Since I'm still playing catch-up on a lot of wrestling this month in terms of commenting and sharing my thoughts like my loyal followers on Facebook and Twitter expect of me in terms of covering professional wrestling, I figured I revive an old featurette from Let's Talk Wrestling before I merged that blog with this page. FYI Let's Talk Wrestling is still it's own separate spin-off Facebook Page from my usual Method to Madness one.
That being said, I'm going to comment on a LOT of wrestling from this past month, but not ALL of it. Some events I'm going to merely skim over to save myself the grief of doing a full separate write-up on those shows, while others I'll give you full rundown on what I enjoyed from top to bottom of those cards. I don't watch WWE RAW/SmackDown! regularly anymore outside of reading spoilers or clips on YouTube, but if those shows are your cup of tea, then be my guest to check those shows out and enjoy them in their entirety. For me, it was an ongoing struggle to waste my time watching something that I was going to complain about for 2-3+ hours every week when I could be doing something else. I know I'm letting down my followers on Twitter with my lack of sarcastic livetweets during wrestling events as of late.
Last but not least before I start this... You may notice that there's a lack of Impact Wrestling episodes. That's not because the shows are bad. It's quite the opposite. I'm still playing catch-up on the shows following Slammiversary XV so it's not fair to me to comment on those yet. Impact has been doing some great episodes of their show as of late and I HIGHLY recommend giving them a chance right now. Their in-ring product is solid and even top notch in some aspects, especially with their ongoing working relationship with Pro Wrestling NOAH and AAA/Crash (including some names from Lucha Underground in coming weeks) that has seen some of those various talents participate in X-Division and Tag Team division matches.
Night 1 (July 1) & Night 2 (July 2)
I know I should start off this write-up with my thoughts on the NJPW G1 USA Special, but the truth of the matter is that I STILL haven't had a chance to watch it in it's entirety since being on vacation out of the country that whole week. From what I have watched of Night 1 though has been VERY good. I think I will do a separate write-up on that event at some point on Facebook since I have no way in hell to keep up with the G1 Climax event stuff this year since I'm usually asleep for work in the morning at the ungodly hour when that stuff comes on NJPW World.
Impact Wrestling/Global Force Wrestling Presents: Slammiversary XV (July 2, 2017)
I'm not going to discuss this ENTIRE show in depth, but just mention a few favorite bouts from the card. If you watch only one TNA/GFW related show this month, do yourself a favor and check this show out. I found myself thoroughly entertained from start to finish. If the match video links don't work, I'm sorry but credit goes to the uploaders on YouTube.
Four Way Lucha Rules Match for Unified IMPACT! & GFW Tag Team Championships– LAX (Santana & Ortiz) w/ Konnan, Homicide & Diamante def. Laredo Kid & Garza Jr, Drago & El Hijo del Fantasma, Naomichi Marufuji & Taiji Ishimori - Go out of your way to watch this match in its entirety. The number of premiere top notch international talent here don't disappoint a beat. There's a few botches but they don't ruin this match in the least.
IMPACT! Grand Champion Moose & D’Angelo Williams def. Eli Drake & Chris Adonis - D'Angelo definitely surprised me being able to go here like he was a cruiserweight instead of the run of the mill basic shit most celebrity guests tend to do in spots like this on PPVs. D'Angelo definitely earned his keep in this one. I was pretty sure he gave himself a concussion off that splash on the table after overshooting it though.
Jeremy Borash & Joseph Park def. Josh Mathews & “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner - I freakin' loved everything about this match. I won't spoil it, but I'll say that it's done in the vein of The Final Deletion. I cringed at the ending for JB for sure though.
Mixed Tag Team Full Metal Mayhem Match – Eddie & Alisha Edwards def. Davey & Angelina Love-Richards - You rarely see ladies in matches like this in mainstream wrestling, so Angelina and Alisha definitely deserve a hand here because they were just as bruised and bloodied as the guys by the time it was all said and done.
2 out of 3 Falls Match for the X-Division Championship – Sonjay Dutt (c) def. Low-Ki - These two have been killing it lately and I haven't been disappointed with this match in the least. Thank you for making me care about the X-Division again, boys.
Sienna (GFW Women’s Champion) def. Rosemary (IMPACT! Knockout’s Champion) – Championship Unification Match - I get that they went with Sienna winning for heel heat here, but for once can we have the babyface (the crowd was clearly behind Rosemary here) be the one who unifies the titles, that's not Cena or Hogan?
“Walking Armageddon” Lashley (IMPACT! World Champion) w/ King Mo vs. Alberto El Patron (GFW Global Champion) w/ Dos Caras – Championship Unification Match - This wasn't a bad match but after everything else on this show that went miles and beyond, this just felt like it kinda dragged on a bit longer than it needed to. I heard ADR did a long shoot on WWE either before or after this match, but the copy of this PPV I watched online cut that out, so I missed that bit.
NXT (July 5, 2017)
Bianca Belair def. Aliyah - Aliyah's getting better and nowhere as botchtastic as her other half Liv Morgan. Given all of her hype by most Diva fans on social media, I was vastly disappointed by Belair. People on Twitter were acting like she's the second coming of Sasha Banks or something. She's slapping her thigh for that hair whip move BTW.
Bobby Roode (c) def. Roderick Strong to retain the NXT Championship - VERY long match with a few decent spots, but this dragged on far too long for my taste. They did the Dusty finish at the end where they had it look like Strong won in front of his family only to reverse the decision after the referee saw Roode's foot underneath the ropes, allowing Roode to hit his finisher for the win. Talk about killing Strong's momentum dead here. If they weren't going to give him the gold, then what was the point of building him up over the last few weeks with those vignettes and what not? Seemed like a HUGE waste here.
Lucha Underground (July 5, 2017)
Cueto Cup First Round: PJ Black def. Sexy Star via DQ - Taya interfered, bringing in brass knuckles for PJ to use on Sexy only for her to use them on him and get DQ'ed promptly afterwards. Sexy KOs the referee too after the result, but I felt like PJ looked pretty weak here to say that he has to use brass knux to beat a woman. No offense, ladies, but that's pretty bad storytelling.
These Rey/Mundo vignettes to hype their upcoming match have been awesome. I just wanted to put that out there.
Cueto Cup First Round: Son of Havoc def. Son of Madness - I thought Son of Madness was Mike Knox, but he's Johnny Goodtime from his file on Cagematch.com. There was some high and low points to this match, but it got its point across to give Havoc's character more depth in terms of exploring his history instead of being biker archetype.
Cueto Cup First Round: Prince Puma def. Ricky Mandel - Puma beats him so fast that he didn't even have to take his hoodie off. They are going balls deep committed with this "dark" turn for Puma and I'm liking it so far as they pretty much ran with him as far as they could have with being the top babyface. It was time for a change after two seasons. Looking forward to seeing where this goes.
Cueto Cup First Round: Dante Fox def. El Dragon Azteca Jr. - Very fun match to watch, but ultimately interference by the Worldwide Underground ruins it at the end. They lay out Mysterio which is more than enough of a distraction to allow Fox to pick up the win. They are obviously leading up to Fox confronting Killshot again at some point so I doubt he's winning this tournament.
WWE Great Balls of Fire (July 9, 2017)
WWE Cruiserweight Championship - Neville (c) def. Akira Tozawa (with Titus O'Neil) - No offense to Tozawa and Neville, but it's the preshow and I could care less here.
Bray Wyatt def. Seth Rollins - Not bad, but I was expecting more from these two guys at this point instead of a filler feud like this. I'm more surprised that Bray actually won here though.
Big Cass def. Enzo Amore - Who cares? Moving on...
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship - Cesaro and Sheamus (c) defeated The Hardy Boyz (Jeff and Matt Hardy) 4–3 - 30-minute Iron Man - I'm sorry, but after the opening spot that led to the first fall, I mentally checked out for the bulk of this match until the roughly last 5-10 minutes. If you seen one Hardys match over the past 2-3 years then you have seen them all. The Hardys are just going through the same motions as their recent TNA run and most jaded WWE fans are blinded by the nostalgia googles to see that. It seemed like
WWE Raw Women's Championship - Sasha Banks def. Alexa Bliss (c) by countout - No more singles matches for Bliss please. Her and Sasha have little chemistry here and she's getting exposed left and right for her lack of ability. I did like the post-match spot though. Everything else here? Meh at best. I'm surprised that people keep forgetting that Bliss is double jointed too.
Trust me, Bliss wouldn't be in this position on RAW if she couldn't talk circles around the other women on the microphone and the fact that she has heel Trish Stratus' mannerisms and gimmick down to the tee.
WWE Intercontinental Championship - The Miz (c) (with Maryse, Curtis Axel, and Bo Dallas) def. Dean Ambrose -
Ambulance match - Braun Strowman def. Roman Reigns - This wasn't a bad match at all, but I laugh my ass off at the finish and the segment that proceeded afterwards where it seemed like Roman "killed" Strowman.
Heath Slater def. Curt Hawkins - Poor Slater wins a match and the people watching at home didn't even get to see it while the post-match segment for Strowman/Reigns was still ongoing backstage. WWE Universal Championship - Brock Lesnar (c) (with Paul Heyman) def. Samoa Joe - Here's the thing. I wasn't mad that Joe lost as I didn't get my hopes up that they were going to let him win against Brock the first go round anyway. I was just let down that they had Joe go down off just ONE F-5. To WWE and Joe's credit though, this wasn't as one sided as I was expecting a Lesnar match to be. Joe was firmly in control of the momentum for the majority of the match and the narrative here just made it look like
WWE Monday Night RAW (post-Great Balls of Fire Fallout)
Check out that in-ring segment between Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman, and Brock Lesnar. Reigns surprisingly held his own on that one on the mic, but if I were picky I would go with a Joe/Brock rematch for Summerslam 1-on-1. Knowing WWE, they don't want to beat Brock clean before WrestleMania, so it would probably end up being a Fatal 4 Way at Summerslam between Strowman, Reigns, Joe, and Brock for the title for Lesnar can lose without getting pinned.
NXT (July 12, 2017)
Aleister Black def. a debuting Bobby Fish - This was over far too quick for my taste. If they wanted Fish to have an impact, they should've debuted him and Kyle O'Reilly together as a tag team in that floundering tag team division on this show. I'd kill to see reDRagon killing it in that division. From what I've heard from the spoilers, O'Reilly's going to make his singles debut soon too.
Vanessa Borne def. Jayme Hachey - Jayme Hachey is Jayme Jameson who competed in one of the previous TNA One Night Only: Knockouts Knockdown iPPVs. She's the wife of Gunner, who I heard is going to be debuting for NXT soon too. I'm surprised they didn't get Jayme as a lock for the Mae Young Classic instead of these other girls who are green or brand new filling in spots in that tournament. As for Vanessa Borne, she's Danielle Kamela who has been in NXT for a while just never had a televised match to my knowledge. This wasn't a bad match, just left me expecting and wanting more from both of these ladies.
Johnny Gargano Returns - He's back from injury and announces his run to singles action following Ciampa's betrayal. I still think it was pretty stupid to do that angle knowing that Ciampa was hurt going into the match and was going to be taking time off afterwards. We're not going to get a resolution here for MONTHS on end while Gargano is going to be in filler feuds until Ciampa comes back.
Authors of Pain (c) def. Heavy Machinery to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships - Much like the Strong/Roode match last week, I don't see what was the point of a strong push for guys only to have them fail - clean if I may add. In AoP's defense, they aren't looking as green as grass like they were when they first won the titles and leading up to that point, but I thought Heavy Machinery were on a good roll too. I guess time will tell how they will bounce back from this loss.
Lucha Underground (July 12, 2017)
Jeremiah Crane (Sami Callihan/Solomon Crowe) def. Taya - Sexy Star distracted her as payback and KOs her with the brass knux from the previous episode post-match. I guess they are leading into a Taya vs. Sexy Star match for Ultima Lucha Tres. That would be ironic given the situation with Taya leaving AAA after they stripped her of the Reinas de Reinas Championship and awarded it back to Sexy Star, who I thought was retired from that promotion. FYI Taya and Mundo are set to debut for GFW/TNA after this "betrayal" by AAA from what's been reported as of late.
As for this match, it was fun to watch. Taya definitely has a lot of talent for working with men AND women that's for sure. She's at home wrestling anyone in the squared circle. The more I see of Crane, the more I shake my head that NXT did absolutely NOTHING with that guy.
Aerostar plays stupid when Fenix clearly points out that he knows that Aerostar is a time traveler.
Mil Muertes (w/ Catrina) def. Paul London - Mil didn't put up with any of London's foolishness with the Rabbit Tribe and royally sent them back to Wonderland. Lucky bastard London was looking up at Catrina's ample cleavage while she gave him that lick of death while he had that shit-eating grin on his face.
Fenix def. Marty the Moth Martinez (w/ Mariposa) - I was hoping for a Mariposa vs Marty match in this tournament but oh well. It looks like they are going to throw Melissa Santos into a pseudo-Sam Shaw/Christy Hemme angle with Fenix right in the middle where Ken Anderson played that part in that storyline in TNA.
NXT (July 19, 2017)
Ember Moon def. Ruby Riot - I know I've said it plenty of times on social media - Ruby's fugly to me with a butterface, but I think if she grew her hair out she would look a lot better. Look at Christie Von Eerie. She stopped doing that mohawk look, grew her hair out, and she looks a lot better. Like one of my friends said jokingly, "Just because you want to do the punk rocker look doesn't mean you have to look like you munch the carpet every day of the week." But yeah, looks aside... This was a solid match. I thought Riot was going to come out the winner here (what is her WWE/NXT finisher by the way?) but I guess they want to put Ember Moon back on the warpath to dethrone Asuka.
Street Prophets looks like they will be another flash in the pan that will job out to the Authors of Pain. Didn't they job to Heavy Machinery a few weeks ago, or am I thinking about the Ely Brothers?
Oney Lorcan def. Danny Burch via submission with a single-leg crab
- Post-match, Oney offers his hand. Burch takes it, but won’t let go as he requests one more match with Lorcan. The Boston Brawler agrees, and the crowd loves it.
Seriously, who pissed in Oney's Cheerios to have him bust open someone in almost every single one of his matches on this series of NXT tapings? Burch seemed like he was legit mad as fuck about that too. I got to say... seeing someone win off a single-leg crab is so fucking strange, but a nice change of pace.
No Way Jose def. Cezar Bononi via pinfall following the pop-up punch - Cezar looks like a young Randy Orton when he debuted. I bet Triple H is getting hard-ons for that kid just from his look alone. - Afterwards, we see Andrade “Cien” Almas and his mysterious lady friend are ringside. She encourages him, and Almas jumps in the ring to put his designer shoes to Bononi. Jose runs in to put a stop to that, and Almas and the woman (Thea Trinidad) leave.
Drew McIntyre def. Killian Dain via pinfall following two Claymores (and Dain kicking out of a Future Shock DDT at one!) to become the #1 contender to Bobby Roode’s NXT championship at TakeOver: Brooklyn III.
Lucha Underground (July 19, 2017)
Prince Puma is still haunted by visions of his past with him looking to his new master Vampiro for his direction.
Pindar def. Cage via DQ after Cage refuses to take off the gauntlet and laid out the referee - I guess this is going to be Cage's full blown heel turn after being "consumed" by the dark power of that gauntlet he won over the next few weeks. He already killed a guy how can this get any darker?
Dante Fox def. Son of Havoc to advance in the Cueto Cup Tournament - After being robbed of his title shot at Ultima Lucha Dos at the hands of the debuting Dr. Wagner Jr that they've done ABSOLUTELY nothing with this season, I thought it was in bad taste to have Fox go over here. Fox has some amazing ability, but Havoc deserve to get farther here. The storyline reason for his loss is because Son of Madness attacked him prior to the start of the match but Dario Cueto issued the match to start anyway, but they could've done better than that here. Sad to see Havoc lose here, but this was a fun match to watch with a lot of "holy shit" worthy spots.
PJ Black finds Johnny and the Underground in the locker room. Johnny brought in a man named Benjamin Cook, who is his new representation. Cook promises PJ that if he wins tonight, Johnny and the WWU will own Lucha Underground.
I swear Cook reminds me of a twisted parody of Paul Heyman.
Prince Puma defeats PJ Black with the 630 to advance in the Cueto Cup - I didn't doubt that Puma was going to beat PJ here as it seems like he's a strong candidate to make it to the finals and challenge Rey for that Ultima Lucha Dos rematch.
WWE Battleground (July 23, 2017)
SmackDown! Tag Team Championship - The New Day def. The Usos (c) - They lost me when Woods got superkicked out of the air in the same vein of the Shelton Benjamin/HBK Gold Rush Tournament spot, only to kick out from the near-fall. Seriously, that should've been the fucking finish but they had at least 20 more near-falls after that.
Natalya is the #1 Contender for the SmackDown! Women's Championship - Legit shocked at that choice since I thought Charlotte was pegged to be hyped up as the big gun to be part of the marketing for Summerslam. What I'm afraid of is that they are going to let Naomi lose to Nattie, only to have that moment stolen from Nattie by Carmella's inevitable MITB cash-in.
Shinsuke Nakamura def. Baron Corbin via DQ - Corbin got himself DQed on purpose. This match was the drizzling shits. No sense of chemistry here as it just seems like they were put in this spot to stall for time.
United States Championship Match - Kevin Owens def. AJ Styles (c) - Meh worthy match to say that both of these guys can do SOOO much better. Seemed like they were just going through motions and not really caring here. Even the finish seemed odd and just gave me the impression that they had no faith in Styles as champion to put the title back on Owens like that after less than a month.
Flag Match - John Cena def. Rusev - #LOLCenaWins. 'Nuff said. Rusev is right back down into the hole deeper than he was when him and Cena feuded the last time. I don't know why I expected anything less. If this was two years ago, I would've pegged Rusev a shoe in for the main event picture by now, but nope, WWE seems to be determined to keep him in midcard hell. This match was a LOT better when I muted the commentary and played the intro to GI Joe: The Movie on repeat in the background. Seriously though... this match dragged on FAR too long to say that they rushed through the most of the undercard.
Punjabi Prison Match - Jinder Mahal (c) def. Randy Orton - I'm not even going to sugarcoat this. This match was fucking awful. The Great Khali came back and helped Mahal retain after Orton tossed one of the Singh Bros. off the cage and he fell down through the commentary table. There I saved you from watching 30+ minutes of this shit.
WWE Monday Night RAW (July 24, 2017)
Show opens with ANOTHER brawl where the locker room empties out to hold everyone back after Kurt makes the Universal title match for Summerslam a Fatal 4 Way. Looks like I'm getting my wish then...
I have no idea what they are doing with Finn Balor but it seems like creative is high on Elias Samson for some reason.
Emma gets screen time with Kurt Angle wanting to get noticed, pitching that maybe she would date Jason Jordan to get that... If JJ doesn't want Emma, she needs to holla at 'cha, boi. I'm just sayin'. All this was for nothing as they sent Emma right out there to job to Nia Jax, who busted out some new flip senton splash for a finisher. It looked fucking awesome, yet scary at the same time. Emma's FAR too talented to be wasted in squash matches. I don't know what the hell WWE is doing with her.
Bayley def. Sasha Banks to earn the title shot to face Alexa Bliss for the RAW Women's Championship at Summerslam. I'm curious to know why they went with Bayley as we've seen that enough times and it's obvious that they have NO chemistry at all. A triple threat would look better on paper, but I think this show is going to have enough multi-person matches anyway to accommodate both rosters. Seems like they are teasing this heel turn for Sasha more and more. I had to laugh at that line during the pre-match segment for this match where Sasha verbally buried Bayley in one promo. I should've known right there that Bayley was going to win because otherwise that was going to solidify my opinion as her being the female Eugene.
Jason Jordan def. Curt Hawkins - I didn't watch the match personally, but the top complaint I saw on social media that he was wrestling normally without anything to show that he was inspired by Kurt Angle or anything. He should have at least used the Angle Slam or Ankle Lock as a finisher. The latter should be on the table for sure with Jack Swagger gone from the company.
WWE SmackDown! (July 25, 2017)
AJ Styles def. Kevin Owens (c) and Chris Jericho (return) for the United States Championship - Great news that they put the title back on Styles, but I thought it was a stupid decision to take it off of him in the first place. This main event just felt like damage control after that horrible PPV the blue brand just came back from.
NXT (July 26, 2017)
Ember Moon def. Lei'D Tapa - I'm surprised that Tapa is actually worse here than she was during her time in TNA. No wonder they didn't use her for the Mae Young Classic. Thank god this was over quick because I was facepalming at how she bumping for Moon here. They need to fire whoever decided it was a good idea to give Ember a microphone too. I really don't need to hear her stumble around trying to cut a promo.
Velveteen Dream def. Cezar Bononi - If you've seen any of Dream's matches up until now, then there's nothing new here other than he's facing Randy Orton 2.0 here. I swear that guy is going to end up injuring someone from how he does his Diving Elbow Drop finisher that I think they called the Velveteen Rain.
Kassius Ohno def. Hideo Itami via DQ - I wasn't too surprised with this match going back and forth as they've progressed Itami's heel turn perfectly. I still feel like that loss to Roode was criminal in terms of killing Itami's momentum if they were expecting people to keep caring about the guy. Despite of that decision, I think NXT has turned this around for the better with this heel turn. It's now or never to pull the trigger on this guy. Itami's not getting any younger and he can't stay in NXT forever.
Lucha Underground (July 26, 2017)
Texano def. The Mack (w/ assist from Famous B for the win) - I guess Brenda was able to sway Texano to Famous B's line of thinking to get "famous". I'm curious to see where this goes since they apparently abandoned anything to do with Dr. Wagner Jr. or that was a one-off like Melina's appearance was at Ultima Lucha.
Pentagon Dark def. Drago (w/ Kobra Moon) to advance in the Cueto Cup Tournament - This match was a treat for me to watch as I'm a huge fan of both of these guys. Only one of them could win and I'm completely fine with Drago taking the L here. I wasn't too crazy about Aerostar being the one getting his arm broken post-match though. Pentagon demanded a sacrifice so someone had to pay.
Rey Mysterio Jr. def. PJ Black - So much damn interference in this match, but I guess that's what we've come to expect out of these Worldwide Underground related matches. Rey and PJ shouldn't be strangers to working with each other from their last WWE runs and they have surprisingly good chemistry here.
Ring of Honor TV (Women of Honor Special #3 - July 29, 2017)
Non-Title Match - STARDOM High Speed Champion Kris Wolf def. Sumie Sakai - Cool to see one of STARDOM's own get a spot on this show this week. I'm dying to see more of these STARDOM women in WOH matches more regularly, thanks to their new partnership with that promotion. As for this match, it had some high points and low points. I'm surprised that Sumie's still wrestling after all of these years. At least she's not dressed like she's homeless anymore like she was in the early 2000s when I first discovered her in my random samplings of women's wrestling on the indies at the time. At first I had a problem with all of the roll-ups and pin attempts in this match, but after thinking about it, it makes a lot of sense given that Wolf is the "high speed" champion after all, winning matches in a blink of an eye.
Jenny Rose def. Mandy Leon - Given the few times that I have seen her wrestle over the last few years, I'm impressed with Mandy Leon's improvement here. I don't get why people try to act like she's in the same league as Eva Marie. In looks for sure, but she's definitely coming into her own as an in-ring competitor. I honestly haven't seen much of Jenny Rose's work, but she wasn't bad here either. It's obvious that WWE would hire Mandy Leon in a heartbeat from her "exotic" look alone, but she's dead set on being a loyalist to ROH as they continue to build up and restructure this women's division. I'm wondering what's it going to take for them to give these hard-working women a championship to fight for.
Triple Threat Match - Karen Q def. Deonna Purrazzo and Kelly Klein - Speaking of a championship for this division... If you're going to give these women in this division something to find for then any of these women here should be at the front of the line to have that opportunity first. I was really impressed by this match, even though I wasn't crazy about the finish that was out of nowhere given the time restraints of this episode. I think if ROH refrained from all of the recaps and cameos from the male members of the roster they could have showcased more with this match, but it felt like they robbed viewers of what could have been a PPV caliber bout here. That being said, Karen Q showed a lot of promise here to say this was the first match I have actually seen of hers. Deonna Purrazzo is definitely improving more and more with every mainstream wrestling appearance she makes on TV. Then we have the Gatekeeper herself, Kelly Klein. If ROH is serious about keeping her "undefeated" and continuing to push her like this, I say she should be the one who should win the WOH title first whenever they decide to give this division something tangible to fight for. With capable women like Deonna Purrazzo, Karen Q, and even Mandy Leon and Jenny Rose on the back burner, Klein would have plenty of strong babyface opponents to chase her for the gold if they would want to put her into that spotlight. It's either now or never on this before people stop caring altogether about this division. Plus, how long does ROH expect to keep these women on their roster interested in staying with the promotion when there's nothing to aspire for?
WWE Monday Night RAW (July 31, 2017)
Triple Threat - Roman Reigns def. Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe - Paul Heyman already announced the previous week that if Brock Lesnar loses at Summerslam that he's going to leave WWE. We might can count Brock gone then with all of these UFC return rumors end up being true, but at the same time, that's the perfect swerve to get people to not to expect Brock to lose against these odds. I really didn't like that they had Roman win this clean when Samoa Joe is the one hot on momentum in terms of building up this match along with Strowman. A win for Roman does nothing here for me, except make me wonder what the hell are they thinking? This wasn't a bad match but by far the best thing on this show.
Bayley def. Nia Jax via count-out - The only reason I'm mentioning this throwaway match is the fact that Bayley took a nasty bump, thanks to Nia dropping her without time to protect herself, that could potentially take her out of the equation going into Summerslam. The crowd in attendance already didn't care about this match - not that I can blame them as we've seen this match-up at least 3-5 times now, only to have Bayley sit around at ringside clutching her shoulder while the referee checks on her. For her sake, I hope she's alright though.
Hello, fellow wrestling fans. Better late than never right? I have been sitting on this article for the duration of two months and I FINALLY finished it with about roughly a week left in the month of June. I gotta figure out a better way to do this on a more promptly fashion...
I have officially given up trying to do a This Month in Wrestling post for the month of March, despite the fact that I REALLY wanted to cover NXT ArRIVAL, and a variety of topics. WWE WrestleMania XXX has come and gone, so let's just start with this next "season" of wrestling for all things going forward from here on out.
This is a rather lengthy post since I'm covering notable things of interest for BOTH April and May of 2014.
This Month in Wrestling - APRIL 2014
April 7, 2014 (Post-WrestleMania XXX)
I want to clarify something at the start of this write-up, right here and now. I HATE the post-WrestleMania RAW crowds thanks to WrestleMania 29, where everyone managed to be obnoxious enough during the entire broadcast that social media and WWE had acknowledge it for ruining or rather "taking over" the broadcast. Every hipster "internet wrestling mark" makes up the bulk of these crowds and show nothing but disrespect to the talent and the show they are so-called fans of. I honestly don't understand why people continue and continue to give WWE their money, yet bitch, moan, and complain when they don't like what they see? Stop watching, stop going to the shows, stop giving them your hard-earned cash. Find something else to do.
The "internet darling" hero himself, CM Punk, has done it, why can't the rest of the spoiled brats of the IWC (internet wrestling community)?
Okay, rant over.
RAW opens with The Authority's Stephanie McMahon and Triple H coming out to rain on Daniel Bryan's victory parade and decrees that he has to defend the championship against Triple H in tonight's main event.
With Bryan and Brie's wedding set to occur this following Friday, I was excited for this news. This would be the perfect opportunity for Bryan to drop the title to Triple H and garner more heel with Authority while Bryan is able to enjoy his honeymoon and a get a well-deserved vacation during the summer before returning around roughly Summerslam.
The Wyatt Family def. John Cena, Sheamus & Big E
I honestly couldn't get into this match from the fans booing Big E and Sheamus just for being associated for being on John Cena's team tonight while everything the Wyatt Family did was met with screaming cheers. Man, fans have everything ass-backwards nowadays... Sheesh. The win from the Wyatts here was merely damage control from everyone raging about Cena beating Bray at WrestleMania, but don't understand that the win didn't mean anything it was more about telling a story in their WrestleMania match.
The Big Show said it best in an interview, "If you're constantly worrying about your win/lose percentage, you're in the WRONG business, buddy." Today's so-called "wrestling fans" need to understand that as well.
Fandango & Summer Rae v. Santino & Emma
Thank God, this match was quick. The crowd trolled, singing along with Fandango's entrance but it felt even more forced than it was when WWE told crowds to do it last year. At least we got to see Emma actually wrestle instead of being Santino's comedic sidekick for once.
Brock Lesnar, the Conqueror of the Streak
Tonight's #Raw speech by @HeymanHustle = so incredibly epic it should be shown daily in every wrestling school. Holy geez. Incredible. 🙈👏 — $oCalVal (@SoCalValerie) April 8, 2014
This marks Brock Lesnar's last TV appearance for a while until WWE decides to bring him back in by the end of the summer or what not. You would think after The Undertaker gave him the highest honor of allowing him to end The Streak that the guy would have enough respect for the wrestling business to at least sign to a full-time schedule, but nope. Gotta love this meathead...
Paul Heyman sells the sting of and distaste for the end of The Streak perfectly. NO ONE knows how to special deliver heat like Paul Heyman does. He is truly a master of his craft on the microphone.
Batista & Randy Orton def. The Usos via Count Out
WWE are subtly obviously planting the seeds for Evolution's reunion, but I felt it was in bad taste to feed The Usos to Batista and Orton when The Usos only won the Tag Team Championships recently. They could have squashed some other random tag team, such as The Brotherhood or Rybaxel. To say WWE is wanting to reinvigorate the Tag Team Division, they aren't doing it any favors by squashing the current tag champions like jobbers...
Plus Orton's comment about "I don't give a damn about the tag team division..." doesn't help at all...
Rob Van Dam def. Damien Sandow
I would love to know what Sandow did to get buried this deep into the hole by WWE. The guy deserves so much better than this.
Bad News Barrett def. Rey Mysterio
Ever since Royal Rumble, Rey Mysterio has been getting dogged by live crowds. He should consider hanging it and retiring soon anyway if he continues to get injured left and right. BNB is surprisingly insanely over now.
Alexander Rusev w/ Lana def. Zack Ryder
Lana always manages to look so yummy... while Rusev looks like he's her daddy who just rolled out of bed to beat up her potential dates like Al Bundy...
I just have to wonder when WWE is going to quit with the squash matches with this guy and give him an actual feud. If the failures of Ryback, Brodus Clay, and A-Train haven't taught WWE anything, it's that their audience could give a flying fuck about any undefeated powerhouse with a winning streak that's NOT The Undertaker.
Final Message From The Ultimate Warrior
Sadly, this ends up being the last promo ever by The Ultimate Warrior who met his untimely demise two days following this broadcast. Rest in peace, Warrior. I'm sure he's up in heaven, reuniting the Ultimate Maniacs with Randy Savage.
I still say the amount of foreshadowing in his last promo is beyond scary though...
Divas Championship Match - Paige def. AJ Lee w/ Tamina - NEW Divas Champion
I remember watching this moment live during RAW and going "Oh god, they are going to bring out Paige out there to shut AJ up..." and then it actually happened. Gail Kim said in her recent interview on Wrestling with Rosenberg (take the time and give it a listen, it's worth your time) that WWE allowing her to win the championship upon her debut was literally the worst they could have done to her at the time, citing that it capped the glass ceiling over her. This was what I was seeing here with Paige. No other Diva will be able to top this debut and Paige really doesn't have much more to aspire towards. She walks onto the main roster as STILL reigning NXT Women's Champion and upstages AJ Lee completely for the Divas Championship.
Speaking of AJ, I hope she takes the opportunity to practice that Octopus Stretch (Black Widow) and learn how to properly apply it. Before people get pissing (especially the marks that defend AJ at every single turn), I understand that AJ has a size difference with a lot of people, but she should have a few variations of the hold for bigger opponents. Many have cited that AJ has used a variation of the move back on NXT, but I don't see why she doesn't use that variation on a lot of the Divas who are obviously taller than her when she can't apply the Japanese variation of the Octopus Stretch (where she obviously picked up the maneuver from) properly.
I have a lovely message for AJ's fans who said that NO ONE was going to ever dethrone her as champion...
Only time will tell, but I'm conflicted about Paige going up to the main roster. On the positive side, I'm glad to see someone finally strip AJ Lee of that championship. WWE made it painfully obvious that someone from Total Divas wasn't going to win the championship, so Paige was the next best thing. On the other hand, I felt that Paige would have benefited being fleshed out a little longer on NXT. I had this discussion with a good friend the other day and here's what I felt like Paige could have accomplished on NXT if WWE kept her there a bit longer:
"Okay, Natalya could have won the NXT Women's Championship during their feud and then feuded with Paige and Emma in a triple threat feud, drops the title back to Paige to become a two time champ then another solo feud w/ Emma after Nattie finishes polishing Emma off in a #1 contender spot. Emma wins the title then her and Paige are friends out of mutual respect. Cue BFFs feud where Paige and Emma vs. Sasha and Charlotte. All 4 girls are getting quality experience here and acts as the last feud before Paige is written off after a big win from the BFFs. Emma isn't pinned in that match so she still has momentum as champ but it puts one of the BFFs (namely Sasha) in a better position to challenge for said title against Emma.That way Paige's disappearance is a way to "quiet" things down and make her debut on the main roster a bit more of a shock when she does debut. And don't forget - I gave Paige 2-3 more good feuds before going onto the main roster."
So where do we go from here? Diva fans want AJ to feud with Paige, but I'm in the minority that does NOT want that to happen. AJ Lee is reportedly taking time off, so this would be the perfect opportunity to rebuild and reinvent the Divas division from scratch. AJ Lee has done nothing but bury the current division instead of helping to revitalize it. She's talented yes, but the nail in the coffin was her burying the ENTIRE division at WrestleMania 30. One could argue that it was booking that did this, but that's only for WWE to stay in good faith with CM Punk for not burying his girlfriend just like anyone else who has spited them in the past.
Sorry, Zeb, but tonight's Monday Night RAW was dominated by Paul Heyman's awesomeness...
Cesaro w/ Paul Heyman def. Jack Swagger w/ Zeb Colter via Count Out
Cesaro is rewarded the trophy for winning the Andre the Giant Battle Royal at WrestleMania 30 and drops the bombshell that he is now a Paul Heyman Guy. I love this turn of events, but this was LONG overdue. I wanted Cesaro as a Heyman Guy back when The Shield first debuted and CM Punk was still one of the Heyman Guys. Better late than never I suppose. This gives Heyman a reason to stick around on television regularly while Brock Lesnar is taking time off until his next big feud.
As for this feud with Jack Swagger, I hope they don't drop the ball on this. Swagger needed a strong feud since dropping the ball of momentum after WrestleMania 29. Obviously, Cesaro is going over on top in this feud to keep his hype train going full steam, but I hope Swagger looks strong coming out of it, much like how Sami Zayn did in their feud.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match Daniel Bryan v. Triple H w/ Stephanie - No Contest
Sadly, WWE dropped the ball here and went a different route with this Triple H vs. Bryan match in the main event. The Shield interferes and sets the stage for the obvious Evolution vs. The Shield feud. I could give a flying fuck what the IWC (internet wrestling community) thinks, but Triple H winning the titles from Daniel Bryan the night after WrestleMania 30 would have warranted massive heat from this already passionate crowd. Instead, The Shield took the spotlight off Bryan completely and made this moment their own.
So much for Bryan being a "fighting champion"...
Still, I won't shit on this ending to RAW too much. We're getting that Evolution vs. The Shield feud, with The Shield as obvious babyfaces as it seems that WWE is eliminating that idea to split them up completely.
April 10, 2014
For some odd reason, this broadcast opens with MVP writing off Samoa Joe as "unavailable" for the #1 Contender's Gauntlet Battle Royal.
According to Samoa Joe's Twitter, he's not "injured" as how the dirtsheets were reporting, so I don't know what the deal is here with him not getting his well deserved title match without it being tainted with outside interference or the other typical bullshit that accompanies TNA's main events.
TNA World Title #1 Contenders Gauntlet Battle Royal - Bobby Lashley vs. Bully Ray vs. Gunner vs. “The Cowboy” James Storm vs. Ethan Carter III vs. “The IT Factor” Bobby Roode vs. “Showtime” Eric Young vs. Willow vs. “The Monster” Abyss vs. Sanada
Eric Young defies the odds and walks away at the winner of this match. EY shocks the masses even more when he announces that he wants to challenge Magnus in tonight's main event - despite the fact that his arm is pretty messed up after the abuse he suffered in this match.
Unlike everyone else, I'm not pissed off that EY is getting this opportunity to shine. Back when Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff first came into TNA, they reverted EY back into a comic relief character when EY was on a roll as the heel leader of World Elite while he was on a roll of being taken seriously.
TNA Knockouts #1 Contenders Fatal 4-Way Angelina Love w/ Velvet Sky def. Brittany, Gail Kim, and ODB
I remember livetweeting during this broadcast and people were complaining why Brittany (Santana Garrett) was in this match and I'm going "This is literally the ENTIRE Knockouts division in this match... shut up and ENJOY this!" Brooke Tessmacher and Taryn Terrell are both on hiatus, so this is the entire division, except for Velvet Sky and obviously Knockouts Champion Madison Rayne, on full display here.
TNA World Tag Team Championship Match - The Wolves def. Jesse & Zema Ion (c) via DQ
Great match, but the BroMans weasel away with the titles, thanks to the DQ. Not bad as The Wolves keep their momentum while the BroMans continue to garner heat from their cowardly tactics.
Christy Hemme confronts Samuel Shaw
Christy Hemme is making GREAT use of her newfound position as part of TNA Creative and it shows with this ongoing drama between herself and Samuel Shaw. I was in tears laughing at Hemme asking Shaw if he was excited yet and Taz excited replies, "I AM!" on commentary. Just when I thought they have ran its course with this angle, TNA manages to keep surprising me with this character.
Main Event TNA World Heavyweight Championship “Showtime” Eric Young def. Magnus - NEW Champion
Eric Young looks as shocked as everyone else in attendance to this miracle. People have criticized saying that this was a complete imitation to Daniel Bryan's win at WrestleMania 30, but c'mon, give Eric Young credit where it's due. EY climbed his way up the food chain the right way - paid his dues, put up with all of the bullshit along the way (sounds like AJ Styles' career, huh?), and established himself as a serious competitor - notably, in that recent feud with Abyss.
April 14, 2014
RAW opens with the roster standing on the entrance ramp. Many are wearing Ultimate Warrior shirts. A video package highlights the life and journey of Warrior. His words from RAW cap it off: “The spirit of the Ultimate Warrior will run forever!” Jerry Lawler announces that tonight will be in tribute to the Ultimate Warrior. Warrior’s music plays and then the fans begin to chant his name. The feels, man. I applaud WWE for this video tribute to the life of The Ultimate Warrior.
Intercontinental #1 Contender’s Tournament First Round Rob Van Dam def. Alberto Del Rio
I'm not sure if the rumors are true, but Alberto Del Rio is supposedly not renewing his WWE contract after it expires this summer, so I guess WWE will continue to use him as chicken-fodder until it runs out. We've seen RVD vs. ADR like a million times in 2013 and this match is nothing different.
Meanwhile, Stephanie McMahon plants the seeds of Evolution reuniting in Triple H, Batista, and Orton's heads. Uh-oh...
Rybaxel def. The Rhodes Brothers
Now this was a shock. Rybaxel won a match? I thought they were solidified at jobber status after failing to live up to the high expectations of being Heyman Guys.
Paige def. Alicia Fox
Paige's first "full" match on RAW and it's against Alicia Fox. I swear she deserves so much better than this. Why can't they feed one of the Total Divas cast members to her first, like one of the Bella Twins? Regardless, Paige's Scorpion Cross Lock never ceases to amaze me.
The Usos v. Randy Orton & Batista - No Contest
The Shield are proving that Orton, Batista, and Triple H can't accomplish alone as long as The Shield are an united force. I'm just glad that The Usos aren't buried to Batista and Orton two weeks in a row.
Randy Orton and Batista are walking in the back when they are approached by Triple H and Stephanie. Triple H says that he told them so.
Paul Heyman walks out onto the entrance ramp. He introduces himself and then pounds the point home AGAIN that Brock Lesnar beat The Undertaker and conquered the streak. Out comes Cesaro and they walk to the ring without any music.
Intercontinental #1 Contender’s Tournament First Round Cesaro w/ Paul Heyman def. Mark Henry
If it's anything that Mark Henry knows how to do, it's how to make a powerhouse vs. powerhouse feud/match look great. Cesaro's power was on full display here, tossing around Henry like a child.
Alexander Rusev def. Xavier Woods
(Laughs) Looks like Lana is really getting "excited" about Rusev's display of power here...
This can't be a coincidence that Rusev is squashing nothing but black guys back to back here on the main roster.... Seriously?
Gotta love that WWE racism... I still say WWE should just use my idea for Rusev's gimmick and book him as if he is Al Bundy from Married with Children beating up Kelly's boyfriends when she brings them home as a typical overprotective father to Lana. Since it's rumored that they are dating in real life, that would be a bit weird.
Intercontinental #1 Contender’s Tournament First Round Sheamus def. Swagger
Zeb Coulter can't catch a break at all. First, Cesaro ditches him for Heyman and now Swagger can't even rise to the challenge in the first round of the Intercontinental #1 Contender's Tournament.
(Insert Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! KO sound effect here)
Even The Big Show wasn't too keen about coming out here and decking Sandow like this. Can someone enlighten me on why WWE constantly buries Damien Sandow at every opportunity?
Instead of singing he has "The Whole World in his Hands", Bray should be singing that he has everyone eating out of his hands. I'm possibly going to say it a million times in this write-up, but when Bray Wyatt speaks into the microphone, nothing but money comes out. No matter whether or not his future is with WWE, his future is going to be very bright in professional wrestling. That being said, I'm glad his feud with Cena isn't a one and done affair.
Fandango makes his entrance. But, he no longer has Summer Rae after their very Twitter break up. Welcome to 2014 I guess. Fandango now comes out with – Layla! She dances her way down to the ring with her new man.
I don't mind this pairing at all (Summer Rae is away filming The Marine 4) as Layla has experience as a professional dancer, so it works.
Fandango & Layla def. Santino & Emma
I don't mind Fandango with Layla at all - at least I know she has an extensive dancing background. Now for this silly Santino & Emma feud, it STILL needs to stop. This has ran it's course already. Give Santino and Emma someone else to fight, like feeding Santino to Rusev.
Intercontinental #1 Contender’s Tournament First Round Bad News Barrett def. Dolph Ziggler
I know BNB is the guy that WWE is trying to push right now (for what seems like the 3rd or 4th time reinventing him...), but I felt like the wrong guy lost here. Killing any chance of Dolph Ziggler getting any momentum has to hurt as Ziggler busts his ass consistently and continues to make other Superstars look good without any reward.
The Shield v. ???
The opponents are revealed to be: Alberto Del Rio, Jack Swagger, Fandango, 3MB, Titus O’Neill, Rybaxel, Alexander Rusev, and Bad News Barrett.
The Shield decimate the odds and looks to come out of this as the victors as BNB wisely chooses to haul ass as this is looking like a losing battle for his teammates.
Then Evolution’s theme hits.
Evolution then laid waste to The Shield to end the broadcast as I'm singing along to Evolution's theme song in the comfort of my apartment.
Let's be honest here, folks. This is WWE giving us fan service at it's finest. It's going to be Evolution vs. The Shield at Extreme Rules. Honestly, there wasn't no other reason to bring Batista back if Triple H and Randy Orton weren't going to combine forces as Evolution as part of Authority.
April 16, 2014
I normally don't watch Main Event, but some of my fellow Diva fans suggested that I tune into this week's match involving the Divas.
Tamina Snuka wins #1 Contender Battle Royal for Divas Championship
Good gravy this match was botchtastic... I'm completely fine with Tamina getting the #1 Contender spot, but man, this was hard to watch. I will go on record on saying it was just as bad or even worse than the Divas' outing at WrestleMania XXX. Layla botching that Tri-Jump Springboard Cross Body (in the veins of Carlito...) and coming up short, Eva Marie half-assing the sell for her elimination, Emma's botch on her elimination during that Tarantula, and let's not forget the cameraman who could barely keep up with the action in this match. I found myself more entertained that the Funkadactyls' matching ring gear in the style of a cross between Kofi Kingston and Tanya from Mortal Kombat 4.
April 17, 2014
TNA Knockouts Champion Madison Rayne def. Velvet Sky (w/ Angelina Love) in Street Fight
Not a bad match, but the thing that stood out to me is that Madison Rayne is giving that The Gore/Spear finisher of hers more mileage lately. I saw her bust that out at the last few house shows I attended in late February and early March. I tweeted her a name for it since I have been jokingly calling it the "Rayne of Terror".
TNA Tag Team Titles: The Wolves def. Bro-Mans via DQ (Bro-Mans retain)
Complete deja vu from last week's Impact...
Handicap Match: Willow def. Rockstar Spud & EC3
Not a bad match, but the thing to take home is Kurt Angle returning post-match. I hope he hasn't returned prematurely from his knee surgery.
Tigre Uno def. Sanada in Best of Three Series Match #2
Ties the series 1-1. These matches have been an international delight to see for free on these weekly tapings. Regardless, I'm anxious to see the grand finale. My only gripe is I hope the X-Division isn't just these two guys currently. I hope Kenny King, Xema Ion, and others start actively competing in the division regularly again now that there's competition.
Tables Match: Bobby Roode def. Gunner
Interference from James Storm, which gave Roode the win but they still botched the table break before Roode had to pick up Gunner again and slam him through the table properly. If Roode and Storm are going to keep helping each other, they might as well go ahead and reunite as Beer Money again since they are both heels.
TNA World Heavyweight Championship "Showtime" Eric Young def. "The Monster" Abyss in Monster's Ball
No interference, no bullshit/clusterfuck finish. EY proved his worth as a champion tonight. I hope that shuts up the haters. EY's win wasn't a fluke, luck of the draw, or the flavor of the month to compete with WWE's Daniel Bryan championship win.
April 21, 2014
This broadcast begins with Brie Bella standing in the ring to join the live crowd in welcoming her husband back to RAW after their honeymoon. Daniel Bryan's father passed away earlier during the day, but it's truly heartbreaking to see him fighting the tears with bloodshot eyes as he stands in front of the WWE Universe.
I'm sorry for your loss, Bryan.
This moment is interrupted promptly by the arrival of Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley to comes to gloat about Bryan's upcoming match against "The Monster" Kane. Kane arrives and destroys Bryan with not one, but three Tombstone Piledrivers in the ring, on the steel steps, and on commentary table, much to Steph's dismay. She sarcastically tried to stop Kane but it was to no avail. I swear this moment is begging for Brie and Stephanie to face off in the very near future. According to the comments online after the show, people seem to not know what sarcasm is, complaining about Stephanie "caring" about Bryan's well-being... C'mon guys, there can't be THAT much stupid in the wrestling community.
Can I have a portrait of Stephanie McMahon holding both of the championships in the ring for my apartment? That image is just pure perfection.
Bad News Barrett def. Sheamus in Semi-Final #1 Contender Tournament for Intercontinental Championship
Great match between these two Superstars and I'm glad they didn't go with the obvious route of Sheamus winning this match. Much like Barrett's last IC title reign, I think this push is going to be a waste for him. I still feel like Dolph Ziggler could have used the push in this tournament more than Barrett.
WWE Tag Team Champions The Usos def. The Rhodes Brothers (Cody Rhodes & Goldust) w/ Ryback & Curtis Axel on commentary
Not a bad match, but I wish WWE would quit breaking up good tag teams, even though JBL and Cole keep insisting that the Tag Team division is being reinvigorated. I honestly don't see how.
Evolution (Randy Orton, Triple H, Batista) and The Shield standoff
Triple H is hoarse and apparently "evolving" into John Laurinaitis, so he has to hand the mic over to Orton and Batista. I'm sure WWE is going to receive a lot of lawsuits in the morning after all of the fangirls get out of the hospital from the overkill of Randy Orton in a suit and all of The Shield in the ring during one segment.
The segment ends with Triple H making Evolution vs. The Shield official at Extreme Rules. The Shield look to remedy that assault from last week's RAW, but Evolution has back up. The Shield holds their ground in a stalemate between both factions as RAW takes a commercial break.
Los Matadores w/ El Torito def. 3MB w/ Hornswoggle
While I'm glad they are doing something with El Torito in the ring, I'm facepalming that it had to be something stupid with Hornswoggle. This feud started on Main Event on the previous week and continued throughout Smackdown! and into tonight's card, which is pretty much a big rehashing of Smackdown! from Friday night.
Just when I think Drew McIntyre's career can't get any lower, he gets "gored" by Torito... When is he going to hang it up and go somewhere else? Well, he can't go to Impact Wrestling or he's going to get his ass kicked by Taryn Terrell again...
Emma (w/ Santino Marella) def. Layla (w/ Fandango)
Emma debuts her own version of the Cobra, which she has named "VenEMMA" on Twitter.
(Facepalms) Can we kill this feud already? I'm sick of seeing either Emma, Santino, Fandango, or Layla/Summer Rae fight each other on almost every WWE broadcast since before WrestleMania XXX.
Rob Van Dam def. Cesaro (w/ Paul Heyman) via count-out in Semi-Final #1 Contender Tournament for Intercontinental Championship
Heyman declares Cesaro "The King of Swing"... but Cesaro loses thanks to interference from Jack Swagger and Zeb Coulter.
NXT Women's Champion & WWE Divas Champion Paige def. Aksana
Didn't we JUST see this match on Smackdown! on Friday? Seriously, WWE needs to scrap Smackdown! completely if they are going to just rehash matches from that on Monday's RAW broadcast. I'm still not feeling Paige's theme on the main roster though. While I think I won't EVER get sick of seeing her apply that Scorpion Crosslock, I wish WWE would take the time to give Paige a character - allow her to speak and do segments.
I like how the Divas have been stepping up their wrestling game in the last few weeks... Competition is important. #Raw— Nattie (@NatbyNature) April 22, 2014
Yeah, the Divas are stepping up because they have no other option. When AJ Lee was champion, everyone (AJ included) had that lackluster and lazy performance in the ring. With a solid competitor like Paige as champion, now every Diva wants to prove themselves in a hope that they aren't overshadowed by Paige's superior in-ring talents.
Alexander Rusev (w/ Lana) def. Sin Cara
WWE dooms almost all of these monster heels to failure with the string of squash matches. To Rusev's credit, he's not half bad, but I feel like he needs a much better finisher than a damn Camel Clutch. C'mon at least something devastating to watch him do to people. The Accolade looks like a sexual position he cooked up in bed with Lana backwards.
Speaking of Lana, she looks like she can barely stand up in those heels.
John Cena def. The Wyatt Family via DQ in a 3-on-1 Handicap Match
Somehow, someway, Cena finds a way to win. With the rigged voting of the WWE app, you KNEW they were going to go with worst possible outcome for John Cena, only for him to jump over that obstacle in the end - like always.
April 24, 2014
Magnus fires Abyss, but MVP offers Abyss his job back
While this was an interesting opening segment for Impact, I couldn't help but laugh at MVP skipping back up the ramp like AJ Lee before the commercial break.
Kurt Angle def. Rockstar Spud (w/ Ethan Carter III)
EC3 played the sore loser after this quick match and attacks Kurt until Willow makes the save. I wish that they would start booking Spud as a legit competitor instead of chicken fodder to squash week-in, week-out. He's actually not bad in the ring at all if TNA would take the time to show that characteristic off.
Madison Rayne calls The Beautiful People out to the ring
This erupts into a brawl with things quickly getting ugly until Brittany comes to Rayne's aid to even the odds. TBP get the upper hand and bring out the paper bags. Gail Kim offers her help to her former BFF to even the odds while simultaneously teasing an inevitable Gail Kim vs. Angelina Love storyline for down the road. Brilliant booking by TNA here. They are keeping Gail Kim relevant, despite her not being in the title feud, while keeping the TBP vs. Rayne feud fresh. Love vs. Gail would be great now that the Knockouts division isn't in it's infancy like in the past.
Bobby Lashley def. Kenny King via count-out
I was sitting trying to multi-task live-tweeting on Twitter, jot down notes on this broadcast, and post on Facebook when I sarcastically said out loud, "Watch the mystery opponent be Bobby Lashley..." Well, look who we have here...
Great match, with King using a lot of cowardly tactics to maneuver his way out of the pending Spears. Amazing spot where Lashley caught King out of the air into a stalling Brainbuster. I liked this result as it saw both guys gaining momentum without losing any steam.
The Beautiful People def. Madison Rayne & Gail Kim
I love how TNA is keeping Gail Kim involved in this storyline while keeping the door open with Madison Rayne and Gail Kim settling the score down the road, but coming together to fight against a common threat. The Beautiful People are looking strong going into Sacrifice, but Rayne didn't look weak here either.
Ken Anderson meets Samuel Shaw's "mom"
His mom is named "Christy" and she's a redhead. This just got even MORE creepier. I dunno how that is possible but this gimmick is freaking awesome.
MVP def. Austin Aries
Solid performance between both men, but I'm puzzled why Impact keeps having these one and done encounters for MVP. First Kenny King and now Austin Aries? Why is MVP picking fights with so many people and not following up with these "chance" encounters? Regardless, I can't complain too much as the match itself wasn't bad at all.
April 25, 2014
Verbal Debate between Paul Heyman & Zeb Coulter
I don't regularly watch Smackdown thanks to spoilers, but when I do it's for golden moments such as this. This verbal debate between Zeb Coulter and Paul Heyman was simply magical. Who says managers don't have a place in professional wrestling anymore?
Cesaro (w/ Paul Heyman) def. Jack Swagger (w/ Zeb Coulter)
I don't get why WWE is rushing this feud when they could easily stretch this out over the course of the month.
Tamina def. Natalya
Weak match, but I'm concerned that Tamina was winded within the first few opening minutes of this match. And this is the chick they want to have a PPV match against Paige?
The Wyatt Family def. The Rhodes Brothers
April 26, 2014
ROH Champion Adam Cole rewards Matt Hardy "The Iconic Title"
The Iconic Title was the same belt that Cole and Hardy stole from Jay Briscoe after his defeat at Supercard of Honor VIII. While it's cool to see that Matt Hardy is still active in the wrestling world, I'm happy to see Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis in a main event stable feud since they are currently aligned with Cole against the Briscoes.
Kevin Steen ruins the moment for Cole and storms the ring after declaring that he's the next challenger for the ROH title. I thought Steen was WWE bound by now? Or did they reject him after he refused to loose weight before the last training camp/audition he was invited to? Whatever, at least we get another cool Kevin Steen feud before he walks out of ROH.
BJ Whitmer (w/ The Decade & Adam Page) def. Cedric Alexander
Adam Page comes off as that one kid who wants to impress the "cool kids" that he's cool enough to hang with them. Sadly, he's trying to earn The Decade's stamp of approval. While this stable hasn't impressed me much since I started back watching ROH regularly this year (well... other than Roderick Strong but that's a given for me...), but tonight was one of those months where I was amused with what they brought to the table. I've forgotten how hilarious Jimmy Jacobs' personality and character is.
ROH Pure Championship - Jay Lethal (w/ Truth Martini) def. Alex Koslov to retain
I completely forgotten that Koslov was this good in the ring. I have only recently started watching ROH again, so the last time I saw Koslov wrestle was back in TNA's World X Cup in 2008 as part of Team International. None the less, this was a stellar title defense from Lethal. I'm sad that Lethal doesn't wrestle on ROH TV on a consistent basis. He's definitely my favorite black wrestler in the industry today.
TNA Sacrifice
April 27, 2014
The Wolves def. BroMans in a No DQ match to become the NEW TNA Tag Team Champions
The BroMans finally got that beating that has been pending for weeks now. It's been so long since I have seen DJ Zema Ion in a match I almost forgot that he's actually good in the ring. I have to admit that the whole one of The Wolves getting beat up for 80% of the match until the hot tag is getting old. Leave that boring shit to WWE's Tag division. I know both of these teams are much more capable of that. C'mon, TNA, it's time to let your tag team division shine miles beyond WWE's
Mr. Anderson def. Samuel Shaw
After well-placed nutshot from Christy Hemme, both Christy and Anderson can put the Creepy Bastard behind them. Not a bad match, but a bit one-sided for my taste. Fortunately, the storytelling made up for it.
Willow & Kurt Angle def. Ethan Carter III & Rockstar Spud
If you've seen their encounters on Impact for the last month, then you won't be surprised with anything here. Standard affair for Kurt Angle and Jeff Hardy, but a pretty average match.
X-Division Championship Match - Best of Three Series Final - Sanada (c) def. Tigre Uno to retain
(Laughs) I was entertained with the chants of "Let's Go, Goku!" for Sanada, but even more impressed by this match. This was the perfect example of why we love the X-Division. This was easily the best match up to this point.
I Quit Match - Gunner def. James Storm
3 Hangar 18s then the Superplex onto the guard rail on top of the two chairs... Sheesh this match was insane. It started off slow, but quickly turned the dial up in violence. I loved the spot where Storm hit a rope-assisted DDT on the steel steps.
Knockouts Championship - Angelina Love (w/ Velvet Sky) def. Madison Rayne to become record-breaking 6 time champion
To be expected, Velvet Sky's constant interference and distractions were a high contributing factor to Angelina Love's win. I can't be too surprised at that part, but I was surprised to see Angelina win the belt so fast, especially after it seemed like this feud has been so one-sided since The Beautiful People reunited.
Tables Match - Bobby Roode def. Bully Ray
I honestly didn't notice this until someone posted it on Facebook the day after. I thought the referee got hit by Roode's feet when Bully Ray elevated him up for the Powerbomb. Make all the jokes you want, but it was a decent match, but just with a poor finish. The referee was still out when the bell rang to end the match, which should have happened after Roode went through the first table.
As for the match itself, it wasn't as bad as the marks on the 'net made it out to be. Seeing Dixie Carter dressed as a dude was mentally scarring enough though.
TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match - Eric Young (c) def. Magnus to retain
While I wasn't too crazy about this match as a whole, I respect that TNA did the main event without a bullshit nor a clusterfuck finish/interference. Once again, Eric Young shut up the haters and proved that he wasn't a one-hit wonder.
April 28, 2014
John Cena's fans "abandon" him for the Wyatt Family
This was hands-down the freakiest wrestling segment I have seen in a VERY long time. It's up there with one e-fed storyline I saw a few years back where Mickey Mouse was stalking a particular Superstar for weeks until finally revealing himself to be The Undertaker. (Shudders) The shit people think of to make these bizarre, creepy gimmicks work.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match - The Usos def. Rybaxel
Not a bad match, but you had to be high to think that Rybaxel would win the gold here. I honestly don't see The Usos lose the gold anytime soon.
Sheamus def. Titus O'Neil
Hugh Jackman and Dolph Ziggler def. Damien Sandow dressed as Magneto
You know WWE had to cash in on X-Men: Days of Future Past (FYI I have a review on that film on my other blog here) coming out in theaters and the fact that Hugh Jackman was a former RAW Special Guest General Manager back when that concept was force-fed down our throats a few years back.
This segment was somewhere between idiotic and moronic - meaning it was a complete waste of everyone's time. Ziggler and Sandow could have had an actual match instead of wasting time with this comedy bit. Seeing Sandow dressed as Magneto was worth a minor chuckle though.
Stephanie McMahon "apologizes" to Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella
It's moments like this is why I adore heel Stephanie McMahon. You know that she didn't mean not an ounce of that "sincere" apology.
Divas Championship Match - Paige (c) vs. Brie Bella
So-so match, but the thing to take away from here is how fast Paige bolted out of there when Kane pyro hit. I was laughing so hard at that since it didn't give me enough time to roll my eyes at Brie Bella's god-awful acting here.
Intercontinental Championship #1 Contender Tournament Final - Bad News Barrett def. Rob Vam Dam
BNB picks up the win after inference from both Swagger and Cesaro at ringside. This sets up a triple threat between those three Superstars
Evolution, The Shield, and Ric Flair exchange words
This segment was rather odd. It was cool that Ric Flair gave The Shield the stamp of approval, but why didn't Evolution beat the shit out of him afterwards? If you ask me, The Shield are at that point where they don't need any more stamps of approval as they have been constantly and consistently strong in every angle/feud they have been involved with. In a sense, Flair's presence is wasted here.
If you ask me, I think Flair should have taken the time to revoke the Figure Four Leglock from The Miz.
This Month in Wrestling - MAY 2014
May 1, 2014
Gunner def. Mr. Anderson
James Storm tried to interfere to no luck. They are kinda beating a dead horse here with the Gunner/James Storm feud if you ask me...
Bully Ray comes out with a table. He has "Dixie" written on it. Bully talks about Sacrifice and threatens to put Dixie through a table.
Apparently, Bully Ray got "wood" for Dixie Carter. Go ahead and make all of the dirty jokes you want on that one. C'mon, Bully, you can do better than Dixie Carter. You were kayfabe banging Tessmacher a few months ago!
Ethan Carter III and Rockstar Spud come out and announce a match against Kurt Angle for next week. Tonight, he will be doing a sparring session against Spud. Kurt angle interrupts and says he will end EC3's streak next week.
Kurt Angle's return was the only noteworthy thing in this segment. As much as I hate to admit it, I laugh too much at Spud as comedy relief, but I hope TNA at least has a plan to take him seriously down the road. Not everyone can
Bobby Roode def. Gunner
Bobby Roode defeated Gunner to become the new #1 contender that will face Eric Young during tonight's main event.
Dixie Carter comes out to the ring surrounded by security.
Dixie comes out dressed like a soccer mom, only for Bully Ray to interrupt her and motion to put her through a table. MVP intervenes and bans both of them from the Impact Zone. That seems rather... odd. Why should Bully Ray stop? He should've gave her the wood (God that sounds awful...) anyway. I guess TNA is saving that for a future PPV.
Willow def. James Storm via DQ
Willow defeated James Storm by DQ when Storm pushed the referee down. Storm grabbed a piece of glass but Willow hit him with his umbrella. Mr. Anderson ran down and hit a Mic Check on Storm.
So, they are going with an Anderson/Storm feud? Meh, whatever. At least they stopped running the Storm/Gunner feud into the ground.
Velvet Sky and Angelina Love come out and brag about Angelina's win at Sacrifice
Velvet Sky and Angelina Love come out wearing evening gowns since TNA Management told them to start covering themselves up more. To the delight of the male fans in the crowd, they start stripping out of their long dresses but stop and start insulting the fans. Angelina calls out Gail Kim, only for Gail Kim to show up ready for a fight. I'm glad they aren't beating around the bush to a "proper" Gail vs. Angelina feud since their feud back at the beginning of the Knockouts division was a bit premature. Both have grown as wrestlers (especially Gail Kim) and I'm anxious to see how the actual title match will play out. A part of me is saying that a heel Taryn Terrell will come back at Slammiversary and screw Gail out of the title (or alternatively assist Gail in winning it) just to add to the dynamic of her inevitable return to Impact Wrestling. That chapter of Gail's career hasn't finished yet and Gail has openly said that she would love to even the score with Taryn with a rubber match.
Back on topic though... I was praising Madison and Brittany for stripping Angelina and Velvet at the end of this segment. Totally worth it there.
The Wolves and Sanada def. BroMans and Zema Ion
After both of their stellar matches at Sacrifice, I was glad to see that TNA paired The Wolves up with Sanada.
Eric Young retained the World Heavyweight Title over Bobby Roode
It was great to see the last two remaining members of Team Canada in a main event together and even more impressive to see Roode push EY to his limits and beyond. If you have any doubt in EY being a legitimate champion, then it should be completely gone by now.
May 1, 2014
Tyson Kidd def. Bo Dallas
Kidd and Bo definitely put on a great opening match here. Sadly, the rest of tonight's show was hit or miss.
Sasha Banks with Charlotte def. Bayley in a match for the NXT Women's Title tournament
Holy crap, I LOVED Sasha's new finisher from that combination lungblower/Backstabber into the submission. She's definitely my favorite to win this tournament if they MUST have a member of the BFFs win this.
Adam Rose def. Danny Burch. Camacho appeared during Rose's post-match party.
No one cares. Too bad that Camacho has to play the party pooper. Even worse that Leo Kruger is stuck with this gimmick.
Natalya def. Layla in a match for the NXT Women's Title tournament
Not a bad match, but a bit too obvious that Natalya was going over. Layla doesn't even wrestle on NXT regularly.
Mojo Rawley def. Oliver Grey. Aiden English came out after the match and cut a promo on Mojo
I swear I can't stand Mojo Rawley. I just can't get behind this dude's "hype". He's as exciting as watching paint dry.
Adrian Neville def. Brodus Clay in a No Disqualification match for the NXT Title
This match was the biggest disappointment of the night. To say that WWE wasted their time in reinvigorating Brodus Clay as a monster heel then to have him in a lackluster match against Neville seemed like they weren't even trying nor cared where this would end up. I was aspiring for this feud to be like Mark Henry's rise to dominance on the former ECW brand, but nope. Subpar performances from both Neville and Clay.
C'mon NXT, you have to do better than this, especially for a main event feud if you want to market Neville off as a credible champion.
May 3, 2014
Tommaso Ciampa def. Roderick Strong (w/ Adam Page)
While both of these guys are solid competitors, Strong doesn't deserve to be losing within a span of 3 minutes. C'mon man. I know Ciampa is like a monster but geez.
Silas Young def. The Romantic Touch
I didn't get why Young was fighting Touch when he's a comedy character. Give Young a legitimate threat if ROH are so gung-ho about Young being their biggest heel.
Jimmy Jacobs (w/ The Decade) def. Corey Holis
The match itself wasn't really anything to write home about as the point here was that The Decade grows bigger. I don't necessarily see a point in making the stable bigger when they barely get airtime on ROH's weekly shows as it is, but whatever. I'll wait and see how this plays out.
Michael Elgin def. Rocky Romero
Since I've started watching ROH regularly this year, I'm slowly becoming a fan of Elgin's work. I'm sad that the Forever Hooligans don't wrestle regularly on this weekly broadcast though. I remember them from their short skint in Lucha Libre USA: Masked Warriors.
WWE Extreme Rules May 4, 2014
WeeLC Match: El Torito def. Hornswoggle
This match wasn't as bad as I originally thought it was going to be after how WWE booked this feud up to this point. I liked that both Los Matadores and 3MB got involved in the action - showing that they weren't just there to pick up a paycheck as they stood on the sidelines. I'm glad that El Torito's talents are being put on full display in a legitimate feud, even if it's in one as silly as this.
Triple Threat Elimination Match: Cesaro def. Jack Swagger and Rob Van Dam
I remember watching this live and feeling confused when RVD pinned Swagger. I thought the match was over there as I honestly didn't remember WWE announcing that this match was going under "elimination" rules. Still, it wasn't a bad match, but just a little odd that they would contest the match with these TNA-style rules.
Handicap Match: Alexander Rusev def. R-Truth and Xavier Woods
R-Truth and Xavier Woods got a little of offense in but this was over in no time. Really, did you expect anything less?
If Rusev didn't have the eye candy Lana in his corner, he would have been in Vladmir Kozlov territory by now.
WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Bad News Barrett def. Big E
This crowd wasn't going to have it any other way, so you knew that Big E was going to lose the Intercontinental title here. I'm glad Big E was able to put up a good fight against BNB and make him look good in the process. Barrett's gimmick is a breath of fresh air, but his ringwork still doesn't impress me much. Let's just see if this IC title reign for Barrett isn't as boring as his last one.
The Shield def. Evolution
It was pretty odd to see that this match wasn't really "extreme" at all, other than the fighting outside of the ring and throughout the crowd. This was definitely the best match of the night, but I know Batista has to hate that he has been the only one who has been taking the bulk of the losses for Evolution.
Steel Cage Match: Bray Wyatt def. John Cena
This was pretty much a 3-on-1 handicap match for Cena as the Wyatt Family constantly interfered at ringside. What the fuck at that ending though... Cena's scared of kids now? Well, kids with creepy voices...
All negativity aside, Bray got the win here (much to the delight of the IWC) that shows that this feud isn't over yet. It's great to see Bray continue that freaky vibe he had going from RAW.
WWE Divas Title Match: Paige def. Tamina Snuka
I thought Paige was going to have her first legitimate threat here, but nope. Paige keeps up the same pattern from roughly every match she's been in since he move to the main roster - get beat up for 99.9% of the match, get the Hulk Hogan-style comeback, slap on that finisher and go home for the win.
Extreme Rules Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Title: Daniel Bryan def. Kane
From the way how Kane has been dominating this feud, it was a little too obvious that Daniel Bryan was going to walk away the winner. To say Kane has been back and forth in his struggle to stay relevant, it was a breath of fresh air to see him back as a monster again, especially after the prompt squash match that he suffered a loss in at WrestleMania XXX.
Someone needs to remind JBL, King, and Cole that using a forklift to win is NOT anything new... Go back and watch Judgment Day 2003.
I still can't get over on how WWE's commentary team acts like they are in denial when it comes to events that transpired about roughly 10 years ago.
May 5, 2014
20-Man Battle Royal for the WWE United States Title: Sheamus def. Dean Ambrose, Big Show, Mark Henry, Xavier Woods, R-Truth, Goldust, Cody Rhodes, Fandango, Titus O'Neil, Kofi Kingston, Zack Ryder, Santino Marella, Ryback, Curtis Axel, Dolph Ziggler, Heath Slater, Sin Cara, Jack Swagger and Damien Sandow
The first time in MONTHS where Dean Ambrose has to finally defend the United States Championship instead of merely wearing it to keep his pants up, yet The Shield's marks find a reason to complain about this. Unlike everyone else, I want both the IC and US titles to mean something again, not just to be irrelevant props to anyone who isn't good enough to be the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
Sheamus isn't who I would have picked to take the gold from Ambrose, but anyone else who is going to regularly defend it is fine in my book. Honestly, my preferred choices to win were Ziggler, Titus, Swagger, or Sandow.
Rob Van Dam def. Cesaro via DQ
Apparently they are prolonging this feud after the end result from Extreme Rules. Meh, whatever.
Ryback def. Cody Rhodes
Cody's losing streak continues...
Alexander Rusev def. Kofi Kingston
Rusev squashes another black guy on his Russian tour of racism...
Daniel Bryan def. Alberto Del Rio
Fresh after his win from Extreme Rules, Bryan put on an amazing match here with ADR, despite the lack of fans behind Del Rio... Sadly, both of their efforts were hampered by the bad acting and horror movie cheesiness splattered across this episode.
You can see in the video above that Daniel Bryan has been saddled with a lackluster feud with Kane, complete with horrible acting and cheap D level horror film theatrics. How am I supposed to buy that Kane is an unstoppable monster when The Shield squashed him and the rest of the New Age Outlaws in less than five minutes at WrestleMania? C'mon WWE you can do better than this shit.
WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Bad News Barrett def. Big E
Just like their match at Extreme Rules, this was a great back and forth contest. Sadly, Big E fails to recapture the gold. Vince McMahon is reportedly really high onto the BNB character, so Barrett goes over. I'll be honest and say Barrett is as impressive as watching paint dry (I NEVER was a fan of him even when he was Chris Jericho's over-hyped rookie in NXT...) but he's showing promise with the "right" dancing partners to tango with in the ring.
Adam Rose meets Zeb Colter
I think I've said this enough over Twitter since Leo Kruger was repackaged as Adam Rose on NXT... I want Leo Kruger back, dammit. I'm calling it now - the groupies and crazy entrance is going to run it's course and Rose will find himself in midcard hell or gone within a span of a few months just like Fandango and Brodus Clay.
The Wyatt Family def. The Shield
As expected, The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family was all kinds of awesome. RAW ends with Evolution assaulting The Shield post-match with Reigns on the receiving end of a Pedigree from Triple H. Oh how they are foreshadowing on a potential Roman Reigns vs. Triple H feud down the line.
May 6, 2014
Jack Swagger def. Dolph Ziggler
It's a Ziggler match. Watch this shit.
Cameron, Naomi and Natalya def. Aksana, Tamina Snuka and Alicia Fox
The match itself wasn't really anything to talk about, but it seems like WWE are teasing a potential Cameron and Natalya feud. Hmmm, interesting.
- We get the Mother's Day message from Mr. T.
I dunno about anyone else, but that clip seemed a bit disrespectful after the emotional, heartfelt speech that Mr. T gave at the Hall of Fame ceremony. I'm surprised he didn't sue after this got out.
Goldust def. Curtis Axel
Unlike Cody Rhodes, Goldust doesn't have a losing streak.
Main Event ends with John Cena with a message to Bray Wyatt
WWE looked to boost ratings with John Cena appearing on Main Event to give his promo that was originally intended for RAW last night. Meh, I don't care either way as long as the matches are good in this feud.
May 8, 2014
Charlotte def. Emma in a tournament match. Emma went for the Cobra, but hit Sasha Banks on the ring apron, leading to Charlotte rolling her up for the win.
I wasn't surprised that Emma didn't get the win here. If Emma can't get a win anymore on NXT nor on the main roster, then her career isn't looking too hot right now.
Kalisto and El Local (Ricardo Rodriguez) def. The Legionnaires (Sylvester Lefort & Marcus Louis).
Here's my biggest issue on how NXT is booking The Ascension. They allow the Ascension to squash and kill off just about every new tag team on their debut, whether they are good or not. WWE and NXT's tag team divisions are already lacking. Don't go squashing guys who could potentially get insanely over enough to justify them winning the championships down the line.
Camacho def. Captain Comic from Adam Rose's group of party people. Hunico returned as himself and had a confrontation with Rose.
For those not in the know, Hunico is the current Sin Cara after the original Sin Cara was fired and returned back to Mexico.
Alexa Bliss def. Alicia Fox in a match for the NXT Women's Title tournament.
I'm going to call it now - the Bliss Fairy is going to be on the main roster by this time next year. She has a very marketable look and she's extremely agile - both traits that can propel her into popularity on the main roster in no time. She got my respect from still working the match like a pro even after Fox got her bleeding from the mouth. At this moment, I'm calling her my second favorite in this tournament. I can't see her winning this but I would LOVE to see her versus Sasha in the finals.
Battle royal to determine a new #1 contender to the NXT Title. Participants are Xavier Woods, Brodus Clay, Baron Corbin, Curt Hawkins, Aiden English, Jason Jordan, Danny Burch, Oliver Grey, Marcus Louise, Sylvester Lefort, Big Cass, Camacho, Mason Ryan, Kalisto, El Local, Mojo Rawley, Sami Zayn, Yoshi Tatsu, Tyler Breeze, Bo Dallas and Tyson Kidd.
Zayn, Breeze and Kidd were all eliminated last at the same time. Triple H comes out and announces a triple threat between them to crown the #1 contender. If you don't watch this episode of NXT for anything else, it's just for this match - namely the final three.
May 8, 2014
Knux (w/ The Menagerie) def. Kazarian in his return to the company
Knux came out with Rebel (a former cheerleader who is friends with Christy Hemme), Crazy Steve (who looks oddly similar to the Gangster Prankster from Black Scorpion), The Freak (Rob Terry) and several other carny acts, including two guys on stilts.
I can't speak on the match itself as I was pretty distracted looking at this:
"You know a shorty got a big ass when she got that booty shade going on back there."
Ethan Carter III def. Kurt Angle
Kurt was still playing up the injury angle from several months ago, even having the referee throw up an "X" during the match. Angle stopped the ref from throwing out the match, but got caught with a spear.
Willow def. Magnus by disqualification. Bram (former NXT talent Kenneth Cameron) came out in the middle of the match and attacked Hardy, handcuffing him to the ring and beating on him with some sort of object
I have no idea on what to think of Bram. I don't even remember seeing him on NXT. If he's going to give Magnus a bit of depth to his character then I'm all for it.
The Beautiful People def. Madison Rayne & Brittney in an Evening Gown tag team match
The Wolves def. The Bromans to retain the TNA World Tag Team Championships in a ladder match
A good match, but I saw it as both teams just recycling at lot of the same spots from the last PPV.
MVP came out and brought down EY to reveal his opponent for Slammiversary. When nobody comes out, MVP attacks Young from behind, revealing himself as the #1 contender to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
I will be honest. MVP fooled me. Him going heel and naming himself as Eric Young's opponent made like no sense as it came out of left field. I thought he was supposed to be the opposite of Dixie Carter?
May 15, 2014
The Ascension defeated Buddy Murphy and an unknown wrestler
Random squash matches against tag teams no one cares about. And yet people wonder why no one cares about The Ascension. Don't get me wrong. They are two talented Superstars, but I wish NXT had more tag teams to test their mettle against.
Charlotte defeated Alexa Bliss in a match for the NXT Women's Title Tournament
After Alexa Bliss' defeat here, you can see where this is going. Charlotte vs. Natalya for a Flair vs. Hart family rehash in the Title Tournament Finals. I feel that Charlotte is still a bit too green to take up a role like this right now and WWE are only giving her a push to stay on Ric Flair's good side.
Mojo Rawley beat Aiden English
I really hate this dude. There's NO way in hell I can get "hyped" in a Mojo Rawley match. Aiden English needs to be utilized better than this. Maybe pair him up with someone like Damien Sandow and go for the NXT Tag Team titles?
Big Cass beat Angelo Dawkins. CJ Parker came out holding a sign that read "This sign is recyclable."
Nobody cares. Big Cass has to be like the most boring "big guy" on the WWE roster. Now that's "SAWFT".
Tyson Kidd defeated Sami Zayn and Tyler Breeze in a Triple Threat match to become No. 1 contender to the NXT Championship
Best match of the night thus far. Zayn caught Breeze with a big boot. Zayn was dumped to the floor by Kidd, who followed up with a top rope elbow drop onto Breeze for the win. Zayn loses yet another big opportunity at gold on NXT. I have to wonder how long WWE is going to continue clipping his wings at almost every turn towards a championship? As for Kidd, this is do or die time for him. If he doesn't deliver at Takeover, I doubt WWE is going to have any more faith in him for a push like this.
May 15, 2014
Kazarian def. Crazy Steve via disqualification. This wasn't really a match, as Crazy Steve just messed around and ended up getting DQ'd for pulling the referee's pants down
I'm not complaining. We saw more of Rebel's fine ass...
Eric Young comes out and talks about MVP turning on him last week just to get a title shot. He says he would have gladly just given MVP a title shot because he is a fighting champion. MVP shows up on the tron and trash talks EY.
All of that sounds nice and all, but MVP's heel turn still doesn't add up. Oh well, chalk it up to #DatTNALogic...
Willow def. Magnus & Bram in a 2-on-1 handicap match
I still don't know what to think of Bram as he seems more like a distraction to Magnus than an asset at this stage.
James Storm def. Mr. Anderson
This feud seems like a bit of a step down from both of their feuds with Samuel Shaw and Gunner. That's just me...
Backstage, MVP and Eric Young are brawling everywhere. MVP gets the better of it, laying out the champion, and accepts a title match for later tonight.
Gail Kim def. Velvet Sky. After the match, Velvet took the Knockouts Championship and knocked out Gail
The Beautiful People's bag of dirty tricks came into play, but Gail Kim still came out on top. I love how they are doing this feud with how TBP are slowly corrupting the entire Knockouts division and forcing everyone to get involved.
Sanada def. Tigre Uno & Zema Ion in a triple threat match for the X-Division Championship
Match of the Night - 'Nuff said. I wish TNA would give X-Division more attention like this on EVERY broadcast. Sanada continues to prove exactly why he's the X-Division Champion.
Eric Young def. MVP via disqualfication when Kenny King came out and attacked EY
MVP wants the match restarted, but the referee won't hear it, so King takes out the ref too. Bobby Lashley makes his return to Impact and looks like he's going to make the save, but ends up spearing EY instead. MVP, King and Lashley stand over the champion to end the taping.
Boy, you guys should have read the tweets following this from the TNA haters. People were calling this stable "MLK" as some mock Civil Rights Movement. C'mon, even TNA aren't that damn stupid. Seriously though, I don't mind this new group. It brings King into the spotlight and gives Lashley a strong platform to start off on now that he's back in TNA.
May 17, 2014
Match Number One: Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly def. Cedric Alexander and Andrew Everett
Other wrestling enthusiasts have dubbed Cedric Alexander the next generation successor to AJ Styles. I can see what they are getting at. The guy is definitely showing promise with his athleticism and superb in-ring ability. Fish and O'Reilly aren't bad either, but I need some more time to gauge their talents since I'm still just getting back into the swing of watching ROH regularly again.
Match Number Two: Michael Elgin def. A.J. Styles for a Future Title Match Opportunity
If you haven't seen their first encounter, then do yourself a favor and watch that before watching this. That being said, this was just as good - if not better, than their initial encounter. Mad kudos that Ring of Honor are showing this FREE on TV. Well for those who are able to watch ROH's weekly programming.
May 19, 2014
RAW opens with the always amazing Bray Wyatt on the microphone. John Cena fools the Wyatts for once and gets one over them as he leaves them all out in the ring to end the opening segment. I don't know about anyone else, but Bray's singing has already ran its course for me. I'm cool with his promos though.
Cesaro def. Sheamus
While I'm not too crazy about Sheamus, I do appreciate this great opening match between him and Cesaro.
Beat The Clock Challenge Match: Big E def. Ryback in 5:02
You KNOW Ryback wasn't going to win this and they have to keep Big E relevant someway or another.
R-Truth and Naomi vs. Layla and Fandango - Match NEVER transpires
This match never happens as filming for The Marine 4 is over and Summer Rae is back to reclaim her property from Layla - namely Fandango. I feel sorry for R-Truth and the Funkadactyls. They got all dressed up for nothing only for Summer to be the wet blanket to this party.
Stephanie McMahon mocks the fans
You cannot hate Stephanie McMahon. She is arguably WWE's best heel at the moment with Paul Heyman running for 2nd place. I love how she's playing up the Daniel Bryan situation. I say go with giving the title to Triple H just for the additional heat for The Authority.
Rusev def. Heath Slater
I'm shocked Rusev squashed a white guy instead of his typical racist hunt for black guys in his immortal quest to squash all jobbers.
Beat The Clock Challenge Match: Rob Van Dam def. Alberto Del Rio in 4:15
Rats, 5 seconds away from 4:20... Oh well.
Seth Rollins def. Batista via DQ
Great match that continues to show that this Evolution vs. The Shield feud is best for business.
Alicia Fox def. Paige
What the hell at that ending, yo. I'm glad that Alicia Fox got a win, but hot damn the finish of that match needs to be on Botchmania. Someone call Maffew stat!
Beat The Clock Challenge Match: Mark Henry vs. Dolph Ziggler - No Contest due to Time Limit
By this point, I think WWE loves getting our hopes up on Dolph Ziggler. Every time he gets close to greatness, WWE shoots him down and Ziggler is left with another loss in the record books. Whenever his contract runs out, I suggest he look into promotions outside of WWE and do like Christian - show WWE that you can obtain success outside of their kingdom. Just don't come back and let them bury you into oblivion though. Christian just needs to retire and become a trainer on NXT at this rate.
John Cena def. Luke Harper
Another RAW, another Cena vs. random Wyatt Family member bout. I feel like we've seen like a million of these by this point. Super Cena picks up the win, but Bray has the last laugh as he KOs Cena with the Sister Abigail before counting to ten to close out RAW.
May 22, 2014
Paige defeated Tamina Snuka
The biggest thing that I took away from this match was that Paige was finally on the offensive for the bulk of this match instead of being tossed around like a rag doll for 90% of her matches on the main roster. I get that the babyface has to overcome the hurdles, but it was a breath of fresh air to see her and Tamina trade their big guns. Sadly, the match as a whole wasn't too much to talk about, offering the second lackluster finish to a Paige match within the span of a week.
Adam Rose defeated Camacho.
Aren't they having this match on Takeover? Why do it now? And whatever on the win by count out. Rose's groupies get more screen time than his actual matches last.
Natalya defeated Sasha Banks with Charlotte in a finals match for the NXT Women's Title tournament. It will be Natalya vs. Charlotte for the title at Takeover.
I'm going to be honest when I say I wanted Sasha Banks versus Charlotte in the finals. No disrespect to Natalya in the least, but it's bloody damn obvious that Charlotte is going to beat her at Takeover. I think Ric Flair's daughter is far too green to hold the gold at this point. Sasha has been improving every week since her heel turn last year and I'm disappointed to see WWE won't reward her improvement.
Adrian Neville defeated Curt Hawkins.
I was more surprised that Curt Hawkins still has a job in WWE honestly. The match itself wasn't noteworthy at all - much like Neville's title reign up to this point. What followed afterwards is what you needed to take home from this encounter:
Tyson Kidd comes out for an in-ring confrontation with Neville to hype their match at Takeover.
God, I want Tyson Kidd to win at Takeover. Neville just bores me as a champion at this stage. Neville is talented, yes, but it was premature to put him into this position at this stage. From the way that WWE is pushing him too far and too fast, he will end up as the next Evan Bourne in no time, joining Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston in midcard hell on the main roster.
Big E defeated Bo Dallas. The stipulation was that if Bo won, he got a NXT Title shot and if he lost, he has to leave NXT.
"Bo, LEAVE!" chants erupt from the crowd after Bo Dallas' loss. I haven't been the biggest fan of Bo Dallas at all when he was NXT Champion, but the post-match segment made me a BOliever.
May 22, 2014
Angelina Love def. Brittany
Angelina Love issued an open challenge tonight to any knockout who has never won the knockouts championship. Brittany answers the call, but honestly, who else was there to answer the challenge? Taryn's still gone on injury and Christy Hemme can't wrestle anymore. I know Rebel doesn't have any wrestling training yet, so she's out. That just left Brittany.
Austin Aries defeated MVP by DQ. Aries was about to finish off MVP when Lashley and King made the save. Eric Young tried to help Aries but was overcome as well
Tonight's broadcast had a recurring theme - the heels are in control, namely MVP and his cronies (King & Lashley), and there's nothing anyone can do to stop them.
Willow defeated Magnus w/Bram in a Falls Count anywhere match
Bram tried to get Magnus to use the turnbuckle hook on Willow. Magnus finally tried to hit Willow with the turnbuckle and Willow won with a Twist of Fate on the ramp. I was surprised to see Willow win here with the heels on a roll on this broadcast.
Eddie Edwards comes to the ring to challenge MVP, Kenny, or Lashley. Kenny King hits his finisher on Eddie on the ramp.
(Shaking my head) Eddie should've known better than that. It's like he hasn't been watching the show until now.
Bobby Lashley defeated Eric Young in a non-title match.
MVP and Kenny King attacked Young. Brian Hebner was about to throw out the match but MVP stopped him. Austin Aries came out with a kendo stick to help Young but Lashley speared him.
For those of you who saw Impact on 6/19/14 should know this match was foreshadowing the not-so-pretty future of Eric Young's title reign...
May 24, 2014
Match Number One: Ethan Page versus Silas Young
Decent opener, but it only served to help drive the point home that Silas Young means business.
Match Number Two: Caprice Coleman def. Tadarius Thomas (with Adam Page and Jimmy Jacobs)
Tadarius Thomas seems like that one kid in school who misbehaves just for the "cool" kids will think he's cool. That's the EXACT vibe I get from him trying to get on The Decade's good side.
Match Number Three: Jay Lethal (with Truth Martini) def. Cheeseburger for the Ring of Honor Television Title
You KNOW Cheeseburger isn't going to win this. This was just to add heat for Lethal and the House of Truth. I never get tired of seeing the Lethal Injection. Hands down my favorite variation of the Diamond Cutter/RKO.
Match Number Four: Kevin Steen and Cliff Compton def. Eddie Kingston and Homicide in a Charm City Street Fight
Great match, but it was rather odd that Compton didn't want to show respect to Steen at the end. It's stuff like this that makes watching ROH rather annoying if you're new or just returning back into the swing of their product. For example, I have NO idea who Compton is supposed to be and why does he have beef with Steen?
May 26, 2014
RAW opens with The Authority who call Brad Maddox to the ring to discuss his dealings with The Shield last week. Kane comes out to "deal" with him personally and Stephanie McMahon promptly fires Maddox afterwards.
So you're telling me that Stephanie couldn't control Kane's actions a few weeks ago and now they have him on a leash without any backlash? Gotta love that WWE logic, bro.
"It's me, it's me, BNB."
Bad News Barrett joins commentary for the next match.
Cesaro (w/ Paul Heyman) def. Rob Van Dam
Solid match, but BNB screws RVD out of the win with a distraction from ringside. Sheamus comes out and kicks off Cesaro's head with the Borque Kick afterwards.
If there's any two matches that could be sleeper hits for Payback on Sunday, it's those two matches for the United States and Intercontinental Championships representively.
Eva Marie def. Summer Rae
Yes, you read that right. Summer had the match won until Fandango came out on stage with Layla, who locked lips with Fandango in a steamy kiss that distracted Summer long enough for Eva Marie to steal the win.
El Torito def. Drew McIntyre
First Eva Marie wins and now El Torito has a match? Los Matadores deserve so much better than this. I'd kill to see El Local and Kallisto feud with them down on NXT instead of this comedy bullshit. It was funny for Extreme Rules, but WWE needs to stop miking it dry.
(Facepalms) Hornswoggle rips off El Torito's tail...
Bray Wyatt gives Jerry "The King" Lawler a message to deliver to John Cena
Who is booking this show? Russo? First, Eva Marie, El Torito, and now Ryder has a match? C'mon...
Randy Orton and Batista def. Cody Rhodes and Goldust
Just check out that sick RKO from this match. That's all you need to see.
No Holds Barred Handicap Match: Randy Orton and Batista def. Goldust
The match that followed forced Cody Rhodes to the back after being "eliminated" while Goldust was forced to go it alone. It was a valiant effort but Goldust went down as well, with Evolution giving The Shield a clear message on what is to come for them at Payback.
What followed next was 4 matches no one cared about...
Bo Dallas def. Sin Cara
Emma def. Alicia Fox
Adam Rose def. Damien Sandow
Sheamus def. Alberto Del Rio
Contract Signing between Evolution and The Shield
Not to sound like the announcer from Mobile Fighter G Gundam, but here's the moment that we've all been waiting for. In traditional wrestling manner, the contract signing erupts into utter chaos with both factions brawling it out, but Evolution comes out on top. This has been the FIRST and only time I felt like The Shield could lose in a feud. About damn time, too. The Shield has proven to be nearly indestructible in every feud they have been involved in up to this point. It's about time that WWE is finally giving us doubt that they could lose for once.
May 29, 2014
NXT Title Match Tyson Kidd vs. Adrian Neville
Good grief this match was an emotional roller coaster to watch, but first let's talk about this interview BEFORE the match with Michael Cole. This was cold blooded of WWE to go that far and have Cole say that if Kidd lost, he would be remembered only as "Nattie's husband". I would've fought Cole's ass after he said that. I know that they are going with that he's losing confidence in himself thing and going to the Dark Side for a potential heel turn, but this was a bit much. Way to bury the guy before the match even started, sheesh.
As for the match itself, it was a stellar affair from start to finish. There was one point where I thought they were going to pull the swerve and have Nattie go heel to help him win, but they kept it clean, which I thought was a completely weak way to go out with this event. Neville's too boring of a champion to carry the NXT brand and I rather see someone else hold the gold at this point. Let's hope either Tyler Breeze or Sami Zayn dethrones him by the end of the summer.
As for Kidd, I hope him AND Natalya go heel. They have been disgustingly babyface for FAR too long and it would be a complete breath of fresh air for both of their in-ring personas. I wish WWE would quit trying to turn stuff on Total Divas to in-ring storylines when people already have that distinction that what's on that show is separate than what goes on the weekly storylines, so there's no reason to try to merge the two.
Vacant NXT Women's Title Match Charlotte ("The Nature Boy" Ric Flair) def. Natalya (Bret "The Hitman" Hart) to become NEW NXT Women's Champion
Reigning WWE Divas Champion Paige wishes the future women of NXT best of luck as the future of the Divas division starts with them. The match starts off as a strictly technical affair with both Divas exchanging and countering hold after hold. It slowly becomes a heated match that screams with vibes from the old Flair and Hart family rivalry of days of old. The Divas division on neither the main roster nor NXT haven't seen a match this good in a while. Well, not since NXT ArRIVAL earlier this year...
Charlotte did a great spot with a rope hung Figure Four, but won after Natalya reversed Charlotte's Sharpshooter into a Figure Four attempt. Charlotte kicked her away and hit her over the shoulder neckbreaker to win. Much like Zayn earlier tonight, I'm sad to see Natalya be yet another stepping stone for someone else. Whether you love or hate her, Natalya can make ANY Diva she is in the ring with look good. If you want proof, look at any of her 1-on-1 matches against Paige, Emma, or AJ Lee from last year.
For Charlotte's sake, she has a LOT weighing in on her shoulders as the NXT Women's Champion following in Paige's footsteps. I hope she can handle the pressure.
Rusev (w/ Lana) def. Mojo Rawley
Squash match. I took GREAT pleasure seeing this clown get squashed. I can definitely get "hyped" for that. Besides, we all need our weekly prescription serving of Lana in our lives.
NXT Tag Team Title Match El Local and Kalisto vs. The Ascension
The Ascension killed Kalisto and El Local's momentum at the start and this match transforms into a typical garden-variety WWE tag team match, where the heels separate one babyface partner from their team's corner while the heels pummel them into oblivion as the audience waits for the hot tag.
I rather see WWE move Los Matadores to NXT and feud with El Local and Kalisto than being yet another team that was squashed by The Ascension.
Tyler Breeze def. Sami Zayn
To be expected, Sami Zayn handed Tyler Breeze the best match of his career thus far and proved that he's ready to hang with the big boys. I wish Breeze had a better finisher though as that running Spinning Wheel Kick (Beauty Shot) isn't doing it for me at all. I'm sad to see Zayn continue to lose at the expense of putting other people over on his second NXT PPV-style appearance. Sami Zayn doesn't know the meaning of a bad match. Hmmm, I guess Breeze will be chicken fodder to whoever wins the main event.
Pretty much sums up my thoughts on my personal frustrations with Sami Zayn being stuck on NXT for so long when he's more than ready to be on the main roster.
Adam Rose def. Camacho
Camacho dominated this match for 90% of the contest, even managing to blow through Rose's attempts to "hulk up" like Hulk Hogan. Somehow, Rose still hits his three moves of doom (Double A Spinebuster, Bronco Buster, and the Party Foul - which looks like Ethan Carter III and Dean Ambrose's finishers) to pick up the win. Ugh... I'll be glad when this gimmick runs it's course like Fandango's and WWE reverts him back to Leo Kruger. Rose is great in the ring, but he doesn't need a retarded gimmick like this to get over.
May 29, 2014
Six Man Tag Team Match MVP, Bobby Lashley, & Kenny King def. The Wolves & Austin Aries
This one was close for The Wolves & A Double, but Team MVP (that's what I'm going to start calling this group since they've STILL haven't given themselves an official name) came out on top after Lashley hit Davey with a Spear from out of nowhere Roman Reigns-style before holding him up for MVP to finish him off with a Drive-By Kick for the win.
Bram (w/Magnus) def. Tigre Uno
No, TNA, no. Don't go burying Tigre Uno after he had a stellar title match with Sanada. Bring out Norm or Dewey for that shit. That being said, I'm STILL not impressed with this Bram guy.
Gunner & Mr. Anderson def. The BroMans
This just seemed like an oddball match on the card as it seems like TNA is just testing the waters with this team. I was thinking Gunner was going to turn on Anderson and unleash Shaw on him, but nope. Clean, straight forward victory.
Afterwards, the Menagerie came out again only to scare off The BroMans since Robbie E is apparently scared of clowns.
The Beautiful People def. Brittany & Gail Kim
Brittany ignores Madison Rayne's advice and partners up with Gail Kim against TBP to attempt to even the score for humiliating her last week. Once again, TBP gets the win and Brittany's left visibly fuming at the loss.
Brittany (Santana Garrett) is talented in the ring and I like how they slowly grooming her as a potential threat to TBP. She has the skill, but not the veteran experience to deal with TBP's bag of tricks. That fact is shown clearly in this match.
Brittany reveals her "feelings" for Madison Rayne
I'm surprised they are going this route with Brittany's character. Back when TNA had a developmental deal with OVW, Taeler Hendrix did a lesbian angle with Heidi Lovelace. Interesting to see they are trying this with Brittany and Madison. I'm sure the end result will be that since Madison keeps pushing her away, Brittany will be "corrupted" by The Beautiful People and end up taking that same role that Madison had when she first joined TNA. Either way, this makes for good stuff going on in the Knockouts division.
Main Event Non-Title Match Special Referee: Ethan Carter III Bully Ray vs. “Showtime” Eric Young - NO Contest
MVP forces Bully Ray and Eric Young to fight this out like men, despite their mutual alliance against MVP's stable. The match ends in no contest when MVP's group gets involved. Lashley spears Bully in the corner but Samoa Joe makes his return to Impact Wrestling to close out the show.
I'm glad to see Samoa Joe back after his impromptu disappearance for the last few months. Now let's keep our fingers crossed to see if he gets into the main event picture like he deserves.
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