from podcasters and writers who get mad at fans who say "stop watching" if the only thing they do is rant on how bad WWE is when their rebuttal is that "It's our jobs and we make a living off this" is just getting asinine hearing on a constant basis. There's a TON of wrestling to cover out there other than WWE. I stopped watching RAW and SD during the early part of this year and I'm forever grateful for that extra peace of mind and free time on Mondays and Tuesdays. I would like to see wrestling fans on social media come together in a positive manner instead of focusing on the negatives 24/7.
On the other half of that spectrum, I wish to see wrestling personalities use Twitter to their advantage rather to their detriment. I've lost count on how many times that I've seen great characters/gimmicks killed the second that said wrestler goes on Twitter and opens their mouth to tweet a reply to a fan and instantly shoot themselves in the foot. The smartest wrestler on Twitter in terms of using it to their advantage is Becky Lynch. She's destroying anyone and everyone who manages to even mention her by name. All I ask to use to enhance your on-screen characters instead of destroying them.
WWE
Ugh, where to begin?
How about making RAW and SmackDown! being must-see TV week-in, week-out. I don't mean this crap where they do one "above average" show then shit goes back into the toilet for weeks and months on end until WrestleMania season starts. The tag team divisions on the main roster are on life support. I don't know what the hell they are doing with the midcarders and the main event scene is hit or miss at best. It honestly makes me sick as a fan and outright disgusts me that WWE goes out of their way to sign so many remarkable men and women in this sport, only to have them to amount to cannon fodder and strip them of everything that made them great to begin with before stepping into one of their rings. You can't even say that it's the fault of the damn talent when Vince McMahon is so out of touch when it comes to wrestling in 2018 going into 2019.
NXT is currently packed to full to capacity at this point. While their events have been great, I feel that their weekly product has stagnated. It feels too much like Ring of Honor from a few years ago when I first jumped back into their product and it's coming off as too much deja vu in terms of "been-there, done that". I'm not necessarily saying that's a bad thing but there's a lot of cases, especially in their homegrown talent where I feel like NXT is setting them up for failure on the main roster. Case in point goes to the bulk of the call-ups over the past year and on the horizon.
I hope they don't rush this whole thing about pushing Shayna Baszler's friends in Jessamyn Duke and Marina Safir because they both seem like they aren't going to take to this wrestling thing like a fish to water like how Ronda Rousey has. There's no reason to rush them learning their craft slowly instead of fast-tracking them to the main roster to join up with Ronda. On the other side of that, I hope Io Shirai and Kairi Sane stay in NXT for a long time after seeing what the main roster has done to Asuka after calling her up.
I recently spent a few hours rewatching the HHH/CM Punk in-ring promos on YouTube and I want Becky Lynch to get to that point of her popularity. She's the biggest star they have right now and they would be MORONIC not to keep tossing fuel to this fire. I just fear that WWE will swoop in and clip her wings the very same way that they did CM Punk along with AJ Lee when they got to that point, but for some reason this is the same company that allows Brock Lesnar to do whatever pleases... Rumors are pointing to that the WrestleMania main event was "promised" to Charlotte Flair next year, but she can settle for second place for once. The world will NOT end without her being champion or not going for a title at WrestleMania. My dream scenario for WrestleMania would see Becky vs Ronda in the match that we didn't get due to her injury. Becky would get here after dumping both Charlotte and Nia out of the Women's Rumble. To be honest, I rather see Charlotte vs Asuka II anyway, with Asuka picking up the win in their rematch.
Speaking of Lesnar, my wish for the Universal Championship is anyone but Lesnar at this point, especially if he's going to hold both UFC and WWE by the balls.
I know I'm going to get heat for saying it, but if WWE wants to do another all-women's PPV, how about lay off on shoving so many "firsts" down our throats for the women? It's not our fault that they are the last ones to the party when realizing that women's wrestling is actually marketable and there's a demand for it currently... WWE were patting themselves so hard on the back about that this past year that I could've sworn that Stephanie McMahon burped during one of the press events for it.
Impact Wrestling
I hope their move to the Pursuit Channel is temporary and wind up on a network that puts more eyes on their product. PopTV definitely didn't do them any favors, much like their move to Destination America. In the words of Jim Cornette, they are better off playing slides on the side of a barn at this rate.
The roster on Impact Wrestling are busting their ass (as always) with the in-ring product and TBH the storylines aren't bad at all, definitely better than some of the crap they've done in the last 2-4 years. I've honestly enjoyed their product this year. They just need more eyeballs on their product. Their free Twitch streams are a step in the right direction, but not by highlighting every other garbage indie federation that would work with them.
In terms of storylines/gimmicks, I want them to drop the "Crazy" Eddie Edwards vs. Coming to America Moose feud. Moose's heel turn was one of the stupidest choices/decisions for Impact in 2018 in terms of storylines. It made absolutely NO sense. I can understand that they had cold feet in terms of having him dethrone Aries at the time and relying on him in the position to promote Bound for Glory around, but after the massive support behind him, only to turn him heel as part of Aries' faction made no sense at all. I still can't get how great that video package leading up to Moose's title shot against Aries was, yet they decided to turn him heel. (Shakes my head) Turn the guy back babyface and give him a shot at the gold unless they plan on getting Lashley back by this time next year because his WWE return ain't doing anyone any favors outside of Lio Rush...
In terms of the Knockouts, I've loved the whole storyline between Allie, Keira Hogan, Rosemary, and Su Yung. More of that, please. Same goes with the rise of Tessa Blanchard. Even though I'm positive that they are setting Taya Valkyrie to dethrone her at the next PPV, they should be building up a confrontation between Tessa and newcomer powerhouse Jordynne Grace by this time next year.
While I've enjoyed Scarlett Bordeaux's antics since her debut, I want her and Killer Kross to bring their pairing from the indies to Impact Wrestling. For 2019, they need to scrap the rocket to that dude's back as he just seems to scream money. Lucha Underground had the right idea in mind and who knows when they'll be back on air to capitalize on his growing popularity. Plus, it's only a matter of time before WWE gives him an offer he can't refuse...
I would love to see Impact Wrestling continue building around Johnny Impact/Mundo/Morrison (or whatever he's going to call himself...), Fenix, Pentagon, oVe (along with Jeremiah Crane/Sami Callihan), LAX (Impact better renew their contracts before WWE snatches them up...), and especially Brian Cage in the new year as those are definitely their biggest players.
New Japan Pro Wrestling
While I haven't kept up with NJPW's product as I should have over the past year or two, I hope they continue to set and raise the bar on the standard of quality in-ring wrestling with Wrestle Kingdom 13 at the start of the year.
Following that event, I hope they lock down their talents who are up in the air in terms of whether or not that they are renewing their deals with the promotion or not. At this point, it's obvious that The Elite (Kenny Omega, Cody Rhodes, the Young Bucks, etc.) are out of the door following that event, but don't allow the rest of their guys to walk out of the door without a fight. Hell, I hope Shinsuke Nakamura along with Gallows and Anderson return to the promotion when their WWE deals expire.
Lucha Underground
I hope they get renewed for a fifth season and fans don't have to wait as long as the gaps between the last few seasons. They have a lot of stories to wrap up, especially with the revelations at the end of Season 4 (boy do I need write about that at some point in the New Year...), while simultaneously bouncing back from a bulk of their talent being raided by WWE and other rival promotions, i.e. MLW and Impact Wrestling.
Ring of Honor
My main wish for them in the new year is the same as previous years - a sensible time slot for their weekly TV tapings. For the Sinclair Broadcasting networks in my area, it's like playing the lottery on figuring out when their show comes on the weekends. On Saturdays/Sunday mornings it's either anywhere from midnight to 3AM following news/sports coverage or reruns of Hell's Kitchen. Then there's a chance to catch it Sunday evenings occasionally 10:30PM, but I tend to forget that time slot with everything else going on Sunday evening in terms of getting ready for bed to start for the work week.
Outside of that, I hope they are able to snag some noteworthy talent for their Madison Square Garden show for WrestleMania weekend. If they were smart, they would just bite the bullet and just do a collaboration with Impact Wrestling and pool resources and talent to make it the biggest show possible. We already know that they won't have the Elite to peak interest there and they've pretty much ran the well dry in terms of relying on the NJPW partnership to garner interest on their product.
Independents
MLW (Major League Wrestling) was my personal favorite non-WWE product in terms of a new fresh take on wrestling. There's something for everyone here but at the same time, I wish they were on a more accessible network. Sure, I've stumbled onto their product from episodes being uploaded in full on YouTube but not everyone is going to go that far to check them out. I hope they get a better television deal to put more eyes onto their product. That being said, Court Bauer needs to make sure WWE doesn't swoop in and snatch up more of his talent because that was something that was plaguing his promotion (along with their recent widespread amount of injuries to marquee talent) this past year.
Outside of that, I hope the indies continue to thrive on their own with more great talent coming to surface, along with more events to highlight that fact. We saw ALL IN last year, spearheaded by the Elite, but the chances of that happening again is unlikely as they are rumored to be a part of the rumored All Elite Wrestling promotion set to debut in 2019 and I wish them nothing but the best for starting that from the ground up.
As promised, I wanted to do an article devoted to wrestling alternatives. This isn't going to be an one and done affair as I plan to stretch this out across multiple genres, time periods, and sources on where and how to go about finding alternatives that will quench your thirst as a wrestling fan who is getting sick of the "Monday Night Blahs" in mainstream professional wrestling.
I say it ALL the time on social media. Instead of whining and complaining about WWE and Impact Wrestling, how about you take that same effort and take the initiative to find something else in wrestling you might actually more than this. The common response I get is that finding wrestling alternatives are too hard or it doesn't look as good as WWE production-wise. I hate to say it but that's going to be a bitter pill that you're going to have to shallow. If you're so superficial that you won't watch anything that's not top of the line in terms of cinematography and presentation then you're just a spoiled brat in my eyes.
These same wrestlers that many of you say aren't any good are the same sensations that you will be cheering for or already doing so for on NXT and the main roster. Superstars, such as reigning WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins (Tyler Black), former champion Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson), current Intercontinental Champion Kevin Owens (Kevin Steen), current NXT Champion Finn Balor, former Impact Wrestling alumni Samoa Joe, and even the beloved CM Punk, got their start on the indies working for various promotions before becoming blimps on World Wrestling Entertainment's radar.
If they weren't so great, then why WWE is hiring these guys, hmmm?
If we're going to talk about alternatives in professional wrestling, the best place to start is Beyond Wrestling's #RAWlternative event from earlier this year. The first RAWlternative served as a sampler platter of some of the best matches from the independent scene from the year of 2014.
“The purpose of #RAWlternative isn’t to get fans to stop watching WWE. The purpose of #RAWlternative is to get the internet wrestling community to band together for one night to raise awareness for the mainstream alternatives. If you are unhappy with what you see on your TV every Monday night, please don’t stop supporting professional wrestling. Tune in to #RAWlternative on 1/19/15 and thrust yourself head first into the indie scene. We are teaming with a dozen of the most prominent independent wrestling promotions in North America to broadcast some of the best matches of 2014 to a worldwide audience.” – via Facebook
The first #RAWlternative lineup was as follows:
– Young Bucks vs. Super Smash Bros courtesy of SMASH Wrestling – Ricochet (Lucha Underground's Prince Puma) vs. Josh Alexander courtesy of Alpha-1 Wrestling – Chris Hero (former NXT wrestler known as Kassius Ohno) vs. Colin Delaney courtesy of 2CW: Squared Circle Wrestling – Johnny Gargano vs. Ethan Page courtesy of Absolute Intense Wrestling – Takaaki Watanabe vs. Andy Dalton courtesy of Inspire Pro Wrestling – Ninjas With Altitude vs. Food Fighters courtesy of Inter Species Wrestling – Eddie Kingston vs. Keith Walker courtesy of AAW Pro – Kevin Steen vs. Mike Bailey courtesy of C*4 – Brian Kendrick vs. Dark Sheik courtesy of Hoodslam – Rich Swann and AR Fox vs. Christian Rose and Matt Cage courtesy ofDREAMWAVE Wrestling – Kyle O’Reilly vs. Gary Jay courtesy of Saint Louis Anarchy – Athena vs. Mia Yim courtesy of Girls Night Out – A Super Secret Mystery Match from Beyond Wrestling
#RAWlternative isn't about trying to weigh one wrestling company over another. It's about exposing wrestling fans to MORE alternatives to professional wrestling. Who knows, you might find something that you want to look into in-depth in your free time. There's no harm in checking out this stuff when it's presented completely FREE of charge.
Tonight, (11/9/15) wrestling fans have a unique opportunity. Beyond Wrestling is providing another #RAWlternative to serve as an alternative to those fans who might not be too keen onto watching tonight's taped Monday Night RAW broadcast from Manchester, England.
If you want to watch the show LIVE, look no further than clicking the link below:
Bellatrix made TV history last week by becoming the first all-women wrestling promotion to have its own show on British television. Broadcast on My Channel on November 6, 2014, the premiere episode featured three matches from Bellatrix X and had a hot crowd giving the impression of a hot product. Coupled with the studio setting and long banners highlighting the big names in the promotion and it would have come across pretty favorably to new viewers.
As the channel is only available on satellite TV, there would have been people without the capability to view it but that has been thought about, as the whole programme has been uploaded online for the whole world to see, as you can watch the ENTIRE show on their YouTube channel below.
For those so-called wrestling fans who are above watching anything low-resolution, Bellatrix has their show in full HD (720 and 1080p respectively), so there shouldn't be any complaints in that department.
Erin Angel vs. Lady Lory
WINNER: Erin Angel via Diving Cross Body
Not a bad opening contest. Lady Lory dominated the bulk of the affair with her ruthless aggression - no pun intended, but the babyface underdog sneaked by with a win after enduring all of Lory's physicality. One thing to take away here if you're only accustomed to watching WWE Diva matches - note that both women took the time to sell each other's offense and make it believable while adding their own personalities/characters to the storytelling of the match. WWE Divas aren't allowed to do this nearly as much (unless you're AJ Lee or the bulk of the NXT Divas) as I would love to see that in today's product.
Saraya Knight vs. Chanel
WINNER: Chanel via Standing Moonsault
Interesting to hear that Chanel is billed as the "future of women's wrestling." I marked out a little when Sweet Saraya came out to Linkin Park's "Faint" - one of my all-time favorite Linkin Park songs. Mad props to the crowd chanting, "You're a Legend!" to Sweet Saraya.
After seeing Chanel transition from a Tarantula to a Hurracanrana Pin was rather impressive, so I can see why Bellatrix are getting behind this girl. Chanel won under a bit of controversy, but you can't fault the lady for taking advantage of the situation. She maintained her babyface alignment by helping Saraya to her feet out good sportsmanship post-match though.
One thing I want to give Bellatrix props on is the use of replays and highlights. Ring of Honor does NOT use this enough nor as effectively as I would like in their current product.
Sweet Saraya shoots a colorful (read: profanity-laced) promo on the woman who distracted her long enough for Chanel to pick up the win. Obviously, Bellatrix is going to setup a
Bellatrix British Ladies Title Match: Violet O’Hara vs. Penelope (w/ Axl Lynch) (Under British Rules/Rounds)
WINNER: Penelope wins with score 2 to Violet's 1 to become the NEW champion.
First of all, get comfortable for this one. It's a whooping 20 minutes long in length. If you're not too crazy about lengthy matches this one might not be your cup of tea.
First fall by Penelope via pinfall after a Swinging Neckbreaker. This was after a heavy technical exchange between the two at the start of the match to evade and escape each other's holds.
Round 4 (the bout is split into rounds like boxing under British Rules) is where the excitement happens. Violet gets "hot" on offense and starts speeding up the pace. I was skeptical at first, but now I can see why she's champion.
Second fall by Violet via pinfall after Asai DDT. The girls really threw out their big guns for the last ten minutes of the match.
Final fall by Penelope via pinfall after clocking Violet O'Hara with a Super Kick during a backflip counter. Violet gave it her best effort, but ultimately, Penelope came out of the match as the winner and new British Ladies Champion.
The broadcast ends with an update to their official rankings (something Ring of Honor did in the past) to show who are the top five women in Bellatrix who are in line for a future title opportunity. I thought this was a rather nice touch as it gives you an idea where your favorites stand after tonight's events, despite their wins and losses.
Closing Thoughts
Bellatrix was a great show from top to bottom. A solid presentation and great cinematography. Both of those traits are a must if you're looking to impress wrestling fans and get them to pay attention to your product. Otherwise, the superficial marks will be quick to disregard your promotion as "just another cheap indy backyard wrestling company" and go back defending World Wrestling Entertainment as the only entity that can product great wrestling.
If you care about women's wrestling or currently finding yourself becoming bored with women's wrestling in the mainstream promotions (especially WWE), I suggest giving this a shot. Impact Wrestling's Knockouts aren't the only girls in wrestling who can kick ass and take names. Besides, Paige's family is firmly behind this promotion, so you know the wrestling aspect is in great hands.
